Free Republic

A new book claims the Top Gun star had a tendency to chat to ashtrays, bottles and other inanimate objects Just a teeny tiny amount of space left to say, hey, guess what? Tom Cruise? He's a bit fricking weird! Yuhdoansay. In Blown For Good, the latest book by an escapee from the Galactic Confederacy, AKA Scientology, Marc Headley claims that Cruise would talk to inanimate objects "for hours". No, not Nicole Kidman's face, but ashtrays, bottles, books. "You tell the ashtray, 'Sit in that chair.' Then you actually go over and put the ashtray in that chair. Then you...

HAVANA — President Raul Castro is taking a bold gamble to ease communist Cuba's cash crunch by eliminating a costly government lunch program that feeds almost a third of the nation's population every workday. The Americas' only one-party communist government, held afloat largely by support from its key ally Venezuela, is desperate to improve its budget outlook; the global economy is slack, and Havana is very hard pressed to secure international financing. Raul Castro, 76, officially took over as Cuba's president in February 2008 after his brother, revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, stepped aside with health problems. Though some wondered if...

US Congressional Candidate Cindy Sheehan Calls on Pelosi to Explain Silence on Torture Briefing. US Congressional Candidate Cindy Sheehan today called upon Nancy Pelosi to respond to a story printed in the December 9 Washington Post which claims that the Speaker of the House was present in a 2002 meeting where four members of Congress were given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and torture program. According to the CIA, no objections were raised by any member of Congress present in the meeting, even though waterboarding, the interrogation technique profiled in the meeting, is illegal under international...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a House panel Wednesday that a government-run health care plan is needed to keep in check the private insurance industry, which she says wields too much power and often fails to best serve the public.

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration notified legislative leaders Tuesday that it plans to reject some federal health-care dollars for the poor and uninsured, marking the second time the governor has opposed taking a portion of the economic stimulus package. Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said accepting the new federal financing would require the state to put up matching money that it doesn't have and could create unaffordable obligations in the years ahead.

Most of this as-yet-undiscovered problem, Gober says, lies in the area of reinsurance, whereby one insurance company insures the liabilities of another so that the latter doesn't have to carry all the risk on its books. Most major insurance companies use outside firms to reinsure, but the vast majority of AIG's reinsurance contracts are negotiated internally among its affiliates, Gober says, and these internal balance sheets don't add up. The annual report of one major AIG subsidiary, American Home Assurance, shows that it owes $25 billion to another AIG affiliate, National Union Fire, Gober maintains. But American has only $22...

It looks like 3 times will not be a charm when it comes to getting someone - anyone - honest enough and subservient enough to run the Department of Commerce for President Obama. First, it was Bill Richardson who somehow slipped under the radar of Obama's super sharp vetters, having problems with cronies back in New Mexico. Then it was Judd Gregg who withdrew his name after Obama blindsided him by politicizing the census. Now it's Gary Locke - former Governor of Washington and now lobbyist for a firm that does a lot of business in China - who may...

When a 33-year-old, single woman gives birth to octuplets one thing we can count on is the mainstream media doing what it does best: providing a stream of disinformation in the name of political correctness. As Ann Coulter has pointed out single moms have been elevated to sainthood and are above criticism.

Someone please tell me that my eyes are decieving me! Jaime Gorelick? For A.G.? Just when I thought that the pestialential swamp that is Washington D.C. could not get any murkier, this comes out. This woman, arguably, is at least partially responsible for 9/11, as well as being intimately involved in the pardon of all sorts shady, or downright criminal, Clinton era miscreants, including our all time favorite Marc Rich who, once safely out from under the thumb of the IRS, went on to bigger and better things like the UNs' oil for food program. And then, a nice cushy,...

This poll asks if you think Sarah Palin is qualified to serve as VP of the US.

A majority of Indonesians would like to see Sharia law implemented in their country, a new poll shows, although only a minority favour the harsh measures sometimes associated with the system. The poll of 8,000 people in the world's most populous Muslim country, home to 200 million Muslims, found that 52 per cent favoured some form of Islamic legal code, such as religious arbitration in family disputes. Asked if women should be made to wear a head scarf 45 per cent said yes, while 40 per cent favoured chopping off the hands of thieves. "A lot of people think the...

