Free Republic

Georgia War Shows 'Weak' Russia, U.S. Official Says By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, August 28, 2008; A14 Russia's conflict with Georgia is the sign of a "weak" Russian nation, not a newly assertive one, and Moscow now has put its place in the world order at risk, the top U.S. diplomat for relations with the country said in an interview yesterday. "There is a Russia narrative that 'we were weak in the '90s, but now we are back and we are not going to take it anymore.' But being angry and seeking revanchist victory is not the...

Jon Voight intended to turn heads with the “very strong points” in his Washington Times op-ed last week (titled: Voight: My Concerns For America ~ Obama sowing socialist seeds in young people). But he probably didn’t expect so many of them to reside in Hollywood. In a sign of the growing interest in politics this election year, bloggers who normally focus on the entertainment industry are expanding their presence in one of the Internet’s other spheres of influence. Voight’s piece slammed Democratic candidate Barack Obama, praised GOP contender John McCain, and even repudiated his own Vietnam War protests as the...

At age 64, well into her retirement from the Army, Frances Rice is at the center of a contentious campaign on race and politics -- and she has never been happier. Frances Rice, 64, grew up in Atlanta. She says growing up in poverty and segregation set her against the Democratic Party. Now, as she works to bring blacks to the ranks of the GOP, she says she feels that she is making a difference in politics. But her tactics are not winning everyone over. The leader of the Sarasota-based National Black Republican Association is a minority within a minority....

LONDON (AFP) — White House hopeful Barack Obama denied Saturday his adulation-soaked foreign tour was a premature victory lap, but admitted it could see him take a short term dip in the polls back home. The Democratic candidate wrapped up his Europe and Middle East swing with talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, before heading back home to throw himself back into the American campaign-trail crossfire. As his tour ended after trips to Iraq and Afghanistan and a speech before a staggering 200,000 people in Berlin, Republicans accused him of pulling off a shallow political stunt abroad. "I am...

With the clock running down on a long-fought primary, NARAL Pro-Choice America leaders sent state affiliates reeling this week by endorsing Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. It was seen as a gratuitous slap in the face to a longtime ally, and it sparked a fear even closer to home: that the move will alienate donors loyal to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Many on this week’s conference call were stunned on learning the news, making urgent pleas for the group to remain neutral until after the June 3 Democratic primaries. “It’s created a firestorm,” said NARAL Pro-Choice New...

Barack Obama could see race backlash By Alex Spillius in Philadelphia Last Updated: 9:34pm BST 22/04/2008 Barack Obama faces the prospect of a rising backlash against his race and background as he inches towards the historic feat of becoming the first black US presidential nominee. In a foretaste of things to come, a leading Republican said yesterday that the Illinois senator’s colour would be worth up to 15 percentage points for his Republican opponent John McCain in November’s election, while it emerged that a Pentecostal minister had posted a sign outside his church reading: “Obama, Osama - humm, are they...

Chinese bloggers claim Coca-Cola backs Tibetans Tania Branigan in Beijing The Guardian, Wednesday April 9 2008 Article history About this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday April 09 2008 on p17 of the International section. It was last updated at 00:05 on April 09 2008. First Tibetan exile groups attacked Coca-Cola for sponsoring the Olympic torch relay. Now the soft drink company is under fire from the other side of the political divide - with Chinese nationalists boycotting the brand after a blogger claimed one of its adverts supported Tibetan independence. The poster - spotted in a...

Presidential candidate Alan Keyes may be leaving the GOP. In a conference call last night, Keyes is said to have told supporters that staying in the Republican Party would be "an occasion of sin" and he's ready to bolt. Keyes ... reportedly wants no part in selecting the "type of deodorant we need to make a stinking candidate acceptable to conservatives." A Keyes supporter confirms to Radar that the former Reagan administration official "stated in the conference call that he could no longer remain in the Republican Party." As for what's next, a third party bid seems like a good...

