Free Republic

The warning signs were all there: the justification of homicide bombings; the spewing of anti-American hatred; the efforts to reach Al Qaeda ... But the U.S. military treated Major Nidal Malik Hasan with kid gloves, even after giving him a poor performance review. And though he was on the radar screen of at least one U.S. intelligence agency, no action was taken that might have prevented the Army psychiatrist from allegedly gunning down 13 people and wounding 29 others in the Fort Hood massacre last week. - - - "There were definitely clear indications that Hasan's loyalties were not with...

Gay rights activists are looking to a possible vote to legalize same-sex marriage in New York State on Tuesday as a way to drive a national campaign that opponents say has lost momentum. Five U.S. states have already legalized gay marriage -- Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont -- but earlier this month voters in a sixth, Maine, chose to repeal such a law, which was due to take effect in September. Forty U.S. states have laws banning gay marriage. New York's Democratic-controlled State Assembly passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in May, but the proposed legislation faces a...

Nasa Plans To Irradiate Monkeys Anger Animal Rights Groups Nasa’s plans to irradiate squirrel monkeys in an attempt to model the effects of long-term exposure to cosmic radiation has met with protests from animal rights groups. By Tom Chivers 09 Nov 2009 [Pic in URL] One small step for a monkey Photo: AFP/GETTY The space agency intends to give the monkeys repeated low doses of radiation, comparable to what astronauts would experience outside the Earth’s protective magnetic shield. Any manned mission to other planets, such as Mars, could endanger astronauts’ health if the risks of exposure are not fully known....

Nicaragua's President on Monday urged Latin American peoples to unite in order to force the removal of airbases in Colombia that the U.S. military intend to use. President Daniel Orgeta, a main ally to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, announced that the greatest struggle for Latin American countries was to "make dissappear once and for all ... the military bases that threaten the sovereignty, integrity and peace of our people." Ortega denounced the recent Colombia - U.S. military agreement (which he believes to have been initiated by the George W Bush administration) as the greatest threat to Colombia and Latin American...

Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is trying to literally take Sen. Barbara Boxer's title from her. Fiorina has launched a new Web site, callmebarbara.com, to attack her opponent and create a future where people call the senator by her first name, rather than using her title and her last name. "Call me Barbara is an effort to ensure that nobody ever has to call Barbara Boxer 'Senator' ever again," the site reads. The site's name is in response to a situation earlier this year when Sen. Boxer asked Brigadier General Michael Walsh to call her "senator" instead of "ma'am" during...

12 American Soldiers are dead. But their deaths did not come at the hand of foreign fighters on some far-flung battlefield. They came on the American Homeland. But where is the outrage? Do we hear the clamor of the American “elites” from Hollywood or Washington or Wall Street? We hear nothing. We hear the deafening silence of those that still think 9/11 was some terrible hangover from the liberal idealism that they touted in the bars the night before.

The issue of the Christian's relationship to government is a very important issue. It has been through all of the church's history. Christian's have always had to face this issue, and even to struggle with it. Where the church has found itself in all kinds of places, in all kinds of governments, under all kinds of rulers, with all kinds of perspectives and forms of leading and ruling. And so Christians have always had to deal with this matter of how do you respond to your government? Traditionally and historically in our own country we have had less trouble with...

When Michelle Obama moved into the White House, she instantly became one of the most famous first ladies in history, a symbol of racial pride, a victor in the battle of the sexes and the picture of a modern woman, mother and wife. But from her days on the campaign trail to her residency in the White House, Obama’s favorability rating has been in flux, from a low of 48 percent in June 2008 to a peak of 72 percent last March to a slide to 61 percent in a recent Gallup Poll. That 11-point stumble – some might call...

Vincent Mosby signed a marriage contract and paid a dowry in a religious ceremony in August, police said. Mosby, 23, of Kansas City didn’t legally wed his 14-year-old bride, however, because Missouri law won’t allow it without a judge’s order. Police said she was pressured into the union because her mother and stepfather thought she was going to be sexually active with a boy her age. ***** Police said the girl’s stepfather and mother became concerned that she was going to become sexually active, so the stepfather allegedly approached Mosby about marrying the girl. The girl was “strongly encouraged” to...