You could have heard a pin drop at the Hong Kong conference designed to persuade the airline industry to cut back on its production of so-called greenhouse gases to fight "global warming." The "Greener Skies 2008" conference had just heard from David Archibald, a solar scientist asserting that climate change is mostly dictated by solar cycles, not carbon dioxide levels, as conventional wisdom suggests. Archibald didn't just tell the group not to worry about carbon dioxide emissions. He told those gathered they should figure out ways of increasing CO2 output. "In a few short years, we will have a reversal...

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, March 30, 2007 – While NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is a success, more help is needed from the international community, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a speech here yesterday. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani spoke to about 60 members of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association, Euro-Atlantic Center, and Center for European and North Atlantic Affairs about NATO efforts in Afghanistan. Giambastiani said NATO has a Combined Joint Statement of Requirements, or CJSOR, to fill military missions. “The inability of NATO to fill all of these CJSOR requirements is...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2007 – More than 600 Texas National Guardsmen were activated by the state’s governor Jan. 22 to support a surge operation targeting crime and international drug and human trafficking along the state’s 1,200-mile border with Mexico. The soldiers are activated in support of Operation Wrangler, an interagency law enforcement operation that involves 6,800 federal, state and local officials, according to a release by Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office. These soldiers are in addition to the 1,700 Texas Guardsmen federally activated in support Operation Jump Start, a beef-up of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border aimed...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2007 – The Fisher House Foundation will expand its efforts to help injured U.S. troops and their families by building five new comfort homes per year until 2010, the foundation’s chairman said last night on CNN's "Larry King Live." “These are families that make sacrifices. This program is designed to help them,” Ken Fisher said. The foundation builds homes on and near active military and Veterans Affairs medical facilities. The houses provide free lodging for servicemembers who must stay near a hospital for continuing treatment, as well as families visiting wounded loved ones. The work done...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2007 – Sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq will not only improve the security situation there, it will further the country’s democratic and economic progress, Vice President Dick Cheney said today during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’ve made the decision and came to the conclusion that until we got a handle on the security situation in Baghdad, the Iraqis were not going to be able to make the progress they need to make on the economic front, on the political front and so forth,” Cheney said. President Bush laid out a new strategy last...

Questions for Dr. Louann Brizendine Q: As a professor of neuropsychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, you’ve drawn some strange conclusions about “The Female Brain,” to borrow the title of your debut book, which argues that a woman’s brain structure explains a good deal of her behavior, including a penchant for gossiping and talking on the phone. The hormone of intimacy is oxytocin, and when women talk to each other, they get a rush of it. For teen girls especially, when they’re talking about who’s hooking up with whom, who’s not talking to whom, who you like and...

THE BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD BAGHDAD Determined though scared, I walk my beat, On the deadly streets of Baghdad. Searching for any who plot our harm, Or by our death are joyous and glad. Standing in shadows caused by the moon, I’m reminded of my nights back home. I wonder if the woman I love Is growing tired of sleeping alone? I feel remorse for all who live here, For this place is a madman’s hell. And those who wish to keep it that way Must be killed or locked away in jail. My greatest fear is not my death, But...

...That is why it is so odd that rumors swarm around Washington that the president may be willing to raise taxes as part of a "deal" on entitlement reform. In particular, the rumors suggest the president might be willing to get rid of the provision that caps the income level used to compute Social Security taxes and benefits... ...Doing so would raise the marginal tax rate on the entrepreneurs that Mr. Bush credits for having led the economic recovery by more than 10 percentage points. The new effective rate would be five percentage points above the level when he took...

Sydney warned more beach riots are likely Phil Mercer in Sydney Sunday October 1, 2006 The Observer (UK) Australia's biggest city is bracing itself for more racial violence on its beaches this Christmas. Sydney witnessed a wave of unrest at the seaside suburb of Cronulla last December when 5,000 people - most of them young white men - gathered at the beach to protest at alleged intimidation by Lebanese gangs. The demonstration quickly degenerated into drunken violence, and anyone of Mediterranean or Arabic appearance was forced to hide in hotels or restaurants. The following day groups of men from Middle...

NATO to Provide More Afghanistan Troops Wednesday September 20, 2006 6:46 PM By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - After weeks of prodding, European nations have agreed to provide more troops for the alliance in Afghanistan, where violence has surged and efforts to eradicate the opium crops are floundering, NATO's top commander said Wednesday. U.S. Gen. James L. Jones said that requests for additional military aircraft have not yet been nailed down, but he is optimistic he will get the aircraft he needs. Jones said he is still looking for a commitment to send some helicopters. Earlier...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2006 – Iraqi security forces are becoming more capable every day and are fighting and dying for their country, where the future depends on them and their fellow citizens, the commander of U.S. Central Command said yesterday. “I come to the conclusion that Iraqis are fighting and dying for their country, that the government has pledged their sacred honor and their future to making this work,” Army Gen. John Abizaid said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Their lives are on the line.” Iraqi forces now number more than 300,000, and while they still have some...

