Free Republic

Horrific video shows Syrian Catholic priest being 'beheaded by jihadist fighters in front of cheering crowd'A Syrian Catholic priest has been beheaded by jihadist fighters in Syria, it has been claimed. The death of Franciscan Father Francois Murad has been confirmed by the official Vatican news agency. The gruesome killing has raised further concerns about the West arming rebels in the fight against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Grainy footage purported to show the 49-year-old’s death has been posted on the internet. Father Francois, was killed on 23 June in Gassanieh, in northern Syria. He had been staying...

Is the Second Reconstruction over? The first ended with the withdrawal of Union troops from the Southern states as part of a deal that gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency after the disputed election of 1876. The second began with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a century after Appomattox. Under the VRA, Southern states seeking to make even minor changes in voting laws had to come to Washington to plead their case before the Justice Department and such lions of the law as Eric Holder. Southern states were required to get this pre-clearance for any alterations in voting laws...

Safely re-elected last November, President Obama waited barely a month (December 4, 2012) before suspending once again the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. That law required the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the permanent and undivided capital of Israel and to move the American Embassy there. In suspending the provisions of the act, President Obama was violating his own campaign commitments to Americans and to Israelis. As a candidate in 2008, he had said he was committed to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s permanent capital and keeping it united under Israeli rule. Secretary of State John Kerry...

AFP - Al-Qaeda's military chief in Yemen warned Americans in an audio message posted online Sunday that the Boston bombings revealed a fragile security as he urged Muslims to defend their religion.

After weeks of a 21st century version detente between Washington and Moscow over the declining state of affairs in Syria, and possibly looking at a joint situation to the ongoing civil war that has gripped the nation, it appears Russia has decided to stop cooperating and continue supplying their allies within the Assad regime. According to two U.S. media reports: Russia has deployed at least a dozen warships to its Mediterranean Naval base in the Syrian City of Tartus and sent a large shipment of anti-ship missiles to the Assad regime, which could be used to defend against any potential...

On April 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed severe concern over the current tense situation on the Korean Peninsula to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over the phone, and said Beijing "does not allow troublemaking at the doorsteps of China." In wake of the rising tensions on the Korea Peninsula, for the regional peace and stability and to safeguard China's national interest, it is necessary to address relevant sides over the issue: To DPRK: do not misjudge the situation To the United States: do not add fuel to the flames To South Korea: do not miss the focus To...

We would suggest that it is impossible to read the United States' Constitution through, fully in context, and not see that any major implications beyond the clear specifics set down, clearly favor a limitation on, rather than an extension of, the specific functions ("powers") granted to the Federal Government. While this may be counter to what many of you have been taught by theorists in contemporary American education--or promoted by a partisan & unobjective media--we will demonstrate our point with specific reference to Article I, Sections 8, where most of the actual functions entrusted to Congress, are set forth; Section...

Last week, I gave 12 examples of how religious liberty has been assaulted in just the past two years in the U.S. Here are about two dozen more instances just for good measure, as reported by the Family Research Council, the office of Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., and various media outlets. --The following public institutions recently have joined the growing ranks of those that have banned the use of the word "Easter" in order to diminish or eliminate references to religion: East Meadow School District in New York, Prospect Heights Public Library in Illinois, Heritage Elementary School in Alabama,...

American politicians in both parties are stampeding all over themselves to pander to Mexico and adopt mass illegal alien amnesty schemes. But while the Mexican government lobbies for more "humane" treatment of illegal border crossers from their country into ours, Mexico remains notoriously restrictionist toward "undesirable" foreigners who break their laws or threaten their security.Despite widely touted immigration "reforms" adopted in 2011, Mexico still puts Mexico first -- as any country that is serious about protecting its sovereignty should and would.Article 33 of Mexico's constitution establishes the right of the president to detain and deport "any foreigner" and prohibits...

