Free Republic

When I watched Vladimir Putin, with what the Russians so graphically call his “tin eyes,” justify his invasion of Ukraine, I thought, as did many others, that he looked a little deranged. Denazification, indeed! Had he failed to appreciate that Ukraine, not noted throughout its history for its philo-Semitism, had elected a Jewish president, and that by a large majority, thereby suggesting a major cultural shift in the country? It then occurred to me that Putin looked rather puffy in the face, and I wondered whether he could be taking steroids. These drugs are noted for their numerous side effects,...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1% of the votes in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud. Assad’s government says the election on Wednesday shows Syria is functioning normally despite the decade-old conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million people – about half the population – from their homes. Head of parliament Hammouda Sabbagh announced the results at a news conference on Thursday, saying voter turnout was around 78%, with more...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday that investor George Soros issued a “declaration of war” when he called his home country a “mafia state.” The Hungarian-born billionaire described Orban’s “mafia state” as “one which maintains a facade of democracy but the rulers use their control of the media, the judiciary and the other levers of influence, to enrich and maintain themselves in power.” Orban in return accused Soros of enforcing his agenda by paying “agent-like networks” of non-governmental organizations. “This is a declaration of war,” Orban said on state radio Friday, according to the Associated Press.

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Pee-wee Herman hopes to take his act back on the road for a new big-screen adventure. Paul Reubens told an audience at the Comic-Con fan convention Thursday that he's working with Hollywood comedy powerhouse Judd Apatow to produce a new movie. Reubens appeared in character as Pee-wee, with his bow-tie and gray suit. He played the oddball man-child on television and in two feature films, including Tim Burton's 1985 comedy "Pee-wee's Big Adventure." Reubens says Apatow felt strongly that the new film should return the character to his life on the road in the first movie

Marxist Muslim Barack Hussein ObamaHussein ObamaHussein ObamaHussein Obama is mentally ill and getting worse. The angst will continue as long as he persists in Islam World Rule rather than America with Christian heritage intact.

If Barack Obama was taking on John McCain in a global election he would already be on his way to the White House. A recent worldwide poll showed him beating the Republican by more than three to one. In Europe, his margin of victory would be even greater: Mr McCain would get only 6 per cent of the vote in Germany, where a government spokesman has waxed publicly about the attraction of Mr Obama's “mixture of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy”. Just about the whole of France is backing Mr Obama. He is, in the words of Jack...

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) believes the man who helped thrust her remarks two years ago comparing Osama bin Laden to American revolutionaries into national prominence is nothing more than a "double-agent" and a "phony plant." SNIPTwo years ago Mr. Gannon, born James Guckert, used his seat in the White House press room to put a national spotlight on Miss Kaptur when he asked former press secretary Ari Fleischer why the President had not commented on the "offensive remarks by Democratic Congressman Marcy Kaptur, who likened Osama Bin Laden to our founding fathers?" The question is among dozens posed by...

BOSTON, MA (2003-07-14) Senator Hillary Clinton calls for answers questions about intelligence and what President Bush knew in the push for war with Iraq last spring. The senator called the controversy surrounding the lead up to war with Iraq a "symptom of a deeper problem," and she says the Bush administration has a "history of stonewalling and failing to disclose, and trying to keep information away from both Congress and the public." And Hillary! knows all about stonewalling... New York Senator and former First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton spoke to WBUR as she headed to Boston this morning for a...