Free Republic

A recently recorded video is circulating online of Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch speaker and author Joel Osteen, calling on congregants at Lakewood Church to ‘do good for your own self’ because obedience, the church and worship are not for God as much as for self-happiness. “I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy,” she declares in the undated 36-second clip with her husband standing by her side...

Epidemiology and surveillance On 26 August 2014, the Ministry of Health, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Equateur Province. The index case was a pregnant woman from Ikanamongo Village who butchered a bush animal that had been killed and given to her by her husband. She became ill with symptoms of EVD and reported to a private clinic in Isaka Village. On 11 August 2014, she died of a then-unidentified haemorrhagic fever. Local customs and rituals associated with death meant that several health-care workers were exposed...

A question for the aviation buffs on this forum. I was told at one time, that the F-16 was an inherently unstable aircraft, and that without assistance from it computers, no human pilot would be able to fly the aircraft. Then I saw this video, (see link below), of a quarter scale, radio controlled F-16, in the colors of the Royal Dutch Air Force demonstration team. I would think that there is not enough room in the model or money in the owner’s bank account to include flight control computers. So my question is; “How is the unstable F-16 model...

The jihadist who beheaded the American journalist James Foley is believed to be British born militant from London who calls himself John, it can be revealed. Intelligence agents in the UK and United States are urgently looking into reports that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) fighter, whose brutal actions shocked the world, is the ringleader of group of British jihadists who have specialised in hostage taking. Based in the Isil stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, ‘John’, is described as a well-educated, intelligent, but highly committed member of the extremist terror group.

If Saudi Arabia does become the next ISIS target, it may be even easier than the group’s push into Iraq. A groundswell of ideological support combined with wide-reaching corruption could pave the way for ISIS’ penetration into the country. Saudi Arabia, unlike Iraq, is almost 90 percent Sunni. Iraq’s growing resistance to ISIS comes largely via the swelling ranks of a Shiite militia, the Mahdi army, with Shiite fighters returning from Syria to defend their country against the radical Sunni insurgency that is sweeping the nation. Saudi is also a major source of support for ISIS. Since the latest offensive...

On August 5, 1864, a naval fleet commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut captured one of the last major ports remaining in Confederate hands. The Battle of Mobile Bay was perhaps the most important naval battle of the Civil War, but it is better remembered for the immortal order supposedly delivered by Farragut. More than three years into the Civil War, the Union naval blockade of Southern ports had choked most of the Confederacy’s nautical lifelines. Blockade runners, however, still operated out of one major haven along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico—Mobile, Alabama. Ever since his capture of...

One of two American aid workers infected with the deadly Ebola virus returned to the US from Africa on Saturday. Both were volunteers treating Ebola patients in Liberia, one of three countries affected in a West African outbreak that has so far killed 729 people, the deadliest outbreak in history. Dr Kent Brantly of Texas was transported to the Emory University hospital in Atlanta, where he will be quarantined in a sophisticated isolation unit. He returned to the US in a private jet outfitted with a containment tent. Transport of the second aid worker, the South Carolina missionary Nancy Writebol,...

The four-door Mini Cooper Countryman was the only one of 12 cars to earn a top rating of "good" in new frontal crash tests. The Nissan Leaf, Nissan Juke, Fiat 500L and Mazda5 wagon all fared worst in the tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an Arlington, Va.-based safety group that's funded by insurers. The Chevrolet Volt, Ford C-Max, Mitsubishi Lancer, Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ all got the second-highest rating of "acceptable." The Hyundai Veloster and Scion xB were a notch below that, with "marginal" ratings. The small overlap front crash test, introduced in 2012, replicates...

Fears of a global Ebola pandemic are 'justified' an expert has said as Nigerian health officials try to trace 30,000 people at risk of contracting the deadly disease following the death of Patrick Sawyer. The U.S. citizen boarded a flight in Liberia carrying the disease to Nigeria, potentially infecting 'anyone on the same plane'. It comes as Nigerian actor Jim Iyke sparked outrage, posting a picture of himself wearing an Ebola mask while sitting in a first class airport lounge as he fled Liberia. The 'Nollywood' star posted a message on his Instagram page saying he had cut short a...

“Never give up, never surrender!” That’s the hokey battle cry spoken by fictional Commander Peter Taggart, but it also easily applies to the long journey to get the beloved cult film “Galaxy Quest” to the screen. In 1999 Mark Johnson, already an Oscar winner for “Rain Man,” was an independent producer with a deal at DreamWorks Studios. Johnson’s scouts had come across a screenplay called “Captain Starshine” that, by all accounts, wasn’t particularly good, but which had that killer “what if” hook. Basically: what if the Thermians – a group of goofy space aliens – misconstrued old episodes of a...

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the general obligation bonds of Atlantic City, New Jersey to "junk" status on Wednesday, citing the struggling casino town's declining tax base. The credit rating service cut the city's underlying rating to "Ba1" from "Baa2." It affects $245 million in outstanding debt.

Less than six weeks before Labor Day, hopes for recovery at the North American summer box office have evaporated. The season is expected to finish down 15 to 20 percent compared with 2013, the worst year-over-year decline in three decades, and revenue will struggle to crack $4 billion, which hasn't happened in eight years. As a result, analysts predict that the full year is facing a deficit of 4 to 5 percent.

An anaconda snake is loose in New Jersey's Lake Hopatcong, and a local reptile expert said Friday he's breaking his silence after animal control told him to keep quiet about the dangerous reptile. "I've known it was an anaconda since last week, but I was told by animal control and state police not to say anything," Gerald Andrejcak, who works for Common Sense for Animals, told The New Jersey Herald. "Officials were afraid that if it came out that the snake was an anaconda it would cause mass hysteria. It needed to come out, it is a public safety issue."

US President Barack Obama telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to voice concerns about the crisis in Gaza amid an Israeli ground offensive. Obama said that while the US supports Israel's right to defend itself, "the United States and our friends and allies are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life." Israeli troops launched an offensive on the Gaza periphery aimed at destroying Hamas's network of cross-border tunnels on the 11th day of an assault in which 274 Palestinians, including many children, have been killed. "Although we support military efforts...

A mysterious giant hole and crater have suddenly appeared in Siberia, Russia. There are not many details right now, but the video captured from a helicopter shows a weird configuration with debris and signs of combustion around it. Was it an explosion, an impact, or some violent drilling?

clicked on reuters story at approx 3:22am this morning and screen changes to... (dont want to inflate this so putting the rest in comments)

MADISON, Mississippi — Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant came out in ardent opposition to Common Core education standards on Thursday, a signal of the immense grassroots pressure in the state, as State Sen. Chris McDaniel and incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) battle to win the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday. “I think Common Core is a failed program, and the United States is beginning to realize that,” Bryant said, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "Governors all across America are realizing states can do it better.” In late 2013, Bryant issued an executive order that called for state-level, not national, educational standards,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RojiK_l45hY

HOUSTON, Texas--The massive influx of adults and minors crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador has brought the Customs and Border Protection agency (CPB) past its capacity to provide security at the U.S./Mexico border, according to the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC). In an interview with Breitbart Texas, NBPC Vice President Shawn Moran revealed that the Mexican cartels control the flow of illegal immigrants across Mexico through the monopoly on coyotes, otherwise known as human smugglers. “Mexican cartels are exploiting this crisis to get their shipments through. They know our schedules, our shifts, our manpower, and...

Saving energy is not an easy task but how do the Boeing engineers do it? The answer is flying above you.