Free Republic

VIENNA (AP) — A Russian loan to France's National Front. Invitations to Moscow for leaders of Austria's Freedom Party. Praise for Vladimir Putin from the head of Britain's anti-European Union party. As the diplomatic chill over Ukraine deepens, the Kremlin seems keener than ever to enlist Europe's far-right parties in its campaign for influence in the West, seeking new relationships based largely on shared concern over the growing clout of the EU. Russia fears that the EU and NATO could spread to countries it considers part of its sphere of influence. And it has repeatedly served notice that it will...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) continued his efforts to expand the GOP’s reach ahead of 2016 on Friday, appearing for an interview on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”Maher, an outspoken anti-theist and liberal, said that he admires Paul for being “the one Republican who is willing to go to places Republicans don’t usually speak.” Throughout the interview, Paul and Maher were largely in agreement on issues such as the War on Drugs, reinstating voting rights for nonviolent felons, how the U.S. should go about defeating the Islamic State and even, to some extent, climate change. (VIDEO-AT-LINK)“I am available to the...

While Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tests the Republican waters for a possible White House run, Democrats are attacking, even this early in the nominating process, The Daily Beast reports. During the junior senator's recent three-day trip to Iowa, where the first presidential caucuses will be held in 17 months, the Democratic National Committee sent out 10 press releases about Paul's activities and speeches, the news site reports. A senior aide for Paul views the press releases in a positive light for the senator. "What it can tell you as a political observer is that they recognize what we're trying to...

The campaign of Mississippi Senate hopeful Chris McDaniel has returned a donation from a controversial neo-Confederate supporter. A McDaniel spokesman declined to elaborate, but told Fox News First that the campaign gave back the $800 contribution from Carl Ford “as soon as we learned about it.” The campaign of embattled Republican incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran has attacked McDaniel for the donation from Ford, a Mississippi secessionist who was part of the defense team representing a Klansman convicted in 1998 of murdering a 1960s civil rights leader during the fight to desegregate the state.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) wants his city to be the home of President Barack Obama’s future library. Obama hasn’t decided which city will house his presidential library. Many observers believe the favorite to be Chicago, his hometown. …

China seeks out Russia over North Korea strategy Staff Reporter 2013-12-16 15:13 (GMT+8) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Photo/CFP) In an unusual move, China has sought out Russia to discuss a way forward regarding North Korea following the execution of pro-reform leader Jang Sung-taek, reports Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese. Jang, 67, the uncle-in-law of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, was executed last week for allegedly staging a coup. He was described as "despicable human scum" by North Korea's state media and accused of treason, corruption, womanizing, gambling and taking drugs. Jang was not afforded a...

Earlier Tuesday, NBC News reported that President Barack Obama had shaken hands with Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe. However, the UK Telegraph's Josie Ensor reported that Obama "was asked to take his seat just before reaching Mugabe." Complicating matters, another article in the UK Telegraph also claimed that Obama had shaken hands with Mugabe--in very similar terms to those used in the NBC article. Breitbart News caught the discrepancy--and suddenly the NBC News article was corrected, with no notice. Before: On his way to the rostrum, Obama also shook the hand of Robert Mugabe, the strongman ruler of Zimbabwe, and hugged...

The next presidential election is more than three years away, but early polling shows Hillary Rodham Clinton leading the Democratic pack by a landslide margin, with a whopping 63 per cent of Democrats telling pollsters that they would vote for the former first lady and Secretary of State. Vice President Joe Biden came in second with 13 per cent support - barely one-fifth of Clinton's showing. The GOP field is anyone's game, however, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie only garnering 15 per cent support among Republicans to narrowly lead the pack. He's followed by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, Florida...

Rand Paul is the most interesting contender for the Republican nomination. And when I say interesting, I mean that in the broadest sense. A case in point: Last week, the Kentucky senator hit some turbulence when the Washington Free Beacon reported that Jack Hunter, Paul’s aide and the co-author of his book, The Tea Party Goes to Washington, was once the Southern Avenger. Who’s that? Starting in the 1990s, as a radio shock-jock, Hunter would wear a wrestling mask made from a Confederate flag, while making jokes about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and having the South re-secede. “Although Lincoln’s...

