Free Republic

Footage from Taiwan's CTV. Reportedly seen from Peng-hu Islands. Explained as an instance of sundog. Some fear that this is a bad omen heralding "the end of the world."

A vial containing blood drawn from Pope John Paul II shortly before he died will be installed as a relic in a Polish church soon after his beatification later this year, an official said Monday. Piotr Sionko, the spokesman for the John Paul II Center, said the vial will be encased in crystal and built into the altar of a church in the southern city of Krakow that is opening in May. The exact date of the opening is not yet known, but it should be shortly after John Paul's beatification at the Vatican on May 1........... "It was the...

Shery Weddell at the St Catherine of Siena Institute reports that 32% of Americans raised Catholic abandon the identity altogether by their mid twenties. An additional 38% retain the identity but rarely practice their faith. 30% of those who call themselves Catholic attend Mass only once a month. On a given Sunday only about 15.6% of American Catholics attend Mass. What is the reason for these disastrous statistics? Basically because for the last forty years Catholics themselves have not taught Catholicism to their children. They've taught 'American Catholicism' which is a watered down blend of sentimentalism, political correctness, community activism...

The Muslim Brotherhood, partner of the Nazis and enemy of infidel freedom, is now in possession of all American embassy communications to Egypt. There is no longer any American supremacy in the war for freedom based on intelligence. This is an Alinsky/Mohammad Red Alert. Prepare.

Glenn is having a guest on tonight who is going to outline how this domino effect will happen very rapidly and lead to an all out war against the west, kill or be killed I guess is what is coming. Going to call the wife and ask her to tape this one for me. Just an FYI ... PS: This was posted in the "Chit Chat" forum only

Most of this gear is off-the-shelf and relatively cheap. Check out Cabela’s, CheaperThanDirt.com or SportsMansGuide.com for the best deals.Assumptions: 1. Civil unrest ensues. 2. Communications go down. 3. You may have to fight your way out of wherever you are. or on the way to your destination. 4 You may have to abandon your vehicle 5. You may have to walk to a prearranged safe place or rendezvous/rally point. 6. You will move quickly and not ‘camp out’. Rest, yes. Camp, no. 7. The weather may suck - majorly. Hot, cold, wet, snowy. Strategy assumes that you may lose your...

The UK has agreed to buy three Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic intelligence aircraft and related ground equipment from the USA, defence secretary Bob Ainsworth has announced. Confirming the development on 22 March, Ainsworth said the aircraft will deliver a "vital capability for the Royal Air Force to replace the [British Aerospace] Nimrod R1 that will be retired from service in March 2011". The UK Ministry of Defence will introduce the Rivet Joints under Project Helix, a long-running effort to upgrade or replace its Nimrod R1 fleet, which was reduced to two airframes in 2009. Operated by 51 Sqn at...

BRUSSELS -- The European Union unveiled an ambitious blueprint for combating global warming and boosting energy efficiency, but key elements of the plan face strong opposition from business interests and could require major battles to get them implemented. The European Commission yesterday published a long-awaited proposal for the bloc's first common energy strategy, a version of which will be discussed at a summit of the EU's 27 national leaders in March. "Europe must lead the world into a new -- or maybe one should say post-industrial -- revolution: the development of a low-carbon economy," said commission President José Manuel Barroso....

Well worth the 6 hour drive to Jax. Cray played for about a half hour and Clapton played for about 2 hrs and 15 min. $300 for two tickets was well worth it, we were in the center about 20 rows back. Here's the FTU article on the show.

There have been a good number of items in the news about life recently -- and one that should have been, but hasn’t. Last week the FDA caved in to political pressure and created an unprecedented new procedure for handing out the morning-after pill (MAP) without a prescription. After the Constitutional Court of Colombia in May abrogated that nation’s democracy on the issue of abortion and legalized it in certain cases, the first legal Colombian abortion was performed. Scientists confused the public further on the issue of embryonic stem cells with more lies. Perhaps the major media consider August the...

Thank you for your hard work on EC! Dear xxxxx, Great news! After years of delays, the FDA has finally approved Emergency Contraception (EC) for over-the-counter use for women 18 and older after years of delays! Your efforts have been critical in this fight to ensure better awareness of and access to EC: you have signed postcards, emailed your legislators, emailed the FDA, and taken many other EC-related actions. THANK YOU! However, the fight isn't over yet!! The Family Foundation, Virginia's largest anti-choice group, has publicly announced its plans to 'craft a legislative remedy' to the FDA's decision to expand...

