Free Republic

US President Barack Obama strongly denied that the United States had given Israel an approval to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, in an interview given to CNN television on Tuesday. Asked by the network whether Washington had given Israel a green light to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, Obama answered: "Absolutely not." In the interview, which was broadcast from Russia, where Obama is on an official visit, he added: "We can't dictate to other countries what their security interests are. "What is also true is, it is the policy of the United States to try to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear...

VIDEO HERE.

Both Russia and the United States are likely to oppose the imposition of further political or economic sanctions on Iran at this week's G8 Summit. This, despite pressure from other G8 nations to punish Tehran for its violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at home, as well as to influence its nuclear development policy.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin praised the hospitality and openness of U.S. former President George W. Bush in a telegramme sent hours before meeting his successor Barack Obama. "During the last years we have been working on strengthening Russia-U.S. cooperation. Although there were differences between our countries, I always valued your openness and sincerity," Putin said, congratulating Bush on his 63rd birthday on July 6. "With special warmth I recall your hospitality in the Crawford ranch and your family estate in Kennebunkport," Putin wrote, referring to their 2007 meeting at the Bush family vacation home when the...

CLEMSON — The ACC has halted its plans to hold its conference baseball tournament in Myrtle Beach, citing failure to reach an agreement on the Confederate flag issue. In May, the ACC awarded the event to Myrtle Beach for 2011-13, expressing a willingness to look past the NCAA’s ban of predetermined championship events being contested in the state. On Monday, the league announced it had given the event to Durham, N.C. (for 2011, 2013) and Greensboro, N.C. (for 2012), confirming a report by The State that its plans had changed. Clemson coach Jack Leggett - Mary Ann Chastain /AP Do...

LANSING- Attorney General Mike Cox today announced he has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) challenge of a City of Chicago ordinance banning possession of most handguns. Cox joined at least 33 other states in supporting the NRA's request for the court to hear an appeal in National Rifle Association v. City of Chicago, a local case with national implications. "The right to keep and bear arms is fundamental," said Cox. "The Supreme Court recognized this in the Heller case, and I am confident they will protect this right...

I did not ever think I would see this day arrive. The main stream media is finally, reporting on Obamamania with all the importance he is due. They are beginning to cover Obama, as agents of the public trust. They are not afraid of calling it as they see it. They no longer portray themselves as his personal PR corps. They have actually looking at him ...

The Saudi Pattern of Deception By: Ryan Mauro FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, July 06, 2009 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; dummy:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are trying to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, the country from which 15 of the 19 hijackers came from. The legal team has new documents outlining the Saudis’ history of bankrolling terrorism...

The Portage County TEA Party Committee announced today, June 22, 2009, that they had received permission from the County Commissioners to hold the first Portage County TEA Party rally on the front lawn of the Portage County Court House in Downtown Ravenna on Saturday, July 11, 2009 from 6:00-8:00 PM. The rally will include patriotic music, live speakers and informational handouts. A complete agenda for the TEA Party, including a list of speakers, will be announced in the next two weeks. American citizens who are dissatisfied or concerned with the actions of their local, state and/or federal government are invited...

A number of warnings have gone out about the printing of money. The Federal Reserve has been injecting money into the economy by buying US Treasuries in an attempt to keep down interest rates. Their efforts thus far are beginning to fail as bond rates are starting to climb. As we all know, the US Treasury has been forced to issue ever increasing amounts of bonds to finance Congress’s irresponsible spending. The chilling part is the bulk of the Stimulus money has yet to be spent meaning the US Treasury will have to significantly ramp up its bond sales to...

Do you think Rep. Peter King should apologize for the video in which he harshly criticized Michael Jackson? Yes, the comments have no backing, and the timing is terrible Yes, regardless of Jackson's lifestyle, many are still mourning his death No, King has a point about the excessive media coverage of Jackson Who cares? I'm sick of public figures putting their feet in their mouths

The first reaction of every journalist to the story of the Washington Post's advertiser-cum-salon dinner proposal was probably one of disgust and moral superiority. The second reaction: we've all kinda been involved in situations where that line between what we do and how we are compensated for it blurs a bit -- or is at least visible. We bring attention to our brand by reporting and writing, but we do other things, occasionally, to further the interests of the commercial enterprises that pay us. There but for the grace of our marketing department go we....Reporters often give speeches to private...

PAMPLONA, Spain – Thrill-seekers sprinted through Pamplona in a swift and relatively clean start to the running of the bulls. No one was gored on Tuesday, but four people were hospitalized with bumps, bruises or scrapes, Spanish Red Cross spokesman Jose Aldaba said. "I feared for my life. It was pretty intense," said 23-year-old runner Mark Kowalski of Edmonton, Alberta. The six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers — meant to keep them in a tight pack — charged down the 850 meter (930-yard) course from a holding pen to the northern town's bull ring. Runners, wearing traditional white clothing...

Excerpt...17. A vocation is a call that requires a free and responsible answer. Integral human development presupposes the responsible freedom of the individual and of peoples: no structure can guarantee this development over and above human responsibility. The “types of messianism which give promises but create illusions”[38] always build their case on a denial of the transcendent dimension of development, in the conviction that it lies entirely at their disposal. This false security becomes a weakness, because it involves reducing man to subservience, to a mere means for development, while the humility of those who accept a vocation is transformed...

Sarah Palin is a sinner. She has violated several commandments and thoroughly deserves the savage beating that she is now getting from political mandarins and media elites. If it were not for one simple fact, I would say she was through in politics. And that fact is that if the Republicans were picking a nominee today, they would pick Sarah Palin. No? Don’t believe me? Who would beat her? Tim Pawlenty? Bobby Jindal? Haley Barbour? Mike Huckabee? Mitt Romney? All of these men might build credible, attractive, even powerful political operations by 2012. But right now... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24606.html#ixzz0KZlOKzRB&D

May 12, 2009 -- A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flies over the western Pacific Ocean during a refueling mission. The B-2 Spirit is assigned to the 13th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed to Andersen AFB in "Tip of the Spear" Guam, USA, as part of the Continuous Bomber Presence in the Western Pacific. Via: http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-200905.htmThe Photographer  Senior Airman Christopher Bush, United States Air Force

(snip)"The bottom line is, would you let your child or grandchild be alone in a room with Michael Jackson?"

The local government in Papakura, New Zealand isn't screwing around when it comes to road safety. Their new bleeding billboard campaign takes a Red Asphalt approach that they hope will creep out reckless drivers. Let me be the first to say "mission accomplished." Kids are creepy anyway, but throw in a system that leeches blood when it rains and you just might scare people into giving up their cars entirely. Not surprisingly, the billboards have been effective. Since they were put in place, there hasn't been a single fatal accident in the area.

On Sunday, the left channel (front and back) cut out with nary a sound coming from the left rear, and the front left speaker was tweeter only. After sitting overnight, (Monday morning) the stereo functioned normally (as far as I could tell) for a few minutes, and then same thing. Last night, I removed left side speakers, and discovered left front speaker was blown (and probably was Monday morning, but I just didn't notice). Left rear speaker was ok. Moved left rear to left front, and replaced left rear. (I checked both speakers to make sure they were functional before...

I must give The Huffington Post's contributor Lisa Derrick some credit for coming here and responding to a rebuttal of what I consider a whiny post about Tea Party activists carrying signs comparing Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler. "Godwin's Law is the last resort and not something I condone by either party. I am curious if the Duval County Republican Party did not wish to endorse or support the views of those comparing Obama to Hitler, why did their Director of Social Media Stephen Butters post those picture to their Facebook page?. They have been removed, but you can see...