Free Republic

Arizona Issues Warrant for Rescued Couple Updated 5:40 PM ET March 24, 2006 By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) - Arizona authorities have brought drug charges against a couple who were rescued with four family members from their snowbound motor home in Oregon this week. Warrants were issued in Snowflake, Ariz., for Elbert and Becky Higginbotham on Wednesday, a day after they were found in the mountains. The couple were charged with possession of dangerous drugs for sale _ methamphetamine _ and possession of drug paraphernalia. Elbert Higginbotham is also wanted on a charge of misconduct involving weapons. The...

A Mesa(AZ) deputy fire chief is on paid leave after being accused of bestial acts with his nextdoor neighbor’s lamb. Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies took LeRoy Johnson, 52, into custody at his Gilbert home on Saturday. The 26-year veteran was booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct, trespassing and public sexual indecency, all misdemeanors, spokesman Lt. Paul Chagolla said. Johnson was released from jail on his own recognizance on Sunday. The arrest came after the neighbor and another man said they found Johnson in a small barn in the 1200 block of East Catclaw Street; his pants were down as he...

Can we have our balls back, please? By Chris Vallance BBC News The 76 Union ball has become an American icon All over the west coast of America, giant orange balls have been disappearing. The so-called "76 Balls" are the distinctive signs of Union 76 petrol stations, but the historic spheres are under threat, prompting a web-based plea for their preservation reminiscent of the effort to save London's double-decker Routemaster buses. The www.savethe76ball.com campaign, brainchild of Los Angeles-based bloggers Kim Cooper and Nathan Marsak, criticises ConocoPhillips, the new Texan owners of the Union 76 gas stations, for removing the iconic...

EU threat to Bavaria's buxom barmaids 2.46PM, Thu Aug 4 2005 Bavaria's buxom barmaids could be forced to cover up if a "loony" EU directive comes into force over levels of sun exposure. The proposals would force bosses to monitor how much sunlight their employees receive in a working day. Such a ruling could affect the low cut outfits - known as dirndls - worn by German barmaids and made famous at Oktoberfest, the Munich beer festival. The plans are thought to have caused consternation in Germany, with the mayor of Munich, Christian Ude, quoted as saying: "This is European...

Angry at "Backstabber" John McCain for his deals with the 'Rats? Want to hit him where it hurts? Don't buy Budweiser, or any Anheuser-Busch product (especially in Arizona). Let me explain. McCain married Cindy Hensley who is the daughter of the owner of Arizona's largest A/B distributor, the Hensley Companies. The senator would not even be an elected dog-catcher without his wife's money (like a certain French-looking senator!). Not buying Bud means less $ for McCain's family. FIGHT MC CAIN....BOYCOTT BUD!

PARIS (Reuters) - State-owned oil giants in producing nations are cementing control over much of the world's reserves, intensifying fears too little investment will be made in new energy supplies. Barriers to foreign investment in the world's biggest oil producers are expected to be among issues broached at a two-day ministerial conference of the International Energy Agency starting in Paris on Monday. As today's high prices resolve the single biggest problem for producers' national oil companies (NOCs) -- low returns on capital -- the multinational majors face an uphill struggle to gain access to new sources of supply. "There is...

Wander through the supermarket and you will be inundated with trademarks and logos. They're on everything ... from cereal boxes to laundry detergent to canned cling peaches and the stuff you use to clean countertops -- and you're used to seeing them. But one logo you'll likely see in your produce aisle these days might surprise you. It's NASCAR. That's right, NASCAR-branded produce is now in stores. Distributed by Castellini Group, one of the largest produce distributors in the U.S., the items include potatoes, tomatoes, onions, lemons, limes and oranges. Of course, NASCAR doesn't actually grow the produce. It merely...

Longtime radio host Westmoreland out at KTAR By John Yantis, Tribune Valley radio talk show veteran Preston Westmoreland is off the air after 26 years. Westmoreland and a local media observer say his departure likely was part of a movement toward younger hosts to attract advertisers — a charge his former employer, KTAR (620 AM), disputes. The move comes on the heels of a sports reporter’s departure from the station after more than 20 years. The award-winning Westmoreland said he was taken off his drive-time slot after a meeting Monday with management. “I'm really just devastated,” he said, adding that...

With the recent beheadings, is it time for the president to ask for a formal declaration of war against the terrorist group Al-Quaeda? I know you can only declare war against countries, but these are unique times and we have an un-uniformed army fighting against the civilized world....it might also shut up fatheads like Kennedy!

For all of those getting e-chain letters saying to not buy gasoline today, or don't buy this gas brand or that, I have one company you can vent your anger on...CITGO. CITGO is owned 100% by the Venenzuelan government, run by that nutjob dictator Hugo "parrotbrain" Chavez, the nutcase who is the main reason why OPEC is cutting production, and keeps ranting about cutting off oil supplies, seize this, seize that,etc. If any of you have a CITGO credit card, cut it up,send it back, and tell them why. And don't buy gas or motor oil from these thugs!

<p>The Navajo tribe is considering making it easier to be a Navajo.</p> <p>A proposal to lower the minimum blood requirement from one-quarter to one-eighth is being debated this week in the Navajo Nation Council, the governing body of the largest tribe in the United States. If approved, membership could double, increasing to more than 600,000 from about 310,000.</p>

Wal-Mart Figures Out Top Sellers in a Hurricane LA JOLLA, Calif. (March 25, 2004) - Among its many IT initiatives, Wal-Mart Stores is using historical data to take a proactive position in anticipating stores’ needs in certain unusual circumstances, such as a hurricane, according to Linda Dillman, chief information officer. “We have gathered so much historical data, we’ve decided to anticipate what will happen in a given situation instead of waiting for it to happen, and then reacting,” Dillman explained in a presentation this week at Grocery Manufacturers of America's Information Systems and Logistics/Distribution Conference here. The example she talked...

On this website we have a gigantic controversy on outsourcing. Let me throw my opinion into this. First, there is nothing new about outsourcing. Those textile plants in the South were outsourced from the Northeast during the 50s. The citrus industry moved from Southern California to Arizona and Central California. Second, the reason why we are outsourcing is for one reason..IT IS TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE TO DO BUSINESS IN THIS COUNTRY!..business taxes, worthless environmental laws (like wetland laws), family leave act, FICA, medical leave, sexual harrasment laws, and the trial lawyer vermin. Change all of these situations and you may...