Free Republic

“We are currently witnessing the collapse of state in Libya, and the country is getting closer to local wars for oil revenues,” said the Swiss-based group Petromatrix. The country’s oil ministry said production has slumped to an average of 300,000 barrels per day (b/d) in August, down by more than four-fifths from its peak after the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime two years ago. “Militia groups are behaving like terrorists, using control over oil as political leverage to extract concessions,” said Dr Elizabeth Stephens, head of political risk at insurers Jardine Lloyd Thompson. Port closures and strikes have compounded the...

Defence bosses have rapped a group of elite Israeli troops for joining in a wedding party in Hebron while on patrol in the city of Hebron. The troops from the Givati Brigade stumbled across the celebration in the Palestinian city in the southern West Bank and were recorded on a mobile phone joining in with a dance, Gangnam style. At one point a soldier, in full uniform and carrying his weapon, is lifted up onto the shoulders of a reveler as the crowd enthusiastically dances to the music. The footage was aired Wednesday on Israeli Channel 2 TV, according to...

The Commons was the scene of one of the greatest foreign policy upsets in living memory today, after MPs voted against the government motion on military intervention in Syria. The vote, which was lost by 272 to 285, brings to a close any hope of Britain participating in any military action against the regime of president Bashar al-Assad but it also serves to dramatically weaken the prime minister in the eyes of parliament and his party. Amid shouts of 'resign' in the Commons chamber, Cameron said: "The British parliament does not want to see military action. I get that and...

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The Obama administration has posted materials online aimed at promoting the new health-care law in schools. The materials, offered at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Health Insurance Marketplace website include a resource card directing students to online materials about the Health Insurance Marketplace, as well as “What it means” fact sheets about the Affordable Care Act for school communities, students and parents and teachers, and a document on ways to promote the new health-care options in schools. Each of the fact sheets, which appear under the “Affordable Care Act series from the Department of Education” category, offer...

The U.S. now appears like it will act unilaterally to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad for reportedly using chemical weapons on its own population — even though President Barack Obama said last year that taking unilateral action in Syria would be a “mistake.” Obama was elected president in 2008 promising a new era of multilateralism and cooperation with the world. Just last year he said “unilateral” action in Syria would be “a mistake.” “For us to take military action unilaterally, as some have suggested, or to think that somehow that there is some simple solution, I think is a...

... It’s impossible for our elected representatives to “represent” us properly if they are living a life that’s insulated from many of the onerous laws or regulations they inflict on the rest of us — or, more generally, if they’re a special “protected class.” Perhaps the apotheosis of this deplorable trend is the fact that, in 20 states, private lobbyists get public pensions. That’s right — through their taxes, citizens of those states are getting the dubious privilege of subsidizing the retirements of employees of private lobbying firms. It’s time to stop this disgraceful boondoggle, along with all the other...

A group of 66 foreign policy “experts” signed a letter on Tuesday urging President Obama to conduct unrestricted military strikes against the Syrian government after last week’s deadly gas attack on civilians. “Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has once again violated your red line, using chemical weapons to kill as many as 1,400 people in the suburbs of Damascus,” the letter begins. “We urge you to respond decisively by imposing meaningful consequences on the Assad regime,” it continues, advocating for the use of “standoff weapons and airpower” against the forces responsible for deploying chemical weapons. The experts also express support for...

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration laid the groundwork for unilateral military action in Syria, a shift officials said reflected the U.K.'s abrupt decision not to participate and concerns that President Bashar al-Assad was using the delayed Western response to disperse his military assets. The push for a quick international strike to punish Syria for what the U.S. said was a chemical-weapons attack appeared in disarray on Thursday, after British lawmakers defeated a government motion in support of military action.

So like King, I too have a dream: I have a dream that female celebrities will one day feel that they don't need to imitate porn actors on magazine covers and in their stage acts. I have a dream that the predominantly white music world will stop reducing black music to grills and bitches and twerking. And I have a dream that stupid songs about seducing "good girls" will be laughed at instead of sent to No 1. And most of all, I dream that I never, ever have to see Miley Cyrus gyrating against Robin Thicke's crotch again. We...

