Free Republic

The intention of the framers of the U.S. Constitution was to create a strong federal government, limited in authority by specific enumerated powers divided among three separate branches of government; providing a built in system of checks and balances. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the people authorized the government to tax and spend their hard earned dollars on whatever the government deems is best for the country. No, their authority was to be concerned with things such as; treaties with foreign governments, providing for the defense for our citizens, protecting the citizens’ rights to life, liberty, and...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slid on Monday on expectations that more mild U.S. weather at the start of the New Year will limit heating oil demand. U.S. oil prices (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped 79 cents to $42.66 a barrel by midday trading in Asia. London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) was shut for a holiday and will reopen on Tuesday. The winter has been unusually warm thus far in the U.S. Northeast, the world's biggest heating oil market, and normal to above-normal temperatures are expected to prevail over the next few days, forecasters Meteorlogix said. "Weather has been the...

Magnitude 8.1 - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA 2004 December 26 00:58:55 UTC Preliminary Earthquake Report West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center/NOAA/NWS A great earthquake occurred at 00:58:55 (UTC) on Sunday, December 26, 2004. The magnitude 8.1 event has been located OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.) Magnitude 8.1 Date-Time Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:55 (UTC) = Coordinated Universal Time Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 6:58:55 AM = local time at epicenter Location 3.400°N, 95.700°E Depth 40 km (24.9 miles) set by location program Region OFF THE...

Quake toll at 120,000 as $500m is pledged By Financial Times Reporters Published: December 31 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 31 2004 02:00 Aid pledges for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster topped more than $500m (£261m) yesterday as the official death toll passed 120,000. Aid groups reported receiving donations on an unprecedented scale, with large sums pledged over the internet. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies created a website to handle the volume of donations for its €53m (£38m) initial appeal. The Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella for UK charities, said it received more...

PHUKET, Thailand - While volunteers struggled to collect bodies washing up on the once-pristine beaches of this upscale resort isle, ghoulish tourists rolled out their towels yesterday, doffed their bikini tops and vacationed like nothing had happened. On Patong Beach and Kata Beach - where hundreds died or disappeared four days ago - the smell of suntan lotion wafted from the shore as a new influx of tourists determinedly ignored the carnage around them, frolicking in the surf or reading under umbrellas. An indignant Russian who arrived at the Novotel Phuket Resort on the day after the tsunami loudly complained...

Compassion is the best response when humanity faces the problem of evil, writes Edward Spence."Why did you do this to us, God? What did we do to upset you?" asked a woman in India this week, a heart-wrenching question asked in common these past few days by Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians. Nothing could have prepared us for what happened when the tsunami unleashed its terror. So we seek answers where answers are hard to come by, in either secular or sacred realms. Traditionally, the Judeo-Christian God, considered the most supreme and perfect being in the universe, has been ascribed...

BEIJING (AFX) - Premier Wen Jiabao increased China's aid to tsunami hit nations around the Indian Ocean by 60.5 mln usd, Xinhua news agency reported. Wen made the announcement when meeting the ambassadors to China from the countries of South and Southeast Asia that were hit by sunday's devastating tidal wave that has so far killed nearly 125,000 people. China on tuesday announced a 2.6 mln usd aid package, but said it would reconsider the funding when the full extent of the disaster became known.

A satellite image taken Dec. 29, 2004, shows an overview of Aceh province in the western Indonesian island of Sumatra. The area absorbed the double shock of the world's worst earthquake in 40 years coupled with the resulting catastrophic tsunami BEFORE: This detailed view of the northern tip of the island was taken on Jan 10, 2003 AFTER: A photo taken of the same area on Jan. 29, 2004, shows the extreme destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami. On Thursday, Indonesian officials issued a new death toll of nearly 80,000 for that country alone.   BEFORE: This detailed...

A Swedish woman and her daughter, survivors of the tsunami, were walking barefoot along a street in Phuket on Monday when a Thai woman stopped them. "She took off her shoes and insisted I take them," the tourist said. "I tried to tell her I was all right, I was fortunate, I had not lost my family, but she insisted I take them. And then she bought a pair of shoes for my daughter. I tried to pay her but she would not take the money, even though I am sure she had much less than me." There has been...

IT seems almost impossible. Just days after the tidal wave disaster, one of the devastated beaches was returning to normal yesterday. On Sunday, Patong Beach was hit by a wall of water that swept into Phuket, claiming at least 120 lives. Parasols, chairs, and other beach paraphernalia were swept to the top of the tree-lined beach, dragging helpless holidaymakers with them. It was at this beach that six-month-old Melina Heppell, of Perth, disappeared from her father's arms when the huge wave struck. For some tourists yesterday, however, the tragedy was becoming a memory, albeit a vivid one, as they made...

