Free Republic

Maria del Carmen Diaz was supposed to be dead. The 8-year-old girl was killed in a car crash in 1981, but this week authorities said a woman stole the girl's identity years ago to build a life for herself in Delray Beach. Juliet Sherry-Ann Mahabir, 38, allegedly worked at a bank, bought a house and went into debt — all with Maria's name and Social Security number, according to the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office and the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud. Mahabir was arrested Thursday on a charge of criminal use of the personal identification of a deceased...

Pro-marriage Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. ALBANY, New York, June 7, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The New York politician leading the charge for true marriage in the state says he has faced death threats and a barrage of hate calls as a result of his stand. “I continue to be the target of a vulgar campaign by seething extremists who oppose my defense of New York’s marriage laws,” said Democrat State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. in a May 26th press release.  “As a Christian, of course I love those who hate me and I will continue to pray for their souls.” On...

WASHINGTON - A federal appellate court has upheld the convictions and sentence of a Navy lawyer who, in January 2005, mailed the names of Guantanamo Bay detainees to a lawyer at the Center for Constitution Rights in a Valentine’s Day card. In U.S. v. Diaz, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces on Thursday unanimously affirmed Lt. Commander Matthew Diaz’s convictions for conduct unbecoming an officer and for removing and communicating classified information. Diaz was sentenced to six months’ confinement and dismissal from the Navy. From July 6, 2004, to January 15, 2005, Diaz was assigned to Joint...

Cameron Diaz doesn't know the definition of a lesbian. In the July issue of Playboy magazine, the "Knight and Day" star says that wanting to sleep with a woman does not make you a lesbian. "If I'm going to be with a woman sexually, it doesn't mean I'm a lesbian," she said, according to UsMagazine.com. "We put these restraints and definitions on people, but it's hard to define." Diaz started making a little more sense when she tried to differentiate between lust and love. "Sexuality and love can be different things," she said. "I can be attracted to a woman...

Looks like two of Hollywood's biggest stars are engaged in a fierce catfight over A-Rod. Blonde-haired beauties Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz are reportedly locked in a bitter fight over the heart of Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez. Us Weekly reports in its current issue that Diaz is bedding Rodriguez as a form of retaliation after Hudson hooked up with Justin Timberlake in January 2007, just days after the couple of four years split. "Kate thinks it's payback, pure and simple," an insider told Us Weekly. A friend of Diaz added, "Cameron was actually in a serious long-term relationship with Justin....

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) will announce his retirement this afternoon at a press conference at Florida International University, according to two Republican sources familiar with his decision.

Should Gardeners Urinate Outdoors? The National Trust is the latest environmental organisation to advocate urinating outdoors to help fertilise the garden and save on flushing the lavatory. But is this really a civilised way to save the planet? 13 Nov 2009 Peeing on a compost heap activates the composting process, helping to produce a ready supply of organic matter Photo: GETTY The National Trust is actively encouraging male members of staff to urinate on a "pee bale" at Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire. The straw bale will eventually be spread on fields and flower beds around the stately home. Although it...

As promised, here's the fulltext of Pope Benedict's welcome address to the new US ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz, delivered within the hour: Your Excellency, I am pleased to accept the Letters by which you are accredited Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America. I recall with pleasure my meeting with President Barack Obama and his family last July, and willingly reciprocate the kind greetings which you bring from him. I also take this occasion to express my confidence that diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See, formally initiated twenty-five years...

Dr. Miguel Humberto Diaz Rome, Italy, Aug 27, 2009 / 12:03 pm (CNA).- This morning Dr. Miguel Diaz arrived in Rome with his family to begin serving in his new position as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. Ambassador-designate Diaz said that he and his family are looking forward to the coming weeks and that he hopes to "deepen and expand upon the special relationship" between the U.S. and the Vatican.Dr. Miguel Humberto Diaz, arrived with his family this morning at Rome's Fiumicino International Airport. Prior to leaving the U.S. he was sworn in as ambassador on August...

he United States Senate has confirmed theologian Dr. Miguel H. Díaz as ambassador to the Holy See. Since 2004, Dr. Díaz has worked as a professor at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University in Minnesota Dr. Díaz-- who donated $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund last September 23, and another $1,000 to Obama for America on September 30-- issued a statement upon his confirmation:

Washington D.C., May 28, 2009 / 01:35 am (CNA).- In a surprising move, President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday evening that Miguel H. Diaz, Ph.D., a 45 year old lay Liberation theologian born in Havana (Cuba) is his pick to become the United States Ambassador to the Holy See. An associate professor of theology at St. John's University and the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota, Diaz, a strong Obama supporter and father of four, earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla., and his master’s and doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame at...

