Free Republic

A man shot and critically wounded by police early Sunday on the city's Southwest Side has died, according to the Independent Police Review Authority. A spokesman said the victim was an adult male and that a gun was recovered at the crime scene. At about 2:13 a.m., police responded to a call of shots fired in the 6100 block of South Kedzie Avenue, the Chicago Police News Affairs office said in a release. Police and the armed person exchanged gunfire. The suspect was struck and transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, according to police.

1 shot to death, 1 injured in South Side drive-by Tribune staff report 7:54 AM CDT, July 5, 2008 A second man shot as he sat in a vehicle on Chicago's South Side late Thursday has died. Martin Hoard, 29, of the 6000 block of South Indiana Ave., died at Stroger Hospital following the shooting. He was parked in the 6700 block of South State Street when a car pulled up about 10:50 p.m. and fired shots into their vehicle, said Officer Amina Greer, a police spokeswoman. John Duncan, 22, of the 8000 block of South Paulina Street, was pronounced...

Chicago police will be out in greater numbers for tonight’s Navy Pier fireworks show after four people were shot last night as crowds streamed out of the Grant Park fireworks and Taste of Chicago. The shootings happened blocks away from the Taste grounds as hundreds of thousands of people headed home. Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis, has ordered a heightened police presence for tonight’s Navy Pier fireworks show after four people were shot last night as crowds streamed out of the Grant Park fireworks and Taste of Chicago. “We’re going to have an even greater police presence” tonight, Police Supt....

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's cabinet wants to ban parties from using pictures of figures who are not running for office at campaign rallies for local elections, the government's spokesman said on Thursday. Campaigning in places of worship would also be prohibited, a statement from government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. Pictures of religious leaders are almost always displayed at Shi'ite political gatherings and during election campaigns. Political sources said that ban was mainly aimed at preventing Shi'ite groups from using posters of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest Shi'ite religious leader in Iraq. Analysts said, in past elections, some Shi'ite factions...

You can still light up in a Dutch cafe after July 1, but only if you're smoking marijuana, not tobacco. Bloomberg reported June 20 that the Netherlands' new indoor-smoking ban allows patrons to smoke inside marijuana "coffee shops" as long as the joint is pure cannabis. But cutting joints with tobacco will be illegal. Tobacco smoking also will be banned in other public places except in separate, unstaffed rooms. "Every customer will have to learn how to smoke pure,'' said Robert Kempen, co-owner of The NooN and Mellow Yellow Amsterdam coffee shops. "Sales will definitely fall," said Rida Oulad, a...

Two men and a 21-year-old woman were found shot to death late Sunday in what Chicago police believe was a drug-related attack inside an apartment building on the city's South Side. The bodies were discovered at about 10 p.m. Sunday in the 7800 block of South Kingston Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood after police received a call about gunfire, Officer David Banks said.

After a lone arson investigator was shot early Sunday while investigating a blaze in an alley, the Chicago Fire department changed its policy so investigators must now work in pairs. The 18-year department veteran was in an alley behind a home in the 2900 block of E. 80th Place about 4:35 a.m. when he was shot in the side and called for help on his radio.

Daley is going to blow an aorta. I'm positive of it. Dick Daley is SPITTING mad. You see, the Supreme Court told him "no". You don't tell Dick Daley "no". Not in Chicago, you don't. Dick Daley wants to ban guns in Chicago. And on its face, that might make sense in some twisted parallel universe. But here in Chicago, where kids are routinely slaughtered in the mean streets even with the Mayor's overpriced, intrusive camera system, there are some people who would like to be able to defend themselves against attack. So we have a gun ban here. The...

H.R.6257 Title: To reinstate the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act. Sponsor: Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] (introduced 6/12/2008) Cosponsors (4) Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] - 6/12/2008 Rep Ferguson, Mike [NJ-7] - 6/12/2008 Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 6/18/2008 Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4] - 6/12/2008 Latest Major Action: 6/12/2008 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. TITLE(S): * SHORT TITLE(S) AS INTRODUCED: Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008 * OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED: To reinstate the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act.

I know there are people out there who may disagree with me on this one. But here I go anyway. Mind you this is not an issue that affects me personally as I am not a smoker. First and foremost, because any article dealing with smoking must add in a few caveats I will take this opportunity to state what should already be obvious. I obviously believe that those addicted to smoking should try their harderst to quit. No doubt about that. You will not hear arguments from me disputing the dangers of cigarette addiction. Now that I got that...

