Free Republic

When cadet Roberto Becerra Jr. walked onstage to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2007, the entire ceremony ground to a halt as he, before a crowd of thousands, transformed into a goat. For this achievement, Mr. Becerra received a rousing ovation and was handed an envelope stuffed with cash. In a 210-year-old military academy bristling with traditions, "the goat" is a curious custom that one might not expect to find at a school better known for its selectivity and high standards. Yet every year, the last-ranking cadet to make it through to graduation is...

Tuesday’s recall election in Wisconsin has been imbued with national consequence, with many political watchers declaring the outcome could have significant implications for November’s presidential race. So how has President Obama weighed in? On Twitter. “It's Election Day in Wisconsin tomorrow, and I'm standing by Tom Barrett. He'd make an outstanding governor,” Obama wrote Monday night, capping the Tweet with the “-bo” signature that denotes a “personal” tweet from the president himself. It was the only time the president personally has voiced support for Barrett, the former Milwaukee mayor seeking to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker, since Barrett won the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to their highest level since January, a development that could raise fears the labor market recovery was stalling after job creation slowed in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 380,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised up to 367,000 from the previously reported 357,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 355,000 last week. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, rose 4,250 to 368,500. The...

I didn’t participate in the mass social justice rallies last night. I wanted to, sort of. But inertia and washing the post-Shabbat dishes grabbed center stage. Moreover, I’m still conflicted about whether or not I fully support what’s going on outside on our streets. Nehemia Strasler put it best in an article in today’s Haaretz. Strasler, an economics writer for the paper, compared the two main voices of the protest movement: that of Daphni Leef, who started the whole thing on Facebook, and Itzik Shmuli, head of the National Student Union. Leef tends to get most of the press –...

After VP Dick Cheney's interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show, the camera pulls back and very deliberately captures the image of a protest sign. Watch the segment and ask yourself if this appears to be planned and maybe even rehearsed.

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2011 – America will pay its respects to its last World War I veteran March 15, as former Army Cpl. Frank Buckles is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, left, talks with Frank Buckles, then age 107, the last known U.S. World War I veteran, during a Pentagon ceremony March 6, 2008. Buckles was honored during the ceremony, which included the unveiling an exhibit of veterans' portraits by photographer David DeJonge. DOD photo by R.D. Ward   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Buckles -- the last of the more than 5 million...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has once more reiterated that she will not run for president in 2012, going so far as to refer to her current role in government as "my last public position." At a town hall meeting appearance in Manama, Bahrain on Friday, Clinton denied intentions to run for either president or vice president on the ticket with President Obama, who defeated her in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Some experts have also speculated that she could replace Robert Gates next year when he retires as secretary of defense. "I think I will serve as secretary of...

It happened late Wednesday night, so it didn't get much coverage: Speaker Nancy Pelosi cast the deciding vote when the House voted, 210-209, to adjourn. That's significant because, by custom, the speaker ordinarily doesn't vote except on issues of special importance. And because Pelosi, who has shown impressive ability to deliver Democratic majorities on one tough roll call after another for four years, was scrambling to prevail on what is ordinarily a routine vote. It wasn't routine this time, because the Republicans wanted a roll call on extending all the George W. Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire...

Curiously enough, once SIGTARP announced that it might investigate undue political pressure to bailout Shorebank, the government support seems to have dried up: ShoreBank Corp. has failed to secure $75 million in federal bailout money and may be forced to close, Bloomberg News reported today. The Chicago-based bank, known for lending to low-income communities, raised more than $145 million in private equity. But the money was contingent on federal help. Citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg said the federal money is not forthcoming. It said one source said the private equity is scheduled to be returned...

CALLER: Hey, my point to you was in the last hour you were speaking with another caller, and you guys had agreed that all these policy initiatives out of the administration were, in essence, a big-time federal power grab. My question is when are the states going to stand up and say, "No more?" If they don't stand up on Tenth Amendment grounds, which would be the right thing to do, why don't they stand up on selfish grounds? Their politicians, they're losing power. When are these state guys going to say enough? RUSH: This is an excellent point, and...

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Officials say a Somali national tried to board a commercial airliner in Mogadishu last month with powdered chemicals, liquid and a syringe that together could have caused an explosion. The hallmarks bear chilling similarities to the terrorist plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. Police spokesman Abdulahi Hassan Barise says the suspect was arrested before the Nov. 13 Daallo Airlines flight departed. It was scheduled to travel from Mogadishu to the northern Somali city of Hargeisa, then to Djibouti and Dubai.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Department of Justice said late Tuesday that Anurag Dikshit, founder of Internet gambling company PartyGaming PLC, has pleaded guilty to "using the wires" to transmit bets and wagering information in interstate commerce.

