Free Republic

Welp, that about wraps it up for the great Iranian diplomacy goose chase. The only way to justify letting Iran continue to enrich uranium is if UN inspectors can come and go as they please whenever they please to verify that Iran’s not cheating. Without snap inspections, there’s no way to verify. Now Obama gets to walk away.No, no, I’m kidding. Obama’s invested so much political capital in getting this deal done, even at the price of driving relations with Israel to the lowest point they’ve been in decades, that he’s got to see it through now. Contrary to...

BAGHDAD, July 21 (UPI) -- Iraqi security reportedly discovered three missiles carrying nuclear heads concealed in a concrete trench northwest of Baghdad, official sources said Wednesday. The official daily al-Sabah quoted the sources as saying the missiles were discovered in trenches near the city of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "The three missiles were discovered by chance when the Iraqi security forces captured former Baath party official Khoder al-Douri who revealed during interrogation the location of the missiles saying they carried nuclear heads," the sources said. They pointed out that the missiles were actually discovered in...

President Obama has been accused of trying to silence his critics. Apparently he’s silencing his supporters now, too. That was Gwyneth Paltrow’s experience, anyway. Obama was attending a Democratic fundraiser organized by the Hollywood star when he allegedly robbed Paltrow of her ability to communicate. After describing herself as one of the president’s “biggest fans,” Ms. Paltrow went on to declare, “You’re so handsome that I can’t speak properly.” As a heterosexual man, I’m probably not the most qualified person to evaluate President Obama’s physical attractiveness. What I can say is that no matter how handsome someone might be, there...

An informant from the Planned Parenthood Keystone affiliate in Pennsylvania has slipped me some fascinating new documents. Recall Pennsylvania is the home of infanticide abortionist Kermit Gosnell, convicted in May 2013 of first degree murder in the deaths of three babies and involuntary manslaughter of a patient. In reality, Gosnell likely “snipped” the spinal cords of hundreds if not thousands of babies he aborted alive over three decades but was never caught. The state simply stopped inspecting abortion clinics “for political reasons,” according to the Gosnell Grand Jury Report. Gosnell’s heinous crimes were only discovered by accident when the FBI...

Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Tuesday allowing the state Department of Health to make unannounced inspections of abortion clinics without first getting a warrant from a judge. Backers of HB 2284 said there is no reason to exempt abortion clinics from the same regulations that apply to all other health-care facilities. Foes said the clinics need protection because there is a heightened need for privacy both for patients and staff. The new law could wind up in court before it takes effect later this summer. In a 2004 ruling, a federal appeals court voided an identical provision, ruling the statute’s...

Went to the first Royals game today (office thing) - great game, 7-1 (yes it was Tampa, but I'll take it). They have potential, back to 4-4 and still even with this game - (28th in runs...30th in slugging). If they can find some bats, we might be decent. All that being said, they are now wanding you to get into the games and you have to take everything out of your pockets. Anyone know if this is everywhere (MLB thing) - or KC being stupid. How long 'til the shoes come off and they're fondling your junk?

At least 30 of the giant bolts that hold together the new, $6.4 billion eastern span of the Bay Bridge have snapped. As a result, Caltrans is considering replacing all 288 of the bolts on the new bridge before it opens, The Chronicle has learned. Caltrans insists the new span is safe and that plans to open it the day after Labor Day are still on track. However, officials say it's too early to determine how long it will take to fix the problem - or the cost. Toll Bridge Program Manager Tony Anziano said engineers are "pretty confident" the...

WASHINGTON — USDA says it will close 259 domestic offices, make other changes to save $150 million per year.

Release from VDOT: RICHMOND — The Virginia Department of Transportation today dispatched inspection teams to bridges and tunnels across the state soon after the 5.9 magnitude earthquake to assess any potential damage. Currently, no damage has been confirmed to bridges, tunnels or roads. Inspections are expected to continue for 24 hours. All four tunnels in the Hampton Roads area (Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, Downtown Tunnel and Midtown Tunnel), as well as Virginia's two mountain tunnels on Interstate 77 have been inspected with no sign of damage. VDOT's Culpeper and Fredericksburg Districts did report some minor damage to buildings....

