Free Republic

....The series, which is set to launch in June from Chicago-based Devil's Due Publishing, kicks off with Barack the Barbarian: Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli. Hugely muscled, wearing a fur loincloth and grasping a bloody battle axe in his manly hands, Barack the Barbarian is a "mighty hero"...A particular foe will be Red Sarah, a comic book version of Sarah Palin who is pictured in a wolf fur cape, a fur bikini, and little else apart from her trademark spectacles...

Desmond Hatchett's children have 11 different mums and their ages range from a newborn to 11-years-old. The prolific father even boasted of fathering four tots by different women in the same year His giant brood came to light after authorities in Tennessee took Hatchett to court for non payment of child support. [snip] Hatchett, who earns minimum wage, told reporters he knows the names and ages of all his children. [snip] Hatchett's lawyer Keith Pope said: "The children can't all be supported by Desmond, so the state of Tennessee has had to step in."

The 18-year-old accused of gunning down a middle school student at a bus stop earlier this month allegedly shot him twice and then continued on his way to high school, police and prosecutors said today at a press conference announcing his arrest. "This was a cold-blooded assassination of a middle school student," said Assistant District Attorney Joshua Wall at the press conference at Boston police headquarters. Xzeniyeju Chukwuezi is accused of walking up to Soheil Turner, 15, as he waited for a bus on Dudley Street at 7:20 a.m. on May 7 and firing two bullets into his head. Boston...

The law finally caught up with an alleged gang member who police say held down his 7-year-old son while a fellow gang-banger tattooed the boy's belly with the group's insignia. Police say 26-year-old Enrique Gonzales held down his 7-year-old son while another gang member tattoed the group's insignia on his belly. Fresno cops arrested Enrique Gonzalez, 26, at hotel in the Sierra foothills and booked him for investigation of mayhem, child abuse, false imprisonment, battery, participating in a criminal street gang and committing a crime for the benefit of a gang, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said. Gonzales, a member of...

(03-24) 15:57 PDT OAKLAND -- Lovelle Mixon was linked by DNA to the February rape of a 12-year-old girl who was dragged off the street at gunpoint in the East Oakland neighborhood where Mixon's sister lived, police said Tuesday.

Oakland shooter unable to escape cycle of violence By JULIANA BARBASSA – 2 hours ago OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Lovelle Mixon died at 26, hiding in an apartment, shot by police during a gun fight that left four officers dead and stunned a city already plagued by violence. Court records show a lifetime of wrong turns spent largely behind bars. Family members, angry and upset after their loss, describe Mixon as an deeply frustrated young man who likely snapped under the weight of opportunities missed or denied.

Cynthia Collier met police at the door, her hands cuffed behind her back. Inside 1604 S. Irving Ave., Scranton police would discover a fresh horror around almost every corner: bludgeoned bodies, bound hostages. And in a crib upstairs, a toddler unharmed. A criminal affidavit accuses Randal Rushing, 25, of killing three people early Thursday in the house where he rented a basement room. He left four other family members traumatized but alive. The document also reveals the cruel and horrifying chronology of events, as well as a successful investigation by police, resulting in the suspect’s capture less than 12 hours...

A 23-year-old Kennewick woman is accused of stabbing to death a pregnant Pasco woman and then cutting her unborn child out of her womb and trying to pass the baby off as her own. Blue mechanic's gloves soaked in blood, a box cutter, bloody paper towels, a baby bottle and mucus bulb are among items suspected of being used to kill Araceli Camacho Gomez and steal her nearly full-term baby. Details of the gruesome slaying were revealed Monday afternoon when Phiengchai Sisouvanh Synhavong made a preliminary appearance in Benton County Superior Court. She was ordered held without bail in the...

When the teenagers pushed past Laurie Lee Chilcote to get off the MAX train at the Gresham Central station on Nov. 3, he told them they shouldn't be shoving an old man. Fifteen-year-old Abel Chavez-Garcia responded by taunting the 71-year-old Chilcote and then bludgeoning him over the head with a baseball bat. On Thursday, Chavez-Garcia was sentenced to 91/2 years in prison after telling Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bergstrom that he felt bad about what happened that night. "Nothing I can do about it anymore," said Chavez-Garcia, now 16. "I regret what I did." Chilcote wasn't in court to...

The choice was clear: Either she comply or he would shoot her baby girl. Her attacker already had pulled a gun and forced her back into her car in the ...Wal-Mart parking lot. He reclined the front passenger seat and ordered her to lie facedown. He then raped her while she looked at her child in the car seat behind her. All the while, the victim said, he pressed a .25-caliber pistol against the 15-month-old toddler. ...he told her to sit in the driver's seat and dump the contents of her purse. He robbed her and ordered her to get...

