Free Republic

By the time this year's tally for gay service members discharged under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy had hit 250, Rep. Alcee L. Hastings said he could wait no longer. The Florida Democrat decided in June to send a letter to President Obama demanding that the policy be repealed. Mr. Hastings said he was surprised when 76 other members - most of them fellow Democrats - agreed to add their signatures, and even more surprised when the letter went unanswered for the next two months. "We're being ignored," he said. The president won't be able to ignore the...

LOS ANGELES — Firefighters tried to hold back a massive wildfire from consuming thousands of homes and an essential communications center in Los Angeles County as they mourned two of their own who were killed when their vehicle was overrun by fast-moving flames and rolled down a mountain side. About 12,000 homes, as well as crucial communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, were threatened the fire. On the blaze's northwestern front, two firefighters were killed Sunday on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

The Afghan war belongs to President Obama. He may not have broken it but by his rhetoric, his actions and his commitments, he now owns it. The question for the president, politically and strategically, is whether we need to fight this war for our own nation’s security. If we succeed in Afghanistan, will we merely push the battle lines into Pakistan? That would be even more threatening to our security. “The situation in Afghanistan is akin to a multi-dimensional game of chess,” said Mark Davidson, former member of the Clinton administration and a Navy Reserve captain. “No move, activity or...

Everyone wants heaven on Earth. It would be nice if people simply lent their abilities to society in accordance with the needs of others. Nicer still if people satisfied their needs mindful of others’ ability to accommodate them. But things simply don’t work out that way. Human nature won’t allow it. For many years I’ve used my classroom to teach students about more than just our system of justice, law and order. I’ve used it to teach important life lessons which, if properly understood and applied, will spare my students no small measure of discomfort in life. This semester I...

Edward Kennedy was buried Saturday, the last son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the longest-serving member of the only royal political family our democratic republic has ever produced. Those who remember the 1960s understand viscerally, even if they do not share themselves, the almost mystical devotion the Kennedys inspired. Those who do not find it harder to understand, and those who come after us may find it utterly mystifying. But it was real. Other political families -- the Adamses, the Harrisons, the Tafts -- produced multiple generations of national politicians but generated nothing like mass enthusiasm. The sons of...

A HOLIDAYMAKER is believed to have captured footage of a YETI. Piotr Kowalski, 27, filmed the "monstrous, hairy creature" while walking in Poland's Tatra Mountains. The figure ran into his view as he videoed a mountain goat in an area rich in rumours of a Yeti for centuries. Mr Kowalski, on holiday from Warsaw, said: "I saw this huge ape-like form hiding behind the rocks. When I saw it, it was like being struck by a thunderbolt. "I never really believed the local stories of a wild mountain ape-man. But now I do." The Nautilus Foundation, which probes unexplained phenomena...

The Left Party, the old East German Communist Party — became the second biggest force in Thuringia with 26 per cent of the vote. Germany’s lacklustre national election campaign was thrown open last night when left-wing parties made a surprise surge in two key regional states. Early results from elections in Thuringia and Saarland showed that Chancellor Angela Merkel will face a much stronger opposition than expected in the general election. Political pundits had assumed that Ms Merkel would be a shoo-in on September 27 and that she was poised to rule Germany with a coalition of Christian Democrats and...

Note: The following text is a quote: Madhatta Haipe Extradited to U.S. for 1995 Hostage Taking Involving U.S. and Philippine Citizens WASHINGTON—The Justice Department today announced that Madhatta Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines, has been extradited from the Philippines to face trial in the District of Columbia for various crimes relating to the hostage taking of U.S. and Philippine citizens in 1995. Haipe was arrested Aug. 27 upon his arrival in the United States and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in federal court in the District of Columbia to face a seven-count indictment filed on...

Munich - It all used to be simpler for Mac users: viruses and other malicious software affected Windows computers, not them. That is slowly changing. "The threats have intensified," says Candid Wuest from anti-virus maker Symantec. The biggest threat comes from hackers trying to sneak viruses onto computers. OSX. RSPlug. A is the name of one that preys on Mac users. It claims to be a video codec required to watch certain porno films, but in fact tries to redirect the surfer to a website forged to look like an eBay page. An attempt is then made to phish for...

