Free Republic

Don't shake hands, they tell us - 'just say hi and wave goodbye' Rachel Aris on life in Hong Kong in the shadow of Sars Friday April 11, 2003 The Guardian (UK) Tuesday April 1 New cases 80; total hospital admissions 610; total patients discharged 79; death toll 15. Personal paranoia level:5 stars With headlines screaming: "More contagious than the ebola virus" and "It's a holocaust", you'd think the entire population of Hong Kong was on the brink of being wiped out by atypical pneumonia, or severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). Even the war in Iraq has taken a back...

WHITE HOUSE TO END DRUGS & TERROR ADS Also Stops Study That Found Campaign Wasn't Working April 01, 2003 By Ira Teinowitz WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- The White House anti-drug office will end its controversial drugs-and-terror advertising campaign and, in a reversal, shift more of its $150 million budget toward children's media as it fights for Congress to extend the program another five years. The Office of National Drug Control Policy will also cease a polarizing $8 million annual study that found the ads aimed at youth were not working and that pitted the drug office against the Partnership for a...

Say no to coke, says Muslim consumer group December 06 2002 at 03:49PM Kuala Lumpur - Thousands of Muslims in Malaysia on Wednesday began a boycott of American soft drinks giant Coca-Cola, Nadzim Johan, executive secretary of the Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia (MCAM) said. "The boycott is in response to Western interference in the internal affairs of Muslim countries in the guise of fighting terrorism," Nadzim said. "It is non-violence. It is also a fight against discrimination, not just against Muslims but everyone." Nadzim said the campaign would last three months and that the group would evaluate the impact...

<p>WASHINGTON --Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun building a national political organization, softening her liberal image and taking a lead role in Democratic criticism of President Bush--steps toward a potential campaign to become the first female president.</p> <p>Former President Bill Clinton speaks about his wife's run for the presidency as a matter of when, not if, say people who have discussed it with him. Several of her associates said she is eyeing 2008 as the year to run.</p> <p>Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) said Friday that she will not break a pledge to complete her 6-year term, which expires in 2006.</p>

BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese airliner with 112 people aboard crashed Tuesday night into the water off northeastern China after the captain reported a fire in the cabin, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said more than 50 bodies were found and that there was little chance anyone survived. A witness said the plane, its lights darkened, circled several times before going down. More than 30 rescue ships were reported headed toward the site of the crash - the second in a month involving a Chinese passenger airliner - but darkness was hampering efforts to find more bodies. "It...