Free Republic

Suppose you've just turned 18, barely out of high school, and now you're on guard duty at the borders of Israel, like the girls and boys who check your tourist luggage at Ben Gurion airport. It's an adult job, but you try to live a normal life, while being publicly threatened by suicidal Moo Bros, nuke-happy Ahmadinejad, and all their leftist enablers. Welcome to your life. This is not your beer-soaked Spring Break. It's not a break at all. Check out the daily hate propaganda translations in English on MEMRI.org, and you can see what they are facing. Fortunately it's...

This video comes courtesy of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which was a little surprised to see a White House aide claim the need for secrecy when it comes to a proposed Executive Order on transparency. Barack Obama wants more transparency on political contributions from executives at government contractors, but apparently his staff believes in “transparency for thee, opacity for we” in the West Wing. Here’s Daniel Gordon attempting to explain that there isn’t any irony at all in invoking executive privilege over their efforts to promulgate an unprecedented intrusion into political thought in the private sector:

Freeppers? In the sixties late century I had my first English Course which was Eletronic Teacher (one of this boondozels pseudo-cientific thing that used bone induction subliminar learning techs...) and at end sixties Thomas Gefferson House in Brazilia - Brazil for two years... I do have great difficulty with the double letters in words, as pp, ll, ss and so on... Can you help me with a rule?

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Channel 4 News has learned that a controversial deputy has been rehired in Rutherford County. Ron Killings was acquitted earlier this year by a jury in the 2008 traffic death of 11-year-old old Lakeisha White. Outgoing Sheriff Truman Jones confirmed Wednesday that he has rehired Killings. ... Incoming sheriff, Robert Arnold, said that he did not want Killings back in the department but he isn't saying whether he"ll fire Killings when he's sworn in.

Eleven years ago, we rescued Britain from the parlous state to which socialism had brought it. I remind the House that, under socialism, this country had come to such a pass that [ Nicholas Henderson ] one of our most able and distinguished ambassadors felt compelled to write in a famous dispatch, a copy of which found its way into The Economist, the following words: "We talk of ourselves without shame as being one of the less prosperous countries of Europe. The prognosis for the foreseeable future" , he said in 1979, was "discouraging". Conservative government has changed all that....

Tonight marks the end of a television era: 24 airs its eighth season finale. The impact of the show on the country has been profound; in the way subjects on the show have been brought into the public spectrum and how Jack Bauer, the protagonist, has become an icon – the man that will do anything to stop evil. While many mourn the loss of Law and Order or Lost, 24 has had a greater impact on America in our post-9/11 era.

Enjoy burning a lot of energy tonight!!

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2010 – The clearing phase of Operation Moshtarak in the center of Afghanistan’s Helmand province continued yesterday, with combined Afghan and international forces conducting a number of mounted and dismounted patrols, military officials reported. Forces have been engaged in periodic small-arms firefights. A number of insurgents have been either killed or detained, officials said, and the combined force has suffered some injuries. Three successful “shuras” were held with influential community members, and other meetings with Helmand residents also took place. Afghan and International Security Assistance Force troops found improvised explosive devices and enemy weapons stockpiles. In Task...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A classified Pentagon assessment shows one in five detainees released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay has joined or is suspected of joining militant groups like al Qaeda, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The disclosure comes amid revelations that former detainees were playing a leadership role in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- a Yemen-based group believed to be behind a failed plot to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day....

When All Else Fails… What Then? First a few statements of obvious fact: President Barrack Hussein Obama has never been properly certified as being Constitutionally eligible to hold the office of President Of The United States. For that to have happened, members of the DNC Elections Certification body would have to have seen and personally witnessed a certified version of Obama’s long form birth certificate to verify his eligibility. Yet we know that Obama has never shown such. In fact, not only has he never produced this document (nor has any member of the DNC ever claimed to have witnessed...

The White House disclosed the other day that the fiscal 2009 budget deficit clocked in at $1.4 trillion, amid the usual promises to do something about it. Yet even as budget director Peter Orszag was speaking, House Democrats were moving on a dozen spending bills for fiscal 2010 that total 12.1% in more domestic discretionary increases. Yes, 12.1%. Remember, inflation is running close to zero, or 0.8%. The good news, if we can call it that, is that Senate Democrats only want to increase nondefense appropriations by 8% for 2010. Because these funding increases become part of the permanent baseline...

