Free Republic

Samoa's council of churches has welcomed the prime minister's call to review the religious freedom provisions of the constitution. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi recently said the country's supreme law may be changed to recognise Christian principles and teachings, not just in the preamble. However the Secretary General of the Samoa Council of Churches, Reverend Ma'auga Motu, said he would go a step further and ban the religion of Islam. He said even though most Samoans are Christian, Islam poses a future threat to the country. "We are not going too far, no," Reverend Motu said. "We are still wanting our own...

The Texas senator is hunting votes in the most far-flung places to meet the requirements of an obscure RNC rule. Ted Cruz has long contended that the GOP nomination fight will be a grueling, drawn-out affair that could stretch all the way to the convention. And he's taking out an insurance policy just in case. Cruz is working the most distant corners of the political map, courting Republicans in the farthest-flung U.S. territories in an attempt to meet the requirements of Republican National Committee rule No. 40 (b), an obscure provision that currently stipulates that in order to receive the...

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas got an early start to the 2016 presidential campaign in March by being the first of what would become a vast field to announce his candidacy. Now, he has turned that starting advantage into a sprawling ground game. For every county in the first four voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the Cruz campaign has locked down county chairs in charge of not just lending their names to the campaign, but of spearheading outreach and organizing efforts. “The only way we will turn our country around is through a grass-roots uprising...

Some states already had legalized same-sex “marriage” before the Supreme Court’s ruling at the end of June. Other states had to start accomodating them. And then there are the American territories. Most have voluntarily complied with the Supreme Court decision, according to the Associated Press: In Puerto Rico, Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order soon after the ruling. U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp has signed a similar executive order. In Guam, there is no effort to ignore or challenge the ruling, said territorial legislative Vice Speaker Benjamin F. Cruz, who is gay. The Commonwealth of the Northern...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — On Wednesday, U.S. Congresswoman Aumua Amata participated in a House Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs hearing entitled: “Funding Priorities for and the United States’ Responsibilities concerning Indians, Alaska Natives, and Insular Areas in the President’s FY 2016 Budget Request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, Office of Insular Affairs, and Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians.” Amata, a Republican who serves as the vice chairwoman of the subcommittee, addressed Esther P. Kia’aina, the assistant secretary for insular areas, Department of the Interior on many of...

NIKE has pulled a pair of leggings after the design was criticized for being racist. The monochrome print, which features on the label's Pro Tattoo Tech Tights, has caused controversy in Australia and New Zealand for its similarity to the traditional Samoan Pe'a male tattoo.

US AMBASSADOR to Australia John Berry has married his long-term partner of 17 years in a private same-sex ceremony in Washington D.C. The 54-year-old former head of the Office of Personnel Management - which oversees the US public service - is the first openly gay US ambassador to serve in a Group of 20 nation and the highest ranking openly gay man in United States history. In a short statement, Mr Berry confirmed the nuptials, telling news.com.au, "John Berry and Curtis Yee, partners of 17 years, were formally married on Saturday August 10, at St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Washington...

LAST WEEK I GOT A SPEEDING TICKET. OK fine, I was speeding 32 mph in a 20 mph zone in front of the tank farm just past Scanlan's gas station. Well like a good citizen I go in to pay my ticket and the clerk tells me to pay $60.00.OK I pay my sala and notice that there are 2 revenue codes listed: 1 for (100-221-4510) $50.00 and 1 for (101-714-4512) $10.00. So I ask the clerk what the other charge was as I was only sighted for speeding.She tells me that the other charge is a Law Enforcement Fee....

Survivor: One World is the 24th season of Survivor. It begins Wednesday, February 15, 2012 on CBS at 8/7c. References: Official Survivor site at CBSWikipedia article'Survivor: One World': New cast and new twists revealed! There will be no Redemption Island this season. There will be no returning players this season. As with last season, this season will take place in Upolu, Samoa. Along with Survivor 19 (Samoa) and Survivor 20 (Heroes vs. Villains), this is the fourth season to take place at this location. Both tribes will begin the season by living at the same camp site. The tribes will...

