Free Republic

Russia's role in the Iran crisis By Ray Takeyh and Nikolas Gvosdev September 6, 2008 IT IS ONE of the rites of passage of the fall - every September, the Bush administration returns to the United Nation for another sanctions resolution against Iran. However, this time there is much consternation in Washington that Russia's invasion of Georgia - and the subsequent chill that has descended on relations between Russia and the West - has ended any possibility of cooperation between the United States and Russia in dealing with Iran's nuclear imbroglio. Such fears are overblown. Russia's assault on Georgia may...

After attending the spectacular closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and feeling the vibrations from hundreds of Chinese drummers pulsating in my own chest, I was tempted to conclude two things: “Holy mackerel, the energy coming out of this country is unrivaled.” And, two: “We are so cooked. Start teaching your kids Mandarin.” However, I’ve learned over the years not to over-interpret any two-week event. Olympics don’t change history. They are mere snapshots — a country posing in its Sunday bests for all the world too see. But, as snapshots go, the one China presented through the Olympics was enormously...

There's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will-William Shakespeare in Hamlet I have made but one prayer to God in my life-a very short one: “O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous!” And God granted it. –Voltaire Comedian Dennis Miller once recalled some words of advice from a fellow performer, who had "made it"--Jay Leno. Leno, a car buff, explained it in automotive terms, telling Miller to head in the right direction and "just stay on the road". Leno said that many rivals, competitors, enemies, i.e. the other "cars" in the race, would run out of gas,...

"WASHINGTON - More women in their early 40s are childless, and those who are having children are having fewer than ever before, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the last 30 years, the number of women age 40 to 44 with no children has doubled, from 10 percent to 20 percent. And those who are mothers have an average of 1.9 children each, more than one child fewer than women of the same age in 1976.""

Strategy Who Started Cold War II Posted by Patrick J. Buchanan on August 18, 2008 The American people should be eternally grateful to Old Europe for having spiked the Bush-McCain plan to bring Georgia into NATO. Had Georgia been in NATO when Mikheil Saakashvili invaded South Ossetia, we would be eyeball to eyeball with Russia, facing war in the Caucasus, where Moscow’s superiority is as great as U.S. superiority in the Caribbean during the Cuban missile crisis. If the Russia-Georgia war proves nothing else, it is the insanity of giving erratic hotheads in volatile nations the power to drag the...

BEIJING (AP)—Yelena Isinbayeva got the Olympic gold and a world record; American Jenn Stuczynski got the silver and a lesson in humility. And we now have a new rivalry that should make woman’s pole vaulting fun to watch for many more years to come. Big poles and big mouths don’t go together. Stuczynski knows that now. Pole vaulting isn’t basketball or boxing. It’s far too graceful of a sport for the kind of trash-talk she doled out before the Beijing Games. “I hope we do some damage,” she had said, “and, you know, kick some Russian butt.” Big mistake.

The Bush Administration last week rejected an Israeli request for military equipment and support amid concerns that Jerusalem was gearing up for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Israeli media reported on Wednesday. According to Ha’aretz, the Israeli request was made at the highest levels, but was turned down after American intelligence officials said they believed Israel was in the advanced stages of preparations for an attack on the Islamic Republic.

Skye News is keeping the world abreast of the war in the Southern United States with the Soviet tanks chewing up well-manicured lawns in Buckhead. Sales of sod are reportedly through the roof at the three Home Depot garden centers in the area. Somebody got a pink slip for this one. (That was not a John Edwards joke)

The Truth Project Do you have a biblical worldview like Del Tackett? In 1991, President George H. W. Bush appointed Del Tackett — now Focus on the Family Institute President — as the director of technical plans at the White House for the National Security Council. During this time of serving as the White House’s liaison to federal agencies, Del often noticed three murals — memorials to America’s foundations — in the Capitol’s rotunda. The first was the landing of Columbus, the second the Christian baptism of Pocahontas, and the third the Pilgrims as they paused for prayer on their...

A longtime adviser and close confidant of President Bush funneled millions of dollars in U.S. government grants to radical Islamist organizations, many of whose leaders have been convicted or indicted in terrorism cases in the United States, respected terrorism expert Steven Emerson told Congress last week. “When Ms. [Karen] Hughes was appointed as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, she set the tone to continue a disastrous policy of outreach with Islamist partners,” Emerson told the House International Relations Committee. Among the recipients of the State Department grants actively championed by Hughes was Ahmed Younes, formerly an...

