Free Republic

EUFAULA, Alabama — Here in this courtly, antebellum town, Alabama’s condom production has survived an onslaught of Asian competition, thanks to the patronage of straitlaced congressmen from this Bible Belt state. Behind the scenes, the politicians have ensured that companies in Alabama won federal contracts to make billions of condoms over the years for AIDS prevention and family planning programs overseas, though Asian factories could do the job at less than half the cost. In recent years, the state’s condom manufacturers fell hundreds of millions of condoms behind on orders, and the federal aid agency began buying them from Asia....

Hamza 'paid £220,000 for house while on legal aid' By Duncan Gardham (Filed: 12/10/2006) Abu Hamza, the radical cleric, bought a house for £220,000 in cash and let it out while receiving legal aid, it was claimed yesterday. An investigation by the Legal Services Commission has led to a freeze on the sale of the four-bedroom property in Greenford, west London. Abu Hamza and the property in Greenford, west London Hamza has been claiming legal aid for his fight against allegations of incitement to murder, for which he received a seven-year jail sentence this year. The bill is thought to...

Earthquake orphans 'in hands of jihadists' By Isambard Wilkinson in Muzaffarabad (Filed: 07/10/2006) Charities linked to jihadist groups have been using humanitarian aid operations to extend their influence over children orphaned by last year's earthquake in north Pakistan. Jemima Khan, a Unicef ambassador, visits a temporary school in the border region devastated by the Pakistan-Kashmir earthquake Contrary to government rules that earthquake orphans must be cared for only by the state or relatives, large numbers have been taken into care by religious charities and madrassa Islamic schools. A senior cleric, Qazi Mahmood-ul Hassan, who runs the Jamia Dar-Uloom al Islamia...

Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid By Ahmed Rashid in Kabul (Filed: 06/10/2006) Commanders from five Nato countries whose troops have just fought the bloodiest battle with the Taliban in five years, are demanding their governments get tough with Pakistan over the support and sanctuary its security services provide to the Taliban. Nato's report on Operation Medusa, an intense battle that lasted from September 4-17 in the Panjwai district, demonstrates the extent of the Taliban's military capability and states clearly that Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence (ISI) is involved in supplying it. President Pervez Musharraf Commanders from Britain, the US,...

It is an article of faith on the Left and among its fellow travelers that the Bush administration stole two elections, made war on Iraq for venal reasons, tortured hapless foreigners, and conducted illegal surveillance of innocent Americans. A corollary of this mindset is that the press, primarily the Washington Post and The New York Times, has a right, indeed a duty, to print whatever they want about the administration—even if the information compromises national security. Not true. The press is not exempt from laws that apply to everyone else. The press is not exempt from laws protecting our national...

1st Lt. Joshua R. Rosales, Navy Seaman Royce R. Ross and Cpl. Jared S. Nelson, came to the aid of a 7 year old Iraqi girl. U.S. Marine Corps photo taken by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva. CAMP FALLUJAH -- “America’s Battalion” Marines made a midnight run to rush to the aid of a seven-year -old Iraqi girl after she fell from a three-story building.Marines from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, rushed the girl to Camp Fallujah’s surgical center for treatment after local police were unable to get her proper medical attention. The incident occurred late at night in...

STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — In the dense humidity of northern Cambodia, where canoes are the common mode of transportation, a foreman from a Chinese construction company directs local laborers to haul stones to the ramp of a nearly completed bridge. [...] China’s generosity to Cambodia has caught Washington’s attention. The United States Navy is planning a port visit to Sihanoukville early next year, a first since the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975. In the Philippines, China is also making a big splash, offering an extraordinary package of $2 billion in loans each year for the next three years [...]...

Lebanese aid 'only reaching political supporters' By Rania Abouzeid in Taibe (Filed: 13/09/2006) Hizbollah and its allies have been accused of favouring their supporters in the distribution of aid in southern Lebanon. The radical Muslim movement, whose conflict with Israel saw Lebanese homes and infrastructure bear the brunt of the destruction, holds sway throughout most of the south. But in many places it shares power on local municipal councils with its allies and Shia co-religionists in the Amal Movement, as well as the Communists. Hizbollah has a long-held reputation among locals for honesty. But the movement is now attracting complaints...

<p>CARACAS, Venezuela -- The Associated Press filed a request under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act last year seeking documents from the U.S. Agency for International Development detailing its funding of non-governmental organizations in Venezuela.</p> <p>The AP sought USAID contracts for grants to groups in Venezuela since January 2004. About nine months after the AP's request, USAID released 132 grant contracts, totaling some 1,600 pages, for 2004 and 2005.</p>

BAGHDAD, Aug. 24, 2006 -- In response to recent bombing and gas explosions in the area, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers joined Iraqi police and local officials in providing humanitarian aid Aug. 22 to displaced citizens in Zafaraniya. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, Iraqi police, and community and tribal leaders unload humanitarian aid items Aug. 22 at the Zafaraniya government center. U.S. Army photo   '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, and 801st Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provided rice, beans, cooking oil, canned fish, blankets, vegetables, assorted...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s highway authority removed an old gate at the Khyber gateway without consulting Afghanistan. A traditional gateway to India on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has become the subject of a row between Islamabad and Kabul that New Delhi is accused of fanning. Pakistan's National Highway Authority (NHA) has removed an old gate at the gateway, at Torkhan at Khyber Pass 16 km from Peshawar, without consulting Afghanistan. It wants to put up another whose design Kabul does not approve. In the process, the Dawn newspaper says, Khyber Pass has been without a gate for one month. It does not indicate...