Will the "Willie Effect" Impact the Election? Some speculate the controversy could cost McCain the White House By 700WLW News Thursday, February 28, 2008 ( Cincinnati ) -- Some reports claim the on-going controversy involving 700 WLW talk show host Bill Cunningham (Willie Cunningham) and presidential candidate John McCain has the potential to impact the results of the 2008 election. Ohio is a key state in the presidential election. For Republicans it is essential that they win as much support as possible in southwest Ohio to counter the strong Democratic party support in the Cleveland area. Political Science professor Jason...

Iranian clerics face a backlash over good life By Kay Biouki in Teheran and Gethin Chamberlain Last Updated: 2:05am GMT 24/02/2008 The Ayatollah Khomenei brought millions on to the streets of Iran to overthrow the decadence of the Shah. Now the late leader's grandsons and other Iranian clerics face a backlash over their families' fondness for fast cars, big houses and hot tubs. A website linked to radical elements of Iran's regime last week attacked the lifestyle of Ayatollah Khomenei's grandson, Hassan. " Driving a $100,000 BMW and relaxing in his uptown villa in north Teheran, is Hassan Khomenei actually...

German politicians ditch their Nokias By Hugh Williamson in Berlin Published: January 18 2008 21:09 | Last updated: January 18 2008 21:09 German politicians on Friday declared that they were ditching their Nokia mobile phones as anger grew over the Finnish company’s decision to move a factory from Germany to Romania at the cost of 2,000 jobs. Peer Steinbrück, finance minister, accused Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, of “caravan capitalism” while a spokesman for Angela Merkel, the chancellor, said that she was expecting “more information” on Nokia’s motives. Many Germans appeared shocked at Nokia’s announcement earlier this week...

Anti-Nokia opinions gathering momentum in Germany Public exhorted to avoid buying Nokia handsets in the wake of Bochum closure decision Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is running into heavy weather in Germany, as a veritable national movement is beginning to rise against the decision earlier this week to close the Nokia handset assembly plant in Bochum on the Ruhr. An anti-Nokia campaign is being put together with considerable alacrity. The decision to shut down the plant and move production to Romania threatens directly to put more than 2,000 people out of work, with a further two thousand jobs in jeopardy as...

LOS ANGELES — I was all set to write a perfectly reasonable and responsible column about how, when it comes to politics, no one knows anything, and how it’s impossible to predict who will win this nomination, when I came upon Chris Matthews’ comment to end this week of weeks about Hillary. In case you were lucky enough to miss it, here is what Mr. Matthews had to say: "I'll be brutal, the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she...

Former President Bill Clinton is expressing frustration with the backlash in the black community over his claim in New Hampshire that the press has coddled Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill). “This is what happens any time anyone tries to question a statement or a position of Senator Obama,” Clinton says in an interview now airing on Sirius satellite radio. “The response is, ‘You’re attacking me personally,’ and that relieves him of the obligation to address the substance.” Obama has not said he took the remarks personally, but they rankled some of his supporters. As part of a damage-control effort, Clinton spoke...

British people are now convinced about the dangers of global warming but are either baffled about how to stop it or are ignoring the issue. Analysts say few people are taking action to deal with the threat of climate change, although over the past 12 months the vast majority have come to accept that it poses a real threat to the world. Opinion polls reveal much confusion among the public about what Britain should do to combat the problem. A backlash is now a real threat, said Phil Downing, head of environmental research for Ipsos Mori. 'There's cynicism because on...

People upset over a man who sued an 8-year-old boy and his father over a Colorado ski collision have subjected him and his wife to "an electronic tar and feathering," their lawyer said. David Pfahler and Marlene Ambrogio left their Allentown, Pa., home for the holidays because angry people tied up their phone lines with repeated, automated calls since news reports of the lawsuit, attorney Jim Chalat said Monday. Some sent angry e-mails and calls to Chalat's Denver law firm, while others called Reader's Digest, where Pfahler works, and demanded he be fired, the Rocky Mountain News reported. The couple...

