Free Republic

China's Tibetan frontiers rekindle tradition of defiance By Chris Buckley 2 hours, 58 minutes ago Across China's mountainous west, armed troops watch over the Tibetan monasteries and towns that have emerged as hotbeds of protest kindled by traditions of defiance and newer economic grievances. More than the Tibet Autonomous Region itself, where the upsurge of anti-Chinese protests and riots erupted last month, the historically Tibetan parts of neighbouring provinces have defied efforts to smother unrest with troop convoys, roadblocks and patrols, and warnings of harsh punishment to lawbreakers. In Zhuoni, a county in the northwest province of Gansu, protesters in...

27 March 2008 [Press Release] Elderly woman brutally beaten during Township meeting Following the protests by monks in Drango (Ch: Luhuo) County on 24 March, leading to the death of an 18-year-old monk and the subsequent solidarity protest on 25 March 2008, the local authority has expelled a large number of monks from Chogri Monastery and arrested some nuns of Nanggong (Tib translit: nganga sgong) Nunnery, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). Sources also reported disappearances of many lay people from the area. On 26 March 2008, under the pretext of...

Germans puff on as smoking ban fizzles By Sarah Roberts Tue Jan 15, 8:39 PM ET Photographer Frank Blum puffed contentedly on a hand-rolled cigarette in a cafe in central Berlin, blatantly ignoring a ban that went into effect in most of Germany this month. "I'm smoking because no one's stopping me," Blum, 43, said from behind his laptop, one of a dozen customers happily smoking without fear. "The cafes aren't making it difficult." Blum is just one of many disobeying a law banning smoking in public places -- cafes, bars, restaurants and night clubs -- in force in Berlin...

China's "Stubborn Nail" loses house, gets pay-out by Robert J. Saiget 1 hour, 28 minutes ago Workmen in China demolished a house that attained almost iconic status because of its owners' refusal to move for a huge property project, but their three-year battle may have paid off. Wu Ping, whose struggle against the developers earned her the nickname "Stubborn Nail," and her husband had their two-storey brick house in the southwest city of Chongqing demolished late Monday night. Their plight -- thrown into the spotlight partly thanks to dramatic photos of the house sitting in the middle of a massive...

If you've ever read Willie Morris' My Dog Skip, or seen the movie, then you know a great deal about my own youth, growing up in the Deep South. My hometown was not unlike many small towns across the South, and the similarities between Morris' Yazoo City are many. Other than the technological differences between the 1940's and the 1960's, only the backdrop of the American Civil Rights Struggle, and the War in Viet Nam provide the more significant differences between the two periods. As I write this, I remember the shoot 'em up games that boys often play: Cowboys...

/begin my excerpt Anti-Kim Jong-il Poster at a Public Site [2006-09-12 ]  Locals at the scene saying, "There was similar one last year." "Yeah, it's still music to my ears." A video is smuggled out from N. Korea, which shows an anti-Kim Jong-il poster at a busy market place at Danchon, S. Hamkyong Province, N. Korea. Locals watching an anti-Kim Jong-il poster at a black market near the train station and talking to each other, at Danchon, S. Hamkyong Province <captured from Fuji TV broadcast> This was filmed by a N. Korean defector, who snuck into Danchon  in last May. Fuji TV...

/begin my translationN. Korea: Nuclear Test Possible If UN Sanction Is Imposed 2006.07.13 If UN passes sanction against N. Korea, N. Korea may resort to nuclear test, according to some expert. Peter Hayes, a professor at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia argued during an interview with RFA that Kim Jong-il may carry it out to show that he does not succumb to U.S. pressure.Professor Hayes is an expert on energy and security issues. He has been running a project to build small power plants in N. Korea to solve its energy problem. He has visited N. Korea seven...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Palestinians' defiant Hamas-led government sent a new militant force into the streets of Gaza on Wednesday, disregarding President Mahmoud Abbas' order banning the creation of the security body and raising the stakes in their deepening power struggle. Hamas appeared to have been propelled into action by mysterious drive-by shootings that killed two of its militants in the Gaza Strip hours earlier. These and other recent cases of deadly infighting have threatened to plunge the Palestinian territories into bloody chaos. Meanwhile, Israel reopened the main cargo crossing between Gaza and Israel, Gaza's economic lifeline, and...

