Free Republic

According to the White House, President Obama has been huddling with advisers on a jobs plan he’ll present to Congress this week. One thing he could do immediately is finalize the free-trade deals with Colombia, South Korea and Panama that have been languishing on his desk. For nearly three years, Republicans and a number of Democrats have been calling on the president to approve these deals to create a level playing field with America’s competitors overseas, vastly expand the market for U.S. goods, strengthen our ties with three important allies and create jobs for Americans. Yet the deals have been...

A group of US archaeologists may have uncovered a section of hull and coral-covered chests that privateer Henry Morgan lost during his 1671 raid of Panama. The team from Texas State University is led by underwater archaeologist Frederick Hanselmann. He led last year's discovery of cannons at the mouth of the Chagres River that may also have belonged to five ships Morgan is believed to have lost. The team have been working slowly to uncover the wreckage of the ship that has been buried in the sand. "When we get to an archaeological site, like a shipwreck that has a...

Sitting in the Oval Office with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, President Obama praised the “historical relationship” between their two countries and promised greater cooperation and communication on free trade and battling an illicit drug market. “We’re confident that a free-trade agreement between our countries will create jobs here in the United States,” Obama told reporters. “It will also be good for Panama.” Obama said they’re continuing cooperation on the “constant problem” of the drug trade. And he said that the more Panama can help showcase the success of the free market, democracy and security to its neighbors, “the more successful...

I have not found any English language sources regarding this patriot of Panama. Freepers everywhere would have loved to meet a real man. One who stood up to Manuel "Pizza Face" Noriega and you may recall his famous photo wearing a blood stained shirt fighting off a kid. That kid was one of Noriega's goons. And yes, "Billy" told me that he clocked the kid but good. Truly a remarkable man and life. One morning, he actually flipped the bird to one of Noriega's helicopter gunships hovering right outside his apartment in the Paitilla neighborhood of Panama City. They couldn't...

President looks ridiculous ignoring Colombia and Panama on Latin America tripWhen President Obama begins his tour of Latin America on Friday, two countries will be conspicuously missing from his itinerary: Colombia and Panama. Although Mr. Obama plans to swing by Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, he opted not to schedule visits to a pair of nations he claims are important partners in his plan to double U.S. exports by 2015. Their absence on his schedule is disappointing - but no surprise. Five years ago, the United States negotiated free-trade agreements with Colombia and Panama, and Mr. Obama has called for...

Geopolitics: America's string-along -and-dither policy on a free-trade pact with Colombia is not only costing U.S. firms; it's exacting a strategic price. China is now exploiting the void with a dry canal at a strategic choke point. A decade ago, military analysts worried about what the final handover of the Panama Canal in 2000 might mean if Chinese companies got a foothold there. Some did, setting up warehouses. Today, something much more dramatic is happening. China's Development Bank is prepared to splash out $7.6 billion to build a whole new railroad "dry canal" on the Colombian side of the isthmus...

MIAMI – A suspected al-Qaida operative who lived for more than 15 years in the U.S. has become chief of the terror network's global operations, the FBI says, marking the first time a leader so intimately familiar with American society has been placed in charge of planning attacks. Adnan Shukrijumah, 35, has taken over a position once held by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Miami-based FBI counterterrorism agent Brian LeBlanc (said). That puts him in regular contact with al-Qaida's senior leadership, including Osama bin Laden... Shukrijumah and two others were part of an "external operations council" that designed and approved...

Two men from Pakistan and Sri Lanka were held without bail Friday on charges that they smuggled Middle Easterners into the United States through third countries for $20,000 each. Iqbal Munawar and Chelliah Sri Kajamukam were arrested late Thursday at Miami International Airport on charges filed in New York, federal authorities said.They made federal court appearances Friday and were ordered to return to court for bond hearings Thursday.An Indian businessman led the smuggling ring, which illegally flew people to Miami and New York and carried them to the United States by boat, FBI agent Timothy Ryan wrote in a court...

Suspected Terrorist Arrested In Florida Iqbal Munawar Arrested In Alleged Immigration Scheme UPDATED: 3:25 p.m. EDT September 14, 2002 MIAMI -- Iqbal Munawar, who was on the FBI's list of suspected terrorists, was jailed as he tried to fly from Miami to Tampa, Fla., Friday morning. Munawar and two other men have been charged with smuggling illegal aliens from the Middle East into the United States on airplanes through Miami International Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport. The suspects are accused of making more than $100,000 in the smuggling operation, selling more than 1,000 false visas to illegal immigrants. Miami-Dade...

The recent border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is a sign of an ambitious plan by Venezuela, Iran and Nicaragua to create a "Nicaragua Canal" linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that would rival the existing Panama Canal. Costa Rica says that last week Nicaraguan troops entered its territory along the San Juan River – the border between the two nations. Nicaragua had been conducting channel deepening work on the river when the incident occurred. Sources in Latin America have told Haaretz that the border incident and the military pressure on Costa Rica, a country without an army, are...

