Free Republic

A new report of "economic freedom" around the world finds the US ranked 12th among 152 countries, tied with the United Kingdom, and lower than neighbor Canada or Australia. The index, published by the Cato Institute and Canada's Fraser Institute, has been published since 1996. As recently as 2000, the US ranked 2nd in the world, in terms of boasting a free economy. The US's declining ranking will lower future economic growth.

On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan stood at the very spot on the northern coast of France where forty years before Allied soldiers had stormed ashore to liberate Europe from the long night of Nazi tyranny. As an audience of D-Day veterans and world leaders listened, President Reagan introduced the American Rangers who captured the cliffs as “champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.” But starting this year, many of our best students won’t learn about the “boys of Pointe du Hoc.” Although state and local U.S. history standards recognize and...

For the first time, Russia, which is in the midst of a major strategic nuclear modernization, has more deployed nuclear warheads than the United States, according to the latest numbers released by the State Department. Russia now has 1,643 warheads deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers. The United States has 1,642, said the fact sheet released Wednesday.

New York Judge Thomas Griesa has declared Argentina to be in contempt of court for refusing to pay debt owed to bond holdouts, though stopped short of issuing sanctions.

NEW YORK — Environmentalists worship solar energy and wind power as Earth-friendly answers to their ecological prayers. Tortoises, bats, butterflies, and bald eagles beg to differ.Perhaps because solar panels and industrial wind farms lack emissions, they seem “clean.” Despite their pristine appearance, however, these “green” electricity sources hammer Mother Nature — often fatally. Consider the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California’s Mojave Desert. As Carolyn Lochhead wrote in September 7’s San Francisco Chronicle, Ivanpah occupies 3,500 previously untouched federal acres. It features 300,000 mirrors that focus sunlight on three 40-story towers of power. Inside, 900-degree temperatures yield steam, propel...

In the era of Cold War the Western information space was full of numerous fantastic stories about Soviet submarines. Having taken shape in books and websites, those tales still keep Americans and Europeans on the trot. RusNavy.com tries to demolish the foremost fables of Western "folklore" of 1950-80's.

In an apparent attempt to advise investors on how they can take advantage of America’s transformation into a neo-feudal oligarchy in a 50-page research report, Morgan Stanley has put together some very interesting charts.. We will be sharing many of them in the next few days but none is more telling and depressing than the one that shows how the U.S. leads the developed world in the share of low wage jobs...

In a Friday sermon in Damascus on September 19, 2014, Sheik Muhammad Ma'moun Rahma said that the U.S. had established ISIS in order to achieve their goal of destroying Syria, just like the Twin Towers "were destroyed by the Jews so that America could use this as a pretext to occupy Afghanistan." Rahma further said that Barack Obama is a "clueless idiot" if he believes that he can take over Syria. Following are excerpts from the sermon, which was broadcast on the Syrian Sama TV channel: Sheik Muhammad Ma'moun Rahma: Do you know, oh Syrians, that America's goal is to...

merican airstrikes against ISIS targets are under way in Syria, according to a Pentagon official. "I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIL [ISIS] terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said. "Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time. The decision to conduct theses strikes was made earlier today by the U.S. Central Command commander under authorization granted him by the commander in chief. We will...

(Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian fighter jets intercepted Russian aircraft that were flying near U.S. and Canadian air space this week, a military spokesman said on Friday.

law enforcement intelligence bulletin issued in July by a state-run agency that gathers, assesses and shares threat information with the Department of Homeland Security has warned that Islamic State fighters have increased calls for "lone wolves" to attack U.S. soldiers in America. The Central Florida Intelligence eXchange, or CFIX, serves Brevard, Indian River, Lake, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, St. Lucie, and Volusia counties. The CFIX bulletin, obtained by FoxNews.com, cited one tweet that called for jihadists to find service members' home addresses online and then "show up and slaughter them." There will be “a continued call - by Western fighters...