Four right-wing political factions in Israel said Monday they have united to form a new party focused on education, morality and security.

The last of the five Army brigades to deploy with the “troop surge” in Iraq will return in July after a 13-month deployment, during which soldiers detained more than 800 terrorist suspects and helped foster Iraqi self-governance. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team has operated in the Arab Jabour area of southeastern Baghdad, where the number of attacks plummeted from about 30 a week when they arrived in May 2007 to about one a week now. “All in all, it's been a very successful operation for us,” Army Col. Terry Ferrell, 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander, told reporters...

On next Saturday,the last survivor of my Father and Mother's generation is having a celebration of her life and all of the lives who have Entered Eternity before her. Kathleen is 100 years old next Saturday and in celebration, after a Mass celebrated on the grounds of The Brothers of St Patrick in Midway City, Ca, around 300 members of the Martin Family (My Family) will gather to rejoice over our Aunt's longevity, great memory, and good physical condition (and meet or re-meet those who have spread throughout the US.) Aunt Kathleen is very excited at the prospect of our...

Captain Thomas B. Weir was the commander of company B, in Captain Benteen’s battalion (one of the three columns that Custer sent against the Indians at Little Bighorn). On June 25, 1876, Weir followed Benteen in his scout on the South of the valley, looking for “satellite villages” (other Indian villages around the main one). __ “WE OUGHT TO BE OVER THERE!” When Benteen understood that the scout didn’t give any results, he came back on Custer’s trail. He had specific orders to follow Custer’s steps and to send him a note about the results of his scouts. Benteen didn’t...

It's one of my first video with extracts of movies... I am damn proud of having eventually suceeded in downloading and editing videos... Hope you'll enjoy it.

In Memoriam: Custer's Last Stand, June 25, 1876 Private William Slaper : «Each man had secreted himself behind a slain horse. » Lieutenant Charles DeRudio: “The horses were laying as if to suggest a barricade.” Lieutenant Luther Hare: “The evidence on the Custer field indicated very hard fighting.” __ Reno court of Inquiry: “In regard to the severity of the fighting on General Custer’s battlefield, did you see any evidences that there was hard fighting there, or the contrary? Lieutenant Godfrey: “I think there must have been a very hard fighting. Reno court of Inquiry: “You think there was a...

when Tony walked into the restaurant he was wearing a leather jacket and dark colored shirt and he saw himself sitting in the booth wearing different clothes. i think the whole last scene was all in Tony's head. i think that overall he is tired of the life and is fantasizing almost his perfect way to die. AJ seems all better, Carmella is happy....not so sure about Meadow.

Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Walker, a Sherpa pilot with I Company, 185th Aviation Regiment, steps off his plane for the last time in a combat zone, May 7, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Amanda J. Solitario U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Walker Vietnam Veteran Takes Last Combat Flight By Sgt. Amanda J. Solitario 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) LSA ANACONDA, Iraq, June 1, 2007 — After 36 years of flying for the United States Army, Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Walker had mixed emotions as he brought his plane down for the last time over a combat zone. Having...

Is a Tragicomedy about Current Polish Antisemitism, Self-Hating Jews, and Mormons Who Won’t Let the Dead Rest in Peace: No Wonder Someone Wants to Stop This Play Poland may be trying to shed its reputation as a hot bed of antisemitism, one that, today, must exist virtually without Jews (living, that is; Poland has often been called “one giant Jewish cemetery”), but, in this effort, the country will receive no help from Tuvia Tenenbom. The artistic director of the Jewish Theater of New York (JTNY), Mr. Tenenbom is also the playwright and codirector of the group’s current production, “Last Jew...

This is a fine well thought out article than I have not been able to access so I am discussing and summarizing it here. Alfred Regnery is the Publisher of the magazine and is the most prominent and influential conservative book publisher. His father, Henry Regnery, was similarly ensconsed and Henry Regnery wrote the introduction for Russell Kirk's classic The Conservative Mind (1986 edition published in 1953). Alfred is promising a book on conservativism and this we will have to see, but if he is as clear and able as this article it should be a best selling article. The...

