Free Republic

As widely reported in the press and widely discussed on social media venues, a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey indicated that nearly two-thirds of registered voters believe that the Democratic Party supports socialism; further, that a whopping 56 percent of those aged 18-24 and 48 percent of those aged 25-34 favor a “mostly socialist” system. Now, for those who may be exclaiming that it’s time to put a fork in America “because we’re done,” the latter two stats are admittedly pretty worrisome, even if one factors in the unreliability of some polls due to selective sampling and subjective interpretation. The...

The new leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization will be announced in the coming days, officials said Sunday, according to AFP. Ismail Haniyeh, until recently head of Hamas in Gaza, said the results of internal elections will be announced "in the coming days". A high-ranking official in Hamas told AFP that the new leadership will be announced before May 15. The official said Haniyeh is likely to be named the new head of the movement, replacing Khaled Mashaal who lives in Doha in exile and has completed the maximum two terms in office. .....

THE United Nations Security Council has held its first secret straw poll on four Asian candidates vying to succeed Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian, as UN secretary general. All four candidates to succeed Mr Annan, whose second five-year term expires at the end of the year, are Asian as the consensus at the UN is that it is now Asia's turn to assume the world body's top job in line with an unwritten rule of regional rotation. The candidates are South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, and India's Shashi Tharoor,...

The Bush Administration is considering appointing a new civilian 'superboss' to oversee the rebuilding program in Iraq.The new post would likely be headquartered in Baghdad and be over Washington's current supervisor in Iraq, Lt. Gen Jay Garner, say very senior sources. The plan is 'under consideration,' says a top administration official.If it happens, insiders say, it will be a victory for the State Department, which has been sparring with the Pentagon over who is in charge of the rebuilding program.Garner's role is to get Iraq up and running: making sure water and electricity work, rebuilding roads, opening key ministries. Senior...