Free Republic

Over the past two years, there has been a noticeable shift in European politics toward the center and right of the political spectrum. It began with conservative electoral victories in Germany and Poland in 2005, and was followed by similar electoral results in Sweden in 2006 and in Finland and France in 2007. This shift has led to a European political environment that is much more amenable to partnering with the United States to address mutual foreign policy challenges. Prior to 2005, European foreign policy efforts were led by France under President Jacques Chirac, a Gaullist who worked tirelessly to...

McCain has recently been making efforts to reach out to all sorts of people not traditionally associated with the GOP. He appeared on the View, the Daily Show, before black civil rights activists in Alabama, etc. When is he going to make a serious effort to reach out to conservatives? How about promising to appoint strict constructionist judges? How about re-assurances on gun ownership rights? What about reducing the out-of-control spending of this administation? Does he take conservative support for granted? Does he even want them? Maybe he sees that Obama and his kooky spiritual advisor have totally freaked most...

An ambitious new book explains how and why the U.S. is so different from other countries around the world. “America is indeed exceptional by any plausible definition of the term and actually has grown increasingly exceptional [over] time.” This is the conclusion of the editors of a new volume, Understanding America: The Anatomy of an Exceptional Nation (PublicAffairs, $35). At an American Enterprise Institute conference on April 22, Peter H. Schuck and James Q. Wilson introduced the collection of essays, which is designed to probe Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation that America is “exceptional,” or qualitatively different from other countries. The...

Diplomacy: Democrats have hammered the Bush administration for supposedly losing allies and global standing. But a look at U.S. ties shows Bush to be a master diplomat who is strengthening U.S. relations all over."The world owes President Bush a debt of gratitude in leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a man whose recent elevation to office was supposed to denote a "cooling" of relations with the U.S. and a tilt toward Europe. But Europe isn't really "cooling," either. France is now led by a man elected as "le Americain." Like...

"An American army officer, played by James Garner, tells his British paramour, played by Julie Andrews, "You American haters bore me to tears. ... I've dealt with Europeans all my life. I know all about us parvenus from the States who come over here and race around your old cathedral towns with our cameras and Coca-Cola bottles ... and act like we own the world. ... I've had Germans and Italians tell me how politically ingenuous we are. ... But we haven't managed a Hitler or a Mussolini yet. I've had Frenchmen call me a savage because I only took...

Karin Quade, a terrific German who is a stalwart supporter of the United States and the U.S. military personnel serving in Germany, has been threatened with death in an online video. As of this writing, the video was still online. It refers to her as "The Bush activist" and shows the route to her home. It features a song with the lyrics, “I used to love her, but I had to kill her.” Karin writes about it in her blog anti-anti-americanism.com. She appeared in my piece on anti-Americanism in the European media. Karin believes she has been targeted for her...

So Americans should be thankful they have one of the last functioning nation-states. Europeans, because they've been so inept at exercising it, no longer believe in national sovereignty, whereas it would never occur to Americans not to. This profoundly different attitude to the nation-state underpins, in turn, Euro-American attitudes to transnational institutions such as the United Nations. But on this Thanksgiving the rest of the world ought to give thanks to American national sovereignty, too. When something terrible and destructive happens – a tsunami hits Indonesia, an earthquake devastates Pakistan – the United States can project itself anywhere on the...

  Gordon Brown: I love the USA   By DAVID WOODING Whitehall Editor Published: Today GORDON Brown yesterday quashed fears he wants to break Britain’s links with America — and vowed to make them even stronger. The Prime Minister moved to dispel unease over a minister’s claim that the two nations would no longer be “joined at the hip”.   Malloch-Brown ... isolated He hailed the US as “our most important ally over the years, a country that we share values with”. And Mr Brown added: “The strength of our relationship with America is incredibly important to the future...

PM TO SHOW ENTHUSIASM FOR US LINKGordon Brown will attempt to repair his battered relations with President Bush by insisting that the US remains Britain's closest ally. The Prime Minister will use his annual Mansion House foreign policy speech to try to quash speculation that he values transatlantic ties less than his predecessor, Tony Blair. He will also signal support for America's tough stance against Iran - insisting now is the time to "ratchet up" diplomatic pressure, and again refusing to rule out support for military strikes. A Downing Street source said Mr Brown was determined that there would be...

