Free Republic

The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for eavesdropping, CNET News.com has learned. FBI Agent Barry Smith distributed the proposal at a private meeting last Friday with industry representatives and indicated it would be introduced by Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. The draft bill would place the FBI's Net-surveillance push on solid legal footing. At the moment, it's ensnared in a legal challenge from universities and some technology companies...

Homeland security enters the classroom Pioneering program starts next year at Harford high school The Harford County school system plans to open what will apparently be the nation's first magnet program focused on homeland security, preparing high school students for careers in disaster response, high-level computer science and law enforcement. Students in the program, scheduled to open in the fall of 2007 at Joppatowne High School, will be given limited security clearances to enable them to perform internships at nearby Aberdeen Proving Ground, where the military develops and tests conventional and biological weapons. The curriculum, which is being developed, is...

A HECKLER from the Falun Gong spiritual movement, who entered White House grounds as a reporter, interrupted a formal arrival ceremony for Chinese President Hu Jintao today, prompting President George W. Bush to apologise to his guest. After being welcomed by Mr Bush, the Chinese president was just beginning his response when a woman, who had been allowed into the press section, started shouting. She was escorted away by a uniformed US guard. "President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong," the woman yelled. US officials later identified her as Wang Wenyi, 47, a...

Crazy Cat Terrorizes Connecticut Town FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Residents of the neighborhood of Sunset Circle say they have been terrorized by a crazy cat named Lewis. Lewis for his part has been uniquely cited, personally issued a restraining order by the town's animal control officer. "He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot, each with a long claw," Janet Kettman, a neighbor said Monday. "They are formidable weapons." The neighbors said those weapons, along with catlike stealth, have allowed Lewis to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she...

Schools close as week-long Arctic storm takes hold By Auslan Cramb Scottish Correspondent (Filed: 01/03/2006) More than 150 schools were closed yesterday and dozens of roads were blocked by snow as Arctic weather hit parts of Britain. Walkers brave the elements at Scarborough, North Yorks, where a severe weather warning had been issued While many central areas enjoyed uninterrupted winter sunshine, the north of Scotland and the East Coast experienced some of the heaviest snowfall of the winter. The northerly air stream, which is expected to last for most of the week, hit Orkney and Shetland, where all schools were...

I received the following email tonight. From: Kevin McLaughlin [mailto:ecampaign@gop.com] Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 9:09 PM To: rwjay@woh.rr.com Subject: Bookcast with Senator John McCain Dear Richard, On this Veterans Day, join us for a conversation with Senator John McCain as he shares the stories of heroes who have devoted their lives to serving others. In the latest BookCast on GOP.com, Senator McCain discusses his newest book, Character is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember. In Character is Destiny, we meet heroes like Pat Tillman, who left the riches and celebrity of the...

Leaders drop hotly debated ANWR drilling plan from omnibus budget billWASHINGTON - House leaders late Wednesday abandoned an attempt to push through a hotly contested plan to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling, fearing it would jeopardize approval of a sweeping budget bill Thursday. They also dropped from the budget document plans to allow states to authorize oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts — regions currently under a drilling moratorium.

Column: Softball coach snaps the unwritten rules BY JEFF NELSON When written rules are broken, punishment follows. It's a basic tenet in sports, and one we see practiced nearly every day. What we don't often see, and frankly, what I can't ever recall seeing, is a punishment for breaking unwritten rules. But that appears to be what took place at Central Cabarrus High this past week. Softball coach Monte Sherrill was suspended by the school for two games after his team, which is ranked fourth in the nation by USA Today, beat West Charlotte, 55-0, on April 15. Go ahead...

Brazilian men take on wives' surnames Brazilian men are belying their macho reputation by taking on their wives' surnames. Registry officials in Sao Paolo say 540 grooms adopted their bride's surname in the last three months. Psychologist Deisely Carreiro Stefani told Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper: "By doing this the men show their brides how much they love and admire them." Newlywed Jeremias Oliveira de Souza used to be called Jeremias Silva Luz. He said: "When I got married, I wanted to start a new story with my wife and forget the sad things of the past."

“Man and Woman”, “Wife”, “Husband”, “Widow”, “Widower” Banished From all Ontario Law Terms, when referring to spouses, are banned from all government programs, services, documentsToronto, February 25, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the obscenely rapid, three-day introduction and passage of its same-sex “marriage” Bill 171, the Ontario government has advanced a revolutionary change in the way all laws and government programs and institutions refer to marriage and married persons. Everything referring to spouses must now be gender neutral. No longer can a married couple be referred to as “husband and wife” or “man and woman”. The terms “Widow” and “widower” are...

