Free Republic

February 20, 2014 New Obama initiative tramples First Amendment protections Byron York The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…" But under the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission is planning to send government contractors into the nation's newsrooms to determine whether journalists are producing articles, television reports, Internet content, and commentary that meets the public's "critical information needs." Those "needs" will be defined by the administration, and news outlets that do not comply with the government's standards could face an uncertain future. It's hard to imagine a project more at...

SOCHI, Russia. Shani Davis was bristling with frustration and trying to keep it in check, talking about how this Winter Olympics will haunt him for the rest of his life. Brian Hansen's coach was starting to weep as she spoke of the catastrophic turmoil that turned a bunch of predicted gold medals into a collective and embarrassing failure. Joey Mantia tried to find a polite way of saying that his colleagues have yet to grasp that there is no "I" in the word "team," and coach Ryan Shimabukuro was dismissing the avalanche of criticism as nothing but the talk of...

I will be a guest of the Progressive Host Thom Hartman on the RT Network this evening at 7pm EST.

MSNBC has become the Pravda of the US media, the loyalist outlet that clings to discredited government propaganda even long after the government stopped repeating it. If Chris Matthews put on a uniform, he could be Baghdad Bob. In Chris Matthews’ world, time never moves forward. The old lies are still good enough.CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO MATTHEWS: This is my problem Joy with that interview and the questioning from O’Reilly, and I’m not a media critic. But the information’s out there that Susan Rice told the truth. It was a spontaneous attack on our facility in Benghazi… In...

Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- An 80-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ stands atop of a hill overlooking the Syrian Christian town of Saidnaya, about a 40-minute drive from Damascus. The statue is part of the ancient Cherubim Monastery in the Qalamoun Mountains, a quiet, spiritual place that's very important to Syria's Christians. But these days, there is a gruesome sight at the feet of the statue of Christ the savior. About 30 mutilated and charred bodies lie in piles near a footpath that leads to the monastery. The dead are rebel fighters who tried to storm the monastery but were killed...

The Syrian Improvised Chemical Munitions that Were Used in the August 21, Nerve Agent Attack in Damascus Have a Range of About 2 Kilometers. The UN Independent Assessment of the Range of the Chemical Munition Is in Exact Agreement with Our Findings. This Indicates That These Munitions Could Not Possibly Have Been Fired at East Ghouta from the “Heart”, or from the Eastern Edge, of the Syrian Government Controlled Area Shown in the Intelligence Map Published by the White House on August 30, 2013. This mistaken Intelligence Could Have Led to an Unjustified US Military Action Based on False Intelligence....

Damascus (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned during a meeting in Damascus on Wednesday with Iran's foreign minister that Saudi Arabia's political and religious ideology is "a threat to the world," state television reported. He was referring to Wahhabism, an ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim tradition which is predominant in Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Syria's revolt against Assad. "President Assad warns during his meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of the threat posed by Wahhabi thinking to all the world, not just to the region," the report said. "The Syrian people and some peoples in the region...

A heated debate in Turkish parliament relating to a massive corruption scandal turned into a full-on melee today with punches, flying kicks, and thrown tablet computers. Turkey has been rocked in recent weeks by allegations of graft that have beleaguered Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party. [Click link for video]

In recent decades, Russia has undergone vast political and social reforms underscored by a return to religious roots, the end of Soviet Communism, and new existential threats (among them domestic Islamic radicalism). All of these changes have necessarily resulted in political transformation. As Russia has changed, its former adversary - the United States of America - has also changed, with breakneck speed. America is in rapid moral and institutional decline - fueled by lawless government leaders and a seismic move away from God (at least the Judeo-Christian God that underpins Russian and Western societies), as well as the parallel rise...

Rigid criteria exist for a serious scientific journal to accept a peer-reviewed paper and to publish it. As well there exist strict criteria by which such an article can be withdrawn after publication. The Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology has apparently decided to violate those procedures, announcing it is retracting a long-term study on the toxic effects of Monsanto Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)—GMO Maize it published a year ago. The bizarre reports come only six months after Elsevier created a special new position, Associate Editor for Biotechnology (i.e. GMO), and filled it with a former Monsanto employee who worked...