Will $4 Gasoline Trump a 27-Year-Old Ban?SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Published June 19, 2008 WASHINGTON — One was an oilman from Texas, the other a high-paid energy executive. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, for seven years George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been unable to persuade Congress and the public that domestic oil drilling is an answer to America’s energy needs. With the clock running down on his presidency, Mr. Bush made one last push Wednesday by calling on Congress to end the 27-year moratorium on most offshore drilling. With oil at more than $130 a barrel, gasoline...

The AP reports that John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts. With gasoline prices rising and the United States chronically dependent on foreign oil, the Republican presidential contender said his proposal would "be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis." McCain also suggested giving the states incentives, including a greater share of royalties paid by companies that drill for oil, as an incentive to permit exploration. McCain is half way there. This...

The AP reports that John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts. With gasoline prices rising and the United States chronically dependent on foreign oil, the Republican presidential contender said his proposal would "be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis." McCain also suggested giving the states incentives, including a greater share of royalties paid by companies that drill for oil, as an incentive to permit exploration. McCain is half way there. This...

The predominately Democratic California legislature is at it again, coming up with different ways to take your personal freedoms away for the sake of a few. On the heels of attempting to make spanking a misdemeanor, the legislature now wants to make it permissible for a landlord to prevent smoking in apartment buildings on the pretext of protecting other tenants from secondhand smoke. The spineless legislator who sponsored the bill didn’t have the courage to make it a crime under the state’s Health and Safety Code. The proposed legislation merely allows the landlord to make the decision, essentially making him...

A ban on bikinis at the city pool is expected to be revised, ending a short-lived prohibition on the popular two-piece pool attire. The restrictions were not popular, even in the community where the council passed a resolution in 2006 to favor the "natural family" consisting of a working husband, a stay-at-home wife and a "full quiver of children."

The nation's capital is expected Tuesday to consider an emergency plan to ban fireworks before the Fourth of July weekend. The plan is being proposed by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, a Democrat, and is drawing mixed reaction among the city's 13 council members. "I hear complaints all the time," said D.C. Council member Jim Graham, a Ward 1 Democrat who worked with the mayor on the bill. "July Fourth and few days before and a few days after, [fireworks] are going off all night." Some residents on Monday were more expressive. "It's dangerous for kids," said John McCall, of Northeast....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California's Secretary of State says an initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in the state has qualified for the November ballot. Debra Bowen says a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough for it to be put to voters. The measure would amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union "between a man and a woman." It would overturn the recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state if it is approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4. California...

Alcohol has been banned in the southern Iraqi province of Basra. The provincial Basra Council has approved a new law enforcing the ban in the territory, the Voices of Iraq news agency cited Council president Nasif al-Ibadi as saying. The alcohol in the province was approved late on Wednesday, al-Ibadi said. "You will not be able to cross the borders between Iraq and other neighbouring countries carrying loads of alcohol to other parts of the country," he stated. The local administration applied the change under Article 2 of the Iraqi constitution that includes the application of Sharia law. The alcohol...

BATON ROUGE -- A pro-gun rights House committee Wednesday shot down, 12-1, a bill to impose a statewide ban on assault weapons starting Jan. 1. House Bill 68 by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, is dead for the session unless he can amend it onto another bill. The only member of the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice who voted against killing the bill was Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport. Richmond was joined in his presentation by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and ranking members of the New Orleans Police Department, who brought confiscated assault weapons and ammunition to...

Proposed Amendment Would Allow Tennessee to Ban Partial-Birth Abortion House rules must be suspended by 2/3 of members for the majority to get a fair vote. About a week ago I sent you an urgent message asking you to contact members of the Tennessee House to urge their support for SJR 127. It is the proposed constitutional amendment that will allow Tennessee to pass a Constitutionally sound ban on partial-birth abortion. I just wanted to give you a friendly reminder that there is still time to act. And, in fact, your action now may be more important than before. (I'll...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a Sunday interview, pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his opposition to a ban on partial-birth abortions. Though he wasn't in Congress at the time it voted on the ban, he said he would have supported it had it contained a health exception. However, doctors and medical groups readily acknowledge that the three-day-long abortion procedure -- involving the killing of an unborn baby halfway through the birthing process - never helps women medically. Obama also claimed pro-life advocates only brought the partial-birth abortion ban forward only to "polarize" the abortion debate. Full story at: http://www.lifenews.com/nat3896.html

Respect the Second Amendment: Millions of hunters own and use guns each year. Millions more participate in a variety of shooting sports such as sporting clays, skeet, target and trap shooting that may not necessarily involve hunting. As a former constitutional law professor, Barack Obama believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he greatly respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms. He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting. He also believes that the right is subject to...