Poland to send more troops to Afghanistan Bonnie Malkin and agencies Thursday September 14, 2006 Guardian Unlimited (UK) British soldiers on patrol in Helmand province. Poland is to contribute 900 more troops to the Nato force. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Poland is to send another 900 troops to bolster the Nato peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, the Polish defence minister announced today. The US and UK yesterday urged Nato nations to send more troops to Afghanistan to help fight the Taliban insurgency after a Nato commander called for reinforcements last week. Poland already has a 100-strong contingent in the country. "As of...

Hundreds more troops are needed to beat Taliban, warns Nato chief By Richard Westmacott in Kabul (Filed: 08/09/2006) Nato's senior military commander yesterday called for hundreds of reinforcements to combat the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, where he said fighting was reaching a "decisive moment". 35 British troops have died since 4,500 began arriving earlier this year US Gen James Jones said that the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, British Lt Gen David Richards, needed more troops soon. "We have to give the commander additional insurance in terms of some forces that can be there, perhaps temporarily, to make sure...

The film of the kidnapping of the 3 IDF soldiers on the Lebanese border in 2000, simulcast in Lebanon and Israel this week, lacks the parts implicating the UN in the affair, says the father of one. Chaim Avraham is the father of Benny Avraham, who was one of the three soldiers kidnapped and murdered by Hizbullah in October 2000. He produced a photograph today further implicating the UN in at least indirect involvement in the violent abduction. Videotapes of the kidnapping, filmed by UNIFIL sources, have long been known to exist, though the UN originally denied it for months....

More tests confirm low-path bird flu in Michigan Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:31pm ET U.S. News WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A second round of tests on swans in Michigan confirmed the birds have a low-pathogenic strain of H5N1 and not the deadly avian influenza virus that has killed more than 141 people in Asia, Europe and Africa, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday. Routine tests conducted in a Michigan gaming area earlier this month found two of about 20 swans had what was believed to be a low-pathogenic strain of H5N1. "Genetic testing confirms that these swans were not carrying...

FORT GREELEY, Alaska, Aug. 28, 2006 – America’s missile defense capabilities are increasingly important now, as more countries demonstrate the ability and willingness to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here yesterday after touring missile assembly and storage facilities. “It’s an activity that has been evolving over time and is important for the protection of the American people,” Rumsfeld told reporters after being briefed about the interceptor missile activities here. “It is an activity that with each passing month has become more capable.” The U.S. missile defense system is still limited and needs more...

Israel is 'preparing for more fighting' By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem (Filed: 21/08/2006) Any chance of long-term peace between Lebanon and Israel all but vanished last night after Amir Peretz, the Israeli defence minister, said his country was preparing for another round of fighting. Mr Peretz spoke only hours after Israeli commandos mounted a raid deep inside Lebanon. Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, said it was a violation of the week-old UN ceasefire. With talks on a beefed-up peacekeeping force for southern Lebanon apparently stalled, Mr Annan's senior envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, said there was...

'More disasters' for warmer world A warmer world could make wildfires more frequent, research shows Rising temperatures will increase the risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding over the next two centuries, UK climate scientists have warned. Even if harmful emissions were cut now, many parts of the world would face a greater risk of natural disasters, a team from Bristol University said. The projections are based on data from more than 50 climate models looking at the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers gathered results from...

Experts predict more Chinese bird flu cases James Sturcke Tuesday August 8, 2006 Guardian Unlimited (UK) China's admission today that bird flu killed a soldier in 2003 - two years earlier than previously acknowledged - is unlikely to surprise scientists studying the emergence of the virus in Asia. Many have questioned why China, where so many people live in close proximity to wildfowl, has recorded only 19 cases of the disease, 12 of which have proved fatal. Last October, as British attention turned to the spread of H5N1 cases to European countries, scientists travelled to Asia - at least in...

More pieces of hidden bog book found More fragments of an ancient manuscript concealed in a Co Tipperary bog over 1,000 years ago with a view to later recovery, have been found by the National Museum of Ireland, writes Seán Mac Connell The discoveries also include a fine leather pouch in which the manuscript was originally kept. Museum experts have excavated the site at Faddan More, in north Tipperary, since the discovery of the manuscript last month by excavator driver Eddie Fogarty. He found the book on July 20th while digging peat on a bog owned by brothers Kevin and...

