Free Republic

The Obama administration has prohibited the Kennedy family from practicing its Catholicism, and the Kennedys now intend to ask the Supreme Court to restore their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. Their case could become one of the most consequential in our nation's history. The issue: Will the most fundamental liberty of all -- freedom of conscience -- survive in post-Obama America? John Kennedy serves as president of Autocam and Autocam Medical, Michigan-based companies that produce automobile components and medical devices. He and his family own the companies, which employ 661 people in the United States. The...

HMS Illustrious, affectionately known as Lusty, made a proud return to her home port of Portsmouth after receiving a £40million upgrade. The Royal Navy's last fixed-wing aircraft carrier has been converted into a helicopter carrier and is now capable of carrying a force of up to 20 helicopters and 600 personnel. The 22,000-tonne ship was based at the Rosyth dockyard in Fife for 16 months while it underwent modifications. ... Illustrious will take over the role currently fulfilled by HMS Ocean when it goes for a refit. It is due for completion by 2014. A Navy spokesman said: 'This will...

A feminist organisation in Poland has been accused of promoting "abortion tourism" by encouraging women to travel to Britain to have terminations on the NHS. Polish law prohibits abortion, but the advertising campaign by pro-abortion group SROM aims to raise awareness of women's options outside their home country. SROM's poster shows a woman in her underwear with the words "my choice" written on her stomach in English. The group mimicks the Mastercard advertising campaign to illustrate the costs involved in having an abortion in Britain. "Plane ticket to England - 300 zloty (£70)," it says. "Accommodation - 240 zloty (£56)....

MADRID, Spain (3 Apr 2007) -- In February 1694, British admiral Francis Wheeler set sail from the Bay of Gibraltar with an important mission. He was to bring a large sum of money to the Duke of Savoy in order to buy his loyalty and to ensure victory in Britain's ongoing war against France's Sun King Louis XIV. But when the HMS Sussex arrived in the Strait of Gibraltar, it was hit by a violent storm, and Wheeler struggled in vain to save it. The 50-metre warship went down with more than 500 men, 80 cannons and an estimated 10...

ABOARD HMS BULWARK -- HMS Bulwark (L15), the Royal Navy's most modern and versatile warship, assumed duties Feb. 28 from USS Cape St. George (CG 71) as the flagship for the Royal Navy staff which leads Combined Task Force 58 (CTF 58), a multinational coalition that conducts maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Gulf (NAG). Maritime security operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO deny the illegal use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to...