Free Republic

San Juan (AFP) - Tens of thousands of water bottles destined for desperate Puerto Ricans after devastating back-to-back hurricanes slammed into the US island territory remain unopened on farmland almost two years later, emergency aid officials confirmed Monday. Aerial images captured by AFP show a sea of water bottles, packaged into massive bundles, heaped on what appears to be a private estate in the Higuillar neighborhood in Dorado, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of San Juan. In some pictures, the ground isn't visible through the piles. In others, broken pallets can be seen among the stacks.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is actually seeking public feedback on this so-called modification to a vital part of the naturalization process - The United States Oath of Allegiance, which new citizens have been reciting since 1778.

Four men were killed — including a man who died shielding his mother from gunfire — and at least 22 others have been wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening.

<p>Baltimore literally exploded in violent protests last night as a few hundred #BlackLivesMatter goons shut down the city for some time. They managed to pen up 36,000 Baltimore Orioles fans within their stadium at Camden Yards as they rampaged through the streets, duking it out with bystanders. It’s being claimed that they originally meant for the protests to be peaceful… right. But people shouldn’t fret… President Barack Obama partied down at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner just 50 miles away while all hell was breaking loose. They must have been celebrating the chaos.</p>

Our tax code is byzantine, our businesses are over-taxed, and our economy is continuing to suffer. We can do better. We have done better. We deserve better. The Tax Foundation released its first global stat called the “International Tax Competitiveness Index”. This index aims to measure two criteria, competitiveness and neutrality, by examining “the extent to which a country’s tax system adheres to”, these “two important principles of tax policy”. The index accounted for more than 40 tax positions and policies. In their analysis, two of the most damning reasons for ranking the United States near the very bottom of...

I feel as though I have accidentally stepped into the transporter and been transported to Bizarro world. You have to rub your eyes and read again what is on the screen. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Jonathan Turley said Obama has become the President Nixon wished he could have been. Maybe, but Nixon would not insult one's intelligence so baldly as this wretched regime does on a daily basis. You go out your front door. It's raining. You're getting wet. Obama tells you it's sunny. Jen Psaki says it's sunny. Jay Carney says it's sunny....

Boo-hoo. We should be so ashamed. We failed Obama. He's disappointed in us, disappointed in the whole WORLD. Our behavior has been totally unacceptable. Spoiled brats, that's what we are - undeserving of him and his great plans for the world. Everything would be hunky and dory right now if we'd just cheered him on and not objected to anything - "That's a very good thing you did Barack, a very good thing indeed." News Bulletin: Obama Believes He’s Too Good for Us Hot AirVia the Weekly Standard, a classic summation of foreign policy Hopenchange-style, right up there with “leading...

"Obama appeals to the core "grown man in a onesie" demographic" - Dan McLaughlin @baseballcrank The folks at Organizing for Action (also known as @BarackObama) won’t rest until everyone spends this holiday season talking about health insurance. Then, when they eventually do rest, they’ll do it in plaid onesies, apparently.

Iran will decide the level of uranium enrichment in its nuclear programme based on its energy and other civilian needs, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in remarks reported Saturday. His remarks appeared to conflict with the landmark nuclear deal struck with world powers in Geneva last weekend, which states that the enrichment level must be mutually defined and agreed upon by both sides in further negotiations. "Iran will decide the level of enrichment according to its needs for different purposes," Zarif said late Friday night, according to the official IRNA news agency. "Only details of the enrichment activities are...

Adamu said he fell to the ground as the gunmen stomped on his body, crying “Allahu Akbar” as his wife sobbed. When his wife realized he was alive and went to find help, she found the neighbors had been murdered. Adamu lay there for eight hours before he was able to get to a hospital. He held up photos of his bloody, swollen face after the attack for committee members to see. “I am alive because God want you to have a message,” he continued. “I have a message, just as I told my wife as I was left for...

Heavy shooting from guns and anti-aircraft weapons could be heard early on Tuesday in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Reuters witnesses said.

