Free Republic

ISTANBUL — Vice President Joe Biden apologized to the United Arab Emirates Sunday for charging that the oil-rich ally had been supporting al Qaida and other jihadi groups in Syria's internal war, his second apology in as many days to a key participant in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State extremists.

We should applaud the newest memorial in Germany. And maybe we need one of our own. I’ll explain.A few weeks ago, Germany dedicated a memorial to Nazism’s first victims: the disabled. The people of Germany have come to terms with their past.The question now is, When will we?The 80-foot glass panel unveiled in Berlin’s Tiergarten memorializes the estimated 70,000 sick and disabled people killed by the Third Reich as part of what was officially called Aktion T4 (and more informally, “Gnadentod,” which is German for “mercy death.”)There was nothing merciful about it. Between 1939 and 1941, more than 5,000 children...

I don’t get it. After it found itself at the epicenter of a storm of criticism over a report on the shower habits of Michael Sam, the first openly gay player on an NFL roster, and his teammates, ESPN responded Wednesday morning with a further statement on the report.“ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report. Clearly yesterday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports.”…In its initial response to the firestorm, ESPN reponded Tuesday: “In response to recent questions about Sam fitting in with the team, multiple...

Senator Harry Reid apologized yesterday for making "racist" jokes at a meeting of the Asian Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas. The Hill: "My comments were in extremely poor taste and I apologize. Sometimes I say the wrong thing,” Reid said in a statement to The Hill. The Democratic leader issued the apology after a video surfaced online of him joking with the crowd in Las Vegas about their ethnicity.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Hate pop-up ads? So does the guy who created them. Ethan Zuckerman worked for the webpage hosting site Tripod.com from 1994 to 1999, when it was struggling to develop a revenue model. “Along the way,” he writes in The Atlantic this week, “we ended up creating one of the most hated tools in the advertiser’s toolkit: the pop-up ad.” The pop-up ad started as a solution to a complaint from a car maker upset that its banner ad was running on a page containing sexual content. Zuckerman wrote the code to launch ads in separate windows,...

Edeman is usually tapped with helping brands avoid or disentangle themselves from public backlash, but the global PR firm instead found itself in the hot seat this week. At issue was a blog post from media relations strategy evp Lisa Kovitz, who said the suicide of comedian Robin Williams created a PR opportunity for groups advocating for better treatment of mental illness. "As we mourn the loss of Robin Williams to depression, we must recognize it as an opportunity to engage in a national conversation," she wrote. "His death yesterday created a carpe diem moment for mental health professionals and...

Posted by Tantumblogo in abdication of duty, Basics, disaster, Ecumenism, error, foolishness, General Catholic, horror, Papa, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sickness, the return. I have avoided over the past week or more the incredibly damaging and scandalous actions and statements by Pope Francis with regard to his evangelical buddies in the hopes these scandals might go away. But eventually it became too much to avoid. Apparently, TFG has been meeting and cavorting with these hucksters all summer. Scandal has piled on scandal. This is not a matter of translations, or spin. The statements are too cohesive, too similar, and repetitious...

We interrupt this Sandro Magister column for an important announcement: "The Temple of Solomon has reopened!" No, not the original Temple, of course: all over the news (cf. reports at the Times and in Forbes magazine), one can see the announcement of a bizarre gaudy 300-million-dollar supposed replica built by a Pentecostal sect in the largest Brazilian city, Sao Paulo. We wish to offer our readers a glimpse of how much the Catholic Church has "obstructed the growth" (in the Pope's words) of these Pentecostal communities in Latin America.

I used to have a standard line that I would ask people if I thought I recognized them. “Do I look familiar to you?” I would ask. I used to ask that question at least once a week, but I haven’t asked anyone that in at least four years. Four years ago, I saw a woman in a store and I knew that I recognized her. I could tell that she recognized me, too, because every time we would pass each other she would give me a little smile. Finally, I just asked, “Do I look familiar to you?” She...

Every now and then I make a mistake and have to issue a public apology. Today, I am in the position of having to write a highly embarrassing apology to Brice Horton who was the subject of my recent column "Horton Hears the Who" and my not-so-recent column "Expel Brice Horton." My apology is largely motivated by Mr. Horton's recent threat to sue me for defamation of character. That written threat follows in unedited form: "Mr. Adams, I would appreciate it if you would delete your posts about me. My roommate is an attorney and says that we could go...