American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA, a front for anti-Second Amendment entities) is running an ad in Pennsylvania that says Obama supports the rights of hunters and shooters. “The Democrats and Gun Control” from the Wall Street Journal [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120839466717921537.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries] exposes Obama for the liar he is. As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he “never saw or approved the questionnaire,” and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire [http://www.politico.com/static/PPM43_080328_obama_iviquestionaire_091096.html]. It...

A playground pastime is getting a timeout this spring at a McLean elementary school. Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School, has told students they may no longer play tag during recess after determining that the game of chasing, dodging and yelling "You're it!" had gotten out of hand. Hooker explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game "of intense aggression." The principal said that her goal is to keep students safe and that she hopes to restore tag (as well as touch football, also now on hold) after teachers and administrators review...

No radio stations will be broadcast on shuttle buses on the Arizona State University campus until the school comes up with a policy, the bus company said Monday, as a debate over the First Amendment raged after News/Talk 92-3 KTAR was banned from the buses. The announcement came from Steve Kuenzi with Coach America, which operates eight shuttle routes on the Tempe campus. The university ordered that KTAR-FM not be played on the shuttle buses in a note sent with bus drivers' pay checks last Friday. The university said one student had complained twice about comments made by KTAR-FM talk...

S.F. ban on handguns dealt a final defeat Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, April 9, 2008 (04-09) 17:19 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The state Supreme Court dealt a final blow Wednesday to San Francisco's voter-approved ban on handguns, rejecting the city's appeal of a lower-court ruling that sharply limited the ability of localities to regulate firearms. The court's unanimous order was a victory for the National Rifle Association, which sued on behalf of gun owners, advocates and dealers a day after the measure passed with 58 percent of the vote in November 2005. The initiative has never taken effect....

Kansas City voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure to ban smoking from the city’s bars and restaurants. With results from all but one precinct, the smoking ban won by a 52 to 48 percent margin, with voters both north and south of the Missouri River signaling their support. The measure also calls for Kansas City’s casino gaming floors to go smoke-free when casinos in neighboring cities approve similar bans. Health-care advocates and civic leaders countered that business rights stop when they infringe on nonsmokers’ rights to breathe clean air. Those supporting the ban said they were especially concerned about...

In a stealthy flurry of legal mumbo-jumbo, the Boulder County Commissioners have launched a proposal that would ban any April Fools jokes targeted at the “general Boulder County public,” including residents, visitors and employees within county limits. “If there was a way, we’d ban all statewide pranks, but we don’t have that authority,” Commissioner Will Tour said. “We had to settle for county-wide bans, but that should put a stop to them.” When pressed, Tour said that “them” referred to a certain monthly newspaper that had been a thorn in the commission’s side since it began concocting stories, but that...

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged Israel to stop using "disproportionate and excessive force" against the Palestinians. "Israel's disproportionate and excessive use of force has killed and injured many civilians including children ... I condemn these actions and call on Israel to cease such acts," Ban told the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)summit in Senegal's capital Dakar. Earlier at the summit, Senegal's president and the new OIC chairman, Abdoulaye Wade, said he would make solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a priority for the organization. "The just and legitimate cause of Palestine remains at the heart of our concerns," Wade...

The US government is demanding the right to ban British air passengers from flying over America en route to other countries – even when the flights will not land in the United States. Under anti-terrorism measures due to come into force within two years, the US authorities insist they need to do background checks on all UK air passengers travelling to Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Direct flights to popular holiday destinations such as the Bahamas, Barbados, Toronto and Mexico City would all be covered by stringent US security checks examining people's passport details, travel plans and even...

