Free Republic

A secret American delegation was sent by US President Barack Obama this week to solicit Saudi Arabian and other Gulf rulers for hundreds of billions of petro-dollars for investment in US and global economic stimulus plans, exclusive Gulf sources report. They came away empty-handed. The chilly welcome received by the delegation, which met finance ministers and the heads of banks in Riyadh and the five emirates, was generated by wide disapproval of the US president's policy of engagement with Iran. Two other US missions had just been and gone, headed by defense secretary Robert Gates and special adviser to the...

The Chinese and other foreign investors should have "absolute confidence" in the soundness of their investments in the United States, President Obama said Saturday. Obama commented in the Oval Office in response to a question about the Chinese premier's concerns over the safety of his country's holdings in America. China is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, with an estimated $1 trillion in U.S. government debt. The Obama administration is counting on the Chinese to help pay for the $787 billion economic stimulus package by buying U.S. bonds.

Perez’s problem isn’t laziness. It’s something far worse: student-loan debt. And plenty of it. At last count, the former film student owed some $207,000. So last month, Perez did what any Web-savvy twentysomething in his predicament might do: he launched his own Web site, joesdebt.com, and began soliciting donations. For himself.

Sour end for fraudster  By Karanja Njoroge It was the end of the road for a man who has been begging on the streets of Nakuru town under the pretext that he was suffering from kidney failure.Drama unfolded as irate residents who have for years donated money to assist the man go for dialysis realised he had been feigning the ailment.The man who had a ‘dialysis kit’ fixed on his stomach has been lying on the streets of Nakuru town begging for money from the public.The ‘beggar’ on Moi Road was exposed after a well-wisher who had Sh1, 000...

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - A homeless man who was arrested after asking a policeman for a dollar got a judge to throw out the case by arguing that begging is a form of free speech. Judge Gail Rice made the ruling after Eric Hoffstead had his lawyer cite a 15-year-old federal court decision saying New York state's loitering law violated First Amendment protections. "This is a great victory for freedom of speech," said Hoffstead's lawyer, Carl Birman. Hoffstead was still in the county jail Thursday on a separate trespassing charge. The ruling Wednesday nullified a loitering charge and a misdemeanor...

So, any of you catch the hilarious op-ed in the NY Times today? The one where the author, upon hearing that Oprah has re-ignited her book club to include living authors again, basically begs to be on the show? Sounded familiar. Sadly familiar. This is me: "Please, Oprah! Pleeeeezzzzeee!" Yup. I've written to Oprah a few times. ... I've told her about following my heart to success. About putting my brother through school so he could follow his heart, too. About the sales of the book. The movie deal with Jlo and Laura Ziskin. The TV deal at Lifetime. About...

Spokesman Terry calls for action: We need EVERYONE READING THIS EMAIL to call Governor Jeb Bush RIGHT AWAY, and ask him to do one simple thing: "PLEASE EXERCISE YOUR LEGAL AUTHORITY, AND TAKE TERRI SCHIAVO INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY RIGHT AWAY." +++++++++++++++++++++++ ALERT: Wednesday was a rollercoaster of emotions for us, here in Tallahassee, Florida. We've lobbied the state Senators HARD this past week, trying to get just three swing votes to come our way. On Wednesday, the bill that could have saved Terri Schiavo from being starved to DEATH was defeated... by just three votes. There were a number of...

Eighty-five Percent of Beijing Beggars are Professional By Zhao Yan, Broadcasting Corporation of China Translated by The Epoch Times Jul 02, 2004 (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images) It’s official! According to an investigation conducted by Beijing officials, up to 85 percent of all beggars are professional. The officials concluded that more attention must be paid to both control and assist the homeless. They also pointed out that beggars in Beijing come from about 22 provinces, mostly from areas with underdeveloped economies. Professional beggars are fast becoming a major problem. According to a police report, only about 15 percent of the beggars...

Meet New York's 'Naked Cowboy' By Jeff Pearlman Newsday staff writer Originally published May 15, 2003 The sky is gray and the afternoon is long, and if ever a Monday in New York City has felt interminable, it is today. On the neon financial news crawlers that help light up an otherwise damp Times Square, bleakness rules. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES FROM 5.9% TO 6% ... PLANNED U.S. LAYOFFS INCREASE FROM 85,396 IN MARCH TO ',399 IN APRIL ... 95,000 AMERICAN MANUFACTURING JOBS LOST IN APRIL; BIGGEST DECLINE SINCE JAN. 2002. How then, to explain ... this?

Painting by Van Dyck Painting by El Greco St John the Evangelist with St Martin St Martin's Dream of Christ SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS BISHOP, CONFESSOR—316-400 Feast: November 11 St. Martin, called "the glory of Gaul," was born about the year 316 of pagan parents in Sabaria, Upper Pannonia, a province comprising northern Yugoslavia and western Hungary. His father was an officer in the Roman army who had risen from the ranks. While Martin was still a child, his father was transferred to a new station in Pavia, north Italy. Here the boy learned of Christianity, felt drawn to...