Free Republic

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Former Gov. Rick Perry is joining a new group that plans to organize veterans in support of Ted Cruz's presidential campaign. The group, a super PAC known as Keep the Promise to Veterans, will allow Perry to ramp up his involvement in Cruz's presidential effort after endorsing the U.S. senator from Texas last month. Perry, an Air Force veteran, has already recruited some supporters of his own to help with the super PAC: former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer and Taya Kyle, the widow of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. "As you...

EXCLUSIVE: Queens mosque instructor charged with molesting 9-year-old girl A 46-year-old religious instructor at a Queens mosque has been arrested on charges of molesting a 9-year-old student, the Daily News has learned. Mohammad Rana of Queens was charged with sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child for groping the girl at the Masjid Abu Huraira Mosque on 31st Ave., police sources said.

Nigerian astronaut lost in space needs $3m to get home - could be a scam The Anorak Inbox features this plea: Nigerian Astronaut is lost in space needs $3Million to come home ... Subject: Nigerian Astronaut Wants To Come Home Dr. Bakare Tunde Astronautics Project Manager National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Plot 555 Misau Street PMB 437 Garki, Abuja, FCT NIGERIA Dear Mr. Sir, REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE-STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL I am Dr. Bakare Tunde, the cousin of Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde. He was the first African in space when he made a secret flight to the...

According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, over 50% of the teenage girls in Pakistan believes that it is justified for a husband to beat his wife if she refuses to have sex. Girls in the age group of 15-19 who express their views on domestic violence said that “refusing sex” is one of the reasons that justify domestic violence. The report claimed that more than 30% of the Pakistani girls in the age group of 15-19 had experience physical or sexual violence. Report, titled, “Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young People in Asia and the Pacific” also gave...

Vegan activists threatened a restaurant in the United Kingdom over its Valentine's Day menu A chef in the United Kingdom is backing away from including foie gras on a Valentine's Day menu after receiving death threats from vegan activists. The chef at Kings Arms at Fleggburgh opted out of serving the decadent dish during Valentine's Day dinner this weekend after being subjected to "harassment" by activists who threatened to protest the menu, the Guardian reports. Foie gras is traditionally made by force feeding geese until their liver becomes enlarged.

Human Rights Watch expresses alarm as government says social media must respect ‘culture and local wisdom of the country’Indonesia’s instant messaging providers must remove gay emoji and stickers from their apps, the government has ordered, prompting a human rights outcry. The government move comes after a social media backlash against Line, a popular smartphone messaging app, for having stickers – an elaborate type of emoji – with homosexual themes in its online store. Homosexuality and is not illegal in Indonesia but LGBT matters are a sensitive issue. At the same time most of Indonesian society, which follows a moderate...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

Trump's supporters loved his promise this week to create a "deportation force” to remove all 11 million illegal immigrants living in America, and his repeated declaration that everyone here illegally will “have to go." But his supporters tend to overlook is his other promise - repeated in a recent debate - that under his immigration plan "they will come back." That's right. Under Trump's immigration plan almost all of 11 million illegal aliens (save for a small minority with criminal records) will get to return and get permanent legal status to stay here in America. Trump supports amnesty. On the...

Just yesterday, I had a Mexican woman on the phone ask me if I knew Spanish. When I responded that I indeed did, and could I help her in (in fluent Spanish), she had the audacity and gall to ask me if I "...really knew Spanish." I told her in no uncertain terms in fluent Spanish that I spoke it like a native and did she want help or not. She calmed down. Such a thing is completely unprecedented. I have NEVER heard of or observed such behavior in a foreigner to a country confronting someone from that country and...

I don't like being bothered or bossed around. I hated that anyone, for any reason, could interrupt my life, and I could interrupt my life just the same The phone rings: it's my friend checking to see if I can pick her up on the way to a dinner party. I ask her where she is and as she explains, I reach as far as I can across the countertop for a pen. I scribble the address in my trusty notebook I keep in my back pocket. I tell her I'll be at her place in about 20 minutes, give...