The UK's Home Office has banned Likud central committee member Moshe Feiglin from entering Britain. A letter sent to Feiglin from the office of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, and published in this week's Jewish Chronicle, says the minister has excluded him from the country, even though he had no plans to visit. "I am writing to advise you that following the London bombings in July 2005, the home secretary announced a list of particular activities that would normally lead to a person being excluded or deported from the UK on the grounds that their presence in the country is not...

City bans garbage disposal units Residents of Raleigh, N.C., face stiff penalties if they install garbage disposal units in their kitchen sinks or repair existing ones if they break. The City Council approved the ban on Wednesday, the Raleigh Chronicle reports. The ordinance includes a fine of up to $25,000 a day. Officials said that anyone caught with an illegal disposal unit could also face a lifetime ban on getting city water. The ban covers several municipalities around Raleigh. The garbage disposal units, which grind up leftover food and flush it into the sewer system, lead to pipes clogged with...

BALTIMORE - Banished smokers taking nicotine breaks outside bars in one of Baltimore City’s trendy neighborhoods are being told to move or face fines and arrest for loitering, bar owners said. Hampden bar owners said they were shocked last week when police began warning patrons to move 150 feet away from the entrance of bars they were patronizing or face loitering charges. “Loitering has always been a legitimate problem in the neighborhood that we couldn’t get police to deal with,” said Benn Ray, owner of Atomic Books and head of the Hampden Village Merchants Association. “So why all of sudden...

/begin my translation China - Chen Xiwen: Our country will Impose the Total Ban of Grain Export March 06, 2008 07:30 Xinjing Bao Chen Xiwen, National Commissar of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Assistant Director of Central Finance and Economics Leading Group Office , and Director of Central Rural Work Leading Group Office, indicated to reporters yesterday (on 5th) during the panel meeting session of Political Consultative Conference that, in order to safeguard domestic grain supply, "in principle, we call for complete ban of grain export this year." However, Chen Xiwen said this does not mean that domestic...

Tiny plastic bags used to sell small quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and other drugs would be banned in Chicago, under a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council committee. Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags on a recent Sunday afternoon stroll through a West Side park.

Phil Goldstein, the hedge fund manager who derailed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attempt to require hedge fund registration, will sue the regulator to lift its ban on hedge fund marketing and advertising. The long-standing ban on funds’ soliciting money from the public has been interpreted to mean a hedge fund should release only very limited information about itself. This interpretation has come under pressure as hedge funds have grown rapidly and become widely covered in the media. Mr Goldstein told the Financial Times: “We want to be able to have a website like any other business. The only websites...

Turkish lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved two constitutional amendments lifting a ban on Islamic head scarves at universities, despite a mass rally protesting the move. The government has argued that the changes are a women's rights issue, while opponents have said they are indicative of the Islamization of Turkish society. The final vote on the constitutional reform package received 411 "yes" votes in the 550-seat parliament. The two proposed amendments needed a two-thirds majority, or 367 votes, to pass. Constitutional Issue The package amends the constitution to read that everyone has the right to equal treatment from state institutions such as...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois' statewide smoking ban is barely a month old and opponents already are trying to relight the debate. With the General Assembly scheduled to return to Springfield this week, various Illinois interests — casinos, bars, veterans' organizations — are preparing to push state lawmakers to carve out exceptions for various types of facilities from the sweeping ban that went into effect this year in all indoor public places. "I'm a dedicated nonsmoker, but the hair on the back of my neck stands up" at some of the freedom-of-choice issues created by the ban, said state Rep. Bill...

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Officials of Harrah's Metropolis riverboat casino claim Illinois' new smoking ban has resulted in the layoff of about 30 jobs at the casino. Casino officials claim guests are spending less on entertainment and making fewer trips because of the ban and the casino suffered a drop in visitation compared to the previous six-month average.

In another victory for churches wanting to ban guns from their premises, the state Court of Appeals issued a 32-page decision Tuesday agreeing with the district court that religious institutions are exempt from the so-called Minnesota Citizens' Personal Protection Act of 2005. Churches also are not required to post the statutorily proscribed signs that say that the building operator "BANS GUNS ON THESE PREMISES."

