Free Republic

Greyhawk writes: When I saw John Kerry in Iraq recently I thought that here was a great opportunity to do something for America and Iraq - express solidarity, a commitment to success for democracy in the upcomming elections, support the troops, etc. etc. Then I found this story: WASHINGTON - When Congress meets in a special joint session Thursday to count electoral ballots from the presidential race, Sen. John F. Kerry will be noticeably absent - thousands of miles away on a fact-finding trip in the Middle East. Which led me to believe the purpose of his visit might be...

BERLIN (AFP) - Seven-time world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher of Germany has donated 10 million dollars to the victims of last week's Asian tsunamis, his manager Willi Weber said during a German telethon. "The dawning of the New Year has not been as joyful for us this year because of the catastrophe in Asia. We sympathise with the victims in their grief," Schumacher said. The death toll from the massive December 26 earthquake and resulting tidal waves around the Indian Ocean neared 146,000 Tuesday.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Radio giant Clear Channel Communications has come under fire from women's health advocates over a Christmas contest in which stations granted breast enlargement surgeries to women in four cities. In the "Breast Christmas Ever" contest, 13 women were awarded the procedure after writing essays to the stations explaining why they wanted larger breasts. A Tampa station claimed to receive more than 91,000 entries. Clear Channel said it had nothing to do with the contest and that it was a decision by local station managers to hold the promotion. The contest was aired on Clear Channel stations...

Like any other group, Communists come in a lot of shapes, sizes and colors. This time they’re wearing pink, they’re on the nightly news, and more than anything, they want the mothers and grandmothers of America to identify with them. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the leaders of the women’s anti-war group Code Pink got lost on their way to the carpool line. Since October, these hot pink-clad "marching moms" have been spinning the same tale to reporters from coast to coast, the one about how concern for their families moved them to trade their oven mitts...

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A DEPLOYMENT IN IRAQ 1. Sleep on a cot in the garage. 2. Replace the garage door with a curtain. 3. Six hours after you go to sleep, have your wife or girlfriend whip open the curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes and mumble, “Sorry, wrong cot.” 4. Renovate your bathroom. Hang a green plastic sheet down from the middle of your bathtub and move the showerhead down to chest level. Keep four inches of soapy cold water on the floor, stop cleaning the toilet and pee everywhere but in the toilet itself. Leave two...

Wild Outdoor Adventures Starts to Market China Hunts 1 hour, 57 minutes ago (PRWEB) December 31, 2004 -- China has now opened its doors to the world hunting market after being closed for 2 years. Cliff Tulpa, director of Wild Outdoor Adventures, was in Beijing recently to negotiate travel packages for marketing in the USA. According to Tulpa, the China market is prime for US hunters and adventure seekers that are looking for something different. Wild Outdoor Adventures markets the culture and adventure tourism in addition to hunting and fishing. "Most hunters that travel and the non-hunters that enjoy adventure...

The New York Times agrees with that United Nations official who suggested the United States was stingy in the aid planned for tsunami-devastated nations. The official later backed down, but it's unlikely the liberal newspaper will do so. In fact, the newspaper, in an editorial, said the United States has not only been stingy in its response to the Asian tsunami disaster, but in giving aid in general. The editorial said the $15 million initially offered by Washington was less than the figure the Republican Party plans to spend on President Bush's inauguration in January. Mr. Bush and Secretary of...

IT seems almost impossible. Just days after the tidal wave disaster, one of the devastated beaches was returning to normal yesterday. On Sunday, Patong Beach was hit by a wall of water that swept into Phuket, claiming at least 120 lives. Parasols, chairs, and other beach paraphernalia were swept to the top of the tree-lined beach, dragging helpless holidaymakers with them. It was at this beach that six-month-old Melina Heppell, of Perth, disappeared from her father's arms when the huge wave struck. For some tourists yesterday, however, the tragedy was becoming a memory, albeit a vivid one, as they made...

HARTFORD — Finding an elusive cell phone number could become a lot easier by next fall. Most of the wireless phone industry is working to release a cellular phone directory next year, as these phones are the only way to reach many young people and a key communication tool in the business world. A consumer would have to sign up to be on the list. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea. Two wireless companies and some consumer advocates argue a directory would pose a risk to consumer privacy and open their cell phones up to telemarketers. Jeffrey Fishburn, spokesman...

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, November 10, 2004 — HUMMER owners are forming a group of volunteers that will be available to assist the American Red Cross in its disaster relief efforts. Under a collaboration announced during the American Red Cross Disaster Response Symposium in South Bend, Indiana, members of The HUMMER Club Inc. can choose to become certified as Red Cross volunteers who can be deployed in local chapter and national relief operations to drive supplies and people into disaster areas that other vehicles might not be able to reach. The volunteer program will go by the name of HOPE – HUMMER...

