Free Republic

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Republican John McCain defended the North American Free Trade Agreement in Canada on Friday during an unusual foreign trip as a U.S. presidential candidate to draw a contrast with Barack Obama, his Democratic rival in the November election. McCain, an Arizona senator who has wrapped up his party's White House nomination, said the trip was not a political one and declined to mention Obama by name during remarks before a group of Canadian business leaders and policy makers. --snip-- Trade is one of several issues that has come to the forefront of the U.S. presidential campaign as...

The Schwarzenegger administration on Wednesday dusted off a failed dam proposal as a way to shore up California water supplies in light of a federal judge's ruling limiting shipments from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But it seemed doubtful that the Democrat-controlled Legislature - long-opposed to new dams - would go along in the waning days of its 2007 session. At a Capitol news conference flanked by city water leaders, farm and building industry representatives, Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said an Aug. 31 ruling by a federal judge in Fresno could cut water flows out of the delta by about a...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday promoted a $6 billion plan for increased water storage and protecting fresh water supplies, calling for two new dams and better management of the delta. "Our state's population is increasing rapidly. We also have earthquakes and major storms that could really destroy our levee system," the governor said, speaking against the backdrop of Friant Dam at Millerton Lake, in the Sierra foothills east of Fresno. Two-thirds of Californians depend on the Sierra Nevada snowmelt for drinking water while Central Valley growers use it to irrigate their fields. Schwarzenegger said the state's expected growth - to...

KRASNAIA POLIANA, Russia (AFP) - A smiling Russian president Vladimir Putin demonstrated his skiing skills while promoting the 2014 Winter Olympic bid by Sochi. Putin, an advanced skier, made several descents and then posed for photographers with children from the station's skiing school. Putin said the Black Sea resort was the best candidate. "Sport is about fighting and lots of surprises," Putin said. "Who will win?. Time will tell but we have good and worthy opponents," before adding: "We have the best bid." Sochi is in competition with Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, to organise the Games. An International...

Was it a slip of the today when an audience member at a luncheon speech today featuring newly elected Lt. Governor John Garamendi began his question of the official with, "Governor ..." It may have had something to do with the fact that earlier that morning, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown regaled the Contra Costa Council with a list of Democrats eying the governorship in four years. And yes, Garamendi's name came up. "Garamendi's looking at it," Brown said, during a lively, hour-long panel discussion about the state of California and national politics. Garamendi and Brown were guests at...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Mexican President Vicente Fox told business leaders Friday that his country's re-engineered financial markets and competitive labor costs create a powerful investment opportunity. Speaking to a breakfast meeting of the California Chamber of Commerce, Fox said U.S. companies should use reduced trade barriers between North American nations to "bring one foot in Mexico, one foot in Canada, one foot in United States." "Maybe you raise capital in the United States; now you can raise capital at the same cost in Mexico," he said. The goal of a united North America, Fox said, should be "to regain competitiveness...

Pentagon promotes 'long war' strategy as violence threatens withdrawal By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 25/02/2006) The Pentagon is aggressively promoting a new strategy for the "long war" against terrorism in which combat units will play second fiddle to diplomats, aid workers and civil servants. When US-led forces swept through Iraq three years ago confidence in the armed forces' ability was sky high and the expectation was that they would establish a bridgehead in the region for the foreseeable future. Now, however, commanders can barely hide their desire to pull every last soldier out of Iraq, away from the bloody...

U.S. Army soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade, spent weeks choosing and painting team logos of their favorite sports teams on the wall of their command post on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. From left to right: U.S. Army Capt. Adam Cubbage, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Ellis and U.S. Staff Sgt. Laferrel Evans view their sports map. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jacob Caldwell Airborne’s Sports Map Promotes Camaraderie For paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, a map depicting favorite sports teams serves as a relaxing diversion from deployment hardships. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jacob...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2005 – Young veterans face unemployment rates three times the national average, so a new Department of Veterans Affairs program is working to promote job opportunities for those leaving military service, the Veterans Affairs secretary said. R. James Nicholson spoke to the American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel in anticipation of National Veterans Awareness Week, which began Nov. 6 and continues through Nov. 12. "Fulfilling the Commitment - Coming Home to Work" is a new VA initiative focused on veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Nicholson said. The initiative, announced in mid-October,...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A pair of Los Angeles entrepreneurs have launched a Web site to promote California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a presidential candidate in 2008, according to a joint report by the Oakland Tribune and the Los Angeles Daily News.. Founders of Operation Arnold are circulating petitions seeking to amend the U.S. Constitution so that foreign-born nationals who have lived in the United States for more than 20 years can run for president. The effort mirrors a constitutional amendment pending before Congress that was introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. Marshall Miller, a...

WASHINGTON - Democratic candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) said Friday a woman's right to abortion is a major part of his campaign for president, ignoring a prominent Vatican (news - web sites) official's call for denying Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. "I believe that in the year 2004 we deserve a president who understands that a stronger America is where women's rights are just that, rights, not political weapons to be used by politicians of this nation," Kerry said during a rally he had scheduled with women's rights groups. "More than 30 years after Roe...

Cartoonist David Gilbert promotes homosexuality