Free Republic

The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) is commissioning a pilot cull of badgers within a 288 sq km (111 sq miles) area of south-west Wales. WAG has not revealed the date when the cull will begin, nor the exact boundaries of the Intensive Action Pilot Area; but it is known to lie principally in north Pembrokeshire, extending marginally into Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire. The aim is to remove all badgers within the area.

This column is the subject of a book I am working to finish, as justice to this topic cannot be done in a single column, or even a short series of columns. But it is such a pressing matter at this moment in American history that I didn’t want to wait for book publication to address the very real threat to freedom inherent with the death of uniquely American principles and values. “The American” is officially on the list of endangered species today, and unless we do something to save this vital species quickly, freedom will exist nowhere on earth....

Palestinian officials confirmed an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a second farm in the Gaza Strip on Friday, and Israel's foreign minister appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for international assistance to the Palestinians to contain the disease. In all, bird flu has been detected at two farms in the Gaza Strip, one near Gaza City and one near the southern town of Rafah on the border with Egypt, said Deputy Agriculture Minister Azzam Tubaili. Gaza chicken farmers planned a protest later Friday, after government officials told them they would not be compensated for...