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array(7) { ["encoding"]=> string(5) "UTF-8" ["title"]=> string(13) "News/Activism" ["link"]=> string(47) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/browse" ["language"]=> string(5) "en-us" ["lastBuildDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:31:41 GMT" ["items"]=> array(15) { [0]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(63) "What Mexico Wants (Surgeon General Warning: May Cause Vomiting)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843208/posts" ["description"]=> string(633) "Mexico City NO nation is as involved in United States immigration as Mexico, and no government’s cooperation will be as necessary as Mexico’s if immigration reform is to succeed. Fortunately, most of the reform proposals represent a very good deal for Mexico, however questionable they might appear to the Latino community in the United States. The current Senate package greatly resembles what President Vicente Fox and I proposed back in 2001, in meetings with President Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. First, the Senate plan would legalize almost all of the roughly six million Mexicans in the United..." ["author"]=> string(18) "The New York Times" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843208/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:31:41 GMT" } [1]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(66) "Lebanese army moves against militants (Nahr el-Bared refugee camp)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843207/posts" ["description"]=> string(659) "TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Under the cover of artillery, the Lebanese army on Friday moved against Islamic militants barricaded inside a Palestinian refugee camp, claiming tanks and armored carriers had "tightened the ring" around the group and urging surrender. Artillery barrages began in the morning, targeting the Nahr el-Bared camp where Fatah Islam militants have holed up for 13 days among narrow, winding streets and apartment buildings. The army later called on the militants to surrender and urged Palestinians not to provide them a safe haven. The statement said the army had "tightened the ring" around the group in fighting Friday;..." ["author"]=> string(11) "AP on Yahoo" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843207/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:29:21 GMT" } [2]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(37) "NASA Chief Sparks Global Warming Fury" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843206/posts" ["description"]=> string(613) "NASA Chief Sparks Global Warming Fury Scientists Denounce NASA's Michael Griffin For Saying Earth's Warming May Not Be A Concern WASHINGTON, May 31, 2007 NASA Administrator Micahel Griffin said it would be "arrogant" to assume the world's climate should not change in the future. (NASA) Quote "I have no doubt that global — that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that is a problem we must wrestle with." NASA Administrator Michael Griffin (AP) The head of the U.S. space agency NASA drew criticism from scientists when he said he was..." ["author"]=> string(8) "CBS News" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843206/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:27:50 GMT" } [3]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(50) "U.S. forces join civilians in battle with al-Qaeda" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843205/posts" ["description"]=> string(631) "U.S. troops fought al-Qaeda in west Baghdad on Thursday after Sunni Arab residents challenged the militants and called for American help to end furious gunfire that kept students from final exams and forced people in the neighborhood to huddle indoors. Backed by helicopter gunships, U.S. troops joined the two-day battle in the Amariyah district, according to a councilman and other residents of the Sunni district. The fight reflects a trend that U.S. and Iraqi officials have been trumpeting recently to the west in Anbar province, once considered the heartland of the Sunni insurgency. Many Sunni tribes in the province have..." ["author"]=> string(2) "AP" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843205/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:26:12 GMT" } [4]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(80) "CALIFORNIA: Court upholds right to sue for bias without demanding policy changes" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843204/posts" ["description"]=> string(637) "Four men who were allegedly refused ladies' night discounts at a Los Angeles nightclub have the right to sue on the grounds of discrimination even if they never demanded equal treatment from the club, the state Supreme Court said Thursday. California's Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits a broad range of discriminatory business conduct, including sex-based pricing, and does not require customers to demand that a company change its policies before going to court, Chief Justice Ronald George said in the unanimous decision. A lower court had thrown out the case because the men had not complained first. The ruling addressed..." ["author"]=> string(23) "San Francisco Chronicle" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843204/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:23:34 GMT" } [5]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(47) "BABE WIFE, 40, BOOSTS GOPER, 64 (Fred and Jeri)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843203/posts" ["description"]=> string(593) "June 1, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - Gruff, graying Republican Fred Thompson has a proven track record of tapping into a younger generation - starting with his wife. The 64-year-old ex-senator wowed Generation X with his movie roles in "The Hunt for Red October" and "Die Hard 2," and he won over his bombshell blonde wife, Jeri Kehn - 24 years his junior. Kehn, a former Senate staffer and Republican National Committee mouthpiece, fought hard to land her man, beating back a slew of D.C. power types to win the honor of being locked on his left arm. "I'm crazy