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On its face, the bill crafted by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Coons (D-DE) looks modest enough. The aptly-named AGREE (American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship) Act takes parts of job-growth proposals from both sides of the aisle with wide bipartisan support and rolls them into one proposal. The two eliminated those components that create controversy, so that this Congress can act at least incrementally to improve the economic climate for job creators while larger reform efforts collide on Capitol Hill.The incremental approach on policy actually is modest, if also effective and impactful. But the effect of the AGREE...

DETROIT (AP) -- The United Auto Workers union won $5,000 signing bonuses and the possibility of sweeter profit-sharing checks as part of a new four-year contract with General Motors Co., two people briefed on the talks said Saturday. The deal, which was reached late Friday, also includes a $2- to $3-per-hour pay raise for entry-level workers over the life of the contract and guarantees more union jobs, the people said. Both persons asked to remain anonymous because the details of the contract haven't been reviewed by all local union leaders. The GM deal will serve as a template for contracts...

t may have taken the largest wildfire in Arizona history, but for the first time in decades, environmentalists and government officials agree on a key element of future forest management. The U.S. Forest Service said in a report this month that “intense thinning treatments” can ease future wildfires, by removing trees between six and 18 inches in diameter to allow for additional space between trees. “Everyone agrees that a lot of the dry forest types need to be treated in terms of removing the vegetation,” said Morris Johnson, a research ecologist with the Forest Service and co-author of the report....

The United States and Japan agreed yesterday to relocate a controversial U.S. air base to a less densely populated area on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The future of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma had been a subject of intense political debate in Japan that led to the possibility of the base being moved off the island entirely, despite a 2006 agreement to relocate it on Okinawa. Talks between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the United States and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa for Japan addressed a range...

The US and Russia have agreed in principle on a deal to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) that expired in December after 15 years as the centerpiece of nuclear arms control, the Wall Street Journal reports today. The deal, which officials said could be ready to sign in two months, would cut each side’s nuclear arsenal to between 1,500 and 1,675 operationally deployed warheads — down from 2,200 on the American side and 2,800 in Russia, which has also kept an unknown number in reserve. Both countries would also commit to deeper cuts in the number of operational...

Israel will agree to temporarily freeze construction in settlements in the framework of new understandings that Jerusalem will reach with Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told European foreign ministers last week. Commenting on Clinton's statements, Israeli and American sources confirmed that the parties were close to reaching an agreement. But they said the deal was not expected to be mentioned publicly in the visit by U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.

WASHINGTON - On this presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton can agree: They sometimes disagree with their trash-talking supporters and will try to cool it. Advisers to the Democratic candidates shed some light Friday on the private chat the two candidates had Thursday on the Senate floor. The talk lasted three or four minutes in full view of reporters watching on the balcony above who could see them talking, but not hear what they said. "They approached one another and spoke about how supporters for both campaigns have said things they reject," said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer. "They...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2007 – The nation’s top military advisers were “unanimous” in backing the recommendations made to the president by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus on the way forward in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, answers a reporter's question while Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates looks on during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Sept. 14, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Defense Secretary...

Scottish mineral water 'kills cancer cells' By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent (Filed: 13/09/2006) The water of life – or “uisge beatha” in Gaelic - is a euphemism for whisky, but another Highland drink has been shown to have a more valid claim to the title. The water, sourced from near Balmoral Castle, has been said to possess healing qualities since 1760 A mineral water taken from wells near the Queen’s Balmoral Castle can help to slow the spread of cancer, according to scientists. Tests on Deeside Mineral Water suggest that it inhibits the growth of certain cancerous cells and kills...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces, supported by Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad, expanded their combined security effort into the northeast Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiyah on Sunday in support of Operation Together Forward. The combined operations are led by the 1st Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, and 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, supported by Iraqi National Police from the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division, and Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The operations are designed to reduce the level of murders, kidnappings, assassinations, terrorism and sectarian violence in northern Baghdad, as well as to reinforce the...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that militant groups promised to suspend attacks on Israel in hopes of ending a nearly 2-month-long Israeli crackdown in the Gaza Strip. The militants denied there was a formal agreement with Abbas, but left the door open to a possible halt in attacks. Only minor violence was reported Thursday, and there appears to have been a drop in rocket attacks on Israel in recent days. Abbas said the groups reached their accord late Wednesday during renewed talks on forming a unity government including his Fatah Party and the rival...

