Free Republic

Nearly seven years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the war on terror in this city has evolved into a quiet struggle against a phantom foe.

OBAMA VISITS WESTERN WALL IN OLD CITY JERUSALEM... ARRIVES AT 5:08 AM LOCAL TIME [10:08 PM ET]... SUNRISE... SHOUTING MAN: 'JERUSALEM IS NOT FOR SALE, OBAMA'... MOB SCENE... CHAOS... BOWING HIS HEAD IN PRAYER... PLACES NOTE IN WALL... POSES FOR PHOTOS... LOTS OF SHOUTING... LEAVES 5:20 AM... DEVELOPING...

AMMAN: The US Democratic candidate Barack Obama said that a conspiracy is being planned in tribal areas for attacking the United States. Talking with journalists on arriving in Jordan from Iraq, Barack Obama said that the situation in tribal areas is deteriorating and more US troops are needed in Afghanistan. Obama said that he is willing for the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan within 16 months after he becomes the US president. King Abdullah warmly received him on arriving in Jordan.

Did the Republican who would be president really think that by goading Democrat Barack Obama into visiting Afghanistan and Iraq -- countries the senator from Illinois was going to have to visit as part of an image-building international tour -- he would somehow trip-up his November rival? Was McCain under some delusion that international leaders would subtly undermine the Obama tour and thus confirm that the Republican ally of discredited lame-duck President George Bush -snip- If that was the case, then McCain really is too foolish to be president -- not merely of the U.S. but of his stamp club....

WASHINGTON – A Democratic senator on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee inadvertently explained why her colleagues have no intention of ending the moratorium on offshore oil drilling or increasing the areas open for exploration and production – no matter how popular the idea might be with gas prices soaring. In an interview with Bloomberg TV's "Money and Politics" last night, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., explained Democrats don't want to increase supplies of oil and gasoline because they want to wean Americans off of petroleum products. Asked point-blank if Democrats in the Senate would consider how increasing the supply of...

Obama to Israel: Put Terrorism in Context Washington, D.C. (July 22, 2008) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) issued the following statement today: "Senator Obama in Jordan today said that terrorism makes 'Israelis want to dig in and simply think about their own security regardless of what's going on beyond their borders.' What Senator Obama fails to recognize is that the safety and security of its citizenry is the primary obligation of a country's leadership. In essence, Senator Obama is asking Israelis and the American Jewish community to put terrorism in context. Senator Obama continues his rhetoric of moral equivalence...

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) NBC's "Today" July 19, 2008 NBC's Lester Holt: "But would he change his mind, and is there anything wrong with changing his mind? He's going there on a fact-finding. If he finds facts that change his view, would you expect him to change his policy -- maybe back off that 16 months and make it perhaps a bit more open-ended?" Gov. Bill Richardson: "No. That's not the purpose of the trip." video at link

In a "Worst person in the world" segment Keith Obermann called Veternan Bud Day a CLOWN because Mr. Day said "he was not prepared to bow the knee to the "Muslims," referring to Muslim terrorists who seek to destroy America.

Code Pink was sickly sweet in our presence on Wednesday night, trying to look good in front of their pot luck dinner attendees. We were offered ice cream cones, soda, beer and to participate in their pot luck dinner. All declined since we didn’t have the antidote to strychnine or a shower was not close by. In the Politico article Some on left target McCain's war record, “Suzzie” Medea Benjamin was quoted as saying: "I wouldn't characterize anybody who fought in Vietnam as a war hero," said Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the theatrical anti-war group Code Pink. "In...

Sydney, July 16 (ANI): A University of New South Wales study has opined that Aussies are more likely to shoot at Muslims, especially if they”re in a good mood. The researchers say that Australians perceive Muslim-style headgear as a threat. The study, published in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, involved 66 students playing a computer game in which different male and female figures appeared on a balcony. Some figures were wearing Muslim-style turbans or hijabs while others were bare headed. Participants were asked to shoot at the targets carrying guns and spare those who were unarmed. Researchers found that...

