Free Republic

In recent years, a movement among sections of Chinese nationalists has emerged, asking that Russia return Vladivostok to China. These claims have been intensified by Putin's interview, in which he contrasted the alleged historical foundation of the Russian state, which he said dated back to the 9th century, with the "invention" of Ukraine in the 20th century. "According to history, Russia should return us Vladivostok and vast territory stolen 100-something years ago," Robert Wu, a social media user from China, said on X, formerly Twitter... Another Chinese nationalist on Weibo pointed out that Russia has territories that imperial Chinese dynasties...

Since China opened to foreign investment in 1978 under Deng Xiaoping, global firms have ploughed in hundreds of billions of dollars to buy and build factories for market access and cheap labour, bolstering the Chinese currency. A gentle downtrend in foreign direct investment gave way to a steep drop last quarter and inflows to China slammed to their lowest since records began 25 years ago, raising the prospect that the long-term trend is turning.

Russia was poised to default on its foreign debt for the first time since 1918, pushed into delinquency not for lack of money but because of punishing Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia was likely to miss payments on two foreign-currency bonds late Sunday, according to holders of the bonds who had yet to see funds deposited. The day marks the elapse of a 30-day grace period since the country was due to pay the equivalent of $100 million in dollars and euros to bondholders.

Igor Girkin, aka Igor Strelkov was the former Minister of Defense of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. From his Wiki:Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin (Russian: И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪtɕ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn],; 17 December 1970),[2] also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov (Russian: И́горь Ива́нович Стрелко́в, IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ strʲɪlˈkof]), is a Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who played a key role in the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and later the War in Donbas as an organizer of militant groups of the Donetsk People's Republic's.[3][4][5] Girkin led a group of militants into Ukraine...

Herman Cain leaving the campaign trail: Why now? Herman Cain is surging in popularity in a number of polls. So why is Herman Cain putting his campaign on hold for the next month? The Hermantor Experience is, by almost any measure, the hottest thing going in the GOP presidential primary (not named Chris Christie). < snip> But Cain seems destined to squander it. And here’s why. As NBC’s thoughtful First Read points out this morning, Cain's promoting a book - and appears to be taking himself off the campaign trail for almost a month. Cain won’t be back in the...

Keep those donations coming! Texas will Fall!

A commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that a commando unit has engraved the military organization's emblem into the side panel of an American warship stationed in the Persian Gulf. Nur Ali Shushkari, the head of the Revolutionary Guards ground forces, told Iranian pro-government news agencies that the symbol was etched onto the ship by the crew of a submarine that had managed to reach the U.S. vessel without detection by radar. Shushkari did not release specific details about the incident, but claimed that the operation proved that Iranian forces are following American fleet traffic in the region.

Think rural, federal Liberals told Last Updated Sat, 06 May 2006 17:34:30 EDT CBC News Federal Liberals have to shed their image as the party of big business and big cities, according to some Liberal delegates meeting in Toronto this weekend. The Liberals won only a handful of seats in rural regions, such as southwestern Ontario, in the last election. Most of the party's seats were captured in Canada's three largest cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Much of the work at the party's annual meeting of its Ontario wing has been devoted to rebuilding its base outside of Canada's largest...

In a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday, former Ku Klux Klansman, Sen. Robert Byrd, pledged to put President Bush on trial in the Senate if the House impeaches him. Addressing the president in absentia, Sen. Byrd began by warning that Congress retains all its original powers under the Constitution. "You better read that again in the Constitution," Byrd said, declaring that the Senate's powers include "serving as a court of impeachment. "You better believe it, Mr. President," Byrd continued. "The Senate can send you home. You better believe that." The ex-Klansman then added: "If the House impeaches you,...

1996 was a bad year for Florida Democrats. So was 1998. And 2000. 2002 was even worse. So was 2004. But things could improve in 2006 and there's actually a feeling of hope at the Florida Democratic Party. And it's not just hollow optimism.The party is starting to raise more money. It has a gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, who is even with better known Republicans in one recent poll. Gov. Jeb Bush won't be on the ballot. Democrats are avoiding primary contests in two key Cabinet races and trying more actively to recruit legislative and congressional candidates.And next...