Fasting 1184. You claim to legislate in purely spiritual things, yet order fast and abstinence on certain days. There is nothing spiritual in forbidding people to eat meat. I have never said that the Church legislates only in spiritual matters. Men are not purely spiritual beings, and in our composite nature, spiritual legislation must in some way affect our material being. The laws of the Church cover material things in so far as they affect our spiritual welfare. There is nothing spiritual about meat in itself. But spiritual virtue is exercised when we abstain from meat from a motive of...

If politicians stopped meddling with things they don't understand, there would be a more drastic reduction in the size of government than anyone in either party advocates. It was fascinating to see Barack Obama warning us not to leap to conclusions about the killings at Fort Hood, Texas-- after the way he leaped to conclusions over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, when he knew less about the facts than we already know about the massacre at Fort Hood. My first column, more than 30 years ago, was titled "The Profits of Doom." Recent news stories about the millions of...

Vanity

America has a bad case of the doomsday jitters. You don't have to be a Glenn Beck follower to know that whenever things go wrong in this country, you can always find all the anger, bitterness and fear-mongering bubbling up and over into our popular culture. As Shakespeare's witches exulted in "Macbeth," when things go wrong, it's time to stir the pot: "double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble." With Wall Street fat cats still cashing in while the rest of the country still suffers from double-digit unemployment, with partisan bickering at an all-time high and a...

MTA bus driver who hit FIT student had been suspended for texting BY Pete Donohue DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, November 9th 2009, 4:00 AM Jeremy Philhower was driving city bus on Wednesday when he hit student Seth Kahn (below). Oates for News Jeremy Philhower was driving city bus on Wednesday when he hit student Seth Kahn (below). Related News * Articles * Stricter driving laws urged to prevent deaths of text-happy teens * Leah Ignagni confirmed as Steve McNair's other, other woman * Parents don't get the message on teen 'sexting' habits * Local college freshman wrecked his first...

One international leader was conspicuously absent at the 20 Year Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall today. Even the Russian President made it there. Barack Obama is seen on screens during a video message at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov.9, 1989. Even worse- Obama spoke about himself to the crowd: “Few would have seen on that day that… that their American ally would be led by a man of African descent.” And, of course, he did not...

The good news? A few people think it’s Cheney. The bad news? That’s closer than most of them get. The best part comes at the end, when Crowder asks about Pelosi, but it’s a long, sad trip to that point, my friends. Take a drink before clicking. Like Treacher says: In fairness, Biden probably couldn’t answer this question either.

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's central bank on Saturday said it has been buying gold to diversify its reserves amid volatile currency markets, days after India announced it had purchased 200 tonnes of the precious metal. Central Bank assistant governor Nandalal Weerasinghe declined to confirm analysts' estimates that the tropical island nation had purchased around five tonnes of gold. "We have been observing that prices of gold have been going up so we have been strategically buying gold over the past several months as part of a reserve management process of diversifying our portfolio," he told AFP.

Here are some details of the upcoming book tour. I’m starting in Michigan, and you’ll understand why when you read the book. Last year, I made a promise to the good people of Michigan that I would be back, and now I’m keeping that promise. (Michigan is near and dear to my family’s heart! Our eldest son, Track, lived with a great host family there during his hockey days.) From Michigan, the “Going Rogue” tour will cover as much of the country as possible. I’ve decided to stop in cities that are not usually included in a typical book tour....

According to Bill O’Reilly’s week long poll it is Governor Sarah Palin: Sarah Palin: 30% Huckabee: 29% Romney: 25% Gingrich:16% I find it odd that the numbers were only announced by Mr O’Reilly and not released. I would say the results are actually much better for Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin typically has a much larger margin of victory against the three respectable but boring Huckabee, Romney & Gingrich. But a win is still a win. I thought it was interesting what Huckabee had to say about Sarah Palin...

Violence and instability in Afghanistan continue to rage in the form of an organic insurgency shaped by local identities, networks, and interests. Operating under the nebulous rubric of the Taliban, the insurgents in Afghanistan have evolved in sophistication, lethality, and geographic scope in recent years. While the presence of transnational radical Islamists led by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan augments the tactical and operational capabilities of the insurgents, myriad factors help fuel the violence that confronts the American-led Coalition. The reach of regional state actors, for instance, impacts the insurgency in Afghanistan. The machinations of Afghanistan’s neighbors, in essence, define...

