Free Republic

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued on Thursday that Russia's latest attacks against Ukraine's power grid weren't aimed at the civilian population, urging Kiev to "end the suffering" of its people by accepting Moscow's terms to end the war. Russia's requests for ending the attacks include Ukraine proclaiming political and military neutrality, recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and granting independence to Donetsk and Lugansk.Despite millions of Ukrainians currently without power across the country, Peskov told reporters that Russia's military pays "special attention to avoid striking social targets... As for targets that are directly or indirectly related to military potential, they are...

Abortion, the No. 1 concern in today’s media and politics, ranks nearly dead last among areas voters care about as they struggle with paying daily bills, soaring inflation, and interest rate hikes, according to a just-released survey. While the Supreme Court’s decision overruling the 1973 Roe v. Wade right to abortion has dominated today’s network and cable coverage, the latest McLaughlin & Associates poll said just 5% of voters call it a top concern. Just below abortion, at 1%, is reviewing the 2020 election, over which the media are also obsessing. ... By comparison, 54% cited the economy. “Only 5%...

A SECRET plan devised by Brussels could see countries in the European Union take on 250,000 migrants from Turkey every single year. EU bureaucrats have already made a £6billion agreement with Ankara to take one Syrian migrant for every migrant sent to Turkey. But the latest deal could see migrants flown directly from Turkey to countries in the EU, including Britain. The mass movement of migrants to Europe in the secret deal is set to kick in during the next few months, officials have claimed. Gerald Kanus of the European Stability Initiative told German press: “The Turkish side expects...

With its big debate night in the can, the good news for Fox is that its usual enemies on the left hate it quite a bit less, at least for the moment. The unfortunate side effect: an avalanche of complaints from very angry conservatives who thought they might have been watching MSNBC by mistake. Many are longtime viewers who are now feeling betrayed. At CNN, Brian Stelter provided a roundup of the “almost unanimously positive reviews” Fox’s “tough debate questions” generated. Included were a former Obama Administration official, a liberal magazine editor, a public radio host and BuzzFeed’s editor-in-chief. All...

A deal has been reached between the world powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program after a series of major American concessions, Ehud Yaari, the Middle East affairs commentator for Israel’s Channel 2 television, said Friday night. “It is done. It is done,” he said, and will be signed “early next week.” The aim of the agreement is to put a negotiated end to a 13-year standoff with Iran over its suspect nuclear program and to block its pathway to developing a nuclear bomb in exchange for lifting biting global sanctions. Israel’s leadership has relentlessly opposed the emerging agreement,...

They dealt with the Iranian regime first-hand more than three decades ago, when it was founded in an act of war against the U.S., and several survivors of the hostage crisis say the idea of the U.S. negotiating with an unrepentant Tehran makes their blood boil. For 444 days, the 52 Americans were held prisoner in the U.S. Embassy by the student revolutionaries that would help usher in the hard-line Islamic theocracy that remains in place today. Many of the hostage takers and guards held key roles in the Iranian government then and continue in important positions today. “I think...

In response to Obama: Cuts that Hurt the Economy are GOP's Raison D'etre: Several outlets are noting Obama's comments on Al Sharpton's radio show, but the Free Beacon was kind enough to put it on You Tube... (Trying to wrap my head around the fact that the President of the United States went on that ridiculous race hustler's radio show...ugh...so mortifying.) But just listen to Obama. He says 75% of the American people agree with him, that the way to reduce our deficit sensibly is through his combination of spending cuts and tax revenue (but mostly tax revenue), as if...

EU leaders have reached an agreement on the budget for 2014-20 after lengthy talks in Brussels. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy announced the deal and said in a statement it was "worth working for". The new budget ceiling amounts to 960bn euros (£812bn; $1.3tn). It is the first time the EU's multi-annual budget has been reduced. UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had been pressing for cuts, hailed it as a "good deal for Britain". "I think the British public can be proud that we have cut the seven-year credit card limit for the EU for the first time...

On its face, the bill crafted by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Coons (D-DE) looks modest enough. The aptly-named AGREE (American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship) Act takes parts of job-growth proposals from both sides of the aisle with wide bipartisan support and rolls them into one proposal. The two eliminated those components that create controversy, so that this Congress can act at least incrementally to improve the economic climate for job creators while larger reform efforts collide on Capitol Hill.The incremental approach on policy actually is modest, if also effective and impactful. But the effect of the AGREE...