Downing Street has hit back at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for attacking the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber. President Obama and the US Secretary of State fuelled a fierce American backlash against Britain, claiming Abdelbaset Al Megrahi should have been forced to serve out his jail sentence in Scotland – but a senior Whitehall aide said their reaction was ‘disingenuous

According to Janet Napolitano, who succeeded the metaphor-happy Michael Chertoff as United States Secretary of Homeland Security, the term 'global war on terror' did not describe accurately the nature of the 'terrorist threat to the US'. "One of the reasons the nomenclature is not used is that 'war' carries with it a relationship to nation-states in conflict with each other," she told the Financial Times, adding: "and of course terrorism is not necessarily derived from the nation-state relationship." Reflecting the careful attention devoted to this matter at the highest levels of government, Napolitano concluded: "In some respects 'war' is too...

Run on the Banks Planned for 4/17/2009I have my doubts on whether the guys over at campaignforliberty.com will be successful, but they're attempting to organize a run on the banks on April 17th with the goal being a collapse of the Federal Reserve system - or at the very least to bring attention to Ron Paul's HR 833. They have a web site set up with some information here: http://libertyormayhem.com/

Amid a blizzard of disheartening polls a month out from the general election, the John McCain-Sarah Palin Republican ticket got some great news this afternoon: A clear go-ahead signal to millions of evangelicals across the country from Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of FocDr James Dobson founder and chairman of Focus on the Family who radio program and newsletters reach millions of evangelicals approves a vote for the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palinus on the Family, to vote for the GOP ticket. It couldn't have come at a better time given more polls showing a Democratic...

Loremo AG revises the look of its high MPG vehicle.’ - Loremo AG’s highly efficient Loremo LS and Loremo GT have been profiled several occasions time on DailyTech. When discussions started to brew about the vehicles, the topic quickly turned to fuel economy and then to their styling. There was no mistaking the bodywork for something other than futuristic with its low-slung profile, glass roof, and long, aerodynamic tail. With Loremo coming closer to providing a road going version of its vehicle, it made changes to the vehicle exterior to make it more feasible for production.

A study by an American organisation has claimed that in the three years after the 9/11 attacks, US military aid to Pakistan increased 45,000 per cent, soaring to $ 4.2 billion from $ 9.1 million earlier. The study by Center for Public Integrity, using information gathered through Freedom of Information requests, said more than half the money was provided through a post-9/11 Defence Department programme informally called Coalition Support Funds (CSF). Pakistan received $2.3 billion of the aid from CSF money in fiscal years 2002 through 2004 and $ 3 billion in 2005. Thus the country was at the first...

A Hawaii county erected a Christmas tree to protect a Chanukah menorah from a church-state separation challenge. The American Civil Liberties Union complained to Maui County this week after seeing the menorah, accompanied by a dreidel, in front of the county building. A local rabbi had asked authorities for permission to set up the menorah. The ACLU cited laws that say that displaying a religious symbol by itself could constitute endorsement of that religion. County workers scrambled Wednesday to find a Christmas tree, in short supply in Hawaii this late in the season. One was found at a local botanical...

Over the next two years, Republican leaders need to remember that they came to Washington to change it, not embrace it. We need an agenda that approaches issues from a conservative perspective and not one driven by politics. America is a conservative nation and wants conservative government. They don’t want corruption and power-hungry politicians.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A famous political name does not guarantee hassle-free voting, as former "first daughter" Chelsea Clinton discovered Tuesday. She turned up shortly after 6 a.m. at her polling site on West 20th Street -- in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan -- only to be told her name was not in the voter registration books there, a voting official said. It turned out the registration book for her district had been mistakenly sent to the wrong location, said New York City Board of Elections Executive Director John Ravitz. She filed an affidavit vote -- a paper ballot that...