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China. George Bush Jr didn't fail so much as he was perceived to have been too...

Note: The following text is a quote: United States Transfers Two Guantanamo Bay Detainees to the Government of Portugal The Department of Justice today announced that two Syrian nationals have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Portugal. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of these cases. As a result of that review, the detainees were approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. On Aug. 6, 2009, in accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of...

The standard of care in some hospital wards and nursing homes “would shame a third world country”, nurses have warned Their comments follow a damning report which estimated that one million patients had suffered appalling care, including neglect and cruelty, at the hands of NHS staff, many of them nurses. Hundreds more people have come forward with their tales of appalling treatment since the report, by the Patients Association, was published on Thursday. Nursing leaders have defended the profession, insisting that while poor care can never be excused only a small minority of staff were involved and that part of...

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Meacham: So how bad is it, really? Your title doesn't quite declare conservatism dead. Tanenhaus: Quite bad if you prize a mature, responsible conservatism that honors America's institutions, both governmental and societal. The first great 20th-century Republican president, Theo- dore Roosevelt, supported a strong central government that emphasized the shared values and ideals of the nation's millions of citizens. He denounced the harm done by "the trusts"—big corporations. He made it his mission to conserve vast tracts of wilderness and forest. The last successful one, Ronald Reagan, liked to remind people (especially the press) he was a lifelong New Dealer...

SHANGHAI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - China's main stock index fell more than 5 percent on Monday to a three-month low, breaking below the key 125-day moving average used by Chinese investors to delineate a bull versus a bear market, as a series of negative factors has relentlessly weighed down the market since early August. "Liquidity worries, too much share supply and weakening investor sentiment prevailed in the market today, although these are not fresh negative factors," said Qian Qimin, deputy head of research at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities in Shanghai. The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC plunged as much as 5.4...

The latest iteration of Mac OS X is looking like a solid upgrade, but Microsoft's follow up to Vista constitutes a major competitive threat. Snow Leopard, the latest release of Mac OS X, doesn't look like much of an upgrade at first. User-facing features are few, and minor. Even Apple seems to acknowledge that it isn't a major upgrade, charging only $29 rather than the $129 price of previous versions of Mac OS X. But don't tell any of that to Ken Case, CEO of Mac software developers, the Omni Group. For Case, Snow Leopard is huge. "We love Snow...

A report by the top US general in Afghanistan is expected to admit the current strategy is not working, the BBC understands. General Stanley McChrystal will liken the US military to a bull charging at a matador [the Taliban] - slightly weakened with each "cut" it receives. His review is also expected to say that protecting the Afghan people against the Taliban must be the top priority. But the report will not carry a direct call for increasing troop numbers. The leak came as further results from last week's presidential election were expected to be released, at 1230 GMT. President...

Two Chinese helicopters have reportedly violated the Indian airspace in recent months in Leh area of north Jammu and Kashmir during which they air-dropped some canned food in barren land at Chumar, northeast of this Himalayan town, along the border. ( Watch Video ) The MI series helicopters were reported to the nearby defence post by residents of this high altitude area living along the Pangong lake, located in the lap of majestic hills, prompting the Army Aviation Corps to rush its Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. However, they could only find tell-tale signs left by Chinese helicopters which hovered in...

The NHS has apologised after writing to a man to address concerns over his treatment - three-and-half years after he died. Tom Milner's daughter emailed the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) after her 76-year-old father died at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital. Janet Brooks said when she received a response, it was entitled "Dear Tom". The agency said it had reviewed its systems to ensure the error did not happen again. Mr Milner, who had terminal leukaemia, was not given his prescribed pain-relieving morphine in the last two days of his life, his family say.

authorities called back an aircraft from the runway on Sunday to arrest a suspected jihadi who had a lookout notice issued against him by the Intelligence Bureau. The Kerala Police is still in the dark about Kabir, a resident of Rippon in Wayanad district, but unconfirmed reports say the IB suspects him of being involved in terror attacks, including the Bangalore blasts in 2008. He is also believed to be close to absconding Indian Mujahideen commander Tadiyantavide Nasir, who is also wanted for the Bangalore serial blasts. Kabir was held at the end of some dramatic moments, which saw a...