Free Republic

As he prepared to meet US presidential candidate Barack Obama later Friday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a French newspaper that the Illinois senator was his "buddy." "Obama? That's my buddy," Sarkozy was quoted as saying in Friday's edition of Le Figaro. "Contrary to my diplomatic advisors, I never thought Hillary Clinton had a chance. I always said Obama would be chosen" as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. "I am the only French person who knows him," Sarkozy said, recounting that he had met Obama during a visit to the United States in 2006, when he was Interior...

“War is much too serious a thing to be left to military men,” in Talleyrand’s memorable words. In the same spirit, one could say: The American presidential elections are much too serious to be left to the Americans. The US is now the only superpower on earth. It will remain so for quite some time to come. The decisions of the president of the United States affect every human being on this planet. Unfortunately, the citizens of the world have no part in these elections. But they may, at least, voice an opinion. Availing myself of this right I say:...

WASHINGTON - In one week, Southern California's wildfires spewed the same amount of carbon dioxide — the primary global warming gas — as the state's power plants and vehicles did, scientists figure. A new study by two Colorado researchers shows that U.S. wildfires pump a significant amount of the greenhouse gas into the air each year, more than the state of Pennsylvania does. It raises questions about how useful it is to plant trees to offset rising carbon dioxide emissions and soothe environmental consciences. Because the California wildfires occurred just as the study was about to be published, the researchers...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

There is a wave of progressive change sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean after the many lonely years in which Cuba held high the torch, with free universal health care and education, and world-class cultural, sports and scientific achievements. Although you won’t find a Cuban today who says things are perfect — far from it — probably all would agree that compared with prerevolutionary Cuba, there is a world of improvement. George Bush, the antithesis of this process, is now in Latin America at the start of a mission to lure five countries away from regional economic integration. However, the...

NEW YORK - Celebrating your birthday on the day of your birth is common. Celebrating it by getting your wealthy friends to donate to your charitable foundation is presidential. Former President Bill Clinton was celebrating his 60th birthday this weekend, with deep-pocketed donors forking over sizable checks to the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation for the chance to dine, play golf and attend a Rolling Stones concert with him. Clinton, who turned 60 in August, has already observed the occasion at parties on Martha's Vineyard and in Toronto. This weekend's bash — a fundraiser — is being co-hosted by Chelsea Clinton...

WASHINGTON Combine some of the salient qualities of Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon and you have the world's most captivating character: William Jefferson Clinton.

In his highly anticipated memoir, former Gov. James E. McGreevey writes of his deep love for the man who ended his political career, the destruction of his second marriage and the events that forced him into his stunning admission on national television that he is gay. In "The Confession," the former governor also touches on New Jersey's sometimes seamy political landscape, where cash, cronyism and a handful of powerful men intersect. But the 384-page book focuses mostly on McGreevey's secret life, from his frequent sexual encounters with men at highway rest stops to his infatuation with Golan Cipel, the Israeli...

SAVANNAH, Mo. -- A children's book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin has been moved to the nonfiction section of two public library branches after parents complained it had homosexual undertones. The illustrated book, And Tango Makes Three, is based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City's Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s. The book, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was moved from the children's section at two Rolling Hills' Consolidated Library's branches in Savannah and St. Joseph in northwest Missouri....

A NEW POLL OUT TODAY CONFIRMS THE INEVITABLE Most Think Clinton Will Run in '08 Two-thirds of Americans believe Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will run for president, but only one-third believe she can win, according to a national poll released Wednesday. The first is no surprise, but the mere 33% of people who even "believe" she can win has to be chilling for Mrs. Clinton's ambitions. To have come so far and yet fallen so low. How can she possibly recover? How can she have a candle's chance of grabbing the gold ring, of cashing in her big chip, of...

"Venezuela, by sending heating oil free of charge for poor and homeless people and at very low prices for those that can pay, is giving a great example of cooperation and solidarity with the American people; and the whole world is bearing witness to it," said the outstanding scholar, historian and university professor Noam Chomsky during a presentation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The event brought together professors, researchers, politicians, scholars, journalists, and social leaders from that city. Chomsky, who is also well-known in the field of linguistics, has lashed out the Bush administration foreign policy through his books...