A San Francisco city and county board resolution that officially labeled the Catholic church's moral teachings on homosexuality as "insulting to all San Franciscans," "hateful," "defamatory," "insensitive" and "ignorant" will be challenged tomorrow in court for violating the Constitution's prohibition of government hostility toward religion. Resolution 168-08, passed unanimously by the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors two years ago, also accused the Vatican of being a "foreign country" meddling with and attempting to "negatively influence (San Francisco's) existing and established customs." It said of the church's teaching on homosexuality, "Such hateful and discriminatory rhetoric is both...

July 14, 2008 ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain will deliver the following remarks as prepared for delivery to the 2008 National Council of La Raza Convention in San Diego, CA, today at 12:45 p.m. PT (3:45 p.m. ET): Thank you, Jane, for that kind introduction. Thank you, also to the leadership of the National Council of La Raza, and its board of directors. I'm very pleased to be with you again to discuss some of the issues in this campaign that most concern you. As you know, this isn't my first address to La Raza. I'm proud to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said on Sunday he used "poor phrasing" in a speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. "You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given," he said in an interview aired on Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria -- GPS." "The point we were simply making was, is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem, similar to the way it was prior to the '67 war, that it...

Yet another major policy reversal for Barack Obama, and again he’s blaming it on “poor phrasing.� He’s very obviously giving in to the enormous pressure from pro-Palestinian groups. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said on Sunday he used “poor phrasing� in a speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.“You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given,� he said in an interview aired on Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria — GPS.�“The point we were...

Barack Obama’s comment that Americans should teach their children Spanish rather than worry about whether immigrants speak English gave another example of his arrogance and elitist impulses earlier this week. In a memorable moment, he pronounced himself “embarrassed” by Americans who travel abroad and can’t speak the local language — which called into question why he doesn’t get similarly perturbed by foreigners who move here and can’t speak ours. Today, Obama tried to “clarify” his comments by wondering aloud why people found them offensive: “This is an example of some of the problems we get into when somebody attacks you...

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price is sticking to his comments that the term "black hole," which a colleague used, is racist.

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon. County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts. Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office. Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole." That prompted Judge Thomas Jones,...

LONDON, July 7 (UPI) -- Toddlers who say "yuck" when given flavorful foreign food may be exhibiting racist behavior, a British government-sponsored organization says. The London-based National Children's Bureau released a 366-page guide counseling adults on recognizing racist behavior in young children, The Telegraph reported Monday.

The "Obamacans" that Sen. Barack Obama used to joke about - Republican apostates who whispered their support for his candidacy - have morphed into a new phenomenon, or syndrome, as detractors like to call it: the Obamacons. These are conservatives who have publicly endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee, dissidents from the brain trust of think tanks, ex-officials and policy magazines that have fueled the Republican Party since the 1960s. Scratch the surface of this elite, and one finds a profound dismay that is far more damaging to the GOP than the usual 10 percent of registered Republicans expected to switch...

Like most working journalists, whenever I type seven letters — Fox News — a series of alarms begins to whoop in my head: Danger. Warning. Much mayhem ahead.

When politicians claim scads of people earn a living by selling stuff on eBay, Max P. Sanders probably wasn't the sort of person they had in mind. Sanders, a 19-year-old University of Minnesota student, was charged with a felony Thursday, after placing an auction ad on eBay with the headline, "I'm selling my vote in the Presidential Election." "The rules are simple, the highest bidder will tell me who to cast my vote for in the election," he wrote. "I will vote for any candidate of any party, as long as they are on the ballot." He also said that...

Sharia law could play a role in some parts of the legal system, the most senior judge in England and Wales has said. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, emphatically ruled out the possibility of sharia courts sitting in this country or deciding penalties. But in a speech at the East London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel he said there was no reason why sharia principles could not be used in "mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution". Sharia - a set of principles governing the way that many Muslims believe one should live one's life -...

One of Barack Obama's senior foreign policy advisers has said the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is the biggest threat facing the world. In an interview with the Financial Times, Anthony Lake, a former US national security adviser now working with Obama, said: "I believe that the most dangerous crisis we are going to face in the next three to 10 years is if the Iranians get on the edge of developing a nuclear weapon." Obama and his advisers, such as Lake, have stressed the Democratic candidate's readiness to sit down with Iranian leaders without conditions. In the interview, Lake...

