Free Republic

My late father was a lifelong steelworker at J&L Steel’s famed Aliquippa works. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I was witness to politicians of every stripe too easily accepting the death of the American steel industry, and manufacturing in general. We were told that it was simply the way of the world in the 21st century for American industry to ship jobs off to China and other countries with fewer labor rights, weaker environmental regulations and practically no concept of “human rights.” The most enthusiastic supporters of this “new normal” told us not to worry, assuring us that we wouldn’t...

An adorable photo of a group of service dogs sitting in a Canadian theater last week catching a production of "Billy Elliot" has gone viral. The photo shows the crowd of mainly poodles and golden retrievers taking up at least four rows and attentively watching the stage during the Stratford Festival in Ontario. The objective was to prevent fur from flying during live theater so the pups can help their handlers navigate a theater atmosphere.

<p>The well-known platitude "but for the grace of God go I" played in my brain while reading the tragic story of a disabled Canadian father who chose to end his own life, leaving behind an 11-year-old son. It would be easy to judge Sean Tagert, who was diagnosed with ALS six years ago. Do I believe he made the wrong choice? Sure. But I wasn't the one who was struggling to pay for my health care after losing my ability to breath on my own or feed myself. I'm not the one living under Canada's health care system that was more than happy to pay for my suicide but not the care I needed. So, yes, I disagree with Tagert's "choice" and mourn the loss of his life, but I blame Canada and their "touted" socialized medicine.</p>

'Colin Dowler ended up in a Life-or-Death Struggle with a Grizzly Bear in British Columbia' A Canadian man from Dowler, British Columbia survived a brutal grizzly bear attack by stabbing the animal in the neck with a 2-inch pocket knife, according to reports. Colin Dowler, 45, was mountain biking in the remote back country of British Columbia outside of the city of Power River on July 29 when he spotted a large male grizzly. Dowler stopped about 100 feet away from the bear in order to decide what he should do next—stay still, ride past the bear, or cycle in...

Six New Icebreakers To Be Built For Canadian Coast Guard By: Xavier Vavasseur August 13, 2019 10:54 AM The Canadian Coast Guard will be procuring six new program icebreakers to replace its current aging fleet of icebreakers. The announcement was made on Aug. 2 by Canada’s Minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Jonathan Wilkinson. Minister Wilkinson also announced that the Government of Canada is officially launching a competitive process, through an Invitation to Qualify, to add a third Canadian shipyard as a strategic partner under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). This new shipyard will build the new...

It was about half past midnight when Russ Fee woke up to the sound of frantic shouts coming from a campsite next to his in Canada's Banff National Park. From within his tent, he listened, quickly discerning that the voices belonged to a man and a woman. They were screaming for help. "I threw my shoes on. My wife tossed me a lantern," Fee said in an interview Tuesday with the radio show "Calgary Eyeopener." "I popped out of the tent and just started running toward their tent sort of yelling, 'I'm here! I'm here! What's wrong?'" Fee, who is...

McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, had been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a Vancouver, B.C. man, Leonard Dyck, and were suspects in the murders of American Chynna Deese, 24 and her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, 23. The bodies were found five days after police found several items on the banks of the Nelson River that were "directly linked" to the suspects. Police said the bodies were found less than a mile from the items. The bodies were also found approximately 5 miles from where police located a burned-out vehicle they believe belonged to the suspects...

These are prosperous times in America. The country is plump with jobs. Out of every 100 people who want to work, more than 96 of them have jobs. This is what economists consider full employment. The economy has grown for almost 10 years, making it one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history. And over that time, the job market has come back. It grew slowly at first, then steadily, finally reaching a point at which there are many more openings than job seekers. Unemployment has reached . The jobless rate for Hispanics has never been lower; the past...

The United States is not doing enough to promote free trade and the elimination of trade barriers around the world. In fact, it’s doing just the opposite and imposing barriers on billions of dollars’ worth of imports. As a result, new trade restrictions implemented by World Trade Organization member countries have reached historic highs. Over the last two review periods, new trade restrictions totaled $588.3 billion and $339.5 billion, respectively. For the previous two periods, new trade restrictions totaled roughly $100 billion or less. The latest figures present a worrisome and unpredictable climate that is harming the overall health of...

Good news: the top court in Canada’s most populous province, the Ontario Review Board, struck a strong blow against “Islamophobia” Wednesday when it declared, according to the Toronto Sun, that a young Muslim named Ayanle Hassan Ali was “now eligible for extensive forays into the community, despite remaining a ‘significant threat’ to the public.”What could possibly go wrong? Only venomous “Islamophobes” could possibly object, right? After all, all Ayanle Hassan Ali did was stab three Canadian soldiers and explain that Allah told him to do it. How could anyone deny this fine young man the right to roam freely...

