Free Republic

<p>Comic George Lopez was booed off stage at a gala for juvenile diabetes in Denver last week, over an anti-Donald Trump routine that fell flat with the crowd.</p> <p>We’re told the flap began when Trump backer and Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei donated $250,000 but requested that Lopez cool it with the anti-Trump jokes at the Carousel Ball.</p>

In the defence review approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, Japan warned that "unintended consequences" could result from Beijing's assertive disregard of international rules. "China is poised to fulfil its unilateral demands without compromise," the government said in the review. China's official Xinhua news agency condemned the review for hyping up the "China threat" theory, which aimed to tarnish the country's image. In a statement, China's defence ministry said Japan sought excuses to step up military spending, accusing it of "evil intentions" towards China's legitimate defence needs. "China's military is extremely dissatisfied with this and resolutely opposed to it,"...

A year after Cpl. Gilad Schalit was abducted by Hamas terrorists, a sleeping Golani infantry soldier was left behind following an operation in the Gaza Strip last week and was only located after his unit had already returned to Israel. According to the preliminary investigation, when the soldiers counted down to ensure that they were all present, one of the soldiers accidentally called out the missing soldier's number. After realizing that the soldier had been left behind, the battalion commander immediately alerted other units deployed along the border to ensure that the soldier was not be mistakenly identified as a...

Foundation Seeks $11 Million to Fund Promising Research in HumansDiabetes in Mice Cured Using Non-Embryonic SourcesBy Dave AndruskoEditor's note. For more information on Dr. Denise Faustman's research and the effort of the Iacocca Foundation to raise money to support it, please go to http://www.joinleenow.org. To most Americans, the enduring image of Lee Iacocca is of the charismatic head of the Chrysler Corporation during the 1980s. His role as philanthropist is much less well known.Iacocca's wife, Mary, died of complications from Type I diabetes 21 years ago. Following her death, as Iacocca has said many times, "my family and I began...

The slick Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International flyer that appeared in Sunday newspapers throughout the country showed a little girl on monkey bars with her hand just inches from the next bar. "The cure is so close we can almost touch it," her accompanying mother says. Likewise, JDRF Chairwoman Mary Tyler Moore proclaimed in a recent TV commercial, "We are so close to finding a cure." So wrong. JDRF is the world's largest juvenile diabetes philanthropy, distributing over $85 million in grants last year. Yet it supports no efforts that could lead to a cure any time soon for this...

Investment Guide Genuinely Needy William P. Barrett, 12.08.03 Our annual survey of 200 large charities picks 10 that shine. We have once again surveyed 200 nonprofits and rated them on how efficiently they collect and distribute charity. A new feature this year: a gold-star list, identifying charities we think are worthy of your consideration. In alphabetical order: American Kidney Fund: This charity defrays the unreimbursed portions of kidney dialysis treatment, such as medicine and transportation. Last year 42,000 low-income patients received an average $1,000 in grants, for a total of $41 million. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: This century-old...

TOKYO - Japanese lawmakers voted to send Japanese forces to Iraq (news - web sites) to help with reconstruction, despite delaying tactics by the opposition that deteriorated into a wild shoving match. The passage of the bill was a victory for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who campaigned hard to send peacekeeping troops overseas as he seeks to raise Japan's profile on the world stage. He also aims to distance his administration from the "checkbook diplomacy" for which the world's second-richest nation was criticized during the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites). Opposition parties criticized the legislation, saying such peacekeeping...