Free Republic

"Qatar's demands to internationalize the holy sites is aggressive and a declaration of war against the kingdom," Adel al-Jubeir was quoted saying on Al Arabiya's website. "We reserve the right to respond to anyone who is working on the internationalization of the holy sites," he said. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said no official from his country had made such a call. "We are tired of responding to false information and stories invented from nothing," Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera TV. Qatar did accuse the Saudis of politicizing hajj and addressed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on...

A study has found that minority languages in the most developed parts of the world, including North America, Europe and Australia, are most at threat. The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The researchers say that efforts to protect these languages need to be focused on these areas. Lead author Tatsuya Amano, from the University of Cambridge, said: "World languages are now rapidly being lost. This is a very serious situation. "We wanted to know how the extinction is distributed globally and what are the main drivers of this."

Just about every American, from the time they're 6 or so, learns that Mount Vernon is Founding Father George Washington's home. They draw pictures of the grand farmhouse in art class. Study it in history. File onto buses and reverently visit the hallowed ground along the Potomac River. And right now, that's Mount Vernon's problem. There's just too much George, according to some international culture experts, who are considering whether the historic estate belongs on the United Nations' list of World Heritage sites. A group advising the U.S. government on getting American sites onto the prestigious list initially rejected Mount...

Since its beginning, the Internet has proved a supercharged way to advance liberty. That's enough for some governments to want to take control of it away from the U.S. They must be stopped. These governments — Iran and Brazil leading the charge — feel threatened. They should. Iran's rulers show no respect for political freedom; Brazil's have little if any grasp of economic liberties. So, with the help of the European information commissioner, these countries next month will meet in Tunisia. Their World Summit will try to enact a "model of cooperation" in which Internet governance can be internationalized. If...

Washington, DC – “Buy American” laws and similar state and federal legislation would be gutted by CAFTA procurement rules that prohibit all laws that give a preference to domestic or local businesses according to U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, who says CAFTA Article 9 overturns every state and federal law that requires federal, state, and local government agencies to buy American products, or use American workforces. CAFTA Article 9.2. No Party (Nation) may treat a locally established supplier any less favorably than another locally established supplier on the basis of degree of foreign affiliation or ownership, or …on the basis that...

TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- "CAFTA is NAFTA on steroids," said Kent Snyder, executive director of The Liberty Committee, a group whose motto is "Political Action From Principle." Affiliated with congressional representative Ron Paul, R-Texas -- who also opposes the Central American Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic -- the committee holds that CAFTA-DR, like the decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement isn't really about true free trade; it's about global managed trade. "Think about it," Snyder said. "Why does it take over 1,000 pages to define free trade?" In administrative works for several years CAFTA would create a NAFTA-like free trade zone...

CAFTA, the “Central American Free Trade Agreement” is being sold as a “free trade agreement” between the US and several nations in the Central American region. What is it and what does it matter to you? CAFTA is really not about “free trade.” “Free trade” is the bait. The hook, the catch, is regional government. Free trade is really unregulated, unimpeded trade. This is not what CAFTA is about. CAFTA will increase trade regulation between the US and Central America, not decrease it. Take a look at the hundreds of pages of regulations listed in the CAFTA charter. This is...

The Permanent Flu SeasonDecember 18, 2003  What are the poor babies to do?  The economy is rapidly improving and Saddam is in chains.  Not much left to whine about except bin Laden and the flu.  No doubt, just like homelessness, the liberals will blame Bush for the flu! If Bush is such a “bad” guy, then why are the Democrats running low on campaign issues?  First we were in the mother of all depressions...then the economy improved.  Next, the war in Iraq was a quagmire until just days later the Iraqi military dissolved.  And then Maureen Dowd popped a hemorrhoid because,...