Free Republic

A new survey shows the majority of Europeans are supporting the de-Islamization of western countries. One America’s Kristian Rouz explains.

The Illinois legislature ratified a dangerous constitutional amendment Wednesday that could overturn every pro-life law in the United States.According to supporters, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) would amend the U.S. Constitution to guarantee equal rights for all citizens no matter what their sex is. However, pro-life advocates and conservatives long have warned that abortion activists would use the amendment to destroy the limited protections that America provides to unborn babies.Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the ERA on Wednesday after a state House vote of 72-45, the AP reports. If just one more state passes the amendment, it could...

The United States knocked Hong Kong out of first place among the world's most competitive economies — fueled in part by the nation's faster economic growth, Bloomberg reported. Switzerland-based IMD World Competitiveness Center placed Hong Kong second in its annual rankings, edging out regional rival Singapore, with remained in the No. 3 spot from 2017, Bloomberg reported. [snip] Bloomberg pointed out Austria and China both made impressive gains in the rankings of 63 countries: Austria moved up seven slots to 18th place, and China jumped five spots to No. 13. Venezuela ranked as the worst economy, and Mongolia maintained its...

President Trump is making good on his promise to make America great again as the nation roared back to reclaim the title of the world’s most competitive economy. The U.S. beat Hong Kong for the top spot, retaking the position for the first time since 2015, according to Switzerland-based IMD World Competitiveness Center’s annual rankings, Bloomberg reported. Faster economic growth as well as scientific and technological innovation launched the U.S. up from 4th place last year, as the nation scored best in international investment, domestic economy and scientific infrastructure sub-categories. “The renewed top ranking aligns with the positive U.S. growth...

In order to have a permanent United States’ military presence in the country, Poland is willing to put in as much as $2 billion, a defense military proposal by the latter claimed. The proposal comes a month before the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit begins in Brussels, and is another push in Poland’s desire to have American troops in the country. Poland has expressed this need since its entry into NATO in 1999; however, the current urgency is due to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region. “Following Russian invasions in Georgia and Ukraine, countries in Central and Eastern Europe...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Defence Ministry expressed regret on Thursday after the United States withdrew an invitation to China to attend a major U.S.-hosted naval drill, saying that closing the door does not promote mutual trust and cooperation.The Rim of the Pacific exercise, known as RIMPAC and previously attended by China, is billed as the world’s largest international maritime exercise and held every two years in Hawaii in June and July. RIMPAC enabled the armed forces of the world’s two largest economies to directly engage with each other. It was viewed by both countries as a way to ease tensions...

The U.S. birthrate hit a historic low in 2017, well below replacement levels, a phenomenon that Vox is touting as “a sign of progress.” According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the general fertility rate for women between the ages of 15 and 44 in 2017 was 60.2 births per 1,000 women, the lowest recorded level since government records began over a century ago. The total fertility rate (TFR) in the United States last year, which indicates the average number of births per woman in her lifetime, dropped to...

The United States has hammered another nail into the “coffin” of the 1947 UN Partition Resolution that called for the internationalization of Jerusalem.The Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, the Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia, and various other countries are considering to follow in the footsteps of the United States.The Christian evangelical sector of American voters was what finally clinched Trump’s resolve to transfer the embassy from Tel Aviv and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.The “price” Israel will pay appears to be continued restraint in construction and an occasional building freeze in Jerusalem.The embassy will open in west Jerusalem, with...

Pakistan has prevented a US diplomat from leaving the country after he allegedly killed a motorcyclist by driving through a red light last month. Local press said on Saturday that a plane was sent by the US to collect Col Joseph Emanuel Hall, a military attache, but was denied clearance. US officials have previously said he cannot be arrested or tried because he has diplomatic immunity. The incident has increased political tension between the countries. Ateeq Baig, 22, was killed in the crash in Daman-e-Koh, north of Islamabad, on 7 April. CCTV footage showed a white four-wheel-drive - said to...

In an op-ed published by The New York Times on Friday, two men who served on the staff of the National Security Council in the Obama White House openly called for traditional American allies in Europe to take the side of the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism over the leader of their own country. According to Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevens, President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal is an insult so grievous that European governments should consider pulling their ambassadors out of Washington — and expelling American ambassadors from their...

