Free Republic

If people are willing to pay up for niche channels, Palin might be online video’s next guinea pig.In the introduction to her new online video channel, Sarah Palin announces how she’s going to turn traditional media on its head. She’ll, naturally, “cut through the sound bytes” and “through the media’s politically correct filter.” But she may also do something else for media in the process, which is test the hypothesis that there may be a business in getting people to pay $100 a year to watch a niche streaming tv channel. After seeing a solo act like Glenn Beck succeed...

Not a strategy based on moral clarity about the imperative of civilization prevailing over barbarism Recently Pope Francis declared that “the persecution of Christians today is even greater than in the first centuries of the Church, and there are more Christian martyrs today than in that era.” The slaughter of 200,000 Christians in the Darfur region of Sudan since 2011 may not have received the attention it deserved. But now the religious cleansing of Christians in Iraq resulting from Islamic jihadists’ conquest of lands Christians had called home since the first centuries A.D. cannot be ignored.

In a statement, Francis appealed to the international community to "put an end to the humanitarian drama underway, adopt measures to protect those who are threatened by violence and assure them necessary aid, especially urgent for those who are homeless and depend on the solidarity of others."

Washington (CNN) -- Two U.S. F/A-18 jet fighters bombed artillery batteries of Sunni Islamic extremists in Iraq on Friday, escalating America's military involvement more than two years after President Barack Obama brought home forces from the country. Obama authorized "targeted airstrikes" if needed to protect U.S. personnel from fighters with the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The U.S. military also could use airstrikes to prevent what officials warn could be a genocide of minority groups by the Islamic State fighters. The U.S. aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a "mobile artillery...

While the world fixates on the conflict between Israel and Hamas—and while most mainstream media demonize Israel for trying to survive amid a sea of Arab-Islamic hostility—similar or worse tragedies continue to go virtually ignored.

The White House(sic) is weighing unsupported air strikes to "stem Islamist militant" gains in Iraq, as well as humanitarian relief for thousands of displaced religious minorities in the country's (Kurdish) north, according to US defense. Un-named Republicans allegedly call for the president to "take action", he doesn't need the approval of lawmakers... Meanwhile, President B Ob huddles with his national security team between fund raisers and golf on Marthas to discuss the Wahhabi gains. Any physical activity would mark a significant shift in the American paralysis, US military was yanked (Saigon, again) in late 2011 after discovering the clear, but...

A prominent Christian leader of the Chaldean community unveiled the "systematic beheading of children" and other horrendous crimes committed by ISIS. He said that the Sunni extremists are committing genocide against Christians in Iraq and with the aim to instill the Sharia Law as the law of the land. In the interview with CNN's Jonathan Mann, Chaldean-American businessman Mark Arabo said that the "world hasn't seen an evil like this for generations." "There is a park in Mosul, where [ISIS] they actually beheaded children and put their heads on a stick and have them in the park," he explained. "More...

(RNN) - A North Carolina diner that gained national attention for offering a discount to diners who prayed before their meal has now rescinded the offer. Craig Marimpietri tweeted a photo from Mary’s Gourmet Diner in Winston-Salem, NC where a sign noted that “while you may exercise your right of religious freedom, by praying over your meal…we must protect your freedom from religion in a public place.” The restaurant is no longer issuing the discount because, "it is illegal and we are being threatened by lawsuit." In an interview with Greensboro, NC’s News & Record newspaper, Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president...

A few weeks ago the Dublin Girls had gathered inside the local mall for an evening power walk. They formed a small circle and as they had done many times before, they bowed their heads to petition the Almighty. But before one of the runners could say, “Lord Jesus,” she was interrupted by a mall cop barreling down a corridor. “The security guard came running toward us and said, ‘You are not allowed to pray at the mall. That’s against the policy,’” Tammy told me. The ladies were aghast. “I told him we’ve been praying since last November and no...

One House Republican decided his colleagues needed a little inspiration, so he sent every one of them a new Bible. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) sent a letter as well, telling each of his House and Senate colleagues that the “best advice comes through meditating on God’s Word” and that the Holy Bible could “help guide you in your decision-making.” …

The nation’s law enforcement agencies, from local cops all the way to the Department of Homeland Security, are always on the lookout for terrorist threats, and that includes at home as well as in far flung deserts and mountains. And they’re collecting data on all sorts of groups. What may come as a surprise is that, if you’re a regular reader of Hot Air or many other similar outlets, you might be one of the people they are watching! A new report this summer from a group of university analysts has identified the chief concerns of law enforcement agents at...

