Free Republic

How many cease-fires have there been in the Middle East -- or is the number too large to remember? Over the past half century, there must have been more cease-fires in the Middle East than in the rest of the world combined. What will this latest cease-fire do? It will give Hezbollah a breather from Israeli retaliation and allow them time to get new shipments of military equipment from Iran, rebuild their military infrastructure and prepare for the next round of attacks on Israel.

On August 15th, I posted the following in response to Indra Nooyi’s appointment as CEO of Pepsico: This is a copy of the letter I just sent to Pepsico. Dear BOD: I have been a consumer of Pepsi products as long as I can remember. Indeed, my grandfather bought Pepsi stock in the post-depression era which was subsequently willed to my parents. However, that came to an end today when you announced the appointment of Indra K. Nooyi as your new CEO. I have read her speech where she referred to the US as the "middle finger" of a world-wide...

Boy George Reports for 5 Days of Garbage Duty in NYC Aug 14, 2006 07:51 AM EDT NEW YORK (AP) -- Boy George reported for garbage duty on the streets of Manhattan early Monday, his court-ordered community service that was described by a judge as an "exercise in humiliation or in humility." The one-time Culture Club singer was ordered to spend five days working for the Department of Sanitation after pleading guilty in March to falsely reporting a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment. The officers who responded found cocaine instead. At 7 a.m. Monday, a sport utility vehicle pulled...

Civil rights campaigners sued the Pennsylvania town of Hazleton on Tuesday, seeking to block one of America's toughest local laws against illegal immigrants. The suit says Hazelton's City Council violated the U.S. constitution when it passed a law denying business permits to companies that hire illegal aliens and fining landlords who rent homes to them. The measure, which also establishes English as the town's official language, has made Hazleton a focus of the national debate on immigration. The plaintiffs say their suit is the first in the country to challenge a local immigration ordinance. The suit was filed in federal...

A Democratic political ad is under fire from Hispanics who say it unfairly compares Latino immigrants to terrorists. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sponsored a 35-second ad on its Web site that shows footage of two people scaling a border fence mixed with images of Osama Bin Laden and North Korea President Kim Jong Il. Houston City Councilwom, , ) of New York asking that the ad be pulled. She said it could alienate Latino voters. The ad opens with the words "Security Under Bush and GOP?" It features scenes of a masked man with a bazooka, scenes from terrorist...

'City Slickers' actor Bruno Kirby dies By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 16, 2:27 AM ET LOS ANGELES - Bruno Kirby, a veteran character actor known for playing the best friend in two of Billy Crystal's biggest comedies "When Harry Met Sally" and "City Slickers," has died. He was 57. Kirby died Monday in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia, his wife Lynn Sellers said in a statement Tuesday. He had been recently diagnosed with the disease. "We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from Bruno's fans and colleagues who have admired...

Illinois Senator Barack Obama warns citizens at his 50th Town Hall meeting about gas guzzling, WPSD-TV reports. It was among many points made to the standing room only audience at the Metropolis Community Center. Obama spoke on everything from DC politics to global warming. He says part of the blame for the world's higher temperatures rests on gas guzzling vehicles. Obama says consumers can make the difference by switching to higher mileage hybrids. Today the Senator said, "It would save more energy, do more for the environment and create better world security than all the drilling we could do in...

BALTIMORE (AP) - A protester staked out the home of a Muslim candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates, holding a sign and wearing a T-shirt that mocked Islam. Timothy Truett sat in a folding chair Saturday on the cul-de-sac outside Saqib Ali's home in Gaithersburg with a sign reading ``Islam sucks,'' and a shirt with the slogan, ``This mind is an Allah-free zone.''

Iran's president has launched a Web log, using his first entry to recount his poor upbringing and ask visitors to the site if they think the United States and Israel want to start a new world war. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose speeches are riddled with anti-U.S. rhetoric, also described how he was angered by American meddling in Iran even when he was at elementary school. Ahmadinejad swept to a surprise victory in last year's presidential race by promising the country's poor a fairer share of Iran's oil wealth and emphasizing his own humble origins that led many to vote for him...

WASHINGTON -- Immigration officials have now picked up all but two of the 11 Egyptian exchange students who came to the U.S. for a summer course in Montana but never showed up for classes. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tracked three of the students to Des Moines. They were arrested at about 8 p.m. Friday, and are being held in the Polk County Jail. They will be here until a federal immigration judge decides if they will face charges or be deported. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents won't say what led them to find these students in Des Moines...

Doha, 10 August (AKI) - A possible attempt to hijack a Qatar Airways aeroplane travelling from the Jordanian capital Amman, to Doha in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday has been foiled. According to a report on the Arab satelitte TV channel Al Jazeera, quoting a passenger on that flight, authorities arrested the alleged hijacker, a young man in his 20s, whose nationality was not clear but appeared to be of African origin. According to the same source, five minutes after take off, shots were heard in the plane and the man rushed to the aircraft's toilet. He was stopped...

LONDON -- British authorities disrupted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft midair between the United Kingdom and the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, officials said Thursday.

Five of the popular animals euthanized after girl, 9, is bitten Public condolences poured into the Minnesota Zoo on Friday, as zoo visitors and staff mourned the deaths of an entire meerkat family. Kids raced to the outdoor exhibit in Apple Valley and plastered their hands against the glass, only to find nothing inside. A small boy in a stroller wailed as his mother told him the creatures were away on vacation. "This is a hard day. This was frustrating, sad and totally avoidable," said Tony Fisher, zoo collections manager. "People need to respect the barriers we put up to...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hasn't appeared in public since his country test-fired missiles that drew international condemnation, leading to speculation of a possible sense of crisis inside the reclusive nation. Kim attended a Russian art performance and visited a tire factory July 4, a day before the missile launches, and he hasn't appeared publicly since, according to South Korea's spy agency. The North's propaganda machine hasn't reported on Kim's activities since the missile launches, but last week the country's official news agency said Kim sent a consolation message to ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Kim usually visits military...

Breaking News Lieberman Concedes Senate Race, Will Run as Independent Just a headline right now....

Connecticut // U.S. Senate - - Dem Primary 608 of 748 Precincts Reporting - 81.28% Lamont, Ned 116,387 51.71% **Winner Lieberman, Joe (i) 108,683 48.29% Georgia, U.S. House Democratic District 4 Precincts Reporting: 58 of 167 (35%) Hank Johnson 12098 60% Cynthia McKinney (I) 8002 40% By ROBERT TANNER With more than half the precincts counted Tuesday, Sen. Joe Lieberman struggled in his bid for a fourth term, battling to overcome a primary challenger and escape payback from his own party for supporting the Iraq war. Six years after Democrats backed him for vice president, Lieberman lagged with 48 percent,...

PARIS- Police have shut down makeshift Muslim prayer rooms at Paris' two main airports after they came under scrutiny following a far-right politician's allegations that Islamists were compromising security. Officials insist there was no threat. But the prayer sites set up by Muslim workers in cloak rooms, depots and other areas at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports were quietly shuttered. There are three official prayer rooms still open at each airport, just as there are chapels for Christians and synagogues for Jews. A book published in May by Philippe de Villiers, a presidential hopeful who opposes Muslim immigration, said...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday. Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas. Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex. But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event,...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Marine staff sergeant linked to the killings of civilians in Haditha, Iraq, is suing anti-war Congressman John Murtha for libel, his attorneys announced Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday. Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas. Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex. But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event,...