Free Republic

" [T]he debate playing out in the blogosphere, cable airwaves and on talk radio pits the Vice President against an allegedly left-wing, overly cynical, prissy White House press corps in a tizzy because it wasn't the first to know and angry because it hates the President and Vice President anyway. " That's exactly right. And it comes from NBC's David Gregory. Gregory goes on to announce that this description is "nonsense," but of course Gregory has not allowed himself to be questioned outside of his network. He doesn't return calls and he won't make himself available for questions about what...

The disciplinary arm of the N.C. State Bar dropped charges of felonious misconduct against two former Union County prosecutors Friday because of a 1999 clerical error at the state Supreme Court. The State Bar had charged Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer with lying, cheating and withholding evidence in a 1996 death penalty case. The ruling Friday marks the second time that Honeycutt and Brewer won on procedural grounds before the bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission, which sits as judge and jury in disciplinary cases. . . . Prosecutors around the state are concerned that the case is damaging their reputation and...

The United States took the "unusual step" of sharing highly classified intelligence data on Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear-capable missile to secure India's support for the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution against Tehran's controversial atomic programme, an American expert has claimed. The maturity of the deepening Indo-US relationship is being tested by the contentious issue of Iran and Washington was "pleased and relieved" that New Delhi finally backed it in taking a tough stance in dealing with Tehran, John E Carbaugh, a policy analyst who advises the US administration and major American multinational firms, said in his latest...

On the flight home this morning, I was unfortunate enough to have a bleeder sit next to me. By bleeder, I mean he was invading my space because he was large and his body was spilling over into my seat. I've seen worse cases than what I had today but let's hear your experiences.

Who is the black community to think they own New Orleans? This wan't a crime about them. The response of the nation, or lack thereof, was not about them. New Orleans is one of the most beloved cities in the country to all of us: white Americans, graduates of Tulane, Loyala, countless universities, lawyers, doctors, professionals, the white and black middle and upper class, partiers and historians. This isn’t about African Americans, this is about New Orleans- America’s loss. The blame for the thousands of deaths in this city can be placed at the feet of two people: The mayor...

I did it!!! For years I have been tying to post an article during normal freeping hours that nobody would comment on for over an hour. It is quite a challenge really. FR has a wide range of interests, and if an article is too weird, then people will comment on its weirdness. Anyway, every few weeks I have been trying to find an article just so totally boring that there would be no reason for anyone to comment on it, and at the same time not be too weird as to merit a comment based on its weirdness. I...

d

New US offer at N Korea talks Washington wants the North's nuclear facilities dismantled The United States has a new proposal to end the North Korean nuclear crisis, as fresh talks opened in Beijing. The US, China, Japan, Russia and both Koreas have already held two rounds of talks with little success. But this time, the US is reportedly ready to offer Pyongyang energy aid if it freezes its nuclear facilities as a first step towards full dismantlement. "We are prepared for serious discussion and we have a proposal to offer," US negotiator James Kelly said. Mr Kelly did not...

Ivory Coast Rebels Defiant as UN Troops Start Work Sun Apr 4, 2004 04:10 PM ET By Loucoumane Coulibaly BOUAKE, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's rebels staged a show of strength Sunday with a rally for thousands of supporters as a United Nations peacekeeping force began work in the West African country. The political leader of the rebel movement which controls the northern half of the world's top cocoa grower said it would soon pay its fighters for the first time -- a move intended to show its region could survive without the central government. "We are going to...

N Korean defector 'held by China' A North Korean man who fled with evidence that prisoners are used to test chemical weapons has been detained by China, a human rights worker said. Kang Byong-sop, 58, was stopped last month in Yunnan province while trying to cross into Laos, Kim Sang-hun said. Mr Kim called on the UK to stop China handing Mr Kang to North Korea, where he faced possible torture or death. Pyongyang has described claims it used political prisoners to test gases for chemical weapons as "US propaganda". Mr Kang was the source of a North Korean document,...

FAIR  Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting     112 W. 27th Street   New York, NY 10001ACTION ALERT:ABC Narrows the Field: Did Kucinich's criticism of Koppel influence decision? December 11, 2003 A day after ABC's Ted Koppel moderated a debate between the Democratic presidential contenders, the network decided to withdraw three off-air producers from the campaigns of Dennis Kucinich, Carol Moseley Braun and Rev. Al Sharpton. ABC's decision was attributed to the fact that these candidates are perceived to have a slim chance of winning the Democratic nomination. An ABC spokesperson explained (Boston Globe, 12/11/03) that "as we prepare for...

