Free Republic

TEHRAN, Iran - U.N. nuclear inspectors are in Iran on a long stalled visit meant to investigate suspicions that Tehran worked on nuclear weapons, a charge the Islamic Republic denies. The official IRNA news agency is quoting Iranian nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying that inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss “unresolved issues” surrounding a military site in Marivan, in western Iran. A 2011 IAEA report indicated that large-scale high-explosive experiments were conducted in Marivan, near the Iraqi border. Talks with the IAEA are parallel to Iran’s nuclear negotiations with world...

The Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey has declared in a fatwa that it is OK to use toilet paper. Islamic scriptures had commanded Muslims to use the left hand with either water or three stones to clean themselves after defecating. The Directorate explained that the earlier rules use water or stones were made at a time when toilet paper was unavailable. So I guess they were just updating Islam for the modern era. But don’t they have better things to do? There are many more urgent things that can be updated. Take slavery for example. Slavery has been practiced...

(Phys.org)—Members of a troop of chimpanzees living at a site called Fongoli in southeastern Senegal have been observed by scientists fashioning tree branches into spears and using them to hunt and kill bushbabies. The researchers, a combined team with members from the U.S. the U.K. and Germany have published their observations and findings in Royal Society Open Science. In their seven year study of the chimps living at the site, the researchers spotted chimpanzees breaking off tree branches, tearing off smaller branches and leaves, removing the weak tips and sometimes gnawing on the ends to sharpen them. The spears (which...

The "moderate" Bush will contest the evangelical vote because next to big donors, they’re his most loyal base. Jeb Bush famously told us that to win the White House, a Republican presidential candidate had to be willing to “lose the primary to win the general, without violating your principles.” It was widely interpreted as evidence that if Bush ran, he’d do it as a more centrist, reasonable candidate who’d be, in his own words, “much more uplifting, much more positive,” and willing to stand up to fire-and-brimstone party hardliners. Now comes the news that Bush will give the commencement address...

Hi. My name is Erika Smalley. I grew up in Iowa. I am currently a student at Kirkwood Community College. That's the same place that Hillary Clinton visited on her first campaign stop to my state. I went there to see if I could meet Hillary. Here is Hillary’s press release: Screen Shot 2015-04-14 at 3.36.14 PM I arrived about an hour before the event and all I could find were reporters. Lots of reporters. IMG_0156 Which is funny, because all they had to stare at was an empty Iowa field. IMG_0179 Anyway, some protesters trickled in. IMG_0158 These guys...

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) explained that the Bill of Rights is not controlled by public opinion polls, that our rights do not come from government but from God Himself, and that the 2nd Amendment exists for self-protection and "as a fundamental check on government tyranny." "Our country was founded on a radical proposition, which is that our rights don’t come from government, they come from God," said Senator Cruz in a recent interview with Guns.com. "The entire reason for the 2nd Amendment is not for hunting, it’s not for target shooting," he said. "Those are both wonderful. It’s great to...

In every election we get the “Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?” question. It’s a shorthand for testing how genuine, fun and likable a candidate may be. With the exception of Richard Nixon in 1968, the nicer guy actually does finish first in most elections. Politics after all is the marriage of personality and policy, so it’s worth looking at candidates from a non-ideological point of view, which by the way is how a lot of casual voters who turn out only in presidential races make up their minds. We will start with an easy one. David...

There's not much to add to this ridiculous video. On MSNBC today, Ed Schultz was speaking with newly minted daytime host Thomas Roberts about Hillary's campaign stop in Iowa, when he said ... well, exactly what you would expect Ed Schultz to say. Your questions are beneath Hillary. "I don't think Hillary Clinton wants press. I think she wants people. And I think she doesn't have to answer any questions right now. And I think what she's going to do in Iowa is not focus on press but focus on what people have to say. And I think that Hillary...

The Republican field for president in 2016 is full of “losers,” Harry Reid said in an interview that aired Wednesday. The Senate minority leader, a boxer in his youth, delivered some spirited blows while talking with CNBC’s John Harwood, calling his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell “a lump of coal” and slamming alternative theories about how he sustained his eye injury. “It shows the credibility of Rush Limbaugh. He’s the guy that got all of this started,” the Nevada Democrat said. “Why in the world would I come up with a story that I got hurt in my own bathroom with...

