Free Republic

Days after the shooting death of anti-abortion activist James Pouillon, some abortion opponents are asking why abortion rights supporters haven’t condemned the slaying. Harlan Drake has been charged in the deaths of Pouillon, a 63-year-old retired autoworker who was known locally for wielding signs depicting aborted fetuses, and another man Friday in Owosso, Mich. Police say Drake, 33, intended also to kill a third man. According to the Associated Press, prosecutors say Drake had been irritated by Pouillon’s protests, but police have said little about what might have led Drake to kill, other than that he had a grudge against...

There was a poignant footnote to President Obama's historic July 10 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Behind closed doors in the papal library, Obama handed Benedict a letter that Senator Edward Kennedy had asked him to personally deliver to the Pontiff. *snip* In the eyes of the traditionalist wing of the Church, however, Kennedy should have been asking the Pope for forgiveness. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported Kennedy's death, praising his work on civil rights and fighting poverty, but noted that his record was marred by his stance on abortion. As of yet, unlike some...

NASCAR's powerful moment of silence drives home the dayBy Jay Busbee Mon May 25, 2009 4:32 pm EDT NASCAR has a long tradition of patriotism and a deep connection with the military, so it's no surprise that they choose to honor our nation's holidays with a variety of tributes. But the moment of silence that was held at Monday's running of the Coca-Cola 600 may rank among the finest in the sport's history. **SNIP** ...NASCAR stopped the entire race. That doesn't happen in sports, ever. This isn't the seventh-inning stretch or a break between quarters; this is stopping play at...

Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you? But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:62-64...

Something seems very wrong here. "O" is traveling all over the world, press releases, interviews, photo ops.......but he has said NOTHING about the attack on an American Ship by pirates in the sea. WHAT is going on? This should be a MAJOR issue - confronted by the President of the United States, IMHO! Just curious - what do YOU think?

For the second time in less than a week, a packed Brooklyn, New York, synagogue has been the target of threats of violence by intruders. On Monday, according to Yeshiva World News, an Arab man in his mid-30s entered Boro Park's 'Sephardish Shul' and began making proclamations of jihad. Members of a Jewish volunteer security organization, the Shomrim, apprehended the threatening individual. They held him until police officers arrived at the scene, arresting the suspect. Detectives spoke with the "Middle Eastern man" at a station house near the synagogue. Police officials reminded the community, "If you see something, say something."...

Martin Scorsese is determined to make "Silence" his next movie. The helmer and Graham King's GK Films are negotiating with Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro to star. Gael Garcia Bernal is also circling the film, expected to begin production later this year in New Zealand. The drama is set in the 17th century as two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. "Silence" is based on the Shusaku Endo novel, which was adapted by Jay Cocks. Scorsese has had the project on...

A federal judge, clearly responding to an urgent threat of "Secondhand Jesus" infecting young people today, ruled that a state law requiring a moment of silence in public schools is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state. The country is finally taking some much-needed steps to protect our children from the ravages of secondhand Jesus which have been known to infect children with ideas about abstinence, tolerance, and charity. Young children are especially susceptible to the effects of "Secondhand Jesus." Recent studies have indicated that there is no risk-free level of "Secondhand Jesus" exposure and even brief...

Wall Street ‘red light’ on Madoff By Henny Sender in New York Published: January 4 2009 23:31 | Last updated: January 4 2009 23:31 Large Wall Street firms privately harboured suspicions about Bernard Madoff’s investment business, in some cases steering clients away from dealing with him, but were reluctant to share their concerns with regulators, according to US bankers. Banks were sceptical that Mr Madoff could deliver the consistently high returns that he reported, and they were also put off by a lack of transparency at his investment firm. For these reasons, big Wall Street firms are notably absent from...

Benoit Denizet-Lewis is trying to start a conversation in a place where no one seems to want to have it. Denizet-Lewis, a 33-year-old Jamaica Plain resident, is addicted to sex, and he wants to talk about it. But addicts usually only discuss their addictions in 12-step programs in anonymous church basements. In America Anonymous, his new book about the struggles of recovering addicts from all over America, Denizet-Lewis delves into the lives of eight addicts, and looks at as his own recovery in an attempt to spark a real conversation about addiction out in the light of day. The subjects...