Post-Gosnell Inspections Close Two Problematic Abortion Centers Philadelphia, PA -- After the national controversy the deplorable conditions and brutal infanticides at the abortion center Kermit Gosnell ran drew national attention, Pennsylvania officials began cracking down on abortion center inspections. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/03/10/post-gosnell-inspections-close-two-problematic-abortion-centers/

Parents of children under five are to get home checks to ensure they are keeping their youngsters safe. Inspectors will check whether families have installed smoke alarms, stair gates, locks on medicine cupboards, windows and ovens, and fitted temperature controls to stop bath water getting too hot. Guidelines for inspections have been drawn up on the instructions of the Department of Health in a bid to prevent injuries among under-15s in the home. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1279182/Parents-5s-face-nanny-state-home-inspections-children-safe.html#ixzz0oHvruAX3

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered owners and operators of Boeing 737 jets to check some aircraft for loose lug bearings in the tail, according to an Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued Friday.Boeing estimates that the directive affects about 600 aircraft, which need to be inspected within 12 days. Failure of the lugs could cause vibration leading to structural failure of the horizontal fins and flaps in the tail, possibly resulting in “loss of aircraft control and structural integrity,” the agency’s directive said. Boeing issued a related service alert Friday that affected six models of 737s, the company’s biggest-selling jetliner. The...

After five years of inspecting vehicles, Dallas mechanic Robert Garcia has seen cars with everything from whisper-thin tire treads to brakes ready to fall off. Garcia – like many insurers, legislators and safety advocates – can't imagine how bad the disrepair would be without Texas' yearly required safety inspections. "It would cause a big dilemma on the road," said Garcia, who works at Adkison Tire and Service on Irving Boulevard. But some states have dropped the basic safety review after driver complaints that they were annoying and unnecessary. And some automobile experts in Texas and across the country say more...

Here is a video report on news that Iran says it will allow international inspections of the newly discovered uranium enrichment facility. Hillary Clinton said that decision is welcome news. President Obama said Iran must display more transparency as to their nuclear intentions. The newly discovered facility's size and configuration is thought to guarantee that it can only be for the purpose of nuclear weapons. It sounds like Obama is ready to take Iran's word for it, when they are clearly going to try and play the inspections game just like Saddam Hussein did. As they stall for time, it...

US Welcomes Iran Inspection Offer Mrs Clinton is in New York for the annual UN General Assembly US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has given a cautious welcome to Iran's announcement that it will open a newly revealed nuclear plant to inspection. Speaking in New York, Mrs Clinton said it was always welcome when Iran decided to comply with international rules. The US, France and UK accused Tehran of deception after it admitted to the existence of the facility on Monday. Iran says the uranium enrichment plant, near the city of Qom, is in line with UN regulations. It maintains...

The controversial climate bill that is set to be taken up by the Senate on Monday after its passage in the House will legislate home inspections by government regulators who will demand to audit every aspect of your property under the threat of substantial and repeated fines if their visits are denied or their demands not satisfied. The climate legislation is written in a manner that automatically assumes that global warming is taking place and that it is attributed to rising CO2 levels, despite the fact that this is a highly contentious question and is being rejected by more and...

PARIS (AP) - French customs officers are inspecting a North Korean ship at an Indian Ocean island off the coast of Africa as part of U.N. sanctions prompted by the communist nation's nuclear test, but they found nothing illegal so far, officials said Thursday. It was the first time a country was known to have stopped a North Korean vessel under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718 authorizing searches as part of the sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its nuclear test. Since the resolution was passed Oct. 14, at least four other North Korean vessels have been stopped, but the countries...

The Federal Aviation Administration is going to begin alerting its top headquarters officials when field inspectors miss airline safety inspections, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced Friday. Peters also demanded that the FAA and American Airlines explain to her within 14 days why 250,000 U.S. air travelers endured canceled flights last week. American grounded its MD-80 jetliners and canceled 3,100 flights in order to inspect or redo wiring that was supposed to have been completed between Sept. 5, 2006, and March 5, 2008....

The head of American Life League's "Stop Planned Parenthood" division says many abortion facilities aren't inspected as often as the law calls for. Jim Sedlak says this shows that the elected officials who claim to support women's rights have no concern for women's rights, not to mention the rights of unborn children. State health officials in New Jersey are supposed to inspect abortion facilities every two years. But last week it was revealed that one abortion clinic in Atlantic City had not been inspected in six years. The problems at that facility were so profound, state officials closed it. Jim...

FRANCE was helping prop up a psychotic dictator with its trenchant opposition to an American-led war on Iraq, government backbencher Cameron Thompson said tonight. France, along with Russia, Germany and China, helped sink a new resolution in the United Nations Security Council which would have paved the way for a UN-backed war in Iraq. Instead, France was pushing for UN arms inspectors to be given more time to scour Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. French President Jacques Chirac today condemned plans by the US, Britain and Australia to launch a unilateral strike to disarm Iraq, warning the decision ran...