As the New Hampshire Presidential Primary approaches, the increased focus on the candidates and the issues appears to be costing Mitt Romney vital support in his close fight with John McCain. The New Hampshire Union Leader published a devastating attack on Romney, calling into question his conservative credentials: THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is. Like a lot of people in New...

"THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is. Like a lot of people in New Hampshire, we wanted to believe Romney. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. We listened very carefully to his expertly rehearsed sales pitch. But in the end he didn't close the deal for us. Now, two weeks before the primary, the same is happening with voters.... ...In...

Illegals-law challenge rejected By Seth McLaughlin December 1, 2007 Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A federal judge yesterday threw out a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Prince William County's [Va.] new ordinance denying services to illegal aliens. Judge James C. Cacheris said during a brief hearing at U.S. District Court in Alexandria that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the resolution passed earlier this year by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. Judge Cacheris said he will issue a written ruling at a later time detailing his decision. The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund filed...

"Presionado por su propio partido, el gobernador demócrata Eliot Spitzer dijo que no ha descartado prescindir de un plan ampliamente criticado de otorgar licencias de conducir a los inmigrantes indocumentados, de acuerdo con algunos informes. La propuesta de Spitzer generó un debate político que ha repercutido en la campaña presidencial. El viernes el gobernador expresó que mantenía por ahora el plan, pero sugirió que podría considerar abandonarlo si no encuentra entusiasmo por él, reportó en su edición del sábado el diario The New York Times y otros periódicos neoyorquinos."See below for English/synopsis.

Dozens of immigrant students took to Tucson streets with a peaceful message Tuesday. "We're students, not criminals," said Erick Quintero, a 15-year-old sophomore at Catalina Magnet High School and one of the marchers. About 100 bold young people marched some five miles from Midtown's Catalina Magnet High School to police headquarters Downtown. Reminiscent of the mass protests last year over immigration reform, the students Tuesday hoped to convey unified opposition to the recent deporting of a classmate and his family. The deportation started when school officials say they found marijuana on an undocumented student. It ended with the boy, his...

Supporters of the anti-illegal immigration measure adopted in Prince William County last week have argued that its most important purpose is to send a powerful signal to the county's mostly Latino illegal immigrants that they are no longer welcome. It appears the message has already been received: Terrified that new policies will lead to mass deportations, illegal immigrants and the many legal immigrant relatives and friends who live with them have been moving out of Prince William ever since July, when county supervisors first approved the plan's outline.

A new report by Police Chief Charlie Deane showing how an illegal immigrant arrested on suspicion a traffic violation or minor crime could soon face deportation proceedings in Prince William County is expected to set off a strong debate over the issue Tuesday. Although many Prince William County residents have been pushing for tougher immigration enforcement, others have warned that Deane’s proposal could make life tougher for the community’s Hispanic population. “It will instill fear and distress for police in the community and increase racial tension,” said Nancy Lyall, coordinator for Hispanic outreach organization Mexicanos Sin Fronteras. “It will drive...

The backlash over MoveOn.org's vile advertisement this week attacking Gen. David Petraeus has the jackals of the left sniffing around for a way out. The brainiacs at MoveOn.org probably giggled like school boys with forbidden magazines when they paid the reduced price for the New York Times' advertisement that had bold letters under a picture of Petraeus spelling out, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" It should be no surprise that the Times published the anti-American ad. Executive Editor Bill Keller has allowed reporters to publish national security secrets repeatedly in his rag when we are engaged in a hot...

A PALESTINIAN journalist has warned of a Muslim backlash over the failure of Australian authorities to grant him a visa in time to speak at today's Brisbane Writers Festival. Abdel Bari-Atwan, a best-selling author and among the last Western journalists to interview Osama bin Laden, was cancelled as a speaker at the festival yesterday as he waited for his visa application to be processed. Atwan, author of The Secret History of al-Qa'ida, accused the Howard Government of discrimination in delaying approval for his visa application, submitted on August 16, after giving notice to authorities of his intention to visit Australia....