TEHRAN — Iran hanged seven men convicted of murder and drug smuggling in different cities, newspapers reported Thursday, bringing the number of publicly disclosed executions in the first two weeks of this year to 23. The daily Iran reported that two men, identified only by their first names as Mojtaba and Mohammad-Hossein, were hanged for murder Wednesday in the southern city of Jahorm. Three others, convicted of drug trafficking were hanged in eastern city of Birjand on Wedneasday, the daily Jomhouri Islami reported. The daily added that two others convicted of murder were hanged in the northern city of Tonekabon...

WELLINGTON — In this village, Jesus has returned with the help of modern-day technology.Last year, the baby Jesus figure disappeared twice from the Nativity scene in front of the Wellington Community Center, never to be seen again. This year, the new blond, blue-eyed statue was outfitted with a GPS tracking device that monitored its every movement.The evening after Jesus' birth, the baby moved.At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, a village employee noticed that the statue was missing. Building maintenance supervisor Gus Arnold logged on to the monitoring system and saw that it was taken from the manger at 10 p.m. Wednesday.Arnold homed...

Murder suspect Michael Dean Stephens, 18, of Stevenson Ranch, is now in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, according to Lt. Brenda Cambra of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. "My wife [Cindy] received a call about 45 minutes ago from one of the Sheriff's detectives who was here yesterday that [Stephens] was in now custody," confirmed Dennis Pipho, father of the 20-year-old murder victim, Joshua Pipho, speaking with The Signal at 4:10 p.m. today. According to the Sheriff's Department information center, Stephens turned himself in at 2:45 p.m. and was booked at the Lennox Station at...

WASHINGTON — Like many middle-class, suburban American parents, Shannan and Joey Troiano worried about their son’s behaviour and his bad grades at high school. And like many wayward teenagers, Cory Ryder was grounded for weeks at a time, had a PlayStation confiscated and was banned from watching TV. Less typically, this 16-year-old was plotting to murder his parents by hiring a hitman, while his mother was organising a sting operation involving a police officer posing as a contract killer. Cory’s trial is scheduled to begin today at the circuit court in St Mary’s County, Maryland. His mother is expected to...

Jurors unanimously agreed today that Lisa Montgomery be put to death for killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett and stealing her unborn daughter nearly three years ago. The federal jury deliberated about five hours. If jurors had not reached a unanimous decision in favor of the death penalty, Montgomery would have received life in prison without the possibility of parole. Before the decision was announced, the judge ordered spectators to control their emotions or leave the courtroom.

Man urinated on dying woman By ONLINE REPORTER September 19, 2007 A MAN who urinated on a stricken disabled woman as she lay dying in a street is facing jail after admitting outraging public decency. Anthony Anderson admitted the single charge when he appeared before magistrates today. After hearing how his actions robbed the 50-year-old woman of “any dignity”, magistrates agreed that their maximum sentencing powers of six months in prison were insufficient and transferred the case to Crown Court. They heard how Anderson, 27, shouted “this is YouTube material” as he urinated on and later smothered shaving foam over...

<p>Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez's long-suffering wife, Cynthia, may have finally flipped her pretty lid yesterday when she went to a game in The Bronx wearing a tight-fitting, white tank top bearing a foul message on the back: "F- - - you."</p>

In some countries, names are illegal -- like Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden in Germany. And French parents must choose from an approved list. The laws are designed to prevent teasing. In America, almost anything goes.

If the cause of peace is worth supporting ? and we believe it is ? then peace protesters must demonstrate the values they promote. The vast majority of the estimated 15,000 protesters who took part in a peace march Sunday in downtown Portland did just that. They were well-behaved, well-intentioned and serious about their cause. But then there was a smaller group of demonstrators ? if they can even be called that ? who engaged in numerous actions that violated the sensibilities of ordinary people and damaged the very cause the activists claimed to endorse. This splinter group of protesters...

Coats — A Harnett County man is charged with brutally beating and trying to rape a 75-year grandmother. John Martin Meeks, 30, of Coats, was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempted rape, burglary and assault. .....

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man suspected of decapitating his 4-year-old daughter and leaving the body for her mother to find in their suburban home was arrested in Washington, D.C., early Saturday, authorities said. Investigators have not found any history of domestic or mental health problems at the home, and still have no leads as to a possible motive in the killing, said Clayton police Lt. Jon Gerrell. Amber Violette told police Friday evening she had found her daughter, Katlin, with her head severed from her body, police said. An "edged weapon" believe to have been used in the killing was...