about..." ["author"]=> string(17) "The New York Post" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843203/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:21:57 GMT" } [6]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(80) "[KY] Attorney General says UK, U of L domestic-partner benefits unconstitutional" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843202/posts" ["description"]=> string(735) "Health insurance benefits offered to unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are unconstitutional, Attorney General Greg Stumbo ruled Friday. The opinion said the universities’ policies to provide domestic-partner benefits come too close to the legal definition of marriage. However, the opinion said that such benefits could be offered constitutionally if the universities broaden the way they define who’s eligible. To get around Kentucky’s constitutional amendment defining marriage only as between a man and a woman, the schools could relax the qualifications for determining a domestic-partner relationship. “They still have the flexibility..." ["author"]=> string(23) "Lexington Herald-Leader" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843202/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:21:14 GMT" } [7]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(33) "SKorea Rejects Food Aid for North" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843201/posts" ["description"]=> string(641) "SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea refused to send food aid to North Korea until its communist neighbor starts dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Four days of Cabinet-level meetings in Seoul ended Friday in a vaguely worded joint statement rather than any substantial agreement. "Both sides agreed to further study issues aimed at promoting peace on the Korean peninsula as well as reconciliation and cooperation between the South and the North," it said. South Korean media have voiced concern that the no-aid decision could further chill relations between the divided Koreas. The South decided to delay a shipment of..." ["author"]=> string(13) "AP via SFGate" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843201/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:18:49 GMT" } [8]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(45) "Krauthammer's Guarded Optimism on Israel" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843199/posts" ["description"]=> string(589) "Dr. Charles Krauthammer, a psychiatrist by training and a long time political journalist by profession, rarely travels outside of Washington DC to deliver talks. So it was not surprising that an audience of close to 2,000 filled the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers to hear him speak about Israel on Wednesday night to a Jewish United Fund event. Krauthammer has been for many years a glass half empty person on Israel's struggle for normalcy. So it was a bit out of pattern for Krauthammer to lean ever so slightly to the glass half full position in his..." ["author"]=> string(20) "The American Thinker" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843199/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:13:48 GMT" } [9]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(86) "Hugo Chavez Claims U.S. Right-Wing Conspiracy(Hugo hires Hillary's PR person.LOL)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843198/posts" ["description"]=> string(702) "President Hugo Chavez has claimed that a right-wing conspiracy led by Washington is out to demonize his government for forcing an opposition TV channel off the air. The government refused to renew the license of Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, forcing the channel off the air Sunday and sparking both angry protests at home and condemnation abroad from governments, press freedom groups and international organizations. Speaking during an event Thursday with the visiting leader of Vietnam's communist party, Chavez said "international rightist, extreme-rightist and fascist movements are attacking Venezuela from everywhere - from Europe, the United States, Brasilia." He targeted..." ["author"]=> string(11) "NewsMax.com" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843198/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:12:23 GMT" } [10]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(43) "Calif. gun bill leads the way (barf alert)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843197/posts" ["description"]=> string(671) "The California state Assembly Tuesday voted to require all new semi-automatic pistols sold in the state to automatically stamp information on shell casings that could help police track down violent criminals. The California measure, which still has to pass the state Senate, marks an intriguing new development in the war against crime because, unlike some gun-control measures, it doesn't restrict law-abiding citizens' ability to own or carry firearms. Instead, the measure would require that all new semi-automatic pistols sold in California after 2010 contain a microscopic laser etching that will stamp the gun's make, model and serial number on at..." ["author"]=> string(11) "Denver Post" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843197/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:08:10 GMT" } [11]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(50) "Seeking Perspective on the U.S. Death Toll in Iraq" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843196/posts" ["description"]=> string(616) "Certainly, the United States has a moral obligation to deal with the chaos and anarchy that were, at least partially, unleashed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But that falls into the category of something we're doing for them. The president cannot and should not expect Americans to give their open-ended support to a nation that seems overwhelmingly to regard our troops as "invaders and occupiers." What, then? There is a reason for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq that has more to do with American interests: stability in the Persian Gulf, the world's single largest producer and exporter of