Free Republic

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The United Nations scaled back its operations in the troubled southern city of Kandahar on Monday, relocating several foreign employees to Kabul and telling more than 200 Afghan U.N. workers to stay home amid rising violence. The announcement came hours after three bombings — one targeting a local police official — shook the city. The rash of attacks came ahead of a joint Afghan-NATO operation to try to wrest control of the area from Taliban militants. The strategy is to flood in troops, rout the militants and rush in new governance, development projects and security to win...

It was one of the most significant developments in the Obama presidency. We refer to the leak last week of an explosive top secret memo sent in January by the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to President Obama's national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, deploring the lack of planning concerning Iranian nuclear aspirations should the administration's much ballyhooed outreach approach fail. In itself, the memo's conclusion is nothing less than stunning - a senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, characterized the document as "a wake-up call." Yet the very fact that this highly classified analysis was leaked...

The silence continues to be deafening with no Democrat in Congress, to my knowledge, crying out against President Obama for continuing to try to diminish the U.S.’ closeness to Israel. The president is apparently attempting to placate the Sunni Muslim countries in order to establish a coalition opposed to the increasing power of the Shiite Muslim state of Iran that towers in the region like a colossus. The president fails to realize, however, that sacrificing the U.S.-Israel relationship is both unnecessary and dangerous. The Sunni Arab countries are petrified of Iran’s growing power and are actually aligned with Israel in...

<p>Now that it is plainly evident even prominent officials in Kenya believe Barack Obama is foreign born, it becomes a matter of historical accuracy and constitutional integrity that his life story be fully documented.</p> <p>Long before Obama was elected president and ever since, the people of Kenya have spoken of him as one of their own. Even first lady Michelle Obama referred to her husband's "home country" as Kenya during the campaign. And now we have James Orengo, a member of the Kenyan Parliament explicitly characterizing Obama as one "born in Kenya."</p>

Yemen faces an abundance of complex and interrelated social, economic, and environmental problems. Yemen's many challenges are compounded by the country's addiction to qat. Large parts of Yemen’s society and economy are organized around the consumption and production of this stimulant. Qat consists of the tender leaves and shoots of the tree catha edulis, which contain the amphetamine cathinone. Qat must be consumed soon after being harvested because the cathinone begins breaking down after 24 hours. When chewed, qat brings about a state of mild euphoria in the user, often followed by insomnia. Qat is considered a Class 1 drug...

Most people live in the real world. They have to. But some people have the luxury of living in their heads. They have the leisure time to imagine an ideal world organized in an ideal way and run by ideal officials − in other words, themselves. These people went to a university, and perhaps graduate school. They studied gurus from Plato to Marx, who fantasized their own version of the ideal. They were taught by professors who often had done nothing outside the university, and who looked down on ordinary working people.

In a survey released October 14, 2009 – just three months ago – the liberal-leaning Pew Research Center ran a “News IQ Quiz.” It probably didn’t surprise the Pew staff to learn that a “partisan knowledge gap” existed between Democrats and Republicans. But it surely horrified them to realize that the gap favored… Republicans. On fully ten of twelve “News IQ Quiz” questions asked, Republicans demonstrated deeper basic knowledge than Democrats, with respondents tied on one question and Democrats leading on only one of the twelve. In other words, the hard survey data confirms what anyone familiar with socio-economic issues...

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (Dec. 13) - Authorities say a Rottweiler attacked and killed a Florida toddler when the boy reached to pick up a cookie he had dropped.

With Sarah Palin in the spotlight as she continues her nationwide media and book tour, the Democratic National Committee is suggesting to its supporters that the former GOP vice presidential candidate could pose a real threat to the Democratic agenda. In a fundraising e-mail sent out Friday, Organizing for America -- the community organizing component of the DNC founded in the wake of Barack Obama’s inauguration -- said it is aiming to raise $500,000 in the next week "to help push back against Sarah Palin and her allies."