Tuesday night in New Hampshire went as well for Donald Trump as anyone could’ve possibly imagined. He won big, and the Republican establishment clearly lost. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, were all given enough reason to remain in the primary, prolonging a bitter fight to become the true counterweight to the billionaire real estate developer and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, an insurgent reviled by his Senate colleagues. Rubbing Mar-a-Lago sand in the open wound, the establishment’s best hope, the former Tea Party darling Rubio, polled behind Mr. Bush...

At Halal Speed Dating, all matchmaking sessions begin with a talk on marriage in Islam. Women must be accompanied to the event by a chaperone - typically a parent. Imagine going on a first date with someone and having your parents beside you to give you advice. That is what happens at Halal Speed Dating, a matchmaking service founded in 2015 in Muslim-majority Malaysia. The goal is to provide a respectable, Sharia-compliant way of finding a spouse through a process similar to typical speed dating, where men and women are given five minutes to get to know each other before...

A spindly spider took on a brown snake and won in an Australian bush battle of deadly animals. Farmer Patrick Lees, from Weethalle about 400 kilometres west of Sydney, said he found the spindly-looking 'daddy-long-legs' spider with the snake on Saturday. 'The snake was already dead, I made sure of that before I took the photo,' he said about the snake which is known for its deadly venom.

Peru’s health ministry has declared a health emergency in two isolated provinces of the Amazon jungle after reporting that rabid bats have killed 12 people since October. Most of the 12 killed were children, according to the health ministry. Nine of them were indigenous members of the Achuar people from the Datem del Marañon province of Peru's Loreto state, while three victims lived in the Oxapampa province, over 300 miles away in the central state of Pasco. Two adults remain in critical condition in Datem del Marañon. The government declared a 90-day health emergency today in the Datem del Marañon...

According to Cain, the Trump phenomenon can be summed up in three words: "Leadership, fighter and winner." Cain, the former Republican presidential candidate, says the "Trump phenomenon" is so powerful that black women are leaving the Democratic Party to support Trump, a current Republican presidential candidate. Cain might not be that far off base, at least according to political consultant Frank Luntz, who told the online Politico page recently that Trump has a good chance of winning the black vote should he win the Republican nomination. "If he were the Republican nominee, he would get the highest percentage of black...

The Titans of Mavericks competition is known for being difficult to watch in person, with surfers being as far out as a half-mile from the beach. This year, it is even tougher to watch near the water, due to the beach being closed to the public and no arranged festival for spectators. Thick morning fog did help much either. Red Bull TV is offering more comprehensive viewer experience. Those interested can see the options below. Streaming devices: Apple TV has a pre-installed channel for Red Bull TV. On Roku players, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Nexus Player, there is a free,...

Ancient trysts between Neanderthals and modern humans may have influenced modern risks for depression, heart attacks, nicotine addiction, obesity and other health problems, researchers said. Some of the scientists' discoveries confirm previous ideas. For example, earlier research suggested that Neanderthal DNA influenced skin cells known as keratinocytes that help protect the skin from environmental damage such as ultraviolet radiation and germs. The new findings suggest that Neanderthal genetic variants increase the risk of developing sun-triggered skin lesions known as keratoses, which are caused by abnormal keratinocytes.

The headline you'll read is that the Rubio plan cuts taxes by $6.8 trillion over a decade. This needs to be put in the context of the $42 trillion of revenue the federal government is projected to collect over the next ten years. So it's a big score, but it's not so big when compared to the larger tax revenue picture. Rarely are these two numbers associated, as they always should be. Needless to say, they are not in the TPC report. TPC themselves admit that they lack the capacity to do a macroeconomic analysis of the plan. In other...

Explanation: Just press play to watch two black holes merge. Inspired by the first direct detection of gravitational waves by LIGO, this simulation video plays in slow motion but would take about one third of a second if run in real time. Set on a cosmic stage the black holes are posed in front of stars, gas, and dust. Their extreme gravity lenses the light from behind them into Einstein rings as they spiral closer and finally merge into one. The otherwise invisible gravitational waves generated as the massive objects rapidly coalesce cause the visible image to ripple and slosh...

An Indian state has proposed reclassifying the country's national bird - the peacock - as vermin, local media report. Goa's Agriculture Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said peacocks were damaging crops and could be culled. Monkeys, wild boars and wild bison, Goa's state animal, would also be culled under the plans.