That Nicolas Sarkozy is France's most pro-American president in generations - in fact, come to think of it, ever - there is no reason to argue over. It is the one point on which both he and his enemies would agree. A man who declared his intention on going to Washington of "reconquering the heart of America" - and who in his speech to Congress cited Elvis Presley, Charlton Heston and Neil Armstrong as his heroes - is clearly not lukewarm about "les Etats-Unis".

state visit is a natural occasion for rhetoric celebrating the ties between guest and host. Having declared at the White House on Tuesday that he wished to "reconquer the heart of America in a lasting fashion", Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday wooed a joint session of Congress with mentions of Lafayette and Washington, American intervention in Europe in 1917 and 1944, the Marshall Plan and the Berlin airlift. But on top of these familiar historical references, the French president lauded the "can-do" spirit of America, whether expressed through stars such as Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe or through the moon landing of...

According to a poll, the US was the mostly favourably viewed country even in the Left-ruled states of West Bengal and Kerala (Reuters Photo) NEW DELHI: Indians, cutting across states and socio-economic status, have more 'warm' feelings for the United States than any other country, according to an extensive survey done by a team led by a US-based political scientist of Indian origin. The survey, which polled over 2 lakh respondents, found that of those who expressed an opinion the warmth towards the US was the maximum followed by Japan, Russia and China. The three other countries about which the...

Which Middle East country held spontaneous candlelight vigils for victims of the World Trade Center Attack on 9/11? * Kuwait - No. * Saudi Arabia - No. * Israel - No. * Iran - Yes. World Trade Center under attack on 9/11/2001 Following the terrorist attacks on New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, many people in Iran showed their support for the victims with vigils, prayers and letters only to be attacked, arrested and tortured by the Iranian government Thousands of Iranians attend candlelight vigil in Tehran. Tehran citizens show support for the WTC victims. Many Iranians show support...

On a recent sunny weekend in the usually sleepy town of Craponne-sur-Arzon, American flags festooned the streets, country music blared amid the sidewalk cafés, and hundreds of people milled about in cowboy hats or even top-to-toe Wild West get-ups. Dozens of folks turned local squares in this town in the Haute-Loire region of southern France into impromptu, western-style dance floors. The catalyst for all this was the annual Country Rendez-Vous, a three-day festival of country-western music and bluegrass that takes place here each summer in late July. Over the past two decades, country and western festivals have sprung up in...

Contrary to what Americans hear constantly from the media, Venezuelans have a poor opinion of their president, Hugo Chavez, and a positive opinion of Americans and the United States. As a senior Venezuelan currently living in the U.S. while keeping up-to-date with Venezuelan affairs (I am also a former member of the Venezuelan congress), I have come to accept that Venezuela generally merits little attention from U.S. society, except in three or four areas: baseball players, beautiful women, oil and the antics of Hugo Chavez. Hugo Chavez' September 2006 UN speech in which he called President Bush a "devil" and...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) sounded the part of a presidential candidate when he visited Iowa Friday to tout his record as a true conservative. “I am unabashedly pro-life. I am pro-Second Amendment. And I don't apologize for the United States of America,” Thompson, who is expected to declare his candidacy officially after Labor Day, told his audience in Des Moines. “If things play out the way I’ve got in mind, we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.” The “Law & Order” star said the birth of his children played a key role in his decision to test...

First... Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi refused to meet with the Pro-American President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe when he came to Washington to personally beg democrats to release funding to aid their military. Pelosi shut him out. In late April the American Spectator wrote this about the destructive actions by Speaker Pelosi: She has third parties (Far Left groups) who have encouraged her not to take the meeting," says a leadership aide, who said a coalition of labor organizations and MoveOn.org had been pressuring her to not meet with Uribe. "We've never seen anything like it. It's not like...

