Free Republic

Susan Boyle's new album cover features the global superstar as you have seen her before--down-to-earth and natural..

Ron DiFrancesco was at his desk at Euro Brokers…on the 84th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center…when the plane struck the North Tower...It was 8:46 am on September 11, 2001… A few minutes later...the second plane struck… DiFrancesco is normally unflappable. He is a broker in a high-stakes business that demands steel nerves. But he is also slightly claustrophobic, and with the intensifying smoke, he began to panic…Then, something remarkable happened: “Someone told me to get up.” Someone, he says, “called me.” The voice, which was male but did not belong to anyone in the stairwell,...

Note: Below image is the Archangel Gabriel, not one of the newly uncovered images.Official: Long-lost mosaic seraphim uncovered at Istanbul’s Haghia SophiaSUZAN FRASER, Star Tribune ANKARA, Turkey – Restoration workers have uncovered a well-preserved, long-hidden mosaic face of an angel at the former Byzantine cathedral of Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, an official said Friday.The seraphim figure — one of two located on the side of a dome — had been covered up along with the building’s other Christian mosaics shortly after Constantinople — the former name for Istanbul — fell to the Ottomans in 1453 and the cathedral was...

You Tube's Local Pstor is back at it. His newest clip had me laughing out loud at the song choice... Thanks to Morningstar madness we will soon see Todd and his new, young wife on a platform near you. ...

~Favorite Angel Song~ Amy Grant - Angels 1984 "Take this man to prison," the man heard Herod say,And then four squads of soldiers came and carried him away.Chained up between two watchmen, Peter tried to sleep,But beyond the walls an endless prayer was lifting for his keep.Then a light cut through the darkness of a lonely prison cell,And the chains that bound the man of God just opened up and fell,And running to his people before the break of day,There was only one thing on his mind, only one thing to say: Angels watching over me, every move I...

I guess I heard about this before, but I just read that voting reopened. Go to the linked site for more information, and you can vote if you want to. With all deference to all of the wonders of South America, is there anything that can beat this: An even more spectacular shot is at the site below; can't use a shared link. Find Angel Falls and click to see the big pic. Waterfalls of the World One more:

(10-12) 23:25 PDT Angel Island -- A fast-moving brush fire atop Angel Island shot flames high in to the air and glowed so brightly Sunday night that it could be seen for miles around the San Francisco Bay by residents in several counties. "We are seeing a silhouette of the island in flames," said Jacqueline McCrath, who was watching the fire from Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. "It's been spreading really fast -- we saw a vigorous blaze at the top of the hill at first, and now it has spread across a lot of the island. It appeared very...

Holy Michael the Archangel statue in Kiev, courtesy of The Roving Medievalist blog (The following is excerpted from Dom Prosper Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for May 8, The Apparition of Saint Michael, in Volume VIII of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.) "The very name of Michael urges us to honour this glorious spirit; it is a cry of enthusiasm and fidelity, for it signifies: 'Who is like unto God?' Satan trembles at hearing this name, for it reminds him of the noble protest wherewith the bright Archangel answered the...

Girl inspired soldiers in Kosovo while she fought brain tumor ALCOA - After battling a brain tumor and starting a support group for Army National Guard soldiers overseas, 8-year-old Hannah Lawson was able to meet soldiers whom she's inspired through her strength, resilience and bravery at the air base in Alcoa on Saturday. Hannah was surrounded by her family and friends as they awaited the arrival of Black Hawk pilot David Creech and the Southern Comfort medical helicopter unit that recently returned home to East Tennessee from their station in Kosovo. A crowd of about 100 people gathered in support...

RIVER FOREST, Ill. — The wife of radio legend Paul Harvey, Lynne Cooper Harvey died at her Illinois home Saturday morning after a year-long battle with leukemia, according to a statement from Harvey's office. The woman he called "Angel" was 92. Lynne developed and edited her husband's best-known feature "The Rest of the Story." A director, writer and editor, and the producer of her husband's radio program, she was the first producer ever inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Among her brainchilds were including news features within hard-news broadcasts, and the humorous "kicker," which became a Paul Harvey trademark....