LEE CO., GA Authorities say a woman was accidentally shot by her son-in-law while he was trying to shoot an armadillo. The incident had a lot of people scratching their heads- even law enforcement. "Just the circumstances, just all the way around, the whole situation was unusual," said Investigator Bill Smith with the Lee county Sheriff's Office. The shooting happened Sunday night on Gosa Road. Lee County Sheriff's deputies said 54-year-old Larry McElroy was outside when he fired his 9 mm pistol at the armadillo. The bullet killed the animal, but also ricocheted off of it, hit a fence, went...

Video in link- Former GE Chairman and CEO, Jack Welch, says he’s really attracted to Ted Cruz right now because he does what he says he’s going to do and he’s good on free markets and defense.

The nonprofit clothing company Feminist Apparel has taken their anti-catcalling message to the streets with a new campaign targeting neighborhoods in New York and Philadelphia. Along with the activist group Pussy Division, they're putting up signs all over the city that are splashed with messages like "NO CATCALLING ANYTIME" and "NO CATCALL ZONE." Feminist Apparel funded the campaign by selling feminist-branded T-shirts with a similar message. Now, how do we get these plastered across every subway car?

One commenter said: The way you write, I guess, seems to me to reveal a near certainty concerning the falsity of Catholic Doctrine. It seems as though you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Catholicism simply couldn’t be true. And you’re willing to hang everything on that confidence. Too often, an argument is put forth in this form: “Protestantism has lots of problems. Therefore, Catholicism.” I once looked at it this way myself. I was hanging around some close friends who were starting a fellowship for “completed Jews,” — that is, these were all Jewish people who had...

Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico was endorsed as “Mama Grizzly” by Sarah Palin in 2010. Is she Conservative enough to be on the GOP Ticket in 2016? Here are her views on issues important to Conservatives: Immigration: Stop the magnet for human trafficking, fraud and crime. (Jan 2013). Secure border; deny licenses & tuition to illegals. (Nov 2010) Gun Control: At age 18, carried gun as security guard for dad's company. (Aug 2012) Opposes restrictions on the right to bear arms. (Aug 2010) Abortion: Per The Christian Coalition Voter Guide, Martinez opposes abortion. Opposes a woman’s unrestricted right to...

Considering the craziness of the modern world, April Fools' Day might be the most underrated date on the calendar. At least on that one day of the year, when people say misleading things or tell fibs they quickly explain that it was only a joke by announcing: “April Fools.” It could be of benefit to broaden that concept and apply it retroactively to cover utterances, misinformation and missteps of the past, as well as ongoing hypocrisy. Spiking several punch bowls with truth serum would be a helpful touch, too. If we could somehow pull that off, the following is what...

Fast food workers in the city and around the country are walking off the job today to demand $15 an hour. Protesters started lining up at the McDonalds on Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn early this morning. It's the latest day of action organized by the Fight for $15 movement. Many workers taking place in today's protest say that they work 40 hours a week and still don't make enough to cover their rent and the basic costs of living. "Every month, I make two-thirds of my rent, and that's the only thing I can do, is...

"...Mr. Walker is the top presidential choice for 24 percent of GOP primary voters, according to the poll out Wednesday from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. ....Mr. Walker was viewed most favorably by GOP primary voters; 57 percent had a favorable opinion of him, compared to 13 percent who had an unfavorable opinion. He also led among a swath of the potential primary electorate, winning over GOP voters who identified themselves as “moderate,” “somewhat conservative” and “very conservative.”....

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who recently announced plans to retire, rebutted conservative media speculation on Wednesday that his severe injuries are the result of a run-in with the mob. On CNBC's "Speakeasy," host John Harwood asked Reid about theories put forth by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart News that the injuries Reid sustained at the beginning of this year, including a blow to his right eye, are not, as he has said, the result of an accident involving elastic exercise equipment. "The last few days, a bunch of people are saying, Reid, he didn't have an exercise...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The billionaire wife of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling got her revenge against a woman he secretly showered with gifts and whose recording of his racially offensive rant cost him ownership of the team. Shelly Sterling's victory Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court will force V. Stiviano to surrender a $1.8 million duplex and return $800,000 lavished on her in cash handouts and several luxury cars, including a Ferrari, during a shadowy relationship....

Percy Sledge, the R&B and soul singer best known for singing "When a Man Loves a Woman," died of natural causes at 73, today. He was in a hospice facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "When a Man Loves a Woman" was written by Andrew Wright and Calvin Lewis, although Sledge has long noted his contributions to the song in interviews with the press, believing he should have been given a co-writing credit. All that aside, the real power of the song, which has enabled it find its way into the hearts of fans around the world, has always been Sledge's...