HONG KONG (AFP) - The Hong Kong customs office kicked up a stink over what it called a "fart bomb toy," describing it as unsafe. The small silver metallic bag, showing a cheeky boy with his trousers down emitting a cloud that reads "boom", contains a powdered sulphur compound and a small plastic bag of diluted acid. The customs office said the package would give off a "disgusting smell" as well as up to 20 milligrams of hydrogen sulphide when pressed. "Hydrogen sulphide may cause nausea, headache, breathing problems as well as eye irritation. Exposure to high concentration of hydrogen...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - An Indiana University student has admitted tossing a guinea pig tied to a makeshift parachute out of an eighth-floor dormitory, police said. The 19-year-old student, who could face a felony charge of animal cruelty, told IU police that Thursday's incident was a "prank gone bad." IU police officer Brice Boembeke said the student told police he had intended to retrieve his pet once it floated to safety, but it got stuck in a tree on the way down. Janitors at Briscoe Quadrangle rescued the animal, which was slightly injured. Boembeke said the student admitted throwing his pet...

Fox reporting FOUR atheistst showed up. Congratulations, Milford for holding the line

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian police seized 292 voodoo dolls but were reluctant to inspect the black, hand-sized talismans for fear of witchcraft. "Witches don't exist, but if they do, they do," Highway Police Capt. Gerson Fajardo explained in a local newspaper interview published on Thursday. Transporting or selling the dolls is not against the law in Colombia. But police intelligence officer Rolando Silva, described by El Tiempo newspaper as an expert in witchcraft, nonetheless defended their seizure in the central province of Quindio. "It was a measure to protect the moral conduct and the good habits of the people,"...

Last night, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Center for International Environmental Law announced a complaint on behalf of Arctic Inuit peoples against the United States "for causing global warming and its devastating impacts." And what are the devastating impacts? "Apparently their snowmobiles are falling through the ice," relays Christopher C. Horner, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who is attending this week's global-warming negotiations in Buenos Aires. "Leaving aside for the moment this action's legal merits (there are none), a remarkable approach to oral argument on this case was tried at a Monday night event publicizing...

LONDON - British workers have been told: Have a merry Christmas — but skip the mistletoe, don't dance on the desks and definitely don't perch bare-bottomed on the photocopier. Such are the horrors of the modern British office party highlighted Friday in a welter of advice which, to some minds, would kill the fun. The Trades Union Congress and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents advised: Nix on candles, flaming puddings and cigarettes. Careful with the Christmas trees, which injured a thousand Britons in December 2002. Skip the mistletoe. A sexual harassment case is no fun. No dancing...

WOMEN fed up with their menfolk moaning while out Christmas shopping can now leave them to play in their own in-store creche. Marks and Spencer, the venerable British department store chain, said Wednesday it was creating playpens for men in six of its stores, fully equipped with everything to keep the guys entertained for hours. The lads will be able to settle back in sofas and watch a selection of films and TV programmes such as The Best of Monty Python and Football's Greatest Ever Matches. Each area will also boast a Scalextric slot-car racing set, remote-control quad bikes and...

Redding resident Richard "Dick" Morris, who was former President Clinton's chief campaign adviser, is one of the state's top income tax delinquents. Morris, of Beeholm Road, West Redding, owes the state $289,200, making him seventh on the list of the state's worst 100 tax delinquents. That amount includes interest and penalties. The list of the top 100 is on the state Department of Revenue Services Web site, www.ct.gov/drs. It is updated monthly. The state's worst delinquent is Thomas Mae, a South Windsor man, who owes about $617,100 in income taxes, interest and penalties. The top 100 are all at least...

LONDON (AFP) - Jeremy Brown from Northern Ireland may rue the day he decided to change his name to Crazy Horse Invincible, partly because he did so after one too many drinks, but mainly because his new identity is causing more hassle that it may be worth. The Belfast office of low cost airline Jet2.com recently refused to accept one of his bookings on line, deciding that someone calling himself Crazy Horse Invincible must be up to no good. "Crazy Horse's name raised an eyebrow with the bookings team, so we had to double-check," said Steve Lee, Jet2.com's director, of...

A composite image of Uranus taken from the Keck telescope shows two sides of the seventh planet and its rings. First, astronomers thought Uranus was just one star among many in the night sky. Even after 1781, when they knew better, there was little they could see – the seventh planet was too far away.