When Tim LaHaye talks, the faithful listen—by the millions. The conservative Protestant minister is the coauthor of the wildly popular apocalyptic “Left Behind” novels. The controversial books, which have sold more than 60 million copies, depict the biblical end of the world: the Christian eschatology of the upheaval that precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ, known also as “end times.” LaHaye recently spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Brian Braiker about why he believes the events currently unfolding in the Middle East reflect biblical prophesy.

Despite her newsmaking interview with Michael J. Fox last week, Katie Couric's goal of taking the "CBS Evening News" to the top is getting further out of reach. Her average audience of 7.3 million viewers left the "CBS Evening News" 1.1 million behind ABC's second-place "World News." It was the biggest gap between the two broadcasts since the week of Feb. 6, according to Nielsen Media Research. NBC's "Nightly News" led the way with 8.9 million viewers last week. Couric scored the attention-getting interview with Fox on Thursday after he was criticized by Rush Limbaugh for supposedly playing up symptoms...

MIESAU, Germany (Army News Service, Oct. 18, 2006) – Ending its almost eight-year run as the last of its kind, the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital became the 212th Combat Support Hospital Oct. 16 on Miesau Army Depot in Kaiserslautern, Germany. “You can be assured that if you are wounded on the battlefield and you make it to the 212th CSH, you will live. That’s how great Army medicine is, and that’s how well equipped and confident the Soldiers of the 212th CSH are,” said Col. Angel Lugo, the last 212th MASH and first 212th CSH commander, during the conversion...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A piece of space debris punched a small hole in one of space shuttle Atlantis' radiator panels during its recent 12-day spaceflight, NASA said on Thursday. Damage from debris has been NASA's top safety issue since the destruction of shuttle Columbia in February 2003, when insulating foam came off the ship's fuel tank during launch and punched a hole in the shuttle's protective heat shield. The radiator damage, which measures slightly more than one-tenth of an inch in diameter, was found during routine post-landing inspections at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA spokeswoman Jessica...

He's the last man standing on refugee island and costs Australia £8m a year By Nick Squires in Sydney (Filed: 06/10/2006) He is possibly the loneliest refugee in the world and he is being maintained at a cost of £8 million a year. Mohammed Sagar has spent the past five years living in a detention camp on Nauru, a sun-baked rock in the middle of the south Pacific. He was one of 1,500 refugees from the Middle East and Afghanistan sent to the near-bankrupt republic under Australia's so-called Pacific Solution to boatloads of people fleeing their homelands. They were intercepted...

Last stand for Zimbabwe's white farmers By Peta Thornycroft in Karoi (Filed: 04/10/2006) A tiny court in a shabby farming town in Zimbabwe was the setting yesterday for a last despairing attempt to stop President Robert Mugabe from evicting the country's few surviving white landowners. A new law about to pass parliament will, in effect, give the regime power in the next 90 days to dispossess the last few hundred white farmers who still cling to their land.Two white farming families who have already received eviction letters appealed to the magistrates' court in Karoi to halt the orders. If the...

Catastrophic mudslide could last 100 years, say scientists · Land in East Java likely to collapse as thousands flee· Attempts to seal channels will 'probably not succeed' John Aglionby in Jakarta Tuesday September 26, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Smoke rises from the site of the mudslide in East Java. Photograph: Vinai Dithajohn/EPA Mud, gas and boiling water that have been gushing out of the ground in East Java since May, submerging half a dozen villages and 20 factories, could continue for a century with "catastrophic consequences", European experts said yesterday. Efforts to seal the channels through which the mud is...

WSJ Editorial Recommendations: Military tribunals. In Hamdan, the Supreme Court invited Congress to rewrite the rules for military tribunals for terrorists... Spending restraint. One reason many GOP voters are in a sour mood, and may stay home in November, is the lack of spending discipline. Republicans can lighten that blot on their record by passing reforms that stem the worst abuses -- namely, more transparency for special-interest "earmarks," and a line-item veto to allow a President to delete specific spending pork... Health insurance. The latest Census data finds that 46.6 million Americans lack health insurance, with the cost of coverage...

The Arab world's silence has left the last word to those we call extremists While Israel receives unanimous western support, this crisis is dragging the region ever faster into the abyss Alain Gresh Tuesday August 22, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Killers slaughter dozens of civilians in Iraq every day just because they are Sunni Muslims. Suicide attacks are increasingly common in Afghanistan, where they used to be unknown. On the Gaza Strip, 1.5 million Palestinians are caught in a trap, hemmed in by the Israeli offensive and the decision by the US and the EU to freeze all direct aid....