More Britons seek new life abroad More Britons than ever before want to turn their dreams of a new life abroad into reality, according to a poll. The number of people hoping to emigrate in the near future has doubled in three years. The survey for the BBC News website found 13% of people wanted to emigrate soon, compared to 7% of those questioned for a similar poll in 2003 by ICM. The figure is even higher among young people, with a quarter of 18-to-25-year-olds saying they would move to another country if they could. More than a third of...

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2006 – Additional U.S. military police will deploy to Baghdad to serve alongside Iraqi law enforcement officers, President Bush said here today following a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The move is part of a new strategy to stem stepped up insurgent violence plaguing the city. "This plan will involve embedding more U.S. military police with Iraqi police units to make them more effective," Bush said in a news briefing. The reinforcements will be sent to Baghdad in coming weeks from other parts of Iraq, Bush said. "Our military commanders tell me that...

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2006 – The idea of the services operating jointly with fewer aircraft platforms that share common features is the key to the modernization effort taking place throughout the military aviation community, the Army Aviation director said here yesterday. Army Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Mundt called the trend toward jointness a key driver in aviation modernization programs. "It's critical we work together. It's a joint world," he said. "There is no way that this nation can afford for everybody to have their own specific capabilities and be redundant across the board." But Mundt told Pentagon reporters he's concerned...

Iraq’s western border becoming more secure by Norris Jones Gulf Region Central District US Army Corps of Engineers (GRD Photos) Al Asad, Iraq -- Iraq’s western border with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia will now be more secure thanks to a continuous line of outposts that will be completed this month.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Central District (GRC) was responsible for overseeing that work which included 23 border forts overlooking nearly 600 kilometers of Iraq’s remote western frontier. The final fort, Border Fort 32, located along the Saudi Arabian border, was recently completed. Each of those castle-like,...

900 troops sent to fight the Taliban By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent, and George Jones (Filed: 11/07/2006) Nine hundred more troops are to be sent to Afghanistan at the request of commanders fighting an intensified campaign against the Taliban, the Government said yesterday. Despite assurances from commanders last month that the current mission of 3,600 troops in Helmand province was adequate, the number is being increased to 4,500. The first reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. Senior defence chiefs insisted that the move was not the result of the deaths of six soldiers in the past month. Des Browne, the Defence Secretary,...

More troops will go to Afghanistan By Neil Tweedie (Filed: 07/07/2006) Britain is to reinforce its military contingent in southern Afghanistan following the deaths of six troops in clashes with the Taliban and other armed groups over the last month. Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, said he was considering what reinforcements to send as a "matter of urgency" after being advised that they were necessary following fierce fighting in the lawless province of Helmand, a centre of resurgent Taliban activity. Pte Damien Jackson The announcement will increase concern that the Government is succumbing to "mission creep" as it seeks to...

With 2 1/2 miles of border fencing along one Arizona ranch completed, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps plans to build a stronger security fence several miles east. Connie Hair, a spokeswoman for the group, which opposes illegal immigration, said Wednesday that construction of vehicle barriers will start soon on the first fence project, headed by contractor Peter Kunz. An 800-foot section of the five-strand barbed wire fencing constructed on the ranch owned by Jack Ladd and his son, John, had to be restrung after vandals cut the wire strand-by-strand within about 4 inches of each support post, Hair said. After...

Code: ZE06062404Date: 2006-06-24A Catholic Boom for United StatesHispanic Immigrants Boosting the RanksLOS ANGELES, JUNE 24, 2006 (Zenit.org).- As debate continues over immigration policy in the United States, a side effect of the large inflow of people is a sharp increase in the Catholic population. The size of that increase is evident in a study released last Monday by the California Catholic Conference. By 2025, Catholics are expected to comprise around 36% of California's population, up from the current 30%, according to the report, "Planning for the Future of the California Catholic Church: A Demographic Study." The percentage of Catholics nationwide...

2,000 inmates already are in two tent facilities PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants 11 more large tents to house an influx of illegal immigrants. --

Basques were fishermen more than 8,000 years ago 06/13/2006 The Basques that settled 8,300 years ago in the Jaizkibel Mountain near the Basque coast were skillful enough to go fishing two kilometres out to sea. The human beings that lived in the Basque Country in the Mesolithic, more than 8,000 years ago, set sail out to sea fishing, something which meant 50 percent of their diet, Aranzadi society of sciences reported Tuesday after examining archaeological remains found in Gipuzkoa. They did not hunt whales, as their descendants many years after, neither tuna nor anchovy as the current Basque fishermen but...

