Free Republic

<p>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An Oklahoma City-based energy company has unveiled a new formation in south-central Oklahoma that the company's CEO said will elevate the state as an oil producer.</p> <p>Continental Resources Inc. said western Oklahoma's Springer Shale deposit is in the heart of the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, Continental's last big discovery, The Oklahoman reported (http://bit.ly/1qk32sd).</p>

Dr. George Risi had to pass a dozen armed checkpoints to leave Sierra Leone – four of which ordered him out of the car so a guard could take his temperature. The Missoula infectious disease specialist is still checking his thermometer twice daily since his return from 20 days of volunteer work in an Ebola virus ward. He and fellow Missoulian intensive care nursing director Kate Hurley cared for up to 95 patients, from babies to grandparents, suffering from the often-fatal disease. ... While untreated Ebola tends to be 70 percent fatal, Risi said about half of the patients in...

"You'll never meet anyone who says, 'I want to be a millionaire. I think I'll start a winery,'" owner Bill Smyth tells me from his small office over the tasting room of Westover Vineyards, nestled in Palomares Canyon. Smyth has worked in a number of fields. He made some money. He bought the vineyard property when he was young. His ex-wife bought him a kit to make wine, and his labor of love turned into a small business. Now, thanks to heavy-handed California regulators, he's selling off his ports and boutique wines and turning his winery back into a home....

A robber near El Reno, Oklahoma, targeted the wrong home to attack. Instead of weakly cowering like an impotent Mom’s Demand Attention supporters, Cathy Kouba took action, flanked the surprised burglar by looping around the house, and then unloaded on him: Cathy Kouba’s home security system alarm jolted her awake Thursday night. She said she realized someone was trying to kick in her back door. “I have a daughter that’s handicapped and she was asleep on the bottom floor,” Kouba said. “And so for the fear of her being hurt, motherly instincts kick in and, you know, I worked hard...

This educational app offers the Mass from a different point of view. It's called "Mass Explained” and it is the perfect way to understand and learn more about the meaning of the actions, words, signs and rites of the Mass. It explains the Roman Rite, the Mass the majority of Catholics are familiar with. Additionally, it explores each section of the liturgy with prayers and unique gestures.  The app is interactive and includes 3D videos and panoramic photos. It also contains biblical references, quotes from the Fathers of the Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and encyclicals.  "Mass Explained” is...

New Zealand’s ruling National party stormed to a third term in government in the country’s general election on Saturday with the center-right party securing an outright election night majority on a platform to continue tight economic policies. Prime Minister John Key’s party won 48.1 percent of the vote, translating into 61 of 121 parliamentary seats and improving its performance from the 2011 vote. “I think people saw the country was on the right direction and they rewarded us,” Key told reporters as he headed to a victory rally. “What you saw was people saying they were going to vote for...

Iran is ready to work with the United States and its allies to stop Islamic State militants, but would like to see more flexibility on Iran’s uranium enrichment program, senior Iranian officials told Reuters. […] Iran has sent mixed signals about its willingness to cooperate on defeating Islamic State (IS), a hardline Sunni Islamist group that has seized large swaths of territory across Syria and Iraq and is blamed for a wave of sectarian violence, beheadings and massacres of civilians. […] […] In public, both Washington and Tehran have ruled out cooperating militarily in tackling the IS threat. But in...

China Fines GlaxoSmithKline Nearly $500 Million in Bribery Case By KEITH BRADSHER and CHRIS BUCKLEY SEPT. 19, 2014 HONG KONG — Global multinationals have invested billions of dollars in China over the last decade, with the prospect of selling to 1.4 billion people. But the promise of China’s growth is increasingly offset by the dangers of being caught up in the country’s anticorruption campaigns and rising economic nationalism. In the strongest signal yet, a Chinese court on Friday imposed a fine of nearly $500 million on the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline for bribery, dwarfing the penalties in earlier criminal cases

It might seem like I'm picking on Australia but I'm not. Some of the new laws sound fine, like self defence or saving others. Laws I assumed every country already had. My problem is how some of the laws could be abused.