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 30 (IPS) - After a two-week fact-finding tour of U.S. prison and detention facilities, a UN human rights investigator has blasted the administration of President George W. Bush for a rash of shortcomings in the country's flawed justice system and continued violations of the rule of law. Philip Alston, United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, addresses a press conference concerning his findings during a country-wide visit to the United States © UN / Devra BerkowitzPhilip Alston, United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, addresses a press conference concerning his findings during...

BY the time you read this, I will be in Iran. I've never been there before, never met an Iranian leader - I don't even like the present Iranian leadership - so remember all that, because it might become important. I'm determined to do my bit for the anti-war effort. We need another war like Gordon Brown needs another by-election. But the Sunday papers were again full of Israeli war games and threats as speculation mounts of a massive bombardment of yet another Muslim country. I'm going for the first anniversary of Press TV, on which I present two programmes...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Retired US General Wesley Clark on Sunday said Republican White House hopeful John McCain lacked executive experience to be president, in rare criticism of the Vietnam veteran's military service. Clark told CBS television that McCain was a hero for enduring years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam "but he hasn't held executive responsibility. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded -- that wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall." Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander, said McCain's combat experience as a fighter pilot did not make him...

In his new book, Anglican priest and psychoanalyst Jeremy Young reveals how the “abusive” God of the Bible, who was like a wife-beating husband to His Jewish and Christian followers, is the sordid inspiration for the endless U.S. War on Terror. Called “The Violence of God and the War on Terror,” Young’s revelation understandably is getting appreciative reviews from the Religious Left on both sides of the Atlantic.

SAN FRANCISCO: Reagan has his highways. Lincoln has his memorial. Washington has the capital, and a state, too. But President George W. Bush may soon be the sole president to have a memorial named after him that you can contribute to from the bathroom. prize-winning water-treatment plant on the shoreline to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. Not surprisingly, those Republicans in a city that voted 83 percent Democratic in 2004 are not thrilled with the idea

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A former senior US diplomat on Tuesday described senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniya as a "thoughtful politician," saying the US administration should drop its refusal to engage with the Palestinian movement. Richard Viets, who was US ambassador to Jordan in the early 1980s, recounted his meeting with Haniya in Gaza earlier this month as part of a private US group's fact-finding mission to the region. "Haniya is a very smart, articulate, sophisticated, thoughtful politician. You have to be impressed sitting in the room with him," Viets told a news conference. "On the whole his comments regarding Israel...

Why El-Baradei Threatened to Resign 23/06/2008 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed Mohamed El-Baradei was chosen to serve as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after winning 33 out of 34 votes in a secret ballot. Despite the fact that most of IAEA's conflicts are attributable to Middle Eastern countries, notably Iran and Pakistan, no one objected to the appointment of an Arab Muslim. As a former jurist and politician in the Egyptian Foreign ministry with extensive experience with the IAEA, we do not doubt his competence. However, his appointment was politically motivated as a means of reassuring parties...

As gay couples race to the altar in California this week, scientists may have found an answer to the so-called gay paradox. Studies suggest that homosexuality is at least partly genetic. And although homosexuals have far fewer children than heterosexuals, so-called gay genes apparently survive in the population. A new study bolsters support for an intriguing idea: These same genes may increase fertility in women. Despite some tantalizing leads over the past 2 decades, researchers have yet to isolate any genes directly linked to homosexuality. Nevertheless, a number of studies have shown that male homosexuals have more gay male relatives...

In an astonishing stroke of irony, the New York Times has outed the name of the CIA operative who interrogated 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, over the objections of CIA Director Michael V. Hayden and a lawyer representing the operative. Agency officials and legal counsel told the Times that publishing the agent's name would "invade his privacy and put him at risk of retaliation from terrorists or harassment from critics of the agency." In an Editor's Note linked from the story on KSM's interrogation, the Times defended its decision by stating that "other government employees" had been "named publicly in...

