Free Republic

May 14, 2007 issue - The psalmist writes, "the fool has said in his heart, there is no God." It takes a certain sang-froid to quote this verse in a book promoting atheism, butto the journalist Christopher Hitchens it's an opportunity to remind his readers that in the iron-fisted Kingdom of Judea, "it would perhaps have been a fool who did not keep this conclusion buried deep inside." Today the risks associated with heresy are smaller, although not negligible. Just ask the novelist Salman Rushdie, who spent a decade under fatwa of death for apostasy—or Hitchens himself, who was warned...

The former senator and "Law and Order" actor Fred Thompson is being mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. Mr. Thompson has said he will keep an open mind about a 2008 campaign. In a recent interview, he blasted the reputation of Mahatma Gandhi, the most overrated man in the 20th century and one whose name now graces a building at James Madison University. Sen. Thompson noted that the anti-war group Code Pink had unveiled a giant paper mache model of Gandhi at one of their peace rallies, so gave this bit of history. "During World War II, Gandhi penned an...

Madonna says she is not content to be the Queen of Pop - she wants to be like Gandhi. The singer adds peace campaigners John Lennon and Martin Luther King to her roll call of individuals she emulates. Madonna, 48, said: "For me the best thing in the world is to see something or hear something and go 'damn, I wish I did that, damn, I wish I could do that. That's inspiring'." She told Sirius Radio in the US: "I want to be like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, and John Lennon... but I want to stay alive." The...

It is something of an anomaly that Gandhi, held in popular myth to be a pure pacifist (a myth which governments of India have always been at great pains to sustain in the belief that it will reflect credit on India itself, and to which the present movie adheres slavishly), was until fifty not ill-disposed to war at all. As I have already noted, in three wars, no sooner had the bugles sounded than Gandhi not only gave his support, but was clamoring for arms. To form new regiments! To fight! To destroy the enemies of the empire! Regular Indian...

MUMBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Indian police have stepped up security for the head of the ruling Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, after reports of threats from al-Qaeda or its affiliates, police said on Saturday. Her mother-in-law, Indira, and husband, Rajiv, were both assassinated. The Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, part of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty which has ruled India for much of its independence since 1947, is currently in the western financial hub of Mumbai to address a rally to boost her party's chances in local elections next year. "We have increased security for Sonia Gandhi keeping in view the threat," a...

His mantra on peace and non violence still acts as a guiding principle for many across the globe. And as a way of promoting his crusade for peace, Mahatma Gandhi’s family is taking the baton of his philosophy across the world by holding rallies and conferences for terror victims and appealing for universal peace. Bapu’s grandson Arun will lead a rally in Washington DC to highlight peace and non-violence on September 11, the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in which more than 2,700 people were killed. On the same day in Mumbai, his son...

Keep the faith platform | BG Deshmukh September 7, 2006 The story of India’s strategic programmes is not well documented. Part of the reason is that protagonists do not talk. Even if they want to, they are handicapped by the Official Secrets Act that follows signatories to the grave. Given these limitations, a few defence analysts and retired officials like me have tried to describe the projects as best as we could without compromising on national security. At the best of times, it is not an easy job. At worse, it can turn into imaginings. Even though scientists at the...

by Mark Finkelstein August 16, 2006 - 08:02 We all remember how the MSM climbed all over Hillary Clinton when a few years ago she thought it was funny to claim that Mahatma Gandhi "ran a gas station down in St. Louis." Or more recently when she made her "plantation" remark. And of course we recall the liberal media saying it was a career-ender for Joe Biden to have said "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking," Or not. But let George Allen make a similarly insensitive...

Just as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah admitted publicly that Israel's offensive against his terrorist army was taking its toll, some Muslims poured into their streets to stomp on Israeli and U.S. flags. U.N. diplomats and Western appeasers are busily trying to back Israel into an indefensible corner. But how would Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi stand on the current conflict? Gandhi called terrorists "murderers." MLK recognized the Jewish "religious and cultural commitment to justice." Just yesterday, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah: ...for the first time since fighting began 22 days ago, offered Thursday to stop rocket attacks on northern Israel in...

What a guy!

President George W Bush faced a chorus of protest as he honoured the memory of Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to India. Before signing a historic nuclear deal yesterday, Mr Bush, a believer in the doctrine of military pre-emption, sprinkled rose petals over the memorial to the philosopher of non-violence. The short trip to the Rajghat in New Delhi, with Mr Bush and his wife Laura barefoot, preceded a triumphant statement heralding a new era of co-operation between the two countries. Arundhati Roy, the Booker Prize-winning novelist and social activist, wrote that millions of Indians would "wince" as Mr Bush...