DETROIT (AP) -- The United Auto Workers union won $5,000 signing bonuses and the possibility of sweeter profit-sharing checks as part of a new four-year contract with General Motors Co., two people briefed on the talks said Saturday. The deal, which was reached late Friday, also includes a $2- to $3-per-hour pay raise for entry-level workers over the life of the contract and guarantees more union jobs, the people said. Both persons asked to remain anonymous because the details of the contract haven't been reviewed by all local union leaders. The GM deal will serve as a template for contracts...

t may have taken the largest wildfire in Arizona history, but for the first time in decades, environmentalists and government officials agree on a key element of future forest management. The U.S. Forest Service said in a report this month that “intense thinning treatments” can ease future wildfires, by removing trees between six and 18 inches in diameter to allow for additional space between trees. “Everyone agrees that a lot of the dry forest types need to be treated in terms of removing the vegetation,” said Morris Johnson, a research ecologist with the Forest Service and co-author of the report....

The United States and Japan agreed yesterday to relocate a controversial U.S. air base to a less densely populated area on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The future of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma had been a subject of intense political debate in Japan that led to the possibility of the base being moved off the island entirely, despite a 2006 agreement to relocate it on Okinawa. Talks between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the United States and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa for Japan addressed a range...

The US and Russia have agreed in principle on a deal to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) that expired in December after 15 years as the centerpiece of nuclear arms control, the Wall Street Journal reports today. The deal, which officials said could be ready to sign in two months, would cut each side’s nuclear arsenal to between 1,500 and 1,675 operationally deployed warheads — down from 2,200 on the American side and 2,800 in Russia, which has also kept an unknown number in reserve. Both countries would also commit to deeper cuts in the number of operational...

Israel will agree to temporarily freeze construction in settlements in the framework of new understandings that Jerusalem will reach with Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told European foreign ministers last week. Commenting on Clinton's statements, Israeli and American sources confirmed that the parties were close to reaching an agreement. But they said the deal was not expected to be mentioned publicly in the visit by U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.

WASHINGTON - On this presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton can agree: They sometimes disagree with their trash-talking supporters and will try to cool it. Advisers to the Democratic candidates shed some light Friday on the private chat the two candidates had Thursday on the Senate floor. The talk lasted three or four minutes in full view of reporters watching on the balcony above who could see them talking, but not hear what they said. "They approached one another and spoke about how supporters for both campaigns have said things they reject," said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer. "They...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2007 – The nation’s top military advisers were “unanimous” in backing the recommendations made to the president by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus on the way forward in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, answers a reporter's question while Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates looks on during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Sept. 14, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Defense Secretary...

Scottish mineral water 'kills cancer cells' By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent (Filed: 13/09/2006) The water of life – or “uisge beatha” in Gaelic - is a euphemism for whisky, but another Highland drink has been shown to have a more valid claim to the title. The water, sourced from near Balmoral Castle, has been said to possess healing qualities since 1760 A mineral water taken from wells near the Queen’s Balmoral Castle can help to slow the spread of cancer, according to scientists. Tests on Deeside Mineral Water suggest that it inhibits the growth of certain cancerous cells and kills...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces, supported by Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad, expanded their combined security effort into the northeast Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiyah on Sunday in support of Operation Together Forward. The combined operations are led by the 1st Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, and 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, supported by Iraqi National Police from the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division, and Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The operations are designed to reduce the level of murders, kidnappings, assassinations, terrorism and sectarian violence in northern Baghdad, as well as to reinforce the...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that militant groups promised to suspend attacks on Israel in hopes of ending a nearly 2-month-long Israeli crackdown in the Gaza Strip. The militants denied there was a formal agreement with Abbas, but left the door open to a possible halt in attacks. Only minor violence was reported Thursday, and there appears to have been a drop in rocket attacks on Israel in recent days. Abbas said the groups reached their accord late Wednesday during renewed talks on forming a unity government including his Fatah Party and the rival...

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met with more than a dozen top business officials to discuss climate change -- executives who have gathered in support of mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. Imagine that: Big Business stepping up to the plate, but the Bush administration refusing to take a seat at the table. That's a conspicuous absence for a president who says that climate change "is a challenge that requires a 100-percent effort; ours and the rest of the world's." But it's not surprising for a president whose preferred policy is to rewrite science to protect...