The Town of Herndon announced yesterday that it would close its 21-month-old day-laborer center next week instead of complying with a judge's ruling that the site must be open to all residents, including those who might be illegal immigrants. The decision to close the site, which became a flash point in the national debate over immigration, was reached late Tuesday by Mayor Stephen J. DeBenedittis and the six-member Town Council after a 2 1/2 -hour closed-door session. It brings the western Fairfax community virtually full circle in its attempts to regulate -- critics say drive out -- its large population...

The city of Manassas, VA could become the next Virginia locality to enact measures targeting illegal aliens. Manassas City Council member Marc T. Aveni, a Republican, yesterday said he wants to introduce a resolution similar to one passed by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in July, which would deny public services to illegal aliens and toughen local immigration enforcement. "I need to get the rest of the council on board, but I think it"s absolutely something we would want to do," Mr. Aveni said, citing inactivity at the federal and state levels as one of the main...

TRANSLATION FROM ORIGINAL SPANISH (EXERPT):"Bank Remittances from USA to Mexico Down 1.3%"Slowdown in USA and Tightened Immigration Actions [Against Illegals] Are Main Causes During the first six months of the year, Michoacán became the state that had the greater decrease remittances from the USA, said the Bank Of Mexico....

PROJECT: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE SUBJECT: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION / RESPONSE ON THE U.S. LOCAL LEVEL WITHIN ILLEGAL ALIEN COMMUNITY/ABROAD FILE: OPPOSITION RESEARCH TRANSLATION: SPANISH to ENGLISH (w/BABELFISH) Original Spanish Title: ("EU Intensifica Medidas Contra Inmigrantes a Todos Los Niveles") (TRANSLATION) "New York, August 26 -- A woman is surrounded by 15 US federal agents on a street corner in Los Angeles, her 8-year old son crying in fear, and she is deported; U.S. politicians denounce a triple homicide in Newark, New Jersey blaming it on the presence of illegal aliens ("indocumentados") in the country, towns across the nation start to approve local measures...

23 August 2007 Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee issues his own norms for Summorum Pontificum CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:34 am The Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Most Reverend John H. Ricard, SSJ has issued his norms for the implementation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.  They were borrowed from the Diocese of St. Augustine.  You might remember those.  I called some of their points "shocking". They were developed by Bishop Galeone.  They contain some pretty surprising and problematic points.  They have been adopted by all the bishops in Florida. My emphases and comments. Below are Norms which I am...

Seven weeks after the collapse of legislation in Congress, the outcry against illegal immigration is louder than ever, manifested by proposed clampdowns at the state and local level and an uproar over the arrest of an undocumented immigrant in the execution-style slayings of three New Jersey college students. Scores of organizations, ranging from mainstream to fringe groups, are marshaling forces in what former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls "a war here at home" against illegal immigration, which he says is as important as America's conflicts being fought overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. While most of the groups register legitimate, widespread...

WASHINGTON — Seven weeks after the collapse of legislation in Congress, the outcry against illegal immigration is louder than ever, manifested by proposed clampdowns at the state and local level and an uproar over the arrest of an undocumented immigrant in the execution-style slayings of three New Jersey college students. Scores of organizations, ranging from mainstream to fringe groups, are marshalling forces in what former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls "a war here at home" against illegal immigration, which he says is as important as America’s conflicts being fought overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. While most of the groups register...

City Looks To Deport Criminal Illegal Immigrants Via Program After a recent spate of violent crimes allegedly committed by illegal or suspected illegal immigrants, Nashville has asked to become one of five American cities empowered to deport its own criminal illegal immigrants.On Aug. 15, Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall—with the full support of Metro Chief of Police Ronal Serpas and District Attorney Torry Johnson—filed paperwork to take part in a little-known federal government initiative called the Delegation of Authority Program or section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.The 287 (g) program gives local law enforcement agencies the “training...

