Free Republic

The professor's pronouncements about Osama Bin Laden are stupid and ignorant. Anybody visiting the Middle East in the last decade has had the experience: meeting the hoarse and aggressive person who first denies that Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the destruction of the World Trade Center and then proceeds to describe the attack as a justified vengeance for decades of American imperialism. This cognitive dissonance—to give it a polite designation—does not always take that precise form. Sometimes the same person who hails the bravery of al-Qaida's martyrs also believes that the Jews planned the "operation." As far as I...

Bristol Palin will be the focal point of a reality series given a 10-episode order by Bio. The series is scheduled to premiere before the end of the year. The untitled project will follow Palin and her son Tripp as they work on a charity while living with Kyle Massey (whom Palin met as a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars") and his brother Christopher. Palin first gained national attention as the daughter of 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the subsequent coverage of her becoming a teenage single mother. Her fame then increased through her fall 2010 appearance on...

At Gamecock commencement, GOP hopeful defends China post as public service, is Reaganesque on American greatness, and quotes lyrics from "one of" his "favorite bands," Ben Folds Five. Your generation will have your own unique set of circumstances that make you feel like your future has somehow been derailed. Wars, economic recessions, social upheaval, revolutions around the globe...and yet, in each case, we recover, learn lessons and become ever more resilient. I know there are many in China who think their time has come, that America's best days are over. And, there are probably some in this country who have...

Two top U.N. envoys on Friday publicly urged the United States to be more forthcoming with information in order to address human rights concerns about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The U.N.'s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Martin Scheinin,suggested that the raid carried out in Pakistan early Monday morning may have been legal under international law. However, they said the U.S. should prove that by releasing more details about the operation. "In respect of the...

El presidente de los Estados Unidos Barack Obama observó la celebración mexicana del Cinco de Mayo ayer con una fiesta grande. Durante su discurso a los asistentes, el presidente hizo una broma a costa de su esposa, Michelle Obama, y su predilección por los tamales. Miralo en el segmento de más abajo. (Apunte de sombrero a Jim Newell de Gawker) VIDEO AT LINK

Iranian officials have begun to hypothesize on the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, pronounced dead by the US early Monday morning. Ismail Kosari, a member of the Iranian parliament's Security and Foreign Policy Commission and a close affiliate of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, postulated that bin Laden was actually operated by Israel. "He was just a puppet controlled by the Zionist regime in order to present a violent image of Islam after the September 11 attacks," he said, adding that the al-Qaeda leader's assassination proves he had "an expiration date" forcing the US to kill him.

WASHINGTON — After reviewing computer files and documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, American intelligence analysts have concluded that the chief of Al Qaeda played a direct role for years in plotting terror attacks from his hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, United States officials said Thursday. The C.I.A. had Bin Laden’s compound under surveillance for months before American commandos killed him in an assault on Monday, watching and photographing residents and visitors from a rented house nearby, according to several officials briefed on the operation. -snip- With his whereabouts and activities a mystery in recent years,...

While it took a little while for the Republican candidates attending tonight’s debate to get going, the sheer diversity on the panel guaranteed some spirited answers, paramount among them Rep. Ron Paul’s steadfast adherence to civil liberties, which somehow concluded with him supporting legalization of heroin to raucous applause– highlighting the thick tension between conservatives and libertarians on the GOP. During a “lightning round” where candidates were asked to answer questions about the issues that would give them the most problems during the primaries, both libertarian candidates– Paul and former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson– were asked to defend their...

Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz renders his two opponents — Col. Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo and Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times — speechless as he makes the case for why the photos of a dead Osama bin Laden should be released, dismantling every one of their counterpoints in the process. He suggests that news outlets, should they elect to sue the government to obtain the photos, would have a winning case. But will any have the gumption to do so? (Or at least, more than had the gumption to publish the Muhammad cartoons?) DERSHOWITZ: The...

In January 2010, more than 130 people gathered to celebrate the opening of Room B-28, a “hacker space” in the basement of the computer science building at Boston University. The room had two rows of computers running open-source software, and, in conformity to the hacker ethic, its walls were painted with wildly colored murals, extensions of the free expression to be practiced there. That was the reason for the power tools, too — in case someone wanted to build something amazing and beautiful, such as the musical staircase, under construction now, that chimes when you step on it. One of...