oil..." ["author"]=> string(3) "NPR" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843196/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:02:41 GMT" } [12]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(52) "America's Iraq strategy boosts US combat losses" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843195/posts" ["description"]=> string(620) "May's spike in the American death toll in Iraq is the result of the administration's new approach in Iraq – as much as it is the enemy's own "surge" of attacks against US forces. In strategic terms, it's called taking it to the enemy. But analysts warn that if the number of US casualties continues at their current high level through the summer, that could raise questions about whether the strategy is actually working. May has already been difficult – the third-deadliest month since the Iraq war began. In a candid briefing Thursday, Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of..." ["author"]=> string(29) "The Christian Science Monitor" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843195/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:01:02 GMT" } [13]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(18) "Message to the GOP" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843194/posts" ["description"]=> string(635) "Protesting Trent Lott--and the whole lot of 'em. Photo: Clarion-Ledger This photo of the day comes from a protest of the shamnesty bill in front of Trent Lott's office this morning, organized by the Eagle Forum and the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform. The Clarion-Ledger reports: "We're here because we want to voice our frustration with Sen. Lott's position on the bill which will be going before the Senate next week and will extend amnesty to 12 (million) to 20 million people that are here illegally," said Rodney Hunt, MFIRE president. Hunt said illegal immigration is a national and..." ["author"]=> string(15) "Michelle Malkin" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843194/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:00:17 GMT" } [14]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(62) "Lebanon's Prime Minister: Syria Is Threatening My Country" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843193/posts" ["description"]=> string(688) "BEIRUT -- Lebanese authorities have evidence that Syrian intelligence operatives are behind the ongoing violent clashes in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli as part of an effort to destablize the country. Prime Minister Siniora also says that Syrian elements, pursuing what he calls "a clear determination to subjugate the country," could be responsible for political killings in Lebanon including the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Siniora accused the Syrian regime of trying to intimidate Lebanese from supporting the court and said that the pursuit of justice entailed risks, including "instability in the country, planting bombs here..." ["author"]=> string(4) "TIME" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843193/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 16:58:46 GMT" } } ["items_count"]=> int(15) }

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Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:31:41 GMTarray(15) { [0]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(63) "What Mexico Wants (Surgeon General Warning: May Cause Vomiting)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843208/posts" ["description"]=> string(633) "Mexico City NO nation is as involved in United States immigration as Mexico, and no government’s cooperation will be as necessary as Mexico’s if immigration reform is to succeed. Fortunately, most of the reform proposals represent a very good deal for Mexico, however questionable they might appear to the Latino community in the United States. The current Senate package greatly resembles what President Vicente Fox and I proposed back in 2001, in meetings with President Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. First, the Senate plan would legalize almost all of the roughly six million Mexicans in the United..." ["author"]=> string(18) "The New York Times" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843208/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:31:41 GMT" } [1]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(66) "Lebanese army moves against militants (Nahr el-Bared refugee camp)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843207/posts" ["description"]=> string(659) "TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Under the cover of artillery, the Lebanese army on Friday moved against Islamic militants barricaded inside a Palestinian refugee camp, claiming tanks and armored carriers had "tightened the ring" around the group and urging surrender. Artillery barrages began in the morning, targeting the Nahr el-Bared camp where Fatah Islam militants have holed up for 13 days among narrow, winding streets and apartment buildings. The army later called on the militants to surrender and urged Palestinians not to provide them a safe haven. The statement said the army had "tightened the ring" around the group in fighting Friday;..." ["author"]=> string(11) "AP on Yahoo" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843207/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:29:21 GMT" } [2]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(37) "NASA Chief Sparks Global Warming Fury" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843206/posts" ["description"]=> string(613) "NASA Chief Sparks Global Warming Fury Scientists Denounce NASA's Michael Griffin For Saying Earth's Warming May Not Be A Concern WASHINGTON, May 31, 2007 NASA Administrator Micahel Griffin said it would be "arrogant" to assume the world's climate should not change in the future. (NASA) Quote "I have no doubt that global — that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that is a problem we must wrestle with." NASA Administrator Michael Griffin (AP) The head of the U.S. space agency NASA drew criticism from scientists when he said he was..." ["author"]=> string(8) "CBS News" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843206/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:27:50 GMT" } [3]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(50) "U.S. forces join civilians in battle with al-Qaeda" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843205/posts" ["description"]=> string(631) "U.S. troops fought al-Qaeda in west Baghdad on Thursday after Sunni Arab residents challenged the militants and called for American help to end furious gunfire that kept students from final exams and forced people in the neighborhood to huddle indoors. Backed by helicopter gunships, U.S. troops joined the two-day battle in the Amariyah district, according to a councilman and other residents of the Sunni district. The fight reflects a trend that U.S. and Iraqi officials have been trumpeting recently to the west in Anbar province, once considered the heartland of the Sunni insurgency. Many Sunni tribes in the province have..." ["author"]=> string(2) "AP" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843205/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:26:12 GMT" } [4]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(80) "CALIFORNIA: Court upholds right to sue for bias without demanding policy changes" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843204/posts" ["description"]=> string(637) "Four men who were allegedly refused ladies' night discounts at a Los Angeles nightclub have the right to sue on the grounds of discrimination even if they never demanded equal treatment from the club, the state Supreme Court said Thursday. California's Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits a broad range of discriminatory business conduct, including sex-based pricing, and does not require customers to demand that a company change its policies before going to court, Chief Justice Ronald George said in the unanimous decision. A lower court had thrown out the case because the men had not complained first. The ruling addressed..." ["author"]=> string(23) "San Francisco Chronicle" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843204/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:23:34 GMT" } [5]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(47) "BABE WIFE, 40, BOOSTS GOPER, 64 (Fred and Jeri)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843203/posts" ["description"]=> string(593) "June 1, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - Gruff, graying Republican Fred Thompson has a proven track record of tapping into a younger generation - starting with his wife. The 64-year-old ex-senator wowed Generation X with his movie roles in "The Hunt for Red October" and "Die Hard 2," and he won over his bombshell blonde wife, Jeri Kehn - 24 years his junior. Kehn, a former Senate staffer and Republican National Committee mouthpiece, fought hard to land her man, beating back a slew of D.C. power types to win the honor of being locked on his left arm. "I'm crazy about..." ["author"]=> string(17) "The New York Post" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843203/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:21:57 GMT" } [6]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(80) "[KY] Attorney General says UK, U of L domestic-partner benefits unconstitutional" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843202/posts" ["description"]=> string(735) "Health insurance benefits offered to unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are unconstitutional, Attorney General Greg Stumbo ruled Friday. The opinion said the universities’ policies to provide domestic-partner benefits come too close to the legal definition of marriage. However, the opinion said that such benefits could be offered constitutionally if the universities broaden the way they define who’s eligible. To get around Kentucky’s constitutional amendment defining marriage only as between a man and a woman, the schools could relax the qualifications for determining a domestic-partner relationship. “They still have the flexibility..." ["author"]=> string(23) "Lexington Herald-Leader" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843202/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:21:14 GMT" } [7]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(33) "SKorea Rejects Food Aid for North" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843201/posts" ["description"]=> string(641) "SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea refused to send food aid to North Korea until its communist neighbor starts dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Four days of Cabinet-level meetings in Seoul ended Friday in a vaguely worded joint statement rather than any substantial agreement. "Both sides agreed to further study issues aimed at promoting peace on the Korean peninsula as well as reconciliation and cooperation between the South and the North," it said. South Korean media have voiced concern that the no-aid decision could further chill relations between the divided Koreas. The South decided to delay a shipment of..." ["author"]=> string(13) "AP via SFGate" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843201/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:18:49 GMT" } [8]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(45) "Krauthammer's Guarded Optimism on Israel" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843199/posts" ["description"]=> string(589) "Dr. Charles Krauthammer, a psychiatrist by training and a long time political journalist by profession, rarely travels outside of Washington DC to deliver talks. So it was not surprising that an audience of close to 2,000 filled the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers to hear him speak about Israel on Wednesday night to a Jewish United Fund event. Krauthammer has been for many years a glass half empty person on Israel's struggle for normalcy. So it was a bit out of pattern for Krauthammer to lean ever so slightly to the glass half full position in his..." ["author"]=> string(20) "The American Thinker" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843199/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:13:48 