WASHINGTON - Looking past the presidential nomination fight, Democratic leaders quietly fret that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the top of their 2008 ticket could hurt candidates at the bottom. They say the former first lady may be too polarizing for much of the country. She could jeopardize the party's standing with independent voters and give Republicans who otherwise might stay home on Election Day a reason to vote, they worry. In more than 40 interviews, Democratic candidates, consultants and party chairs from every region pointed to internal polls that give Clinton strikingly high unfavorable ratings in places with key...

PROJECT: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE SUBJECT: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION / RESPONSE ON THE U.S. LOCAL LEVEL FILE: OPPOSITION RESEARCH TRANSLATION: SPANISH to ENGLISH (w/BABELFISH) Original Spanish Title: ("Otro Condado de Virginia Que Arremete Contra Indocumentados" TEXT OF SPANISH-TO-ENGLISH TRANSLATION:"Another county in Virginia Attacks Undocumented (sic) People" 10 August of 2007Spotsylvania, Virginia, The United States - The County of Spotsylvania, VA has now joined the increasing number of localities of the state of Virginia that try to impose strict regulations against the undocumented inmmigrantes. Chris Yakabouski, director of the governing body of the county, has order the bureaucracy to report to him next week on...

Islamabad - Pakistani security forces were placed on high alert Tuesday to deal with a growing backlash by Islamic extremists and members of the general public over the storming by troops of Islamabad's Red Mosque and adjoining religious school. Thousands of people, some of them armed, took to the streets in cities in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Three bombings apparently carried out in retaliation for the mosque operation also killed a policeman and injured several more in the province, news reports said. 'Security has been further intensified all over the country, including in Islamabad,...

Police chiefs and senior politicians moved to reassure Scotland's Muslim communities yesterday amid fears of a backlash after the terrorist incident at Glasgow airport. [snip] Police said two minor incidents of racist abuse had been reported since the attacks but promised to clamp down on any backlash. [snip] But he said there was no evidence that any of Scotland's imams or mosques had been fomenting hatred.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - As the car stopped outside a Riyadh amusement park, two bearded men dragged the driver from the wheel and took the three women on a wild ride of more than an hour, bouncing over sidewalks and finally abandoning them on a darkened street. The women at first thought they had been kidnapped by terrorists. The two men however, said they were religious police. It might have gone down as just one more excess of zealousness by the forces charged with upholding Islamic modesty, except that Umm Faisal, the senior of three women, did something that is...

Here again, as always, after Muslims are caught plotting mass murder of innocent civilians in the West, the mainstream media focuses on Muslim fears of a backlash that hardly ever materializes. And here again, as always, the Muslims say nothing -- nothing at all -- about being spurred by the latest uncovered jihad plot to start working harder to identify jihad terrorists within their ranks and turn them over to authorities. From AP (thanks to Twostellas): "Name-calling, anxiety, fear and anger rippled through Britain on Sunday after three failed bomb attacks in London and Glasgow. Government and religious leaders appealed...

Sally Denton uses today's Los Angeles Times op-ed page as a launching pad for the movie based on her book, "American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857," and as a means to propagate more anti-Mormon bigotry at the expense of Mitt Romney. Denton insists that Romney has to respond about the nature of his faith if he expects to win the nomination for the Presidency -- and uses a lot of 19th-century examples to "prove" her case: MITT ROMNEY'S Mormonism threatens his presidential candidacy in the same way that John F. Kennedy's Catholicism did when he ran for...

llegal Immigration Foes Target Senate Offices By Nathan Burchfiel CNSNews.com Staff Writer June 01, 2007 (CNSNews.com) - Senators enjoying a week-long recess in their home states are being targeted by opponents of illegal immigration who are expected to deliver thousands of petition signatures opposing the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform proposals. Volunteers with the conservative activist website Grassfire.org on Thursday began delivering petitions to senators' home offices opposing the immigration bill that the Senate will consider when it returns to session June 4. The bill would give illegal immigrants a chance to remain in the United States by paying fines and...

