Free Republic

CHICAGO, Illinois — The headline of another newspaper yesterday was a self-fulfilling prophesy: "No red carpet, no yellow ribbons for Mark Jimenez (MJ)." If the information of the US Bureau of Federal Prisons is to be believed, the much-anticipated return of the former Manila congressman on Tuesday, Nov. 22, will have to wait. His projected release is reset to Dec. 13, 2005. In a previous posting of Jimenez’s release by the US Bureau of Federal Prisons, his original "projected release was Nov. 5, 2005." This was exactly the day of the 20th month of his imprisonment in the Federal...

Uruguay's Senate on Tuesday voted to legalize gay marriage by approving a single law governing matrimony for heterosexuals and homosexuals. Senators voted 23-8 in favour of the bill, which was passed by the lower house in December. It must now return to the lower chamber of Congress with changes. If approved, the law would make Uruguay the second nation in Latin America and the 12th in the world to legalize gay marriage. Argentina legalized same-sex marriage in 2010. The Director of International Coordination for Human Life International, Joseph Meaney, spoke to Christopher Wells about the new legislation: “It’s part of...

The Netherlands will face either Spain or Germany in the Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ after beating Uruguay by the odd goal in five in the first of the tournament’s semi-finals at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium. Bert van Marwijk’s side were worthy of their victory but were made to work hard for it in an eventful last four encounter punctuated by excellent goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Maximiliano Pereira.

Regional leaders including Fidel Castro of Cuba, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet in Montevideo, Uruguay. on Tuesday for the inauguration of Tabaré Vázquez, the latest in a string of Latin American left-wing politicians to win electoral victories in recent years. It seems, however, that Mr Vázquez, whose government contains five politiicans imprisoned or exiled during the military government of the 1970s, will pursue a cautious economic strategy, more like that of Mr Lula da Silva than the more radical option being advanced by Mr Chávez. Uruguay restructured its external debt in 2002,...