Free Republic

US Military Official Confirms China Deal to Use Cambodian Naval Base By Neou Vannarin August 25, 2019 A senior U.S. Indo-Pacific Command officer August 15 confirmed Cambodia and China are proceeding on a base for China's navy in the Southeast Asian country's Preah Sihanouk province. Army Brigadier General Joel B. Vowell said construction would begin next year at Ream Naval Base, confirming to a group of regional journalists here that Cambodia will grant China access to the deep coastal waters on the Gulf of Thailand. "We have information that tells us that there will be some development by the People's...

Successful Test-fire of Newly Developed Super-large Multiple Rocket Launcher Held under Guidance of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Date: 25/08/2019 Pyongyang, August 25 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, guided the test-fire of newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher on Saturday. The Supreme Leader of the Party, state and armed forces learnt about the development of the super-large multiple rocket launcher system and issued an...

More obesity among black men who attend church often Black men who attend church almost daily are nearly three times more likely to have obesity than those who never (or very rarely) attend, a new study shows. Moreover, the study found health differences across denominations: Among black Americans, Catholics and Presbyterians had lower odds of diabetes than Baptists. The obesity epidemic, like many deleterious outcomes in America, has disproportionately affected the black population, researchers say. While nearly one-third of all men and women have obesity, the rate jumps to nearly one-half (48.4%) among African Americans, putting them at greater risk...

The Satanists battling for religious freedom Everything you know about Satanism is wrong. At least that’s what a new documentary about the Satanic Temple could be about to prove. Despite the similarity of the name, the Temple is different to The Church of Satan, established in 1966 by chat show circuit celebrity Anton Levey in San Francisco, California. Human sacrifice? Wrong. Blood drinking? Wrong. Black Mass? Well, sort of right. The Temple was founded in 2013 with a mission statement “to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Funny how this all works. – The key for being a fan of President Donald Trump’s approach to dealing with China is simple: Stay calm and wait a few days for things to work out before judging any action he takes. If you’re panic-prone, things looked fairly bleak last Friday. The stock market had a terrible day, with the Dow dropping 600+ points after China announced a new round of tariffs on more American goods. Seemingly making matters worse (at least if you’re panic-prone), the President responded by announcing on Twitter that...

Miracle minister lays ‘healing hands’ on poorly hedgehog at Glasgow church John Mellor, an Australian healing evangelist, shared footage of him helping hedgehog Sprinkles at Destiny Unity Church in Shawlands. The African pygmy hedgehog, called Sprinkles, was brought along by his owner Jennifer to an event held in Destiny Unity Church in Shawlands. Australian healing evangelist John Mellor who calls himself a miracle minister was keen to help Jennifer and Sprinkles. In footage of the event, they are seen coming up on stage in front of a large crowd and a tumour on Sprinkles’ mouth is shown to the audience....

<p>The far-right populist leader initially dismissed the hundreds of blazes and then questioned whether activist groups might have started the fires in an effort to damage the credibility of his government, which has called for looser environmental regulations in the world’s largest rainforest to spur development.</p>

A white man who cited Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law after fatally shooting a Black man during a dispute over a parking space last year has been convicted of manslaughter. Jurors in Clearwater, located roughly 25 miles west of Tampa, deliberated for six hours on Friday before announcing their verdict against Michael Drejka, 49, in the shooting death of Markeis McGlockton, reported the Tampa Bay Times. Drejka’s attorneys reportedly plan to appeal the verdict after their client’s sentencing hearing, which has been scheduled for Oct. 10. He faces up to 30 years in prison. The shooting occurred after McGlockton,...

<p>In recent months, the Yemeni Houthi movement has intensified drone and missile attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities. The coalition has reacted by striking the movement's positions in northern Yemen. Yemen's Houthis have stated that they attacked an "important target" in the Saudi capital Riyadh with an armed drone, Reuters reported citing a spokesman.</p>

Marines Considering Flying U.S. F-35Bs Off of Japan’s Largest Warships By: Sam LaGrone August 23, 2019 10:51 AM THE PENTAGON – Officials in Tokyo have requested Marines deploy F-35B fighters aboard Japan’s largest warships, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday. The service is now studying the feasibility of deploying short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) fighters from JS Izumo (DDH-183) and JS Kaga (DDH-184), Japan’s 24,000-ton big deck amphibious. The warships were originally designed to field a fleet of anti-submarine warfare helicopters and respond to humanitarian aid and disaster relief. However, in December Prime Minister Shinzo Abe...