The original sin is attributed to Charles de Gaulle. Disappointed by the loss of the French colonies in Africa and the Middle East, as well as with France's waning influence in the international arena, the president of France in the 1960's decided to create a strategic alliance with the Arab and Muslim world to compete with the dominance of the United States and the Soviet Union. This alliance became the position of the European Community (pre-European Union) during the course of the 1970s, when an extensive European-Arab dialogue developed. However, this alliance, in the context of which Europe allowed the...

The European Patent Office will be bound by proposed legislation that will exclude software from patentability, according to the EC, in a move that has startled opponents of software patents Software patent campaigners were shocked on Wednesday by an apparent change in stance towards software patents by the European Commission. The European Commission said last week that computer programs will be excluded from patentability in the upcoming Community Patent legislation, and that the European Patent Office (EPO) will be bound by this law. "The EPO would... apply and be bound by a new unitary Community law with respect to Community...

Last fall, the faculty at Elizabethtown College received a list of “101 Ways to Experience Diversity” in their mailboxes. Suggestions on the list include holding hands with someone of the same sex in public and telling someone you are a homosexual. The faculty rejected the list, which appears below. According to the copy of the handout given to the Elizabethtown College faculty,the list originated at Minnesota State University, although it does not appear on the school’s website. Dr. Whitney Harris, Executive Director of Diversity and Multiculturalism for Minnesota State colleges and universities, says that he yet to find any evidence...

The European Commission has refused to give a green light to Romania and Bulgaria joining the EU. Both countries are due to join on 1 January but the EC has refused to sign off on both countries' membership applications, deferring a decision on the enlargement until October. The EC's progress report marks a dramatic reversal of fortune for Romania, which had been seen as the problem country all along but has now overhauled Bulgaria in the race to the finish line. The change is thought to be mainly because of Bulgaria's lacklustre efforts at controlling organised crime and tackling official...

No Room for Contraception Campaign Issues Call for Action in Response to Plan B Developments New York City -- March 17, 2006 -- In response to the outrage of certain pro-contraception groups and senators at the nomination of Andrew von Eschenbach to be Commissioner of FDA, the No Room for Contraception Campaign issued the following release. "No Room for Contraception would like remind to the FDA, the US Senate and the American people of the dangers of Plan B emergency contraception," said Mary Worthington, co-founder and spokeswomen for the campaign. "As with all hormonal contraceptives, this super-dose of hormonal birth...

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced his support to Denmark over the cartoons ridiculing Prophet Mohammed and outraging Muslims. The president, who declared in a statement to Jyllands-Posten daily, the paper responsible for first publishing the cartoons, said freedom of speech is one of the pillars of Europe. Nothing can vindicate violence, he said. "We should say to those who condemn the cartoons that freedom of speech is not a matter for discussion. This is a basic value of European society."

Sen. Murray Withdraws FDA Investigation Amendment After Sen. Coburn Threatens Amendment Looking Into FDA Approval of Mifepristone Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Oct. 26 proposed an amendment to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill (HR 3010) that would have mandated an investigation into alleged mismanagement at FDA -- including the agency's handling of a proposal to make the emergency contraceptive Plan B available without a prescription -- but later withdrew the amendment because Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) would have introduced an amendment calling for an investigation into the agency's approval of mifepristone, FDA Week reports (FDA Week, 11/4). Murray's amendment would have...

Strange thing about an operating system with missing functionality... no one wants to sell it. That's what the European Commission is discovering, as major PC OEMs are declining to preinstall the media-player-free Windows XP N on any of the systems they sell. While Fujitsu Siemens says they'll sell it "on request," Dell, Lenovo, and HP are all taking a pass on it. Dell's perspective is indicative of the dilemma faced by the manufacturers. "Customers purchase computers expecting them to come equipped with the capability of playing back digital media files, and it's our obligation to meet this need. (Windows XP...

How deceit is integral to the development of the EU was admitted frankly by Italian prime minister Guiliano Amato in an interview with Barbara Spinelli of La Stampa on 13 July 2000. Since then Amato became vice-president of the convention that drafted the EU constitution. Here are some things he said: "The project of the European constitution is daring, but to overcome obstacles in politics it is necessary to conceal them. In Europe one needs to act 'as if' - as if what was wanted was little, in order to obtain much, as if states were to remain sovereign to...