Washington has let Jerusalem know that for now Israel should not expect any financial aid to help defray the cost of the war in Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post has learned. According to sources in Jerusalem, the government was considering requesting US aid - one report estimated a request of $2 billion - to help pay the cost of the war. There was talk in Washington of a large-scale financial package to help rebuild southern Lebanon, and in the process keep the Iranians out of the process. Israel was apparently hoping to fold its aid request into this package. However, according...

President George W Bush has announced that the US is to boost its aid package to Lebanon to $230m. The money would be used to help rebuild Lebanese homes and infrastructure, he told reporters at the White House. He also called for the quick deployment of a peacekeeping force for Lebanon. "The need is urgent," he said. The international community must designate the leadership of the force and give it a "robust mandate" as soon as possible, he said. A UN resolution calls for 15,000 troops to uphold the week-old ceasefire. Mr Bush said he hoped France would send more...

Countless billions in your tax money are about to go to Hezbollah--and may already be in the terrorist group's coffers. If you liked aid to Katrina victims, you'll LOVE U.S. aid to Hezbollah, er . . . "Lebanon." Millions in misspending? Get ready for billions. And it won't be misused to pay for tattoos, condoms, and porn. This time, it will be used for something far, far worse. Like terrorism. Should America reward Hezbollah for starting the war against Israel that just "ended" in a shaky, empty ceasefire? Should American tax dollars go to pay for destruction that was...

Two sisters smile as they receive humanitarian aid and school supplies from Iraqi and Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, in Arab Jabur July 27. Department of Defense photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel, 363rd MPAD Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel363rd MPADARAB JABUR -- Soldiers from Multi-National Division - Baghdad’s Troop B, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, provided local residents with humanitarian-aid July 27 as part of Operation River Falcon near the Tigris River. “The purpose...

Israel La'ad To Provide Humanitarian Aid To Northern Towns By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Tel Aviv----August 3......Since the war in Lebanon began three weeks ago with the Hezbollah terror organization, the Israel civilian populations of Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Metulla, Rosh Pina, Nazareth and Tiberius have suffered numerous casualties, hundreds of injuries, emotional trauma and economic devastation. According to the Israel police over 2,000 rockets and Hezbollah missiles have slammed into Israel from Lebanon as a result of terror rocket attacks. Over 70 Israelis, including babies and children, have died with more than 1,700 Israelis injured. Lebanon has totally...

Israel rejects UN aid truce call> Many have been forced from their homes, but others remain trapped Israel has rejected a United Nations call for a three-day truce in southern Lebanon, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Israel. The UN says children, the elderly and disabled people are trapped and supplies are short. But an Israeli spokesman said there was no need for a truce as a humanitarian corridor to the area had been opened. Israeli missiles landed near the main Lebanese border crossing into Syria on Saturday, witnesses and officials said. In a separate incident, two...

In a Fox News free "World" video "Stepping In: Hezbollah providing relief to evacuees" Fox News reporter Jonathan Hunt from Beirut, Lebanon says that the refugees arriving in Beirut "don't just support Hezbollah, but they feel they are a part of the organization." Am I wrong in concluding that the Lebanese civilians are terrorists? The U.S. is sending aid to the Lebanese military. It is under the control of the Lebanese Prime Minister Senior Fraud who we've previously heard on Fox passionately mouthing the rhetoric of anti-Israeli terrorists, calling Israel a criminal war machine, murdering women and children, attacking civilian...

BALAD – During a pre-dawn raid in Baghdad on July 26 to capture a ‘death squad’ member, Iraqi forces diverted their mission to free an Iraqi citizen who was abducted and being beaten by two unknown assailants. As the Iraqi forces moved toward their original objective in the Abu Ghurayb area of Baghdad, they discovered an Iraqi citizen who was bound and being beaten by two men while he lay on the ground. The Iraqi assault force surprised the kidnappers and an exchange of gunfire ensued. During the gun fight, one of the kidnappers and the hostage were wounded while...

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2006 – The Defense Department evacuated 957 U.S. citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus yesterday aboard the contracted cruise ship Orient Queen, bringing the total to 12,870 since the crisis in Lebanon began July 16, DoD officials said today. Also, DoD airlifted the first humanitarian supplies promised to those in the war-torn country, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Three helicopters delivered three kits of medical supplies to Red Cross personnel. Each of the three medical kits has enough medicine and supplies to meet the needs of 10,000 people for three months. Seven other kits have arrived in Cyprus...