Free Republic

<p>Obama, all his advisers, and the fawning MSM are clueless.</p> <p>As mistakes go, I would say this is the ultimate. A prepared speech (not an off-the-teleprompter gaffe), announced days in advance to the world. How is a mistake this huge possible? There is no chance he misread (misspoke), otherwise, there would be no mention of Belfast in that portion of the speech.</p>

RAFAH, Egypt (AP) - Egypt is building a 13-foot high concrete and rock wall interspersed with watch towers along its narrow boundary with the Gaza Strip to prevent Hamas militants from breaching the border, an official said Thursday. The wall, set back nearly 35 feet from an existing metal barrier, has guard towers every 100 yards. With it, Egypt hopes to prevent any future breaches like one in January when Palestinians broke through to escape an Israeli blockade, a security official said on customary condition of anonymity. On Jan. 23, Hamas broke through the metal wall to let hundreds of...

Two weeks on the job, the new head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday he does not favor building a huge wall along the Mexican border. "I don't support, I don't believe the administration supports a wall," Commissioner W. Ralph Basham said in Tucson, where he met with patrol officials and agents before embarking on a tour across the Arizona desert. Asked about proposals in Senate- and House-approved immigration measures to build security walls 380 or 700 miles long, respectively, Basham said, "It doesn't make sense, it's not practical." As Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano put it, "You build...

SALT LAKE CITY - Kicking off a four-day, three-state tour, Mexican President Vicente Fox said Tuesday that his nation wants to be part of the solution in the immigration debate, not the problem. "We don't set up walls, and that's not the way you're going to fix this situation," Fox said in Spanish to representatives of groups active in Utah's Mexican community. "It's not with fences that we are going to solve this problem." There were cheers of "Viva Mexico" as Fox shook hands before leaving for an official dinner at the governor's mansion. Earlier in the day, at a...

TIJUANA – They were just miles away but worlds apart, two presidents grappling with the thorny issue of illegal immigration from opposite sides of the fence. As President Bush swung through southern Arizona yesterday, Mexican President Vicente Fox traveled to his country's northern border, speaking out against U.S. proposals for strict immigration enforcement. “Walls are not the solution,” Fox said after sharing lunch with a group of factory workers in Tijuana. “And neither is the National Guard.” Fox took advantage of his visit to two of Mexico's largest border cities – Tijuana and Mexicali – to signal his opposition to...

I liked Bush's speech. I really did. I see many conservatives think it's not a good thing, or that's he's appeasing, or like Michelle Malkin (who I usually agree with), called it all "too little too late". Well, I say "better late than never". Bush should have made it one of his top priorities - especially in the 9/11 aftermath - to secure the borders. Now he is finally doing something to plug the leak at least. I personally believe that we, the greatest nation on this planet, possess the technology and the means to make it at least nearly...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2006 – Troops conducting urban operations soon will have the capabilities of superheroes, being able to sense through 12 inches of concrete to determine if someone is inside a building. The new "Radar Scope" will give warfighters searching a building the ability to tell within seconds if someone is in the next room, Edward Baranoski from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Special Projects Office, told the American Forces Press Service. By simply holding the portable, handheld device up to a wall, users will be able to detect movements as small as breathing, he said. The Radar...

Bethlehem mayor calls on pilgrims to visit to help bring down security barrier By Israel Insider staff and partners December 15, 2005 The mayor of Jesus' traditional home town on Wednesday asked pilgrims to visit in large numbers during Christmas and help pressure Israel to dismantle the security barrier that rings the city and cuts it off from Jerusalem. Victor Batarseh, the mayor of Bethlehem, said twice as many visitors are expected this year, compared to last, but they will find the city "walled off." An 8-meter (25-foot) wall divides the north edge of the town, part of the security...

Thursday, December 08, 2005 01:49 IST JNW HEADLINE NEWS MK: ‘Egypt the same as Syria and Iran’ By Stan Goodenough December 7th, 2005 According to the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, it is imperative that Israel erect a security barrier along the border with Egypt from Eilat to the Gaza Strip. Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz had warned that Israel’s abandonment of Gaza last August would open the floodgates to more terrorists and weaponry to use against Israel. On Tuesday he slammed Egypt for allowing the deterioration of the situation along the frontier between the two countries....