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A single laptop can reveal much, and so it is with the digital treasure chest that Colombian commandos found in the jungle quarters of slain rebel leader Raul Reyes. Files in the computer seized in Saturday's raid into Ecuador that claimed the lives of Reyes and 23 of his comrades offer an intimate portrait of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's desire to undermine Colombia's U.S.-allied government. If authentic, the documents show that sympathies Chavez first aired publicly in January grew out of a relationship that dates back more than a decade. But Chavez is not one of...

Is the U.S. Failing in Afghanistan? It was malice in wonderland at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday as Bush Administration envoys insisted things are getting better in Afghanistan, while angry lawmakers from both parties cited facts and figures showing just the opposite. Even the senior Republican on the panel, Senator Richard Lugar, found the Administration's claims wanting. "I'm not sure that we have a plan for Afghanistan," he said. Long seen as the "forgotten war" eclipsed by Iraq in U.S. priorities, Afghanistan is in the Washington spotlight this week with the release of three independent reports concluding...

Terrorism: Did Hugo Chavez hand terrorists access to Venezuela's huge state oil earnings? A FARC computer captured by Colombian forces shows just that — and it amounts to state support of terror.Colombian officials on Tuesday reported yet another hideous finding from the laptop computer of dead FARC terrorist Raul Reyes, who was blown away in a Colombian military raid last Saturday. Turns out the FARC had a friend called "Angel" who was none other than Chavez, the oil-rich Venezuelan dictator whose ties to the FARC go back at least 15 years. The new revelations showed that he was using state...

As I sat on the bus watching the end of the train platform I noticed a couple of things. One…Lloyd was there with Angel in his arms(as always)…many multicolored balloons attached to her body (it was Angel’s Birthday…one of many throughout the year). …and he was standing on the end of the platform alone. All of the other people had fled to the other end….somewhat frightened by Lloyd…his face twisted into a perpetual scowl with all of the burn and scar tissue (and a result of the medication to prevent the seizures)…forever holding in his arms…. a toy 2 foot...

Byzantine chant of the marching angelic hosts - Basileus Choir - Jassy - Romania Click link to hear: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2kyX5jTD3JM

LOS ANGELES -- Just a few years ago, the idea of bankrolling starry-eyed ventures to fly ordinary people into space was laughed off as science fiction. Now some investors are betting on space tourism as the next big thing. The infant industry got a boost in June when a Boston-area investment group backed a private rocket company developing a spaceship that will take off and land like an airplane. The deal between Boston Harbor Angels and XCOR Aerospace, believed to be the first investment by a group of angel investors in a commercial launch company, raised hopes that others will...

The Vatican picture with the ‘angel’ clearly visible FORMER policeman Andy Key has his very own guardian angel. He also has the photograph to prove it. During a visit to the Vatican City he snapped some pictures as the Pope spoke to the crowds. It was only when he returned home to March and processed the pictures on his laptop that he saw what looked like an angel in one of them. "I just snapped away because it was heaving with people," he said. "I didn't see anything but when I looked at the picture it looks just like...

A retired Air Force officer who now spends his days authoring books on Christianity has posted an online collection of recordings he believes captures voices and music of God's angels in heaven. Angelic statue in Lommel, Belgium (photo: Jan Schiphorst, used with permission) "I have four specific recordings of angels singing in church settings," Jim Bramlett of Lake Mary, Fla., told WND. "It happened supernaturally. There's no other explanation. It's either from God or from the devil, and I don't think the devil is in the business of worshipping Jesus. That is not in his job description." Bramlett, 76, collected...

The Archangel Raphael by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. We shall concentrate on this meditation on one book of the Old Testament, the book of Tobias, also called the Book of Tobit. Unfortunately as we know, this book is missing in both the Jewish and the Protestant Old Testaments. Jews, after Christianity was established, dropped this book because it was not originally written in Hebrew. And the Protestants dropped the same book saying, “Who better than the Jews know what belongs in the Old Testament.” It is however, one of the inspired writings of the Catholic Church. We will take...

At the Beginning of Time, God Created the Angels as Individual, Immortal Spirits with Intelligence and Free Will by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Before we say anything else, I think we should ask ourselves: Why have twelve teleconferences on the angels and demons? This is no idle question because for many people angels and demons are figments of a pious or frightened imagination. In the Anglo-Saxon world, we are so preoccupied with the material world that surrounds us, that we have practically come to identify reality with matter. A standard dictionary definition tells the readers that “matter” is “to...

