Free Republic

Diplomatic tensions surrounding disputed territories in the South China Sea could escalate dramatically following reports China is now putting weapons on its artificial islands in the area. Australia’s defence force is considering joining the U.S. in flying and sailing “freedom of navigation” missions over the disputed territory, where China has been building islands by dragging sand from a reef and piling it up to create structures now being monitored by satellites. Fairfax Media reports the Australian fly-over expeditions may occur as a result of heightened concerns that China is enhancing its military capabilities and reach across the maritime expanse.

President Barack Obama is negotiating a multilateral trade agreement with the governments of 11 nations. These include Malaysia and Vietnam -- as well as Japan, Brunei, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. This so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership would govern most of the commercial relations between the nations that sign it. "With over 20 chapters under negotiation," explains a Congressional Research Service report published in March, "the TPP partners envision the agreement to be 'comprehensive and high-standard,' in that they seek to eliminate tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade in goods, services, and agriculture, and to establish or expand...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States vowed on Thursday to keep up air and sea patrols in international waters after the Chinese navy repeatedly warned a U.S. surveillance plane to leave the airspace over artificial islands China is creating in the disputed South China Sea. The Chinese navy issued eight warnings to the crew of a U.S. P8-A Poseidon, the U.S. military's most advanced surveillance aircraft, when it conducted the overflights on Wednesday, according to CNN, which was aboard the U.S. aircraft. When the American pilots responded by saying the plane was flying through international airspace, a Chinese radio operator...

The U.S. is considering deploying aircraft and ships to contest Chinese claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Options are on the table to fly surveillance aircraft and sail Navy ships nearby in a move that puts the U.S. directly into a contentious territorial contest in East Asia, in which, until now, the U.S. has avoided overtly taking sides. The South China Sea is the subject of numerous rival -- often messy -- territorial claims, with China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam disputing sovereignty of several island chains and nearby waters. China...

As if Bill Clinton’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein weren’t embarrassing enough, the two flew on Epstein’s jet in 2002 to meet with the Sultan of Brunei. Sultan Bolkiah, one of the richest men in the world, not only plans to execute homosexuals, but his brother, Prince Jefri, has been accused of duping American women into “white slavery.” The National Enquirer reports flight logs reveal Epstein — before he was arrested and jailed for soliciting teenage masseuses — picked up the former president at a Japanese naval airport and flew with him to Brunei on May 25, 2002.

The five most miserable countries in the world at the end of 2014 are, in order: Venezuela, Argentina, Syria, Ukraine, and Iran. In 2014, Argentina and Ukraine moved into the top five, displacing Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe. The five least miserable are Brunei, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and Japan. The United States ranks 95th, which makes it the 14th least miserable nation

There was China's president, Xi Jinping, Russia's president Vladimir Putin to his right, next to Philippine president Aquino and the uberwealthy Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. And then there is Barack Obama, right in the middle of the "wives club"...

The State Department reported Tuesday that the queen of Brunei gave Mrs. Obama jewelry worth $71,468 in 2013. The flower-shaped white gold earrings, ring and necklace were studded with yellow sapphires and diamonds, according to the department’s annual accounting of gifts published in the Federal Register. That’s almost seven times more valuable than the most expensive gift received by President Barack Obama, a glass amber-colored sculpture of a falcon on a branch worth $10,400 from Qatar’s ambassador to the U.S. Not that the president fared poorly. He also received a large Azerbaijani rug with red, white and blue geometric designs...

Former 'Charmed' TV star, Rose McGowan, spat out more feminist ‘straight talk’ hate talk, with one small adjustment… the misogynists are now gay men. That’s a new twist. Discussing the protest against the Dorchester Collection hotel chain (owned by the ‘ant-gay’ Sultan of Brunei) with gay author Brett Easton Ellis in his weekly podcast, McGowan made these comments.

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - VindicatedPosted By Robert Spencer On May 16, 2014 @ 12:30 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | No Comments Victory is at hand! All the freedom-lovers who have been assailed for years with claims that their opposition to jihad mass murder, Islamic supremacism, and Islamically-justified wife-beating, female genital mutilation, honor killing, stoning for adultery, amputation for theft, devaluation of women’s testimony, and all the rest of it constituted “racism,” “bigotry,” and “hatred” can now come in from the cold. As hard as it is to believe, opposing jihad terror and Sharia are now “in.” Everybody’s getting in on it.Fox News reported last week that the Beverly...

