Free Republic

A prominent member of Germany's anti-Nazi resistance during World War II has died, aged 98, at her home in the US. ... She had belonged to a group of aristocrats, clerics and diplomats who backed a failed attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb in 1944. The group, known as the Kreisau Circle, was led by her husband, Helmuth, who was later executed for his activities. ... Von Moltke was born Freya Deichmann in Cologne in 1911 and met her husband when she was 18. Both she and Helmuth received law degrees and were married in 1931. They were opponents...

Readers may remember mention here, and in the work of some of my other Gun Rights Examiner colleagues (links beneath the photo), of California's AB 962. This law is designed to make purchase of ammunition that can be used in handguns (and there are very few calibers for which someone hasn't made a handgun) as difficult as possible, short of an outright ban. This, of course, was touted as a major "victory" by the Brady Campaign (and I suppose I can't argue--a defeat for liberty is a victory for the Brady Campaign). In a more recent development, though, blogger Thirdpower...

The number of Jews around the world who do not grasp the danger in their midst is a topic oft-written about here at AT and other conservative media venues. It is always disheartening, discouraging, and troubling to be reminded about this dire situation. But what of those Jews who are aware of the dangers that exist - dangers that threaten Jews everywhere? This group of righteous, self-respecting Jews should not get lost in the discourse. Jews must join together as Resistance fighters. This means speaking out each and every day in the battle against encroaching anti-Semitism that threatens us. Form...

The World Health Organization tried this week to dampen fears about mutations seen in the swine flu virus in several countries, noting that both mutations had been found in very few people. A change that created Tamiflu resistance has been found in about 75 people around the world, said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, chief flu adviser to the W.H.O.’s director general. Two clusters, in cancer units at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina and a hospital in Wales, were both among patients whose immune systems had been severely suppressed by cancer treatment; some had had their bone marrow, which produces...

Iran 'sentences three to death' President Ahmadinejad's re-election in June triggered mass protests Three people detained after June's disputed presidential election have been sentenced to death, Iran's Isna news agency reports. The judgements are preliminary and must be confirmed by a higher court, Isna says. Full names have not been given. So far the only named opposition activist reported as having been sentenced to death over post-election protests is Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani. The unrest was triggered by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. On Saturday Isna quoted Zahed Bashiri Rad, a justice ministry official, as saying: "Three people who were accused...

Iran activist sentenced to death for election protests Regime's opponents say forced confession was used to convict Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani An Iranian man has been sentenced to death on charges of organising mass protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election as president, according to reformist websites. Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, 37, is the first person understood to be facing execution over the unrest. Ali-Zamani had confessed to plotting against Iran's Islamic system and belonging to the previously little-known Iran Monarchy Committee (IMC), which the regime regards as a terrorist group. Supporters say he was forced into his confession, which was made at a public trial...

TEHRAN — Gunmen shot dead a prominent Iranian cleric on Thursday in the northwest province of Kurdistan, the official IRNA news agency reported, in the latest attack to shake the region. Mullah Mohammed Sheikh Olislam, who represents the province in Iran's top clerical body the Assembly of Experts, was shot twice in the head by unknown attackers at a mosque in Sanandaj, Kurdistan's main city.

Hear the Music By Ari Bussel Could you wait 11 years—feeling, knowing with all your being someone is looking for you—with nothing more than mere belief to sustain your dream? In the movie August Rush, a young child hears the music, and it eventually reunites him with the parents he had lost eleven years before. As if the world had conspired to make it happen, the sounds of everything around him created a melody that drove him forward, ensuring hope survived and did not diminish, until he became one with his parents. This happens in movies, but it also happens...

Special Dispatch - No. 2499 August 21, 2009 No. 2499 In March 2009, Hamas held a festival at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria to mark "the victory of the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades," its military wing, in the "Al-Furqan War," [1] i.e., the 2008-9 war with Israel in Gaza. The festival included a photo exhibit and the screening of films showing the Al-Qassam Brigades at their training camps; distribution of videos about the Brigades' operations during the war; and an evening poetry program featuring poets and children's choirs from across the Arab world. There were also speeches by...

Without being labled as "on a witch-hunt", or having the tables turned on us, could we initiate a resurrection of the HUAC? This was the House Un-American Activities Committee that operated from 1938-1975 as an investigative committee into Communist or generally un-American persons or groups in the US. There was also the Fish Committee of 1930 that was hitting the ACLU pretty hard at the time. Also the Dies Committee, which focused on Nazi influence in America. Surprisingly, many of these groups were started by prominent Democrats at the time. Ironically, prominent Democrats of today, would be some of the...

