Free Republic

As the standoff between Russia and the United States continues, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned of a "very distinct" possibility Russia will attack Ukraine at "any time now." "We believe that there is a very distinct possibility that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine. It could take a number of different forms. It could happen as soon as tomorrow or it could take some weeks yet," Sullivan said in an interview with ABC "This Week" Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday. "[Putin] has put himself in a position with military deployments, to be able to act...

Testimony of veteran diplomat Marie Yovanovitch exposes Trump’s paralysing hold on the administration What shines through the testimony of Marie Yovanovitch is her disorientation. She is a veteran diplomat at the peak of her career, and in one of the most challenging but important posts in US foreign policy. But she had no clue what was happening inside her own government. On 24 April this year, she received a call from Carol Perez, the director general of the foreign service, speaking to her in cryptic tones as if Yovanovitch’s life was in danger if she remained at her ambassadorial post...

As the primary season ahead of the 2020 election heats up, Democrats are proving anew that theirs is the party of authoritarianism and top-down mandates, not small-“r” republicanism, liberty, and democracy. Upset that his party is ‘allowing’ little-known candidates vying for the presidential nomination a place at the table for at least some Democratic debates, a former DNC official laments that there is too much deference and attention being given to “bullshit candidates” instead of the “leaders.” What’s more, the former official didn’t even have the courage to identify himself, as the Washington Free Beacon reported.

A woman is suing Google for more than US$100,000 after following directions on Google Maps and being hit by a car. Lauren Rosenberg, from Utah, using her Blackberry phone, followed the site's directions onto Deer Park Drive, which turned out to be a rural highway with no footpath. Instead of looking for an alternative route, Rosenberg tried to follow the road for the half-mile Google Maps had suggested, but was hit by a passing vehicle. "As a direct and proximate cause of defendant Google's careless, reckless and negligent providing of unsafe directions, plaintiff Lauren Rosenberg was led onto a dangerous...

Oh dear. The idea that Obama is a centrist who wishes to end the culture wars is laughable. (Indeed, in such a war there is no centre ground: you are either on one side or the other). The White House website sets out his agenda on ‘civil rights’, which includes expanding federal ‘hate crime’ legislation, ending racial profiling, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and supporting full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples, giving adoption rights to gay couples, and lifting the federal ban on needle exchange – a policy...

When State Department Legal Adviser John B. Bellinger III gave a controversial June 6 speech on the subject of "The United States and International Law," he mentioned that the Bush Administration had "put forward a priority list of over 35 treaty packages that we have urged the Senate to approve soon, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea." The latter is now up for Senate ratification, with a vote scheduled on Wednesday, and one of its many controversial provisions is the regulation of land-based sources of pollution. This treaty covers the water and the land. But now...

On Sunday, Bob Mette and his son, Mike, 30, will go to the game at Soldier Field to watch the Bears play the Lions. On Monday, Bob will drive Mike to Iowa, to prison. Mike Mette, until recently a Chicago police officer, is scheduled to begin serving a 5-year prison sentence. His crime? According to the judge's ruling, Mike threw one punch at an angry drunk who chased Mike down the street and attacked him verbally, physically, repeatedly. The drunk is fine now, golfing, having attended college in Dubuque. The last time I checked he was adding to his resume...

UK pop legend Elton John launched an expletive-laden tantrum against the press in Cannes late yesterday while presenting an award to a young actor during the annual film festival. At a ceremony held by luxury jeweller Chopard, everything seemed to be going smoothly enough as John presented the Chopard Trophy to young Canadian actor Kevin Zegers, who co-starred in the film Transamerica with Felicity Huffman. "He (Zegers) is only 21 years old, already he showed incredible talent and maturity," said John, wearing dark glasses and accompanied by actress Elizabeth Hurley. "I sincerely believe he will be a huge star and...

New York voters who gave George Bush soaring 82 percent approval ratings in 2001 have turned their backs on the president, with only 22 percent now saying they approve of the way he's doing his job. The precipitous drop comes at a time when the president is seeking support in Congress for his immigration reform initiatives – and during an election year when immigration will be a key issue in many congressional districts. The president's handling of the war met with the disapproval of 74 percent of respondents, with 67 percent saying going into Iraq was a mistake. Despite the...

CHICAGO - A northern Illinois resident reported finding a bird’s head in a can of pinto beans, prompting a Chicago-based food company to announce a voluntary recall on Friday.. La Preferida Inc. said in a statement that it was recalling a limited number of its cans as a precaution. The company says the beans were canned by New Meridian Inc. in Eaton, Ind. “There are still many unanswered questions, but we have decided to err on the side of safety,” said David Brand, La Preferida’s director of quality assurance. The company is investigating to determine how the bird head got...

Quietly, without a shot being fired, a revolution is about to occur in American politics. There is a very strong chance that, one year from now, a woman will be third in line for the presidency of the United States. If the current trend continues, Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives following the November 2006 congressional elections. This development is remarkable on two counts. First, the United States has lagged behind other Western-style democracies in elevating women to positions of national leadership. Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi were elected prime ministers of Israel,...

TRENTON, N.J. -- Birth-control advocates and detractors want to find out the effectiveness of condoms to determine whether labels on the contraceptive packaging should be changed. On one side are abstinence proponents, including a senator who is blocking the appointment of a new federal drug agency chief until the labels are changed. On the other side are "safe sex" advocates who fear label changes could undermine confidence in condoms and increase the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Condoms are effective against the AIDS virus, but data for their effectiveness against some other STDs is surprisingly sparse.

A BALLARAT real estate agent faces being kicked out of the industry after he was caught allegedly having sex with his sales assistant in a client's bed. The house owner's daughter found the real estate agent and his assistant in her parents' bed when she went to prepare the property for inspection. The owner, identified only as James, today told ABC regional radio that his 28-year-old daughter was very upset by the incident. "The daughter, who found herself in a situation... she thought was compromising and not real estate business, she went into shock," he said. "She was greatly disturbed...

A Tory activist today claimed he had an affair with Edwina Currie at the same time as she was sleeping with John Major.The Beach Boys hit, "I Get Around" is occuring to me for some reason - Ivan Peter Clarke revealed himself as one of the former health secretary's three secret lovers during the Eighties. He claimed she seduced him with the line "Would you like to come and see my Peak District?" - a reference to her constituency in Derbyshire. Looks like we Tories need to do a better job of picking our officials...I would have laughed myself to...