The U.S. ambassador for management and reform at the United Nations, Joseph Torsella, scolded his U.N. colleagues today for excessive drinking during delicate budget negotiations. The unusual censure reflected lingering American frustration with its counterparts' conduct in budget negotiations in December, which one U.N.-based diplomat compared to a circus. "There has always been a good and responsible tradition of a bit of alcohol improving a negotiation, but we're not talking about a delegate having a nip at the bar," said the diplomat who recalled one G-77 diplomat fell sick from too much alcohol. As the United States sought to rally...

CNN's Gary Tuchman talks about border security with a man whose ranch sits right on the Mexico-U.S. border. The video from CNN

"IRAN SPY NETWORK 30,000 STRONG Pentagon report: Iranian intelligence linked to spying, terror attacks" SNIPPET: "Iran’s intelligence service includes 30,000 people who are engaged in covert and clandestine activities that range from spying to stealing technology to terrorist bombings and assassination, according to a Pentagon report." SNIPPET: "“MOIS provides financial, material, technological, or other support services to Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), all designated terrorist organizations under U.S. Executive Order 13224,” the report said. The spy service operates in all areas where Iran has interests, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Central Asia, Africa, Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia, France,...

Michigan has been in the headlines recently with right-to work legislation and an omnibus abortion bill. What didn’t cause much stir is Michigan’s 2011 eighth grade education report card. The state as a whole is able to claim to be on par with the nation in reading, with 32 percent of eighth graders rating as “proficient” or better; in math, 31 percent of students ranked as “proficient” or better. Compared with national averages of 32 and 34 percent of eighth graders at or above grade-level in reading and math, respectively, Michigan’s public education system appears to be as mediocre as...

FERTILITY IN AMERICA has been declining for years. According to the Pew Research Center, the nation's birth rate hit an all-time low in 2011 – just 63 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age. It was almost twice as high – 123 births per 1,000 women – at the peak of the Baby Boom in 1957. As babies and children disappear from a society, what takes their place? One answer, as journalist Jonathan V. Last observes in a forthcoming book, "What to Expect When No One's Expecting," is pets. In surveys taken from the 1940s to the 1980s, fewer...

(CNN) -- The United States is to deploy 400 troops and two Patriot air-defense missile batteries to Turkey in the coming weeks to defend against potential threats from Syria, defense officials said Friday. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed the order en route to Turkey, where he is visiting Incirlik Air Base, Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.

After the Senate failed to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Senator John Kerry took to the airwaves with Chris Matthews on Hardball Wednesday, vowing to pass the measure within the first three months of 2013. and demonizing the Republicans who voted against the bill: They argued they were afraid we were giving up sovereignty of the nation and somehow the United Nations would be able to tell us what to do. Neither are true. There is no requirement in this treaty whatsoever that any law in the United States would be changed,...

Yesterday the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to ratify the treaty. The White House expressed its dissatisfaction saying, in part, “We are disappointed that the overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans today blocked the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which would enshrine American standards that have been developed through decades of bipartisan cooperation.” The treaty is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations to protect individuals with disabilities. Parties are bound Under the Convention to ensure that disabled people enjoy the same human...

This image of the continental United States at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012. The image was made possible by the satellite's "day-night band" of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, gas flares, auroras, wildfires and reflected moonlight.

Tax policy really tells you a lot about a government... what politicians’ values and priorities are. People can SAY anything, but in a way, tax policy is putting their money where their mouths are. For example, politicians like to talk about technology, efficiency and transparency. But just take a look at the tax code to see where they really stand. Estonia’s Taxation Act of 2002, which form the preponderance of that country’s tax code, is 43,370 words. In Canada, the tax code is close to 1 million words. And in the US, the tax code is so daunting that simply...

Those who look at history with a critical eye and those try to peel back the layers of government policies to understand the true motives behind them, understand that the face our government shows the public every day is not the only face our government has. There is a face that for good reason is not exposed to light of day, or at least is very rarely exposed. Inside and outside of our government, as well as other major powers, there are strategic think tanks that look at the world as a chess board. They look way into the future...