NEW YORK - Using a young readers' novel called "The Misfits" as its centerpiece, middle schools nationwide will participate in a "No Name-Calling Week" initiative starting Monday. The program, now in its second year, has the backing of groups from the Girl Scouts to Amnesty International but has also drawn complaints that it overemphasizes harassment of gay youths. The initiative was developed by the New York-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, which seeks to ensure that schools safely accommodate students of all sexual orientations. GLSEN worked with James Howe, the openly gay author of "The Misfits" and many other...

You media pansies may squeal and may squirm, But a fightin’ man knows that the way to confirm, That some jihadist bastard truly is dead, Is a brain-tappin’ round fired into his head. To hell with some weenie with his journalist degree Safe away from the combat, tryin’ to tell me, I should check him for breathin,’ examine his eyes. Nope, I’m punchin’ his ticket to Muj paradise. To hell with you wimps from your Ivy League schools, Sittin’ far from the war tellin’ me about rules And preachin’ to me your wrong-headed contention That I should observe the Geneva...

Red vs. Blue: The Aftermath Seattle Weekly readers sound off on the election. I feel like someone has died, and I guess that someone is my country and its shining ideals. The people have voted, cowering in fear and ignorance, and now retreat to their caves with the same mentality . . . playing right into the hands of this despicable bunch that will control our country for another four years. I'm shocked and appalled, fearful, and more than a little ashamed of my countrymen, and I'm worried about what the next four years will bring. Because it's "open season"...

It came as a shock to me when a U.S. truck platoon of the 343rd Quartermaster Company refused orders to hit the road and deliver essential supplies to their comrades. Their reason: the trucks weren’t adequately maintained and the unit didn’t have adequate escort protection for the mission. As the 18-member Army Reserve platoon was placed under arrest for their refusal of a “suicide” mission, the Army rapidly shifted to damage control mode — “It’s an isolated incident . . . we’re investigating . . . the goods have been delivered.” The initial press positions differed. The reports reiterated that...

Today is Thursday, Sept. 30, the 274th day of 2004. There are 92 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Sept. 30, 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders decided to appease Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.

Paris – "Why Bush must be beaten," screamed the headline of Le Nouvel Observateur, a left-leaning French newsweekly. Smaller type above the U.S. president's half profile provided the answer: "His re-election will be a catastrophe for the world and for America." That sentiment may have been expressed more bluntly than the opinions of many Europeans, yet it captured the passions on this continent over who will occupy the White House come January. Poised halfway between the political wrangling in Washington over the war in Iraq and the suicide bombs and kidnappings in Baghdad, Europeans have rarely felt so involved in...

With the Republican National Convention's platform committee convening in New York less than three weeks from now, no draft platform exists, no subcommittees have been named, and no special lodging for committee members has been assigned. Rather than signifying sudden collapse of accustomed Republican efficiency, all this looks more like a coolly calculated plan. The suspicion has grown that President Bush's re-election strategists--Karl Rove and Karen Hughes--do not want the open debate over principles and policy that has characterized Republican platform-making for a generation. The carefully guarded Bush campaign game plan is to present delegates on the platform committee with...

Why do the Democrats like to talk about Vietnam so much? Because it's the only war they ever won.

Rebel Texas Democrats to Hold Conference By CONNIE MABINAssociated Press Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP)--State troopers and the elite Texas Rangers were ordered to track down and bring in 59 Democratic lawmakers who brought the Texas House to a standstill Monday by going into hiding.The quorum-busting boycott capped months of tension between Democrats and the newly-in-control Republicans over a bill to limit lawsuits and a GOP budget that would make deep spending cuts without raising taxes.It also came just before scheduled debate on a congressional redistricting plan Democrats say was forced onto the agenda by Republican leaders in Washington.GOP House Speaker...

<p>WASHINGTON — Perhaps bolstered by a shift in focus to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, critics of U.S. military policy who had mostly confined their protests to college campuses are suddenly feeling more comfortable in the street.</p> <p>Joining a hodgepodge of interest groups — including those representing anti-globalization and Palestinian solidarity — a coalition of anti-war groups plan to converge on Washington in a show of activist angst this weekend.</p>