Nikita Khrushchev said the Soviet Union would bury us, but these days, everybody seems to think that China is the one wielding the shovel. The People's Republic is on the march -- economically, militarily, even ideologically. Economists expect its GDP to surpass America's by 2025; its submarine fleet is reportedly growing five times faster than Washington's; even its capitalist authoritarianism is called a real alternative to the West's liberal democracy. China, the drumbeat goes, is poised to become the 800-pound gorilla of the international system, ready to dominate the 21st century the way the United States dominated the 20th. Except...

<p>U.S. military strategists say they are changing approach to emphasize humanitarian missions on an equal footing with combat operations.</p> <p>The shift reflects experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan and indicates recognition that combating radical ideologies and averting future wars means the Pentagon must use so-called soft power more often. That concept is reflected in revisions to a document called Joint Operations which lays out basic Defense Department concepts for all military branches, the Boston Globe reported Monday.</p>

Croatian Terrorist Paroled after 30 Years NEW YORK — A Croatian terrorist has been granted parole after serving 30 years in prison for hijacking a jet and planting a bomb that killed a New York City police officer. Zvonko Busic was the leader of a group that commandeered a TWA flight as it left La- Guardia Airport in 1976 in an attempt to draw attention to Croatia’s struggle for independence from communist Yugoslavia. The five separatists took the plane to Montreal, London and Paris before authorities shot out its tires and persuaded them to surrender. Their claim to have explosives...

Once again, after listening to the Independence Hall concert by the Philly Pops, visiting Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, and Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, I am more impressed than ever before about the events that took place there and what was accomplished. Here is the link to the piece I wrote for The Bulletin or click on The Bulletin link near the title, which I think is easier. I still can't figure out how to do it correctly. http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19834607&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA) -- The U.S. bellicose forces staged joint air military exercises together with the south Korean war-like forces in the U.S. air base in south Korea for about a week from June 16 swimming against the trend of the times. Involved in the war maneuvers were over 90 air-striking means including fighters of the U.S. air force in Pacific, its mainland and in south Korea and the south Korean puppet air force. Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary brands the above-mentioned war maneuvers as a premeditated playing with fire aimed at escalating the military confrontation and...

Gather around class. On July 4, 2008, the United States of America will celebrate its 232nd birthday. Happy Birthday, you “whippersnapper!” The word “whippersnapper” originated about 100-years, before the freedom-loving colonists told King George to go jump in the lake. To be historically accurate, this dynast’s tea is what the rebels threw into Boston Harbor. Whippersnapper originally referred to a young person, usually male, who was unimportant and insignificant – but presumptuous. That epithet certainly applied to our early thirteen colonies. They were unimportant and insignificant, relative to the mighty British Empire, but they were also presumptuous in attempting to...

NEW YORK: The Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica's recent $4 billion acquisition of DRS Technologies, a U.S. defense company, was a big one for the industry, and it is not likely to be the last. More European defense contractors looking to gain a presence in the United States, the largest defense market in the world, will very likely be setting their sights on U.S. suppliers. Increasing acquisition activity is also expected within the U.S. defense sector as suppliers consolidate to become one-stop shops for contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. U.S. defense spending - estimated to exceed $500 billion...

(English-language translation) Understanding that Spain has "a moral debt" to Puerto Rico after ceding the island [to the United States] following the Spanish-American War, Popular Democratic Party (PPD) Senator Eudaldo Báez Galib asked the government of Spain to intervene to help solve the problem of the [island's political] status. Báez sent a letter to Spain's Consul-General in Puerto Rico Carlos Vinuesa Salto asking him to go before the International Court of Justice to present Puerto Rico's case. "The historical moment has come for Spain to tend to its affairs with Puerto Rico. Among these, the mere fact that Puerto Rico...

"This is a different kind of war." --Representative Harry Mitchell Student-Veterans Come Marching Home: A New GI Bill for Scientists Alan Kotok United States 6 June 2008 Since World War II, the U.S. government has offered education benefits to veterans through a series of "GI Bills" both as an incentive to encourage military enlistment and as a "gesture of gratitude" to young men and women who serve in the military. But, since the WWII era, these benefits have failed to keep up with the increasing cost of higher education. A new bill--it has passed both houses of Congress but...

6/9/2008 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Eleven members of the Afghan National Army Air Corps recently became the first graduates of the Air Corps Firefighting School May 29 at Kabul. The graduates completed four months of class work, countless hands-on exercises extinguishing various types of fires and practicing lifesaving techniques under the direction of American Airmen and firefighters. "Today is a very big day for the air corps," said Brig. Gen. Jay H. Lindell, the Combined Air Power Transition Force commander at the graduation ceremony. "You are your country's future." The increased attention given to the firefighters program will help...