When the initial news reports started pouring out of Fort Hood about the mass murder (read terrorist attack) of some of America’s finest, I turned to my wife and daughter and without hesitation said, “I’ll bet you a hundred bucks it was a Muslim.” I was spot on. But shame on me for thinking such a thing, right? (Yeah, those of us who immediately thought that the murderer, given the circumstances, had to be a Muslim, we’re the bad guys.) Yep, a Religion of Peace adherent, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, as you well know by now, opened fire as he...

John Allen Muhammed, the Beltway Sniper, is sentenced to die by lethal injection tomorrow evening at nine o’clock. The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal. It is not expected that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine will intervene. I’m not sure whether I should say, “Let God have mercy on him,” or “May he rot in hell.” A little of both, I think.

Thirty men and women study a sporty silver test model of a 2011 Hyundai. The 15 men and 15 women are asked to stare at specific parts of the vehicle, including the bumper, the windshield and the tires. Electrode-studded caps on their heads capture the electrical activity in their brains as they view the car for an hour. That information is recorded in a hard drive each person wears on a belt. Their brain activity is supposed to show preferences that could lead to purchasing decisions. "We want to know what consumers think about a car before we start manufacturing...

(AFNS) -- To reduce reliance on military specification products, simplify the fuel supply chain and save money, Air Force Petroleum Agency researchers will conduct demonstrations to use commercially available jet fuel instead of military standard JP-8 fuel. The demonstrations of Jet A fuel versus JP-8 fuel will occur at Dover Air Force Base, Del.; Little Rock AFB, Ark.; McChord AFB, Wash.; and Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station, Minn. Each base has C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III or C-130 Hercules primary-assigned aircraft. According to Master Sgt. Danny Walker, AFPA Jet A initiative program manager, each base will begin issuing Jet A...

In the story making the rounds here in Mexico's drug capital, the setting is a beauty parlor. A woman with wealth obtained legally openly criticizes a younger patron who is married to a trafficker. The "narco-wife" orders the hairdresser to shave the first woman's head. Terrified, the hairdresser complies. Urban legend or real? It almost doesn't matter; it's the sort of widely repeated account that both intimidates and titillates. And it highlights a disturbing trend: As drug violence seeps deeper into Mexican society, women are taking a more hands-on role. In growing numbers, they are being recruited into the ranks...

While non-Muslims are arguing amongst ourselves over if there really is an Islamic threat, Iran with their hard line cabinet, and the anti-Israel Turkish government, are joining hands in unity. Hopefully we will figure this all out before it is too late. Iran and Turkey foster relations at Islam summit Iran and Turkey are expected to take their improving relations a step further at an international Islamic summit in Istanbul starting today. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was warmly welcomed by his Turkish counterpart Abdulah Gul.

South Carolina's Legislative Black Caucus wants to make sure that minorities have a fair and equal shot at the new jobs Boeing Co. is bringing to the Lowcountry, according to letter obtained by The Post and Courier Monday. Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat and chairman of the caucus' Civil Rights and Affirmative Action Committee, wrote Boeing's president Jim McNerney Oct. 30 to ask for information about the company's hiring practices. Ford, who is running for governor, represents Senate District 42, where Boeing's newly announced Dreamliner production line will be located. He included in the letter the racial makeup of...

European politicians appear to be more willing to confront the elephant in the room of public sector and government pensions than US politicians. Ours seem to be more willing to let the problems grow and grow and grow.

ISTANBUL (AFP) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday slammed capitalism for the global financial meltdown as he joined Muslim leaders at a summit in Turkey amid increasing pressure on his country over its nuclear drive. "The present economic crisis is due to the capitalist system. The world needs radical change," Ahmadinejad told a one-day economic summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Describing interest rates as the biggest and most fundamental problem of the capitalist system, the Iranian leader said through a translator: "The world system based on usury has collapsed, proving its failure." "We have to...

The FBI issued a press release today, November 9, in which they said Major Malik Nidal Hasan was noticed by them as early as December 2008. His activities at the time attracted the interest of "one of their Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)." Hasan was communicating with the subject of an unrelated investigation by the JTTF team. They stated that a review of the interaction between Hasan and the subject of the JTTF investigation ...

http://www.funkymonkeyphoto.com/ We are trying to get number 11 to win. He has spinal bifida and plays wheelchair hockey. The winner gets their picture on the front of a calender. He and his family heavily supported me while I was in Iraq and I would like to repay them by helping him out now. Thank for voting!

Twenty years later: Why the Berlin Wall fell S A Aiyar Sunday October 25, 2009 We are approaching the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism. This comprehensively refuted the Communist claim to represent the people. Yet, the claim continues, sometimes dazzling a new generation of youngsters with no inkling of why the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. In democratic Capitalism, said Karl Marx, the rich became richer and the poor poorer. Marxism inspired young idealists for over a century. Lenin’s revolution in Russia in 1917 was hailed as a new dawn. Stalin’s invasions brought Communism to Eastern...

Digital Camera Photographer of the Year 2009: This is Britain- Editor's Choice Shortlist [Pic in URL] In the space of 20 weeks, the world’s biggest photo contest, Digital Camera magazine’s Photographer of the Year, received a massive 101,000 online entries from 126 countries. The overall £10,000 prize winner will be announced at the exhibition of winning and commended entries, taking place at Mall Galleries, London. The exhibit will be open to the public from the 9th – 13th December. Here are the shortlisted entries - in alphabetical order - in the This is Britain category. A full list of the...

Dedication of St. John Lateran November 9th, 2009 by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. As a rebellious teenager, I thought that Catholics should stop wasting their money on expensive churches.  We ought to sell them all and buy food for the poor, I argued.Funny thing.  Jesus, who cared much for the poor, did not have this attitude.  As an adolescent he yearned to spend time in Herod’s sumptuous Temple (Luke 2).   As an adult, he defended its integrity against the moneychangers (John 2).  Francis of Assisi, who gave away all his possessions, begged for money to buy materials to restore ruined...

Staff Sgt. Gilberto Mota, 35, and his wife, Diana, 30, an Army specialist, had returned to Fort Hood from Iraq last year when he used his gun to kill her, and then took his own life, the authorities say. In July, two members of the First Cavalry Division, also just back from the war with decorations for their service, were at a party when one killed the other. That same month, Staff Sgt. Justin Lee Garza, 28, under stress from two deployments, killed himself in a friend’s apartment outside Fort Hood, four days after he was told no therapists were...

Dem. Rep. Says Sexist GOP 'Repulses' Women Meredith Shiner and I write today on the GOP's persistent trouble recruiting, retaining and attracting women, particularly in the House. The exception seems to be among hard core conservatives, with Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC), emerging as populist folk heroes on the right. But that doesn't necessarily make them appealing to independent and moderate women, says Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), herself a rising star among a larger class of Democratic women. Asked about Foxx and Bachmann, Wasserman Schultz, blasted away: “This is a party that doesn’t respect women, a party...

FOR a tycoon whose family owns newspapers, magazines and TV networks and is hailed as a great communicator, Silvio Berlusconi fights with the media a lot. The Italian premier has attacked the domestic and international media for months, suing two left-leaning Italian newspapers for millions of euros and denouncing "scoundrels" in the press. Berlusconi says he wants to protect his image and that of his country, but to critics he just wants to gag the media. A recent press freedom rally in Rome drew tens of thousands of people, some holding signs saying "Now Sue Me, Too!" What makes the...

Keep up the great work, champ. Americans have moved in a more negative direction on the basic issue of whether a new bill should be passed into law. Thirty-eight percent now say they would advise their member of Congress to vote against a new healthcare bill this year, while 29% would advise their member to vote for it, and about a third have no opinion. When those with no opinion are asked which way they lean, the verdict becomes 48% “against,” and 43% “for.” Both of these results are more negative than those from early October. Forget the number who...

Hatch vows House health bill will never pass the Senate The Hill ^ Posted on Monday, November 09, 2009 10:32:11 AM by Sub-Driver Hatch vows House health bill will never pass the Senate By Michael O'Brien - 11/09/09 09:57 AM ET The healthcare plan approved by the House over the weekend will never pass the Senate, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) vowed Monday. ObamaCare legislation in trouble NY Post ^ | November 08, 2009 | DAPHNE RETTER Posted on Monday, November 09, 2009 6:40:05 AM by RobinMasters President Obama's victory dance yesterday for the House-passed health-care bill came as Senate foes...

