Free Republic

 10. Blog hawking (I know, I know, we're supposed to be nice.)  9. Run-on, single-paragraph posts 8. Pings to Jim Robinson with kiss ass complements 7. Posting "hugh and series", "stuned beeber" or "Bush's fault" 6. A post asking a noOb if they are sure they're logged in 5. Passive-aggressive keyword epithet war 4. Satire posts that fool you (the rest are hilarious) 3. Viking Kitties (just kidding... love ya'... really...  who'd poke fun at you...  rah roh.) 2. Vanities 1. ...

American airlines begged the feds Thursday to let it keep its fleet aloft, saying the fastenings that need to be checked pose no safety threat. The answer was no. The airline has grounded 2,500 flights since Tuesday, causing chaos for passengers nationwide, while it inspects latches and clamps on wiring covers as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA yesterday ordered the 300 Boeing MD-80 jets to remain parked while mechanics made sure wire ties were exactly 1 inch apart and clamps faced the right way. More than 900 flights were scrapped yesterday, and the airport havoc is expected...

The last election told us many things. One thing that stands out above all others is that the number of people who actually understand what is going on in our country today is frighteningly small. A small group who “get it” Just half of Americans are registered to vote, so right off, we know that half of America doesn’t care what happens to itself or the rest of us. They live in a different world. You know who they are so it is not necessary to expand on this point. Of those who are registered, on a good Election Day,...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - American Muslims still face high levels of hatred and suspicion nearly five years after the September 11 attacks and political leaders and the news media are mostly to blame, Muslim leaders said on Friday. "During the last five years the Muslim community has been scrutinized by almost all branches of the government and the media to the extent that more than half a million Muslims have been directly touched by this process," said Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. "They continue to face dehumanization and a great trend of Islamophobia,"...

Giving ‘terrorists’ exactly what they want No civilized nation starves people to death because extremists committed violent acts This is exactly what “the terrorists” want. I don’t need to identify who is and who isn’t a terrorist in this fight. It’s pretty clear to both sides. But the real issue is the higher principle that seems orphaned high above the carnage below: Responding to violence with violence is a form of terrorism, and failing to pursue peace despite the violence is also terrorism, too. You can’t look at this as a conflict that started when Palestinians kidnapped Israeli “teenager” soldier...

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip - He's overdrawn at the bank, owes $400 to the grocery, can no longer afford baby formula for his youngest and is trying to sell his 16-year-old car for half its value to raise cash for food. After two months without his government salary, Abdel Hakim Abu Samra, 47, is fast running out of options. "It's the worst time we've had," he said, comparing the deepening crisis since Hamas rose to power in March to previous periods, including two bloody uprisings against Israel. And there's no end in sight. The West won't lift crippling economic sanctions...

Palestinian Authority marks 'Disaster Day' for State of Israel's establishment. Gaza residents seem worn out, not eager to demonstrate; 'how could people be expected to go out and protest with no salaries?' Fatah activist explains Gaza residents on Monday marked the 58th Nakba Day – the "disaster" that struck the Palestinian people following the establishment of the State of Israel, which caused millions of Palestinians to become refugees all over the Arab world. This year, however, the day was different than before and stood in the shadow of what Gazans refer to as "the current Nakba" – the economic and...

I asked three Arab Canadians for their reactions to the evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. Khaled Mouammar, Richmond Hill. A Palestinian Christian from Nazareth, his family became refugees in 1948. He is a former president of the Canadian Arab Federation. "Where were these 900 international journalists in the last five years while the entire physical infrastructure of Gaza was being destroyed? "We see weeping settler girls and women being interviewed. But there were rarely any interviews with the thousands of Palestinian women and girls who've had their houses bulldozed, their family members killed or imprisoned. "The settlers...

The experience of being arrested and held in what they say were inhumane conditions while in federal custody has strengthened the resolve of two local immigrant aid workers, who spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday. Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz, both 23, were released from custody Monday, two days after they were arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol when an agent stopped their vehicle and found three illegal entrants inside. The pair said they were taking the entrants to receive medical care. Both face federal charges for transporting illegal entrants. "Groups like ours absolutely have to stay out there...

LONDON, January 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – London Mayor Ken Livingstone on Tuesday, January 11, called on British media to apologize for sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi over the vile campaign that sought to blemish his reputation during his visit to London in July. Speaking at a press conference, Livingstone further urged those who took for granted false reports circulated by the Israeli intelligence services Mossad to admit that they were plainly wrong, Al-Jazeera satellite channel said. He said he will submit a report to the Press Complaint Commission to keep it posted on the problems of the British media, which...

Ok, he looks like Saddam Hussein. He sounds like Saddam Hussein. And, yes, he has the same DNA. But can we be sure that it is, in fact, the former Iraqi leader? And not just some poor turkey? Another of his hapless body doubles? Or even a clone? Turkey. Consider the word and its significance in the region, not simply because Turkey is a nation in the neighbourhood. In all its other forms, the word turkey refers to the giant North American chook and is a case of mistaken identity if not deceptive packaging. You see, the Pilgrim Fathers exporting...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's reported go-it-alone peace plan is a recipe for disaster, his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qurie told Israel's Maariv newspaper in an interview published Thursday. Violence erupted in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, where six Palestinians -- a gunman and five civilians -- were killed during battles with an Israeli force of 20 armored vehicles, medics said. Of Sharon's plan, Qurie predicted: "The conflict would continue, fires would burn, terror would increase and no one would gain. It would be a bad mistake to force a settlement on us. We...

PARIS, 8 October 2003 — France’s five million Muslims do not enjoy the same rights as the country’s other citizens and might need positive discrimination efforts to reach an equal footing, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday. French Muslims, mostly of North African Arab origin, face prejudice at work and a shortage of mosques and other religious services in comparison to other religions, he told an official committee reviewing the law separating church and state. “If you’re named Mohammed, your resume isn’t the last to be thrown into the waste basket,” he remarked, adding there were almost no Muslims in...

(UPI) -- A prominent U.S. civil rights and advocacy group urged the Department of Justice Tuesday to rescind a new policy directive to the FBI to count local mosques for inclusion in performance goals in counter terrorism investigations. The Council on American-Islamic Relations made that demand following the publication of an article in Newsweek magazine detailing the policy instituted by FBI Director Robert Mueller earlier this month. According to Newsweek, FBI field offices nationwide are to develop demographic profiles of their regions, including the number of local mosques. The profiles will then be used to set specific numerical goals for...

Political writer Bill Cotterell has been suspended from the Tallahassee Democrat for offensive e-mail remarks to a reader, Executive Editor John Winn Miller announced Thursday. The one-week suspension without pay lasts until next Friday, Miller said. In a statement, Miller said: "On behalf of the Tallahassee Democrat, I apologize to all of our readers, and most especially, to readers and members of the Islamic faith everywhere, for the intemperate e-mail comments of political writer/columnist Bill Cotterell. They absolutely do not represent the views and sensitivities of this newspaper. Worse, they run counter to many of the values we hold dearest,...