The newly unearthed diaries of a colourful assassin for the wartime Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, reveal that American spy chiefs wanted Patton dead because he was threatening to expose allied collusion with Russians that cost American lives. 'We've got a terrible situation with this great patriot, he's out of control and we must save him from himself'. The OSS head General did not trust Patton The death of General Patton in December 1945, is one of the enduring mysteries of the war era. Although he had suffered serious injuries in a car crash in...

Step into the riveting silence of Philip Groning's stunning new documentary on the spirituality of Carthusian monks. Filmed without narration and very little dialogue at the Monastery of the Grand Chartreuse in France, Mr. Groning captures the brimming vitality of monastic life and the overpowering sound of God. (U.S. airing only) Sun 10/26/08 9:00 PM ET & 6 PM PT Thu 10/30/08 2:30 PM ET & 11:30 AM PT From the NY Times Lives Lived at a Monk’s Pace, Allowing Time for the Spirit to Flourish The Carthusian monks who are the subjects of Philip Gröning’s documentary “Into Great...

The 'how-to' plan to criminalize Christianity 'Homosexuals know they must silence the church and that's what's behind this' A growing movement that experts believe could end up in the criminalization of Christianity in the United States is being exposed in a new documentary being prepared for airing on October 26, officials at Coral Ridge Ministries have announced. "Hate Crime Laws" is a half-hour exposé that shows how Christians in America, Canada, Australia, and Sweden have been arrested and prosecuted for expressing opinions that are rooted in the Bible regarding homosexual conduct, Islam or other topics about which Scriptures express clear...

It's no laughing matter. Funnyman ventriloquist Jeff Dunham is fuming after a ringtone advertisement based on his popular comedy skit, "Achmed the Dead Terrorist," was scrubbed from South African TV because it mocks Islam.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was served with papers yesterday connected with the lawsuit filed more than two weeks ago in federal court in Philadelphia questioning his constitutional eligibility for the American presidency. Service was made at his Washington, D.C. Senate office at approximately 1:00 p.m. From a press release provided by filing attorney Philip Berg and available on his Web site: Philip J. Berg, Esquire, the Attorney who filed suit against Barack H. Obama challenging Senator Obama’s eligibility to serve as President of the United States, has received confirmation from his Process Service Company that the Democratic National Committee (DNC)...

An aide to U.S. Sen. Jim Webb was found dead alongside a Botetourt County road yesterday, according to a Richmond newspaper. Frederick Wayne Hutchins Jr., 26, apparently had been shot once in the head and a gun was found under his body, the Richmond Times Dispatch was reporting. The body was discovered outside his vehicle on an embankment on U.S. 220 near Fincastle.

Free speech obviously does not rank very high on the list of human rights for this group. From Israel Matzav: The UN 'Human Rights Council' decided this week that it is forbidden to criticize Islam because "religious issues can be "very complex, very sensitive and very intense...This council is not prepared to discuss religious matters in depth, consequently we should not do it." From now on, only religious scholars would be permitted to broach 'religious matters' before the Council.

Being woken in the dead of night by noisy neighbours blasting out music could soon be a thing of the past. Scientists have shown off the blueprint for an "acoustic cloak", which could make objects impervious to sound waves. The technology, outlined in the New Journal of Physics, could be used to build sound-proof homes, advanced concert halls or stealth warships. Scientists have previously demonstrated devices that cloak objects from microwaves, making them "invisible". "The mathematics behind cloaking has been known for several years," said Professor John Pendry of Imperial College London, UK, an expert in cloaking. "What hasn't been...

CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday barred school districts statewide from holding the daily moment of silence suitable for prayer that is required under state law. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said he had given school districts time to object to his March 28 preliminary injunction on enforcement of the moment of silence law but received no objections. He therefore extended to the entire state the preliminary injunction originally designed to apply only to suburban Buffalo Grove District 214. The law passed by the Illinois General Assembly says every school district in the state must hold a...

A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. "Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had...

Eerie silence in empty Mogadishu By Mark Doyle BBC News world affairs correspondent, Mogadishu The streets north of the ruins of the Old Parliament in Mogadishu stretch out like alleyways bulldozed through a rubble dump.Mogadishu has been been devastated by years of war Parts of some of the buildings are still standing - a wall here, a section of collapsed roof there. But the overall impression in this part of the Somali capital is one of massive destruction. I did not see a single house there without shell damage or bullet holes. However, the really frightening part of it was...

