Free Republic

On the whole, the Spanish Translation of George Washington's Fifth Annual Address here, that I was involved with creating, has been met with positive response both online as well as personally. But I do think that among quite a few that there has been a bit of either a miscommunication, or perhaps even outright resistance. There really isn't any need for that, and I hope that I can either clear things up for some, or for others, persuade them that this is not only a good thing to pursue but the right course of action.(one among many, naturally) Firstly, I...

By JESSICA DESVARIEUX WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2011 House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement, which began on the streets of downtown New York City in mid-September. "I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen," said Pelosi in an exclusive interview with ABC News "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour. "We cannot continue in a way this is not relevant to their lives." Pelosi sees the protestors' anger stemming from unemployment, which remains above 9 percent.

Sikhs have gone to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to challenge a French law banning the wearing of turbans for ID documents. The United Sikhs organisation filed a complaint on behalf of French national Shingara Mann Singh, 52, who was refused a replacement driver's licence. By law applicants have to remove all headgear for security reasons. A French law adopted in 2004 also bans the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in state schools. Several Sikh boys have been expelled from schools in France for defying the ban, which also applies to Muslim headscarves. Stolen Mr Singh was...

ROME (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered particles of cocaine and marijuana, as well as caffeine and tobacco, in the air of Italy's capital, they said on Thursday. The concentration of drugs was heaviest in the air around Rome's Sapienza university, though the National Research Council's Dr. Angelo Cecinato warned against drawing conclusions about students' recreational habits. Calling their study "the first in the world to show the presence of particles of cocaine suspended in the atmosphere of the city," the researchers said they took samples in Rome, the southern city of Taranto and in Algiers in North Africa. Nicotine and...

LEXINGTON, Ky. - (KRT) - Farah Madhat first wore a hijab as a sign of respect for the Muslim family she was staying with in the United Arab Emirates. When she returned to Kentucky from her study abroad in 1998, the Iraqi-American Muslim couldn't think of a reason to take the Islamic head covering off. "The only doubt I had was, `What will my friends say?'" she said. "But then a verse from the Quran came into play, reminding me we live in a temporal world." At 18, she decided to make hijab a part of her life. There are...

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AFP) - Indonesian prosecutors sought a life sentence for an Australian woman on trial for allegedly smuggling a large quantity of marijuana onto the resort island of Bali. They also demanded that Schapelle Corby, 27, who was arrested last October when customs officers at Bali's main airport found 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of the drug in her luggage, pay a fine of 100 million rupiah (10,460 dollars). The former beauty student, who has denied the charge, shed tears as the prosecutor's request -- far short of the maximum permitted death penalty -- was translated in the court in...