The Pacific island nation of Samoa and its even tinier neighbor Tokelau are skipping Friday this week, jumping westward in time across the international date line and into the shifting economic balance of the 21st century. The time change, officially decided in June, is meant to align Samoa with its Asian trading partners; it moves the islands’ work days further from the United States, which dominated its economy in the past. ..the island’s 186,000 citizens, and the 1,500 who live in Tokelau, will go to sleep on Thursday and wake up on Saturday ..The prime minister of Samoa, Tuila’epa Sailele...

Survivor: South Pacific is the 23rd season of Survivor. It begins Wednesday, September 14, 2011 on CBS at 8/7c with a special 90 minute premier. References: Official Survivor site at CBSWikipedia article This season will repeat the Redemption Island theme from last season. There will also be returning players: Coach and Ozzy. See: 'Survivor' returns with Ozzie, Coach and 16 newbies In addition, Brandon is a nephew of Russell Hantz and Whitney is a country music artist. Savaii Tribe: Dawn, Elyse, Jim, John, Keith, Mark, Ozzy, Semhar, Whitney Upolu Tribe: Albert, Brandon, Christine, Coach, Edna, Mikayla, Rick, Sophie, Stacey Cast...

One of the first acts of the new Republican-controlled House is to take away the floor voting rights of six delegates representing areas such as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa. Five of those delegates are Democrats, while one, from the Northern Marianas Islands, is an independent. The GOP decision to rescind the ability of delegates to vote on amendments on the House floor was the predictable outcome of a longtime party divide. Democrats extended the voting rights in 1993 when they controlled the House, Republicans disenfranchised the delegates when they became the majority in 1995...

Shock at conference on climate change and creativity Clerics in the South Pacific have fingered the key cause of climate change - homosexuals. The revelation came at a conference at the University of the South Pacific considering the implications of Climate Change and Creativity. Academics were apparently thrown off their consideration of "Arts in the Age of Global Warming" and "Ecology in Poetry / Poetry in Ecology" by reports of Church Ministers who maintained that climate change in Samoa are clearly attributable to to homosexuals. The revelation prompted one attendee USP student, Shaiza Janif, to opine: "We need to educate...

Hello American Samoa! We’re from the government and we’re here to help you. We’re going to ensure you earn a living wage by forcing employers to pay you a minimum wage equal to workers in the United States. Sounds great right?

Which allows an American Samoan worker to have a higher standard of living: being employed at $3.26 per hour or unemployed at a wage scheduled to annually increase by 50 cents until it reaches federally mandated wages at $7.25? You say, "Williams, that's a stupid question. Who would support people being unemployed at $7.25 an hour over being employed at $3.26 an hour?" That's precisely the outcome of Congress' 2007 increases in the minimum wage. Chicken of the Sea International moved its operation from Samoa to a highly automated cannery plant in Lyon, Georgia. That resulted in roughly 2,000 jobs...

It's a question which has troubled science since Darwin: if homosexuality is, at least in part, inherited, how are those genes being passed down to new generations? Canadian researchers say they have found the first evidence to back up the theory that gay men have the evolutionary advantage of being "super uncles", a way of enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives and -- indirectly, at least -- making it more likely their genes are passed on. Paul Vasey, associate professor in the University of Lethbridge's department of psychology, said his research found evidence that gay men may be more...

A rep from the WWE tells TMZ their former superstar wrestler Umaga has died. Umaga, whose real name was Eddie Fatu, was 36 years old. The WWE has released a statement on their website saying, "The WWE would like to express its deepest condolences to Mr. Fatu's family, friends and fans on his tragic passing."

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The tsunami that killed more than 200 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga earlier this year towered up to 46 feet (14 meters) high — more then twice as tall as most of the buildings it slammed into, scientists said Friday.

An openly gay Jewish attorney has been nominated by Barack Obama as America’s new ambassador to New Zealand. David Huebner, 49, who is currently based in Shanghai, is Obama’s first gay appointment, and the third openly gay ambassador in American history. Obama’s nomination Wednesday of Huebner, who has also acted as general counsel for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, must be approved by Congress. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, Huebner will also become the non-resident ambassador to Samoa, where homosexuality is illegal. Huebner is also on a list of Jewish leaders of the homosexual...