Free Republic

St. John's and the other Catholic schools are looking to dump the Big East and go out on their own. The last remnants of the Big East are on the verge of disappearing. The seven non-Football Bowl Subdivision Catholic universities in the conference, tired of waiting for a new TV contract and worn out by the fact they keep watching other all sports members bolt to other conferences in realignment, held a teleconference with commissioner Mike Aresco Thursday, presumably to tell him they are leaning toward leaving to form their own league in basketball and other non-revenue sports. High...

On Thursday I asked that President Obama no longer consider me for the job of secretary of state. I made this decision because it is the right step for this country I love. I have never shied away from a fight for a cause I believe in. But, as it became clear that my potential nomination would spark an enduring partisan battle, I concluded that it would be wrong to allow this debate to continue distracting from urgent national priorities — creating jobs, growing our economy, addressing our deficit, reforming our immigration system and protecting our national security. These are...

It appears the answer to the question "where did all the Newsweek readers go?" has been definitively answered with the results of a new Time reader's poll. The magazine's almost 1000 readers voted North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un as their pick for "Person of the Year." When questioned why anyone smart enough to read would possibly pick the corpulent little commie for this honor, a Time editor replied, "The feedback we got was everyone really liked his "Gangnam Style" video, and frankly so did we. He rocks."

Classified Woman - The Sibel Edmonds Story: A Memoir Sibel Edmonds, 2012 U.S. government translator — and whistleblower — Sibel Edmonds found evidence of corruption at the highest levels of government--and suffered for it. Sibel Edmonds' "Classified Woman" The New American 12 December 2012 Imagine that you have a Top Secret clearance and are privy to some of our country's most sensitive national security information. In that capacity, you discover that some of the highest elected and appointed political leaders in the land are engaged in espionage and treason, accepting bribes and selling weapons and information (including nuclear weapons...

By the blacklisting Tuesday, the Jabhat al-Nusra group fighting in Syrian rebel ranks as “a foreign terrorist organization” and affiliate of al Qaeda in Iraq, Washington faces four quandaries: 1. The 10,000 fighters of this al Qaeda affiliate are the best-trained and most professional component of the Syrian rebel front;. 2. Jabhat al-Nusra fields 3,000 fighters out of the mostly Free Syrian Army’s 14,000 rebels fighting in and around Aleppo. They also constitute the assault force’s spearhead. 3. The Islamists are at the sharp front edge of the rebel force battling for control of the Syrian army’s biggest chemical weapons...

A Russian official has said for the first time that the Syrian government may be defeated by opposition forces. President Bashar al-Assad's forces are "losing more and more control and territory", deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said. He said Russia, one of Syria's staunchest allies, was making plans for a possible evacuation of thousands of its citizens. Separately, Syria denied reports it had fired Scud missiles at rebels. Nato's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen earlier said the organisation had detected the launch of such short-range missiles, saying it showed an "utter disregard" for the lives of the Syrian people. 'Unacceptable...

Fracking, the controversial method of extracting shale gas or other petroleum from deep below the earth's surface, might be possible in the Connecticut River Valley, geologists say. But the rock deposits likely to bear gas are thin here and difficult to access, making commercial exploitation of the resource unlikely in the near future. “It's not hard to hit,” said James L. Coleman Jr., a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “It's hard to do anything with once you get it.” Coleman was one of the speakers Thursday at a day-long conference on the future of shale gas, hydraulic fracturing...

<p>The spokesman of one of the organizations leading this fight told MSNBC’s Martin Bashir today that they’re feeling confident of a House Speaker TBD come 2013. When asked if they can get the 16 votes they say are needed to depose John Boehner as Speaker, American Majority Action’s Ron Meyer, Jr, said, “Yes, we can get that number.”</p>

The annual Geminids meteor shower will reach its peak late on Thursday night and into early Friday morning. The meteors will appear to radiate from a point near the star Castor, in the constellation Gemini. In the Northern hemisphere, that will be westward and nearly overhead in the early hours of Friday. Sky watchers can expect an average of dozens of "shooting stars" per hour, made easier to see by darkness provided by the "new moon" phase. The shower comes about each year as the Earth passes through the path of an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