The British expedition to Afghanistan is on the brink of something worse than defeat: a long, low-intensity war from which no government will dare to extricate itself. With the death toll mounting, battle is reportedly joined with the Taliban at the very gates of the second city, Kandahar. There is no justification for ministerial bombast that “we are winning the war, really”. What is to be done? In 2001 the West waged a punitive retaliatory strike against the hosts of the perpetrators of 9/11. The strike has since followed every law of mission creep, now reduced in London to a...

Enlightened animal lovers across the United States face a quandary: how to pamper beloved pets without adding to global warming or creating an outsized carbon paw print? Answers for the ecologically-aware pet owner were on offer at the "Going Green With Pets" conference at Manhattan's tony Metropolitan Dog Club, with pointers on everything from whipping up biodegradable cat litter to choosing the best organic shampoo for one's Lhasa Apso. "This is a doggy salon," said Charlotte Reed, the store's proprietor, as well as the doting owner of a small menagerie that includes three toy spaniels, three Himalayan cats and two...

IMAGINE A child barely tall enough to reach the top drawer of the bedroom dresser. Imagine the child on tip-toes opening the drawer because the forbidden object is hidden there. The naughty thrill of reaching under the socks, the shock of actually touching the thing, finding it cold, as if on ice. Such is my memory of furtive encounters with my father's handgun. At the time, Dad was an FBI agent. Where he stowed his weapon when off-duty was absolutely out-of-bounds, which defined its appeal. Invading that drawer is my first remembered act of disobedience. Even at age 4, I...

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she welcomes a new power-sharing arrangement in Lebanon, even though it increases the power of Hezbollah militants at the expense of US-backed moderates. "Obviously, in any compromise there are compromises," Rice said during a surprise visit to meet Lebanon's new consensus choice for president. The election of former army chief, Michel Suleiman, last month is the clearest sign that Lebanon has stepped back from the brink and that the deal with Iranian-backed Hezbollah is taking hold. But Hezbollah's ascendancy is a bitter pill for the US, which is worried that Iran's influence is...

NEW YORK: John Kerry, who suffered defeat at the hands of President George Bush in last US elections, now harbours aspiration to become Secretary of State if presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama wins the race to the White House in November. Kerry, who is the third ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, is keen to be nation's top diplomat but does not eye the bigger prize of vice-presidency, Newsweek on Sunday quoted an unidentified source close to him as saying. That could also well be the case for Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, the committee's second-ranking Democrat and for Senator...

It turns out that Hugo Chávez is an adaptable man. The Venezuelan president, who has championed — and almost certainly helped arm — Colombia’s FARC rebels, called last week for the rebels to lay down their weapons and unconditionally surrender their hostages. We suspect this change of heart has been driven more by self-interest than conviction. Mr. Chávez is increasingly unpopular at home and increasingly isolated abroad, especially as evidence has mounted of his meddling in Colombia. The change nevertheless is welcome and well timed. The FARC, which long ago chose drug trafficking over liberation, has been under assault from...

<p>LONDON (AP) -- Secret government documents on al-Qaida and Iraq were left on a commuter train, prompting a major police investigation into the latest in a series of embarrassing security breaches, British officials said Wednesday.</p> <p>The documents belonged to a senior intelligence official in the Cabinet office and were found by a passenger on a London commuter train Tuesday. The envelope was then passed to the British Broadcasting Corp.</p>

Democrat Congressman calls for Bush impeachment10.06.2008 15:46 GMT+04:00 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Democrat Dennis Kucinich introduced a 35-count resolution to impeach U.S. President George W. Bush, claiming that the president set out to deceive the nation, and violated his oath of office with the Iraq war. Addressing the House of Representatives on Monday evening, the Ohio congressman and former presidential candidate accused the administration of a number of offenses, including lying to Congress and the public about its reasons for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He said Bush "fraudulently" justified the war on Iraq and misled "the American people and members of Congress...