Click Your Pick Does Illinois need a "moment of silence" in schools? Yes 58.1% No 41.9% Total votes: 4057

Nietzsche once trenchantly quipped that “...our modern noisy, time-consuming industriousness, proud of itself, stupidly proud, educates and prepares people more than anything else does, precisely for unbelief.”The truth in that statement is perhaps never more on display than during the Christmas season. Slogans urging us to “keep Christ in Christmas,” or “recall the reason for the season,” sound about as hollow as the Christmas jingles that reverberate in our ears every time we enter a store. Those in search of an antidote might consider watching the newly released DVD Into Great Silence, Philip Groening’s movingly observed study of the daily...

Do you think the "moment of silence" law for Illinois schools is unconstitutional? Yes 44.1% No 55.9% Total votes: 3282 Enforcing moment of silence blocked Lawyer: All school districts may be added to lawsuit By CARLA JOHNSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published Friday, November 16, 2007 CHICAGO - An atheist talk show host's attorney said Thursday he may try to add all Illinois school districts as defendants in a lawsuit challenging a mandatory moment of silence in classrooms. Suing all 871 districts may be the best way to get a clear answer about the new state law's constitutionality, attorney Gregory Kulis...

Judge bans moment of silence in suburban districtBy Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter 6:15 PM CST, November 14, 2007 A federal judge today issued a preliminary injunction barring a suburban school district from implementing the state's new law mandating a moment of silence at the start of classes, calling the statute too vague and "likely unconstitutional." U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman made the decision at a hearing on a lawsuit brought by local atheist activist Rob Sherman over issues related to the separation of church and state. Sherman sued Township High School District 214, in which his daughter is...

When Alexander Zaitsev presented his recent paper at the International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad (India) recently, he spoke from the center of a widening controversy. The question is straightforward: Should we broadcast messages intentionally designed to be received by extraterrestrial civilizations, thereby notifying them of our existence? Zaitzev, chief scientist at the Russian Academy of Science’s Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, addressed the question by seeing a necessary relationship between SETI (the search for ETI) and METI (messaging to other civilizations). Indeed, the Russian scientist, working at the Evpatoria Deep Space Center in the Ukraine, has the experience to...

A Texas family is suing Gov. Rick Perry and a school district over a state-mandated moment of silence in schools, according to The Dallas Morning News. David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, of Carrollton, Texas, have three children at Rosemeade Elementary and argue that the moment of silence is unconstitutional and amounts to state-sanctioned school prayer.

IN THE ARGUMENTS AND TRIALS OF LIFE, THE POWERFUL ROUTE IS OFTEN WAY OF SILENCEThe best thing about being right, when you are right, is that you can be quiet about it. You don't have to say a thing. The truth lets itself be known. Remember this in the discourses of life.God will send events to defend you.Arguing rarely solves anything, and stokes the power of the enemy.Are there times we have to speak up? Are there occasions that we have to talk in our own defense? Are there times we have to be firm?Of course. There are times we...

Want a laugh. This the funniest video I have seen in years.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QXQFTEBqNE

Nationwide Pro-Family Coalition Warns Parents to Keep their Children Home from School on 'Gay' Day of Silence, April 18th.

The first column in this series was published on March 2. It prompted feedback from a number of American truckers. For example: "The number of 100 carriers (to be permitted to truck throughout the U.S. under the Bush plan) is a distraction from the real fact that there is no limit on the number of Mexican trucks that will be allowed in." "A Mexican truck driver is not paid as much as an American driver. Sometimes as little as $0.10/mile. An experienced American driver makes an average of $0.34/mile." "The big push is to get the guest worker bill enacted....

Our weak border President continues his mission to make America more like Mexico when on Thursday, February 23, the administration announced details of a plan to permit 100 Mexican trucking companies to travel freely in the U.S. For the sake of contrarians, let's assume this is a good thing in that trucker's making a quarter of the hourly wage of American drivers will help reduce the cost of goods crossing the border. Additionally, foreign trucking companies will be able to squeeze five to ten more years of road life out of their fleets, thus reducing overhead and capital investment. And...