Hillary Clinton may be the preferred leader of the free world, but her husband still rules the globe. Michael Gawenda reports. THERE are few truly magical moments in politics in the United States and in recent times, such moments, rare as they have been, have all involved Bill Clinton. The man whose presidency at the end was mired in a tawdry sex scandal has transcended the bitter divisions of American politics to emerge, in retirement, as the best-loved politician in the country. Perhaps even the world. Everywhere he goes - and he seems to go everywhere - the Clinton magic...

I just can't STOP laughing! This is absolutely the FUnniest most ABSURD photo I've seen in ages! Best of all it is the Far Left British MP, George Galloway, making an ABSOLUTE FOOL of himself. Anyway, this photo is RIPE for captioning.

The president showed class and passion in a far-reaching lecture. Saturday evening’s Distinguished Carlson Lecture Series speech by former President Bill Clinton was a breath of fresh air for many of the attendees, most of whom were left-thinking. Clinton outlined five points relating to his goal of creating more integrated communities in a world where, in his opinion, “interdependence” rather than the more common term “globalization,” prevails. The lecture had a broad focus with a “how to fix the world as told by Bill Clinton” feel, but it was clear the president is still as passionate as ever about the...

IT'S OFFICIAL: 2005 WILL BE the newspaper industry's worst year since the last ad industry recession. And things aren't looking much better for next year either, according to a top Wall Street firm's report on newspaper publishing. "Sadly, 2005 is shaping up as the industry's worst year from a revenue growth perspective since the recession impacted 2001-2002 period," says the report from Goldman Sachs, adding a warning that meaningful growth in 2006 is "very unlikely."

UNDER THE COVERS, CONSERVATIVE-STYLE By Azi Paybarah Two new books for the kiddies are hitting stores—one that will help get them laid, and another to turn those one-night-stand spawn into good little conservatives. First up is the long-awaited The O'Reilly Factor for Kids. Those with strong visual imaginations will doubtless be pleased to learn that O'Reilly (as he frequently refers to himself) didn't get laid until he was twenty. But it's about the children, and O'Reilly gives spin-free lessons about teenage sex, drugs, and what kind of junior high school girls turns him on. The Long Island native spills the...

Linda McQuaig says right may have met its match in hurricane crisis When terrorists struck the World Trade Center, George W. Bush and his handlers quickly adopted a muscular approach to the crisis. Not so with Katrina. While 9/11 prompted the administration to unleash the full resources of America in response, the deadly Katrina crisis had trouble catching Bush's attention. But then 9/11 was quickly spotted as the perfect justification for what Republicans wanted to do anyway: mobilize the U.S. for war and enhance the power of the military-industrial complex. The Katrina disaster offers no such opportunities. On the contrary,...

This is a review of the performance of George W. Bush in tight times in this nation. It might explain the single solitary most catastrophic collapse of American government in all of our times. Mark ye well. This was the week when we turned a major American city into Haiti, and racism put its hand out and started to choke a nation, and it may not let go. With the water coming from the sky and the bottom of the sea, driving with such ferocity that a major American city, New Orleans, followed its face into the water, George W....

DUMMERSTON, Vt. — The easiest way to judge a person's reputation is to see who their enemies are and what they are saying. By this measure, Cindy Sheehan is eligible for sainthood. Even by the admittedly low standards of the Karl Rove era, the amount of slime that has been dumped on Sheehan has been disgusting. "Wacko." "Crackpot." "In bed with the radical left." "Traitor." "Communist." "Self-righteous ignoramus." "Hateful." "Un-American." "Unhinged." And these are some of the milder epithets directed at her (see FreeRepublic.com and some of the other right-wing hate blogs for the truly vile characterizations). But it's the...

If we are at war like your socialist neocon idol suggests, then why is he going on vacation. Shouldn't he be manning the command post? AND closing down the borders. Geez, I bet enough illegals swam into Texas just this week to pick a year's supply of lettuce. Yeah, I know, go back to DU or whatever. I just figured that since this is BOT Central, I'd just like to see you Bots try and defend this. And those of you who are eligible for military service shouldn't be here anyway. You should be over in Iraq helping to fight...