Free Republic

11/19/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The USO has changed a lot in 68 years and the organization marked another milestone in the group's history of supporting the military Nov. 18 when it sponsored a care package service specifically for female servicemembers. While previous USO care packages were unisex, containing little sundries from home -- snacks, magazines, toiletry items -- the new line of female-specific packages contain items specifically requested by servicewomen such as cosmetics, moisturizers and special soaps. In a ceremony at the Rayburn House Office Building here, Congress members joined servicemembers and volunteers, including Dr. Jill Biden and Speaker...

Nearly one in four children in the United States lived in a home that suffered from food insecurity in 2008, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In total, 16.7 million children, or 22.5 percent, were from families that had difficulty putting enough food on the table last year. That’s 4.3 million more children than in 2007. “Child hunger is not just a casualty of the recession,” commented the Rev. David Beckmann, president of the Christian anti-poverty group Bread for the World, in response to the data. “It was a problem before the recession, and unless we...

In slow moving traffic the other day the car in front of me had an Obama bumper sticker on it. It read "Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8" So....I looked it up ... Psalm 109:8 "LET HIS DAYS BE FEW; AND LET ANOTHER TAKE HIS PLACE OF LEADERSHIP." Let us all pray! Amen

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says selling a prison in the state's rural northwest is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create jobs...

This is a video of some japanese police officers trying to apprehend an American man living there. He speaks no Japanese but manages to toss them around like rag dolls. Notice how, because of low crime, the bikes aren't even chained up. But now with more Americans, they'll probably rethink that.

A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states are happiest. The index includes questions about six types of well-being, including overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes or exercises), and job satisfaction.

In 1973, Canadian broadcaster Gordon Sinclair (CFRB) gave a message over the air that we should remember today. This was during the end years of Vietnam. Ford was president, the oil embargos had not yet taken place, and the US was in turmoil because of the unpopular war.

Iran has charged three detained US citizens with espionage, the Islamic republic's judiciary has told reporters.

Thanks to a special emailer for pointing to this article: “He” Josy Joseph / DNASunday, November 8, 2009 2:38 IST SNIPPET: “New Delhi: The two terror suspects arrested in the US for plotting to strike targets in Denmark and India spent significant time in Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks, authoritative sources have told DNA. While one of them operated a visa agency in Mumbai for almost two years until the latter part of 2008, the other suspect spent 10 days in the city just days before the terror strike last November.” SNIPPET: “According to available information, David Coleman Headley, the...

LUCKNOW: An Obama diplomat is wanted by police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Presently enjoying the status of an ambassador by virtue of representing the US in the United Nations Management and Reforms Committee (UNMRC), Jide Zeitlin was slapped with criminal charges connected with cheating and dishonestly, including delivery of property and criminal breach of trust, in case crime number 743/08 lodged with the Aliganj police station here in 2008 end. The criminal case has been lodged under Section 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by a group of 16 telecom sector contractors based in...

Is Islam worthy of First Amendment protection? I think it might be time for a Constitutional amendment. Such an amendment would not necessarily have to ban the practice of Islam in the U.S. But certainly, it seems to be time to carve out an exception to the First Amendment so that Islam can be restricted. What better place to get the ball rolling than right here on Free Republic? Am I off base here? Thoughts?

Israelis were given yet another reason to view US President Barack Obama with suspicion last week when he appointed former senator Chuck Hagel as the new head of his Intelligence Advisory Board. Hagel has long rubbed Israel and its supporters the wrong way, and last month he reiterated his antagonistic positions when addressing the liberal Jewish lobby group J-Street. Hagel told his audience that meeting Arab demands for a Palestinian state on ancient Jewish lands is "is central, not peripheral, to U.S. vital security interests in combating terrorism." Israel has for years been trying to impress upon Washington to not...

As we marvel (or worry) about the Dow reaching 10,000, let's look again at how closely the crash and recovery are tracking the 1970s. From January 1973 to December 1974--23 months--stocks fell 48%. Over 17 months (October 2007 to March 2009) stocks dropped 54%--a little faster and more dramatically, but comparable. In 1975 stocks rose 38%, in 1976 another 24%. The bounce from this year's Mar. 9 low is nearly 60%. Again, faster, bolder but roughly the same, so far. The 1975--76 rally didn't last. What torpedoed stocks from 1977 to 1982? It was the 1976 election, which elevated an...

