Free Republic

Russian forces tighten grip on Crimea despite U.S. warning By Alissa de Carbonnel SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine Sun Mar 9, 2014 9:25am EDT (Reuters) - Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea on Sunday despite a U.S. warning to Moscow that annexing the southern Ukrainian region would close the door to diplomacy in a tense East-West standoff. Russian forces' seizure of the Black Sea peninsula has been bloodless but tensions are mounting following the decision by pro-Russian groups that have taken over the regional parliament to make Crimea part of Russia. The operation to seize Crimea began within days of Ukraine's pro-Russian...

Senate Democrats are about to burn the midnight oil to make their case on climate change. The previously rumored all-night session on the effects of climate change will take place Monday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse confirmed. “It’s locked in,” the Rhode Island Democrat told CQ Roll Call. “An all-nighter is an all-nighter. We’re going to go all the way through to eight or nine in the morning or whenever they need to clean it up for the next day.” That would clearly meet the established definition of an all-night session. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Whitehouse are coordinating the campaign. Whitehouse...

What is Vladimir Putin up to? The crisis in Ukraine, brought to a boil when Russia’s president sent troops into the Crimean peninsula, has created almost a cottage industry of guessing at the autocratic leader’s intentions from one day to the next. When it comes to Putin’s long-term strategy, however, there is at least one concrete plan that offers some insight, and one specific date that Russia observers are looking ahead to. That date, Jan. 1, 2015, is expected to mark the birth of an important new organization linking Russia with an as-yet-undetermined constellation of its neighboring countries—an alliance Putin...

Shrewd reporting about the Ukraine crisis comes from The Onion, which declared that American reaction is evenly divided — between the “wholly indifferent” and the “grossly misinformed.” In the latter category, it seems, belong the chest-thumpers who blame the Crimea catastrophe on President Obama. “We have a weak and indecisive president that invites aggression,” scolded Senator Lindsey Graham (revealing his own weakness: grammar). “President Obama needs to do something!” Likewise, Senator John McCain complains that Obama’s foreign policy is “feckless,” so that “nobody believes in America’s strength anymore.” Representative Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, worries that...

One of the most common critiques of contemporary American society, and Western culture more broadly, is its purported enthrallment to the opiate of celebrity. The notion that ordinary Americans are so dumbfounded by popular entertainment that they can’t understand linear, logical thought, let alone come up with workable solutions to complex problems which require such understanding, is not new. The late Neil Postman wrote an entire book exploring the damage wrought by modern communication techniques-namely, television and advertising-to the process of information-gathering, and by extension, rational argument and inquiry. However, even Henry David Thoreau-who lived before radio had attenuated the...

Sarah Palin’s prescient assertion in 2008 that electing Barack Obama would embolden Russia to take on sovereign countries like Ukraine certainly seems to have been on the mark. Ironically, Tina Fey’s parody on "Saturday Night Live", taken for the truth about Palin exclaiming that she can see Russia from her house may also come true. I just hope we don't all wind up seeing Russia from our window. After the events in Ukraine this past week followed by President Obama’s lackadaisical response at a press conference Saturday and Palin’s original remark that Russia can be seen from “land here in...

The election of Bill de Blasio as New York’s mayor was a dream comes true for America’s progressives. Not only has one of their own grabbed the top job in the country’s biggest city, but his Working Families Party has total (48/3) control of the City Council to support him. There is now no progressive program de Blasio cannot put into place. He is limited only by his own imagination. Sure those “meanies” in Albany can throw a few road blocks in front of him and briefly stall his plans, but in the end he’ll get his way. The far...

AFSCME union officials posted the names of employees who opted out of the union at a Michigan hospital. EAG News reported: A top labor official told MLive recently that the public posting of names of union members who opted out of the union serves as a membership renewal reminder to other union members. Lawrence Roehrig, international vice president of AFSCME and secretary treasurer of Michigan AFSCME Council 25, made his comments in an MLive story that appeared after Michigan Capitol Confidential broke the news that AFSCME Hurley Medical Center Employees Local 1603 posted the names of workers who exercised their...