A website launched Friday with the backing of technology industry and Hollywood elite urges people worldwide to help craft a framework for harmony between all religions. The Charter for Compassion project on the Internet at www.charterforcompassion.org springs from a "wish" granted this year to religious scholar Karen Armstrong at a premier Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference in California. "Tedizens" include Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin along with other Internet icons as well as celebrities such as Forest Whittaker and Cameron Diaz. Wishes granted at TED envision ways to better the world and come with a promise that...

Excerpt - JACKSON – Something unusual happened Thursday at the Mississippi Supreme Court. It may be the first time a majority of the justices voted to prohibit a colleague from publishing a dissent in a case. In other words, Presiding Justice Oliver Diaz of Ocean Springs disagreed with a court decision and wanted to write about it. His fellow judges said, no, he couldn’t and they apparently stopped the court clerk from filing Diaz’s statement into the record. Diaz's document also wasn’t made available to the public, as every other order and dissent are. ~ snip ~

Actress Cameron Diaz appears to have committed a major fashion faux pas in Peru. The voice of Princess Fiona in the animated "Shrek" films may have inadvertently offended Peruvians who suffered decades of violence from a Maoist guerrilla insurgency by touring here Friday with a bag emblazoned with one of Mao Zedong's favorite political slogans. While explored the Inca city of Machu Picchu high in Peru's Andes, Diaz wore over her shoulder an olive green messenger bag emblazoned with a red star and the words "Serve the People" printed in Chinese on the flap, perhaps Chinese Communist leader Mao's most...

AGUAS CALIENTES, Peru -- Actress Cameron Diaz appears to have committed a major fashion faux pas in Peru. The voice of Princess Fiona in the animated "Shrek" films may have inadvertently offended Peruvians who suffered decades of violence from a Maoist guerrilla insurgency by touring here Friday with a bag emblazoned with one of Mao Zedong's favorite political slogans. While explored the Inca city of Machu Picchu high in Peru's Andes, Diaz wore over her shoulder an olive green messenger bag emblazoned with a red star and the words "Serve the People" printed in Chinese on the flap, perhaps Chinese...

NORFOLK -- Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz was sentenced today to six months in prison and dismissal from the Navy for releasing information about foreign terror suspects in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay. The sentence by the court martial jury must be approved by Rear Admiral Rick Ruehe before it becomes effective. In an emotional testimony earlier today, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz apologized for releasing information about foreign terror suspects in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay. "I just want the members to know I'm sincerely sorry for what I did -- a stupid act," Diaz said. "I'm better than that. "The...

NORFOLK -- A military jury found Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz guilty this afternoon of four of the five charges against him relating to revealing secret information about detainees in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was found not guilty of printing out national defense information with the intent or reason to believe it would be used against the United States. The most serious charge he was convicted of was communicating secret information that could be used to injure the United States. That charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence. The sentencing of Diaz will begin Friday. The maximum sentence...

City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. said a recent push to force the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scouts Council to denounce the national organization's antigay policy had nothing to do with his own homosexuality. "My own sexuality, my own sexual orientation, has never been hidden and never played into my decision," Diaz said in an interview yesterday with The Inquirer. "It has, perhaps, made me more sensitive to the issues." Diaz said he sent another letter yesterday morning seeking a meeting with William T. Dwyer III, council chief executive officer and president. Diaz, the city's first openly gay solicitor and...

Law student takes aim at Wilkerson... She is the daughter of immigrants. She is black and Hispanic. She is a single mother, and a Muslim. And, to the delight of the state party, Samiyah Diaz is also a Republican. The law student, who is collecting signatures to oppose state Senator Dianne Wilkerson, the Roxbury Democrat, in November, may have little chance of besting the 13-year incumbent. But for longtime Republicans, Diaz's candidacy is as much about shifting the image of the Republican Party as it is about winning. ''For the Republican Party, which needs to find some new energy on...

Tired of seeing the New York Times getting all the headlines with their treason, the Washington Post has decided to join in the fun of betraying its country's most vital national secrets.This self-styled military expert, William Arkin, must surely be aware it is a gross and illegal violation of national security to release code names. (Ask Kissinger about "Umbra.") Of course that didn't stop him from writing a book that does just that a year ago, either.In fact, Mr. Arkin considers himself more of an activist than a journalist. (Not that there is any discernible difference in our one party...