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via translation - Afghanistan: Afghan army entered Musa Qala KABUL - The Afghan army entered Monday in the capital district of Musa Qala, detained for ten months by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, told AFP a spokesman for NATO. "The Afghan army entered the town of Musa Qala," said AFP Major Charles Anthony, spokesman Forces International Security Assistance (ISAF) by NATO. Asked if she now controlled the entire district, the spokesman replied: "The Afghan army has at least entered the capital." In a statement, the spokesman of the Defense Ministry, General Mohammed Zahir Azimi said that Afghan forces backed by...

DES MOINES, Iowa — Television star Oprah Winfrey, an influential voice in American popular culture and one of the most successful blacks in the world, urged Iowans on Saturday to use their first-voting status to give Barack Obama the momentum to overtake Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. "I'm here to tell you, Iowa, he is the one," the billionaire, philanthropist and top-rated talk-show host told a crowd estimated at more than 15,000 who navigated snow-crusted roads to see her stump for the Illinois senator at Hy-Vee Hall in Iowa's capital city. Without naming Clinton, Winfrey argued that Obama's...

An unammed cruise ship of Norwegian registry sailing the Caribbean Sea, has requested the urgent assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. An undetermined number of passengers have come down with "gastrointestinal problems". At least one requires hospitalization. The cruise ship is approaching the Port of the City of Ponce in Puerto Rico's southern coast and will be docking later today. Authorities there are standing by to provide assistance. The ship is expected to continue to Miami after dropping off the patients.

Experts examining Saddam Hussein’s secret files have made numerous startling discoveries about the mystery of the “missing” WMDs. Today Frontpage Symposium has assembled a distinguished panel to discuss these documents and what they have revealed. Our guests are John Loftus, Dave Gaubatz, and Ryan Mauro.

Mitt Romney’s Speech “Faith In America” Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind introduction. It is an honor to be here today. This is an inspiring place because of you and the First Lady and because of the film exhibited across the way in the Presidential library. For those who have not seen it, it shows the President as a young pilot, shot down during the Second World War, being rescued from his life-raft by the crew of an American submarine. It is a moving reminder that when America has faced challenge and peril, Americans rise to the occasion, willing...

You can't find Christmas anywhere these days. There are holiday trees, holiday decorations, holiday parties, holiday sales, holiday lights, holiday parades, holiday plays, holiday concerts and holiday displays. Check your local paper on Sunday, and see if you can find the word "Christmas" mentioned anywhere... That is until today - 8 people get slaughtered by a madman in a mall in Omaha and VOILA! The media reports them as CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS!

On February 18, presidential candidate Pat Buchanan appeared on the ABC program, "This Week With David Brinkley." He was asked by newspaper columnist George Will, "On the subject of culture, do you favor the teaching of creationism in public schools?" Buchanan answered, "I believe that God created heaven and earth. I believe in the Bible, George. I believe that children should not be forced to believe the Bible, but I think that every child should know what's in the Old and New Testaments." This prompted liberal commentator Sam Donaldson to ask, in a tone of unconcealed condescension and ridicule, "Did...

http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html CANADIANS ON U.S. TERROR POLICY A Canadian judge has ruled against America's policies on torture and refugees. Canada can no longer turn away refugees from the U.S. because America is no longer safe for refugees. http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/12/canadian-judge.html This judge believes that the U.S. does not protect refugees fleeing political persecution and torture, which is required by international conventions. Therefore Canada is willing to take them off our hands. This nullifies an existing agreement between the U.S. and Canada, which is meant to prevent "asylum shopping" for immigrants attempting to obtain asylum from multiple countries. Now ... let's see if Canada...

Presidential hopeful John McCain lambasted CNN for allowing a gay retired general allied with the Hillary Clinton campaign to question candidates during Wednesday’s Republican debate. “I think that should have been made public if this individual was a member of another — any other campaign, then people would, obviously, have a better way of judging the quality of the question,” an angry McCain declared on Thursday. During the debate televised by CNN, retired Gen. Keith Kerr — a national co-chair for a Clinton veterans group — asked the GOP candidates: “Why do you think that American men and women in...

Mike Munger, frequent guest and longtime Econlib contributor, speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about fair trade coffee and free trade agreements. Does the premium for fair trade coffee end up in the hands of the grower? What economic forces might stop that from happening? They discuss the business strategy of using higher wages as a marketing strategy to attract concerned consumers. They turn to the issue of free trade agreements. If the ideal situation is open borders to foreign products, is it still worthwhile to negotiate bilateral and multilateral agreements that requires delays, exemptions and a bureaucracy to enforce?...

via translation - PESHAWAR (Pakistan) - A woman suicide bomber dressed in a burqa, the veil full traditional Afghan women, detonated the bomb she was wearing next to a military checkpoint in Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan, make killed or wounded, said the police. It is the first suicide bombing ever perpetrated by a woman in Pakistan, assured AFP Mohammad Sharif, the chief of police in the province. A school run by Christian missionaries, as well as sensitive military installations, including offices of the intelligence services, are located near the explosion, said Kadir Khan, a police officer on the spot, to...

