Free Republic

Hundreds of residents in southwestern Russia’s Ural region staged a rare protest Monday, demanding compensation for the flooding of their homes after a dam gave way because of rising floodwaters. The protest took place in the city of Orsk, located in the Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan. Chanting “Putin help us” and “shame,” the locals affected by the floods defied Russian laws that prohibit demonstrations without the permission of authorities. They gathered in front of the city’s administrative building Monday, demanding emergency assistance as the floods swallowed more than 10,000 homes. Denis Pasler, governor of the Orenburg region...

Below is my column in the New York Post on the Associated Press guideline for reporters to avoid calling Hamas a terrorist organization. Voice of America and other media outlets have made the same decision. This is not about supporting the Palestinian cause. It is about correctly describing a group that commits terrorist attacks as a terrorist organization. Here is the column: Confucius once said that “the beginning of wisdom is the ability to call things by their right names.” That does not appear to be the approach of the Associated Press this week after the media organization told its...