Free Republic

RICHMOND, Va. – The crowded, chaotic sidewalk on Main Street, across from the federal courthouse, was an unlikely location for a lesson on the virtues of the fifth amendment. But standing behind a throng that wanted a pound of Michael Vick's flesh – people that had just screamed for the Atlanta Falcons quarterback to "burn in hell" and held signs advocating his murder, torture and neutering – was Thomas Smith in work boots and a white t-shirt. High above his head he held a simple sign with just a single word: "Constitution." "These folks have convicted a man who hasn't...

I was recently shown a videotape of people reacting to radio talk shows. Organized by a firm that specializes in analyzing radio talk shows, the members of the listening panel were carefully chosen to represent all major listening groups within American society. But I quickly noticed something odd — I saw no blacks among the selected listeners. I asked why. And the response was stunning. Blacks had always been included, I was told, but no more. Not because the firm was not interested in black listeners — on the contrary, blacks are an important part of the radio audience. They...

With a grand jury now expected to convene Monday to weigh indictments of two or three of the Duke lacrosse players tied to allegations of raping an exotic dancer, defense lawyers say they fear their clients are being targeted in a setup or sting operation possibly perpetrated by law enforcement. The lawyers have advised the players not to trust or respond to any e-mails sent to each other, one attorney tells Time. The explosive allegations stem from an e-mail message sent in the last few days to several players from the e-mail address of another player, stating he was going...

"How come the United States selects a female chimpanzee as Secretary of State?" "This black woman thinks rather a lot of herself." "She's so ugly she's losing face. Even a dog would be put off its dinner while she's being fed." The 5000 years of civilisation on which the Chinese pride themselves were not so evident this week in the comments on Condoleezza Rice's visit to Beijing posted on the internet site "New Tide Net". As monitored by the media analyst Liu Xiaobo, the overall tone of the 800 postings was hostile and about 10 per cent were racist, sexist...

A conservative pastor and Christian broadcaster is urging Israeli officials to pursue a closer relationship with the black community in America -- particularly, he observes, since Jews and blacks have much in common in terms of their cultural experiences: their traditions of struggle and deliverance. Glenn Plummer, the outgoing chairman and chief executive officer of the National Religious Broadcasters, recently spoke at this year's NRB Convention in Anaheim, where he addressed an audience that included members of the Israeli Knesset. In his talk, he drew out the many similarities he sees between the historical struggles of American citizens of African...

Just think of all the ways a man might use a banana to offend a woman. Then you may imagine why some people leaped to the wrong conclusion when a woman complained about a Columbus police officer eating a banana at the Civic Center as people gathered for a Jan. 15 civil rights march. The woman was deeply offended, she told police. The police were deeply bewildered. The offense was not what you might imagine it to be. I imagined the officer shoving the banana into his pants pocket to make others point at it and say, "Hey, is that...

SEATTLE - Are you ready for Star Wars: Episode Three? Don't get excited just yet, the new movie doesn't open until May. But for one Seattle fan, it's never too early, or too cold, to start the wait. Jeff Twieden doesn't care that it's freezing outside. He's camping out in front of the Cinerama Theater in downtown Seattle, waiting for Episode Three to open. It's only 22 weeks away. "I've got another sleeping bag coming, so that's sleeping bag number three," he says. "It's better to be too hot than too cold." In 1999, Twieden made international headlines when he...

Ok I'll admit that I'm starting this thread because of the book the Da Vinci code which I just finished. What are people's opinions on the Catholic group Opus Dei? Prior to reading the book I had never heard of them except for the Robert Hansen case. I do have Catholic friends, but I know of no one who is a member of Opus Dei

A four-month-old interview that Will Smith gave to a German newspaper - in which the movie star equated the devastation of 9/11 with an attack by "a racist cop" - is belatedly raising blood pressure in the United States. Yesterday, Syracuse activist Jon Alvarez - whose Web site, PABAAH.com, stands for Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood - launched a boycott of Smith's movies over the Aug. 9 interview in Frankfurter Allgemeine, a major daily. "No. Absolutely not," Smith replied when reporter Johanna Adorjan asked if the events of 9/11 had personally changed him. "When you grow up black in America...

SAN DIEGO - Los Angeles Dodgers (news) first baseman Shawn Green will definitely sit out at least one game of a weekend series against the San Francisco Giants (news) in observance of Yom Kippur, but will wait until Thursday to make his final decision. Green said Wednesday there's a possibility he'll sit out both Friday night and Saturday afternoon. He planned to talk to his wife and parents before making a final decision. "No matter what, two games is a big commitment," Green said before the Dodgers played the San Diego Padres (news). "The standings a'nd what happens now, I...

HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) - The German army has discovered that more and more of its rank-and-file soldiers are unable to keep up the pace because they are too fat, according to next Monday's issue of magazine Der Spiegel. The army believes it risks being lumbered with a generation of under-performing heavyweights due to the dramatic overall rise in obesity in the country, the magazine says. Armed Forces doctor Admiral Karsten Ocker has told Der Spiegal he feared Germany could be on course to becoming "an XXL nation". The number of joint and back injuries is rising because soldiers are simply...

Cadillac (search) and Rolls-Royce (search) are in — but Lexus is out. Jacob the Jeweler (search) is hot — but Burberry and Timberland are not. A new study of brand mentions in songs shows what's cool among the hip-hop crowd — and how fast tastes change. So far this year, 59 different brands have been mentioned 645 times in Billboard Top 20 tunes (mainly hip-hop), according to a survey by San Francisco-based marketing firm Agenda, Inc.

Before he passed away in March, Allen O. Hughes took his final trip East. He came with Ruby, his wife of 56 years. They came not because they liked to travel—they came because Allen had lymphoma and he wanted to visit his only daughter and his granddaughter and his two great-grandchildren one last time. The last I saw of him, a burly airport screener was forcing my frail and faltering 78-year-old father to stand at attention—arms spread—for a wand search. As I watched from the other side of the security gate I saw the man in the uniform point to...

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- The United States advanced to an all-time high No. 7 in FIFA's rankings Wednesday while Greece jumped 21 spots to No. 14 after its dazzling run to the European Championship title. Brazil remained No. 1 for the 25th straight month, and France and Spain stayed at second and third. The United States twice had climbed as high as eighth -- in September 2002 and again in May. The Americans beat Grenada in a home-and-home series in June to reach the semifinals of World Cup qualifying in its region of North and Central America and the Caribbean....

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Continuing a crackdown on radio and TV broadcasts deemed indecent, regulators will propose that Infinity Broadcasting be fined $1.5 million for on-air comments by Howard Stern and his crew, a news report said Friday.

According to North Korea's government-controlled media, the "Great Leader'' shot five holes-in-one in his very first round and finished 38-under par. The same media say Kim routinely shoots three or four holes-in-one per round (Ace is the place!). Kim apparently goes along with this story. And Butch Harmon thinks Tiger Woods is in denial. -- Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times submits that Kim has replaced Phil Mickelson as "Best Golfer Never to Win a Major.''

HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese man who hasn't been to a barber in 31 years is vying to get in the Guinness World Records for having the longest hair, state-controlled media reported Monday. Tran Van Hay's hair is 20 feet long, Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said. Normally tied up and covered by a scarf, his hair has grown four feet in the past seven years. He last had it washed six years ago, the paper said. Hay, 67, is a traditional medicine practitioner from southern Kien Giang province, some 220 miles southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. He provides...

AYUTHAYA, Thailand - Here come the elephants. Thai officials organized a soccer game between elephants and prisoners Sunday in hopes of discouraging gambling on the European Championships. "We expect that people will support the idea that we can get fun from playing football, not gambling on football," said Nathee Chitsawang, director-general of the Thai Corrections Department. Thai authorities have cracked down on soccer gambling in prisons and elsewhere since Euro 2004 began this month in Portugal. Corrections officials have blocked viewing of the tournament in some prisons and have relocated inmates suspected of bookmaking. Sunday's game was a reward for...

DUBLIN, N.H. -- A group of friends who bought a painting for $3,200 at a church auction and then sold it for more than 150 times that price are being pressured to share some of the money. Rick O'Connor and Roy Gandhi-Schwatlo, of Dublin, and Dawn Ward, of Rindge, purchased the painting at an August 2003 auction to benefit the Dublin Community Church. They later put the painting on the auction block at Sotheby's in New York, where it sold in January for $489,600. The roughly 13-inch by 11½-inch panel of the Madonna and child turned out to be the...

AN 85-year-old Swede said today he survived four days without food and water inside his stalled car thanks to Sweden's 5-0 victory over Bulgaria in Euro 2004. Soeren Gellerstedt said news of the win was all he needed to cling on to life until rescuers found him in a desolate area in northern Sweden. "The victory kept me alive," Mr Gellerstedt, a retired farmer, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "The Swedish side gave me the best energy I could have." Mr Gellerstedt's car stalled on Friday after it struck a rock in a rural area near his...