Are there really more hurricanes? 06 June 2006 NewScientist.com news service AS THE season for hurricanes cranks up, so do the arguments about what is causing them. Now a meteorologist claims that the apparent increase in recent years - blamed on global warming - is an illusion. The supposed rise in hurricane frequency can be explained by better measurement techniques, says Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Klotzbach analysed the frequency and intensity of hurricanes over the past 20 years. The study that linked hurricanes to global warming used data going back over 35 years, but he...

SIERRA VISTA — The “S.O.S. Borders” organization expects more than 100 people at its rally at the Palominas Trading Post today The rally is scheduled to go from 9 a.m. to noon. At noon, demonstrators will form a human fence, intending to send a message to the U.S. Congress about the need for proper border security. “We want Congress to understand that we want border security and enforcement of our laws, first and foremost. The purpose of this rally is strictly to focus on border security,” S.O.S. Borders Co-executive Director Kimberly Fletcher said during a phone interview Friday as she...

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2006 – Coalition leaders are working to transfer security responsibility to Iraqis as soon as possible, but they recognize the dangers of "rushing to failure," a senior military official told Pentagon reporters today. Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Staff, called the seating of Iraq's new government and its building a force of more than 263,000 security forces major milestones for Iraq. "There's still a lot to be done in Iraq, and we shouldn't kid ourselves about that," he said. "But I think that every now and then it's...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Army News Service, May 17, 2006) – Morale, Welfare and Recreation patrons will be hard-pressed to beat the cost of an Australian vacation purchased through their Information, Ticket and Reservation office. A five-night stay in Sydney or Melbourne is available for $838 per person based on double occupancy. The “G’Day Good Deal” packages include three- or four-star accommodations for five nights, round-trip airfare from Los Angeles or San Francisco aboard Qantas Airways and a 15-hour calling card that can be used to dial the United States. Taxes and surcharges are not included in the base price. “Normally, when...

BETHESDA, Md., May 18, 2006 – It might not be a household name, like, say, the CIA, but the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is an integral part of the U.S. intelligence community. Satellite Image of Islamabad, Pakistan. Courtesy of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency   Geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, is the collecting and analysis of satellite imagery of the earth's surface. The mission of the agency, headquartered here, is to provide that type of intelligence to support national security objectives. "If it's something manmade or natural on the face of the earth and it has national security implications, then we map it, chart...

Traders Sports, one of the biggest gun dealers in the state, hopes a hearing in U.S. District Court next week will keep them in business. Traders has been under scrutiny for several years by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which is trying to shut down the gun dealer. The ATF decided to revoke Traders gun permit on June 1. After an audit in 2003, the ATF claims that Traders can’t account for 1,767 weapons, and that guns sold at Traders turn up in crimes at an alarming rate. ATF spokeswoman Marti McKee said she couldn’t comment on...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2006 – For the past six months, troops overseas have been getting a high dose of caffeine thanks to a partnership between a group dedicated to supporting combat troops and a family-owned coffee company. America Supports You member group Packages From Home partnered with Lindsey Gourmet Coffee, in Phoenix to send 3,000 pounds of coffee to troops deployed in combat zones. Here, Marines from 1st Marine Expeditionary Force pose with a coffee shipment in Camp Fallujah, Iraq, May 14. Clockwise from top left, Sgt. Wenzel, Master Sgt. Wolbaum, Cpl. Marcell, Master Sgt. McDonald, Master Sgt. Harold,...

Five more bird flu deaths in Indonesia 16:19 17 May 2006 NewScientist.com news service The World Health Organization has confirmed that five more Indonesians, all related, have died of bird flu, a health ministry official said on Wednesday. The deaths bring the nation's overall death toll to 30. "They were apparently infected at a family event," said Nyoman Kandun, director of the health ministry's communicable disease control centre. The victims were two men, two women and an eight-year-old girl who lived near one another in North Sumatra. Kandun said earlier this week that the five had died within days of...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2006 – Wars, by their nature, are full of successes and failures, no matter how they are remembered, the nation's top defense official said today. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld speaks to the Virginia Military Institute Class of 2006 during their commencement ceremony in Lexington, Va. on May 16. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spoke to 245 graduating cadets, about 105 of whom will soon serve as military officers, at Virginia Military Institute's commencement ceremony, in Lexington, Va. "We...