(English-language translation) After meeting with different social sectors of the country, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte pointed out yesterday that the impunity and weakness of the Guatemalan state prevail as the major problems in fighting organized crime and drug trafficking. Negroponte declared that his country is willing to aid the Central American region in fighting criminals and announced that Guatemala will play an active role in the Mérida Plan towards that purpose. The Mérida Plan is a U.S. assistance program for Mexico, Central America, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to fight drug trafficking, transnational crime, and terrorism....

(English-language translation) WASHINGTON - The Department of State cleared the way yesterday for the United States to provide military education and training to the Guatemala Air Force, Navy, and Corps of Engineers. An announcement published in the Federal Register reports that these institutions respect human rights and cooperate with civil judicial investigations of military personnel who "have been the object of credible accusations of having committed human-rights violations." This "certification" was a requirement towards activating half a million dollars the United States will dedicate to those ends, according to the so-called Foreign Operations Law of 2008. The [Guatemala] Army is...

United States News Agency Launches Operations Through Web 2.0 By Robin Rotfleisch Israel News Agency New York ----- May 26, 2008 ....... The United States News Agency, an on-line, non-profit, non-governmental news site has begun operations as it begins its search for both professional editors and reporters in the US. "The Internet has thousands of sources for news but very few of them were created for the Web," said United States News Agency publisher Joel Leyden. Leyden has worked as a journalist, international media consultant and Internet SEO Web 2.0 pioneer for 25 years. He is credited for co-creating Israel's...

HMOs Deconstructed by: Malcolm A. Kline, May 23, 2008 Government-run Medicare health coverage for the elderly is more efficient than private sector fee-for-service treatments, Hugh Waters of Johns Hopkins University argued earlier this month in a seminar held by the libertarian Cato Institute. “Medicare has lower administrative costs,” Waters told the audience at the symposium on Capitol Hill. He tallies the overhead at $127 per Medicare enrollee in 2003 compared to $421 per capita for the private sector equivalent. Additionally, Waters asserts, “Medicare has slower increases in costs.” Between 1970 and 2004, he estimates, costs went up 10.9 percent in...

Rice Grown In United States Contains Less-dangerous Form Of ArsenicA new study analyzing several types of rice finds that grains grown in the United States may be safer than varieties grown in other countries. (Credit: Courtesy of Yamily J. Zavala) ScienceDaily (May 21, 2008) — Rice grown in the United States may be safer than varieties from Asia and Europe, according to a new global study of the grain that feeds over half of humanity. The study evaluated levels of arsenic, which can be toxic at high levels, in rice worldwide. Yamily J. Zavala and colleagues point out that rice...

What 1980's event helped re-shape your life, thoughts, person and/or change your focus and outlook on life? You can answer as many times as you desire.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced that he is accepting the recommendation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The listing is based on the best available science, which shows that loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat.  This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established by the ESA for designating a threatened species. In making the announcement, Kempthorne said,...

Surprise, surprise. The first relief planes which flew into Burma, or Myanmar, as its military junta, much cared for by our Department of Foreign Affairs, calls that godforsaken place, were American military planes carrying precious bottled water, food, medicines and mosquito nets, all paid for by American taxpayers and given willingly with no strings attached. As is well known, Burma has been ruled by a brutal and murderous military junta since 1988, and is now suffering not only the yoke of collectivist brutality but also the fierce lash of nature, which renders puny all of man’s works. Aren’t they irritating,...

MONTGOMERY The state Senate may have been locked down for most of the year, but it did find time to endorse a widely discredited urban legend spread by the John Birch Society. The upper chamber passed a joint resolution April 10 sponsored by state Sen. Rusty Glover, R-Semmes, claiming that Canada, Mexico and the United States are moving toward a "North American Union" and working on construction of a "NAFTA Superhighway" to link the countries and report edly destroy their sovereignty. "It's about retaining independence," said John McManus, the president of the John Birch Society, in a phone interview Mon...

On the Trip to the UN and the US "I Have Had the Joy of Announcing 'Christ Our Hope'" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square. * * * Even if a few days have already passed since my return, I would like to dedicate the catechesis of today, as I normally do, to the apostolic trip that I made to the United Nations and the United States of America this past April 15 to 21. Before all, I renew my most...

Los Angeles is becoming a "Third World city" with immigrants making up half its workforce, says a new study. A third of immigrants have not graduated from high school and 60 per cent do not speak English fluently, the Migration Policy Institute found. It said this left immigrants ill-equipped to fill California's fastest-growing occupations, such as computer software engineering and nursing. The organisation added that as the so-called baby boomers reach retirement age, a similar pattern will spread across the US. Ernesto Cortes Jr, of the Industrial Areas Foundation, a think-tank that specialises on social change, claimed Los Angeles was...