Can you remember the last time you heard "Today" or other MSM outlets describe in terms such as "over the top" rabid anti-Bush protests by the likes of the Cindy Sheehan crowd, the Code Pink girls, or the kind of folks pictured below? Neither can I. But let President Bush receive a warm welcome from Eastern European crowds who appreciate his leadership on behalf of their freedom, and "Today" just can't take it. On this morning's "Today" at 7:04 am EDT, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reported from Bulgaria on the president's European trip, in which crowds in Bulgaria and notably in...

TIRANA, Albania (AP) - President Bush, enthusiastically welcomed as the first U.S. president in this former communist nation, served notice Sunday he is running out of patience with Russia's objections to independence for neighboring Kosovo. "Sooner rather than later you've got to say 'Enough's enough - Kosovo is independent,'" Bush said, telling Albanians what they wanted to hear. He said independence was a certainty. Nearing the end of an eight-day trip, Bush got a hero's reception in this desperately poor country, still struggling to recover from being cut off from the rest of the world for four decades under the...

The antiwar, pro-gold, libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul tells me he would rather be riding his bicycle than speaking to another reporter on a Thursday afternoon. "My vice is that I'm obsessed with exercise," says the Republican congressman from Texas. But running for president does not exactly disagree with him. All day long, he has been hustling from one press appearance to the next, a high-energy bundle packed into a lithe 71-year-old frame. His brown eyes sparkle with fire as he blurts out one big adjective after another. "Preposterous," he says of Rudy Giuliani, who accused Paul in mid-May of...

Tories reach 'Magic' 40% in pollLeading Liberals in every region except Quebec Norma Greenaway, CanWest News Service Published: Saturday, March 24, 2007 OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harpers' Conservatives have surged to 40% in popular opinion and entered majority government territory, a new poll says. The poll, conducted exclusively by Ipsos-Reid for CanWest News Service and Global Television after the Harper government delivered its new budget, shows the Tories have opened up an 11-point lead nationally over Stephane Dion's Liberals. "The big news is they hit the big four-oh," Pollster Darrell Bricker said of the Conservatives' numbers. "They've hit...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

While President Bush did the talking, the first lady did the walking. Laura Bush played tourist Saturday on a foot tour of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ruins of a 17th century Portuguese fort with a view of the broad River Plate and Argentina on the opposite bank. As her husband met with Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez at a nearby countryside retreat, the first lady strolled in a violet-colored pantsuit down quaint cobblestone streets of the old town of Colonia de Sacramento. Uruguay’s first lady, Maria Auxiliadora Delgado, escorted her. They both smiled as tourists and residents applauded them....

The World Without America 18 Doughty Street has today announced the theme of its next campaign video - "The World Without America". The campaign is being run in conjunction with BritainAndAmerica.com. Your input will be integral to how the video turns out. Click here to comment on what you would like to see the video feature. Three judges will champion one idea each, you will vote on which shortlisted idea is your favourite, and a professional video will be produced within a week. Perhaps the video could focus on what the world would be like with China being the sole...

Looking back at a year in power National Post Published: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 As the first anniversary of his government approached, Prime Minister Stephen Harper sat down in his Centre Block office for a conversation with Policy Options Editor L. Ian MacDonald. The half-hour interview covered a wide range of issues, from Canada- U.S. relations to Afghanistan, from the fiscal imbalance to climate change. What follows is a partial transcript. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST YEAR Policy Options: Prime Minister, thanks for doing this. When you look at the record of your first year in office, how do you...

Sarkozy nears presidency path milestone By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 12, 1:29 PM ET PARIS - What would be more unthinkable: a French president who doesn't drink wine, who is proudly pro-American, or who thinks France has been too arrogant in world affairs? In Nicolas Sarkozy, all of the above would apply. His anointment on Sunday as presidential candidate for the mainstream French right will mark a milestone in an almost lifelong quest by the son of a Hungarian immigrant to become France's head of state. ADVERTISEMENT It will also herald a changing of the guard from...