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on Monday blamed tightened security on the U.S.-Mexico border for increased violence there, and he said the border probably will not be fully secured until 2011, three years after President Bush leaves office. "(Increased violence) is what typically happens when you start to enforce and make it harder to fight over the shrinking pie, so to speak, and who gets the best opportunity to exploit the additional space that's left," Chertoff said at a news conference at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Monday. "That's a good sign," he...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a former Democratic presidential contender, said Monday he wants the House to consider a resolution to impeach President Bush. Speaker Nancy Pelosi consistently has said impeachment was "off the table." Kucinich, D-Ohio, read his proposed impeachment language in a floor speech. He contended Bush deceived the nation and violated his oath of office in leading the country into the Iraq war. Kucinich introduced a resolution last year to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. That resolution was killed, but only after Republicans initially voted in favor of taking up the measure to force a debate.

JERUSALEM – An Israeli decision today to remove antiterror roadblocks from near the oldest Jewish community in the world was made under heavy pressure from the U.S., defense sources said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had requested U.S. security coordinators here monitor Israeli pledges she previously extracted to remove specific roadblocks and checkpoints throughout the West Bank to ease Palestinian travel. Upon Rice's visit to the region in April, she reportedly urged the removal of specific West Bank roadblocks. Within hours of the elimination of one of the barriers, a knife-wielding Palestinian attempted to attack two Jews near the area...

Nearly 60 House Democrats yesterday urged the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to examine whether top Bush administration officials may have committed crimes in authorizing the use of harsh interrogation tactics against suspected terrorists. In a letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, the lawmakers cited what they said is "mounting evidence" that senior officials personally sanctioned the use of waterboarding and other aggressive tactics against detainees in U.S.-run prisons overseas. An independent investigation is needed to determine whether such actions violated U.S or international law, the letter stated.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday blamed the US and its banks in large part for provoking today’s financial crisis - and pushed for a role for Russia in finding a way out of the turmoil. Mr Medvedev warned that growing ”economic egoism” had contributed to global problems including rising food prices, but singled out the US for particular criticism for its role in triggering a global economic slowdown ”Failure to take proper account of the risks by the biggest financial companies in combination with an aggressive financial policy by the world’s biggest economy led not only to corporate losses,”...

It's Time to Talk to Syria By JOHN KERRY and CHUCK HAGEL June 5, 2008; Page A19 After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George H.W. Bush did the improbable and convinced Syrian President Hafez Assad to join an American-led coalition against a fellow Baathist regime. Today, these leaders' sons have another chance for a diplomatic breakthrough that could redefine the strategic landscape in the Middle East. The recent announcement of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria through Turkey, and the agreement between the Lebanese factions in Qatar – both apparently without meaningful U.S. involvement – should serve as a...

Chris Matthews took to the air on MSNBC's "Hardball," just moments after former Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko was convicted on fraud and money laundering charges, but Matthews wasn't about to let that bit of breaking news ruin the moment, as he never mentioned the conviction once on the hour long program. However, he did find time, during the 5 PM EDT edition of Hardball, to gush about Obama's "magic moment" with his wife Michelle: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let's go now to Roger Simon. Again your thoughts on last night's magic moment for a lot of Americans, in fact, me included. I,...

There are three reasons. First, Russia has a longstanding, close relationship with Iran and regards itself as Iran's protector. Second, the Russian economy benefits from its relationship with Iran by several billion dollars a year. Third and most important is leverage. Mr. Putin is an old-fashioned nationalist who seeks to regain the power and greatness Russia had before the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia's relationship with Iran is a key point of leverage over the West that he will not relinquish easily. To bring Putin's Russia on board we must make it an offer it cannot refuse. The offer...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. has restored Fulbright scholarships to seven Gaza-based students, saying it erred last week when it rescinded the awards because of travel restrictions that Israel imposes on the Palestinian territory. In e-mails to the students on Sunday, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said the United States was working with Israeli authorities to let them leave the Hamas-ruled zone to study at American universities. The scholarships were reinstated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed outrage about the initial decision, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday. McCormack said the initial decision was partly the result of...

Former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said Saturday that it will hurt to give up the Golan Heights as part of a peace agreement with Syria, though it is a possibility. "The thought of ceding the Golan Heights gives me a bellyache, but for real peace one must be willing to pay a real price. Theoretically, Israel can do without the Golan," said Halutz during a cultural event in Beersheba, Saturday. Halutz refused to divulge whether he knew about the negotiations held for the past year between Syria and Israel with Turkish mediation since they began or whether...