It has been roughly three months since residents of Huntsville and Walker County attended town hall meetings to voice their opinion on the Trans-Texas Corridor/I-69 project to the Texas Department of Transportation. There was no question then that there was strong opposition to the proposed 1,600-mile national highway, and it seems as though residents’ efforts to stop it has not lost any of its momentum. Several residents attended the Walker County Commissioners Court on Monday morning, expressing concerns about the project and encouraged the court to take another step of action. The five-member court agrees with the majority of the...

Spain appealed to France, the United States and NATO on Monday for help in ending a crisis sparked when pirates seized 26 crew members of a Spanish fishing boat off the Somali coast. The defence ministry said a Spanish military frigate was heading to the area off east Africa, where the pirates have demanded money for the release of the crew, a day after storming the vessel armed with grenade launchers. The coastal waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity, are considered to be among the...

By Ann Shibler Published: 2008-04-07 New "anti-terrorism" rules ordered up by DHS for those who fish the Great Lakes are causing a wave of dissent. While still leaving our southern border wide open, the northern border will be protected by stricter security rules heavily enforced by the DHS, particularly for those tall-tale-telling anglers. Follow this link to the original source: "Going fishing? Pack your passport" COMMENTARY: Starting with the 2008 charter fishing season on the Great Lakes, and particularly impacting Lake Erie because of its geography and popularity among anglers, fishermen will now have to have their passports or two...

Despite the uproar over the state's proposal to build Trans-Texas Corridor 69 through East Texas, Lufkin's mayor says he supports the highway — as long as it follows the path of the current U.S. Highway 59. The Trans Texas Corridor/I-69 project is a statewide network of transportation routes in Texas that will incorporate existing and new highways, railways and utility right-of-ways. Anyone wishing to comment on the proposed road can go online to www.keeptexasmoving.com. TxDOT has expanded its public comment period for TTC-69 to Friday, April 18. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Gorden, along with 17 other Texans, to an I-69...

Several Oklahoma legislators are concerned that individuals and organizations are quietly working on plans to create a privately-operated tollway in Oklahoma. Many referred to Spain-based Cintra, which has been involved in the development of a proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. Cintra also took over the operation of the Indiana East-West Toll Road from the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2006. Oklahoma State Sen. Randy Brogdon and state representatives Eric Proctor, Richard Morrisette, Scott Inman and Charles Key all expressed concern that efforts to open up Oklahoma to a privately operated tollway system were being kept out of the view of the general...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America, The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time,...

April 07, 2008 © 2008 WorldNetDaily A group of concerned citizens has been raising alarms about the Islamic elements planned for the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., for years. And a member of Congress has demanded the National Park Service make changes in its plans. But there's been no substantive response, and now the activists say it's time for the American people to let officials know whether they want to pay for and have installed in the memorial a crescent that points to Mecca to make up a "mihrab," the foundational point for every Islamic mosque, a tower that...

US Foreign Policy: The Law of the Few Analysis, February 2008 On Sunday, February 17, 2008, ethnic Albanian authorities unilaterally declared Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. This move has been encouraged and welcomed by the United States. As justification for this move, they utilize the premise that Serbia has somehow forfeited its right to its historical province because its former president, the late Slobodan Milosevic, allegedly oppressed "Kosovars" for two decades. This is the US’s explanation for the region’s instability. So, the only logical way to stabilize the region -according to their logic- is to fulfill a secessionist group’s desires by...

Monday, 31 March 2008 ICE-led probe results in criminal and civil forfeitures of more than $1 million PHOENIX - A federal judge has sentenced the last of the 13 owners and former owners of six motels in Mesa, Ariz., who were indicted after a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed they were using their businesses to harbor illegal aliens in support of organized human smuggling. U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone imposed sentences of probation, fines and forfeiture on the final two defendants in the case March 26. The owners of the motels on Mesa's Main Street...

March 31, 2008 Group Tied to Pakistani Terrorist to Parade in Binghamton, NY Instead of those plastic toy swords sold at normal parades, they will be selling replicas of the one used by Mohammed to behead infidels.... The city of Binghamton, New York granted a group with ties to Islamic terrorist Sheikh Mubarek Ali Gilani a permit to publicly celebrate Milad-un-Nabi, or Muhammed’s birthday, in the streets of Binghamton this Saturday. The Muslims of the Americas (MOA), the name used by Jamaat ul Fuqra, or “Community of the Impoverished,” was issued a permit for a public celebration that includes a...