GMT" } [9]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(86) "Hugo Chavez Claims U.S. Right-Wing Conspiracy(Hugo hires Hillary's PR person.LOL)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843198/posts" ["description"]=> string(702) "President Hugo Chavez has claimed that a right-wing conspiracy led by Washington is out to demonize his government for forcing an opposition TV channel off the air. The government refused to renew the license of Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, forcing the channel off the air Sunday and sparking both angry protests at home and condemnation abroad from governments, press freedom groups and international organizations. Speaking during an event Thursday with the visiting leader of Vietnam's communist party, Chavez said "international rightist, extreme-rightist and fascist movements are attacking Venezuela from everywhere - from Europe, the United States, Brasilia." He targeted..." ["author"]=> string(11) "NewsMax.com" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843198/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:12:23 GMT" } [10]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(43) "Calif. gun bill leads the way (barf alert)" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843197/posts" ["description"]=> string(671) "The California state Assembly Tuesday voted to require all new semi-automatic pistols sold in the state to automatically stamp information on shell casings that could help police track down violent criminals. The California measure, which still has to pass the state Senate, marks an intriguing new development in the war against crime because, unlike some gun-control measures, it doesn't restrict law-abiding citizens' ability to own or carry firearms. Instead, the measure would require that all new semi-automatic pistols sold in California after 2010 contain a microscopic laser etching that will stamp the gun's make, model and serial number on at..." ["author"]=> string(11) "Denver Post" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843197/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:08:10 GMT" } [11]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(50) "Seeking Perspective on the U.S. Death Toll in Iraq" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843196/posts" ["description"]=> string(616) "Certainly, the United States has a moral obligation to deal with the chaos and anarchy that were, at least partially, unleashed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But that falls into the category of something we're doing for them. The president cannot and should not expect Americans to give their open-ended support to a nation that seems overwhelmingly to regard our troops as "invaders and occupiers." What, then? There is a reason for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq that has more to do with American interests: stability in the Persian Gulf, the world's single largest producer and exporter of oil..." ["author"]=> string(3) "NPR" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843196/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:02:41 GMT" } [12]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(52) "America's Iraq strategy boosts US combat losses" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843195/posts" ["description"]=> string(620) "May's spike in the American death toll in Iraq is the result of the administration's new approach in Iraq – as much as it is the enemy's own "surge" of attacks against US forces. In strategic terms, it's called taking it to the enemy. But analysts warn that if the number of US casualties continues at their current high level through the summer, that could raise questions about whether the strategy is actually working. May has already been difficult – the third-deadliest month since the Iraq war began. In a candid briefing Thursday, Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of..." ["author"]=> string(29) "The Christian Science Monitor" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843195/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:01:02 GMT" } [13]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(18) "Message to the GOP" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843194/posts" ["description"]=> string(635) "Protesting Trent Lott--and the whole lot of 'em. Photo: Clarion-Ledger This photo of the day comes from a protest of the shamnesty bill in front of Trent Lott's office this morning, organized by the Eagle Forum and the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform. The Clarion-Ledger reports: "We're here because we want to voice our frustration with Sen. Lott's position on the bill which will be going before the Senate next week and will extend amnesty to 12 (million) to 20 million people that are here illegally," said Rodney Hunt, MFIRE president. Hunt said illegal immigration is a national and..." ["author"]=> string(15) "Michelle Malkin" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843194/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 17:00:17 GMT" } [14]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(62) "Lebanon's Prime Minister: Syria Is Threatening My Country" ["link"]=> string(54) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843193/posts" ["description"]=> string(688) "BEIRUT -- Lebanese authorities have evidence that Syrian intelligence operatives are behind the ongoing violent clashes in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli as part of an effort to destablize the country. Prime Minister Siniora also says that Syrian elements, pursuing what he calls "a clear determination to subjugate the country," could be responsible for political killings in Lebanon including the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Siniora accused the Syrian regime of trying to intimidate Lebanese from supporting the court and said that the pursuit of justice entailed risks, including "instability in the country, planting bombs here..." ["author"]=> string(4) "TIME" ["comments"]=> string(62) "http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843193/posts#comment" ["pubDate"]=> string(28) "Fri, 1 Jun 2007 16:58:46 GMT" } }