Free Republic

(CNN) - For sheer cruelty, they are well matched. They also share an apocalyptic "end-of-days" vision. Now there are signs that Boko Haram -- the most feared group in West Africa -- may be edging toward a formal pledge of allegiance to the self-declared Caliph of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Observers of Boko Haram, which has inflicted years of terror on northern Nigeria, note that its actions in the last six months have frequently mimicked those of ISIS -- from punishments such as stoning and beheading of its victims to taking territory and an increasingly sophisticated use...

Below, we demonstrate that the U.S. keeps “losing” war after war. There are 3 potential reasons this might be happening: •Is this chaos an intentional way to implement regime change and grab resources? •Or is this a sign of the decline of the American empire … and we just can’t win a war anymore? •Or do those in charge just not really give a damn about winning … and are they just focusing on one short-term goal after another?

A man claiming to be the leader of Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, appears in a new video threatening violence against the Nigerian government should they proceed with presidential elections, and warning that the terrorist group will “enslave” all those “supporters of Francois Hollande and Obama.” The video, which was initially distributed on Twitter and since has been distributed through the SITE Intelligence group, depicts the man claiming to be Shekau before a camera, warning that the Nigerian presidential elections– already postponed due to Boko Haram suicide bombings– will never happen. The elections are scheduled to occur on...

Hundreds of militants have been killed during the struggle to recapture the Nigerian garrison town of Monguno, according to officials. "Over 300 terrorists were killed while a few were also captured," said defence spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade. The claims follow similar statements from Niger, Chad and Cameroon - who are also involved in fighting the terror group - but they have not been independently confirmed. The army has often claimed success against the group which has then been contradicted by witness reports. Civilian vigilantes in the town confirmed it had been retaken and said there had been heavy casualties, but...

VATICAN CITY — “African values are not on sale,” the new Chairman of Communications for the African bishops has said. But Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo, Nigeria, is convinced they are under threat from what Pope Francis has called an “ideological colonization” that is seeking to destroy the family. It's so bad, he says, that the United States has made clear it will not help Nigeria fight the Boko Haram terror group unless the country modify its laws regarding homosexuality, family planning and birth-control.

At about $50 a barrel, crude oil prices are down by more than half from their June 2014 peak of $107. They may fall more, perhaps even as low as $10 to $20. Here’s why.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/economics/2007/12/17/Why-Oil-Prices-Will-Drop

Scarcely a day passes that media personalities aren’t sounding the alarm over the relentless march of “Islamism”—i.e. militant Islam. To hear them tell it, one could be forgiven for thinking that “Islamism”—exemplified by the likes of ISIS—is mere centimeters away from destroying both America and Israel. Of course, this is hysteria. Jihadists are dangerous individuals, for sure, but America and Israel have ample resources with which to protect their citizens. Such, however, cannot be said for the Christians of dozens of countries around the world who daily suffer unimaginable predations at the hands of the Muslim majorities of their homelands....

In a series of histograms (graphs showing the distribution of genome and population data), Hawks shows that Asian and European genomes have significantly more Neanderthal DNA than African genomes. The averages for Asian and European samples are around 3% higher than the average for African samples. Whatever gave Africans some degree of similarity to Neanderthals, non-Africans seem to have received around 3% more of it. Europeans average a bit more Neanderthal DNA than Asians, showing that Europeans probably mixed with Neanderthals as they moved into Europe, adding a secondary mix of Neanderthal DNA into their genome beyond the primary mix...

Boko Haram forces appear poised to attack Maiduguri, a city of 2 million in northeast Nigeria -- meaning that 200,000 Christians could be at risk of slaughter by the Islamist terror group, say U.S. intelligence officials and experts on Nigeria. "An attack on Madiguri is very likely," said J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Project at the Atlantic Council, echoing U.S. intelligence officials. Pham believes, as do other experts, that Boko Haram has already placed "sleeper cells" among the tide of refugees who have fled the group's murderous rampage through Africa's most populous nation. "They've done it everywhere else...

Violent attacks by Boko Haram have caused many to flee their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis within Nigeria and neighboring countries. Refugees say they have witnessed brutal acts of savagery, with men's throats being slit and women being held as "war booty." Chad has become the latest country on the border with Nigeria to be affected by a Boko Haram attack. The BBC's Tom Oladipo went to Yola village in Aadamawa state in northeast Nigeria and spoke to refugees there. ...