Stolen Ammonium Nitrate Found in N.M. Saturday November 29, 2003 4:01 AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Seven bags of the kind of explosive material used in the Oklahoma City bombing were found Friday in a dry river bed, days after they were stolen. The bags, containing a total of 350 pounds of ammonium nitrate, had been stolen from an Albuquerque-based company that distributes explosives used in mining and construction. The bags, stacked up off an embankment and partially covered with tree limbs, were found by people walking in Albuquerque's western outskirts, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said. ``It was a...

We do have the bomb, N Korean envoy says By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor, and Robin Gedye, Foreign Affairs Writer (Filed: 07/11/2003) North Korea's ambassador in London explicitly confirmed yesterday that his nation possessed nuclear weapons and was ready to use them.In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Ri Yong-ho, asked whether North Korea had a nuclear bomb, said: "What we are saying is a nuclear deterrent capability." The ambassador said the deterrent was made with plutonium, most of which was recently reprocessed, and was now ready to use should the United States attack North Korea. Pyonyang has...

N Korea to export missiles to Iran - report August 06 2003 at 10:37AM North Korea is in talks to export its Taepodong 2 long-range ballistic missile to Iran and to jointly develop nuclear warheads with Tehran, a Japanese newspaper reported on Monday. The conservative Sankei Shimbun, quoting military sources familiar with North Korea, said the communist state planned to export components and Iran would then assemble the Taepodongs at a factory near Tehran. The paper, known for its hardline stance on Pyongyang, said North Korea would also send experts to provide Iran with assistance on missile technology and the...

We will start testing nuclear bombs, says defiant N Korea (Filed: 27/07/2003) US fears that declaration could be prelude to an atomic attack, writes Julian Coman North Korea has raised the stakes dramatically in its confrontation with the United States by privately threatening to conduct its first underground nuclear test, it emerged yesterday. A senior official of the hardline Communist regime warned in New York that his country would take counter-measures, "for example, a nuclear test", if the US did not ease pressure on his isolated country. The warning, by Han Sung Ryol, North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United...

Threat to N Korea's secret navy By Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 12/06/2003) America met two of its allies yesterday to agree plans to confront North Korea's "secret navy" of merchant vessels, which have been covertly shipping drugs, counterfeit money, missiles and nuclear technology around the world. The United States, Australia and Japan were considering seeking a change in international law to allow suspect vessels to be boarded in international waters. The move follows growing fears that Pyongyang is continuing to export to various countries components for programmes to produce weapons of mass destruction. On Tuesday, Japan began an unheralded...

Japan Deploys Ship Amid N. Korea Report Thursday March 13, 2003 3:30 AM TOKYO (AP) - Japan has sent a battleship to the Sea of Japan, the Defense Agency said Thursday, amid media reports that North Korea could be preparing another missile test. Defense Agency spokesman Yoshiyuki Ueno said that the Aegis-missile equipped destroyer has top-of-the-line surveillance capabilities. Ueno refused to say when it was deployed, and described its mission as part of regular patrol activities. But the dispatch came as two major Japanese newspapers reported North Korea appears to be making final preparations to test-launch its Rodong ballistic missile,...

Saturday, 18 January, 2003, 12:15 GMT'Millions could starve' in N Korea A United Nations special envoy has warned that North Korea is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis and has called for tensions over the country's nuclear programme to be resolved. There is a serious and ominous risk that this crisis could escalate. Maurice Strong, speaking after three days of talks in Pyongyang, warned that the country was on the brink of mass starvation. He said up to eight million people were in a "life or death" situation. "You cannot make the children, the ill people, the old people...

Anyone care to COMMIT to Freeping these people?They will be on the Capitol steps, east side this coming Saturday, Jan. 18th at 11:00amI know its cold but if they can come out.......don't want to be just a apackof2 SaturdayLansing group plans war protest Capitol rally aims to stop possible conflict with Iraq A Lansing group opposed to a war with Iraq laid out plans Thursday for protests in Washington and in front of the state Capitol. On the Web The Progressive Challenge Project: www.ips-dc.org/citiesforpeace/ The Greater Lansing Network Against War in Iraq expects several hundred people to attend a peace...

U.S. Denies Report of Security Guarantee to N. Korea WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday denied a report that it has proposed giving North Korea a written security guarantee in a letter from President Bush (news - web sites) to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "There is no credibility to that story. That story is false," White House National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said of the report by Japan's Kyodo news agency. Kyodo quoted a senior U.S. official. Earlier, Bush made a conciliatory overture to Pyongyang, offering to revive a program to give North Korea food and...