Free Republic

Well, maybe not stuff it, but finally someone may be standing up to America’s ultra-reactionary, fumbling, paleo-narcissistic and now hugely unpopular president — and his name is Benjamin Netanyahu. If we are to believe the Jerusalem Post, Bibi should be the leader of the free world. Arrivederci, Barry. Take your favorite nine iron and head off to Maui or the Vineyard or wherever you want to be with our blessings — as long as you stay there.From the JPost [1]: The United States is prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas [2] in the Gaza Strip,...

What do we do about this massive flood of people entering the United States illegally? Like many, I am turning this question over in my mind as I witness the lawless chaos that is unfolding at the border, and beyond. We have legal channels for people to immigrate to America. We’re not operating in a vacuum. There is no reason for those in power to ignore our immigration laws. Unless, of course, you want to fundamentally transform America. When the rule of law is not enforced, where does that leave us? [SNIP] Congressman Louie Gohmert has reminded us that another...

Israel’s air campaign in Gaza may violate international laws prohibiting the targeting of civilians, the U.N.’s top human rights official said Friday. Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said the Israeli military, which claims to have hit more than 1,100 targets that it says are mostly rocket-launching sites, and the Gaza militants, who have fired more than 550 rockets against Israel, must abide by international law. […] Pillay says she’s seen for herself in Gaza how traumatic the airstrikes and rocket attacks are for civilians, particularly children. Her office says civilians bear the brunt of the conflict...

Four Slovenian ski officials were suspended Friday for allegedly rigging the results of pop violinist Vanessa-Mae to help her qualify for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Competing in Sochi for Thailand as Vanessa Vanakorn, using the surname of her Thai father, she finished a distant last among the 67 racers who completed the two runs in the Olympic giant slalom. To earn enough points to be eligible for the games in February, she had to compete in official races in Sweden, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland. The Slovenian Ski Association said Friday it found evidence indicating that the races it hosted...

Military officers testified that there was no “stand-down order” that held back military assets that could have saved the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans killed at a diplomatic outpost and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. Their testimony undercut the contention of Republican lawmakers. The “stand-down” theory centers on a Special Operations team—a detachment leader, a medic, a communications expert and a weapons operator with his foot in a cast—that was stopped from flying from Tripoli to Benghazi after the attacks of Sept. 11-12, 2012, had ended. Instead, it was instructed to help protect and care for those being evacuated...

The surge of Central American families and unaccompanied children into south Texas has focused public attention on one of the few recent revisions of immigration law, the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, or TVPRA, also known as the Wilberforce Act. Championed by congressional Democrats such as Senator Dianne Feinstein, the law was a hastily written attempt to improve the handling of trafficked children who came into the custody of immigration authorities, either at the border or within the country. In the face of public alarm over the Obama administration’s massive catch-and-release operation dispersing tens of thousands of illegal border...

No, the United States isn’t trying to build a military force of centenarians. It just seems that way after the Selective Service System mistakenly sent notices to more than 14,000 Pennsylvania men born between 1893 and 1897, ordering them to register for the nation’s military draft and warning that failure to do so is “punishable by a fine and imprisonment.” The agency realized the error when it began receiving calls from bewildered relatives last week. Chuck Huey, 73, of Kingston, said he got a notice addressed to his late grandfather Bert Huey, a World War I veteran who was born...

When Gen. John Campbell, the Army’s vice chief of staff, appeared last year at a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, he cited his son’s experiences as a soldier in Afghanistan to answer a senator’s tough questions about a troubled intelligence technology system. This week, after an inquiry by The Associated Press, the Army acknowledged that Campbell misspoke about his son’s unit, omitting some key facts as he sought to defend a $4 billion system that critics say has not worked as promised. Campbell faces another Senate hearing Thursday morning, this one on his nomination to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan....

(Reuters) - A fourth day of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 11 more Palestinians on Friday, raising the death toll in the coastal enclave to at least 96, most of them civilians, Palestinian officials said. Facing a possible Israeli ground invasion, militants warned international airlines they would fire rockets at Tel Aviv's main airport. A rocket also caused the first serious Israeli casualty - one of eight people hurt when a fuel tanker was hit at a service station in Ashdod, 30 km (20 miles) north of Gaza. Medical officials in Gaza said at least 74 civilians,...

