Free Republic

The Russian air force just pulled off one of the biggest and most complex heavy bomber missions in modern history—sending no fewer than 25 Backfire, Bear, and Blackjack bombers on a coordinated, long-range air raid against alleged ISIS forces in Syria. The Tuesday mission, which launched under the cover of darkness from a base in Ossetia in southern Russia, signaled a significant escalation of Moscow’s air war in Syria—and heralded the rebirth of Russian heavy bomber squadrons that once had withered from a lack of funding.

Ignored in news coverage of the Paris massacre is the single most pertinent piece of background: A 2014 opinion poll found that ISIS had an approval rating in France (at 16%) almost as high as President Francois Holland (at 18%). In the 18-to-24-year-old demographic, ISIS’ support jumped to 27%. Muslims comprise about a tenth of France’s population, so the results imply that ISIS had the support of the overwhelming majority of French Muslims (and especially Muslim youth), as well as the endorsement of a large part of the non-Muslim Left. Reporting the survey, conducted by the polling organization ICM for...

[Snip]...On Tuesday, November 10, the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) — the undergraduate student government at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMN) — rejected a resolution for a moment of recognition on future anniversaries of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks…."I am well aware that 9/11 was a devastating tragedy but I am also fearful for the welfare of our Muslim and Middle Eastern students on campus, of which I identify with."

On Friday, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell actually fact-checked Hillary Clinton’s suspicious tale of trying to join the Marines in 1975: "Those comments are being mocked by Republicans today and they’re getting two Pinocchios from Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler....Why on earth would she go to a Marine recruiter in 1975?...It doesn't make sense." Her guest, Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was so taken aback that the Florida congresswoman attacked Mitchell for asking questions: "With all due respect, Andrea, why on earth are we talking about this?" Mitchell hit back: "Because she brought it up in New Hampshire the...

A Syrian passport has been retrieved from one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the Stade de France stadium in Paris last night, according to two French police officers. The second of the suicide bombers is believed to have been as young as 15 years old. Meanwhile, witnesses reported hearing at least two of the terrorists at the Bataclan Theatre speaking perfect French.

Last month the Pentagon sent a tough signal to its fastest-growing rival in Asia when a U.S. Navy warship sailed close by an artificial Chinese island in the contested waters of the South China Sea. The message: The U.S. will stand by its allies as they confront China's increasingly muscular military. This month, the Defense Department picked Joint Base Lewis-McChord for a friendlier exchange between the two world powers. The Army is opening up the South Sound base for a weeklong exercise with its Chinese counterpart, the People's Liberation Army. It's fairly small compared with some of the standard engagements...

When this Philippine coastal town rid itself two decades ago of a giant US naval base, it wanted to shake off a colonial past and reject the “ugly Americans.” Yet today the town is once again welcoming American military personnel and viewing the US as a vanguard against an increasingly pushy China. The US Navy began using the base in Subic Bay last year to deliver materiel and personnel for annual joint military exercises. Some 6,000 US personnel came to Subic in April, and are set to return for exercises in 2016 in agreement with Philippine authorities, according to a...

A tip from the public led police in California's capital city to arrest a 28-year-old man Wednesday in the stabbing of a U.S. airman hailed as a hero for helping thwart a European terror attack.Air Force Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone was knifed three times in the torso on Oct. 8 in a fight near a bar in Sacramento, shortly after nightclub patrons applauded the 23-year-old for his role in tackling a gunman with ties to radical Islam on a Paris-bound passenger train in August.

If you’re Social Justice Warrior, you’re a liar. You actively spread absurd falsehoods about the nature of men, women, sex, and culture that can’t withstand even the slightest scrutiny. You change history and conceal facts to fit preferred narratives, even when it costs human lives. You claim the best of intentions yet achieve the worst of outcomes. And through it all, you hate the very nation and political system that have granted you the liberties you so grotesquely abuse...SNIP...If you disagree — if you think that political correctness is gaining momentum — then consider a few facts. First, the top...

How scary are your jack-o’-lanterns? Scarier than you think, according to the Energy Department, which claims the holiday squash is responsible for unleashing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of the 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins produced in the U.S. end up in the trash, says the Energy Department’s website, becoming part of the “more than 254 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced in the United States every year.”