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the Western position in the nuclear dispute is getting weaker. 'The Western position against us is day by day getting weaker while ours is getting stronger,' Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the city of Shahriar, west of the capital Tehran. 'The West is getting unstable in its decisions. One day they threaten us, the other day they come with a smile,' the Iranian president said in the speech carried live by the news network Khabar. Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran's nuclear programmes would continue despite all pressures and intimidation, but stressed...

Thomas report - Download 525k Listen to Thomas report North Korea's claims to have detonated a nuclear weapon are expected to have wide-reaching effects on efforts to stem nuclear proliferation, especially with regard to Iran. Tehran will be calculating what the international response to the North Korean test will be, and how it will affect its bargaining position. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il The physical shock waves from North Korea's test may have been limited, but the political shock waves are far more profound, and no more so than in Tehran.Karim Sadjapour, an Iranian affairs analyst with the International...

MOSCOW, October 10 (Itar-Tass) - The situation regarding the Iranian nuclear problem was in the focus of attention during the conversation on Tuesday between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak and ambassador of the Republic of Iran to Moscow Gholamreza Ansari. The diplomats also exchanged opinions on a number of international problems, the ministry noted. The meeting was held at the request of the Iranian ambassador. Nicholas Burns, the US undersecretary of state, said earlier to the BBC that the drafting of a new Security Council resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme would start this week. He said the resolution would...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters pelted the Danish embassy in Tehran with stones and petrol bombs on Tuesday after Danish television broadcast footage deemed insulting to the Muslim Prophet Mohammad, witnesses said. Denmark's state TV aired footage on Friday of a number of members of the youth wing of the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party (DPP) drawing cartoons in August mocking the Prophet. Iran condemned the broadcast. Reuters witnesses said protesters hurled stones and petrol bombs into the embassy compound. The crowd chanted "Down with Zionists" and "God praise the party of God". Riot police guarded the embassy and two...

(Agencies) A NORTH Korean official has warned the communist nation could fire a nuclear-tipped missile unless the US acts to resolve its standoff with Pyongyang, a South Korean news agency has reported. "We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes," the unnamed official said, according to a Yonhap report from Beijing.

Mr Keating said . . . "My great concern is that Japan may use the impasse of North Korea and this testing of its nuclear weapons to move into nuclear weapons itself, eschewing the nuclear protection provided to it by the United States under its umbrella," he told a business breakfast.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, facing a new election-year foreign policy crisis, condemned North Korea's reported nuclear test on Monday and vowed the United States will respect its security commitments in Asia. Democrats eager to oust Republicans from control of the U.S. Congress wasted no time in accusing him of being in a "state of denial" about North Korea for several years as he pursued war in Iraq. They demanded a change in strategy. In his first reaction to the North Korean test, Bush said he talked by phone with the leaders of China, South Korea, Japan and...

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- South Korean stocks dropped sharply Monday after North Korea announced it had conducted an underground nuclear weapons test, raising concerns that investment money may flow out of its neighbor to the south over risk concerns.

LONDON (AP) - High-level representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia are planning to meet in London on Friday to assess Iran's refusal to suspend uranium-enrichment. They are expected to refer the Iranian nuclear case to the UN Security Council, which will start discussing possible sanctions against Iran next week, some western diplomats said Thursday. Russia's foreign minister, however, said he believes it is too soon to impose sanctions and further efforts are needed to push Iran to negotiate. To avoid alienating Russia and China, any sanctions are likely to be relatively mild, including embargoes on...

The Anglo-American special relationship today faces one of its greatest challenges ever in rising British opposition to the United Kingdom’s close ties to the United States. The resurgent Conservative Party under David Cameron must do more to counter this change in public attitudes. British Conservatives should embrace their Party’s traditional pro-Atlanticist agenda and resist the temptation to adopt an anti-American foreign policy. The realistic alternative—spurning Washington in favor of closer ties to Brussels—threatens the effectiveness and leadership of both the United States and Great Britain on the world stage, as well as the progress of the war on terrorism. Changing...

Gollust report - Download 304k Listen to Gollust report U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday Iran will not suspend uranium enrichment and it is time for the U.N. Security Council to move on sanctions against Tehran. Rice is expected to meet with fellow foreign ministers from the other permanent Security Council member countries and Germany on the issue as early as this week. Condoleezza Rice Though a Security Council deadline for Iran to halt enrichment expired August 31, the major powers allowed a dialogue between the European Union and Tehran to continue.But EU chief diplomat Javier Solana declared...