Iraqi ‘Terrorist Groups’ Have Seized Nuclear Materials Stephanie Burnett @stephy_burnett July 10, 2014 Approximately 88 pounds of uranium compounds stored at an Iraq university have been taken, though they are likely unenriched and so difficult to make weapons from Iraq has told the U.N. that Islamist insurgents have seized nuclear materials used for scientific research from Mosul University in northern Iraq, according to Reuters. Approximately 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of uranium compounds were stored at the university, wrote Iraq’s U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on July 8.

Extreme Islamist group ISIS have seized 90lb (40kg) of radioactive uranium in Iraq which could be used to make a dirty bomb. The Times reports that the militants seized the material after overrunning a university in the city of Mosul, which they captured last month. Iraq's ambassador to the UN has now appealed to the international community for help to "stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq and abroad." This is believed to be the first time that an Islamist terror group has been able to obtain such a large quantity of radioactive material, and security...

Klitschko: "Protection of bridges is of particular importance" / UNIAN photo Mayor noted that territorial defense is to strengthen the protection of strategic facilities in the capital, in particular the protection of bridges and highways. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko finds it necessary to strengthen the protection of bridges and highways in the city. According to the press service of the mayor, he said this during a meeting with military commissar Kyiv Colonel Vladimir Kydonem. Klitschko said that territorial defense is to strengthen the protection of strategic facilities in the capital, in particular the protection of bridges and highways. "Protection...

As the rocket fire from Gaza terrorists continues to pelt southern and central Israel, a new front appears to have opened Friday morning as a Katyusha rocket was fired on the northern tip of Israel, north of Kiryat Shmona. The rocket landed in open territory in the upper Galillee. Apparently the IDF estimates it was fired by local terror groups supporting Hamas, and not by the Iran-proxy Hezbollah terror group, reports Walla!. […] In a statement, the Lebanese army declared a total of three rockets were fired on Israel by “an unknown group” from the Marjayun-Hasbaya region of southern Lebanon,...

Why do we have introduced regular military training of citizens - gun owners? The reasons are many. But the main one is that we begin to form a military reserve for the defense of the country, without waiting for the decision of the country's leaders on defense for fundamental reform of the Cossacks, and now for the Swiss and Israeli demands. Most citizens who understand the need to be prepared to defend the family, city, country voluntarily at their own cost to buy weapons and equipment in their spare time come to the Legion for learning and training. We create...

Ukrainian Forces repelled an attack on the Donetsk Airport. Reports the spokesman of the National Security and Defence Council Andriy Lisenko during his briefing. “Today, militants fired form mortars and small arms at the airport in Donetsk, which is controlled by the Ukrainian military. The attack was successfully repelled, there are no losses among our servicemen,” – said Lisenko. “Attacks on airports in Donetsk and Luhanks are carried out periodically,” – summarised the NSDC spokesman.

Some members of the armed services, all of whom are currently deployed in war zones, will soon be notified by the Defense Department that they will be involuntarily discharged from the military at the end of their current tours. Why? “Budget cuts.” It’s as simple as that. Shockingly, too, hundreds of Army captains have already been handed the devastating news, according to the New York Post, and more officers are expected to get it, if they haven't already, soon enough. For obvious reasons, this is an outrageous and heartless way to “thank” combat veterans: What is astonishing is that the...

Hamas has taken to the Hebrew language in its latest effort at psychological warfare.

Iraq warned the United Nations (UN) on Thursday that in capturing large portions of the country last month, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) also seized nuclear materials used in research at a university in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Iraqi Ambassador to the UN Mohammed Ali Alhakim wrote in a letter to the UN, which was seen by Reuters, that roughly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were captured by the radical Jihadist group. "These nuclear materials, despite the limited amounts mentioned, can enable terrorist groups, with the availability of the required expertise, to use...

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is running a brilliantly effective social media campaign. With the group rebranded as the Islamic State (IS), its grisly messaging gets attention and discourages resistance to its military operations, both where it is fighting and among countries that might be inclined to intervene against it. After it took Mosul, IS streamed video of its men executing dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers -- which very likely helped encourage the choice of Iraqi security forces to quietly desert their posts. IS live-tweeted its military advance through Iraq, showcasing the bravery of its fighters and what...

Russia's swashbuckling military intelligence unit is full of assassins, arms dealers, and bandits. And what they pulled off in Ukraine was just the beginning.re are two ways an espionage agency can prove its worth to the government it serves. Either it can be truly useful (think: locating a most-wanted terrorist), or it can engender fear, dislike, and vilification from its rivals (think: being named a major threat in congressional testimony). But when a spy agency does both, its worth is beyond question. Since the Ukraine crisis began, the Kremlin has few doubts about the importance of the GRU, Russia's military...