Note: Photo included. # Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Khamenei Praises Syria's Resistance, Stresses Cooperation Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei yesterday praised Iran's key ally Syria for its "resistance" in the face of world powers, in a meeting in Iran with visiting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. "Syria’s most important characteristic among Arab countries is its steadfastness and resistance," Khamenei said, stressing Syria's "excellent standing" in the region. Khamenei said "the resistance front" in the Middle East "should strengthen its cooperation and ties... "America’s blade has become blunter in the region," Khamenei added. He continued, "The unity between...

A friend of mine recently forwarded me a question a friend of his had posed: "If/when our Federal Government comes to pilfer, pillage, plunder our property and destroy our lives, what good can a handgun do against an army with advanced weaponry, tanks, missiles, planes, or whatever else they might have at their disposal to achieve their nefarious goals? (I'm not being facetious: I accept the possibility that what happened in Germany, or similar, could happen here; I'm just not sure that the potential good from an armed citizenry in such a situation outweighs the day-to-day problems caused by masses...

Diplomacy: In a quiet victory for a tiny democracy, U.S. buttinskies have stopped trying to restore a dictator to power in South America. Tiny Honduras is winning its fight for freedom.In a welcome about-face, the State Department told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in a letter Tuesday that the U.S. would no longer threaten sanctions on Honduras for ousting its president, Mel Zelaya, last June 28. Nor will it insist on Zelaya's return to power. As it turns out, the U.S. Senate can't find any legal reason why the Honduran Supreme Court's refusal to let Zelaya stay...

To the Whitehouse and President Barack Hussein Obama, Re: August 4, 2009 Whitehouse Statement assaulting free speech and dissent. Your statement on the Whitehouse web site today, August 4th, 2009 (fifth paragraph), is a direct affront to every American. It is a vile assault on the God-given right of every free American to speak his mind and to petition his government for redress. It is an abomination in the sight of God from which all life and freedom comes.To quote you directly: "There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances...

Greg Sargent asked the question of the moment: “Is Obama’s vaunted political operation getting outworked by tea-baggers?" The evidence that the correct answer is yes has been mounting of late, as Democratic Congressmen have been increasingly heckled and jeered at town hall meetings back home...This is not how the Democrats want to spend the August recess. The question is, were they really expecting something different?...So far, writes Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic, the response from the White House and Democrats has been to “ridicule the opposition... “Patronizing opponents is a tried and true tradition in Washington, and Democrats have used...

Iranian dissidents blow up bridge in protest at President Ahmadinejad's second term By Con Coughlin : August 3rd, 2009 As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for his second term in office today, Iranian opposition groups have intensified their attacks against the regime in protest at the controversial election result. In the latest incident, a leading opposition group is being blamed for blowing up a key railway bridge at Ahwaz in southern Iran. The bridge, which is used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to transport military supplies, was destroyed in the early hours of Saturday morning. According to reports now...

“So let me be clear.” This is BO’s catch phrase. Not a press conference or speech is given without the use of this phrase. Many behaviorists and psychologists will tell you that an obvious “tell” sign of habitual liars is the frequent use of phrases like “honestly” or “I’m telling you the truth”. Their use points out to the listener that much of the liars’ previous and forthcoming statements are untrue, but this statement is real. So let us be clear. It is not disputable that BO is a Marxist, Communist, Socialist or whatever you want to call him. There...

Some version of the Presidents’ plan will pass. For Catholics, other Christians, (that is at least Christians who still adhere to the unbroken teaching concerning the dignity of every human person at every age and stage and have not compromised the truth), other people of faith and all people of good will who recognize the preeminent Natural Law Right to Life and the foundational freedom to be born, there is a resulting looming emergency. This Health Care Bill is about much more than the economic implications and loss of local control. This has become a matter of life and death....

Well, I'm sorry to say that no good opportunity to speak materialized. I sent a copy of A Fourth of July Tea Party Speech to the Sandpoint group, but got a 'no thanks' response. The Sandpoint group had a venue and speakers. Nothing was scheduled for the Spokane area. Finally, I figured that I'd just show up at the Coeur d'Alene event - but all that turned out to be was a parade and a picnic. Don't get me wrong it was nice day - a little hot for these parts - but a nice day anyway. The parade had...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release June 1, 2009 LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009 - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride...