Free Republic

A Russian official has criticized Washington's lack of authorization from Syria to deploy troops. The UN warned Damascus and Moscow of increased violence against civilians after a hospital was bombed, leaving 30 dead. Moscow sees the deployment of an additional 250 US military personnel in Syria as an affront to Damascus' territorial sovereignty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia's state-owned TASS news agency on Friday. "If we are talking from the position of the foreign minister, we - of course - cannot not be concerned over the fact that the US carries out such actions without coordination with...

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. The body of senior lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko killed when carrying out a combat task in Syria has been delivered to Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "Following special joint steps taken with the participation of representatives of the Syrian authorities and the Kurdish militia, the officer’s body has been delivered to Moscow," the ministry said. The farewell ceremony with military honors will be held as agreed with his relatives.

... If Syria’s largest city is surrounded by government troops, the strategic situation in Syria could change very rapidly for the worse, not only for Syrians, but also for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—and for the Obama Administration, which has banked heavily on the crumbling peace talks to end five years of civil war and an expanding presence for ISIS amid the chaos. The encirclement would also be a major strategic advance for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has drawn his forces in Syria, but has also been helping the Assad regime conduct more focused military operations under a two-month...

Donald Trump may be the only Republican presidential candidate who can realistically hit the magic 1,237 number for the majority of delegates, but according to a senior Republican National Committee official that does not mean he will become the GOP presidential nominee. "Even if Trump reaches the magic number of 1,237 the media and RNC are touting, that does not mean Trump is automatically the nominee," Haugland said. "The votes earned during the primary process are only estimates and are not legal convention votes. The only official votes to nominate a candidate are those that are cast from the convention...

The group could be pivotal Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has a clear early lead in the Republican race for unbound delegates who can vote their personal preference on the first ballot at the Cleveland convention, according to a TIME survey, presenting an obstacle for frontrunner Donald Trump if he falls just short of the 1,237 bound delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Of the 63 unbound delegates who have already been named, 26 have told TIME or other news outlets that they are either committed to support Cruz, lean towards supporting Cruz or refuse to support Trump on the first...

Imagine this: Republican presidential candidate runner Donald Trump wins 1,250 delegates, but far from waltzing into the nomination, he is undone. Key points: •'Whoever chairs Credentials Committee better bring Tylenol', Donald Trump warns •It is made up of two national delegates from each state and territory, and District of Columbia •Political correspondent Tim Alberta says 'anything could pass' It is entirely possible that some of those delegates get blocked from entering the convention even before it begins. It would mean he would not get the nomination outright. To get into the convention you need credentials. "There is going to be...

According to state-owned Россия-24 news channel, President Vladimir Putin addressed a delegation of Ukrainian Orthodox Church and reiterated that nothing can shake Russia's perpetual blood alliance with Ukraine in spite of all malicious efforts exerted by the ruling junta in Kiev, adding, " rising neo-Fascism in Ukraine is like the infectious Gangrene which can spread across the European continent , and we, the people of the Russian Federation and descendents of the Soviet Union , we are determined to stop this plague." "Should Turkey not stop supporting al-Qaeda's Syria branch, I am indeed eager to end the job the late...

People are not pleased that Target is now allowing men and women to use whichever bathroom they want. Of all the reactions I’ve seen to it, “I won’t be shopping at Target anymore” is at the top. Boycott is now the name of the game, and it’s not just Target’s former customers that seem to be calling for it. Politicians are now weighing in as well. Mobile County Commissioner, Jerry Lee Carl, posted a very forward message on his Facebook in response to Target. Do you really want your wives and daughters using the same restroom with every street freak...

Now that the 2016 presidential election season is in full swing, which candidate(s) are people in the adult industry supporting? Every election year is a nail-biter for pornographers, who are wracked with worry over potential persecution from the next presidential administration. Demonizing the porn industry under the guise of protecting the public’s morality is an old politician’s trick. Charge XXX producers with obscenity, collect fines and put a dent in the debauchery. “Obscene” porn is illegal but not all porn is obscene. Content that was considered extreme 15 years ago might be closer to the norm now. In the late...

The math is certain, it's time to move on to fighting Hillary. The current real numbers are just fine, Trump was expected to win New York, optimistic news I had received not with standing. Yes Trump got 90 delegates. Yes he did well. Yes Kasich got 5 delegates, his first in how long? Yes yes and yes. And No I am not even bothered. Real Numbers: Cruz 696 Delegates to Trumps 815 Delegates. Whats left now? California 172 Indiana 57 New Jersey 51 Washington 44 Maryland 38 Nebraska 36 West Virginia 34 South Dakota 29 Connecticut 28 Oregon 28 Montana...

When I was a lad, I very much enjoyed the comedy of Cheech & Chong. Tonight, at the Novo by Microsoft theatre in downtown Los Angeles, I got to see them live. Their humor comes from a gentler, and now rather distant, time in our nation’s history, but only one of the many bits actually felt dated. Amid the drug-related and social-observation material came a genuine political surprise. An anti-Trump joke in the opening act fell a little flat, and a few minutes later, when the main act got under way, Cheech asked the audience, “Are there any Donald Trump...

Today the Cruz campaign announced the endorsements of former Chairmen of the California Republican Party John S. Herrington and Tirso del Junco. They join former CRP Chairmen Ron Nehring and Michael Schroeder on the Cruz team From the campaign statement: “As a member of President Reagan’s cabinet, I’ve seen first-hand how a great leader can change the course of our nation. Ted Cruz is the proven conservative leader our country needs to lead us to prosperity once again,” said Herrington. John S. Herrington served as President Reagan’s Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1981-83, Deputy Assistant for Presidential Personnel from...

When Donald Trump’s political credentials as a Republican and/or conservative are challenged, he likes to remind people that Ronald Reagan was a Democrat once and managed to evolve over time. Except that Reagan’s conversion was real and he had two terms as governor of California to prove his bona fides before he ran for president as a conservative Republican. As Reagan campaign manager Stu Spencer and speechwriter Ken Khachiagin note in a Real Clear Politics piece: Yes, Ronald Reagan migrated from being a liberal Democrat to the gold standard for conservative Republicans. But Reagan’s views evolved over four decades’ worth...

In an interview with the Today show, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he “absolutely” wants to change the Republican party’s current pro-life platform to promote abortions in cases of rape or incest. The comment is the latest in a long line of comments from Trump upsetting pro-life voters — including multiple remarks praising the Planned Parenthood abortion business, saying abortion laws should not be changed and saying women should be punished for having abortions and flip-flopping hours later. ….. Below is the full text of the current pro-life platform in the Republican Party: THE SANCTITY AND DIGNITY OF HUMAN...

Donald Trump no doubt had a big win in New York. He’s on track to claim nearly all of the state’s 98 delegates in a victory that saw him not only smash the 50 percent mark – which allowed him to gain extra delegates – but win nearly every region of the state. But according to the widely respected Nate Silver, writing for his political website, FiveThirtyEight, Trump is still also on track to come up short at the convention. The main question is, will he get close enough to required 1,237 that he can maneuver his way over the...

It wasn’t a good night for Ted Cruz, who finished third in New York amid a landslide for Donald Trump in his home state. There was some talk, which turned out to be more hopeful than realistic, that because of the fact New York was a closed primary with registration rules so restrictive that you had to be registered as a Republican back in October of last year in order to vote in it the circumstances would serve to hold down his vote – perhaps even keep him under 50 percent. That didn’t happen; with 70 percent of the vote...

To refresh your memory: Washington State has 44 delegates, winner-take-most (majority takes all) proportional primary (20% threshold), with statewide and CD delegates. Closed primary (deadline to switch is next week; deadline for first-time voters is next month), but it’s all mail-in. …And, just think! Five months ago, I would have had to write another three or four sentences to explain all of that. Now I can just assume that most of you folks will be able to follow along. It’s an ill wind, huh? Anyway, it turns out that Ted Cruz has already done the work – before the deadline...

Whenever Ted Cruz appears on television, I cringe as unpleasant memories of distant relatives cross my mind, reminding me of things best forgotten. And what is best forgotten is simply the Hispanic political tradition of severity. Think Francisco Franco. Think Fidel Castro. Think Ted Cruz? Yes, Ted Cruz is a would-be autocrat. My paternal grandmother, a Galician matron who despised sexism in all its forms, called it “la maldición gallega,” or “the Galician curse.” By that she meant the dreadful and familiar anti-democratic tendency in the political lives of the Hispanic world where dictators, strongmen, caudillos, and caciques have ruled...

There is a reason it’s called Russian Roulette. Russians really are by nature reckless and irresponsible people. And Putin’s dangerous games are one day going to end in tears, even as he and the Russian public are gloating over their most recent childish (but extremely dangerous) antics. With a foolhardy devil-may-care buzzing of a U.S. warship, the Kremlin once again demonstrates that Russia is a growing threat to global peace and security. And the ecstatic reaction of the Russian public to this incident underlines just how much Russia is moving towards a full war footing while America and Europe blithely...

Via Red State, not a huge deal but worth flagging in case there’s another poll this weekend showing his numbers dipping a bit in New York on the eve of the primary. That would suggest a trend, and that would be a big deal given what’s at stake. To be clear: Trump’s going to romp in NY on Tuesday night, winning by 25 points or better, and will pick up something like 75 delegates even in a worst-case scenario. But since his path to 1,237 is so difficult, it matters a lot whether he ends up with 75 in New...