Free Republic

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki expressed confidence on Thursday that next year's general elections in troubled Zimbabwe would be free and fair, despite fears to the contrary. In answering questions in parliament, Mbeki said he had been assured by both Zimbabwe's leadership, civil society and non-governmental organisations that they will be able to agree on procedures to ensure a fair poll. "Now I believe the Zimbabweans about their own country," said Mbeki, who is mediating talks between the ruling ZANU-PF and opposition Movement for Democratic Change. President Robert Mugabe, 83, who has led Zimbabwe since independence...

Nerve gas found at UN.

<p>ABC reported on their website blog about 20 min ago that United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous nerve gas, phosgene, as they were cleaning out offices at a U.N. building in New York this morning, federal authorities tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com. The federal authorities said the office, in a U.N. building near headquarters, was being evacuated and the White House had been notified at 10 a.m. New York police and fire officials said federal authorities had not notified them of any problem at the U.N. building, as of 11 a.m. A U.N. spokesperson said a statement would be issued shortly.</p>

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry's campaign Web site touts public education as a long-standing "top priority" of his, but the school year began this week with teachers and administrators still wondering who will be the next commissioner of education. That question mark is one among many with nearly 400 expired gubernatorial appointments this year alone to state boards, commissions and universities. Senators — worried that Perry is dodging their constitutional role of confirming most gubernatorial appointments — are crying foul. By Friday, 388 of Perry's appointments will have already expired so far this year, but only one in eight have...

August 30, 2007                                 Thursday of the Twenty-first Week                                     in Ordinary Time Psalm: Thursday 31     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Thes 3:7-13 We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters,in our every distress and affliction, through your faith.For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord. What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you,for all the joy we feel on your account before our God?Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in personand to...

In the spring of 2004, Sen. John F. Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat, made a presidential campaign stop in Pittsburgh. Soltz went, curious about one of the generation's most famous opponents of the Vietnam War. He introduced himself, and the two men spoke briefly. Afterward, Kerry called Soltz at home. "He said, 'I just want you to know that when I came home from Vietnam, I was angry like you, and that's OK,' " Soltz recalled. "Nobody in my life understood what was going on in my head at the time. Not my friends, not my family. But when someone like...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of newly laid off workers filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits totaled 334,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week. That gain caught analysts by surprise. They had been forecasting that jobless claims would fall by around 2,000. Analysts are closely watching to see whether recent financial market turmoil will have an impact on business hiring decisions.

A Dem congressman from Washington state, who opposed the war, has stood up for America and our troops. Not surprisingly, the leftist America-haters have jumped on him. Moveon.org is running ads against him. He needs to hear from you. A few days ago I called Brian Baird's DC office to thank him. This morning, I called the Vancouver office, giving them my name and location: Will you please pass on a message to the congressman? (Answer: yes) Please tell him that my son in law, who is stationed at Oak Harbor, is on an aircraft carrier, probably off the coast...

The publication of Mother Teresa’s letters, concerning her personal crisis of faith, can be seen either as an act of considerable honesty or of extraordinary cynicism (or perhaps both of the above). These scrawled, desperate documents came to light as part of the investigation into her suitability for sainthood; an investigation conducted by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, the Canadian priest who is the editor of this volume. And they were actually first published in the fall of 2002, by the Zenit news agency—a Vatican-based outlet associated with a militant Catholic right-wing group known as the Legion of Christ. So, which is...

In many Western cities, plans to erect mosques often stir more passion than any other local issue—and politicians are leaping into the fray. NOT since Cologne was rebuilt half a century ago, out of the rubble of war, has a change in the urban landscape generated so much heat. A city whose main landmark is a medieval cathedral may soon share its skyline with another place of worship: a large mosque with minarets more than 50 metres (165 feet) high. While the city's (mainly Turkish) Muslim population of over 120,000 is looking forward to the new building—a sign, perhaps, that...

But officials refuse, concerned non-lethal effects could be seen as torture By Richard Lardner Updated: 2:55 p.m. MT Aug 29, 2007 Saddam Hussein had been gone just a few weeks, and U.S. forces in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were already being called unwelcome invaders. One of the first big anti-American protests of the war escalated into shootouts that left 18 Iraqis dead and 78 wounded. It would be a familiar scene in Iraq's next few years: Crowds gather, insurgents mingle with civilians. Troops open fire, and innocents die. All the while, according to internal military correspondence obtained by The Associated...

As more Americans decide not to have children and boomers are living longer, we are becoming a more adult-centered nation. Kids just aren't as big a part of American life as they used to be. Americans' child-free years are expanding as empty-nest seniors live longer and more young adults delay -- or skip -- childbearing. In 1960, nearly half of all households had children under 18. By 2000, the portion had fallen to less than a third, and in a few short years it's projected to drop to a quarter, according to a report from the National Marriage Project. Suburban...

I'm working with a few other people in the Rochester area on creating a conservative website/blog. The blogger software for the webhosting company that we have our website on is WordPress. Unfortunately for me, WordPress uses php, something I know little about. I'd like to have a unique look and feel to the website, a patriotic theme preferably a three column theme. I did find a couple of free themes on the web, but they're two columned. I'd rather a Freeper helped us out with this. If you have any ideas, please post here.

From Julie Bradford at All About Beer: We learned this morning that Michael Jackson died last night at his home in London. We’re feeling stunned, and know his many friends will, too. We are both devestated and saddened since he was a friend, a mentor and one of our favorite writers. We talked with his staff and his death appears to have been peaceful. You may also know of the extent of his illness which he had begun discussing publicly in the past several months.

So just what is a sexual deviant these days? According to the politically correct and the cultural gatekeepers of our society one can engage in just about any kind or type of sexual activity and that sexuality is totally acceptable by today’s standards.

Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting will hold a 4 p.m. conference call today with supporters to brief them on plans for the former Tennessee senator's presidential announcement next week, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.com

BEIRUT, Aug. 29 -- An international human rights group has concluded that Lebanon's Hezbollah movement indiscriminately attacked civilians during its conflict with Israel last summer, a finding that prompted denunciations from both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. In that climate, New York-based Human Rights Watch canceled a news conference it had planned to hold Thursday in Beirut to release the report, and its officials said they were being unfairly silenced. The 126-page report found that "as a party of an armed conflict governed by international humanitarian law," Hezbollah had "violated fundamental prohibitions against deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians."

August 30 Evangelism: Modern Salesmanship They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. --1 John 2:19 In our eagerness to make converts I am afraid we have lately been guilty of using the technique of modern salesmanship, which is of course to present only the desirable qualities in a product and ignore the rest. We go to men and offer them a cozy home on the sunny...

As the Army Air Corps prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary later this week many of their number are currently deployed on operations in southern Afghanistan, where flying dangerous missions is an everyday occurrence. The Army Air Corps was formed on 1 September 1957. Its personnel and aircraft have seen service in every major conflict over the past fifty years; Malaya, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq and now in Afghanistan. For those members of the Corps serving in Afghanistan today, most of whom are based at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formation of...

DALLAS — Texas Democrats have scheduled an online presidential poll to counter a GOP straw poll, but Democratic officials acknowledged they won't have much control over who clicks a vote. Starting Friday, visitors who log on to the state party's Web site will have the chance to vote for one of the Democratic presidential contenders and to mention the election issues they're concerned about. Party officials said they'll work to monitor responses to make sure only Texans' votes are counted in the "ePrimary Poll." But that could include Texas Republicans. Party spokeswoman Amber Moon said the poll will be worthwhile....