U.S. President Trump has made a deal with some OPEC producers to keep prices high as they support the U.S. economy and boost federal taxes. This is what Iran’s Energy Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on state TV this week as quoted by Bloomberg, adding that Trump was engaging in “shenanigans” on the oil market. It’s not too hard to guess which the OPEC producers Zanganeh mentioned are. Saudi Arabia has been a strong opponent of the Iran nuclear deal and was now quick to offer to fill any gap that new U.S. sanctions would leave on international oil markets by...

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AP) — Three Korean-Americans who were detained in North Korea for more than a year were greeted by President Donald Trump beneath a giant American flag after they returned to the mainland U.S. early Thursday. Despite a middle-of-the-night landing, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a host of senior administration officials joined Trump to celebrate the occasion. The men, Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim, had been released Wednesday amid a warming of relations between the longtime adversaries. The president and first lady boarded the medical plane on which the...

“If the United States imposes sanctions on us or takes such a step, Turkey will absolutely retaliate,” Cavusoglu said. “What needs to be done is the U.S. needs to let go of this.” .. Turkey plans to buy more than 100 of Lockheed Martin’s (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, and is also in talks with Washington over the purchase of Patriot missiles. Turkey signed an agreement with Russia in December to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries as part of Ankara’s plans to boost its defense capabilities amid threats from Kurdish and Islamist militants at home and conflicts across its...

As global oil markets shift their attention from U.S. shale oil production back to a resurgent Saudi Arabia and Russia and geopolitical concerns bearing down on oil prices, Citigroup said last Wednesday that the U.S. is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia next year as the world’s largest exporter of crude and oil products. The U.S. exported a record 8.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week of crude oil and petroleum products, the government also said Wednesday. Top crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia’s, for its part, exported 9.3 million bpd in January, while Russia exported 7.4 million bpd, the bank...

Warships from Britain, America, France and Germany have gathered over the wreck of a World War One troopship to pay respect to the 700 men who died in two disasters off Islay. More than 200 US soldiers died when the Tuscania was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Islay in February in 1918. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-43988158

All newly manufactured vehicles to be sold in the U.S. are required as of Tuesday to have backup cameras equipped as a standard feature. Advocates for the rule, which was mandated by the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency in 2014, hope today’s milestone will lead to fewer instances of drivers backing into people due to a lack of visibility. “This day is so important because we don’t have a choice” when it comes to children’s safety around cars, said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, an advocacy group that works to prevent accidents involving children and motor vehicles. “This...

KYIV -- The United States has confirmed to RFE/RL its delivery of American-made, Javelin antitank missile systems to Ukraine in a move that is welcome in Kyiv but will almost certainly enrage Moscow amid a four-year conflict that pits Russia-backed separatists against Ukrainian national troops. "They have already been delivered," a U.S. State Department official confirmed on April 30 in response to an RFE/RL query on the handover of Javelins. In a statement posted on Facebook, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also confirmed the delivery and said his country continues "to strengthen our defense potential in order to repel Russian aggression."...

Jewish group calls on Republican state lawmaker from Kansas to refrain from comparing abortions to Nazi genocide of Jews in World War II. JTA - A group of rabbis is urging a Republican politician from Kansas City to stop comparing abortion to the Holocaust. The Rabbinical Association of Kansas City wrote a letter to State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald saying his words “abuse the memory of the murdered victims of the Nazi regime,” the Kansas City Star reported Thursday. MainAll NewsUS & CanadaRabbis urge Kansas lawmaker not to compare abortion to Holocaust Rabbis urge Kansas lawmaker not to compare abortion to...

Yes, I know there are other things going on in the Church and the world, but the Alfie Evans story continues to eat up the majority of my attention, whether I want it to or not. We are watching one of the milestones in the descent of Western Civilization into madness play out before our very eyes, and despite the massive worldwide attention, nothing seems capable of staying the hand of evil. Court arguments have been tried and failed; appeals have been exhausted. International medical professionals and ethicists have weighed in. Diplomatic efforts have been attempted.But Alder Hey Hospital and...

BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- China Tuesday published a report on the United States' human rights situation. The report, titled "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2017," was released by the Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017 issued by the U.S. State Department on April 20 local time. A Chronology of Human Rights Violations of the United States in 2017 was also released by the office Tuesday. China's report said the United States posed once again as "the guardian of human rights" and a...