Free Republic

Russian commander BLOWN UP his own elite infantry platoon!

U.S.—A recent survey revealed that a majority of Americans are ready to get back to work. Even when asked if they realize that getting everybody back to work right now could increase deaths from COVID-19, most responded that they were willing to die if that's what it took to end the nightly parade of self-important late show hosts scolding them all for needing money from the comfort of their fancy homes getting paid millions to shame-Skype America. "It's like when you accidentally FaceTime someone you really did not want to talk to. That's what TV is like now," said...

People magazine's pick for their annual "Sexiest Man Alive" cover story is ... another white guy. David Beckham, the 40-year-old retired soccer star, received the nod on Tuesday, making him the latest in a long line of white men so honored since the magazine started awarding the title 30 years ago. Denzel Washington is the only person of color to ever grace a "Sexiest Man Alive" cover, and that was 19 years ago. Meanwhile, four white actors (Richard Gere, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp) have earned the distinction twice. ~snip~ "I'm not personally slighted by it, majorly because...

Megan Fox Dropped From 'Transformers 3' Megan Fox has been axed from "Transformers 3," Access Hollywood has confirmed. A source at Paramount, the studio behind the film, told Access that Megan, who played star Shia LaBeouf's love interest in the franchise, would not return for the third movie. VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Transformers' Sexy Siren Megan Fox The source said that in order to take Shia's character - Samuel James Witwicky -- in a new direction, it was better if Sam wasn't tied down to a love interest. On Wednesday night, however, reps for the actress told People that it was...

Let's give the banks more $$$$$$$$!

I realize everything can change fast in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some are rightly skeptical about the value of polling in a caucus state. I also recognize that some pollsters' methods of figuring out who's a "likely voter" are better than others. But if I were a Romney guy, I'd be pretty pleased about the trends in those two primary states. Romney's had a lead in the Hawkeye state for a while, but that lead seems to be growing, across several pollsters. Romney is up 16 on his nearest competitor (Huckabee) in Zogby, up 8 on his nearest competitor...

All God's Children (Mark Walton in Manila, Philipines) Smokey Mountain in Manila, Philipines is a community built on a trash dump where over 25,000 people subsists "among methane fumes scavenging hope and survival from droppings of garbage truck." For many children living in Smokey Mountain, the way out is death. Yet, for most Filipinos in Manila, artificial contraception is not a choice since 80% are Roman Catholic. For the orthodox, users of contraception are considered sinners "if they know it to be wrong, and understand it to be wrong." Natural birth control through the rhythm method (avoiding sex during period...

"20/20” co-anchor John Stossel is going on the attack against “experts” who warn about manmade global warming – along the way berating Al Gore for saying the debate over climate change is over. In a release from ABC previewing Stossel’s report on Friday’s “20/20,” the veteran newsman and Newsmax pundit – who won 19 Emmys exposing scammers and con artists – says: “This week on ‘20/20’ (in our new 8 p.m. Eastern time slot) I say ‘Give Me a Break!’ to our Nobel Prize-winning Vice President. “Mr. Gore says ‘The debate is over,’ and those who disagree with his take...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush warned on Wednesday a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War III as he tried to shore up international opposition to Tehran amid Russian skepticism over its nuclear ambitions. Bush was speaking a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has resisted Western pressure to toughen his stance over Iran's nuclear program, made clear on a visit to Tehran that Russia would not accept any military action against Iran. At a White House news conference, Bush expressed hope Putin would brief him on his talks in Tehran and said he would ask...

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said if he wasn’t elected president, the population of African-American males is likely to either wind up in prison or dead. At an MTV/MySpace.com forum Thursday, Edwards responded to a question about inner-city kids partaking in violence by saying there was no “silver bullet” to fight the problem. “We start with the president of the United States saying to America, ‘we cannot build enough prisons to solve this problem. And the idea that we can keep incarcerating and keep incarcerating — pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African-American male population in America....

Just when we thought we'd seen the back of one axis of evil, up pops another one to give us all sleepless nights. The original axis of evil, as defined by President George W Bush in his State of the Union address in January 2002, consisted of Iraq, Iran and North Korea. In fact, this axis was always an unlikely amalgam, conjured from the imagination of David Frum, the President's chief speechwriter at the time, who was casting around for a suitably demonic phrase to capture the gravity of the threat America was said to face from its combined enemies...