Here's a photo recently taken by NASA and it's amazing. They are LITERALLY living in the Dark Ages.If you didn't know any better you would think South Korea was actually an island.

Genesis Camona was a 22-year-old college student who participated in the protests. She was also a beauty queen, having won the title of Miss Tourism in her home state of Carabobo. According to her uncle, she and her mother were peaceful protestors wanting an end to the 15 years of socialism that have plagued the nation. He stated: ‘There’s no food, no milk, no baby food … It is horrible what is happening in this country,’ Gil said. ‘That’s why she was out at the protest.’ During the demonstrations, she was gunned down by members of armed militias known as...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog We should send many large ships to Cuba every day and offer U.S. citizenship to every anti-Communuist in Cuba We would have to offer bribes to the Cuban police and military guards, but by U.S. standards, it wouldn’t be expensive: a handful of U.S. currency, bottles of booze, toilet paper, chocolate bars, and pornographic magazines should be enough to get the job done. This would make the police and guards look forward to the arrival of these ships, instead of trying to stop them.After a few months, Castro wouldn’t have anyone to rule over, because everyone...

RUSH: Salon.com. This is a huge piece here. This prints out to six pages. "Why You're Wrong About Communism: 7 Huge Misconceptions About It (and Capitalism) -- Most of what Americans think they know about capitalism and communism is total nonsense," and as I read through this... I'm not gonna read the whole thing to you, but we will link to it at RushLimbaugh.com. As you read through this, if you take the time to do it, this could very easily be the kind of gobbledygook that's being taught in college. "As the commentary around the recent deaths of Nelson...

A new low in the disgrace of the American political class was reached when Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) took the floor this week to extol the virtues of Cuban communism. A new high immediately followed, as Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) rose to annihilate Harkin, and all the other miserable apologists for left-wing tyranny. The civilized world continues to pay an appalling price for failing to cast out communism with the same vehement disgust we showed towards fascism. Among other things, the difference in our attitude toward these monstrous evils blinds us to their similarities. Too many Western politicians and academics...

The founder of liberation theology, the Latin American-inspired Catholic theology advocating for the poor, received a hero’s welcome Tuesday at the Vatican as the once-criticized movement continues its rehabilitation under Pope Francis. The Rev. Gustavo Gutierrez of Peru was the surprise speaker Tuesday at a book launch featuring the head of the Vatican’s orthodoxy office, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller; one of Francis’ top advisers, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga; and the Vatican spokesman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_wKhXurFyI

After Democratic Senator Tom Harkin praised Cuba on several issues, Senator Marco Rubio gave what has been called by Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo as the “best oration of his career.” Its passion and candor about the despicable socialist regimes of Cuba and Venezuela should put those politicians who can actually praise the oppressive nations to shame. The best lines from Rubio’s stemwinder, which is worth every minute: ◾Let me tell you what the Cubans are really good at, because they don’t know how to run their economy, they don’t know how to build, they don’t know how to govern...

The French minister for industry, Arnaud Montebourg, has announced the creation of a national company of mines aimed at securing the supply of raw materials and exporting French know-how abroad, EurActiv France reports. The industry minister kicked off the start of the “mining revival” of France recently during his visit to the largest underground gypsum quarry in Europe, located in the French Val d’Oise. […] “The creation of a national company of mines in France will allow us to control the prices, the quantities and our sovereignty. In the past, I have provided a number of mining permits to foreign...

“How many people here actually want to move to the U.S.?” I said. Her eyes widened and she looked at me like I was stupid even for asking. “A hundred percent,” she said. “Well, maybe not a hundred, but close.”

What Happens When Bureaucrats Who Apparently "Need" Your Money More Than You Get A Taste Of Their Own Medicine? Funny Video Takes Apart The Whole "I Need It So I Can Steal It" Mentality. This Should Be Good For A Laugh Or Two! Who Says There Is No Free Lunch? Watch Now!

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