This is the case of Siwatu-Salama Ra, who was sentenced to two years in prison after using the display of a gun to protect herself, her mother and her daughter. Ra was pregnant at the time of the event on 16 July, 2017. The other party involved, Channell Harvey, contacted the police first, three hours before Ra did. The Detroit police assumed that Channell Harvey, the first person reporting the incident, was the victim. This is a common occurrence in law enforcement, which is why there may be a race to the phones to be the first to report an...

<p>JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military on Monday to cut fuel transfers to Gaza in half in response to rocket attacks from the coastal strip, raising tensions along Israel’s southern border in addition to a renewed threat from the north amid reported Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.</p>

<p>BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli air force struck a Palestinian base in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria early on Monday amid rising tensions in the Middle East, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency and a Palestinian official said.</p>

Are we ever not in divided times? That’s the nature of democracy. Disagreement is the nature of any two-party or multi-party system. Yet, if one were to listen to the media, any media, one would naturally come to believe that we are living in the most apocalyptic, divided era since the American Civil War. Yet reality simply does not back that up. Clear, statistical evidence and political trends indicate that, for at least the last thirty years, the U.S. has been quite stable. But that is not the narrative we are force fed. Ever since Donald Trump’s famous escalator ride,...

Today’s Cryptogram KX FJZ NSM EZCAKAT NSWGKMR VKLP EJWTJMT, FJZ EPJZIO WSCCF LPTW JM LPT VSF PJWT. — FAJMMT GCKMQ. From Arkansas Gazette You can find this little fun word game, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram). Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated. PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and any tips you...

Iowa man who killed top golfer from Spain gets life sentence August 23, 2019 AMES, Iowa (AP) — The man who fatally stabbed a former Iowa State University golfer from Spain while she was playing a round near the school was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Collin Richards pleaded guilty on June 14 to first-degree murder in the Sept. 17 slaying of 22-year-old Celia Barquin Arozamena. Police said Richards stabbed her on the course near the central Iowa campus in Ames and left her body in a pond. Richards had been staying at a...

In a brazen and nearly unbelievable move, the Kurdistan Democratic Party headed by warlord Masoud Barzani has prevented voting by Assyrian Christians of the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq AINA In a brazen and nearly unbelievable move, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) headed by warlord Masoud Barzani has prevented voting by Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) Christians of the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq. According to a series of reports from inside Iraq, the KDP effectively blocked the delivery of ballot boxes to six major Assyrian towns and villages in the Plains around Mosul including Baghdeda, Bartilla, Karemlesh,...

Walsh, who supported Trump in 2016, rode the wave of the tea party movement in 2010 to win a seat in the House by 290 votes over Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean. Walsh was soundly defeated for reelection by Tammy Duckworth by nearly 10 percentage points in 2012, leading to his radio career. For the 57-year-old Walsh, his candidacy for president becomes the latest act in a public life that is in many ways befitting for a former student at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. His provocative rhetoric has given him an outsized national platform on cable news outlets...

Pentecostals began in the early 1900's.  They sprung out of the Baptist and Methodist denominations. There are many splinter groups that refer to themselves as Pentecostals, but lack the criteria to be truly Pentecostal.  Even as with other denominations there are some basic key points that must be held to in order to be considered Pentecostal.  These basic tenets are referred to as the Pentecostal Pillars. First, all true Pentecostals hold to the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith.  This means that they affirm the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, The Deity of Christ, the Authority of the Scriptures, the Trinity,...

Strikes hit Hamas camp in Gaza after three rockets fired into Israel Two of the rockets intercepted by Iron Dome; barrage interrupts concert in Sderot, sending attendees running for cover By JUDAH ARI GROSS Explosions seen in the Gaza Strip on Monday August 26, apparently caused by IAF strikes after three rockets were fired into Israel Explosions seen in the Gaza Strip on Monday August 26, apparently caused by IAF strikes after three rockets were fired into Israel ( The Israeli Air Force launched a series of airstrikes on targets in the northern Gaza Strip early Monday morning, the army...