SYDNEY (AFP) — Global warming is occurring at a faster rate than the worst-case scenario envisaged by experts just six years ago, Australia's top climate change scientist said Thursday. Tim Flannery, named the 2007 Australian of the Year for his work in alerting the public to the dangers of global warming, said the issue was the greatest challenge facing humanity in the 21st century. Flannery said predictions in a 2001 UN report, warning the atmosphere was likely to warm by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius (2.5-10.4 Fahrenheit) from 1990 to 2100 now appeared conservative. "In the six years since then,...

In al-Jazeera interview, senior wanted Palestinian terror suspect presents academy which prepares thousands of activists to fight against Israel; 'Jew that came to lands of Palestine is a murderer, occupier and he is the one we fight, but we have no connection to Jew living in his synagogue in Britain or America,' group official says Muhammad Deif, head of Hamas' military wing and the senior Palestinian terror suspect wanted by Israel, said Sunday night that "all the land conquered in 1948 is Palestine's land. Every Muslim in the world has the right and duty to fight in order to liberate...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. China probably will surpass the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of manufactured goods this year, propelled by its embrace of advanced technology, a study by a U.S. industry group says. "The rapid growth of Chinese manufactured exports, with an increasingly high-tech orientation, presents a major challenge to U.S. competitiveness,'' said the report by Ernest Preeg, a senior fellow at the Manufacturers Alliance in Arlington, Virginia, an association that represents companies such as Caterpillar Inc. and Motorola Inc. In 2001 China exported half the amount of factory goods the U.S. did....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Majority surveyed believe growth will be less than economists predict (Crain's) — A National Assn. of Manufacturers survey of its members found they expect the U.S. economy to grow more slowly this year than what many economists predict. A majority of those surveyed foresee growth in the U.S. gross domestic product of less than 2.9% in 2006, the association said. The NAM's own economist predicts the economy will grow 3.3% this year, said Hank Cox, an association spokesman. Economists' consensus estimates have recently stood at 3.4%. The survey was sent last...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Little Rock - Hundreds of people are out of work Tuesday night after a major announcement at the Levi Strauss company. The company's Little Rock distribution plant will be closing its doors as early as August. The move will put 340 people out of work. The plant is located just south of Little Rock off Interstate 530 along the Pratt Road Exit. Levi Strauss closed down the plant because company officials said it already has three major distribution plants in North America and this one was no longer necessary. Little rock...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Inspired by a reader who sent a list of once American corporations who's profits are no longer funneled to the hard-working American employee, I investigated the subject. The clip that landed on my desk was from "America is Selling Out," published in The American Conservative, December, 2005. As I digested, emotionally charged from the publication's Web site at www.economyincrisis.org, I agreed with some of the information, discarded the sensational propaganda and extrapolated my take on the issues' raw facts. From what I've experienced and witnessed first-hand, I consider the current state...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The Labor Department reported the economy added 108,000 payroll jobs in December. The consensus forecast was 207,000, and my forecast, published by Reuters was 180,000. Unemployment fell to 4.9 percent, mainly because fewer adults chose to participate in the labor force. In the fourth quarter, 438,000 jobs were added, and this is consistent with GDP growth in the range of 3.0 to 3.5 percent Economic growth appears to be moderating from the red hot numbers posted in the third quarter, and if the Fed does not push interest rates too much...

Cindy Sheehan, Wednesday, August 24, 2005: I’m like if I truly was a media whore do you think I would like maybe get myself fixed up a little bit before I went on?

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. INDIANAPOLIS - DaimlerChrysler AG will close its Indianapolis foundry and eliminate 881 jobs by Sept. 30, reducing the automaker's once formidable Indiana manufacturing presence to just the city of Kokomo. DaimlerChrysler recently notified the Indiana Department of Workforce Development of the closure under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act. The law requires employers to give 60 days notice before certain plant closings and layoffs. The loss of 881 jobs is the largest in Indiana under WARN this year. A provision in the four-year labor agreement struck by the...