Photo #1: 060728-N-7241L-026 Atlantic Ocean (July 28, 2006) - An F-14D Tomcat, aircraft number 100, assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31) makes a near supersonic fly-by above the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The F-14 will officially retire in September 2006, after 32 years of service to the fleet. Theodore Roosevelt is completing Joint Task Force Exercises with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Laird (RELEASED). Caption Source: http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=37555 - Big Image Link: http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060728-N-7241L-026.jpg Photo #2: 060728-N-7241L-015 Atlantic Ocean (July 28, 2006)...

Northern Refuge: White spruce survived last ice age in Alaska Sid Perkins Genetic analysis of white spruce trees at sites across North America suggest that that species endured the harsh climate of Alaska throughout the last ice age, a notion that scientists have debated for decades. ICE AGE SURVIVORS. White spruce trees, common in high-latitude North American forests today, endured in Alaska during the last ice age, a new genetic analysis suggests. Inset shows Alaskan and other sites (red dots) sampled in that study. iStockphoto; (inset) Anderson, et al. Picea glauca, the white spruce, is one of the most common...

Sorry if this has been posted in the past--but I was wondering which sites everyone considered "good" or "legitmate" prophetic/prophetic news sites were. Just trying to expand my reading and studying time on the subject. I know about Van Impe,et al, but not sure I trust the intent of these guys. Thanks in advance!

Josh Blue isn't going to let his cerebral palsy get in the way of his chance at becoming the "Last Comic Standing." The 27-year-old, who was born in the African country of Cameroon and raised in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood, scored a spot on the fourth season of the NBC reality show and is already a fan favorite thanks to lines like, "You guys better laugh because this is my make-a-wish" and "You're all going to hell for laughing at me." On a recent episode of "Last Comic Standing," he won the audience choice award. "Not to sound cocky, but...

Report: Ozone Hole May Disappear by 2050Sat May 20, 9:01 AM ET TOKYO - The ozone hole over the Antarctic is likely to begin contracting in the future and may disappear by 2050 because of a reduction in the release of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting gases, according to a team of Japanese scientists. The findings are based on a series of numerical simulations carried out by Eiji Akiyoshi of the National Institute for Environmental Studies, near Tokyo, using projected emissions of chlorofluorocarbons and other gases blamed for the ozone hole. According to a report posted Friday on the institute's Web...

FORT HUACHUCA — “Bobby died doing what he knew best, being a soldier,” Chaplain (Maj.) Frank O’Grady said. As the soldier’s family listened, the Catholic priest said the combat death of 1st Sgt. Bobby Mendez, Rob to his loved ones, is sorrowful when seen through human eyes. To all of Mendez’s family, his wife, children, mother, father, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as the extended relationship called soldiers, “It is a sad day,” the chaplain said. But, God’s compassion is a wonderful, joyous thing and now, the soldier is serving along side of Christ, he said during...

War on terrorism will last 20 years, West told By Isambard Wilkinson in Kundi Ghar (Filed: 01/05/2006) "The West cannot expect quick results in the war on terrorism," said a young Pakistani major as he surveyed the restive Afghan province of Paktika from a bunker 10,000ft up in the mountains. "It took 20 years to create this situation and it will take the same to resolve it. The tribesmen here have a medieval mind-set and foreign fighters are entrenched in the community." Pakistani soldiers watch the border with Afghanistan It has been eight years since America first launched cruise missiles...

NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- The last F-14 Tomcat to fly a combat mission over Iraq made its final flight from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) to Naval Air Station Pensacola April 13. The Tomcat will be immortalized at the National Museum of Naval Aviation here as the final decommissioning stages close and training for its replacement, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, continue. “Bittersweet,” is how Lt. Cmdr. Mark Stufflebeem, the aircraft’s pilot, referred to the final mission. “We were the last aircraft from our squadron to leave, because we’ve had aircraft go to a lot of museums around...

ARLINGTON DEPOT, Iraq (Army News Service, March 16, 2006) – After almost three years of hard and dangerous work, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers celebrated the last major demolition under the Coalition Munitions Clearance Program in Iraq. Col. John Rivenburgh, commander of the Huntsville Engineering and Support Center, Dr. John Potter, chief of the Ordnance and Explosives Directorate and Bill Sargent, program manager of the Coalition Munitions Clearance Program recently traveled to Iraq to witness the last major demolition and initiate the next phase of the ordnance destruction work. “The last demo consisted of over 248 tons of stockpiled...

