Free Republic

adorned with 'swastikas' has been condemned. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, says it is probably an honest mistake, but he's called toy sets featuring the "Robocon" characters unacceptable. One character, the robot-like "Robowaru," has two swastikas on its chest and can be bought in the UK for around £2.60 with any purchase of six bottles of Coke. The figurines stand on small plastic pedestals with Coca-Cola logos on them. "It's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews." Rabbi Kermaier acknowledged the Nazi swastika can...

French plea as cemetery defaced Etaples contains 11,000 war graves French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has pleaded for trans-Atlantic tolerance after graffiti was daubed on a British war cemetery in northern France. Slogans reading "Death to Yankees" and "Rosbeefs (Brits) go home" were painted on the central memorial in Etaples, near the Channel port of Boulogne in northern France. The slogans also called for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush to be sent to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. "Saddam Hussein will win and spill your blood", one slogan read. Another claimed the...

On Monday at 7:45am, MSNBC was covering the tragic deaths of 3 Jews in Israel. Apparently, in an effort to avoid the risk of bio or chem warfare, a mother had taped up the living quarters airtight. She was using a barbeque type grill to keep her and two children warm... As they broke away from the field reporter and back to the newsroom, one of the staffers could be audibly heard laughing at the incident. The MSNBC morning anchor's face went pale and had a look of shock, she seemed aware that the staffer didn't realize it was audible....

It didn't take long for many Americans to try to cash in on the space shuttle Columbia disaster, with numerous postings of shuttle memorabilia on eBay – with some claiming to be actual debris. Columbia radio offered on eBay The online auctioneer yanked a handful of listings purporting to be remnants of the orbiter which disintegrated yesterday morning during its descent into the atmosphere. EBay's Kevin Pursglove says executives are considering reporting the sellers to federal authorities who are looking to gather Columbia's pieces for their investigation. It's a federal offense to take pieces of an aircraft involved in an...

Ebay has since cancelled the auction but the page was archived by someone else for the curious to view. Can anyone tell if the item is real or bogus. http://www.jgumby.com/columbia-ebay/

TEXAS authorities are investigating reports that people are trying to sell debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated over eastern Texas earlier today. "We have a zero tolerance policy for this sort of thing," said Mike Shelby, the US Attorney for the southern district of Texas, after hearing a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report that attempts had been made to sell debris on ebay, an internet auction website. Shelby said that he and his colleague Matt Arwig, the US attorney for the eastern district of Texas, would cooperate with authorities in an investigation. Those attempting to sell...

Did anyone hear Fox TV report that an AP reporter added a smear in a profile of the crew? This was between 12:30 and 1:00 I believe. The Fox person apologized and slammed AP writer. Did anyone hear this besides me? What is AP thinking besides their normal hate selves.

Don't know if this was already posted but, in case you missed it .... Dan Rather took over the coverage of the disaster around 11am. In the early stages of his coverage, someone from Texas called in to confirm debris in his front yard. Dan thanked the caller. The caller responded: "Thank you, Mr Rather, for taking my call." Rather: "Call me Dan". Caller: "Okay Dan". Rather: "Caller, please describe the debris." Caller: "Dan, a large crowd has gathered to view this." Rather: "What is it?" Caller: "I believe it's an astronaut's tooth". Rather: "A what?" Caller: "You're an idiot!"...

Glaucoma is a disease that slowly takes away your eyesight without you noticing until it's too late. That's what is happening to the moral fiber in America. Opie and Anthony, a couple of "Shock Jocks" out of New York, pushed the envelope to the limit. As part of a "Contest" they broadcast a couple having sex at St. Patrick's Cathedral...during Mass. Soon after, they were taken off the air. How did the duo wind up in New York to begin with? They were fired from a Boston station for pulling a different stunt. The two made a false claim on-air...

Down at the protest today, many lefties came by to try to shout us down. I noticed an abundance oif signs making reference to Sen. Wellstone. ("I'm Marching for Wellstone" was fairly typical.) Some even claimed that he was murdered. Less than 24 hours after the man's death, his "friends" were eagerly politicizing it. I find this extremely offensive. While Sen. Wellstone stood for everything we oppose, he was by all accounts an honorable man who does not deserve to have his name besmirched by this cheap, tasteless politicization. And did anyone notice the press conference after the DC sniper...

This is what I received in my email. My comments follow. Bold is theirs. Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government October 26, 2002 http://www.legitgov.org/ -- BREAKING NEWS AND COMMENTARY-- http://legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news[Senator Paul Wellstone, 58, died in plane crash. We have lost one of our best, brightest and most consistently progressive Senators. And now Senate control is in serious jeopardy. We mourn the terrible loss of a true Patriot and hero.] Paul Wellstone, Fighter -- by John Nichols (The Nation, May 9, 2002) "Paul Wellstone is a hunted man. Minnesota's senior senator is not just another Democrat on White...

EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) - Country and Western diva Tina C wants to share her grief with the world over September 11 and what better way than a Twin Towers tribute album? As she launches into a chorus of her hit song "Kleenex to the World," shame on anyone who suggests it is all a cheap publicity stunt to sell records and revive a flagging career. That is the acerbic message from English drag queen Chris Green who decided with Tina, his larger-than-life, all-American patriotic girl, to push out the boundaries of taste at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival by...

By Marni-Rebecca Malarkey Shy and reserved ex-Enron accountant, Sara Zoftig, ponders Playboy's invitation to pose nude in a centrefold spread in a new 'Women of Enron' issue. Ms. Zoftig commented that she found the idea of posing nude in such a Playboy feature immoral, apalling, and way off the mark in terms of the kind of money she was looking for. Playboy Magazine is hoping to convince some of the female employees of Enron to lose more than the contents of their bank accounts -- and to do so willingly. A Playboy spokeswoman said that the magazine is attempting to...

Game publicity plan raises grave concerns Mark Oliver Friday March 15, 2002 A gravestone with advertising billboard.   A computer games firm has been accused of pushing back the frontiers of bad taste after it announced that it was seeking to advertise its latest title on gravestones. Acclaim Entertainment said yesterday that it would pay relatives of the recently bereaved in return for placing small billboards on headstones, and that the offer might "particularly interest poorer families". The Church of England said that there was no way it would allow any of its graveyards to be used in such a...