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met with more than a dozen top business officials to discuss climate change -- executives who have gathered in support of mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. Imagine that: Big Business stepping up to the plate, but the Bush administration refusing to take a seat at the table. That's a conspicuous absence for a president who says that climate change "is a challenge that requires a 100-percent effort; ours and the rest of the world's." But it's not surprising for a president whose preferred policy is to rewrite science to protect...

Palestinian groups agree deal for return of Israeli Hamas leaders in Damascus are last obstacle to Gaza ceasefire Conal Urquhart in Ramallah Tuesday July 25, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel and to free a captured Israeli soldier in a deal brokered by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president. The deal, agreed on Sunday, is to halt the rocket attacks in return for a cessation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, and to release Corporal Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured on June 25, in exchange for...

Legislative leaders on Monday said they had reached a tentative agreement on a roughly $131 billion state budget and hope to bring the spending plan to a vote before Saturday, the start of the new fiscal year. The announcement indicated Republicans and Democrats have broken a logjam over health care funding for children of illegal immigrants and competing plans for using a tax windfall to pay down state debt. Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, Assembly Republican Leader George Plescia of La Jolla and Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman of Fullerton released a joint...

Under tremendous pressure, mullahs agree to renovate tomb of "Cyrus the Great" May 29, 2006 Thanks to Iranian arab-parast, tomb of founder of Iran Zamin covered with dust but tomb of their beloved cowered arab imam whom ran away to Iran for dear life, covered with gold Under tremendous pressure by Iranian People, mullahs agree to renovate tomb of "Cyrus the Great". A team of experts have recently began renovating the tomb of Cyrus the Great at the ancient site of Pasargad in southern province of Fars. Several megaliths of the tomb have been stolen over time and the renovation...

BEIJING (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed at talks in Beijing that Iran should not have nuclear weapon capabilities. "We talked about Iran and both agreed Iran should not have the capability to make nuclear weapons and shouldn't proliferate weapons of mass destruction," Merkel told reporters on her first visit to China as chancellor. "We agreed that Iran should not be allowed to gain possession of nuclear weapons." Western powers have been at odds with China and Russia over how to halt Iran's atomic programs, which the West believes is...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2006 – A new agreement between the United States and Australia opens the door to more information sharing and cooperation in research and development related to combating terrorism. Ambassador at Large Henry Crumpton (standing), the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, looks on as Thomas O'Connell (left), assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Peter Shergold, Australia's secretary for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, sign a memorandum of understanding promoting counterterrorism cooperation May 17. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Thomas O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special...

Surplus? What surplus? That was the message from legislative leadership this week as the hands came out for a piece of the unexpected tax revenues. The state so far has collected billions in revenues above this time last year. And yet, everyone seems to be talking about fiscal restraint. "The increased revenue more allows us to dodge a bullet than really move forward," said Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee. The surplus revenue quickly disappears when one starts to add up the state's pending obligations and shortfalls, Laird said. These include $330 million for midyear...

WASHINGTON - Two leaders in current efforts to reduce special interest influence on Congress once again appeared to be fighting on the same side Wednesday, two days after an unusually fiery falling out. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., testified together at a Senate hearing on lobbying and ethics overhaul. With a pat on the back and an exchange of compliments, they publicly put in the past an angry letter from McCain charging that Obama was more interested in scoring political points than in working together on the ethics issue. "I'm particularly pleased to be sharing this panel...

VIENNA, Austria - The United States and Europe have agreed on a compromise plan to accept expanded nuclear activities by Iran, but only if the enrichment process — a possible pathway to nuclear arms — is moved to Russia, senior officials and diplomats said Thursday. If accepted by Iran, the proposal could end a tug-of-war over whether to refer the Islamic republic to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. The officials and diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing the strategy, said the plan would allow Iran to continue converting raw uranium into the gas that is spun...

