Free Republic

This now available from the U.S. State Department: "2009 Mosques of America Wall Calendar: Limited Edition for Ramadan." "Yep, you read that correctly. It's 'perfect for Muslim outreach efforts," according to a commentary at the Gates of Vienna blog. "Where's the ACLU on this one?" The product was being advertised by "Global Publishing Solutions," a division of the U.S. State Department, until bloggers started talking about the product. Officials then apparently hid the page behind the security of a password-protected wall. However, a number of sources said the "offering" still was available in a Google cache of the website. According...

March 10th 2008 BY PABLO BACHELET pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has launched a preliminary inquiry that could land Venezuela on the U.S. list of nations that support terrorism because of its alleged close links to Colombian rebels, a senior government official has confirmed. The inquiry, by government lawyers, is the first step in a process that could see Venezuela join North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran as countries designated by the State Department as supporters of terrorism. U.S. laws permit some leeway on the scope of sanctions, but experts say that adding Venezuela to the list could...

Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Belgrade City Hall, Belgrade, Serbia March 5, 2007 As Prepared Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to be in Serbia and in this great capital where I and my family lived and felt so much at home. I am grateful to the mayor and his office for offering City Hall as a venue for these remarks. I am honored to be here, at the former royal palace. It was in this building that Eugene Schuyler, America's first envoy to Serbia, presented his credentials to King Milan Obrenovic 125...

The Bush administration repeatedly warned that Iran would face serious consequences if it defied international demands to shut down its nuclear weapons program. So what did it do when Tehran blew off the Security Council’s Aug. 31 deadline to stop enriching uranium? It promptly issued a visa authorizing one of Iran’s leading theocrats, former president Mohammad Khatami, to embark on a propaganda tour of the United States. It is the first such visa issued to an Iranian president since 1979, when Islamist radicals loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini seized the US embassy in Tehran and held American diplomats hostage for...

A Somali-born lawmaker who may lose her Dutch citizenship because she lied on her asylum application is welcome to move to the United States, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said on Thursday. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of Islam, said earlier this week she was resigning and leaving the Netherlands after Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, a member of her own VVD liberal party, told her she might lose her Dutch passport. Hirsi Ali has been offered a job by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington-based think tank, and according to media reports had been in negotiations...

Military councils reinforce control through pervasive security apparatus Steps taken in 2004 by the ruling military junta in Burma as part of a purported “Road Map to Democracy” were strictly cosmetic and succeeded only in further consolidating the regime’s control, according to an annual report on human rights compiled by the Department of State. The congressionally mandated Annual Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004, released on February 28, includes a detailed report on developments in Burma. According to the report, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the country’s de facto government, went through the motions of reconvening the...

BOB LONSBERRY Written September 3, 2002 Today's Column YOUR TAX DOLLARS SPREAD ISLAM ACROSS AMERICA Why are your tax dollars being spent to spread Islam? More to the point, why is the United States government paying to bring Middle Eastern and African Muslims here to teach their religion to us? Sounds kooky, huh? But it’s exactly what’s happening. Right now, 10 members of the Royal Saudi Department of Islamic Education are on a three-week tour of the United States visiting mosques and making public appearances to promote Islam and seek converts. Paid for by the U.S. State Department. Over the...