Free Republic

… He still hasn’t identified the source code, the proverbial ghost in the machine, buried deep in the algorithmic code; however, Twitter owner Elon Musk has finally identified the agency within the U.S. government who spearheaded the creation. The “Global Engagement Center” (GEC) of the State Dept. The GEC mission is described as, “To direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations,” (link). However, when...

Why exactly does Obama want the “Strong Cities Network”? The Obama administration plans to create a global police force that counters “violent extremism” in the United States and elsewhere. The problem is that in Obama-speak “violent extremism” refers not only to jihadists wishing to harm Americans but also to conservatives and Tea Party activists. Just ask all the law-abiding right-of-center nonprofit groups targeted by Lois Lerner’s IRS during the Obama presidency. Ominously, President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch unveiled the Strong Cities Network last week at the United Nations. America’s chief executive, who speaks in hushed and reverent...

On the day leading up to the final rally of Donald Trump’s “thank you” tour, city officials in Mobile, Ala., raved about its plans for a festive, Christmas welcome for the president-elect. The mayor’s chief of staff tweeted that the city “did the impossible,” erecting and decorating a 50-foot Christmas tree as a backdrop for Trump’s speech. But some Mobile residents soon speculated that the majestic cedar tree was one they had seen before, AL.com reported. Just over a mile away from the stadium where Trump would speak, in a public park, a massive cedar tree was gone. As skeptical...

In 28 years with the Nebraska State Patrol, Trooper Bill Price said he's never encountered a car like the one he stopped Thursday afternoon. The car was completely made of wood. Yes, wood. Cedar to be exact.

An Italian study carried out on the Basilica’s wooden beams has revealed that the cedar was carved between the 6th and 7th centuries In the next few days, as is the case every year, all eyes will be on the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. But the deeper the studies on this ancient church go, the more surprises it seems to have in store. This is what transpires from a report published yesterday in the last edition of the Journal of Cultural Heritage and on Terrasanta.net.The report presents the results of a long study carried out on the Basilica’s...

Note: The following text SNIPPET is a quote: SEVEN CHARGED FOR ILLEGAL EXPORT OF ELECTRONICS TO U.S. DESIGNATED TERRORIST ENTITY IN PARAGUAY February 19, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Harold Woodward, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Michael Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Commerce (DOC), Adam J. Szubin, Director, Department of the...

The unemployment rate in Cedar county declined by .1% in October, falling from 3.3% to 3.2%. The Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) office said the number of residents without jobs fell from 360 to 350, while the size of the labor force grew from 10,890 to 10,960, an increase of 70. The highest unemployment rate for the county this year was in January and February, at 3.9%, while the low was reached in May, when it fell to just 2.7%. The Iowa unemployment rate held steady in October at 3.9%, unchanged from the previous month. One year ago it was 3.5%....

A bill aimed at tackling water-thirsty tamarisk cleared a major hurdle Tuesday, passing the U.S. House of Representatives. Tamarisk, the fluffy plant with lavender blooms, is also known as salt cedar and has invaded stream banks throughout the American West. It drinks enough water annually to supply 20 million people, according to some estimates. The Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act would provide $80 million over the next five years to assess the extent of the plants’ infestation and offer solutions. It is estimated the tamarisk plant and Russian olive trees, both of which are nonnative species, occupy...

Aug. 9, 1862, was a hot and dusty day, a grueling time to be marching into war. Confederate soldiers struggling through the blistering heat on their way from Gordonsville that day were about to engage in a battle that would go down as the deadliest in Culpeper County history. The Battle of Cedar Mountain, the only time Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is known to have drawn his sword in combat, is approaching its 143rd anniversary, and the fledgling preservationist group Friends of the Cedar Mountain Battlefield has planned a weekend of activities to commemorate the event. The group, in partnership...

THE CEDAR REVOLUTION HAS TAKEN so many interesting narrative turns, it is easy to forget that the Lebanese opposition confronts a criminal regime in Syria that is more isolated than ever and for that reason quite possibly more dangerous than before. While some repentant skeptics have grudgingly begun to credit the Bush vision for democracy in the Middle East, the White House has prudently refrained from gloating because the outcome is far from resolved. For all the appeasing noises the Damascus regime has made, it may decide not to leave Lebanon without a fight. Some analysts believe that Bashar al-Assad...

Summary: SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- What you haven’t heard about the San Diego Wildfires and how changed policies have destroyed lives, property and nature. Full text: Philosophy matters. Ideas have consequences. San Diego's fire-ravaged neighborhoods exemplify a collectivist worldview, ethics, politics, and policy. Wildfires named Cedar, Paradise, and Otay ignited within 12 hours on October 25-26, 2003, incinerating 383,269 acres, destroying 2,453 homes, 22 commercial buildings, 763 outbuildings, and burning 17 people to death, including one firefighter. The Cedar fire started as a tiny 20-acre blaze and roared that night into an inferno fanned by ferocious Santa Ana winds gusting...

President Bush clears non-native cedar from the oaks at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Friday, Aug. 9, 2002, which he says robs the native oaks of water and light. The President is vacationing at his 1,600 acre ranch for nearly a month-long stay and allowed an AP reporter to spend a morning with him. (AP Photo/The White House, Eric Draper)