Free Republic

It was a winding, wonkish and occasionally obscure conversation about foreign coal exploration, natural-gas pipelines and pig manure as a power source. But only one of the men on the line — Energy Secretary Rick Perry — held sway over his nation’s energy policy. On the other end of the conversation were Vladimir “Vovan” Kuznetsov and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov, who had just added Perry to their list of high-profile hoax victims. “Secretary Perry is the latest target of two Russian pranksters,” DOE Spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said in an email to The Washington Post. “These individuals are known for pranking high...

The records show Officer Mohamed Noor was hired as a cadet in March 2015. In September of that year, he received a letter saying he passed his Peace Officer Licensing Examination and was eligible to become a licensed, sworn officer. Noor is on paid leave after he killed Justine Damond, a 40-year-old spiritual teacher who was engaged to be married, on July 15 after she called 911 twice to report a possible rape. Noor, who was in the passenger seat of a squad car, shot across his partner in the driver's seat and hit Damond. His partner told authorities that...

Has the hijab become as American as Apple and blue jeans? American Eagle Outfitters thinks so, considering the breakout star of its Fall 2017 campaign is a Somali refugee turned American model sporting a denim hijab. “Thank you @americaneagle for encouraging young America to follow their passions, express their individuality, and pursue their unique paths,” Halima Aden, 19, wrote in an Instagram post.

Hundreds of protesters have marched through the streets of Minneapolis to honour the life of an Australian woman shot dead by a cop. Justine Damond was killed by police officer Mohamed Noor as she stood in her pyjamas outside her home in the US city on Saturday night. The 40-year-old former Sydneysider was gunned down after calling police concerned a woman was being raped in an alley behind her house.

Chauntyll Allen wasn’t sure how to feel on Monday when she traveled to Justine Damond’s memorial site in the affluent South Minneapolis neighborhood known as Fulton. The 43-year-old leader of a Black Lives Matter group in St. Paul, Minnesota, stood near Xerxes Avenue and 51st St. by the late Damond’s home, watching the mostly white residents share remarks about police brutality and the need for police reform. Many of those same people, she recalled, were nowhere to be found when Allen and her fellow activists were out marching for justice for black police-shooting victims like Philando Castile and Jamar Clark....

"Costly environmental regulations and subsidized renewable generation have exacerbated and accelerated baseload power plant retirements," the draft said. "However, those factors played minor roles compared to the long-standing drop in electricity demand relative to previous expectations and years of low electric prices driven by high natural gas availability."

Court in Germany authorizes group of self-appointed Sharia police to continue enforcing Islamic law in city of Wuppertal. A court in Germany has authorized a group of self-appointed Sharia police to continue enforcing Islamic law in the city of Wuppertal. The law they were cleared of vioilating outlaws uniforms that are threatening, such as those of Hitler's brownshirts. The issue has been brewing ever since 2014, when German politicians reacted strongly to reports of young Salafists conducting nightly "Sharia police" patrols in the city, ordering people to stop various activities, according to the International Business Times. The men were photographed...

Do I detect a note of desperation in some of my fellow Americans' discussions on how to treat terrorism, specifically the terrorist group the Islamic State? IS has grown from a small group of brutes committing various heinous crimes back in President Barack Obama's time into a small army consisting of a few thousand, perhaps tens of thousands, committing heinous crimes. IS and its solitary agents in Europe and America driving vehicles onto sidewalks and engaging in wanton mayhem have killed many innocent people. There seems to be no way to deal with them -- at least to some Americans....

In London, a peaceful march takes place that includes members of the Gay, Sikh and Black community; they march under the banner “Unite Against Hate”, but the BBC and other “progressive” news outlets are calling them “Far Right” and are not reporting on the violent attacks being perpetrated AGAINST them. The simple reason for this is because they are protesting Sharia Law. What’s not to protest??? The BBC talks of bottle and flares thrown during the March…And neglect to say that it was the “anti-racicst” protestors throwing things and assaulting peaceful marchers.

LAHORE, Pakistan — A Pakistani counter-terrorism court has sentenced to death a man who allegedly committed blasphemy on Facebook, a government prosecutor said on Sunday — the first time someone has been handed the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammad on social media. The conviction of Taimoor Raza, 30, follows a high-profile crackdown against blasphemy on social media by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Blasphemy is a highly sensitive topic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where insulting the Prophet Mohammad is a capital crime for which dozens are sitting on death row. Even mere accusations are enough to spark...

