Free Republic

For centuries exile has been the most popular strategy for kings and dictators to escape hanging, whether it be Charles II, his brother James II, Idi Amin, Ferdinand Marcos or the Shah of Iran. Exile also has been a preferred choice for those seeking political asylum from persecution such as Albert Einstein and Bertolt Brecht fleeing the Nazis, or Salman Rushdie finding safe haven from the Ayatollah's fatwa death sentence. No US president has ever been exiled. For high crimes and misdemeanors impeachment is our cure. For lesser sins, a second term denied is punishment enough. Until Barack Obama came...

Actor Danny Glover has taken on a new role - as international statesman. The "Lethal Weapon" star traveled to South Africa late Wednesday to escort exiled former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide back home. Aristide has been issued a diplomatic passport after seven years in exile but has encountered resistance to his return to Haiti before a presidential run-off election on Sunday. Glover questioned why former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier would be allowed to return, but the twice-elected Aristide would not. "People of good conscience cannot be idle while a former dictator is able to return unhindered while a democratic leader...

Hello all. Perhaps you've noticed I haven't been around much lately. Well, I wasn't in Japan when the quake hit, but my computer did crash early on the morning of 3/6 (over a week ago) and it's been in the shop since the next morning. This is the second crash in three months. When he got around to looking at it the repair guy said he couldn't find anything wrong with the software so it must be the hard drive. The hard drive came in yesterday morning and is installed but it still won't work. Now there are only two...

Kadhafi podría pedir asilo político a Nicaragua * La Radio del Ejército de Israel reporta que los hijos de Kadhafi pidieron a su padre que deje el poder y pida asilo político al presidente Daniel Ortega * Cancillería de Nicaragua no tiene información al respecto elnuevodiario.com.ni - - La Radio del Ejército de Israel afirmó este miércoles que los hijos del mandatario de Libia, Muamar Kadhafi pidieron a su padre que deje el poder y pida asilo político al presidente de Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega. En una nota publicada por Notimex, se señala que la radio transmitió que allegados a la...

I am not sure if there is another Torah portion with a pace as frenetic as Ki Tisah. The parshah takes us from celestial heights to the lowest of the lows and back again. Ki Tisah opens with the Temple and its vessels - the purpose of creation. It engages us in the secret of the incense and the secret of Shabbat - the sign of the covenant between G-d and the Jewish People, between the Creator and His Chosen Nation. From these lofty heights, we fall straight into the sin of the Golden Calf. Could there be a more...

Will Hosni Mubarak travel to Germany as a patient as part of a graceful exit strategy for the Egyptian president? Plans for a possible hospital stay here appear to be more concrete than previously believed. SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that a luxury clinic near Baden-Baden is being favored.The United States government's scenario for an end to the political chaos in Egypt appears to be this: President Hosni Mubarak travels to Germany for a "prolonged health check" that would offer the 82-year-old a dignified departure. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that secret talks to that effect were being...

THE CAPTURE OF THE ARK- God as a P.O.W ? I believe that there is so much more to the so called Bible stories than most Christians realize. Too often they are just relegated to children’s Sunday school felt board stories, or attempts are made to derive morality lessons from them. Jesus and the apostles treated these stories in a far more serious vein. Adam, Eve, Lot, and Noah were used by them to teach the gospel, and especially to reveal eschatology, that is the teaching on “the end”.” As in the days of Noah, so shall be the day...

hen Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them: 'Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 24 And you shall observe this matter for an ordinance for you and your sons for ever. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you: What do you mean you by this service? 27. And you shall say: It is the sacrifice of G-d's Passover, for He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.'...

Kim Jong-il's Oldest Son 'Faces Perpetual Exile' North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam has reportedly been excluded from his father's birthday celebrations for the second year running. "A family gathering was held to celebrate Kim Jong-il's 68th birthday on Tuesday, with third son Jong-un in attendance," a North Korean source said. "But there are no signs that Jong-nam flew to Pyongyang from Macau or China, where he lives." Kim Jong-nam was in Pyongyang between July and September 2008 after his father collapsed with a massive stroke. But he has been living in exile since January 2009, when it...

A letter published on the Iranian websites claims that Ayatollah Khamenei is planning a possible escape to Russia.There were rumors floating around yesterday that Ayatollah Khamenei was preparing to flee Iran. Today Planet Iran posted a letter written on the official Islamic Regime letterhead that discusses Khamenei’s possible to escape to Russia. Iran Global website has exposed a document that discloses information on Khamenei and various authorities of the regime’s possible escape to Russia. The document is on the National Security Agency of the Islamic regime’s letterhead addressed from the office of the High Assembly of the Islamic Republic’s National...