Conservative activists who planned to protest against illegal immigration and President Obama’s immigration policies on Saturday said they had canceled all events after receiving death threats from Mexican drug cartels. Activists had planned to use vehicles as barricades to shut down border crossings at 17 locations in four states—Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. But the event, called Shut Down All Ports of Entry, was canceled early on Saturday morning by organizer Stasyi Barth, who said she had received the threats. In August, a similar protest was canceled after organizers claimed they had been threatened by Mexican drug cartels. The...

Since military operations began in Afghanistan in late 2001, few movies have focused predominantly on the sacrifices that military families make each and every day. Even fewer of them— and I can’t think of one offhand— focus on female soldiers who are torn between their important work overseas and their responsibilities to their own families at home. Fort Bliss is a film that does just that. Michelle Monaghan, who stars as the main character and previously co-starred on the successful HBO drama True Detective, recently visited D.C. to talk about her performance in the film and how the role opened...

As proof of their bravery, rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are suspected of sabotaging a batch of measles vaccinations, leading to the deaths of up to 50 young children. If true, it's a new low in an especially discouraging chapter of modern history.LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Dozens of infants in the rebel-held cities of Jarjanaz and Sinjar in Idlib province fell ill and died after being given the drugs. The causes of death has not yet been established. Officials reportedly suspect the vaccines may have been tampered with while left unguarded in a storage facility in...

MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) – Belgian authorities have detained two people, who planned a terrorist attack in European Commission Headquarters in Brussels, Agence France-Presse has reported citing the local media. According to Belgian daily L'Echo, the country’s authorities have been conducting a number of preventive operations in recent months against the extremism in the region and have arrested several people suspected of links with jihadists. A source told L'Echo that about 400 Belgian citizens are involved in the Syrian conflict fighting on the side of the extremists, and approximately 90 people have returned home. The Dutch NOS Media Company...

<p>"Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a massive compound dating back to the Byzantine era, which was used for “industrial-scale” production of wine and olive oil.</p> <p>The site at Ramat Bet Shemesh about 19 miles west of Jerusalem contains an oil press, wine press and colorful mosaics, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.</p>

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Thanks to Islam, "beheading" has been re-introduced into our daily discussions. Indeed, Islam has made vogue several murderous and torturous terms that, heretofore, have never been a part of our vernacular; or definitely not used in many, many moons. So what, pray tell, do I speak of? Well, it’s crap like: crucifixions, female genital mutilation, goat rape, Sharia Law, child slavery, burkas and, as said, the beheading of us bacon eaters. Ah, Islam … always elevating the human experience, eh? Yes, I said it: It’s Islam’s fault that we have to even mention the aforementioned and watch that smack roll...

Detective Bryan Yant was the face of incompetence at the Metropolitan Police Department: a poster child for wrongful shooting deaths and million-dollar payouts, a driving force behind sweeping reforms to the agency’s deadly force policies. In other cities, an officer who kills an unarmed man under suspicious circumstances and is accused of lying to cover his tracks might be prosecuted. In Las Vegas, Yant kept his job. And he’s taken on a role that will make him more influential at Metro. The officer, in­famous for the 2010 killing of Trevon Cole, a small-time marijuana dealer, is doling out advice in...

1 2

I know a lot of people are giddy at the prospect of Republicans taking the Senate this November, but that’s becoming less and less likely. It’s not because Democrats are rallying around a particular mission or set of candidates; it’s because Republicans and conservatives aren’t. It seems like I’m always writing on issues no one wants to hear are mistakes, such as messaging or social issues. But I don’t care. These things have to be said. If these columns are received like a gaseous cousin on a long car trip through the desert, so be it. Crack a window… If...

Survivors of German victims of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 downed over Ukraine plan to sue the country and its president for manslaughter by negligence in 298 cases, the lawyer representing them said on Sunday. Professor of aviation law Elmar Giemulla, who is representing three families of German victims, said that under international law Ukraine should have closed its air space if it could not guarantee the safety of flights.