I recently attended an advance screening of ABC’s outstanding, epic miniseries "The Path to 9/11" (airing this September 10-11), and I came away enormously impressed. Writer/producer Cyrus Nowrasteh ("Into the West"), director David Cunningham ("To End All Wars"), and the whole production team have done a magnificent job in presenting the complex events leading up to 9/11 with accuracy, fairness, and artistry. The writing, acting, directing, editing, cinematography, and overall story-telling are first-rate. "The Path to 9/11" is fast-paced and thoroughly gripping the entire way. The five-hour miniseries (aired over two nights) is based on the 9/11 Commission report, and...

BOSTON: Today, August 3, 2006 Hellenic Electronic Center (HEC)* announced that the latest crisis in the Middle East highlights the significance of the Republic of Cyprus, and recalls the historic friendships and alliances between Greece and the United States. The population of Cyprus is eighty percent Greek, despite attempts by the Turkish government to change the demographics by colonizing the territories that remain under occupation since Ankara invaded Cyprus during the summer of 1974. Despite ongoing difficulties with Turkey, the democratic government of Nicosia and its people have provided invaluable assistance to Americans fleeing the war in Lebanon. State Department...

Flag Day in the Desert by Wayne Boettcher Posted: 06/16/2006 The sun was already scorching the desert sands at 7:00 am as I wound my way through the highways and byways of Tucson to the Military Recruitment Center at 2302 E. Speedway. For some years now liberal activists, (including Communists, moral relativists, aging hippies and gullible students) have protested the military on Wednesday mornings here with signs and flags in an attempt to hinder military recruiting and dampen the moral of American troops and citizens. For almost a year now an ad hoc group of patriotic Americans composed of...

Strategic Forecasting -Stratfor Kosovo: The Quiet Support Behind Ceku's Political RiseMarch 03, 2006 19 40 GMT The ministerial substitution comes during a delicate period between the first and second rounds of U.N.-mediated talks between Kosovar Albanians and Serbians regarding Kosovo's status. The United Nations, which has administered the province since 1999, believes Kosovo will gain independence by the end of 2006. However, Ceku's sudden appearance on the political scene will exasperate Serbia, because Belgrade considers him a war criminal. Ceku's possible appointment seems to be a slap in the face for Serbia, but that will matter little if the U.S....

Canada's Foreign Policy Turning Pro-American February 17th, 2006 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has forcefully made clear his pledge to improve relations with the United States by appointing a pro-American business executive and former Conservative politician as the country’s new ambassador to Washington and firing the nation’s Liberal-Leftist ambassador to the United Nations and replacing him with a non-partisan career diplomat.President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney must be smiling today on the news that Michael Wilson will take over Liberal appointee Frank McKenna’s place in Washington, and that Allan Rock is being replaced at the UN by John...

<p>WASHINGTON -- The Senate, which fancies itself the world's most exclusive club, has its Sir John Hawkins. He was the 18th-century musicologist whom Samuel Johnson called ``a very unclubbable man.'' The very unclubbable senator is Oklahoma's Tom Coburn, 57, a freshman Republican whose motto could be: ``Niceness is overrated.''</p>

     Music For Our Troops -All music is removed on Mondays. Support the artists below by going to the following links: ArtistDirect.com l Amazon.com l Walmart.com l Ticketmaster.com l Google.com l  Songfacts.com l Billboard.com l Audiophile.com l Wherehouse.com l Sonique l  MTV.com l VH1.com l CMT.com l MuchMusic.com l Audio Realm l MSN Radio l Shout Cast l Launch Music l Live-Radio Net lWelcome to The Music Mayhem at The FReeper Canteen! We are proud to serve the best military in the world. Thank you for doing what you do--so we can do what we do!    Artist  ...

Patient and steady with all he must bear, Ready to meet every challenge with care, Easy in manner, yet solid as steel, Strong in his faith, refreshingly real. Isn't afraid to propose what is bold, Doesn't conform to the usual mould, Eyes that have foresight, for hindsight won't do, Never backs down when he sees what is true, Tells it all straight, and means it all too. Going forward and knowing he's right, Even when doubted for why he would fight, Over and over he makes his case clear, Reaching to touch the ones who won't hear. Growing in strength...