It sure sounds scary. "Military weapons" being reimported back into the United States. Or people getting guns without background checks. But the reception being given President Obama's two new executive orders on guns largely relies on ignorance of how the current rules work. The president's executive order banning the reimportation of "military weapons" really only affects old M-1 Garand 30-06 rifles. These rifles have been used in the Civilian Marksmanship Program program and are mainly purchased by collectors. At one time they were "military weapons," but they were used in World War II and the Korean War. No other US-made...

WASHINGTON, August 29 (RIA Novosti) – An urgent meeting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – reportedly called by Russia – ended in less than an hour on Thursday without any indication of progress or agreement on the crisis in Syria following last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack, US media reported. It was the second time in two days that the five permanent Security Council members – the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China – came out of a meeting with no apparent progress. Russia, which on Wednesday blocked a British resolution seeking the...

BRUSSELS, August 30 (Itar-Tass) - More than 10 NATO countries have "most definitely" refused any forms of involvement in a U S contemplated operation against Syria, an informed source here told Itar-Tass.

WASHINGTON – It turns out a bit of mind control might be possible after all. Scientists had already shown that a human could send an electronic brain signal to a rat, prompting it to wiggle its tail. Now two University of Washington researchers say they have demonstrated that one man’s thoughts can control another man’s movements. First, they placed electronic probes against their heads. Then one man looked at a computer game on a screen and thought about what move he wanted to make. Sure enough, the other man, who was across campus with no view of the screen, almost...

Charlottesville police say two men picked the wrong students to rob at gunpoint. The robbery suspects are behind bars, badly beaten by their victims. Both suspects have severe injuries to their faces, but the victims - we're told - are doing just fine. The pair who allegedly attempted an armed robbery had the tables turned on them Tuesday night, becoming victims themselves, so to speak.

The Obama administration’s plan to launch a military strike against Syria is being received with serious reservations by many in the U.S. military, which is coping with the scars of two lengthy wars and a rapidly contracting budget, according to current and former officers. Click here for full article ======================================================================================== Obama "Coalition" collapses; Bush blamed Wow! Obama sure knows how to use the element of surprise, doesn't he? Days and days of leaks, from 'well-placed sources,' 'not authorized to speak,' giving out details about the likely targets and approximate timing of when Obama will launch his war to keep America's...

I am seriously thinking of having the following custom bumper sticker made. What kind of trouble does anyone think I can get into just by displaying this on my car?: Sic semper tyrannis I know little to no Latin, and so I can credibly plead ignorance to its meaning. The phrase mentions no one by name. Pretty nebulous, by any standard. So, what say you? Am I asking for trouble? I would give my life to be used as the effective impetus of the Revolution, but how bad could this be for me? BTW, it will be VERY LARGE LETTERS....

The containers (like those pictured) are usually painted olive drab and are unmarked except for indistinguishable numbers/letters probably for inventory, routing, etc. Reader Don sent this in recently: Jim – I passed a convoy of olive drab unmarked 40 foot tractor trailers each with four 10 yard ammo bunker boxes chained to them and unmarked armored Hum-Vee’s heading north on I-95 in Brevard County, Florida this past Thursday morning. The “govt” is positioning these ammo storage boxes, I have been told, in strategic places in population centers around the country. They are usually painted olive drab and are unmarked except...

Earlier, the man who tipped Brunswick police to 18-year-old De’Marquise “Marky” Elkins and co-defendant Dominique Lang, 15, as suspects, testified that his conscience led him to act, not the reward. “I didn’t do this for the reward money. Can I say this? Whoever had the guns to shoot a baby... I’m doing this for my conscience,” Argie Brooks said. ...A psychology professor from Georgia State University testified about how witnesses are often mistaken while identifying attackers because of stress and police suggestions. “When you go to retrieve that memory, it’s been updated and influenced by all these things,” said Dr....

Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” describes two neighbors who meet every spring to walk the fence dividing their properties. After a hard winter, damage has to be assessed and repaired. Perhaps, after Miley Cyrus’ controversial and crass performance at the VMA awards, it is time to assess today’s culture and seriously consider how to repair the damage to the nation’s girls and women. The objectification and exploitation of women — as seen in all its crudity in Cyrus’s performance — is a wake-up call for us all. Is that what women really want? Is that what any of us really...