IAEA defiance, hope in Iran press Conservative papers in Iran argue that Tehran has done all it can to gain the world's confidence ahead of the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting on its nuclear programme, pointing out that "confidence building is a bilateral process." Some editorials accuse the US of having double standards on the nuclear issue and of trying to "manipulate" the IAEA, with one commentator warning that the meeting is "the IAEA's last opportunity to redeem its reputation" as an independent body. Reformist dailies, however, are more optimistic about the possible outcome, with one arguing that "diplomacy is...

RAMADI, Iraq - Once Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt realized he could wiggle his toes and fingers, he had one message for the insurgents who wounded him - defiance

RAMADI, Iraq - Once Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt realized he could wiggle his toes and fingers, he had one message for the insurgents who wounded him - defiance.

Shiites Gather in Defiance of Insurgents By GASSID JABBAR, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 19, 2005 Hundreds of thousands of Shiites descended Monday on the holy city of Karbala, paying tribute to one of their most revered religious figures in what Iraqi officials called a defiant pilgrimage despite threats by militants. In Baghdad, officials also announced that one of Saddam Hussein's nephews was sentenced to life in prison for funding the violent insurgency, and would stand trial on other charges. Authorities said they had already uncovered a cache of explosives and arrested four insurgents for allegedly planning on the pilgrims...

Which kind of intelligence failure is better — the kind that badly understates a threat, such as the one in London, or the kind that overstates a threat, such as the insistent warnings before the invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein was armed with weapons of mass destruction? Even in the best intelligence services, failures are sometimes inevitable. Foresight will never be as sharp as hindsight. Only after the fact — after the Underground blows up, after 9/11, after the stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons are nowhere to be found — is it clear what the picture looks like...

Hello Lads, I don't know what sort of news coverage you're getting in the U.S, but I just thought I'd show you some pictures of London yesterday... 3 days after the terrorists struck: A Lancaster Bomber, escorted by a Spitfire and a Hurricane flies over Buckingham Palace to the Mall. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people are in the Mall. The Queen and the Royal Family are on the balcony of Buck House just as she was with Winston Churchill in 1945. The bomb doors open, and a million poppies fall to earth to commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice...

...Texas is not merely a piece of land with a particular history and government; it is an idea -- the idea that Godfearing people should be left alone to do as they will on their own land. We here in the Lone Star State still believe in the romantic idea of the Hero -- the individual who stands alone against those who would dominate him, the man who values freedom under God over any other earthly wealth, and the man who is willing (and even eager) to fight and die rather than submit himself to the rule of the outsider....

Democrats pay for votes with cocaine. See www.drudgereport.com for details.

IRAN ERUPTS? [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Secondhand, from an Iranian: I am listening to KRSI (Radio Sedaye Iran) right now. There are many Iranians calling (from Tehran, and Gorgan, etc.). All reports indicate that almost every neighborhood in Tehran is on fire. People are throwing home-made bombs, Molotov cocktails, etc. into the homes of mullahs, and burning pictures of Khamenei in complete defiance of his recent edict to mourn during the month of Muharram. Background: Khamenei delivered a declaration (not really a fatwa, although some say it was) to Iranians to honor the month of Muharram, which started about two weeks...

America has been swept up in the homosexual "marriage" juggernaut over the past three weeks. One pro-family leader says authorities in California need to get off the mark and enforce the law because crimes are occurring -- and nothing is being done to stop it from continuing. People across America are wondering where the defiance of God's law and natural law will lead. A Massachusetts judge orders that state's lawmakers to enact legislation legalizing homosexual "marriage." The mayor of San Francisco defies state law and begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Then mayors in New York and Oregon jump...

The State; Accusations of Fraud in S.F. Mayoral Election Spur Probes; Charges of electioneering and voter intimidation confront Gavin Newsom, whose office has vowed to clean up city politics.:[HOME EDITION] Lee Romney. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Feb 2, 2004. pg. B.5 Dateline: SAN FRANCISCO Section: California Metro; Part B; Metro Desk ISSN/ISBN: 04583035 Text Word Count 945 Abstract (Article Summary) Newly elected Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris opened her own investigation after a group of activists who had worked for Newsom's opponent alleged that minority residents had been intimidated and prevented from voting, and that some ballots may have...