Pakistan deletes 'pro-Bush' poem Mr Bush (left) is a key backer of President Musharraf Pakistan's government is to remove a poem from a school textbook after it emerged the first letters of each line spelt out "President George W Bush".The anonymous poem, called The Leader, appeared in a recent English-language course book for 16 year-olds.Critics say it praises Mr Bush. Its rhyming couplets describe someone "solid as steel, strong in his faith".Officials cannot explain how the poem entered the curriculum. Pupils are to ignore it ahead of a reprint next year.Not deliberate'The BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Islamabad says it...

Why does President Bush hope Christmas comes a little late this year? Because on Jan. 23, Canada may elect the most pro-American leader in the Western world. Free-market economist Stephen Harper, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, is pro-free trade, pro-Iraq war, anti-Kyoto, and socially conservative. Move over Tony Blair: If elected, Mr. Harper will quickly become Mr. Bush's new best friend internationally and the poster boy for his ideal foreign leader. Both north and south of the U.S.-Canada border, this vote matters. Canadians are facing an election that may be the closest in a generation. The first opinion poll...

For the past month, there has been heavy advertising for a made-for-tv movie on SAT1 Television called "Die Luftbruecke" (this means "The Airlift"). I was skeptical that it would be pro-American. However, I can't believe me eyes: the movie that everyone in Germany is watching tonight...accurately portrays the Americans as doing everything they can to save Berlin from Stalin, and the film is showing many American heroes dying as their planes crash from the chaos. German children are waving and cheering as the American pilots fly overhead...and German women are saying yes to marriage proposals from Americans. Am I in...

World would be worse off if U.S. hadn't actedBy Rory Leishman The London Free Press November 1, 2005 Over the past three years, more than 2,000 American and allied military personnel have been killed in the Iraq war. Have these lives been sacrificed in vain? Most Muslims in Canada and around the world think so. They deplore the United States-led war of liberation in Iraq. It matters not to them that, but for this war, Saddam Hussein, a tyrant responsible for the deaths of more than a million Muslims, would still be terrorizing Iraq. And the same goes for most...

Though pleased that the White House would be celebrating Diwali this year, the United States India League has said the celebrations should reflect the festival's status as Hinduism's most important one. The League, a representative body of Indians in the US, has also urged President George W Bush to attend the function, noting that his presence would send the 'right signals to his friends in India and the Indian American community'. According to the League's executive director, Don Feder, merely 'going through the motions of having a pro forma Diwali celebration' would not be enough. "Diwali is Hinduism's most importance...

(09-25) 11:49 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Support for U.S. troops fighting abroad mixed with anger toward anti-war demonstrators at home as hundreds of people, far fewer than organizers had expected, rallied Sunday on the National Mall just a day after a massive protest against the war in Iraq. "No matter what your ideals are, our sons and daughters are fighting for our freedom," said Marilyn Faatz, who drove from New Jersey to attend the rally. "We are making a mockery out of this. And we need to stand united, but we are not." About 400 people gathered near a stage...

As Congress this week honored parents whose sons or daughters have been killed in Iraq, some families said Cindy Sheehan and her anti-war group do not represent them and are disrespecting the fallen soldiers. "You can't call into question the integrity of the commander in chief without having it call into question the integrity of those under his command," said Diane Ibbotson, whose son Army Cpl. Forest Jostes, 21, died in April 2004 outside Baghdad. "Let's talk about the things they've accomplished," she said, listing the end of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, Iraq's first free elections, and the building of schools...

There has never been a more popular time to be anti–American. From Beijing to Berlin, from Sydney to São Paulo, America’s detractors have become legion. But not everyone has chosen to get on the anti–American bandwagon. Where—and among whom—is America still admired, and why? Meet the pro–Americans. ....But so were the reactions of many others, across Europe and around the world. Several days after September 11, I left London and returned to Poland, where I was then living. That evening I attended a concert in a provincial city. In the foyer of the symphony hall, someone had put up a...

