Free Republic

('A war of religions': Fury in France over how known jihadists on terror watchlist were allowed to murder priest as Sarkozy calls for 'a merciless response) Fury has erupted in France as the nation's current and former leaders call for a 'merciless' response to an attack that left an 84-year-old priest dead and a nun critically injured. Two knifemen burst into a Normandy church this morning before filming themselves butchering elderly priest, Jacques Hamel, and performing a 'sermon in Arabic' at the altar, according to a witness. French president Francois Hollande said the country is now 'at war' with ISIS...

Former state Sen. Cheryl Jacques, now a $97,500-a-year judge with the state Department of Industrial Accidents, is being hauled into an ethics hearing to answer an accusation that she used her job in a bid to help a brother-in-law with his dental bill. The Ethics Commission today stated a public hearing will be held within 90 days so Jacques can respond to the allegations. The board issued an Order to Show Cause alleging Jacques violated the state conflict-of-interest law “by invoking her position as a judge when she contacted a dental office on her brother-in-law’s behalf and demanded that the...

A French court has given former President Jacques Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence for diverting public funds and abusing public trust. Mr Chirac, 79, was not in court to hear the verdict because of ill-health but denied wrongdoing. President from 1995 to 2007, he was put on trial on charges that dated back to his time as mayor of Paris. He was accused of paying members of his Rally for the Republic (RPR) party for municipal jobs that did not exist. The prosecution had urged the judge to acquit Mr Chirac and nine others accused in the trial. Two...

Note: The following text is a quote: Additional Charges Filed Against Two Men for Springfield Church Arson Presidential Election Sparked Hate Crime SPRINGFIELD, MA—Additional criminal charges were filed today against two Springfield men in relation to the burning of a Springfield church on November 5, 2008. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; Glenn N. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Boston Field Division; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston...

MIDI - OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNIN' - #28032 There's a bright golden haze from the burning The French culture Islamists are spurning As they lose their autos we're hearing them moan May they all be Renaults or Peugeots or Citroens It's double secret probation...that is what Jacque's gonna do It's double secret probation...then this whole mess will be through The French women are all busy sewing I am sure you know where this is going Of their fighting exploits there's nothing to brag There's a run on the market for little white flags It's double secret probation...that is...

September 16, 2005French Wary of Chirac’s Health Information CREDIT: UN/DPI Photo Jacques Chirac (Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in France believe reports on the medical condition of their president have been incomplete, according to a poll by CSA published in Le Vrai Journal. 51 per cent of respondents think they have not been told all the truth regarding the health of Jacques Chirac.Chirac won the presidential election in 1995, and was re-elected in a run-off over Jean-Marie Le Pen in May 2002. The head of state’s popularity increased in late 2002 and early 2003 due to his vocal...

Chirac pleads in Tokyo for an international tax in favour of Africa TOKYO - French president Jacques Chirac pled Monday in Tokyo in favour of creation before the end of the year of an international tax on air transports to fight against pandemias in Africa. In front of an economic forum free-Japanese, Mr. Chirac recalled that "together, France and Germany defend creation, by the end of this year, with all the countries which wish it, of a first international taking away of solidarity on the kerosene or the plane tickets in order to finance the fight against the AIDS...

Dissatisfied with Syria's pledge to redeploy its troops in Lebanon, France and the United States stepped up pressure on Damascus for a quick and complete withdrawal. President Jacques Chirac of France and US President George W. Bush agreed on Monday on "their determination to obtain the full and complete implementation of (UN) resolution 1559" on the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, Chirac's office said. Bush called Chirac on Monday evening to discuss the situation in Lebanon following the statements of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the redeployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon, said Chirac's spokesperson, Jerome Bonnafont. Syria on...

Cowboy Chirac... cartoon by FReeper IPWGOP (aka Linda Eddy)courtesy of www.iowapresidentialwatch.com click here for really large versionThis is an email-able, copyright-ready graphic you can use in emails, on blogs, in flyers, on posters... anything that's noncommercial.

Translated French to English -------It is the new illusion of the French. Depities by a widening which diluted their capacity in Europe, they dream of political Europe which would organize itself around the Franco-German couple. Would come then a second circle, a Europe-market corresponding more or less to the current Union, while a third circle, more abstract, would include Turkey, the Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Mediterranean basin. Actually, rare which is those believe in Brussels with this idea of hard core, launched in 1994 by the German Christian Democrats Karl Lamers and Wolfgang Schãuble, and begun again six years...

<p>PARIS - US President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac may have pledged to work together to help rebuild Iraq but they remain at odds, as their statements at the weekend showed.</p> <p>Mr Chirac called the situation in Iraq 'extremely precarious' while Mr Bush claimed major progress towards a free and democratic country.</p>

ParisFrance marked its first gay wedding at the weekend, despite warnings from the Government that the ceremony was illegal and the Mayor who officiated could be punished.Noel Mamere, a leader of the Green Party and Mayor of the south-west town of Begles, presided at the town hall over the wedding of two men, Bertrand Charpentier, 31, a shopworker, and Stephane Chapin, 34, a nurse."I'm proud of this wedding," Mr Mamere told the couple. "I don't consider myself an outlaw."Belgium and the Netherlands are the only countries in Europe that recognise same-sex marriages.In proceeding with the ceremony on Saturday, Mr Mamere...

An Open Letter to President Jacques Chiraq Dear Jack, I'm an American. And as an American, there are some things I want to get off my chest. Colin Powell would probably make this sound all nice and fancy, but I'm not a diplomat, as the next few paragraphs will make painfully clear to you. I don't like you very much, Jack. I don't like you, your government or your country. I think as allies go you make a passable enemy. You sure as shootin' could never be mistaken as a friend. Not to put a fine point on it, you...

<p>Hit the Road, Jacques Forget "freedom fries." Punish the French with green cards.</p> <p>Congress is none too pleased with France's diplomatic betrayal over Iraq. House restaurants have renamed french fries "freedom fries." Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R., Fla.) has introduced a bill that would fund the repatriation of remains of U.S. servicemen who died in World Wars I or II and were buried in Franc. Others are boycotts of French (and German) products, or even economic sanctions.</p>