CNN has made significant cuts to its interview with the Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, most notably his comments on the number of people that actually support Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu fiercely opposes a deal with Iran, but the Israeli military puts a more positive spin on how a deal could bolster regional stability. Tel Aviv Even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues his diplomatic offensive against what he calls a "dangerous" compromise on Iran’s nuclear program, Israel’s military intelligence seems open to a deal, even one that relaxes the Western sanctions on Iran that Mr. Netanyahu has vocally supported. According to an unclassified assessment shared by a senior Israeli officer, military intelligence is focused on the implications of a potential compromise between Iran and the P5+1...

Western Investigators: Muslim Brotherhood Assassinated The US Ambassador In Libya James and Joan Moryalti Western Investigators In Libya: The Libyan Security provided documents to Washington which revealed involvement of Morsi Former President of Egypt and Brotherhood Organization for the assassination of ” Chris Stevens US Ambassador in Libya on 11/9/2012.Barack Obama financed Brotherhood terrorist activities in Egypt. James and Joan Moryalti were interviewed on “Voice Of Russia” Radio station and they are Western Investigators who stayed in Libya during the NATO invasion. They are a part of a non-governmental organizations. They are observers and informers of war crimes in Libya....

Highly secretive trade agreement have been published on the WikiLeaks website with 95 pages that were taken from the recent TPP or better known as Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The main aim of the TPP is to unite nations such as the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei that combine with itself about 40% of gross domestic product. Barack Obama and other leaders of the outstanding 11 states were keeping the TPP in secrecy for a lot of years. According to the officials, the agreement would stir up the economies of those...

Forget the shutdown: Job creation surged in October despite dimmed expectations from the impasse in Washington. There were a net 204,000 new jobs created for the month, though the unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent. A separate measure that includes the underemployed and those who have quit looking also moved higher, from 13.6 percent to 13.8 percent

Why do Republicans never seem to come out ahead politically when they go toe-to-toe with the Democrats? Part of the reason, at least, is that the press, to a greater extent than at any time in our history, is monolithically Democrat. The most important news organ is the Associated Press, whose articles appear in hundreds, or possibly thousands, of newspapers around the country. The AP pretends to be a neutral, just-the-facts information source, but it is nothing of the kind. While there are some good reporters at the AP, the overwhelming majority function, as to issues that are politically controversial,...

"Christians and Muslims had always lived in an atmosphere of mutual trust; the attack on Maaloula has created a lot of distress." Islamists have invaded homes and continue to threaten the village, site of ongoing clashes between rebels and the army. The families who fled to Damascus and Beirut tell their story. The goal is to drive out Christians in order to eliminate Christianity.Beirut (AsiaNews) - According to families who fled Maaloula (Syria), some of their Muslim neighbours were involved in the attack that devastated their village located about fifty kilometres from Damascus, dispersing its residents. Perceived as a betrayal...

Firstly let us take a look at the "evidence" Obama and Kerry were peddling. For a start, John Kerry makes his mark under Peter's Principle as a failed Presidential candidate. As a diplomat and statesman, as US Secretary of State, he is either an incompetent jackass or else he is a barefaced, blatant liar, either case rendering him totally unfit for the job. One of the photos he was waving around as evidence to incriminate President Al-Assad was taken in Iraq in 2003.

Make no mistake: Barack Hussein Obama is preparing to give a speech to the citizens of the United States of America next Tuesday in which he is planning to justify military action against Syria, with or without a nod from Congress. If he does so, he will write his name in the darkest annals of history. George W. Bush was the human epitome of the saying, and pardon me, "sh*t stinks" because with him, you knew what you were getting, it was raw, it was in your face, it was unsophisticated, brash, rash, harsh, arrogance, belligerence, chauvinism, it was kick-a*s...

The Russian Foreign Ministry is suggesting Russians to refrain from traveling abroad. Vacations at Turkish and Spanish resorts are not in danger. It has nothing to do with "Iron Curtain" expected by highly sensitive people either. The recommendation is addressed to those Russian citizens who have a reasonable suspicion that U.S. law enforcement agencies have something against them. "Empirical evidence shows that the trials of those who were virtually kidnapped and taken to the United States are biased, based on shaky evidence and have a pronounced accusatory tone. Usually, they result in imposition of illegal sentences with a long-term imprisonment