You are about to go through a Door you have not been, This Door is a welcome friend, In times gone by you knocked and then waited, What is on the other side you have anticipated, But Now for you all will be laid bare, My Agape Love waits for you there, A deeper Love than you have ever known or shared, My Fullness of Love for all is there, No judgement goals or rules, Just My Loving Kindness a beautiful Jewel, So now you are about to KNOW, I AM YOUR GOAL, No precepts or limitations, But My True...

OTTAWA — Canadians will continue to have access to the medications they need, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised Thursday in the face of escalating worry about a Trump administration decision to allow prescription drug imports from Canada. During a visit to Iqaluit, Trudeau said Health Canada already ensures there is a “steady and solid supply” of medications for Canadians regardless of external or international pressures. He did not, however, mention drug shortage challenges that already exist. “We recognize the new situation brought on by American announcements and Health Canada will continue to ensure that our priority is always ensuring that...

Just one day before he turned 45, Colin Dowler didn't think he'd live to celebrate it... the avid outdoorsman was scouting backcountry trails outside of Powell River, B.C., on his mountain bike, about seven kilometres away from a nearby logging camp. After making his way down one of the hills onto the logging road, he caught sight of a large male grizzly bear, walking in his direction. "I wasn't really sure what to do about the situation," Dowler said from his Vancouver hospital bed. "I largely stood there, and let the grizzly keep walking up towards me." Concerned of making...

Hundreds of the millions in the United States illegally are in the custody of.... 680 is the number of established by ICE of those originally arrested but now some 300 are freed.... "The same Democrat Party that has left places like Jackson, Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Houston to suffer under the tyranny of violent criminals wants us to believe they have the solution to mass shootings" That's part of the latest message from 2020 Republican US Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore in Alabama who's also noting that many in the Republican Party seem to be moving in the direction...

In a table-top pandemicexerciseat Johns Hopkins University last year, a pathogen based on the emerging Nipah virus was released by fictional extremists, killing 150 million people.A less apocalyptic scenario mapped out by a blue-ribbonU.S. panelenvisioned Nipah being dispersed by terrorists and claiming over 6,000 American lives. Scientists from Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) have also said the highly lethal bug is a potential bio-weapon. But this March that same lab shipped samples of the henipavirus family and of Ebola to China, which has long beensuspected of running a secretive biological warfare(BW) program. China strongly denies it makes germ weapons, and...

Finally, a good news story about credit card debt. U.S.-based Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by users of its two Canadian credit cards: the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa. The bank retired both cards last year and said it's wiping out cardholders' debt to complete its exit from the Canadian credit card market. Affected customers can't believe their luck. "I was sort of over the moon all last night, with a smile on my face," said Douglas Turner, of Coe Hill, Ont., after learning he's off the hook for the $6,157 still owing...

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, were wanted on Canada-wide warrants for second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man whose body was found along a highway near Dease Lake in northwest Canada on July 19. The teens' truck camper was found in flames about 1.2 miles away from the body, identified as 64-year-old Leonard Dyck of Vancouver, according to police The teens, both Canadian, were also considered suspects in the shooting deaths of 24-year-old American Chynna Deese and her 23-year-old Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, whose bodies were discovered July 15 along a highway near Liard Hot...

WINNIPEG — RCMP in Manitoba say they will be making a significant announcement this afternoon regarding two British Columbia murder suspects. Excerpt.

Aug. 5 (UPI) -- A trio of cheesemakers teamed up in Quebec to make a world record-breaking poutine that weighed nearly 6,700 pounds. The cheesemakers, Fromage Warwick, Fromagerie Victoria and Fromagerie du Presbytere, combined fries, gravy and cheese curds in Warwick to create a total 6,688 pounds of poutine. Sebastien Lemay, the co-owner of Fromage Warwick, said it took about 26 to 28 hours to prepare all of the cheese curds for the poutine, while the fries were cooked up just prior to the event with the use of 40 deep-frying machines. The previous poutine world record was 4,409 pounds,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department labeled China a currency manipulator Monday after Beijing pushed down the value of its yuan in a dramatic escalation of the trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies. The decision, which came hours after President Donald Trump accused China of unfairly devaluing its currency, marks a reversal for Treasury: In May, it had declined to sanction China for manipulating its currency. The U.S. has not put China on the currency blacklist since 1994.The designation could pave the way for more U.S. sanctions against China.Earlier Monday, China had allowed its currency to weaken...