Free Republic

Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the vice president of Venezuela are demanding that an anti-Castro militant accused of blowing up a Cuban airliner in 1976 not be granted asylum in Miami. Miami attorney Eduardo Soto, representing Luis Posada Carriles, has said the 77-year-old man is now in the United States and plans to petition for political asylum this week, saying he deserves the protection because he worked ''directly and indirectly'' for the CIA. Soto plans to hold a news conference today to address questions about Posada's case. In Havana, Castro called Posada a terrorist, said the U.S. government was harboring...

He keeps going on about how people are trying to get in 'his back pockets' and how he can't trust anyone. Does anyone know what happended?

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 SOME THOUGHTS ON THE ANGOLAN MARBURG OUTBREAK New information suggests the Marburg outbreak in Angola may have begun as early as October or November,2004 : simmering almost undetected until late March of 2005. Knowledgeable experts in the field of virology have suggested-because the initial cases all involved very young children-the infection itself might have been caused by childhood immunization shots,administered with improperly sterilized needles. The big problem with this hypothesis is the lack of patients infected with Marburg before the outbreak began.How did the needles (assuming they were re-used) become contaminated in the first place ?...

ALBANY, March 29 - Commuters from out of state who take cars, trains and buses to jobs in New York have long grumbled about having to pay New York State income tax. A ruling handed down on Tuesday by the state's highest court found that the growing ranks of telecommuters from out of state must also pay. The Court of Appeals ruled 4 to 3 that a computer programmer for a group of trade unions in Queens who works mostly out of his home in Nashville must pay New York State tax on all his income, not just on part....

We are not alone. That's the finding of new research out last month on the European diet. In terms of expanding waistlines, Europeans are catching up to and even surpassing the U.S. Most European Union countries show a rise in obesity across all segments of society, according to the London-based International Obesity Task Force, a coalition of scientists advising the EU. Germany, Finland, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Malta have a higher share of overweight men than the U.S. Among women, only Greece's obesity rate (38%) tops America's (34%). Though the U.S. still takes the cake overall, the...

"The hospital has been the main source of infection," said MSF emergency co-ordinator Monica De Castellarnau. She said people infected by the virus went to the hospital where they infected doctors and nurses, who in turn infected other patients. "We have to break that circle," she said, adding that MSF was recommending that the hospital be closed "because it was still contaminated." Although the main hospital in Uige may have been the main source of Marburg infections at one time, the situation in Angola has clearly changed. The news coming out of Angola clearly lags the true spread of Marburg...

Since the federal government proposes phasing in its new passport policy by 2008 -- and since it is designed to further secure our borders after 9/11 -- why wasn't it proposed on 9/12? Or in 1999?

Sicuani, a market town of about 30,000 people 150km south-east of the tourist resort of Cusco, is rarely mentioned during the day-to-day circus of Peruvian politics. In a sense, that makes it a perfect setting for a revolution. Tomorrow the town is to host the launch of the Peruvian version of Bolivia's Movement to Socialism (MAS), the radical anti-globalisation party headed by Evo Morales, the indigenous coca-growers' leader whose militant rhetoric sends shivers down the spines of many in Washington. Mr Morales will be guest of honour. Poor, and sited about 3,600m above sea level, Sicuani may be a backwater...

Clinton aide lays out U.N. role. Ex-president projected to spend two years as special envoy UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Former President Clinton will spend at least two years in his new role as the U.N. envoy promoting recovery in tsunami-hit countries, his deputy said. His job also will be to demand accountability for the unprecedented billions of dollars donated by countries and individuals, (emphasis added by poster) said Erskine Bowles..... ...With the United Nations under attack over alleged corruption in the oil-for-food program in Iraq, sex abuse by U.N. peacekeepers and mismanagement by top officials, Bowles said it is essential...

April 9, 2005China's Foray Into Latin AmericaBy Frederick W. Stakelbeck, Jr.Over forty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, America once again finds itself in the crosshairs of a determined, Cuban-based adversary possessing the capability to inflict incalculable damage to U.S. democracy efforts and regional stability. That adversary is China. For two decades, Soviet defense, economic and intelligence assistance allowed Fidel Castro’s Cuba to project its own brand of Stalinist totalitarianism throughout Latin America infesting countries such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Chile. Castro’s dream of leading a new Latin American empire ended abruptly in the early 1990’s with the...