A teacher was sacked in Italy yesterday after cutting a seven-year-old boy's tongue with a pair of scissors to silence him during a lesson.The unnamed 22-year-old substitute teacher was asked to keep control of the class at a school in Milan for a few minutes. She is alleged to have held a pair of scissors in front of Walid Dhaouadi, a Tunisian, and to have said: "Stick your tongue out so I can cut it. That way you will stop talking." Although she later claimed it was a "game" and allegedly asked the pupil not to tell his parents, the...

"...chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...."

In the Towers of Silence, an ancient ritual of death comes under threat By Peter Foster in New Delhi (Filed: 12/09/2006) The viability of the centuries-old Zoroastrian custom of allowing vultures to consume the corpses of its devotees has been called into question after a relative of one of the dead discovered piles of rotting bodies lying almost untouched by the birds. Dhun Baria, a member of Bombay's Zoroastrian community, known as Parsis, was shocked to be told that the body of her mother had lain untouched for nine months after she was laid to rest at the Towers of...

The Arab world's silence has left the last word to those we call extremists While Israel receives unanimous western support, this crisis is dragging the region ever faster into the abyss Alain Gresh Tuesday August 22, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Killers slaughter dozens of civilians in Iraq every day just because they are Sunni Muslims. Suicide attacks are increasingly common in Afghanistan, where they used to be unknown. On the Gaza Strip, 1.5 million Palestinians are caught in a trap, hemmed in by the Israeli offensive and the decision by the US and the EU to freeze all direct aid....

Silence for security forces at the crossroads of terror By Isambard Wilkinson in Bahawalpur (Filed: 19/08/2006) If there is a crossroads of terror in Pakistan, it must be the town of Bahawalpur in southern Punjab. Home of at least one known terrorist organisation and several radical madrassas, or religious schools, Bahawalpur has became a focus for investigations in Pakistan following the foiling of an alleged plot to blow up aircraft flying across the Atlantic. Normally the local people might take pride in the actions of the jihadists. Only last month the relatives of one of the London bombers, Shehzad Tanweer,...

N. Korea blocked radio signals 2 days before missile launch: report (Kyodo) _ North Korea had blocked part of military radio and changed electronic signals two days before it test-fired the Taepodong-2 long-range missile, leading Japan and the United States to raise alert level early, the Sankei Shimbun reported Saturday in its online edition. On Tuesday, a day before the launch, North Korea also cordoned off a triangular area in the Sea of Japan, a move Japan and the United States took as signs of an imminent missile firing, the report said. Citing several intelligence sources in Japan and the...

World watches in silence as Azerbaijan wipes out Armenian cultureWestern governments have failed to condemn the destruction of a unique medieval cemetery by Azerbaijani soldiers By Lucian Harris | Posted 25 May 2006 Armenia says the Christian cemetery of Jugha, dating from the ninth to 16th centuries, has been completely destroyed by Azerbaijani soldiers. LONDON. A delegation of European members of Parliament was last month refused access to Djulfa, in the Nakhichevan region of Azerbaijan, to investigate reports that an ancient Armenian Christian cemetery has been destroyed by Azerbaijani soldiers. The delegation of ten MEPs from the commission on EU-Armenia...

Silenced Trappist struggled with obedience while trying to lead the church on peace By Father Robert Nugent5/7/2006 America (www.americamagazine.org)NEW YORK (America) - Thomas Merton spent almost half his life in the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in Kentucky. Strict silence was an integral part of the Trappist way of life when he entered in 1941. Merton took readily to the rule of strict silence, but circumvented it when necessary. By the mid-1960’s the Second Vatican Council’s renewal of religious life reached even contemplative orders, relaxing the rigorous observance of silence. During that time, Merton experienced a...

Abdul Rahman is a man of faith. "I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in Christ. And I am a Christian," he declared this week. Unfortunately for Rahman, he was originally born a Muslim in Afghanistan – and he has been forced to defend his religious conversion in his home country's court, where he now faces the death penalty for turning to Jesus. Despite the defeat of the totalitarian Taliban and the existence of a U.S.-backed "moderate" democratic government, it is a capital crime for Afghans to openly embrace any religion other than Islam. Shariah law, embedded in the...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - A Dutch toxicologist confirmed Monday that he found traces of a non-prescribed drug in a blood sample taken from former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic earlier this year. Donald Uges said he was asked to examine the sample after Milosevic's blood pressure failed to respond to medication given by doctors at the U.N. detention center...Uges said he found traces of rifampicin, a drug that could have reduced the effectiveness of his other medications...[snip] ...Tomanovic said Milosevic was "seriously concerned" he was being poisoned...He cited a Jan. 12 Dutch medical report which showed traces of medication used against...