Prosecutor: Undercover cop begged for his life NEW YORK (AP) -- An undercover detective, after seeing his partner executed, begged for mercy before being killed himself in a weapons-buying sting gone awry, a prosecutor said Monday in closing arguments at the alleged gunman's death penalty trial. "Pleading for his life, begging to live, knowing he would never see his family again, knowing that this was the end -- that, ladies and gentlemen, is how James Nemorin spent his last moments on this earth," prosecutor Morris Fodeman told jurors in federal court in Brooklyn. Ronell Wilson, 24, is charged with killing...

<p>A woman used her 4-week-old baby as a weapon in a domestic dispute, swinging the infant through the air and striking her boyfriend with the child, authorities said.</p> <p>The baby was critically injured in the attack early Sunday, said District Attorney Bradley Foulk.</p>

It began with a crush, police said, and turned into one of the most shocking crimes in Milwaukee's long, violent summer: an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by as many as 20 boys while a 16-year-old girl she was romantically interested in watched and coached her. The 16-year-old and a 15-year-old boy have been charged in juvenile court in the alleged attack, which authorities said took place Monday in a house on the city's north side. The teenage girl's 40-year-old uncle might also be charged, authorities said. The youth's names were not released because of their ages. Investigators are still...

A terrified 3-year-old girl was left stranded in the lobby of a Chinatown building after her mother angrily told her, "Go away! I don't want you anymore!" police and witnesses said yesterday. Little Angelina Chen was seen running after her mother, weeping and desperately calling, "Mommy! Mommy!" as her mother walked off, witnesses told The Post. Police arrested the woman, Jin Lin, 32, of Queens, hours after witnesses said she left the child in an office building near the corner of Market and Division streets. She was charged with abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of child. But...

A mother whose daughter died at the hands of a man obsessed with violent internet porn has won her fight for a ban on possessing such images. The government has announced plans to make the possession of violent porn punishable by three years in jail. It follows a campaign by Berkshire woman Liz Longhurst whose daughter Jane, a Brighton schoolteacher, was allegedly strangled by Graham Coutts. Mrs Longhurst's campaign was backed by MPs and a 50,000-signature petition. Hidden bodyIn November last year the petition won cross-party support when it was presented to the House of Commons and was backed publicly...

CARACAS, Venezuela --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country is gaining broad support in its bid for a U.N. Security Council seat, even as the United States tries to persuade governments to vote against Venezuela. Speaking by phone from China on Sunday, Chavez told Venezuelan state television that his government is scoring "big victories" in its effort to obtain a rotating seat on the Security Council. He noted that Chinese President Hu Jintao endorsed Venezuela's campaign on Thursday, and said other countries in areas from the Caribbean to Africa have also pledged their backing. "I am sure that support is...

Bay Shore High School's Class of 2006 homecoming king admitted in a Suffolk courtroom Friday to taking part in what prosecutors called one of the more horrifying crimes in recent history -- the beating, rape and robbery at gunpoint of a young couple on their first date. Recalling talking with his co-defendants after driving away from the brutal crime, Douglas Payton, 18, said, "We started to laugh about it." Payton pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and first-degree robbery for the Dec. 3 attack in Bay Shore. Newsday is not naming the couple because they were victims of...

NEWARK, Ohio -- An Ohio pastor and his wife have been charged with possessing almost a dozen tapes of graphic child pornography. David Waser Sr., 52, and his 54-year-old wife, Judy, have lived in Newark for five years, while he serves as the minister at the Second Church of Christ next door. They have now been arrested and accused of receiving and possessing child pornography. Police said that in June, David Waser Sr. paid $130 for 11 hard-core child pornography videos on the Internet. Some involved children as young as 4 years old.

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. -- A woman who feared she would lose her boyfriend while she recuperated from surgery arranged for her 15-year-old daughter to have sex with him, authorities said. Police said the three signed an agreement specifying the sexual services the girl would perform and the compensation she would receive, including clothing and body piercings. The 37-year-old man and the girl had sex about 20 times over two months, police said. "It's incredible that any parent would be involved in such a blatant case of abuse against her own daughter," prosecutor Tony Tague told The Muskegon Chronicle for a...

A black man who confessed to fatally knifing a White Plains woman because she was white was convicted yesterday of murder as a hate crime. A Westchester jury took just 4 1/2 - including 45 minutes spent re-watching his videotaped confession - to find Phillip Grant guilty of murder and possession of a weapon. "As long as she had blond hair and blue eyes, she had to die," Grant said on the video. Grant, 44, had admitted killing Concetta Russo-Carriero, 56, in the parking garage of the Galleria shopping mall, a block from the courthouse in downtown White Plains. He...