Eastern Ukraine: The Neverending Crisis Nicolai N. Petro September 3, 2014 According to president Vladimir Putin, Russia’s objectives in Ukraine have been the same since the beginning of civil unrest there—a stable national government that represents and respects all of its people. Why then, has there been so little willingness to work together with Russia to end this crisis? The most obvious answer is Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which many Western governments have interpreted as a rejection of the post–Cold War status quo and a possible prelude to further territorial expansion. To be fair, however, Putin addressed both of these...

Do you leave a tip in your hotel room for the maid? Marriott is launching a program with Maria Shriver to put envelopes in hotel rooms to encourage tipping. The campaign, called 'The Envelope Please,' begins this week. Envelopes will be placed in 160,000 rooms in the U.S. and Canada. Some 750 to 1,000 hotels will participate from Marriott brands like Courtyard, Residence Inn, J.W. Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance hotels. The name of the person who cleans the room will be written on the envelope along with a message: 'Our caring room attendants enjoyed making your stay warm and comfortable....

This week, Switzerland's attorney general completed a legal opinion on the question of whether Snowden could be granted political asylum if he traveled to Switzerland to testify about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities in the Swiss homeland. The AG's office concluded that Snowden would be given asylum as long as prior obligations made by higher-level Swiss officials did not take priority.

(CNN) -- Here's a question that seems to be lost in the debate over the Scottish independence vote scheduled for September 18: I realize that Americans fought a bloody war of independence from England in the late 1700s, but our rifts have healed over the past 240 years. In 2013, the Pew Research Center reported that England topped America's list of favorite nations, in a near-tie with our beloved northern neighbor, Canada. In the past few years, as America has degenerated into political and economic chaos, it has become increasingly clear that we would be far better off if we...

Israel PM Netanyahu: We Mourn With US on 9/11, Support Fight Against ISISBy Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem — September 11, 2014 … Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the 13th anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11th, 2001, with a moment of silence and a speech on the threat of Islamic terrorism. US Ambassador Dan Shapiro was in attendance. Addressing the 14th World Summit of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Daniel Herzliya Hotel), Netanyahu reflected on the barbaric attacks on the US, drawing a moral divide between Israel’s response to the attacks and those of...

Set on restoring the once formidable Soviet military presence in the highly contested and resource-rich Arctic, the Russian military has begun building new military bases in the region, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said Monday. "On Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt, block-modules have been unloaded for the construction of military camps. The complex is being erected in the form of a star," Colonel Alexander Gordeyev, a spokesperson for the Eastern Military District, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. Russia has been talking about militarizing the Arctic for years as part of its greater strategy to explore and industrialize the pristine...

he United States is concerned that the Islamic State group and other terrorists could get a hold of chemical weapons if Syria is hiding any stockpiles, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday. Samantha Power spoke to reporters after the Security Council received a briefing from Sigrid Kaag, who heads the international effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons. The joint mission of the United Nations and the Organization for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons will end at the end of the month after destroying nearly all of Syria's declared stockpile. But Kaag said the OPCW is...

KYIV, September 1 /Ukrinform/. Russia is rejecting consultations between the signatories of the Budapest memorandum, which foresees guarantees for Ukraine's territorial integrity. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said this at a joint press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Borge Brende, a Ukrinform correspondent reported. "We asked the signatories of the Budapest memorandum about urgent consultations. Of course, Russia does not want it," Klimkin said. He said that Ukraine was using all bilateral platforms to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine and holding respective negotiations in international organizations. "The international community should properly respond to this [Russian aggression against Ukraine]. We are...

Israel was again condemned on Tuesday over its decision to declare 4,000 dunams of land in Judea, mostly in Gush Etzion, as state land, with the European Union (EU) and the U.S. State Department being the latest ones to issue condemnations. "We condemn the new appropriation of land in the West Bank, relating to plans for further settlement expansion, announced by the Israeli government on Sunday,” said the EU in a statement. “Settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to render the two-state solution impossible. The EU reiterates that it will not recognize any...