POPE URGES SILENT, CONTEMPLATIVE PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS Vatican , Dec. 19 (CWNews.com) - Christians should prepare for Christmas with silent recollection, to protect themselves from excesses of commercialism, Pope Benedict XVI told a public audience on December 18. "During this period of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate interior meditation, in order to welcome and safeguard Jesus in our lives," the Holy Father said at his Sunday Angelus audience. He called attention to the example set by St. Joseph, who maintained an interior silence "interwoven with constant prayer" as he awaited the birth of Jesus. "Let us allow ourselves to...

Terri Schiavo would be 42 today, if she had not been dehydrated to death per court order. Instead of the happy squeals and vocalizations the brain-damaged woman was known to utter, the deafening silence of loss haunts her loved ones on this anniversary of her birth. Many Americans prefer the silence. The very mention of the name, "Terri Schiavo," elicits groans from those "burned out" on what they view as simply an overblown news story. "I do not understand why you keep pumping the glory of her death," wrote one WND reader in response to continuing coverage of the familial...

by Bishop Paul S. Loverde Other Articles by Bishop Paul S. Loverde Turn Down the Static at Mass 12/1/05 As of this past Sunday, we have embarked together on a new liturgical year. So we might ask ourselves: What goals are we setting for ourselves spiritually? What will we do differently during this liturgical year which might draw us closer in friendship to our Lord? What practices might we deepen? We need not necessarily set "new" spiritual goals for this coming year. Our goals need not be far-flung. Rather than speak of "new" goals, we might then view it as a...

Woodward Explains Silence in Leak Case Tuesday November 22, 2005 1:01 AM WASHINGTON (AP) - Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward dismissed claims that he should have revealed his role in the CIA leak case when he discussed the investigation on news interview shows. The Post's ombudsman, Deborah Howell wrote in Sunday's editions that Woodward erred by publicly commenting on the case on CNN's ``Larry King Live'' and on National Public Radio without mentioning that a top Bush administration official had told him the name of a covert CIA officer. However, Woodward told Larry King on the program Monday night: ``Every...

Today's celebrities are well aware of their responsibilities as role models but can well do without public interference in their private lives. As tennis star Sania Mirza says, “As long as I'm winning, people shouldn't care whether my skirt is six inches long or six feet long.” Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Wednesday, Sania said, “How I dress is a very personal thing.” Wearing a long-sleeved black-and-white shirt with conservative black pants, she was speaking out in public for the first time since a cleric issued a fatwa against the way she dressed on court. Sania, who...

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 14, 2005) – Two insurgent mortar teams were captured near Baqubah and 76 other suspected terrorists were detained in northern Iraq this past week. Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained 76 suspected terrorists and seized a number of weapons during operations in northern Iraq Nov. 9-14. Iraqi Police along with Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained 24 individuals suspected of terrorist activity and seized AK-47s during separate operations in Tal Afar Nov. 10-11. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division detained 15 individuals...

On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on the Constitution began hearings on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (UCPAA). The legislation would require abortion providers to tell women who come to them for late-term abortions that the fetus might feel pain and that the woman has a right to ask that the fetus be anaesthetized for the procedure. Although evidence suggests that the unborn child feels pain by the age of 20 weeks (if not sooner), abortionists are not required to provide women with the information that the fetus might suffer pain during an abortion procedure, pain which could be eliminated...

Where is the sane moderate peace loving Muslim world? Why is its voice so rarely raised in condemnation of Islamist atrocities? It is a question which has been raised in ever increasing urgency since 9/11 and not only by Westerners. A few Muslim commentators have raised it too, but they remained the exception rather than the rule. Last time I raised the issue, it was in the context of a number of cased involving the charge of “insulting Islam,” a charge which led to anti-Coptic riots as well as to the imprisoning a 78-year old Iranian Ayatolla and an Afghani...