Who got $$ from Brunei's Islamic law government? The Clinton Foundation By Joshua Rhett Miller Published May 17, 2014 FoxNews.com As Hollywood hotshots protest the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel over its ownership by Brunei's sultan -- and his recent full-fledged embrace of Islamic law -- it turns out the Brunei government has financial connections to another American institution: The Clinton Foundation. The nonprofit foundation lists Brunei alongside Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as donors that gave between $1 million and $5 million through last year. The foundation confirmed the donation from Brunei was made in 2002, in connection with the construction...

The Beverly Hills Hotel, owned by the sultan of Brunei, is a ghost town. The sultan recently imposed Sharia on the citizens of this small country in Southeast Asia with a population of less than 500,000. The law includes the punishment of death for any who engages in the "crime" of homosexuality or adultery. Jay Leno, one of the celebrities attending a rally in front of the hotel, said: "It's people being stoned to death. Hello!" Meanwhile, Bill Maher, another member of the almost-all-Hollywood left, discussed the kidnapping of mostly Christian Nigerian schoolgirls by a radical Muslim group. But, Maher...

The Sultan Of Brunei Just Imposed A Draconian Set Of Laws — Here's What They Mean Julie Zeveloff May 6, 2014, 11:02 AM      Brunei — the tiny, wealthy nation on the island of Borneo — officially implemented a strict form of Islamic law known as Shariah last week. The new code includes harsh penalties like amputation and stoning for offenses like theft and gay sex. The law went into effect May 1, with even more draconian punishments being phased in over the next two years. International human rights groups decried the change, with Amnesty International...

Hollywood's glitziest party could soon find a new home. Since 2003, the Motion Picture & Television Fund's Night Before the Oscars event has been held at the Beverly Hills Hotel. But now the Sunset Boulevard resort is being boycotted by gay groups and others because its owner, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, is poised to implement Sharia law, calling for death by stoning for gays and adulterers. The state-owned Brunei Investment Agency owns the Dorchester Collection, which includes the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hotel Bel-Air and properties in Rome, Paris, Milan and Geneva. And that has led to calls for boycotting...

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Feb 23, 2014): The Brunei government will ban the use of 19 Islamic words, including "Allah" and "masjid", by non-Muslims, according to the Brunei Times today. The ban will take effect from April, the paper said. Under the Syariah Penal Code Order, these words cannot be used with respect to other religions. They are azan; baitullah; Al Quran; Allah; fatwa; Firman Allah; hadith; haji; hukum syara'; ilahi; Ka'bah; kalimah al syahadah; kiblat; masjid; imam; mufti; mu'min; solat; and wali. The Brunei Times quoted Hardifadhillah Mohd Salleh, a senior syariah legal officer of the Islamic Legal Unit as...

Highly secretive trade agreement have been published on the WikiLeaks website with 95 pages that were taken from the recent TPP or better known as Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The main aim of the TPP is to unite nations such as the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei that combine with itself about 40% of gross domestic product. Barack Obama and other leaders of the outstanding 11 states were keeping the TPP in secrecy for a lot of years. According to the officials, the agreement would stir up the economies of those...

Laws to apply to the Sultanate's majority Muslim population The Sultan of Brunei announced on Tuesday the gradual introduction of harsh Islamic punishments, such as death by stoning for adulterers, severing of limbs for theft and flogging for a wide range of crimes including abortion and consumption of alcohol.

Welsh schoolteacher Norma Walmsley has opened up on her time when she worked for one of the richest families on the planet - the Brunei Royal Family.It's a tale straight out of Oscar Hammerstein’s classic musical The King and I. Former Holywell schoolteacher Norma Walmsley has lifted the lid on her time as a governess to the Brunei Royal Family, who have ruled the country for more than 600 years. She tutored their 12 children for 10 years after being personally head- hunted by the Sultan of Brunei himself. Now 73 and settled in Pantsasaph, near Holywell, Norma’s life now...

Obama canceled plans to attend summits in Indonesia and Brunei on Thursday, the White House said in a statement... will no longer visits to Malaysia and the Philippines... //snip// http://english.cri.cn/index.htm Chinese Premier to Attend East Asia Leaders Meetings, Visit Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam

President Barack Obama will be traveling to Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines, at the beginning of next, the White House announced today. "The President will travel to Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines from October 6 – 12 as part of his ongoing commitment to increase U.S. political, economic and security engagement with the Asia Pacific," reads the press secretary's announcement.