It was the biggest event in our planet's history since the extinction of the dinosaurs.Three million years ago, the Americas collided. The creation of the Panama Isthmus - the narrow land bridge that joins the two continents - wreaked havoc on land, sea and air. It triggered extinctions, diverted ocean currents and transformed climate. Now a multi-billion dollar project to widen the Panama Canal is set to reveal new secrets about the event that changed the world. Panama is a tiny country, but in a perfect location. > The formation of the Panama Isthmus, however, did not only affect the...

NOTE The following text is a quote: August 06, 2010 ICE removes man after investigating a terroristic threat on Metro in January Convicted murder who escaped from jail abroad returned to Panamanian law enforcement WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Panama man convicted of murder in his native country was returned Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Juan Alberto Barrera-Candelaria, 36, illegally entered the United States in 2008 after he escaped from a Panama detention center where he was being held to serve a more than 13 year sentence for murder. In January 2010, ICE special agents assigned to the FBI's...

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - First lady Michelle Obama has arrived in the Florida Panhandle to meet with business and tourism leaders to discuss how the Gulf oil spill has harmed them. Obama's plane landed Monday at the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City.

Islamic Iran / Hezbollah's roots in Brazil (& Latin America) UN approves Iran sanctions [9 Jun 2010] ... UN approves Iran sanctions. Twelve Security Council members endorse fourth round of sanctions against Tehran; Turkey and Brazil vote against proposal, Lebanon abstains; decision marks compromise between US demands, Russia's and China's conditions... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3902831,00.html Turkey? We all know that the current Islamic party's Mr. Erdogan was looking for an excuse to go against Israel, especially since the Gaza operation, the Flotilla Jihad boat incident only helped him in his anti-Israelism campaign. Analysis: Erdogan's harsh Israel rhetoric tests ...2 Jun 2010 ... The...

An interesting clip from C SPAN shows this debate between Reagan and Buckley in 1978 over the Panama Canal treaty. Buckley for it and Reagan against it. Even more interesting is seeing both a young George Will and a young Pat Buchanan among the questioners. Also, Reagan at times turns the floor over to his military expert who is none other than the father of a certain Arizona Senator. It's not interesting to watch the debate but even more fascinating to see so many influential conservatives all at the same event, and knowing in the case of Will and Buchanan...

I have seriously been thinking of leaving the country. My hope is pretty much gone that we can turn any of this around. Who would I be staying for....to support the people who ride in the cart and don't contribute and hate this country? I'm too old for all this and if the immigration bill goes through, I totally believe all is lost. How can we pay VAT, Tax and Trade, Healthcare, Local sales taxes, income taxes, etc., etc. and survive? So overused today, but it's "non-sustainable"

A NORTH Dorset explorer has discovered evidence of an ancient water route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Col John Blashford-Snell made the breakthrough on his recent trip to the Central American country of Nicaragua. It is believed the route, which encompasses rivers, a lake and flood plains, would be more ancient than the Panama Canal. The research focused on the strip of west-coast land separating Lake Nicaragua from the Pacific. A local fisherman told how he managed to cross the strip on a temporary lake created during wet season floods. “It seems likely that even if early cartographers did...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2010 – After the U.S. Army invaded Panama in 1989 to oust the dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega, the country’s people went on to rebuild their lives. Army Sgt. Nicanor Garcia left his native Panama in 1989 before the invasion by the U.S. Army and didn’t return until 20 years later. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Travis Zielinski  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Twenty years after Operation Just Cause, a soldier deployed here who left Panama before the war began to live in the United States had the chance to return to his native country...

Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, December 17, 2009 Guyanese National Charged with Smuggling Indian Nationals to the United States A Guyanese national has been indicted on charges of conspiracy and alien smuggling in connection with her role in the smuggling or attempted smuggling of four Indian nationals to the United States. Annita Devi Gerald, aka Annita Rampersad, 52, was charged in a nine-count indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas. Gerald was arrested by ICE special agents in Houston on Nov. 17, 2009, and has been held without...

When Islamists made their roots south of the border... Venezuela's dictator: H. Chavez that "sees" only money, oil and Anti-Americanism-Power, does "serve" the Islamic Iranian Republic well, giving out passports to anyone. From that "port" it is quite easy for an Islamic Iranian AGENT to arrive into any other Latin American country as a... "Venezuelan". A "random" different case (of a Muslim trying to "blend" into Latin America), a year ago, a Jordanian Arab that "met" a Costa Rican (Tica) girl in Spain (she vouched for him in CR, asw this man came from the area in Jordan where a...