The fast-food breakfast wars are upon us. With McDonald's starting all-day breakfast, Burger King responding in kind, Wendy's flailing in the breakfast arena, and Taco Bell revamping its morning menu, the competition is more intense than ever. But in the midst of the battle, some weaknesses are rising. We tested three main breakfast items from the major fast-food chains. We tried breakfast from McDonald's, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Wendy's — here's who does it best Marina Nazario and Hollis Johnson Oct. 28, 2015, 9:02 AM 1,083,325 35  facebook  linkedin  twitter  email  print fast food...

Infrastructure: California's high-speed rail project will never make its current 2022 arrival time, according to the Los Angeles Times. Doesn't this strike anyone in charge of this costly boondoggle as ironic?...Officials still haven't settled on a route, they're behind schedule in acquiring land, getting permits and financing, and the project faces several lawsuits. Boring on the 36 miles of planned tunnels isn't likely to get started until 2019, the Times notes, and by any reasonable estimate it will take another 7 to 14 years to complete. Even that's probably optimistic, since several parts will traverse known fault lines, vastly increasing...

SNIP:...The crowning achievement of Alinsky was recruiting both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — who are now at the pinnacle of power in the Democrat Party. Obama was trained in political and community organizing at the Alinsky-founded Industrial Areas Foundation in Chicago. Hillary developed a personal relationship with Alinsky after expounding on Alinsky methods in her senior thesis at Wellesley College in 1969.

Islamic supremacist Imraan Siddiqi complained to Sears about the hats, and it was apparently his complaint alone that was enough for them to remove the hats from sale. After he succeeded in strong-arming Sears into removing the hats, he screamed “Allahu akbar”:

An Oklahoma congressman has sent a second letter to the Secretary of the Army demanding access to Ranger School records for the classes that have involved female soldiers. Republican Rep. Steve Russell, an infantry battalion commander who is Ranger qualified, has continued his quest as a third woman prepares to graduate from the Army’s most demanding combat leadership school Friday at Fort Benning. In a second letter to Secretary John McHugh dated Oct. 7, Russell said he is concerned that some of the documentation he has requested has been destroyed. “I was somewhat puzzled by the Army officials informing me...

Women in a new Marine Corps unit created to assess how female service members perform in combat were injured twice as often as men, less accurate with infantry weapons and not as good at removing wounded troops from the battlefield, according to the results of a long-awaited study produced by the service. The research was carried out by the service in a nine-month long experiment at both Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Twentynine Palms, Calif. About 400 Marines, including 100 women, volunteered to join the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force, the unit the Marine Corps created to compare how men...

In her most dramatic speech to date about climate change, National Security Advisor Susan Rice suggests climate change was partially responsible for the conflict in Syria and represents a looming threat to the entire world. “In the years prior to civil war breaking out in Syria, that country also experienced its worst drought on record,” she said during a political speech at Stanford University. “Farming families moved en masse into urban centers, increasing political unrest and further priming the country for conflict.”

Under orders from Secretary Ray Mabus, the Navy has announced changes that will eventually make uniforms and covers more gender-neutral. And so, the unisex "Dixie Cup," or enlisted white hat, will come into being and be available for wear by E-6s and below next April. Female sailors will also be allowed to carry bigger purses, so long as they match their shoes. "Having service members don the same headgear is symbolic of a Navy that is gender-blind," said Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a Navy spokesman. "We have been working hard to design covers and uniforms that improve uniformity across the...

s China's "Golden Week," a seven-day public holiday celebrating the country's national day, came to a close on Wednesday, Chinese citizens flocked home -- at the same time. Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of northbound vehicles got stuck on the G4 Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau (Jinggang'ao) expressway, People's Daily China reported. The 1,400-mile-long expressway runs between Beijing and Shenzhen, and connects along the way to other major cities in the Hebei, Henan and Guangdong provinces.

An American Airlines pilot became incapacitated and later died during an early red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston on Monday. The company has yet to release the pilot's name or details on what caused his death. The plane's co-pilot took over the controls of the Airbus A320 and safely landed the 147-passenger flight in Syracuse around 7AM ET in an emergency attempt to get the pilot medical attention. The flight originally departed shortly after midnight on Monday.