Walls of Jerusalem's Old City in danger of collapse JERUSALEM (AFP) - Large sections of the 16th century walls surrounding Jerusalem's Old City are in danger of collapse unless they undergo immediate restoration. According to an engineering survey conducted by the Israeli Antiquities Authority, 380 metres (yards), or one-tenth, of the walls' extension are in immediate danger of collapse, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Friday. The survey showed 11 sections of the stone wall needing attention, most of them located along the northern stretch, which flanks the Muslim quarter, and the southern stretch, which skirts the Jewish quarter. The area...

You are invited to take part in a unique and important event! Three prophetic speakers, Jim Wallis, Anne Lamott, and Richard Rohr, will be together for the first time in Washington, D.C., Jan. 14-16, 2006,for a conference titled Politics and Spirituality: Seeking a Public Integrity. This is an opportunity not to be missed! The country is hungry to replace a politics of blame and fear with a politics of solutions and hope. What better time to explore the vital connection between politics and spirituality than now? Come hear these nationally renowned speakers and authors dialogue on the critical topics of...

Mexico City, Oct 3 (EFE).- Mexico's foreign minister said here Monday that building walls or fences will not solve the problem of illegal immigration, because the causes of the exodus of workers to find better opportunities abroad run very deep. Luis Ernesto Derbez made his remarks at the opening ceremony for a conference of 11 Latin American and Caribbean nations with high rates of emigration. Derbez alluded to what occurred in recent days in Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, where hundreds of Subsaharan Africans tried to climb over the border fences and enter Spanish territory. "What happened...

Mexico City, Oct 3 (EFE).- Mexico's foreign minister said here Monday that building walls or fences will not solve the problem of illegal immigration, because the causes of the exodus of workers to find better opportunities abroad run very deep. Luis Ernesto Derbez made his remarks at the opening ceremony for a conference of 11 Latin American and Caribbean nations with high rates of emigration. Derbez alluded to what occurred in recent days in Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, where hundreds of Subsaharan Africans tried to climb over the border fences and enter Spanish territory. "What happened...

Terror Sanitized After the terror attacks in London, a few TV commentators said they would go after those in the media who want to sanitize terrorism. Such bravado may be admirable, but it is a bravado that does not recognize how terrorism has already been sanitized. The leaders of Western democracies have sanitized terrorism because they cannot publicly admit they are helpless to prevent more attacks. Most analysts who study the so-called war on terror could have told you a year ago that there would be a terrorist attack targeting the London subway. Likewise, there are those who will tell...

Troy Hurtubise has done the seemingly impossible with his newest invention and defied all known rules of physics, he says. The Angel Light—Hurtubise claims the concept came to him in a recurring dream—can reportedly see through walls, as if there was no barrier at all. That’s not all, though. http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=6657

AUSTIN - His family made a fortune on men's work clothing. But it's Sam Walls' apparent fondness for women's apparel that is dividing the Johnson County Republican Party. Walls, 64, is in the April 13 GOP primary runoff against Burleson real estate broker Rob Orr for the House District 58 seat. As a leading businessman, former Republican Party chairman and benefactor of Harris Methodist Walls Regional Hospital, Walls seemed the odds-on favorite to win. The victor is likely to succeed Arlene Wohlgemuth in the Texas Legislature. But then pictures of Walls in women's clothing -- several of which were provided...

Surrounding city centres and likely terrorist targets with "soft walls" will make it impossible for hijacked planes to get anywhere near them. So say the inventors of an avionics system that creates no-fly zones that pilots cannot breach. Since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, anti-aircraft missile batteries have been installed to protect buildings in Washington DC and other US cities. Less drastic solutions have also been suggested. Aerospace company Northrop Grumman, for instance, has proposed installing the electronics from its Global Hawk pilotless plane in passenger aircraft to allow ground control to take over a hijacked plane and...

ARLINGTON, Va. - Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters paid tribute Sunday to loved ones killed in the first Persian Gulf War and said they supported President Bush's efforts to again send Americans against Saddam Hussein.  AP Photo   "I'm behind our president 100 percent," said Sally Minich of Hawthorn, Pa., at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery remembering the more than 400 men and women who died in the Gulf War.   Her 20-year-old son, Frank J. Walls, died in an Iraqi Scud missile attack.   Joyce Wilbourn of Huntsville, Ala., said armed service families generally are more supportive...