The Vatican is preparing to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan as part of an historic fence-mending exercise with Beijing that could allow Chinese Roman Catholics to practise freely for the first time in 50 years.The deal, discussed by a senior cardinal as Pope John Paul II was on his deathbed, would pave the way for an estimated eight million Roman Catholics to resume official ties with the Vatican and hold services without fear of persecution. Just hours after the Pope died last week, the outcome of the delicate negotiations was revealed by Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun from Hong Kong, who...

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Pro-democracy unrest has spread throughout Iran. The Iranian opposition reported clashes between Kurdish pro-democracy forces and authorities in western Iran. The opposition said battles took place in Baneh, Mahabad, Marivan, Piranshahr and Sanandaj. The clashes took place on April 6 and several of the demonstrators were injured and dozens of others were arrested. Opposition sources said police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protests. "In retaliation, many protesters inflicted damages to security patrol cars and public buildings," the SMCCDI opposition group said in a statement. "Armed masked protesters took over several security buildings and...

This is the royal wedding live thread...if one has been started and I missed it please let me know and I'll ask this be deleted.

MONACO - Prince Ernst August of Hanover, the husband of Monaco's Princess Caroline, was in an intensive-care ward at a Monte Carlo hospital after his pancreatic illness worsened, a source close to the ailing German noble said on Friday. "However he is not in a coma," the source said. "It's an acute disease of the pancreas." No official statement about his condition has been issued by either the House of Hanover or the principality of Monaco. The 51-year-old aristocrat, who is a relative of the British royal family, was admitted to hospital on Monday. The pancreas is a gland that...

• New York Times Frist Says Courts in Schiavo Case Acted Fairly Email this Story Apr 5, 4:50 PM (ET) By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Bill Frist said on Tuesday that courts had acted fairly in the Terri Schiavo "right-to-die" case, differing sharply from a vow of retribution by his House of Representatives counterpart, Tom DeLay. "I believe we have a fair and independent judiciary today," said Frist, now trying to resolve a battle with Democrats over judicial nominations that threatens to tie his chamber into knots. "I respect that." Frist and DeLay, as the...

WASHINGTON — Americans will need passports to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Panama and Bermuda by 2008, part of a tightening of U.S. border controls in an era of terrorist threat, three administration officials said today.Similarly, Canadians will also have to present a passport to enter the United States, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Canadians have been the only foreigners allowed to enter the United States with just a driver's license.An announcement, expected later today at the State Department, will specify that a passport or another valid travel document will have to be shown...

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny citizenship at birth to children born in the United States of parents who are not citizens or permanent resident aliens. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Citizenship Reform Act of 2005'. SEC. 2. PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this Act to deny automatic citizenship at birth to children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens or permanent resident aliens. SEC. 3. CITIZENSHIP...

The gender gap is widening on college campuses. Female students continue to outnumber male students, although men still hold more positions of power on campus. What do these trends mean for students and the future of higher education? These days, the seats in college lecture halls are filled more frequently by female students than their male counterparts. Women now make up 56 percent of the college population -- and that number continues to rise. Within ten years, three million more women than men could be attending college. But this growing trend only tells half the story. While female students are...

Two years ago, when more than 500,000 people flooded the streets in Central to protest against controversial Article 23 anti-sedition legislation, Yan Sham-Shackleton stood on a pedestrian overpass documenting it with her video camera. At 5am, she had started writing Internet essays about Hong Kong's struggle for democracy. A few hours after she went to bed, ``I woke up and went to the protest,`` she says. ``I took a lot of video. And cried a bit.'' Then she went home and turned her thoughts into a blog called Glutter.org. ~snip~ In the case of a few Hong Kong-grown blogs like...

In a move unlikely only because it's taken this long to happen, pundit-about-town Arianna Huffington is extending her hosting largess to the blogosphere. This month the wannabe California governor is launching a Slate-like Web site where a cast of bigwigs, including Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), David Geffen, Barry Diller, Larry DavidLarry David, Tom Freston, Ari Emanuel, Jim WiattJim Wiatt Tina Brown and Harold Evans will each have their own blog from which to spout Big Thoughts about politics.