Again, I am confronted by our yearly PC Celibration of Diversity. Today, I was shuffling through my bosses "to do" list and I found my self, scheduled for diversity training. I am not blaiming him for subjecting me to the one occasion that would get me fired, great guy I was his mentor, he is on the way to achieving all that I saw in him. I have opinions that border on Social Darwinism, every one will achieve what they can, I hate big gov, and I accept people as they are. Damn it, I am a libertarian with out...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - The leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Central America agreed Wednesday to strengthen the rights of migrants heading north to the United States while fighting the smugglers who move thousands across borders, from Panama to Mexico. On the first day of a two-day regional summit in the Honduran capital, the leaders promised to work together to halt the trafficking of people, especially women and children, while "promoting respect and the protection of human rights of migrants." Thousands of Central Americans pass through Mexico on their way to the United States, and many are robbed or mistreated during...

Congressional Republicans Agree To Launch Social Security Campaign By Mike Allen Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, January 31, 2005; Page A04 WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Congressional Republicans, after three months of internal debate, this weekend launched a months-long campaign to try to convince constituents that rewriting the Social Security law would be cheaper and less risky than leaving it alone, as the White House opened a campaign to pressure several Senate Democrats to support the changes. The Republicans left an annual retreat in the Allegheny Mountains with a 104-page playbook titled "Saving Social Security," a deliberate echo of the...

While the State Department's Patterns of Global Terrorism—2003 report [1] labeled Iran "the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2003," the Bush administration has yet to agree on a national security presidential directive to define U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic.[2] Meanwhile, Tehran continues to edge closer to nuclear capability.[3]The following are excerpts from the 9/11 Commission Report, an unclassified version of which was released to the public on July 22, 2004.[4] The commission interviewed more than 1,000 people in ten countries and conducted an unprecedented review of U.S. intelligence. Among its findings, excerpted below, was evidence of a...

http://netwmd.com/articles/article849.html Baghdad, Iraq — Half past ten in the morning on Monday, January 3, an Iraqi National Guard unit, escorted by a dozen uniformed U.S. military, pulled up to Abdul Karim Muhammadawi's headquarters in the Hay al-Jamiah section of Baghdad. Muhammadawi, known to the Iraqis as Abu Hatem, is renowned among Iraqi Shia as "the Robin Hood of the marshes." Hailing from al-Amarah, during Saddam's rule, he led a persistent Shia resistance which harried local Baathist commanders and protected political opposition. A member of the now-defunct governing council, he has since joined the Iraqi National Alliance (al-Ittilaf al-Watani al-Iraqi), the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North and South Korea agreed Friday to hold high-level military talks to ease tensions between the nations, divided by the world's most heavily fortified border and embroiled in a standoff over the North's nuclear weapons development. The agreement came at the end of four days of Cabinet-level meetings. "South and North agreed to hold a military official meeting soon to ease military tension on the Korean peninsula," the two countries said in a joint statement. It gave no details of the planned talks. The Koreas held talks between their defense ministers in September 2000 but...

<p>Three-quarters of the states 21 bargaining units have agreed to postpone wage increases in a bid to reduce pending layoffs, the Davis administration said.</p> <p>The agreements will trim $195 million from the state payroll this fiscal year, still far short of the $1.1 billion in layoffs or deferred salary increases called for in the budget.</p>

<p>Republicans looking to replace Gov. Gray Davis agree it would be better to have a single candidate in a likely recall vote, but they have very different ideas about who that person should be.</p> <p>"We're more than happy if (Republican leaders) want to limit the field, as long as they understand they're not going to limit Darrell Issa's ability to run for governor," said Scott Taylor, a spokesman for the San Diego-area congressman, the only announced Republican candidate.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON - House and Senate Republicans tentatively agreed on a framework for a $383 billion tax and spending package designed to give lift to an ailing economy. But Senate moderates whose votes are crucial to passing it hesitated to embrace the outline.</p>