TALLAHASSEE — A citizen initiative to ban gay marriage will be on the November ballot, the only one of more than 50 active petition drives that qualified Friday at the deadline for signature verification. Hometown Democracy, which would have required voter approval of local growth plan changes, was the only other proposal that appeared to have a chance before the 5 p.m. deadline, but it missed the mark. Officials, though, ran out of time before they could process all signatures due to a deluge of petitions submitted in the past month and the diversion of county election workers to preparing...

JUNEAU, Alaska, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Alaska is one of 12 U.S. states considering making salvia, a potent natural hallucinogen which is a species of sage, illegal. The hallucinogenic salvia divinorum is not banned by the federal Controlled Substances Act and is only illegal in six states, The Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Saturday. Republican state Sen. Gene Therriault, who said the substance's effects are dangerously powerful and similar to LSD, has been the heading the charge to ban it in Alaska A user said the drug made her and her boyfriend "melt to the wall," the newspaper said. "The...

LONDON (Reuters) - The patio heaters warming drinkers and diners on the pavements of northern Europe are also warming the planet's climate and should be banned, according to a European Parliament report that could be adopted on Thursday. Environmentalists argue that heaters not only pump heat directly into the atmosphere but also climate-damaging CO2, while owners of pubs and bars say they need them to help retain customers driven outside by smoking bans. "Patio heaters are scandalous because they are burning fossil fuels in the open sky, so producing vast quantities of CO2 with very little heat benefit," said European...

Conservative leader David Cameron has called for a ban on "preachers of hate" entering the United Kingdom. Mr Cameron accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of dithering over the case of Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, following press reports that he is to be granted permission to come to London for medical treatment. The Tory leader branded Mr al-Qaradawi - and the head of Hezbollah's TV station Ibrahim Moussawi, who recently spoke in Manchester - "dangerous and divisive" and said they should not be allowed in the country. And he called for a complete ban on Islamist political movements Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Hezbollah....

Video of libertarian Penn Gillette doing an experiment -- can he get liberals to sign a petition banning water? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi3erdgVVTw

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government is set to impose a ban on the Muslim burqa in schools and government offices, media reported on Wednesday, in a retreat from the previous cabinet's plan for a general ban. The cabinet has decided against a broad ban on burqas in public as that would violate the principle of freedom of religion, news agency ANP said, citing unnamed cabinet sources. The Muslim community says only about 50 women wear the head-to-toe burqa or the niqab, a face veil that conceals everything but the eyes. They said a general ban would heighten alienation among...

Tajikistan's education minister has extended official strictures on personal and religious freedoms with an assault on deeply ingrained practices at one of the country's major institutions of Islamic learning. Less than a year after he effectively eliminated Islamic-style head scarves in public schools, Abdujabbor Rahmonov has ordered male students at the Islamic University of Tajikistan to don suits and ties and shave their beards, and he has vowed to introduce teacher uniforms there and ban head scarves, known as hijabs. It is the latest indication of the balancing act confronting Tajik officials who are outwardly keen to discourage unsanctioned religious...

With suicide bombers in the capital, spiralling opium production and half the country prey to Taleban guerrillas, Afghanistan's spiritual guardians have discovered a dangerous new peril: Indian soap operas. In an echo of the strict religious laws of the Taleban era, the Islamic Council of Scholars won the backing this week of a powerful government minister in its campaign to get dozens of wildly popular Bombay dramas off Afghanistan's television screens. The Minister of Information and Culture has written to television executives to threaten prosecution if they show footage that offends morality. He is particularly concerned about Indian soaps. His...

Although France, a country known as much for its smoky cafes as its patisseries, recently snuffed out smoking in all public places, smoking opponents in Wisconsin are facing an uphill struggle to muscle a similar proposal through the state Legislature with only a couple of months left before adjournment. The bill, which would ban smoking in all Wisconsin restaurants and bars, is poised to get its first scheduled vote Tuesday in the Senate Committee on Public Health, Senior Issues, Long Term Care and Privacy. But Sen. Roger Breske, D-Eland, a former tavern owner, wants to exempt bars from the bill,...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey announced Friday it will prohibit state pension money from being invested in companies that do business in Iran. Most American companies are already barred from doing business in the country, but Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a measure restricting the state from buying stock in international companies that do business with Iran. Florida and California have similar laws. The move is designed to protest the country's links to terrorism and its nuclear ambitions. 'I continue to support using economic means, not military means, to bring about policy changes in Iran,' Corzine said recently...