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'What does Hollywood have against the British? Once again on Oscar night, Tinsel Town gave warmly to us with one hand — while cynically taking away with the other. The good news is that at least nine Britons will fly back across the Atlantic with coveted golden statues. But the bad news is that Argo — the movie that won Best Film — is yet another piece of Hollywood’s Brit-bashing junk history that casts us in a poor light.'

'When the world was first introduced to Wonky the puppy earlier this month, she cut a pitiful figure. The little Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross was given the unusual name because of severe problems with her malformed front legs, which failed to develop after she was separated from her mother. But now, after intense physiotherapy, the 12-week-old has quickly made a fantastic recovery. Where once she walked awkwardly on bent joints, she can now bound along normally, her tail wagging as she goes.'

International affairs can be complicated, but sometimes a case comes along that’s so simple it’s almost absurd. In 2010, the United Nations made a horrendous mistake that, so far, has claimed more than 8,000 lives. Its officials tried to cover it up. When the evidence came out anyway, lawyers for victims’ families petitioned the U.N. to end the crisis, pay damages, and apologize. For a year and a half, the world’s leading humanitarian organization said nothing. Then, last week, it threw out the case, saying, “The claims are not receivable.” The background should be well-known by now. But despite the...

CMT just issued a press release promoting “an evening full of laughs” featuring comedian Ron White. “The cigar-smoking, scotch-drinking White headlines the 90-minute special,” said CMT, “giving his thoughts on being banned from the popular dating site ChristianMingle,” among other hilarious topics. I find it interesting that CMT, which is owned by Viacom (which also owns MTV and VH1), would so prominently mention White’s riff on ChristianMingle. Especially in the wake of the recent arrest of a Del Mar, Calif. man charged with raping a woman he met on the online dating site. Police suspect that Sean Patrick Banks used...

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:47pm EST (Reuters) - The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama's new secretary of defense, ending an unusually acrimonious confirmation fight. The Senate voted 58-41 to confirm the former Republican senator as the civilian leader of the Pentagon in a largely party line vote. Just four Republicans joined the Democrats and independents in support of Hagel's nomination. The Senate had voted earlier on Tuesday to end debate and move forward, almost two weeks after Republicans launched a filibuster to block Hagel's nomination. It was the first time...

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Chuck Hagel won confirmation Tuesday to become defense secretary over objections to his views on Middle East security and the administration’s handling of an attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya. On a 58 to 41 vote, the Senate confirmed the former GOP senator as four Republicans joined 54 Democrats in approving Hagel, ending a nearly two-month battle that included an unprecedented filibuster against the nominee. The four Republican senators voting in favor were Thad Cochran (Miss.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Rand Paul (Ky.). All 41 no votes came from Republicans. The vote marked a foreign...

Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been transferred to Iran to receive medical treatment due to cancer, a Lebanese website associated with the opposition to Hizbullah reported on Monday, according to Israel’s Channel 2 News. According to the report on the Sawt Beirut International website, Nasrallah’s condition recently deteriorated and he was evacuated to Tehran by an airplane sent on behalf of the Islamic Republic and which took off from the Rafiq al-Hariri International Airport in Beirut. The report, however, has not been confirmed by any other source and its reliability is unclear. Channel 2 News reported that while similar reports...

On the order of the imam, a girl who was brutally raped was then punished for "adultery" and lashed to death. The whole devout community gets behind this savagery. Even the Muslim doctors lied to cover-up the real case of her death -- the sharia, the most brutal and heinous system of governance on the planet. And Texas schools are forcing our young girls to don sadistic Islamic garb. Un-effing-believable. Shocked CNN reported on this -- but of course the reporters, Farid Ahmed and Moni Basu, give no context or explain that this is Islamic law. Also, their headline in...

And its from Lutherans … who are more Catholic than readers of the National Schismatic Reporter! They are certainly much funnier.Funny Lutherans! Gotta get my head around that.But they sure nailed it. Choose Your Pope!

In her first speech as a Knesset member Tuesday, MK Orit Strook (Jewish Home) insisted that U.S. President Barack H. Obama be brought to Hevron when he visits Israel next month. Only then, Strook said, would Obama be able to appreciate what the Land of Israel means to the Jewish people. "It would be a good idea to take President Obama not just to Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, but also - actually, mainly - to the Machpelah Cave in Hevron," Strook said. "We would explain to him that the Land of Israel is not just a refuge for Holocaust...

If you think the Obama health law won't affect you because you have private insurance, keep reading. The Department of Health and Human Services announced final rules for private insurance last week. The federal government will have control over your care. Sec. 1311 of the law empowers the Secretary of Health and Human Services to dictate how doctors treat privately insured patients and what questions patients must be asked. Your doctor will enter your information into an electronic database; your doctor's decisions will be monitored for compliance with federal guidelines, and your doctor may have to choose between what is...

World powers will present Iran with an updated and "good" offer at talks this week on its nuclear program, an EU official said Monday, although hopes for a breakthrough appear slim, AFP reports. Talks aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear drive start Tuesday in Kazakhstan, with the so-called P5+1 represented by the European Union sitting down with an Iranian team led by negotiator Saeed Jalili. "We have prepared a good and updated offer for the talks, which we believe is balanced and a fair basis for constructive talks," said the spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, according to AFP....

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

As responsible citizens continue to buy all the defensive weapons that can be acquired, a new book on community defense has gone viral. Promoted in part by a "hasty" review by Matt Bracken, the noted author Castigo Cay and the Enemies, Foreign and Domestic trilogy, the books authors are hard pressed to keep up with demand. As a fan Matt Bracken's writing, I was looking forward to obtaining a copy of "A Failure of Civility". All I have received is this apologetic email, which I can well sympathize with: Thank you for your inquiry about “A Failure of Civility.” We’re...

Gov. Cuomo said yesterday that 169 of 192 residents of Staten Island’s storm devastated Oakwood Beach have taken him up on his offer to buy out their Sandy-ravaged homes. The people who live in the battered neighborhood have been enticed by a deal that will pay them 100 percent of their damaged home’s prestorm market value — plus 5 percent if the homeowners stay on Staten Island, Cuomo said. The feds will pick up 75 percent of the tab. “Let’s build back smarter than before, and let’s do it right,” Cuomo said during a visit Monday to the College of...

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-ive-become-more-humble_704715.html Obama: I've 'Become More Humble' 2:08 PM, Feb 26, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPER President Barack Obama admitted today in a Virginia speech that he's "become more humble": "But in order for us to make that happen I'm going to need you. You know, the one thing about being president is, after four years, you get pretty humble. You'd think maybe you wouldn't but actually you become more humble--you realize what you don't know," said Obama.

Supporters of same-sex marriage hope for a boost this week when dozens of high-profile Republicans, many no longer in office, submit their legal argument to the Supreme Court on why gays and lesbians should be allowed to wed, bucking their party's platform in a move that one who had a change of heart on the issue said would “strengthen our nation as a whole.” More than 80 Republicans have signed the brief to be filed in the case of Proposition 8, a California law banning same-sex marriage, according to the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is waging the legal...

Gov. Chris Christie will expand the state's Medicaid program to cover 300,000 uninsured New Jersey residents, The Star-Ledger learned today. The governor's new budget, which he plans to unveil at joint session of the Legislature this afternoon, also relies on state revenue growth of 4.9 percent and delays some property tax rebates for local taxpayers, according to three sources with knowledge of the budget plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The governor's revenue forecast this year is a much smaller jump than the optimistic 8 percent growth of last year, a goal he has not met. The sources...