Free Republic

An intoxicated Florida man chugged two beers in less than 30 seconds at the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival. It would not take long for the rest of his visit to Disney World to unravel. Chase Holderby sounded friendly at first as he offered handshakes and high-fives to everyone in line at one of the stands in EPCOT on September 10, according to a newly released Orange County Sheriff’s report. The 30-year-old Merritt Island man had already caught the attention of authorities because he appeared to be intoxicated. He was “stumbling, being excessively loud, swearing, and appearing unsteady on...

......Fallows writes, “there is plenty of evidence about the things Obama and his team cannot do.”......Yet it is this conclusion that the president’s supporters, no matter how disenchanted, cannot permit themselves. It’s an election year, and unspeakable horrors await the world if Obama loses. So Fallows comes up with an ingenious premise for his book: History’s verdict on Obama’s presidency will be largely determined by whether he wins reelection in November. “Our judgment about ‘really good’ and ‘mediocre’ presidents is colored by how long they serve,” he writes. “A failure to win reelection places a ‘one-term loser’ asterisk on even...

The frustrations of minority status can drive a political party batty. The temptation is to substitute bel ligerence for thought, insist on a self-destructive purity, lash out at the American public and question the wisdom and viability of the country's institutions. Indulging in these tendencies almost always makes a party's position worse rather than better. The Obama Democrats may be the first party to engage in this self-defeating behavior -- borne of a frustrated desperation -- while holding the presidency and both houses of Congress by substantial margins. Through an accident of timing (a national election coinciding with a financial...

(LEAD) N. Korea threatens to destroy S. Korean loudspeakers, turn Seoul into 'sea of flame' SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military threatened Saturday that it will destroy South Korean propaganda loudspeakers along its border and may even turn Seoul into a "sea of flame," in the strongest warning yet against Seoul's plan to resume anti-Pyongyang broadcasts. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, however, "no unusual activity" has currently been spotted from North Korea along the military demarcation line. South Korea established propaganda loudspeakers in 11 places along the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone earlier this week in retaliation to...

The North Korean Government warned that it will not stand for any sanctions others may seek to impose on it for the sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan, in which 46 sailors lost their lives. “The world will rue the day it raised its hand against our country,” North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Gung Ho asserted. “We will not shrink from levying a most hideous retaliation.” Experts speculate that the promised “hideous retaliation” is likely to be yet another test of a nuclear bomb.

N. Korea warns of 'toughest retaliation' over U.N. handling of ship sinking By Sam Kim SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday to call for a new investigation into the sinking of a South Korean warship, warning of "the toughest retaliation" if punishment against Pyongyang is discussed. The North's unidentified foreign ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency that Pyongyang's response would be similar to those taken in the past, but did not elaborate. Analysts have warned that North Korea may conduct a third nuclear test if South Korea...

May 30, 2010 Starving and deluded – yet North Korea is ready for war North Korea says it will strike if US reaction to the sinking of the Cheonan is 'excessive' Sue Lloyd-Roberts in Pyongyang SITTING in a leather chair in one of Pyongyang’s smartest hotels, the economic adviser to the North Korean government was enjoying giving me a lecture. “Our country has reached new heights of economic achievement,” said Ri Ki-song, “thanks to the strength and self-reliance of the North Korean people and to our plentiful natural resources.” The room was suddenly plunged into darkness. It was another of...

S. Korea, U.S. out to break N. Korea's pattern of belligerence: official By Byun Duk-kun SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will not give in to North Korea's demands in order to resume negotiations on ending the North's nuclear ambition, saying that this time, they will try to "break" the communist nation's pattern of brinkmanship, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday. The remarks came one day after North Korea said for the second time in a week it will not return to the six-nation nuclear talks until U.N.-imposed sanctions on the country are removed.

Clinton warns N. Korea to rein in rhetoric By Christian Oliver in Seoul Published: February 20 2009 03:21 | Last updated: February 20 2009 05:40 If North Korea were hoping to open bilateral diplomacy with the US through its latest round of brinkmanship, Hillary Clinton dashed those hopes on Friday. Many analysts have interpreted North Korea’s talk of impending war and its threat to defy the UN with some kind of ballistics test as a bid to push Pyongyang further up the foreign policy agenda of Barack Obama, the US president. But the US secretary of state said such sabre-rattling...

China rattles sabres at Taiwan and U.S. By GEOFFREY YORK Tuesday, March 15, 2005 Updated at 1:23 AM EST From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Tokyo — In the halls of Chinese power, a moment of raw emotion yesterday exposed the escalating tensions that could some day ignite a war between China and the United States over the issue of Taiwan. The surge of emotion came on a historic day when China for the first time approved a law authorizing a military attack on Taiwan if the island takes any "major steps" toward independence. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao tried to...