EPHRATA — A 15-year-old boy was sentenced Monday to more than 26 years in prison for beating and stabbing a playmate to death three years ago, closing one of the most brutal murders ever committed by a juvenile in Washington state. Evan Savoie, of Ephrata, showed no emotion when Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen imposed the maximum sentence. He smiled slightly as he was led away in handcuffs. Savoie was 12 years old when he and a friend were charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 15, 2003, death of Craig Sorger, a developmentally disabled boy who had...

President Hugo Chávez warned he could declare the United States ambassador William Brownfield persona non grata and thus expel him from Venezuela if the diplomat continued to walk around Venezuela "as if he owned the country." Chávez' remarks came Sunday during his 252nd weekly radio and TV ¡Aló, Presidente! (Hello, President!), from north central Carabobo state. The Venezuelan ruler mentioned an incident involving Brownfield last April 7th. The US diplomat was visiting a baseball field in Coche, southwest Caracas, to make a donation of sports goods, but pro-government activists insulted him and threw objects at him. Chávez urged Brownfield to...

Feb. 7, 2006 — A wild New Year's Eve two years ago has landed a Georgia teen in prison for 10 years on charges of child molestation in a case that has state legislators reworking the strict law that put him behind bars. Genarlow Wilson and a group of friends had the kind of bash no parent would want their teenager to attend. Crime scene investigators combing the room in a Days Inn in the small town of Douglasville, Ga., found evidence of drinking, as well as condoms and wrappers littered all over. Plus, there was a video camera. In...

A U.S.-based Saudi professor and former U.N. fellow says he agrees with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Holocaust is a "myth" and says America eventually will collapse like the Soviet Union. Abdullah Muhammad Sindi, who has taught at four American schools, told Iran's Mehr News Agency Dec. 26, "I agree wholeheartedly with President Ahmadinejad."

Pakistani Killed Daughters to Save 'Honor' By KHALID TANVEER (Associated Press Writer) From Associated Press December 28, 2005 5:37 PM EST MULTAN, Pakistan - Nazir Ahmed appears calm and unrepentant as he recounts how he slit the throats of his three young daughters and their 25-year old stepsister to salvage his family's "honor" - a crime that shocked Pakistan. The 40-year old laborer, speaking to The Associated Press in police detention as he was being shifted to prison, confessed to just one regret - that he didn't murder the stepsister's alleged lover too. Hundreds of girls and women are murdered...

Here is yet another case of savage butchery committed against a woman for offending the honor of a man. From the New Brisbane's News: MULTAN, Pakistan - A Pakistani man cut off the nose and lips of his 19-year-old sister-in-law after she went to court for a divorce in a tribal area of the central province of Punjab, police said on Thursday. Abbas then attacked the girl, hacking off her nose and slicing off her lips. A doctor treating the girl said her nose had been cut off from the bridge and her lips partially severed. Numerous cases have also...

The question in this title may seem strange, but there is actually a very strong coincidence. A coworker of mine went last week to Chile to participate in the Pucon half Ironman triathlon, which took place on the same day as Chavez’ sexist remarks about Condoleezza Rice. Since Sunday, I have been trying to find news in the international press about both events, with very limited success. In the case of the triathlon I was trying to find out how well she did in her category (over 40, ladies) which was never reported by the official website. But so far,...

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that he signed an order to immediately expropriate the assets of Venepal, a bankrupt paper company that halted operations last month. Chavez met with former Venepal employees to sign the expropriation order. The workers vowed to rebuild the company with the help of the government and manufacture books and notebooks the government could use in public schools and other education-related social projects. Chavez, a self-described "revolutionary" and critic of unbridled capitalism, said Venepal's expropriation is a step in Venezuela's new economic self-development model. "We're at war against poverty and against misery in Venezuela," he...

By this sword, I rule!  Robert E. Howard fans should recognize the echo of a Kull story in the sentence, "By this sword, I rule." Howard liked to write about strong, brooding warriors. They might be men in the wild west of America, boxers in the ring, or naive barbarians thundering through the halls of civilizations so ancient even the citizens had forgotten their distant origins.In some ways, Aragorn was a barbarian, at least from a Gondorian perspective. Although raised by Elrond in an Eldarin household, Aragorn was no city boy. And both his father and grandfather had been killed...

If a lack of sympathy was a guide to guilt, then Indonesia's best-known radical Muslim would be rightly convicted of the Bali bombings. Abu Bakar Bashir is the elderly cleric Western intelligence has identified as the man most likely to have organised Saturday night's Kuta slaughter. While he firmly denies any involvement in the carnage, there's no sign from Bashir, the head of a Muslim boys' boarding school, of sympathy for those young Westerners, about the same age as his charges, who perished in those "sinful nightclubs". In a land dominated by moderate Muslims, Mr Bashir is a genuine radical....