Qpiac poll finds Obama's numbers get only limited OBL boost. "Score on economy and reelection unchanged." American voters approve 52 – 40 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, his highest score in almost two years and up from a 46 – 48 percent approval among voters surveyed before the president announced the death of Osama bin Laden, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This is President Obama’s highest job approval since a 57 – 33 percent score in a July 2, 2009, survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Men shift from a negative 39...

Raid provides new insight into terrorist group’s operations The covert operation that killed Osama bin Laden produced new evidence that the “emir” of al Qaeda actively commanded the terror group’s affiliates in Yemen, Somalia and other parts of North Africa and was not just an inspirational leader. Materials found in bin Laden’s compound include hard drives, thumb drives and a dedicated fiber-optic cable used for point-to-point access to the Internet, according to two U.S. officials who read initial after-action reports on the raid. The commandos who carried out the raid also found equipment for use with a multimedia studio where...

In a new poll, Quinnipiac University asks Americans if they would vote for certain Republican presidential candidates. Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney receive the most consideration, and Sarah Palin and Donald Trump get the most “no way” votes. Read more here. Enthusiastic Would consider voting Would never vote Huckabee 13% 34% 32% Romney 15% 38% 26% Palin 15% 24% 58% Trump 9% 26% 58% Newt Gingrich 9% 29% 42% Ron Paul 10% 25% 27% Michelle Bachman 6% 21% 29%

Oprah Winfrey taped her first joint interview since 2006 with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama last week. A major coup -- until President Obama announced Sunday that U.S. Navy Seals had killed Osama Bin Laden. "Trying to decide what to do about tomorrow's show with prez that was taped last week. Show will feel dated because we taped last week. Not even a hint of Osama's demise," Winfrey Tweeted Sunday night. In the end, the show aired uncut without Winfrey explaining the turn of events since it was taped last Wednesday. The phrase "previously recorded" flashed across the screen...

Osama bin Laden used women as human shields as American forces fired on him in Pakistan on Sunday, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said. Brennan told reporters at the White House that women were “put in front of him as a shield.” He said that “speaks to, I think, the nature of the individual he was.” One of the women was bin Laden's wife, Brennan said.

The decision to drop terror chieftain Osama bin Laden’s corpse into the Arabian Sea was the final meticulous step in a raid whose details were calculated to exert deadly force but also to achieve maximum effect in the propaganda war: the White House was careful to say bin Laden’s body had been treated according to Islamic tradition, but also to deny his followers a shrine. But while the watery grave may help diminish bin Laden’s status as a martyr to his followers, it was already fueling conspiracy theories; as the administration resisted releasing even photographs of the slain terrorist leader...

Detroit needs residents. Immigrants want to live in America. Michael Bloomberg says he's got a simple solution for both needs -- send all new immigrants to Detroit. In a novel approach to immigration reform, the New York City mayor said Sunday that if he could have his way, he'd use the immigrant workforce to jump-start the Motor City's economy by requiring Detroit residency.

Registered voters nationally are not satisfied with how President Barack Obama is handling the nation’s economy. According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, four in ten voters — 40% — approve of how the president is dealing with the country’s economy while nearly six in ten — 57% — disapprove. Only 3% are unsure. Mr. Obama’s approval rating on the economy is the lowest of his presidency. His previous low was last September when just 41% gave him a thumbs-up on the issue.

CONCORD, N.H. – Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, opened a breakfast speech here Thursday at the Merrimack County Republican Committee with a new demand for proof – not of President Obama’s citizenship, but of Donald Trump’s Republican credentials. “I’ve come to New Hampshire today because I’m very concerned,” Mr. Paul said. “I want to see the original long-form certificate of Donald Trump’s Republican registration.”

Republican primary voters at this early stage of the game now give billionaire developer Donald Trump the edge over presumptive favorites Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in the race to be the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2012. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters finds Trump with 19% support, just ahead of the former governors, Massachusetts’ Romney at 17% and Arkansas’ Huckabee with 15%. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich are tied for fourth place with nine percent (9%) each, closely followed by Texas...