Bush 'presumes' U.S. warning system is adequate By Corbett B. Daly Last Updated: 12/29/2004 4:04:35 PM WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- President Bush said he presumes the U.S. warning system for tsunamis and other natural disasters is in working order, but he stopped short of definitively backing the infrastructure currently in place. "I presume that we are in pretty good shape. I think our location in the world is such that we may be less vulnerable than other parts, but I am not a geologist, as you know," Bush told reporters in Crawford, Texas. "I can't answer your question specifically: Do we...

Tsunami Could Hit Here, Geologists Say BY JEREMY SMERD - Special to the Sun December 29, 2004 Could New York be next? The earthquake that ravaged coastline communities surrounding the Indian Ocean has reawakened a debate over the possibility that a tsunami could hit New York.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday, after rising nearly $2 the previous session as two car bombs in Saudi Arabia rekindled fears over Middle East supply security, one of the factors behind this year's 32 percent rally. In the last trading day of 2004 for U.S. oil (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) , prices were down 69 cents at $42.95 a barrel -- more than $10 higher than the beginning of the year, but $12 below the contract's all-time high of $55.67 a barrel on Oct. 25. A 4.5 percent rally on Wednesday was also driven by a draw...

That is all I heard. I'll post more if I hear it.

MOSCOW, December 29 (Itar-Tass) - Sri Lankian Ambassador Wijekoon Mudiyanselage Ukkubanda Wijekoon thanked Russia for its quick assistance in overcoming the consequences of the tidal waves that had hit his country. It is the biggest tragedy for the country. A tremendous number of people died in one day -- more than 21,000 -- while over one million were hurt. In some areas, tidal waves swept several kilometers into the country, according to the envoy. Immediately after the disaster, Sri Lanka's President Candrika Kumaratunga announced the whole territory of the country a zone of calamity and requested the world community to...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher for the second day on Wednesday ahead of U.S. government data expected to show a slight decline in winter heating fuel stocks. Lower-than-usual temperatures probably caused distillate fuel stockpiles to fall last week, a Reuters survey found, and they would still be in a double-digit deficit versus last year. U.S. light crude oil futures were up 15 cents at $41.92 a barrel by 5:28 a.m. EST, building on Tuesday's 45 cent rise. London's Brent crude fell by $1.47 a barrel to $38.60, catching with heavy U.S. losses earlier this week when the London...

end, it was about 90 helpless minutes between the earthquake in Indonesia and the waves hitting India - because critical technology was lacking - that made all the difference to those affected by Sunday's killer tsunami. In the aftermath of that crucial hour and a half, it's almost criminal to hear the government griping about the "high costs" of joining the tsunami warning system. According to Charles McCreery, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's center in Honolulu, "Most of those people could have been saved if they had a tsunami warning system in place or tide gauges," he...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged cautiously higher on Tuesday, attempting to stem a fall of more than 10 percent in the last five sessions amid rising U.S. stockpiles and warmer-than-expected weather. U.S. light crude oil futures were up 39 cents at $41.71 a barrel by 2:53 a.m. EST, taking a breather after Monday's more than 6 percent slump in holiday-thinned trade. London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) was shut for a bank holiday on Tuesday. Prices fell nearly $5 a barrel in as many days as an increase in U.S. distillate inventories and revised weather forecasts calling for above-average temperatures...

PARIS (AFP) - Human activities, notably the building of coastal resorts and the destruction of natural protection, contributed to the enormous loss of life from killer tidal waves that hit the shores of the Indian Ocean after an earthquake, an environmental expert said. Jeff McNeely, chief scientist of the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN), who lived for several years in Indonesia and Thailand, two of the countries hit by Sunday's disaster, said it was "nothing new for nature" in a geologically active region. "What has made this a disaster is that people have started to occupy part of the landscape...

The magnitude of human suffering caused by the 26 December South Asian Tsunami Disaster is only now becoming apparent. Tens of thousands are dead, entire communities have been washed out to sea with all souls, already crumbling drainage systems have been swamped, drinkable water sources have been contaminated, and housing has been destroyed on a massive scale. The need of the victims of this nightmare for medical supplies, fuel, food, water, and dry goods is immense, and will only grow in scope. It is our duty to help in this time of crisis. Funds are the immediate need. To this...