The legend of the lost Persian army has survived over two and a half millennia - despite a blatant lack of hard evidence. But now two Italian experts believe they have found its remains. Twin brothers Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni uncovered hundreds of human bones, weapons and jewelery in the Sahara desert, west Egypt, that they believe belonged to the 50,000-strong army.

The Surge: the Untold Story provides a historical account of U.S. military operations in Iraq during the Surge of forces during 2007 and 2008.This documentary offers audiences a unique look into the real story of the Surge in Iraq, as told by U.S. military commanders and diplomats as well as Iraqis.

Delivers Scary News To Legislature, Says Only Way To Fix Problem Is To Have Immediate Cuts To Education, Hospitals Governor David Paterson called an unusual joint session of the Legislature Monday to implore recalcitrant lawmakers to close the state's huge budget gap before New York runs out of money. To some lawmakers it's nothing more than a photo op to help Paterson get re-elected. But the governor is dead serious. He said if the Legislature doesn't cut the budget now the state could run out of money by next month. "We're going to run out of cash in four and...

EDISON -- A veteran Edison police officer was placed on probation for one year today for shoplifting about $42 in merchandise from a local supermarket where he was working as a security guard.  David Yanvary, 55, who served more than 27 years on the township police force, must also forfeit his employment and is permanently barred from holding a public job or law enforcement position in New Jersey.   Yanvary was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Frederick De Vesa in New Brunswick who told him "it is a very unfortunate thing that brings us here."  "Our courts expect a police officer...

Synopsis: Over 66% will be dependent on government [for salary, pension or entitlement] by 2018. This is not sustainable .... no really.

TODAY every news service in the world will transmit the same gratifying and facile images of the destruction of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago: a moment when -- as solemn-voiced announcers will intone in practised cadences -- not just a wall, but an entire era was ground into brick-dust. Such commemorations are easy and agreeable because they invite us to celebrate the ending of something, without requiring us to know anything about what it was that ended. What could be more pleasant than to enjoy an obscurely heart-lifting, lung-expanding sensation of liberation without having to trouble ourselves as to...

Iran is preparing to launch its second indigenous communications satellite aboard a Safir-2 (Ambassador) booster rocket, an event that will test the country's ballistic missile capabilities. And, if it's successful, it could impact significantly on U.S.-led negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions by demonstrating the Iranians' growing mastery of missile technology. Satellite launch vehicles such as the two-stage Safir-2, believed to be a modified Shehab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, are generally considered to have a potential application as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Ten months ago Iran successfully launched the Omid 1 (Hope) satellite into orbit atop a 72-foot Safir from...

"If the Republican Party follows the course of Palin and Beck and Company it's doomed."So said Sam Donaldson on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. His evidence? Democrat Bill Owens victory Tuesday in the 23rd Congressional district of New York. Readers are strongly advised to stow all fluids, combustibles, and sharp objects for the ignorance on display here might produce uncontrollable fits of anger (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript): (VIDEO AT LINK) Let me tell you that the wake-up call for the Republicans was the New York's 23rd. Now just as Rush Limbaugh couldn't prevent the Party from nominating...

Lockheed Martin successfully fired a U.S. Army Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rocket 92 kilometers in a recent test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The flawless test highlighted recent product improvements of this battle-proven system to give it a longer reach, maintaining its accuracy and effectiveness while minimizing potential collateral damage. Firing crews for the launch were from the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery from Fort Lewis, WA. This test firing of a unitary GMLRS met all mission objectives, which included: + Verify production of GMLRS and HIMARS production lines; + Validating rocket and launcher reliability; + Proving...

TOKYO, Nov. 10 (AP) - (Kyodo)—U.S. President Barack Obama said during an interview with Japan's public broadcaster NHK in Washington on Monday that he is willing to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

WHARTON -- An undocumented Honduran immigrant, whose bail became the subject of a New Jersey Supreme Court case earlier this year, pleaded guilty today to sexually-assaulting a 8-year-old girl.   Manuel Fajardo-Santos, 31, admitted today to sexually assaulting his girlfriend's younger sister in Wharton on Aug. 24, 2008 after returning home from a party. Superior Court Judge John Dangler set sentencing for Jan. 29.Under a plea arrangement, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office will seek a sentence of seven years in state prison, with a minimum 85-percent parole ineligible, while public defender Michael Fletcher will argue for a five-year sentence.   A detainer...