If Oldman would’ve slammed white Christians or conservatives he would been given an Oscar but alas … he offended the wrong crowd … and now, he grovels at their feet. Check it out. Here is some of the transcript via Today.com “I have deeply injured and wounded a great many people.” “From my heart, I am profoundly, profoundly sorry and deeply apologetic, especially to the fans because they’ve been so incredible to me and very loyal. … They’re like Team Oldman.” “I’m a public figure. I should be an example and an inspiration. And I’m an a——. I’m 56 and...

In his first Congressional appearance since news of the lost Lois Lerner emails, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen was alternately attacked by Republicans and praised by Democrats who apologized to him for his treatment and called the investigation an “endless conspiracy theory” by Republicans. Under oath before the House Ways and Means Committee, Koskinen restated what Congress had been told privately: that emails of Lerner and six other relevant IRS officials have been irretrievably lost because of crashes of their hard drives and servers. Koskinen defended not telling Congress in numerous previous appearances about the email losses. In those appearances, he...

ctor Jonah Hill told radio host Howard Stern on Tuesday that he lost his cool with a paparazzo and is heartbroken that he used a "disgusting" homophobic slur..... Celebrity gossip site TMZ early Tuesday morning released a video of the incident in which Hill tells a man following him to "Suck my d---, you f-----." The actor, who was nominated for Academy Awards for his roles in the 2011 film "Moneyball" and last year's "The Wolf of Wall Street," told Stern he never meant to insult gay people

A top aide to President Obama is now apologizing to Congress for not informing lawmakers, as required by law, that the White House was planning to trade an alleged deserter for five top Taliban commanders. The apology comes after Obama himself defended his actions this morning, insisting his administration had discussed the release with Congress “for some time.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told reporters that she received a call from Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken on Monday evening apologizing for failing to inform Congress about the deal to exchange five Taliban detainees for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl....

The Lewinsky affair . . . Is Bubba about to blubber? Sneed hears rumbles former President Bill Clinton, who lied about his affair with White House intern Monica “That Woman” Lewinsky, may opt to publicly apologize for the abuse Lewinsky claims she’s endured since the sex scandal broke more than 15 years ago. The rationale? To fend off critics of his wife Hillary who blame her for protecting a powerful husband who is a sexual predator. Hillary Clinton is eyeing a 2016 presidential bid. The big question: Will Bill “I love an audience” Clinton choose to apologize to Lewinsky and...

onday night Secretary of State John Kerry issued an almost apology for warning that if Israel did not make peace it would become an apartheid state. In the statement he issued (below) he never says he is sorry, simply that he has always loved Israel, the criticism he received for his statement was political, and if he could say it again he would change the words he used. For more than thirty years in the United States Senate, I didn’t just speak words in support of Israel, I walked the walk when it came time to vote and when it...

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson says the White House wanted him to apologize for “offending” President Obama after he famously delivered a conservative message at the National Prayer Breakfast last year. Carson, the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, recalls the events surrounding his 2013 speech in his new book, One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America’s Future. The Daily Caller obtained an advance copy of the book, which is set for release May 20. “He did not appear to be hostile or angry,” Carson writes of Obama, “but within a matter of minutes after the...

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson says the White House wanted him to apologize for “offending” President Obama after he famously delivered a conservative message at the National Prayer Breakfast last year. Carson, the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, recalls the events surrounding his 2013 speech in his new book, One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America’s Future. The Daily Caller obtained an advance copy of the book, which is set for release May 20. “He did not appear to be hostile or angry,” Carson writes of Obama, “but within a matter of minutes after the...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — US Airways apologized Monday after a pornographic image was posted on the company’s Twitter feed. The company often responds directly to disgruntled passengers, but was seemingly unaware that one of its replies included a lewd photograph. “@thatkatzkat We don’t like to hear this, Alex. Please provide feedback to our Customer Relations team here,” read the tweet, which also included a link to a photo of a woman with a model airplane protruding out of a body cavity. The airline later removed the tweet and apologized for the incident.

Daryl Justin Finizio, the recently elected Democratic Party Mayor of New London, Connecticut has apologized to the families and homeowners who lost their homes as a result of the city's decision to condemn properties in the Fort Trumbull area of that city. Those efforts began over a decade ago. A lawsuit by the victims which attempted to stop the city from taking their properties and destroying their homes ultimately led to the Supreme Court's Kelo vs. New London decision in 2005. The Court ruled in favor of the City based on what it believed was "a carefully considered development plan."...