Free Republic

SYDNEY -- On two recent occasions, a pair of Sukhoi Su-30 fighters have taken off from their base near the old Indonesian trading port of Makassar and flown far across the Indonesian archipelago to intercept unidentified aircraft. One of the mystery planes, a light aircraft being ferried from Darwin in northern Australia to its new owners in the Philippines, was chased a long distance before being forced to land in Manado, a city on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The other, an executive jet flying Saudi officials to Brisbane ahead of the Group-20 meeting, was ordered to land in the...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-19/the-delayedreaction-victories-of-ted-cruz

If you’re looking for a state with a reliable Leftward tilt, you’d be hard pressed to do better than Vermont. After all, this is the place which has repeatedly elected Bernie Sanders – a man who considers the Democrat Party too conservative for his tastes – to statewide office since 1991. So in terms of socialist experimental laboratories, this is the spot where you’d want to launch progressive initiatives and take them for a test spin. That was the plan for Governor Peter Shumlin, who had promised his constituents that they would soon be enjoying the first in the...

Somewhat remarkably, given that it has presided over the worst recovery–by far–of the post-war era, the Obama administration tries to slice and dice employment numbers to portray itself as a champion of job creation. There are, indeed, a few more jobs today than there were six years ago. Yet for most Americans, the employment scene has gotten worse, not better. Why is that? Senate Budget Committee staff offer data in explanation: According to BLS data, in November of 2007 there were 23.1 million foreign workers in the United States with jobs. Today, the BLS reports, there are 25.1 million foreign...

Once a Constitutional Republic famed for its pragmatism, the United States has lately become a country notorious for its inconstancy, no longer recognizing that actions have finite and foreseeable consequences. In this space, for example, I recently argued that the release of the “torture report” by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence came perilously close to the constitutional definition of treason by “giving Aid and Comfort” to America’s enemies. Admittedly, that was a tough assessment. But barely a week after the report’s release, the Huffington Post published an article linking those revelations with their most immediate effects on our allies....

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story, which was based on a Federal news service transcript, said President Obama referred to “the overall majority of good black people” not using racism as an excuse. Mr. Obama actually said, “the overall majority of black people” do not use racism as an excuse. Before flying off to Hawaii for a two-week vacation, President Obama said Friday that most blacks understand America’s history of slavery and segregation isn’t an excuse for their current challenges.Asked by a reporter to assess the state of black America, Mr. Obama said most blacks are “better off...

Agents for the embattled state Government Accountability Board continued a zealous campaign finance investigation into dozens of conservative groups even after judges who preside over the board voted to shut it down, according to a previously sealed brief made public Friday. The documents, from an updated complaint filed by conservative plaintiffs in a case against the GAB, appear to support claims that the campaign finance, ethics and election law regulator is a rogue agency. They also show that the GAB considered using the state’s John Doe law to investigate key state conservatives and even national figures, including Fox News’ Sean...

President Barack Obama says he will try to undertake an overhaul of the tax system with the new Republican majorities in Congress. He says the “devil is in the details.” He says the tax system needs to be simpler and fairer. He says some corporations engage in tax avoidance while others pay full freight. He also says he would like to combine tax changes with money for capital works projects. …

   *Canteen Christmas Music Dedication* *****~ Support The Artists ~   Support the artists you hear throughout the Canteen! Click on the links below! Keep the music going! ArtistDirect l  Internet Radio l  AOL Music l  Sonique (Lycos) l  Real Radio Live365 l  971TheRiver  l  GotRadio  l  Wherehouse  l  Target  l Shoutcast AFRTS l  VH1 l XM Radio l  BET l  audiophile l  Virgin Radio l  Soma (Alternative) Acaza l AudioRealm l VH1 l  Yahoo! Launch Music l  Radio Disney l  Live-Radio Net ITunes l Amazon l Salsa Radio l MTV l CMT l Ticketmaster l Billboard l ClubFM...