It’s always a pleasure returning to the beautiful Lone Star State. This week I’m in Houston speaking with the industrious men and women of America’s oil patch at the North American Prospect Expo. These are the unsung heroes of our nation’s energy renaissance. In the brutal economic environment of the last six years, one sector had good news to report, and it came straight out of America’s oil patch. From 2007 to 2012, employment in the energy industry rose a dramatic 31.6 percent while employment nationwide fell 2.7 percent. U.S. oil production increased from 6.5 million barrels per day in...

Governor Palin wrote a great article for the Houston Tribune today loaded with a lot of good facts on energy.  She also notes an interesting flip flop from our president on the matter. It’s always a pleasure returning to the beautiful Lone Star State. This week I’m in Houston speaking with the industrious men and women of America’s oil patch at the North American Prospect Expo. These are the unsung heroes of our nation’s energy renaissance.In the brutal economic environment of the last six years, one sector had good news to report, and it came straight out of America’s oil patch. From...

Chadian forces scored a key victory over Nigeria's Boko Haram on Tuesday, wresting control of the border town of Gamboru within hours of launching a ground offensive against the jihadist group. Around 2,000 Chadian troops backed by armoured vehicles crossed the border into Gamboru from the Cameroonian town of Fotokol . ... The ground intervention by Chad came after the African Union last week backed a regional five-nation, 7,500-strong force to take on the extremists amid growing fears about their threat to regional security. Nigeria has drawn fierce criticism for failing to hold back the insurgents, who have stepped up...

During the early morning hours on Feb. 1, the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram launched its second attack on the city of Maiduguri. The Islamist group has kept Maiduguri in its sights for a long time. It’s the capital of Nigeria’s northeast and home to a population exceeding two million people, and has a garrison of several thousand Nigerian troops and a major air force base. Nigerian troops beat back the attackers and claimed to inflict hundreds of casualties. But Maiduguri wasn’t the only battle the insurgents fought in recent weeks. They took the town of Baga, plus 16 surrounding...

Nigerian troops managed to repel an attack by Boko haram on the very large city of Maiduguri this weekend, killing around 500 of the Islamo-Nazi cockroaches while doing so: CBN NEWS – Nigerian troops pushed back an attack by radical Islamist fighters from Boko Haram Sunday. Troops from the terror group attacked the biggest city in northeast Nigeria, Maiduguri. ... Voice of America adds this: A VOA reporter, Abdulkareem Haruna, saw hundreds of civilians armed with hunting rifles, clubs and machetes advance toward the battles, saying they want to help the soldiers stop the militants.

The absence of strong Western leadership against the Boko Haram terror state has created an opportunity Iran seems ready to exploit. The Premium Times of Nigeria reports that Iran is stepping forward to offer assistance to the African Union against the savage caliphate spilling out of northern Nigeria into Cameroon and menacing the entire region: ... Abdollohian said the activities of the Boko Haram militants and that of Al-Shabaab in the Somalia were similar to that of Al-Qaeda and the ISIS and other terrorist groups in the Middle East. ... Iran was willing to share its experiences on terrorist activities...

Boko Haram is officially an international problem. At least according to the African Union, which asked the United Nations Security Council on Jan. 29 to greenlight an intervention force to bring the Islamist group to its knees. The A.U. plans a 7,500-strong military force, named the Multinational Joint Task Force, and staffed by Nigerian, Cameroonian, Chadian and Beninese troops. If the coalition gets the go-ahead, the soldiers will base in their respective countries, but coordinate and assist each other.

Muslim persecution of Christians is at a high tide — and there are grave fears of more sectarian bloodletting as millions of people in Nigeria, which is half Muslim and half Christian, vote for their national leaders next month. These religious atrocities cry out for media attention and political awareness, said Raymond Ibrahim, author of the monthly report “Muslim Persecution of Christians,” which has chronicled attacks on Christians in dozens of countries since July 2011. Mainstream media rarely cover attacks on Christians, even though they happen “all around the Islamic world,” Mr. Ibrahim said Tuesday.

Boko Haram jihadists have reportedly closed in on the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, which has an estimated population of two million, along with another 200,000 who are currently taking refuge within its borders. Residents have said that the Boko Haram terrorists warned them that they are readying “a big grave” for Maiduguri’s residents and that “there will be no mercy.” A local resident told the CBC regarding Boko Haram, “They kept saying they were chasing us so that we can all run into the big grave they are preparing for us in Maiduguri.”