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/05/15/are-you-afraid-of-backlash/

Fort Dix: The Backlash that Wasn't By Robert SpencerFrontPageMagazine.com | May 14, 2007In the wake of the Fort Dix jihad plot arrests, the mainstream media featured numerous news articles focusing on the fears of other Muslims in America. Philadelphia’s CBS3 reported: “Muslims in the region are bracing themselves for a possible backlash in response to the terror plot arrests.” There was no shortage of Muslim spokesmen available to confirm these fears. “What we’re all afraid of is a new backlash,” said Hesham Mahmoud of the New Jersey chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. An official of the South Jersey...

Authorities' description of six men charged with plotting an attack on Fort Dix as "Islamic militants" is renewing worry among New Jersey's Muslims. Authorities rounded up and detained hundreds of Muslim men from New Jersey in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but none was connected to that plot. Now Muslims fear a resurgence of anti-Islamic sentiment and bias. "If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented scores of detainees after the 2001 attacks. "But when the government says 'Islamic militants,'...

The Attack Against the Classical Rite: A Clarifying and Unitive Moment? Fr. Zuhlsdorf comments on a story on his site, The BBC twists the Tridentine issue and pulls no punches. I've been debating about whether to pass further comment on this issue as this "story" (really, a claim more than a story) spreads through various secular media outlets -- which can hardly be a surprise; its exactly the kind of juicy, controversial thing they love. After all, it's a juicy (if not also transparent) pitch on the part of those Catholics who have made it, and it touches well...

Not posting here, because this is an academic piece with a copyright. But I encourage everyone to read: Backdraft 9/11

Hundreds of people angry with the state's toll road contracts sounded off before state senators Thursday. Public hearings on toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor began early Thursday morning. Senators invited public input because state lawmakers will make some important decisions this session about how to pay for highways. So many people showed up that crowds were forced into overflow rooms. The Texas Department of Transportation and toll roads have found many critics, largely because of the private companies hired to build and run them. There are also questions about how much taxpayers pay for the roads. Speakers sounded...

Cannot add excerpt due to copyright complaint, but see link and my two cents. Link: http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/BUSINESS01/702130401 Having lived in Detroit, Michigan for 7 years during the mid 80's I find Toyota's success troubling. Not because of Toyota, but rather because what did the GM, Ford and Chrysler do over the past 20 years? I can surely tell you that the arguments about low yen, cheaper labor and lower content costs were the same 20 years ago as today. These arguments seem less valid today than 20 years ago given the US dollar drop in world markets and the Toyota plants...

Thanks China, now go home: buy-up of Zambia revives old colonial fears The Guardian, UK[Tuesday, February 06, 2007 23:56] Backlash as cheap Chinese labour and products follow investment from Beijing By Chris McGreal in Lusaka Members of Zambia's Chinese community wait to greet their country’s president, Hu Jintao, at Lusaka international airport. Photograph: Reuters When the foundation stone was laid for the Mulungushi textile factory three decades ago, the project was hailed as another demonstration of communist China doing for Zambia what the capitalist west would not. Beijing put up the money to build Zambia China Mulungushi Textiles and provided...

A bill that Senate Democrats have touted as a means to curb corruption in Washington could instead target some political bloggers with new regulations and even criminal penalties. The legislation, which began as an attempt to rewrite federal lobbying laws in the aftermath of the Jack Abramoff scandal, has ballooned to more than 9,000 words and a thicket of complicated rules. It was the subject of a failed attempt by Senate Democrats on Wednesday to defeat a Republican filibuster over a line-item veto, and debate is continuing Thursday afternoon. Much of the bill's wording is obtuse. But one section says...