The Art of Politics, PatriotismSacUnion.com Staff Report Published: July 29, 2005 (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) A painting titled "T'anks to Mr. Bush!" by attorney-artist Stephen Pearcy, is displayed in the Department of Justice cafeteria in Sacramento. ** (Photos from Thursday’s protest are located below.)** The California Department of Justice building has become ground zero over a collection of artwork that critics have attacked for being ‘anti-American.’ The most controversial painting depicts the U.S. flag in the shape of the United States being flushed down a toilet. Thursday night the debate was elevated to new heights as more than 600 hundred people...

Mark Williams to Launch Protest of Attorney GeneralThe tone in the bully’s voice was almost exuberant; it was certainly smug and self-satisfied. The bully is a creep named Steven Pearcy, and he was trying to buffalo his way onto my Sacramento talk show on KFBK 1530 AM to bask in the glory of the attention he felt due him. Pearcy was boasting about California Attorney General Bill Lockyer’s endorsement of his vile bile, and now Steve Pearcy wanted to take me to task for my role in organizing what is now my second mobilization of the general public to denounce...

China has replaced the Soviet Union in our lexicon of villains, and the age-old American preoccupation with the growth of this Asian giant has metastasized into full-fledged paranoia. But the truth is much more sanguine. India, not China, is the coming giant of the 21st century. And India, unlike China, has no history of imperialism or inclination to global domination. This year, for the first time, India passed China in economic growth. Its gross domestic product (GDP) shot up by more than 8 percent and now amounts to more than $3,000 per capita, on a purchasing-power-parity basis. China's GDP, about...

Nobles: Aage Bjerre, for serving freedom, one slice at a time. In February 2003, as the West debated the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Bjerre closed the doors of his pizzeria to German and French tourists visiting the Danish island of Fanoe. Why the Germans and French? Well, it might be remembered that as the United States was presenting its case against Iraq to the U.N. Security Council, France and Germany said they would veto any resolution that called for war. Mr. Bjerre was eventually arrested, found guilty of discrimination by a Danish court and ordered to pay a $900 fine....

The G8 leaders' pronouncement last Friday about aid to Africa reflected the views of international bureaucrats who, as Paul Theroux wrote, ride from meeting to meeting in new Land Rovers. I wish they would instead ride on the back of a Mitsubishi flatbed truck with 39 Africans jubilantly and melodically singing of their faith in Christ: "He is not number eight. He is not number six. He is number one." Standing behind the cab was like being at the prow of a ship with the wind blowing hard and dirt roads tough on truck suspensions taking the place of waves....

/begin my summary S. Korea: Pro-American and Anti-American Crowds at PyongtaekMostly Pyongtaek residents, sponsored by Pyongtaek K-6 Business Association, 800-strong, staged a pro-American rally, welcoming their presence in their neighborhood.  However, MSM only covered the violent anti-American rally by militant lefties who were mostly from outside. There were some clashes between two parties. Some pro-American crowds managed to confiscate steel-pipes anti-American crowds carried to attack riot police. The pipes are shown at the end.Pro-American Rally  Anti-American RallyAbout 8,000 anti-American crowds, mostly outsiders from pro-North militant labor union, "Min-no-chong", and a more militant college organization, "Han-chong-ryon," were bused into Pyongtaek. 80 buses transported them. They eventually...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Danish pizzeria owner was jailed Tuesday for refusing to serve French and German tourists in protesting their countries' opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. A Danish court found Aage Bjerre guilty of discrimination and fined him $900. Bjerre refused to pay, and will now serve an eight-day sentence. "I'm doing it to show my sympathy with the United States. It shows how seriously I mean it," he told The Associated Press by telephone. "But one should also remember that eight days is a small price to pay when American soldiers go to Iraq and...

Germany's opposition aims to oust Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with a program to boost Europe's largest economy and "reinvigorate" relations with the United States, according to a draft obtained Sunday by the Associated Press. The program, to be formally endorsed today by the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, includes an increase in sales tax and looser rules for companies to hire and fire staff. It also rules out Turkish membership in the European Union. The parties are also trying to win back voters by invoking Germany's strained relations with Washington. Schroeder ran for re-election in 2002 on a...