'He gave me life twice' Eric MansfieldPOSTED: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 10:46:22 PMUPDATED: Thursday, November 09, 2006 11:52:50 AMAndy Holcomb shares his near-death experience in hopes of helping others with the problems they face in life. AKRON -- His body broken and battered, Andy Holcomb's spirit has never been more alive. The Akron man was nearly killed in early 2005 when an industrial accident claimed the entire lower half of his body. Doctors believe Holcomb should have died that day, but he survived as a medical miracle. For the first time, Holcomb is talking publicly about the journey he said...

The Three Flames of Divine LoveEvery year on the 29th of September the Church commemorates the three angels whose names have been revealed to us in Scripture for our consolation: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There is a fourth angel whose name is also revealed, Lucifer, but for a different reason: to warn us clearly about all his works and empty promises. When God unmasks the identity of angelic beings in the public revelation of the Church it is because He wants us to know something about them that will assist us on the road to Heaven—or give us sufficient warning....

Is the Guardian Angel Less Intelligent than the Demon? by Plinio Corrêa de OliveiraThe Church teaches that God created angels vastly superior to man. Pure spirits possessing a most lucid intelligence and great power, they surpass by nature even the most gifted of men. As a consequence of their revolt, the fallen angels lost their virtue, but not their intelligence or power. In accord with His Divine Providence, God restrains their activity. However, they remain far superior to man, by nature. Accordingly, the Church always approved artists’ depictions of the demon as an intelligent, shrewd, astute and powerful being, although...

‘Strong Angel III’ Tests Military-Civil Disaster Response By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service SAN DIEGO, Aug. 25, 2006 – More than 600 military members, Defense Department employees and contractors, first responders, nongovernmental organization representatives and technologists are here this week exploring better ways to coordinate their disaster response. Members of the Disaster Relief and Strategic Telecommunications Infrastructure Co. demonstrate their satellite equipment during Strong Angel III in San Diego, Aug. 24. Strong Angel, hosted by San Diego State University, is a disaster response demonstration and exercise involving various nongovernmental and commercial organizations as well as the U.S. armed forces....

16th of June DEFEATING DEPRESSION PART 1 “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad” Proverbs 12:25 Depression- from Webster’s New Unabridged Dictionary Low spirits, gloominess, dejection, sadness, a decrease in force, or activity, or amount, a decrease in functional activity. An emotional condition either normal or pathological characterized by discouragement, a feeling of inadequacy, the act of humbling abasement as a depression of pride. Abasement, reduction, sinking, fall, humiliation, dejection, melancholy. Major Depression Facts Major depression is the No.1 psychological disorder in the western world.(1) It is growing in all age groups,...

Fidel Castro Meets the Angel of History by James Lileks Scene: A secret Havana military hospital. A frail, old man snaps awake and stares. There's a stranger seated next to the bed, a long, unlit cigar in one hand. The stranger leans back and smiles. "Don't be alarmed," he says. "It's just me, the Angel of History. I like to have a chat with men of your stature at times like this. Good run, old chap; dying in bed. Well played! A little advice? Pretend to die just as you're telling them the secret Swiss bank account numbers. Drives...

According to Dr. Peter Kreeft. They really exist. Not just in our minds, or our myths, or our symbols, or our culture. They are as real as your dog, or your sister, or electricity. They’re present, right here, right now, right next to you, reading these words with you. They’re not cute, cuddly, comfortable, chummy, or “cool”. They are fearsome and formidable. They are huge. They are warriors. They are the real “extra-terrestrials”, the real “Super-men”, the ultimate aliens. Their powers are far beyond those of all fictional creatures. They are more brilliant minds than Einstein. They can literally move...

I apologize up front if this isn't in the right area. Yesterday, on the 4th of July, my dog Jesse suffered a brain aneurysm. She is in very bad shape right now. We just came home from the doctors office, and arrangements have been made for the doctor to come to our home at 6:00 pm tonight, to return her to her Heavenly Father. My hands are literally shaking as I'm typing this. To say I'm in extreme shock would be a total understatement. I have been through absolute hell this past year ~ I've lost my job due to...