TEHRAN A letter written by Iran's former supreme ruler, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and published last Friday refers indirectly to Iran's needs to pursue nuclear weapons and has become part of the struggle between moderates and the military as it tries to expand its power under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. and world emergency crude oil reserves could replace a complete shut-off of Iranian oil exports for 18 months, avoiding an estimated $201 billion in damage to the American economy, the Government Accountability Office said on Tuesday. There has been concern among energy traders that tough action by the United States and other western countries against Iran's nuclear program could cause Tehran to retaliate by cutting off the country's oil exports. Iran is the world's fourth biggest oil exporter, selling about 2.7 million barrels a day. Such a disruption would remove close to 1.5 billion...

WASHINGTON - Former advisers ridiculed ex-President Bill Clinton yesterday for saying he had a plan to invade Afghanistan, topple the Taliban and kill Osama Bin Laden after jihadists nearly sank the destroyer Cole. "The only order we got from [Clinton] after the Cole was to put together a target list for air attacks," said Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's hunt for Osama Bin Laden under Clinton. "What I was involved in could in no way be called a full-fledged plan to attack and overthrow the Taliban," he said. In his fiery interview on "Fox News Sunday," Clinton claimed he...

Muslims For America Endorses Senator George Allen - The Senator Allen That We Know By Muhammad Ali Hasan As an American Muslim activist, I am growing upset over the accusations that Senator George Allen is facing. Granted, the use of the word “macaca” was completely inappropriate, but I forgive Senator Allen for good reason. I have met Senator Allen personally, our organization has provided advice to his campaign, and I want to confirm it now and for all – Senator Allen is not racist; in fact, he is one of the Senate’s most open-minded and unbigoted leaders. Senator Allen has...

BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - France, Britain and Germany would be willing to begin talks with Iran even if it has not suspended its nuclear enrichment programme first, but Washington would not take part, a German magazine reported on Saturday. So far Iran has refused to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which could refine uranium for atom bombs, saying its nuclear fuel ambitions are limited to fuelling power stations. Western countries suspect Tehran wants to produce weapons. Citing unnamed German diplomatic sources, weekly Der Spiegel said the goal of this new strategy would be to lure Tehran to the negotiating...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Bush accused Iran's rulers on Tuesday of using their nation's wealth to fund terrorists and nuclear arms research but said he preferred to resolve differences with Tehran diplomatically before resorting to sanctions. In a speech to the United Nations rebuffing critics of his muscular promotion of democracy in the Middle East, Bush assailed the leaders of Iran and Syria while appealing to their peoples over their heads. In a week of Muslim protests over Pope Benedict's criticism of their faith, the U.S. leader said the West was not hostile to Islam, contrary to "propaganda and...

But, Bush added, the United States was pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis over Iran. In a 21-minute speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Bush directly addressed the people of a number of Middle Eastern countries, saying that the United States wanted to support democratic reforms, defeat extremism and convince them it was not acting against Islam.

Ahmadinejad more generally accused the United States and Britain of manipulating the Security Council to further their own agendas. "The question needs to be asked: if the governments of the United States or the United Kingdom who are permanent members of the Security Council, commit aggression, occupation and violation of international law, which of the organs of the UN can take them to account?" he said.

We remember where we were that day. At 9:38 a.m., the entire Pentagon shook. I went outside and saw the horrific face of war in the 21st century. Those present could feel the heat of the flames and smell the burning jet fuel -- all that remained of American Airlines flight 77. ...Yet, even with these victories in the war, President Bush reminded us that it is important to understand the nature of this enemy, and what it is seeking to do. The extremist movement that threatens us is not a reactionary force -- it actively looks for opportunities to...

CINCINNATI - Ohio's rules for primary elections make it too hard for minor parties to get on the ballot, a federal appeals court ruled. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said the primary requirements allow the Republican and Democratic parties to monopolize general elections. Ohio "is among the most restrictive, if not the most restrictive, state in granting minor parties access to the ballot," the ruling said. Parties automatically qualify for the primary ballot if their candidate for governor or president received at least 5 percent of the vote in the previous Ohio election. Any other party must...