Despite the fact many Muslims are quite open about their desire to see Islamic Sharia Law supersede the U.S. Constitution, thousands of masked #Antifa progressives disrupted the rallies held nationwide by Act for America that were against the implementation of Sharia in America. It was yet another excuse for the left to take to the streets, recite simple 60's era chants, and even commit acts of violence against those they disagree with; actions that are now the norm wherever they congregate.

Anti-Muslim protesters marching in Lower Manhattan Saturday were met by a larger group of counter-protesters who drowned them out with chants of their own. The two sides squared off in Foley Square, where ACT for America, a lobbying organization opposed to Muslim immigration, organized a “March against Sharia” - part of a series of nationwide marches the group organized Saturday. About 100 demonstrators carrying signs with anti-Islamic slogans — one reading simply “NO MORE MUSLIMS” — shouted against Sharia law, which ACT for America argues is threatening the United States. The organization is designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center...

We have all heard the arguments and the figures relating to the benefits of mass-immigration from poorer countries to richer countries. The advocates have shown us “irrefutable figures” that detail the economic benefits; they have berated us for our lack of morality. And the sad truth is, the argument can never be won by throwing statistics and numbers back at them. Because numbers, as they know all too well, can be interpreted almost any way you wish. The only way to win is to show up their arguments for what they really are: weak veils for an agenda that is...

Three now accused of performing illegal procedure According to the latest criminal complaint, Dr. Attar, his wife and Dr. Nagarwala conspired to perform the procedure on girls ages six to eight years old at a medical clinic in Livonia. Federal prosecutors have arrested and charged another doctor and his wife in connection to the female genital mutilation of young girls. Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, 53, and his wife Farida Attar, 50, are accused of Conspiracy to Commit Female Genital Mutilation and Aiding and Abetting Female Genital Mutilation. The two were arrested Friday morning and will be in in federal court at...

Minneapolis police received reports in February from concerned residents who saw Rashid in a dark green uniform that said “Muslim Defense Force” and “Religious Police” and had two flags associated with ISIS and other terrorist groups. . . . Jeff Van Nest, an FBI spokesman for Minneapolis, declined to comment. In a recent interview, Rashid said he aims to turn Cedar-Riverside into a “sharia-controlled zone” where Muslims are learning about the proper practices of Islam and that “non-Muslims are asked to respect” it.

Liberals have spent decades screaming about the separation of church and ‘state’, but now they’ve made a huge exception for Islam. The San Diego School District will start having school calendars showing Islamic holidays and begin to teach students about Islam in social studies classes and school district will create safe places on campuses for Muslim students as part of a multi-tiered approach to combat ‘Islamophobia’. This plan doesn’t include classes on Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion. The school district conducted a survey to see how much bullying occurred because of student’s Islamic faith and found only seven instances...

A British DJ has been sentenced to a year in jail by Tunisia for remixing a Muslim call to prayer. Dax J, who was born in London, was charged with public indecency and offending public morality. However, he had already fled the country and issued an apology before the court case. ... Dax J offered his “sincere apologies to anyone who may have been offended by music that I played at Orbit Festival in Tunisia on Friday,” but deleted his Facebook page after allegedly receiving death threats. "It was never my intention to upset or cause offence to anybody," he...

A Florida college student was suspended after he challenged a Muslim professor who claimed that Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary was a hoax. Marshall Polston, 20, was suspended March 24 by Rollins College in Winter Park after an argument with his Middle Eastern Humanities professor over the historical validity of Jesus’ death, a failing grade, and a Muslim’s student’s allegedly violent rhetoric during a discussion on Sharia Law. The professor, Areej Zufari, claimed he was harassed, although video surveillance obtained by a local paper suggests otherwise.

Nonie Darwish grew up as a Muslim girl in Egypt and wants to tell American university students what Sharia law is really like. A lot of them don’t care to hear about it and don’t even think Darwish should have the freedom of speech to tell her side of the story — including some of the Georgetown University College Republicans (GUCR) who invited her to speak at their academy Tuesday night. According to Campus Reform, her presentation at Georgetown University this week prompted a torrent of angry student voices who called Darwish’s condemnation of Sharia law “hate speech.” The lecture...

A 14-year-old child bride from Syria came to Sweden and became pregnant with her husband, who is also her cousin. Now a Swedish court has approved of her marriage, because she appears "mature," and for religious and cultural reasons. The girl was married off to a cousin when she was only twelve years old. In Sweden, she has been placed with his aunt and her family. The social service authorities in Sweden thought her marriage is completely outrageous and took it to the justice system. But the judge does not think there is anything wrong with it, since she was...