The following is an excerpt from the website: On April 29, 2002, Deputy Dave March was murdered on the streets of Los Angeles County. The suspected gunman then fled the Country to Mexico. It is believed by many that the Mexican Government has refused to extradite the suspected killer because he may be imprisoned for life or executed for the crime. The reason for this website is to bring to light the terrible problem Law Enforcement and United States Citizens face when criminals can flee to Mexico to be considered untouchable. Mexico's lack of cooperation has led to a suspected...

PELOSI DEMOCRATS WRONG ON PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION Defied Will Of American People And Voted Against Banning Gruesome Late-Term Abortion Procedure ________________________________________________________ As President Bush Promotes Culture Of Life, Democrat Presidential Candidates Pander To Abortion Extremists In New Hampshire Vast Majority Of Americans Support Banning Partial-Birth Abortion. (CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, Conducted 1/10-12; Surveyed 1,002 Adults; Margin Of Error +/- 3%, Released 1/15/03, As Quoted In National Journal’s The Hotline, 1/15/03) Planned Parenthood Rejects Any Restrictions On Abortion, Wants To Use Taxpayer Dollars To Pay For Abortion, And Opposes Ban On Partial-Birth Abortion. Democrat Presidential Candidates Howard Dean, John Kerry, John Edwards,...

Episcopal Priest in Maryland: 'I Can No Longer Submit to Our Bishops'Similar Discontent Reported in Texas, ColoradoBy Fred Jackson and Jody BrownAugust 11, 2003(AgapePress) - An Episcopal pastor in Maryland is comparing his denomination to a "flying coffin doomed to destruction and despair" -- and says it will "carry more people to hell than it will save."Steven Randall's comments came yesterday as he went before his congregation to denounce last week's decision by church leaders to endorse an openly homosexual bishop. The move has saddened, shocked, and angered many Episcopalians who believe their leaders have betrayed God's Word.Randall, pastor...

UPDATED: Demo senators strike note of defiance in maintaining holdout By W. Gardner Selby Express-News Staff Writer Web Posted : 08/04/2003 3:15 PM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Eleven Democratic senators entered their second week away from Texas in a local hotel today by singing a song crediting them with outsmarting U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. DeLay, the House majority leader, has been blamed by Democrats for pressuring Gov. Rick Perry to call repeated special sessions for the purpose of imposing more Republican-leaning congressional districts. Several senators sang along with visiting guitarist Steve Brooks, who wore a “Killer D’s” T-shirt referring...

Korean defiance piles pressure on Bush By Rupert Cornwell in Washington 09 February 2003 The Bush administration this weekend was mounting an intense diplomatic drive to prevent the confrontation over North Korea's nuclear weapon ambitions spinning out of control, even as it makes the final preparations for a war with Iraq. The effort, which could see the appointment of a high-level US envoy to take charge of the crisis, reflects the difficulties North Korea's brazen defiance of Washington pose for the President. Not only are some Republicans as well as Democrats questioning the very different treatment of Iraq and North...

No text yet, just a radio report at the end of Rush's show.Must be worried about the Russert report this morning that he is 'Far' from the 26 votes needed for a Senate Caucus victory.

Saskatchewan's justice minister says he has major concerns about the federal government's plan to control the use of guns. Bill C-68 requires all firearms to be registered by this coming January 1st. Chris Axworthy says he's concerned law abiding citizens could become criminals through no fault of their own. He says there are still ``large numbers'' of gun owners in Saskatchewan who have not registered their weapons. Axworthy says he doesn't think the federal government's computer system will be able to handle all the last minute registration requests. He says that means even though people may have registered their guns,...

9/11? We are going flying. The US Flag Balloon will be flying on September 11th 2002. We will be flying from Kerr Park in Downingtown, Pa in the early evening weather permitting. I invite all Chester County, Pa FReepers to come out and join us. Any other FReepers are also welcome to join in. We had wanted to be at one of the sites that the terrorists hit, but I think that what we have decided to do is probably for the best. We have had one year to mourn the dead. We are flying the US Flag Balloon on...