NYU student Josh Begley is tweeting every reported U.S. drone strike since 2002, and the feed highlights a disturbing tactic employed by the U.S. that is widely considered a war crime. Known as the "double tap," the tactic involves bombing a target multiple times in relatively quick succession, meaning that the second strike often hits first responders. A 2007 report by the Homeland Security Institute called double taps a "favorite tactic of Hamas" and the FBI considers it a tactic employed by terrorists

Last draw of the round robin at the 2012 European Curling Championships. Some of the hottest curling (and curlers) you'll ever see. ....oh yeah, great curling too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r7i-lIBpfM

December 13, 2012 Big Labor Bosses Make Way More than Michigan Workers By Jillian Kay Melchior It pays big to be a union boss. That’s something to remember as Big Labor leaders decry Michigan’s new right-to-work law. After all, those union dues are supporting their rock-and-roll lifestyles.About 45 different unions operate in Michigan — and 33 of those unions’ presidents make enough yearly to be considered millionaires by Obama’s definition.The latest numbers from the Office of Labor Management Standards show that when General President Michael Sullivan retired from the Sheet Metal Workers Association last year, he was drawing $1,043,023 in...

NEW YORK (AP) - Santa has kicked the habit in time for Christmas. No, not the sugar plum habit, or his fur-wearing habit, or his penchant for romping recklessly around open flame. No, gentlepeople, this is the year the man in red gave up pipe tobacco, at least in a new book version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" that has received attention from some lofty corners, including the American Library Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A longtime substitute teacher in Phillipsburg, NJ, faces a 90-day suspension after he was accused of sharing a Bible verse with a student – and then giving the child a Bible. The Phillipsburg School Board said Walter Tutka broke two policies – distributing religious literature on school grounds and another policy that directs teachers to be neutral when discussing religious material. The controversy has generated outrage among the region’s religious community – with many claiming that Tutka is being “persecuted” for simply being a Christian. The electrical company retiree is a well-respected member of the community. “Just remember, son,” Tutka...

The argument from those stuffing this thing like a Christmas goose is that we should pay no attention to the fact that they’re up to their elbows because the suffering of those in the wake of Superstorm Sandy is far too great to expend time or energy on passing a clean bill—WHY DO YOU HATE STORM VICTIMS?! It’s hard to think of another situation in which spending far more than one should on things that have nothing to do with helping people in the course of allegedly helping people is considered compassionate while questioning such spending is considered stone-hearted. How’d...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Canada is refusing to sign a United Nations telecommunications treaty over fears it would give governments control over the internet. Canada is part of a Western bloc, including the U.S., Britain, and several European nations, that is snubbing the new treaty which was expected to be signed Friday at the end of ten days of hard negotiations at the World Conference on International Telecommunications. A rival group — including China, Russia, Gulf Arab states, African nations and others — favoured UN backing for stronger government sway over Internet affairs and claimed the Western dominance of...

A multidisciplinary project seeks to understand the Eastern Baltic Crusades through the lens of ecology. Horses, for example, aided the Christians in battle, while the castles the Crusaders built decimated forests. Stanford researchers have discovered that pagan villages plundered by medieval knights during the little-known Baltic Crusades had some problems in common with the modern-day global village. Among them: deforestation, asymmetric warfare and species extinction. According to a research paper published in Science, a project investigating the Baltic Crusades' profound environmental legacy could yield valuable insight into colonialism, cultural changes and ecological exploitation – relevant issues not only throughout history,...

~Favorite Food and Drinks Songs ~ Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis - That's Amore Words and Music by Harry Warren and Jack Brooks (In Napoli where love is King, when boy meets girl, here's what they say) When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pieThat's amoreWhen the world seems to shine like you've had too much wineThat's amore Bells'll ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-lingAnd you'll sing "Vita bella"Hearts'll play tippi-tippi-tay, tippi-tippi-tayLike a gay tarantella When the stars make you drool joost-a like pasta fazoolThat's amoreWhen you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet, you're in...

The House's most conservative members vowed to vote against any deal that raises taxes, openly challenging the speaker's authority. Rep. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, defeated in a House race decided last week, blamed the speaker for creating the perilous fiscal position the nation finds itself in. A senior Democrat suggested that Boehner was dragging his feet on deficit talks to avoid striking a deal before January, when the House formally chooses its next speaker. "The biggest impediment right now is the speaker's ability to get a decent number of Republican votes for an agreement," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of...