Philippines jurist was noted for consulting 3 imaginary dwarfs about cases... A Philippine judge who claimed he could see into the future and admitted consulting imaginary mystic dwarfs has asked for his job back after being sacked by the country’s Supreme Court. “They should not have dismissed me for what I believed,” ... He told investigators that three mystic dwarfs -- Armand, Luis and Angel -- helped him carry out healing sessions during breaks in his chambers.

Ok guys, this is my first post so please forgive any mistakes I make. I am wondering if any FR's could possibly recommend an Angel investor group or VC that is geared towards non-tech enterprises (still eCommerce, but not software development). Does anyone have experience in securing funding?

Article Last Updated: 12/19/2005 08:18 AM a denver post special report Letting go: Dylan's last days Two parents face an agonizing test of faith and love for their son By Kevin Simpson Denver Post Staff Writer DenverPost.com Dave Walborn lifted his son upright, all 32 pounds of him, slipped one hand behind his lolling head and gazed into the open but vacant blue eyes. He spoke out loud the words that would move him and the boy's mother, Kerri Bruning, one step closer to an excruciating decision. "Dylan, it's OK if you want to go," he said. "I don't want...

December 8, 2005Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Psalm: Thursday 52 Reading IGn 3:9-15, 20 After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”He answered, “I heard you in the garden;but I was afraid, because I was naked,so I hid myself.”Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?You have eaten, then,from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”The...

Schreiner Believes He's Blessed GROVE CITY, Ohio -- A Grove City man's injury has revealed something he never expected -- an "inner angel" he never knew he had, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported. Sean Schreiner underwent a magnetic resonance imaging of his right shoulder last month after injuring his rotator cuff while playing softball. When he saw the results, Schreiner said the image of an angel jumped right out at him. "To me, it looked like an angel," Schreiner said. "A lot of people are going to say, 'Yeah, it's just a coincidence.' But if you take a good look...

Many of us Sci-Fi fans have been waiting on this one. Universal bumped the release date to September due to "The Interpreter" being released this past weekend. But the trailer is now online and may be shown with "Hitchhikers Guide" this Friday. Enjoy!

Reality-show guru Mark Burnett wants to go into business with his babe. Burnett, whose longtime girlfriend is "Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey, is developing a new reality series loosely inspired by the long-running feel-good drama. He is even considering Downey and "Touched" co-star Della Reese as participants in the show — tentatively titled "Giving Hope" — according to The Hollywood Reporter. "It's an unscripted show that will be about bringing hope to people," Burnett says. "It will be about people in Kansas who have lost their farm and helping get them back on their feet.

ATLANTA — She trembled with fear before the armed man who was wanted in the shooting deaths of a judge and three others. But Ashley Smith kept her head, even when Brian Gene Nichols pushed into her home by sticking a gun in her ribs, and bound her with masking tape, an extension cord and a curtain. "I didn't want to die," she said Sunday. "I didn't want him to hurt anybody else." The 26-year-old woman, credited by police for bringing a massive search for Nichols to a nonviolent end Saturday, resurfaced a day later with a harrowing account of...

ANGEL DECOY Air Force C-130 releasing flares to repel heat seeking Missiles.   The pattern formed by these decoys is how they got their name . . .  "Angel decoy."

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Jennifer Sneed was packed and ready for the trip to a hospital to have her baby this week, but she wasn't ready for a snowstorm... Madison Sneed was born at 1:47 a.m. Monday, minutes before an ambulance crew arrived. Mother and child came home from the hospital Tuesday... It was on the same road that their 5-year-old son Dereck was killed in a car wreck last year... "My little boy was buried (in) the last snowfall of last season," Jennifer Sneed said. "Madison was born the first snowfall of this season. So we say it was a...

New book makes kids PRO-LIFE READ IT ONLINE NOW . . . IN JUST TWO MINUTES! Angel in the Waters is a simple, non-confrontational book that will make young children decidedly pro-life long before they ever hear the word "abortion." It will convince many mothers contemplating abortion to keep their babies. In just two minutes, you can read the whole book online. (Just last week our proofreader, Nora, was proofreading Angel in the Waters online when her three-year-old daughter turned away from a cartoon show, saw a page of this book on the computer screen, and demanded that Nora read...

