Free Republic

I am sick and tired of this site being taken over by Catholics ( of which I am one ) stories or proverbs. This is a news site not a religion site. Go do that somewhere else. I am not opposed to your prostilazion(sp), just not here. We lose credibility if any religious group dictates or can be quoted from this site. As a long term member of this site I regret posting this information, but the site has been buried in Catholic stuff recently and it should be shunted to some separate page.

Germany enjoyed an unexpectedly strong second quarter as the economy grew at the fastest pace in 23 years.Gross domestic product in Europe's largest economy increased by 2.2pc compared with the first quarter, far exceeding forecasts of a 1.3pc gain. The sharp rise was driven predominantly by growth in exports. "Such a quarter-on-quarter growth has never been recorded before in reunified Germany," said the German statistics office. "The recovery of the German economy, which lost momentum at the turn of 2009/2010s, is really back on track."

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A former English teacher has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for traveling to Thailand to have sex with minors. The sentence was ordered after prosecutors challenged a previous 10-year sentence, calling it too lenient.

Officer left names of lawyers off note By Matt Apuzzo Associated Press / July 26, 2010, Monday WASHINGTON — When the CIA sent word in 2005 to destroy scores of videos showing waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, there was an unusual omission in the carefully worded memo: the names of two agency lawyers. [...] But when the CIA’s top clandestine officer, Jose Rodriguez, told a colleague at the agency’s secret prison in Thailand to destroy interrogation videos, he left the lawyers off the note. [rest of article deleted for copyright reasons]

The air force commander insists the purchase of Swedish-made Gripen combat aircraft is necessary to replace older fighter planes. He also assures transparency in the purchasing process. Air Force Commander-in-Chief Air Chief Marshal Itthaporn Subhawong countered Matichon newspaper's claim that the Royal Thai Air Force is spending much more on Gripen aircraft than its Romanian counterparts. He stated that the purchase of Gripen jet fighters is necessary to replace the older F-5s, which are slated for retirement in 2011. He urged the public to see this as a military affair and not to compare it with other countries since different...

Five soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat, the scene of a long-running insurgency. The paramilitary troops were on a night patrol when their vehicle drove over the explosive device. Insurgents then opened fire on the men and seized their weapons.

A British woman who went to a Thai nature resort to conquer her fear of monkeys has been savaged by a pack of macaques. Dee Darwell, 56, lost consciousness after the monkeys surrounded her and sank their teeth into her arms and body. Many of the primates remained hanging from her limbs as she lay collapsed with blood spurting from a "deep, deep hole" in her arm. She was eventually rescued by Thai boatmen and was taken to Bangkok Phuket Hospital. The horrific attack happened on Monkey Island near to the popular holiday island of Phuket in southern Thailand. "I...

Snips from Excerpt Only website. Despite repeated assurances they would move production to the U.S., a key government contractor has continued to assemble an electronic component of the nation's new, more sophisticated passport in Thailand.The factory is near the same Bangkok suburb where a notorious terrorist extremist was captured in 2003. There have been bursts of violence in the industrial city, Ayutthaya, as recently as last month.Both the inspector general at the Government Printing Office and the agency's own security chief have warned specifically against producing the computer chip assembly in the Thai facility. One internal report obtained by ABC...

LIMA (BNO NEWS) — A Dutch man who is the prime suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot, has been accused of murdering a young woman in Peru. Police said Van der Sloot, 22, is the main suspect in the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez, whose body was found in the Miraflores District of Lima in the early morning hours on Wednesday. (MORE SOON.)

June 2 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The news has just been released by BNO News that Joran Van Der Sloot has been accused in Peru, for the murder of a 21 year old female. Van Der Sloot was the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalie Hollaway, an American student who vanished on May 30, 2005 while on her senior trip to Aruba. Interpol is said to be on the heels of Juran Van Der Sloot, since all evidence points to him as the suspect in the murder of the daughter of a racer, Ricardo Flores. Sthefany Tatiana Flores Ramirez was found...

a specious argument is a favorite pretext for war. hamas is attempting to break the blockade of gaza by means of propaganda in the international news

28 May 2010 "THAI TAWHID WAL JIHAD" SNIPPET: "Operator identifies with Samir Khan in his "about" page, but I don't get the impression he actually knows Samir, just that he was inspired by or agrees with things Samir has said in various interviews."

SNIPPET: "The first bomb, hidden in a motorcycle, exploded near a car showroom in Yala province, 1,100 km (680 miles) south of Bangkok, police said. As rescue workers and bomb squads arrived at the scene, the second bomb exploded in a street 30 meters away."

The best war journalist of our time has been kicked out of Afghanistan... Let the administration boot Helen Thomas out of her seat in the front of a White House press conference and there would be outrage. Remove Jonathan Karl from the Capitol and media would revolt. Kick Andrea Kremer off Sunday Night Football and there would be pandemonium. And yet nobody in the media seems to have much of a problem with Michael Yon being removed from the front lines by Obama/General McChrystal. Yon has openly stated the problems in Afghanistan right now and how we could lose...

government admits it lost control when protesters set fire to key buildings in the city following a day of running battles with troops which left 12 dead and 60 injured. Flames rise from the burning city hall which was set on fire by red shirt protesters Rioters set fires at the stock exchange, electricity headquarters, banks and government offices. Siam Theatre, a much loved city institution, collapsed in flames. Hundreds of people had to be rescued from the burning headquarters of Channel 3 television. The death toll since fresh outbreaks of violence on Thursday now stands at 51. The government...

The peaceful Red Shirts in Bangkok. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuCLcjRIbJc Video is here: Bangkok Burning

Fox News was streaming raw video of this online (no audio), but cut the stream when the fires got bad

All Hell Breaking Loose In Thailand, Stock Exchange On Fire Vincent Fernando, CFA May. 19, 2010, 5:01 AM Via TwitpicDeveloping... my twitter has a play by play of today's events so far @vincefernando --- All hell is breaking loose in Thailand now. The army moved to clear protesters out of their main Ratchprasong encampment this morning, moving slowly inwards towards the main protest stage while encountering sporadic resistance in the outer area of the protest site. There were some limited casualties, including foreign journalists, though we'll wait for official confirmation of the exact counts. Via Twitpic Yet even after the...

Headline is from From FoxNews Ticker only

A computer worker told yesterday of his horror after a Thai anti-government supporter was shot through his head in front of him. James West, 33, originally from Seattle and a software analyst for Microsoft, said the 'red shirt' protester was targeted after pointing a laser pen at an army position during continued trouble in Bangkok. Mr West said: 'The man was two yards in front of me and took out a laser pointer and started beaming it at the soldiers. I thought it was a crazy thing to do, then he was hit. I felt debris, bits of him hitting...