There is more than a bit of gallows humor in the following Torah thought, which I've heard attributed to several gedolim over the years: Question: Why is it that our children do not ask "Four Questions" on Sukkos? After all, things are far from ordinary - arguably even more so than on Pesach - when we sit down to our first Yom Tov meal outdoors in the sukkah. Answer: Throughout our 2,000-year exile, it was not at all unusual for children to see their families leaving the comfort of their homes and sleeping outdoors. However, when they saw them sitting...

King Jehoiachin was only 18 years old and had occupied the throne of Judah barely three months when he was led off into Babylonian captivity in 598 BCE together with his wives, his mother, his servants, his eunuchs and thousands of "the chief men of the land." But what happened to them when they reached Babylon? And what happened there to the tens of thousands of others who joined them in exile when the First Temple was destroyed a decade later? The Bible tells us of the return to Judah half a century later but virtually nothing of what the...

Iranian reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi was given an ultimatum by the Islamic Republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a call to support the reelected regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the London Times reported Friday morning. Khamenei made it clear to Mousavi that if he failed to report to Friday prayers at Teheran University, during which he planned to deliver a sermon calling for national unity, the oppostion leader would be exiled. Khamenei is expected to be assisted by "an army of Islamic volunteer militiamen" during the sermon. According the report, Khamenei made the demand while meeting with the representatives...

Kim Jong-il's Eldest Son 'in the Dark but Not in Exile' North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam admits he relies on press reports for news that his younger brother Jong-un will succeed their father but denies he himself is looking for asylum abroad. Speaking to Nihon TV, Kim Jong-nam said he based his assumption on media reports and could neither confirm nor deny them definitely. Asked whether Kim Jong-un resembles his father, he said, "That is one of the reasons my father has named my brother as his successor. My father likes my brother very much." Nihon TV...

Julio Severo away from Brazil Open letter to the friends of Blog Julio Severo Dear FriendsI have arrived at a new place, being now away from Brazil and away from friends. It was not an easy decision. In fact, it was the only alternative. Because of a 2006 complaint from the Associação da Parada do Orgulho Gay de São Paulo (Gay Pride Parade Association of São Paulo), federal prosecutors have been looking for my location. The complaint is “homophobia”.Actually, there is no anti-“homophobia” law in Brazil. Even so, federal prosecutors have recently summoned one of my friends to reveal my...

Dalai Lama marks 50 years of Chinese oppression (video)The Dalai Lama has been in exile for 50 years now. Meanwhile, the people of Tibet have lived under the yoke of Chinese oppression. There was hope President Barack Obama would put pressure on the Chinese to improve human rights in Tibet. However, statements by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her recent Far East visit, indicate the Obama Administration is willing to throw Chinese human rights under the bus in favor of Chinese economic cooperation. Video here.

Two years after the first Purim festival in 3405 (356 BCE), the Persian king Ahasueraus died and was succeeded by his son, Darius. Although a Jew according to Jewish law, Darius considered himself Persian and identified with the country of his birth. Nevertheless, as the son of Esther, he acted toward the Jews with far more benevolence than his predecessors had. In 3408, the second year of his reign, Darius granted the Jews permission to continue the work halted 18 years earlier by King Cyrus and to complete the reconstruction of their Temple in Jerusalem. Moreover, Darius helped finance the...

After 11 years of providing Moscow readers with investigative journalism, irreverent commentary, and sophomoric gags, the English-language newspaper the "The eXile" is closing down after investors fled in the face of a government inspection of the paper's content. The alternative tabloid -- known for its Gonzo-style journalism on drugs, sex, politics, and the seamier side of Moscow nightlife -- announced the closure in a blog posted on its website on June 11. The paper's demise, and the investors' flight, was sparked by a visit on June 6 by inspectors from the Federal Service for Mass Media, Telecommunications, and the Protection...

Carol Felsenthal's new book about Bill Clinton's post-presidential years, Clinton in Exile, is often catty, occasionally malicious, and overly reliant on unnamed sources. It's also pretty boring; when Felsenthal's not muckraking, she's content to trot out newspaper accounts of Clinton's foundation work and his appearances on the guest-speaker circuit. But don't fret—with Slate's reading guide, you can zip straight to the water-cooler-worthy gossip.

SADDAM Hussein was prepared to take $1 billion and go into exile before the Iraq war, George Bush, the United States president, is said to have told José WMaria Aznar, the then prime minister of Spain, a month before the 2003 invasion. During a meeting at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on 22 February, Mr Bush told Mr Aznar that Saddam could also be assassinated, according to a transcript of their talks published yesterday in the Spanish newspaper El Pais. "The Egyptians are speaking to Saddam Hussein. It seems he's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if...