That clearly was the intent of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove in leaking to a reporter that former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV's wife, Valerie Plame, was a CIA agent. To try to conceal the fact that the president had lied to the American public about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program, Rove attempted to destroy the credibility of two national security veterans and send an intimidating message to any other government officials preparing to publicly tell the truth. Rove's lawyer now says that Rove didn't break the law against naming covert agents because he didn't know...

HAVANA, March 9 (Itar-Tass) - Cuba is invulnerable from the military point of view and is able to withstand a U.S. aggression, Cuban Leader Fidel Castro stated here on Tuesday, addressing a festive meeting, devoted to the International Women’s Day. “Cuba cannot be intimidated” by the new threats, which some officials of the U.S. administration had recently voiced. He assured the meeting in the course of his almost 6-hour speech that the aggressor would sustain tremendous losses if he dared attack Cuba. They will be comparable only to the losses the United States had sustained during “its aggression against Vietnam”,...

'WASHINGTON - Sen. John F. Kerry's brash offer to meet privately with former foe President Bush [related, bio] to discuss foreign policy before Bush's meetings abroad next week with key European leaders has apparently fallen on deaf ears at the White House. ``We've offered to have Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.) meet with President Bush to discuss his trip to Iraq, if the White House is interested,'' Kerry spokesman David Wade said yesterday. ``There are many areas where genuine bipartisanship would make a difference in leading our country forward, whether in national security or children's health care.'' The White House declined comment...

PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - To the naked ear, Howard Stern is still our regent of raunch. Lately, he has groused to his loyal listeners about the zit on his nose and the cellulite on his butt, dished about his morning trysts with his model-girlfriend, and opined on the watchability of DVD porn. But Stern has also ushered in the era of shock-jock politics, so when he split for a long vacation at the start of July, he minced no words: "I'm not only anti-Bush, I support John Kerry. ... He's going to be the guy who gets us back on...

UN official cites possible US war crimes 'Serious violations' reported in Iraq By Robert Evans, Reuters  |  June 5, 2004UNITED NATIONS -- The UN's top human rights official said yesterday that US-led forces had committed serious human rights violations in Iraq since the occupation, and incidents at Abu Ghraib prison could be considered war crimes.

REPORT FROM GENEVAU.N. Rights Chief Says Prison Abuse May Be War CrimeBy WARREN HOGEPublished: June 5, 2004 NITED NATIONS, June 4 - The top human rights official for the United Nations said Friday that the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers could constitute a war crime, and he called for the immediate naming of an international figure to oversee the situation.The official, Bertrand Ramcharan, the acting high commissioner for human rights, acknowledged that the removal of Saddam Hussein represented "a major contribution to human rights in Iraq" and noted that the United States had condemned abusive conduct by its...

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' top human rights official says abuses by U.S. soldiers of Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison could amount to war crimes. Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan said on Friday U.S.-led occupation forces had committed "serious violations" of international humanitarian law in Iraq and had ill-treated ordinary Iraqis. In a report for the world body's Human Rights Commission, Ramcharan, a British-trained barrister from Guyana and long-time U.N. official, also said coalition troops were able to act with impunity and urged the appointment of an independent figure to monitor their behaviour....

"The Nation-State Is Finished" by William F. Jasper Robert Bartley, a closet one-worlder at the WSJ, used his newspaper’s "conservative" clout to seduce American business leaders into sacrificing U.S. sovereignty for trade. ‘‘What in blazes can President Bush be thinking?" That has been the general response — on talk radio and in media surveys, Internet postings and letters-to-the-editor — of many current and former Bush supporters angered and confused by the president’s immigration proposals. These folks would not have been surprised by the president’s outrageous announcement on January 7 or his remarks the following week at the Summit of the...