"A lingering mystery in the August 2011 helicopter crash that killed 30 U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan is why some bodies were cremated and some were not. ***snip*** "Charles Strange of Philadelphia, Michael’s father, said two Navy casualty representatives informed him that his son was “burnt up.” Based on that information, he said, he and Michael’s mother authorized the petty officer’s cremation. ***snip*** “I looked at the picture. And my son did not have to be cremated. He was laying there. His one ankle was messed up. But he was laying there like he had a gun in his hand. He...

One of the most senior and best-known Muslim Brotherhood leaders still at large following the military crackdown in Egypt has been arrested Essam el-Erian, a member of the organisation’s Guidance Council or politburo and deputy leader of its political front, the Freedom and Justice Party, was seized at an apartment in north-east Cairo, the interior ministry said. Mr Erian had been on the run since a warrant was issued for his arrest following the army’s overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi. He played a central role in the subsequent Brotherhood-led protests, based at the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque which...

The following script is from "Benghazi" which aired on Oct. 27, 2013. The correspondent is Lara Logan. Max McClellan, producer. When Chris Stevens was killed in Benghazi, Libya, on the anniversary of September 11th last year, it was only the sixth time that the United States had lost an ambassador to its enemies. The events of that night have been overshadowed by misinformation, confusion and intense partisanship. But for those who lived through it, there's nothing confusing about what happened, and they share a sense of profound frustration because they say they saw it coming. Tonight, you will hear for...

October 24, 2013 Benghazi suspects not on State Department's 'Rewards for Justice' list Catherine Herridge The State Department's "Rewards for Justice" program -- which offers multimillion-dollar payouts for tips leading to wanted terrorists -- does not include suspects in the Benghazi terror attack. The State Department has not offered an explanation as to why those individuals are not on the list. Pressed by Fox News and The Associated Press on Thursday, spokeswoman Marie Harf suggested the important thing was that the Obama administration is resolved to find those suspects. "This is nothing at all to do with politics. We've made...

Illegal immigrants, driving legally on the road. Next month, non-visa status people in Illinois can begin the process of obtaining a temporary driver's license. Despite the controversial law being on the books since January, many questions remain. "Public safety." "But they're here illegally." Those are the main arguments for and against a law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain a temporary drivers license for three years. "This means freedom," Claudia Fabian, who came to the U.S. from Argentina, said. "It means being not scared anymore of maybe you are not going to be stopped that day and put in jail...

America the Beautiful, or so you used to be. Land of the Pilgrims' pride; I'm glad they'll never see. Babies piled in dumpsters, Abortion on demand, Oh, sweet land of liberty; your house is on the sand. Our children wander aimlessly poisoned by cocaine, Choosing to indulge their lusts, when God has said abstain. From sea to shining sea, our Nation turns away From the teaching of God's love and a need to always pray. We've kept God in our temples, how callous we have grown. When earth is but His footstool, and Heaven is His throne. We've voted...

Samantha Lewthwaite, the County Down born woman known as the White Widow, evaded capture at the Kenyan shopping mall by smearing blood over her face, security sources there have said.

<p>As if the senseless massacre of innocents in Nairobi’s Westgate mall was not horrific enough, reports are surfacing that the Islamic terrorists who seized the mall last weekend tortured, beheaded, raped, and mutilated their victims before killing them. A police doctor who entered the mall after the attack said these reports “are not allegations. Those are f***ing truths.”</p>

'A British man who offered himself as a hostage to save the lives of a group of children was today described by colleagues as a 'born leader'. Mitul Shah, 38, a sales executive from London attempted to strike a deal with the terrorists, replacing children with himself, a heroic act which gave several victims vital time to escape. The selfless father did not get through to the gunmen and was shot alongside a number of children in the Kenyan tragedy, leaving behind his wife and two-year-old daughter. Today his employers, the cooking oil company Bidco Oil, and his work colleagues...