A record 100 alleged murderers and sex and drug offenders have been extradited this year from Mexico to the United States, where they are to stand trial. AFP - Mexico has extradited a record 100 alleged murderers, sex and drug offenders to face trial in the United States this year, the US Department of Justice said Sunday. The arrival of 11 more fugitives north of the US-Mexican border this weekend to face a range of charges in six states brought the overall count to "the highest yearly number of extraditions from Mexico to date," a statement said. "The defendants are...

Forbes Magazine, famed for its exhaustive lists, has a new one: America's safest cities. The unusual thing about this list is that the list-makers used more than just violent crime statistics to assess the relative safety. Also among the data collected are the number of workplace fatalities, deaths by traffic, and deaths by natural disaster. San Francisco ranks #25 in the list of 40 major metropolis regions,behind New York (#8), Detroit (#12), Chicago (#15), and Los Angeles (#19).

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has proclaimed victory in his battle with the West, claiming he has compelled the US and its allies to 'co-operate' with Iran's nuclear programme. As Iran's nuclear negotiator handed in the country's response to a proposed deal to process its enriched uranium stocks abroad, Mr Ahmadinejad hailed a change in Western policy from "confrontation to co-operation". "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a speech shown live on state television. But he said he would not retreat "one iota" in his demand that...

Like most of you, I have a house and work 5-6 days a week. I have 3 children and a dog. My wife works because we have a child in college and 2 in private school. We work hard all day long and then come home and try to balance time with our family and things that have to get done around the house. Our schedules are busy running from place to place and enjoying the time spent together. In the summer we would hang out with our friends or take a ride to the shore and simply grow as...

High school student Chad Farnan, 17, speaks at a campaign fundraiser for Shawn Black, a GOP candidate for the 70th Assembly District, earlier this month. The legal group that represents Farnan, Advocates for Faith & Freedom, has been ordered to pay $19,688 in legal fees. SANTA ANA – In a legal twist that challenges the notion of what a prevailing party is, a federal court clerk on Friday awarded $19,688 in court-related fees to the attorneys who represented high school teacher James Corbett, sued two years ago for making anti-Christian comments in class. Milli Borgarding, the deputy in charge of...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 29% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -9 (see trends).

At least since the end of World War II, sovereign debt risk has been a very real problem, but one confined mostly to the developing world. Sure, there was the risk that the government might decide to inflate away the value of your loan, that risk abated in most places. (Though obviously not all--I'm looking at you, Italy!) Places where it didn't abate were increasingly forced to borrow in other currencies, leaving default as their main option--inflating away domestic denominated debt tended to make your dollar denominated debt problems worse. Oh, conservatives made noise about sovereign debt risk and inflation,...

President Obama along with Republican and Democrat DC insiders are preparing a mass 'Comprehensive' Amnesty for illegal immigrants in America that will provide a path to citizenship and turn illegal aliens into voters even though a vast majority of Americans oppose this.. It is time for Americans of every race, religion, and political party to unite and place America back in the hands of We The People.. Please use the form below to sign up to attend or support a Tea Party Against Amnesty and illegal immigration protests near you on Nov. 14!

Note: The following news brief is a quote: Turkey Arrests 50 Suspected al-Qaida-Linked Militants By VOA News 15 October 2009 Turkish police have detained at least 50 suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in raids across nine provinces. Local media say the militants, thought to be members of a group (the Islamic Jihad League) tied to al-Qaida, were planning attacks against U.S., Israeli and NATO targets in Turkey. They say the suspects may have had contact with al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, and may have been trained in Afghanistan. Turkey's Hurriyet daily says police Thursday seized an unlicensed gun, documents, CDs and laptops during...

Much has been made of President Obama’s being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The ground has been covered so many times by now that it looks like a CSI crime scene contaminated by too many eager cops. The various media are all agog, internet hits multiply by the hour, and the pundits keep weighing in as if there were no yesterday — as witness this very article. Yet, perhaps, there is still something to be said — and a little reiteration wouldn’t hurt either. According to the left-leaning Oslo committee, Obama deserves the award for creating “a new climate in...

The Netanyahu government's slow-moving, lackadaisical handling of the Goldstone commission mandated for accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza, played into the hands of a coalition formed to strip the Israeli military of legitimacy as a defensive strike force against Iran's fast-moving nuclear weapons program and its Middle East allies' missile arsenals. Those missiles are poised to strike Israel's population centers if Iran is attacked. Israel had - and still has - plenty of moral, diplomatic and strategic tools for defending itself. They were not applied and so this hostile coalition was allowed to strike Israel on three fronts in...