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - A Socialist Party aide of Slobodan Milosevic said Saturday that the ex-president was defiant just before his death. "He told me, 'Don't you worry: They will not destroy me or break me; I shall defeat them all,'" said Milorad Vucelic of the Socialist Party, recounting a phone conversation with Milosevic late Friday. "But it was obvious he was very ill." Milosevic, who was found dead Saturday in his cell at the Netherlands-based war crimes court near The Hague, was daily in contact with Socialist party officials in Belgrade as he carried out his own defense before the...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Honolulu's namesake ship is preparing to say farewell to its island home after two decades of service. USS Honolulu (SSN 718), which is scheduled to inactivate next year, will hold a farewell ceremony April 15 prior to departing Hawaii on her final deployment to the Western Pacific. "This is an exciting and challenging time for us," said Cmdr. John Russ, the nuclear-powered attack submarine's commanding officer. "We're preparing to leave our homeport for the last time, and at the same time we're going through the normal challenges associated with getting the ship ready to deploy."...

Paper: White House Knew About Levees Early By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Twenty-eight government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, reported that New Orleans levees were breached Aug. 29, the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, documents released Thursday show. A timeline of e-mails, situation updates and weather reports, pieced together by Senate Democrats, indicates the Bush administration knew as early as 8:30 a.m. EST about levee failures that would ultimately lead to massive flooding of the city and its surrounding parishes. Senate Democrats said the documents raise questions about whether...

BRUCK, Germany (Army News Service, Feb. 6, 2006) -- Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division and the 101st Military Intelligence Battalion braved cold, icy conditions to earn the Schutzenschnur German marksmanship in Bruck, Germany Feb. 1. Since the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of 1st ID is scheduled to move to Fort Riley, Kansas, in the near future, this may be the last opportunity for many of the Soldiers to earn the award, said Staff Sgt. Larry Gormley, 1st ID noncommissioned officer in charge of civil military operations The Schutzenschnur medal is awarded for qualifying on two German weapons -- usually...

EU hosts last-ditch talks on Iran Western powers suspect Iran's nuclear ambitions are not peaceful The EU is set to hold last-minute talks with Iran - at Tehran's request - to try to resolve a stand-off over Iran's controversial nuclear programme. Iran requested the meeting with envoys from Britain, France and Germany. Foreign ministers from the EU-3 will also discuss the issue at separate talks in London with their counterparts from the US, Russia and China. On Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog is due to hold urgent talks and could refer Iran to the UN Security Council. The EU and...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2006 – The number of U.S. troops serving in Iraq has decreased to around 138,000, which was the level deployed there last summer, a Defense Department military spokesman said here today. "We have come back down to the troop level that we were at back in the summer of '05," said Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable. U.S. troop levels in Iraq were temporarily boosted last year from around 138,000 to about 160,000 troops to provide extra security for the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum and the Dec. 15 nationwide elections. Those extra troops "have cycled out and we're...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (Jan. 6, 2006) -- Sixteen members of Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team 91109 deployed to New Orleans to assist in provide assistance and security in recovery missions from Sept. 6 to Sept. 21 While very few depot Marines see opportunities to deploy, Coast Guard security teams were called upon to assist in searches for survivors of the hurricane. This past year, the 175 mile-per-hour winds of Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. A storm surge broke through the levee system that protected the city from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, resulting in...

A group of Marines who have just finished two tours of duty in Iraq have one last mission to complete before going home for the holidays. The Marines are being asked to help deliver holiday cheer to a tribe of American Indians living in a remote location.

My quest for the Last Flu Jab in Britain (Filed: 27/11/2005) Are the so-called worried well really to blame for the sudden shortage of vaccine? The very idea brings hypochondriac John O'Connell out in blotches It took 20 minutes of frantic phoning around before I heard the magic word: "yes". I slammed down the receiver, raced out of the office and jumped into a taxi. "Medicentre on Oxford Street," I said, trying to sound casual. The cabbie's eyes met mine via the mirror. "Flu jab, is it?" he asked. "You'll be lucky." Only in my head am I "at risk"...

SILVERDALE, Wash. (NNS) -- Distinguished visitors and the crew of USS Alabama (SSBN 731) came together to witness the decommissioning of the C4 Trident I Weapons System at the Explosive Handling Wharf on Naval Base Kitsap in late October. The crew of Alabama had just completed offloading the final 24 rounds of Trident I C4 missiles to go to sea, the last ever. "Your outstanding work during the last two weeks of offload, and the four weeks of preparation preceding it, exemplifies your contribution to the deterrence of war," said Cmdr. Mel Lee, commanding officer, USS Alabama (Gold). "This is...