"Angel In The Waters"; a book by Regina Doman.

The website has a great pic and video of this event. (Winnsboro, SC) Nov. 9, 2004 - An image in a tree is being described as a miracle, a blessing and a gift. It brought Butch Smith to tears,"I see an angel. I see a work of the Lord. He's trying to give us a message. That's what he's here for, like: straighten up, clear this town up and everything. It's a beautiful sight." Butch had surgery on his hand on Tuesday. He says the pain went away when he saw the image, "When I walked up it was like...

God has many ways to communicate with us. It's the unexpected ones we remember forever. I had seen him for years, but basically ignored him. I guess that's what many people do with kids who have Down syndrome. Ignore them. It's "safer" that way. They're so unpredictable.But this past Rosh Hashanah, all of that changed.Moshe is almost 17. I'm no expert, but I suppose his retardation is moderate to severe. He's been coming to synagogue since he was 8 or 9. His mother brings him for the last 30-45 minutes of the Shabbos morning service.Moshe's routine has not changed dramatically...

New book makes kids PRO-LIFEREAD IT ONLINE NOW . . . IN JUST TWO MINUTES! Angel in the Waters is a simple, non-confrontational book that will make young children decidedly pro-life long before they ever hear the word "abortion." It will convince many mothers contemplating abortion to keep their babies. In just two minutes, you can read the whole book online. (Just last week our proofreader, Nora, was proofreading Angel in the Waters online when her three-year-old daughter turned away from a cartoon show, saw a page of this book on the computer screen, and demanded that Nora read the...

SEGUIN — She is a different lady than she was less than six months ago. Today she is a patient at Guadalupe Valley Hospital, waited on by staff she has for more than 20 years called colleagues. A patch covers one eye, and a plastic brace immobilizes her upper body to heal the fractured bones in her back. Shirley Casanova sits in a wheelchair and smiles, as her husband Richard — who is also on staff at GVH — holds her hand. She is lucky to be alive — a miracle — according to her sisters Patricia Luna and Rosalinda...

It is very unlike me to sit down and write something like this, and yet, I feel that I have an obligation to do so. I am a quiet person, who lives a quiet life, and there was nothing so newsworthy or interesting about myself or my family, until unfortunately tragedy struck and turned the ordinary into the extraordinary. On August 19, 2003, my husband and I were celebrating our 9-year anniversary. With five small children, our youngest at that time just one month old, we did not get out of the house very often. The school year was about...

From President Bush's FIRST inaugural Address http://www.atthewell.com/speech/ "After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: "We know the Race is not to the swift nor the Battle to the Strong. Do you not think an Angel rides in the Whirlwind and directs this Storm?"

  I've never seen anything like it in American pop-culture. Joss Whedon just introduced a new character who's a bleached-blond United States Senator and who intends to become President in 2008. Her most trusted aid is a vampire, and she's a member of the Circle of the Black Thorn - the most evil assemblage of characters in the history of the greater Buffy-verse [kind of like a Justice League of America, only for evil, not good]. Talk about your full body slams... All I can say is: WOW!  

The Digital Angel Implant Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts by John Vennari, editor of Catholic Family News On October 30, 2000, Applied Digital Solutions Inc., [ADS] successfully unveiled in New York a prototype of the Digital Angel; a microchip designed to be implanted under the skin, capable of tracking the location and vital signs of humans anywhere on the globe. During the invitation-only demonstration, the temperature of a man about 50 miles from Manhattan was monitored before a large crowd of analysts, journalists and potential investors. On June 8, 2001, ADS announced that it has begun its first production run...

Book details 2 encounters in near-death experiencesTwice President Reagan faced life-threatening experiences and twice he had encounters with angelic beings who comforted him and helped pull him through his medical crises, says a new book, "Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan," by Mary Beth Brown. As Reagan was fighting for his life after being shot by John Hinckley March 30, 1981, he was having trouble breathing. His skin had turned so pale, Nancy Reagan remembers, "He was the color of paper – just as white as a sheet, with dried blood around his mouth." Reagan...

Psalm 27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were to tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small. - Dr. SeussAllow me to be a bit pastoral during the first part of this article. Some mundane data is needed to...