US President Barack Obama has warned Israel that its policy of ignoring US pleas and continuing to expand housing in sensitive areas of Jerusalem could end up being "very dangerous". Israel yesterday rejected the condemnation of the Obama administration and other world leaders and proceeded to demolish two Palestinian homes -- bringing to seven the number of Palestinian homes demolished this week in east Jerusalem. Mr Obama, in his strongest condemnation yet, warned that the development of 900 new houses in the disputed Jerusalem suburb of Gilo could "embitter Palestinians". He said it made it difficult to resume any peace...

<p>AP – This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Rick taken at 2 a.m. EDT Saturday Oct. 17, 2009.</p> <p>MEXICO CITY – Hurricane Rick quickly strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast on Saturday and forecasters said it could strike the Baja California Peninsula in about five days.</p>

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help — and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed. Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys',...

Mitch McConnell just called-out Obama on Afghanistan, insisting that O make a decision on the request for more troops in Afghanistan. McConnell also wants Generals McChrystal and Petraus to come to Congress for a hearing about how they believe the war is being conducted. White House responds that it takes time to make these decisions ("Present!") and is clearly annoyed that anyone in Congress would question Obama. Developing.

This was announced by the Obama administration last evening. President Barack Obama on Friday slapped punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China in a decision that could anger the strategically important Asian powerhouse but placate union supporters important to his health care push at home. Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers. A powerful union, United Steelworkers, blames the increase for the loss of thousands of...

Don't Exhale. EPA Expected to Declare Carbon Dioxide a Dangerous Pollutant The Environmental Protection Agency is expected in the next few weeks to declare that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases are a pollutant, a move that would require the federal government to regulate them -- even without legislation. FOXNews.com Friday, August 28, 2009 Don't exhale. That advice may need heeding if the Environmental Protection Agency declares carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant, a move -- expected in the next couple weeks -- that would require the federal government to impose new rules limiting emissions....

Perhaps President Obama didn't want to look uncool on his bike ride Thursday, but his decision to skip the helmet had safety experts banging their heads. Obama, on vacation with his family in Martha's Vineyard, joined the First Lady and his daughters yesterday for a ride in Aquinnah, a town at the western, most rural end of the island. The President appeared to be the only one with no helmet. Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group in New York, speculated the President might have been concerned about his image. "Helmets look goofy - you look...

A Columbus (Ohio)firefighter admits that he took his two dogs to the basement, tied them up and blasted them with a rifle so he and a girlfriend could vacation without paying to board the animals. "He said chunks of concrete were flying everywhere," Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather Robinson said. "I think it was the thrill of the kill for him. He has shown no remorse for this." Firefighter David P. Santuomo, 43, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of a criminal tool -- for taping a 2-liter plastic bottle onto the...

CAIRO – Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East. "This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama said in a widely anticipated speech in one of the world's largest Muslim countries, an address designed to reframe relations after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The White House said Obama's speech contained no new policy proposals on...

Congratulations to President Obama! Osama bin Laden is no longer the most dangerous man in the world, having been effectively neutered by former President Bush’s war on terror. Obama has deftly picked up the mantle and has become America’s number one enemy.Demonstrating its consummate mendacity, the mainstream media referred, during the 2008 campaign, to Barack Obama as “no drama Obama”. Just a few short months into his presidency, it is manifest that no drama Obama is instead, the architect of chaos and destruction. Everything Obama touches plummets into disorder.

This is America’s Enemy Within - Castro’s Communist Cuba and Our Congressional Black Caucus By JB Williams Wednesday, April 8, 2009 While the leftist American press kept public attention focused upon Obama’s International Apology Hajj, working around the clock to put a positive spin on Obama’s failed Throw America Under the Bus Tour abroad, another important and equally dastardly trip was taking place below the average American’s radar… Six members of the US Congress traveled to Castro’s Communist Cuba over the weekend to open talks aimed at establishing a cooperative relationship between the United States and Communist Cuba. The six...