Walking today on the Upper West Side, I noticed recently placed phone booth advertisements on 68th & Broadway that featured a picture of Colin Powell with the tagline: “This is what happens when there is no second opinion. Iraq War: No WMDs, 141,802 civilian deaths. Go to RT.com for the second opinion.” RT.com (formerly Russia Today) has similar ads that feature former President George Bush with the same message. In short, the Kremlin-funded Russian TV station is using street advertising in NYC to influence the American people. Read more at http://observer.com/2014/12/putins-new-propaganda-invades-upper-west-side-but-at-least-my-kids-speak-russian/#ixzz3MOnko4Co

A lot has changed in the six years I've been president. As I look ahead at my final two years in office, I want you to know two things: 1.) I'm so proud of the progress we've made together so far. Thank you. Because of folks like you, we've been able to accomplish incredible things -- change that is making people's lives better today. That's the reason we do this work. 2.) I'm not done. I won't stop fighting for the American people until the day I leave this office. That's a promise. No matter how much partisan gridlock gets...

Yesterday’s vote by the Council of the District of Columbia to approve a bill banning even religious organizations from discriminating against employees for their “reproductive health” practices—including abortion—likely violates the Constitution and federal law, warned the D.C. mayor and attorney general weeks before the final vote. The Council’s disregard for Mayor Vincent Gray’s “significant legal concerns” increases the possibility that he may veto the legislation, which also may be halted by Congress if it can get President Obama’s signature on the repeal. “Today’s approval of this draconian bill confirms the D.C. Council’s intentional persecution of religious educators and other employers...

Diplomacy: The White House says Cuba's Raul Castro may soon visit. If he does, it'll be an ugly blot on President Obama's record. Since when does the U.S. welcome brutal military dictators into the people's house? Speaking to flabbergasted reporters, President Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday that the White House "wouldn't rule out a visit from President Castro," just after explaining that Obama wanted to travel to Cuba. That would be the diplomatic trade-off for an administration visit to the island, which would undoubtedly be a repeat of Obama pop-star pal Beyonce's pleasure trip last year in a miasma...

CHANNEL 7’s flagship studio in Martin Place may have been the original target of deranged terrorist Man Haron Monis. The Saturday Telegraph has learned Monis arrived at Martin Place early on Monday morning with the possible intention of taking hostages within the TV network’s studio during the live morning Sunrise broadcast. But it appears that, due to increased security at the studio following the Islamic State threat in September to behead someone in Martin Place, Monis instead rerouted his plot 50m to the Lindt Chocolate Cafe, where he staged his deadly ­17-hour siege, which ended with the deaths of two...

Many Americans have not heard of civil forfeiture, but this outrageous, and expanding, law enforcement tactic is becoming more difficult to ignore.Civil forfeiture does not receive the condemnation it deserves because most people cannot believe that, in the United States, the government can take property from individuals without charging them with a crime. This is the type of behavior expected of the Venezuelan government, not of the United States, where individuals are supposed to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. Instead of charging property owners and having to prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” in civil forfeiture cases, law enforcement...

The US Supreme Court on Friday declined a request from Florida officials to postpone the date when same-sex marriages can begin in the state. In August, a federal judge declared the state's ban unconstitutional, but that order was put on hold until Jan. 5. The state asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to delay the date, and when it refused, the state went to the Supreme Court.

AVENTURA, Fl; Although a growing number of states have approved post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana use, new research shows that the drug may actually worsen symptoms and increase violent behavior. A large observational study of more 2000 participants who were admitted to specialized Veterans Administration treatment programs for PTSD showed that those who never used marijuana had significantly lower symptom severity 4 months later than those who continued or started use after treatment. Veterans who were using marijuana at treatment admission but quit after discharge ("stoppers") also had significantly lower levels of PTSD symptoms...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEUvdREeSmE

(Reuters) - Warren County, Kentucky passed a right-to-work ordinance on Friday, making the fifth most-populous county the first in the state to pass legislation prohibiting unions from requiring members to pay dues in exchange for representation. The ordinance, which lawmakers passed by a 6-1 vote, will face a legal challenge by unions, whose leaders said the law is designed to undercut their ability to bargain effectively for workers. "What we're against is people benefiting from the union and not having to pay the cost," said Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO.

TWO Sydney men have been placed under powerful new anti-terrorism “control orders” following a series of raids across the city this week that were launched amid fears of an imminent attack. The decision to invoke the control orders, granted by a federal court at the request of the Australian Federal Police, is the first time they are known to have been used since legislation expanding their scope was passed last month. The orders were imposed after a wave of counter-terror raids conducted by state and federal police on five properties across north and western Sydney on Thursday — and days...