I have repeatedly written articles about the complete disregard for the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's as well as the disregard for the United States Constitution by elected officials in this State. Today, however, Massachusetts goes above and beyond into what can only be viewed as a true case of Big Brother knocking down the doors of American citizens. Today, by a vote of 113-36, the Massachusetts's House voted to grant the State's Governor the ability to force residents into mandatory vaccination in the event the Governor feels so inclined. It also grants him the right to declare martial...

Almost everyone in a dispute hopes to find an honest broker to mediate their differences. The controversy over the Goldstone Report on Gaza and the active role of Turkey’s prime minister therein has raised a collateral issue, which is the US role as a go-between or broker in the Middle East. So let’s look at the prospect that the US can be such a broker, either alone or in tandem with Turkey, which has been actively involved in the area. No one can be a broker when beholden utterly to one side, and while US President Barack Obama sounds much...

USA USA USA!!!!

Rather a world in disorder. I hate to give you all such a big homework assigment on the weekend but, please take thee time to read at least this post. Powerlineblog first brought this to may attention. Charles Krauthammer is often featured on this blog. He is insightful, his message clear, easy to grasp, always provocative, sometimes frighteningly so. This is just such a case. First Krauthammer on Obama’s dismissal of “American Exceptionalism”. In a nutshell, if the young President had his way, and he’s trying very hard, even the idea of American exceptionalism will be flushed down the memory...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2009 – It was a tough act for Hollywood at the annual USO Gala here last night. U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, congratulates U.S Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class William S. Stevens as the USO Sailor of the Year at the 2009 USO Gala at the Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2009, as USO President and CEO Sloan Gibson, left, and USO Chairman of Board of Governors Edward T. Reilly applaud. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joke about Iran's nuclear capability and the atomic bomb at their meeting in Tehran on Saturday. The man in the middle is laughing, but he dosen't know why. Edisto Joe

Ok, so like most on this thread I have called and written my senators, Congressmen and Governor. Out of the 12-15 correspondences I have not one single reply. I have gone to the TEA parties, 9/12 in DC and a Town Hall. I have written in our local paper, continue to send and forward emails and PRAY EVERY SINGLE DAY! However, last night I had a very disturbing dream which delved deep into my psyche... Honestly, I am concerned. More than I wanted to admit and more than I ever thought. I am concerned for my children, for my job,...

Apologies for the tease (can you post pics here? I'm a FR noob...) but follow the jump for perhaps one of the rarest photographs in existence. Of the beloved Bella Pelosi. Prepare yourselves...

Our Air Force son is home safe. Thanks be to God for keeping him safe while he was in Iraq and for returning him home to us! Thanks folks for all the prayers!!!

Americans Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak were named winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for research that has implications for cancer and aging research.

I have a friend in Canada who asked me about American Healthcare and how it was supposed to help the less well off. He cites for me a case that I've never heard of. Maybe you can help me answer him ... This is his question : =============================================================================== You seem to have millions of people who are against the government helping the less well off when they can't pay of their healthcare without going bankrupt. Where was America's medicare or medicaid when someone I know, an American citizen living in New York had to borrow money to pay for the...

When President Barack Obama announced plans to alter a planned Eastern European missile defense system, there was a sense that it could lead to a thawing of relations between the United States and Russia. Abandoning a missile system planned for Poland and the Czech Republic – one that “Russia had denounced as a threat to its security and an obstacle in START talks” (The Washington Post) – might lead, according to The Post, to “smoother talks between the two nuclear giants on renegotiating their most important arms-reduction treaty.” There was cautious optimism in Russia, among NATO officials and in the...

The Empire State Building in New York City recently had a light display commemorating the 60th anniversary Communist Chinese revolution. This may be a sign of things to come in the rest of America. As the US budget and trade deficits continue to free-fall, our financial system becomes increasingly dependent upon the good will of our creditors - one of the most important being the People's Republic of China. The Chinese are aware that their huge investment in America is vulnerable to 1) America's ability to repay, and 2) dollar inflation. China has and continues to search for currency alternatives...

Saeed Jalili, general secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the country's chief nuclear negotiator, talks to SPIEGEL about Iran's nuclear program, the prospects for this week's talks in Geneva and why Iran is not afraid of new sanctions. SPIEGEL: Mr. Jalili, the West is expecting compromise from Tehran on the nuclear issue. What offers of compromise will you be bringing to the talks with the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, which begin in Switzerland on Oct. 1? Saeed Jalili: In the name of God the merciful, let me clarify this -- the problem of...

