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MOSUL, Iraq - Lt. Col. John Norris drives through the southeastern corner of Mosul comfortably standing up in the turret of his Stryker armored vehicle, something he rarely did until a few months ago for fear of being hit by a bomb or a bullet. While he is proud of how much security has improved in some neighborhoods, and the fact that President Bush has noticed, he keeps his rifle ready. "This city still isn't safe," he warns. "But it's a lot better than it was." Few Iraqi cities have seen such extreme swings between peace and violence since the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2005 – Two of the nation's largest home-improvement retailers are recognizing Veterans Day by offering discounts for military personnel. The Home Depot and Lowe's companies both are offering a 10 percent discount for all active-duty military, reservists, retirees and their families Nov. 10 to 13. At Home Depot stores, the offer is good on purchases of up to $2,000, for a maximum discount of $200. The offer applies to purchases at Home Depot stores, Home Depot Floor Stores, Home Depot Landscape Supply stores and Expo Design Center locations. "This Veterans Day, our nation will honor the brave...

Punishment meted out after girl mishandles Quran, according to rumor circulating at Arab-Israeli town TAIBEH – Harsh punishment? A Muslim girl from Taibeh was punished by Allah and turned into a dog, according to rumors that have been circulating in the Arab-Israeli town this week, Arab-language newspaper Panorama reported. According to the rumors, the harsh punishment was meted out after the girl, upset by her mother’s request to bring her the Quran as she was watching television, threw the holy Muslim book at the mother with disdain. The newspaper decided to look into the rumors and sent a reporter to...

There’s no question that the U.S. economy is booming. Why isn’t this reflected in President’s Bush poll ratings? Why would Americans think that John Kerry would do anything but ruin the economy? Kerry: the King of All Waflers; the most liberal member of the Senate. He proposes increasing taxes by $700 billion over the next 10 years. Kerry plans to stifle the American economic engine. Faced with good economic times, just what are Americans thinking?Boom Times Yesterday, the Conference Board reported that U.S. consumer confidence reached its best level in two years. 248,000 new American jobs were created in May....

<p>ASSOCIATED PRESS Students in the largest urban public-school systems showed improvement in reading and math in the first year under the federal No Child Left Behind law, according to a coalition of inner-city schools.</p> <p>The study by the Council of the Great City Schools reviewed test scores from 61 urban school districts in 37 states. It compared 2002 and 2003 test results.</p>

<p>Students in the largest urban public-school systems showed improvement in reading and math in the first year under the federal No Child Left Behind law, according to a coalition of inner-city schools.</p> <p>The study by the Council of the Great City Schools reviewed test scores from 61 urban school districts in 37 states. It compared 2002 and 2003 test results.</p>

“Most of what you have here is not war damage,” Nash said. “It’s neglect.” Engineer George Gardner said much of the equipment dates to the 1950s and simply cannot be fixed. BAGHDAD — Raad Jumah was in the dark. The floor of his shop was speckled in drops of once-molten metal and dusted in iron filings. But there was no spark of torch, no squeal of grinder, not even the harsh glow of bare bulb. He was, in reality, powerless. “It has a great effect on business,” said the 43-year-old blacksmith. “Before the war, the electricity was nearly steady.” Now...

Israel's gross domestic product expanded an annualized 2.7 percent in the third quarter of this year due to buoyed growth of goods and services and a healthy consumer appetite for durable goods, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. Third quarter GDP figures followed a 1.7% annualized fall in second quarter growth, and a 2.8% increase during the first three months of 2003. Israel has struggled with over two years of recession caused by the three year old Palestinian uprising and exogenous factors such as the collapse of a global hi-tech economy, coupled with the US economic downturn, and the affects...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretarySeptember 6, 2003 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This month, as students across the nation are starting a new school year, parents, teachers and principals are starting to notice a difference in America's schools. The No Child Left Behind Act that I signed into law last year is raising standards for student achievement, giving parents more information and more choices, requiring more accountability from schools, and funding education at record levels. The premise of the No Child Left Behind Act is simple: all children can learn, and the only way to...

Rules: 1. Leave...if you can't check "baggage of personal animosity" at the door. 2. Recognize....JimRob owns Free Republic. 3. Involvement....Offer Suggestions. Perhaps they'll be used. Goals for Religious Forum: 1. Let bygones be bygones 2. As much freedom as humanly possible on the Forum 3. An acceptable balance between toleration and faithfulness. Suggestions: (mine) 1. Nominate and recognize an overall point of contact who is as neutral as possible to interface with JR behind the scenes. (I nominate "angelo"....he was instrumental in the early formation of the religion forum. He is also Jewish and just might have no dog in...