If the British and French can design and build spectacular bridges at a modest or at least reasonable cost, why can’t we? Or maybe we can, but we haven’t tried it lately, at least not in Oregon. The question comes up because Peter DeFazio, our man in Washington, is chairman of the highways and transit subcommittee in the U.S. House. His committee will write the next highway bill, probably by the end of 2009. And when DeFazio led his colleagues on a fact-finding trip to Europe, he saw the viaduct at Millau. It’s the most spectacular bridge he has ever...

Fjordman - 3/26/2008 I do not have the time right now to include hyperlinks to every single piece of information stated here, but almost all of this information should be available online with a quick web search. Robert Spencer has dealt with the Muslim Brotherhood in a number of books, for instance in Onward Muslim Soldiers. I would also strongly recommend the recent book "Global Jihad: The Future in the Face of Militant Islam," by former Muslim Patrick Sookhdeo. Sookhdeo does excellent research, particularly regarding the systematic Islamization of Britain, but the same blueprints are used in other countries, too....

By Judi McLeod Tuesday, March 25, 2008 In an effort to provide them a fair trial, the Canadian government is seeking a limited publication ban on the identities of the adults charged with belonging to the so-called “Toronto 18” group. The identity of the youth charged with belonging to a homegrown terror cell is already protected under the Young Criminal Justice Act. The trial for the youth gets underway in a Brampton court today. Almost unheard of since they were nabbed in a foiled undercover operation to kidnap and behead members of Parliament, among other things on June 2, 2006,...

The United Kingdom has been ranked as one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world, beating the United States, France and even Switzerland in a global assessment of every nation’s achievements and standards. A one-year investigation and analysis of 235 countries and dependent territories has put the UK joint seventh in the premier league of nations. The top ten comprise also the Vatican, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco, Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands and the Irish Republic. The US lies 22nd and Switzerland, normally associated with wealth and untouchable stability, is rated 17th, losing points in the assessment...

CAIR Exposed: Part 1 As IAP Offshoot, CAIR Followed Pro-Hamas Agenda From the Start by Steven Emerson IPT News March 24, 2008FEATURE STORY   From the Hamas ties of its founders in 1994 to its solicitous stance toward accused terrorists today, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has demonstrated that its actual mission is far removed from the civil rights advocacy it claims to pursue. Still standing as perhaps the clearest evidence of CAIR's insidious role, two key leaders of the group attended a 1993 meeting in Philadelphia called by Hamas members and supporters to devise a strategy for torpedoing...

South Texas is not only going to get its first interstate - it is also going to get a second and a third. State transportation officials knew one of three southern highways - U.S. Highway 281 in Hidalgo County, U.S. Highway 77 in Cameron County or U.S. Highway 59 in Webb County - would eventually become part of an interstate stretching from the Texas-Mexico border to Texarkana, in the northeast part of the state. Only Webb County is currently served by an interstate. The state's Trans-Texas Corridor plan calls for an Interstate 69 extension linking South Texas to points north,...

Sunday, March 23, 2008 The 30-year-old mother of three jumped from her disabled SUV following a chase, holding a gun to her head to keep police back. Officers fired a stun gun but the nonlethal weapon was foiled by her heavy coat. When she pointed her handgun at the two nearest deputies, officers switched to assault rifles, hitting Sarah Marie Stanfield of Boise eight times with bullets designed to break apart on impact to increase internal damage. She died last fall of multiple gunshot wounds. Some jurisdictions across the U.S. have been arming rank-and-file officers with high-powered assault rifles for...

From Terry Frieden CNN WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey has been taken aback by the scope and variety of potential terrorism threats facing the United States, he told reporters Friday at an informal meeting in his office. Attorney General Michael Mukasey receives terrorism updates during national security briefings. "I'm surprised by how surprised I am," said Mukasey, who as a federal judge presided over terrorism-related trials in New York. "It's surprising how varied [the threat] is, how many directions it comes from, how geographically spread out it is," he said. Mukasey issued no warnings, made no pronouncements and...

By Rowan Scarborough, Insight An American Muslim group identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal terrorism case is being used by the FBI to train its agents about Islam. The FBI declined to respond to Insight’s questions about this seeming disconnect, as one of the pre-eminent anti-terrorist research centers in America is set to release an extensive report on the same prominent U.S. Muslim group, accusing the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of being a foe, rather than an ally, in the war on terror. The 10-part report on CAIR from The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), led by...