This data is current upto 28 September 2009. http://www.google.org/flutrends/intl/en_us/

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- China's sovereign-wealth fund, China Investment Corp., has committed to invest about $1 billion with Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP, according to a media report Saturday. Oaktree is expected to invest CIC's money in distressed debt and other fixed-income assets, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition, citing unnamed sources. The firm, which oversees more than $60 billion in assets, makes investments ranging from the debt of battered casino operators to entire companies. Oaktree was among the nine big asset-management firms chosen by the Treasury Department as fund managers for the Public-Private Investment Partnership,...

Jeremiah 10:10 The Lord is the Only True God, The Living God, The Everlasting King.

As China prepares for its big military parade next Thursday, when it will celebrate 60 years of Communist party rule with a display of power, it is clear the country has come out of the global crisis with its prestige greatly enhanced. It is not just the strong rebound in the economy. China is becoming more influential and confident overseas, shaping events rather than reluctantly reacting. President Hu Jintao even stole the show this week at the United Nations climate change summit with his pledge to restrain carbon emissions. Two years ago, environmental groups were terrified by China’s galloping energy...

Their time has come…Muslims in DC by Bill Randles Today September 25, 2009 tens of thousands of Muslims are expected to gather in Washington DC for prayers on Capitol Hill and on the national Mall. Billed as “Islam on Capitol Hill” by it’s organizers, the event will feature an official banquet, tours of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court and Muslim prayers which organizers hope will be heard “echoing off of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and other great edifices that surround Capitol Hill.” The stated goal of this gathering, according to the islamoncapitolhill.com website is “to...

A court in Denmark has turned down an appeal by the military to ban the publication of a book by a former special forces soldier. The Danish forces claimed that the book, by Thomas Rathsack, could compromise national security because it describes operations in which he was involved in Afghanistan and Iraq. ....... All major newspapers in Denmark later reproduced the cartoons as a show of defiance after police revealed that they had uncovered a plot to kill one of the cartoonists.

As the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) approaches capacity (721.5 million barrels filled out of a total possible 727 million, and will be filled by January 2010), the federal government will fade out of the oil-buying business. Some bearish traders believe that this factor can weigh in on prices, since most petroleum stocks in the United States are government-held rather than private. Bullish traders have also used the filling of the Chinese SPR as a reason that oil should go much higher. Planned government buying or selling of crude oil for SPRs actually have very little impact in the overall...

Written June of 1916 We must now try to sum up, to draw together the threads of what has been said above on the subject of imperialism. Imperialism emerged as the development and direct continuation of the fundamental characteristics of capitalism in general. But capitalism only became capitalist imperialism at a definite and very high stage of its development, when certain of its fundamental characteristics began to change into their opposites, when the features of the epoch of transition from capitalism to a higher social and economic system had taken shape and revealed themselves in all spheres. Economically, the main...

SOLZHENITSYN…HE TRIED TO WARN US By: Pastor Bill Randles ”“Wisdom cries out loud in the streets, she raises her voice in the squares…" Proverbs 1:20 Harvard’s motto is “Veritas”. Many of you have already found out, and others will find out in the course of their lives, that truth eludes us if we do not concentrate our attention totally on its pursuit. But even while it eludes us, the illusion of knowing it still lingers and leads to many misunderstandings. (From Solzhenitsyn’s 1978 Harvard address “A World Split Apart”) Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a Nobel Prize winning author, Soviet dissident and a...

U.S. President Barack Obama will tell the U.N. General Assembly that the United States cannot solve all the problems of the global community by itself. Mr. Obama will tell leaders who "used to chastise America for acting alone in the world" it is time for a true "global response to global challenges," including climate change, terrorism, endless conflicts and poverty.

Written in English before November 9 1915 Dear Comrades! We are extremely glad to get your leaflet. Your appeal to the members of the Socialist Party to struggle for a new International, for clear-cut revolutionary socialism as taught by Marx and Engels, and against the opportunism, especially against those who are in favor of working class participation in a war of defence, corresponds fully with the position our party (Social-Democratic Labor Party of Russia, Central Committee) has taken from the beginning of this war and has always taken during more than ten years. We send you our sincerest greetings &...

Pravdy No. 35, March 13, 1914. Capitalism cannot be at a standstill for a single moment. It must forever be moving forward. Competition, which is keenest in a period of crisis like the present, calls for the invention of an increasing number of new devices to reduce the cost of production. But the domination of capital converts all these devices into instruments for the further exploitation of the workers. The Taylor system is one of these devices. Advocates of this system recently used the following techniques in America. An electric lamp was attached to a worker’s arm, the worker’s movements...