For midshipmen and alumnae of the U. S. Naval Academy, there are many special places “on the Yard.” The bronze “Tecumseh” statue, the Chapel, John Paul Jones’ tomb, or Herndon monument all come to mind, each infused with history, tradition, and reverent memory. Of all these places, however, none are quite like Memorial Hall, for it is in that soaring marble and hardwood space that every midshipman learns about commitment to duty, and the price of that commitment. Dominating the Hall is a massive antique flag proclaiming “Don’t Give Up The Ship,” the dying words of Captain James Lawrence in...

via translation - ALERT-Chad: the rebels in "state of belligerency" with France LIBREVILLE - Chadian rebels of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) reported Friday to be "state of belligerency" with the French army, or any other foreign contingent, while a European force is expected to deploy in eastern Chad.

For decades, nothing stood in the way of better relations between China and the European Union (EU). Unlike the Americans, the Europeans emphasized cooperation. And, unlike Washington politicians, the bureaucrats in Brussels regarded China as a huge economic opportunity, rather than a security challenge. But, as the EU and China sit down today for their 10th bilateral annual summit in Beijing, the mood cannot be more different: A raft of trade and political issues has soured the relationship. And, despite all the diplomatic efforts, nobody knows how the old partnership can be revived. Mr Peter Mandelson, the EU's Trade Commissioner,...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Maj. Paul Anderson has probably seen more of Afghanistan than most people in the country, although he usually sees it from 6,400 metres above the ground. "That is the main and only highway between Kandahar and Kabul," he says, pointing at the tiny line of cars and trucks barely visible from the cockpit of his Hercules C-130 transport plane. The view out the window closely resembles a giant, coloured three-dimensional map. There is little to break up the monotony of sand and mountains except patches of green in some of the deeper valleys, the occasional silver thread...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - State Homeland Security chief Michael Balboni was leaving a meeting on northern border security with his Quebec counterpart, Jacques Dupuis, when a television news report caught the attention of both men. It was about a government study that determined smugglers could easily carry radioactive material or other contraband across the border into the United States. Investigators testing security found they could carry in large red duffel bags undetected at unmonitored spots along the 3,987-mile border. "We turned and said to each other, we've got to fix this," Balboni recalled. Days later, the men were taking an aerial...

Capt. Katina Sutton, commander of the Command Post Detachment, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, serves Thanksgiving dinner to Soldiers in the Pegasus dining facility at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad, Nov. 22. Several “First Team” officers and senior noncommissioned officers took part in serving the meal to Soldiers in the DFAC. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. April Campbell, 27th Public Affairs Detachment. CAMP LIBERTY — The line into the Pegasus dining facility was longer than usual at lunchtime on Thanksgiving Day this year. Soldiers waited patiently for what might be the finest meal they eat during their deployment...

Over the past few weeks there have been a number of commentaries about Ronald Reagan’s legacy, specifically about whether he exploited the white backlash against the civil rights movement. The controversy unfortunately obscures the larger point, which should be undeniable: the central role of this backlash in the rise of the modern conservative movement. The centrality of race — and, in particular, of the switch of Southern whites from overwhelming support of Democrats to overwhelming support of Republicans — is obvious from voting data. For example, everyone knows that white men have turned away from the Democrats over God, guns,...

News broke Thursday that voters in New Hampshire and Iowa had received phone calls from pollsters raising questions about aspects of Republican Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. Who made the calls? Although the Romney campaign denies involvement, evidence points in its general direction. -SNIP- “Un-American” in the Campaign Family?Shortly after reports of Romney being targeted in a push poll emerged, the firm making the calls was identified as Western Wats, which is based in Utah and has a number of Romney campaign contributors on the payroll. Western Wats was founded by Ron Lindorf who has ties to the business school at...

TORONTO (AP) – The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the appeals of two U.S. Army deserters who sought refugee status to avoid the war in Iraq, leaving them without a legal basis to stay in Canada and dealing a blow to other Americans in similar circumstances. Jeremy Hinzman, a former resident of Rapid City, S.D., and Brandon Hughey deserted the Army in 2004 after learning their units were to be deployed to Iraq to fight in a war they have called immoral and illegal. The court refused Thursday to hear their appeals, and, as is usual, did...