FRANKFORT — Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon called on U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Wednesday to condemn U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's hiring of a staffer with a history of making controversial comments about race. Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online publication, reported Tuesday that Paul staffer Jack Hunter is a former talk-radio host who called himself the "Southern Avenger" and is a former member of the League of the South, a group that advocates Southern secession. "Senator McConnell likes Republicans to call him leader, and he has made himself heard on every issue he deems of consequence, real...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., defended a Senate aide who once espoused pro-secession and neo-Confederate views, calling him “incredibly talented” during an interview with the Huffington Post. The Washington Free Beacon Tuesday reported that Jack Hunter, who serves as social media director for Paul, once worked as a radio shock jock for two different stations in Charleston, S.C., advocating for secession and the Confederacy. Hunter, who helped write Paul’s book “The Tea Party Goes to Washington,” called himself the “Southern Avenger” and wore a Confederate flag mask at public appearances. “People are calling him a white supremacist,” Paul said in an...

Scientists have been examining the jaws of the pufferfish, which has evolved over millions of years to form a beak. Pufferfish use these to break open the shells of molluscs and crabs. Beaks are more "robust and practical", according to Dr Gareth Fraser, lead researcher. Another theory states that, in the future, human beings will develop the ability to endlessly replace their teeth, to have an unlimited supply, not unlike sharks.

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is accused of providing an enormous stash of classified government documents to WikiLeaks for publication, deserves a Nobel Peace Prize more than President Barack Obama, according to former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. “While President Obama was starting and expanding unconstitutional wars overseas, Bradley Manning, whose actions have caused exactly zero deaths, was shining light on the truth behind these wars,” the former Republican presidential contender told U.S. News. “It’s clear which individual has done more to promote peace.” Manning was nominated for the award in 2011, 2012 and again earlier this year. Obama won the...

LOS ANGELES — Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles officials maneuvered behind the scenes to shield molester priests, provide damage control for the church and keep parishioners in the dark, according to church personnel files.

Should Americans be concerned that three of the world’s top dictatorships—also renowned for violating human rights—are endorsing President Obama? The White House probably won’t issue any press releases, but here are the details. The latest to publicly announce his support for the commander-in-chief’s reelection bid was Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, who this week assured he’d vote for Obama if he were from the United States. The America-bashing strongman made the announcement on state-owned television, saying “Obama is a good guy” and that if Obama was from Caracas, he’d surely return the favor by voting for Chavez. The Venezuelan dictator, who has...

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TAMPA, FLA. — A group of protesters from the women's rights group Code Pink interrupted Mitt Romney's speech at the Republican National Convention tonight. That the protesters were able to obtain credentials to the convention — let alone one that enabled them to get so close to the stage — and that they were able to sneak in huge pink signs is actually a pretty incredible feat given the level of security at the Republican convention.

The women’s antiwar group CodePink was behind the disruption of Representative Paul D. Ryan’s speech on Wednesday night, but it was in part a product of the Romney campaign’s continuing dispute with Ron Paul supporters. “An angry Ron Paul person was like, here, take my pass,” said Laura Mills, the 21-year-old CodePink intern who was escorted out of the Tampa Bay Times Forum after interrupting Mr. Paul’s speech. Ms. Mills and a more seasoned activist, Ann Wright, were just waiting for Mr. Ryan to say something about health care. When he did, they yelled, “Health care, not warfare” and “My...

Mitt Romney is the extremist and Barack Obama is a good guy according to Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez.  “I believe the person to best explain the loser’s agenda isn’t Barack Obama but rather Romney, because it’s the extreme right-wing agenda that borders on the fascism of the United States,” Chavez told tens of thousands of supporters in the western city of Maracaibo. “In the end, it’s the same project,” Chavez said, referring to Obama as “a good guy.” Yes you read that right, Hugo Chavez is lecturing us about the dangers of fascism in the United States. These comments come...

(CNSNews.com) – Contradicting a longstanding U.S. policy that irks many conservatives, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday identified Jerusalem’s location at least three times as being in Israel. The apparent slip-ups came during Clinton’s first visit to the Israeli capital in two years, on the final day of a nine-country, 12-day trip. Meeting with U.S. diplomatic staff and families at the U.S. consulate-general in Jerusalem, she said she was glad to see Consul General Daniel Rubinstein and his wife Julie, adding, “I got to work with Dan when he was in the White House, and it’s wonderful to see...