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." Iran's leading dissident, Akbar Ganji, though ailing in prison from torture, solitary confinement and the effects of a two-month hunger strike, has shown himself to be a man in the Gandhian mould. Even as his body withers, Mr. Ganji, equal parts investigative journalist, political theorist and non-violent activist, continues to defy Iran's theocratic dictatorship. He has gone so far as to demand the resignation of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who, according to the Islamic constitution, rules above the law and without...

A peacenik inspired by India Vir Sanghvi New Delhi, December 14, 2005 He is the unlikeliest saviour the United Nations can expect. And yet, Ted Turner, the legendary founder of CNN, Cartoon Network and even World Championship Wrestling, is giving a billion dollars of his own money to various UN agencies through his United Nations Foundation. Turner is in Delhi to induct N.R. Narayana Murthy on to the board of the Foundation and though he has lost none of his legendary swagger, he says that he is a changed man. "I went to military school. I supported the Vietnam War....

Note: This article may seem pedantic, but it is aimed at those who are not “insiders” on the history of the Middle East.I keep hearing the phrase, “It’s their land,” regarding Palestinian claims to Israel. Terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad publicly assert that their aims are to reclaim every inch of Israel as part of a proposed Palestinian homeland. Unfortunately, these ownership claims are echoed by “activist” groups like the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestine Solidarity Movement, both with throngs of naïve followers on U.S. and European college campuses. The followers are too eager to take these...

On midnight 14th August 1947, Great Britain ceded soverignity over the Indian subcontinent to its native people. The struggle for Independence was led by Mohandas K Gandhi and boasted stalwarts like Nehru. The day also marked the birth in blood of 2 new nations - India and Pakistan - in one ancient land .

Referred to by the Dalai Lama as his 'little sister' this Burmese freedom fighter has tirelessly worked for democracy in her country for the last 16 years... Danubyu, Myanmar. 5 April, 1989: two months before the Tiananmen Square massacre in nearby China. A woman walks down the middle of the street, accompanied by several men. Six soldiers of the State Law and Order Restoration Council - the junta which has crushed the democracy movement and killed thousands of people in Rangoon - order the group to stop. The group pays no heed. A young army captain whips out his revolver...

THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT? clinton legacy of lynching update7.23.05   by Mia T, 7.23.05 A LEGACY OF LYNCHING 1 The following movie in Flash format for Without Sanctuary features a series of photographs from James Allen's collection with a voice narrative about the work by Mr. Allen. If you have a regular speed 56K modem, be patient - the movie will start playing in about eight minutes. If you have a high-speed connection, the movie will load for playback in about 20-30 seconds. view movie (WARNING! HORRIFIC) (Read the entire text of James Allen's narrative)   2 "It may...

Yes, there was a Blitz spirit. As we waited in large crowds for a train out of London on Thursday afternoon, everyone was peaceful, cooperative, calm and slightly more jokey than usual. A woman near me in the carriage was talking on her mobile phone: "There's nothing left for them to bomb," she said cheerfully. "You'll find the sausage rolls at the bottom of the fridge." And, yes, the emergency services were magnificent. They had trained; they were coordinated; they were ready. The strength of a civilisation is shown not only in its great monuments and works of art, or...

HUA HIN, Thailand - Indians are "a slippery, treacherous people", said president Richard Nixon. "The Indians are bastards anyway. They are the most aggressive goddamn people around," echoed his assistant for national security affairs, Henry Kissinger. The setting: a White House meeting on July 16, 1971, during the run-up to the India-Pakistan war which ultimately led to the birth of Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan. The US State Department recently declassified some of the Nixon White House tapes and secret documents that bring to light the way in which the Nixon administration went about the Bangladesh saga, reflecting the potential of...

Imagine an Indian's delight when he or she finds a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a US national historic site park honouring an equally inspiring world leader, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Take it a step further- imagine walking onto such a site to be greeted by the aforesaid memorial as the very outset of the journey. The foregone feeling of exaltation and an unparalleled sense of recognition is outdone only by the outstanding number of visitors waiting in a queue patiently, to read the brief but poignant footnotes on Gandhji's statue. Unparalleled is also the fact that this statue,...