The series of speeches the president has been giving on the global war on terror show how and why the Bush administration has batted 1.000 in protecting the homeland from terrorist assaults in the last five years. The speeches surely will rank among the most important addresses of any presidency, and they may be the boost congressional Republicans are looking for amid predictions that one or both houses are at risk of going Democratic. For all intents and purposes, the Republican Party now has a lock on the issue of national security. After President Bush described how the CIA’s much-criticized...

The Episcopal Church has approximately 2 million members and 7,200 churches in the U.S. and is part of the 77-million member Anglican Communion. Because of its presence in the U.S., the relative wealth of its members, and its connections to Anglicans throughout the world, the Episcopal Church is in a strategic position to influence attitudes toward Israel on both a national and global scale. - Sadly, the Episcopal Church is Not a trustworthy observer of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The church's leaders and constitutive bodies routinely issue one-sided statements about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and its publications portray Israel as exclusively responsible...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- At about 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Debra Wagner and her colleagues at the Pentagon got a phone call telling them to turn on the television. There had been a terrible “accident” in New York City. Debra Wagner, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, stands by a display honoring the people who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Wagner said she came through the tragic events with a profound belief in the resilience of America and its people. Photo by...

Iran unveiled its first locally manufactured fighter plane Wednesday during large-scale military exercises, state-run television reported. The report said the bomber Saegheh is similar to the American F-18 fighter plane, but "more powerful." It also said the plane was "designed, optimized and improved by Iranian experts." State TV said the Iranian air force had commissioned the Saegheh plane after many test flights in the past year. Television footage showed the airplane taking off and launching two rockets. The plane had a small cockpit and only one pilot. "Saegheh is capable of launching both rockets and bombs," the report said. General...

Iran said on Monday it had tested a new air defense system to counter missiles and aircraft during large-scale military exercises throughout the country, state-run television reported. "The upgraded missiles successfully destroyed the presumed enemies' missiles in low altitude simultaneously in several points," said Gen. Amir Amini, deputy commander of Iran's Air Force. The television footage showed at least four surface-to-air missiles being fired from mobile launching pads. The report did not say if the missile was equipped with a guidance system. During maneuvers dubbed "The Blow of Zolfaghar," which began in August 19, Iran test fired short-range surface-to-surface and...

THE scale of the Holocaust has been "greatly exaggerated", Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said today, adding he had visited several former concentration camps in eastern Europe. “When I was ambassador I saw several of these camps in (the former) East Germany and Poland. In my opinion it has been greatly exaggerated. It is far from what is being publicised,” Hamid Reza Asefi said. His comments come ahead of a conference to be held on December 11 in Iran which the Islamic republic hopes will present “hidden aspects” of the slaughter of Jews under Nazi Germany. “Different opinions which affirm and...

THE Italian Foreign Minister said today that Iran's desire to develop nuclear energy is "legitimate" provided the goal of the program was for "peaceful purposes"."If Iran is looking to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, it is not only legitimate, but can also clear the way for cooperation" with other countries, said Massimo D'Alema.He stressed that Iran's nuclear program must be peaceful."We must work so that Iran does not build a nuclear weapon," he said.The comments by Italy's top diplomat came one day before a deadline set by the UN Security Council for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment...

The United States has warned Iran that military option "is not off the table" as it mulls a multi-pronged strategy to prevent Tehran from going nuclear. "I think any president charged with responsibility for protecting the American people is not going to take the military option off the table when you confront a threat as grave as an Iran armed with nuclear weapons," US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said. "... He's (Bush) made it plain for some time that our preferred way of dealing with this problem is through peaceful and diplomatic means, and that's what we've...

SO, what now? Iran has defied the UN order to stop its most controversial nuclear work. It looks as if there will be a fudge by the European Union, dragging the US along behind. At yesterday's deadline, which was supposed to be the climax of this long-running standoff, Europeans blinked first. Germany and Italy, in particular, have taken the view that more talks would be preferable to sanctions, even at the cost of blurring the force of the UN Security Council demand. That has played into the hands of Russia and China, who never much wanted sanctions. It has left...