Boko Haram, the Islamist extremist group in Nigeria, and other groups have killed 1,631 Christians in Nigeria in the first six months of 2014—91 percent of last year’s total number of Christians killed, according to in the country in all of last year, according to the human rights group Jubilee Campaign. Last year 1,783 Nigerian Christians were killed, according to Jubilee Campaign. …

As the war between Israel and Hamas enters its fourth week - the frenzied condemnation of Israel for exercising its inherent right of self-defence continues to dominate the media coverage of the conflict. Ishaan Tharoor writing in the Washington Post wonders why: “The world is transfixed by the conflict in Gaza, as the death tolls of both Palestinians and Israelis killed in the fighting continue to rise. It has animated global public opinion and sparked protests in myriad far-flung cities.

The Archbishop of Lyon has travelled to Iraq to show the country’s Christians his solidarity. “I will say the Our Father in Aramaic until you are finally able to return home. French visas are not the solution” BARBARIN ON HIS VISIT TO IRAQ (PHOTO BY: LYON.CATHOLIQUE.FR) Rome On Saturday he was out in the streets of Mosul demonstrating, in an act of solidarity towards the city’s Christians who are forced to flee their homes. On Monday he flew to Erbil in person to go and meet Christians. The Archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin, one of the French Catholic Church’s most...

For over 2,000 years, Christians and Muslims lived in peace in Mosul, Iraq, the country's second largest city. That all changed on June 10, 2014 when the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, invaded the city and evicted its Christian population. With the Christians gone, ISIS has begun to destroy or occupy every Christian landmark in the city. The Assyrian International News Agency released a full list of the 45 institutions the Islamic State destroyed or occupied. Here are a few examples: Syrian Catholic Diocese Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation Archbishop’s Palace Chapel Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese Church of...

The age-old anti-Semitic blood libel makes yet another appearance to justify Hamas’s targeting of innocent Israeli civilians and threats of a new genocide of the Jews. But the international media is too busy presenting Hamas press releases as news stories to take any notice. “Top Hamas Official Osama Hamdan: Jews Use Blood for Passover Matzos,” MEMRI, July 28, 2014: In a recent TV interview, Osama Hamdan, top Hamas representative in Lebanon and a member of the Hamas political bureau, said: “We all remember how the Jews used to slaughter Christians, in order to mix their blood in their holy matzos.”...

Recent events have propelled Christians United for Israel (CUFI) to the front row of pro-Israel organizations. The group advertised last week’s Washington D.C. Summit, held July 21, as a more compact two-day program. Last year’s conclave offered a three-day affair. But if anyone thought the faith-based pro-Israel organization was becoming less relevant, they would think otherwise after attending the latest confab.At the very moment when the Jewish State was under a crushing vise of global criticism for its involvement in Operation Protective Edge, CUFI (pronounced koo-PHI and not koo-FEE) roused its American heartland membership in loud, rollicking support of Israel....

A family at the Khazair checkpoint after fleeing from Mosul, Iraq on June 11, 2014. Credit: R. Nuri UNHCR-ACNUR via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Washington D.C., Jul 30, 2014 / 04:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. bishops have urged the U.S. government to assist Iraqi Christian victims of persecution, while France has offered asylum to Iraqi Christians who have fled Mosul. “The Islamic State has taken control of large swaths of territory in northern Iraq, leaving a trail of destruction, burning and looting ancient churches and mosques, homes and businesses,” Bishop Richard E. Pates, the U.S. bishops’ chairman of International...

I'm seriously considering joining a Christian health care ministry in order to not be backstabbed by Obama's health care TAX next year. The three that I'm aware of are... Samaritan Ministries http://samaritanministries.org Christian Care Ministry’s Medi-Share http://mychristiancare.org/medi-share Christian Healthcare Ministries http://www.chministries.org/ Can any FReepers who have experience with these organizations please share their experience?

The State Department issued a dire report Monday on the state of religious freedom around the world, with an alarming warning that the Christian presence in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East is becoming a “shadow of its former self.” The analysis was included as part of a comprehensive report on religious freedom around the world in 2013. The report cited a flood of examples of governments and militant groups cracking down on religious minorities, everywhere from Pakistan to Egypt to China. The victims included Christians, but also Hindus, Muslims and others. The report offered a pointed warning about...