Free Republic

Atwater, Calif. (AP) -- Prison officials say a convicted child molester and kidnapper died last month after choking on a hot dog. Forty-five-year-old Frederick Fretz was serving a 20-year sentence at the federal penitentiary in Atwater.

MANILA, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- An animal rights group on Thursday blamed the Philippine customs for ruining their protest by confiscating inflatable sex dolls they planned to use for a global campaign against fowl cruelty. "The dolls were seized by customs officials when they arrived in the Philippines via U.S.-based package carrier UPS," the Hong Kong-based group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said in a statement released by its Manila office. PETA said it was hoping to use the sex dolls in its campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for abuses of chickens. "The sex dolls would...

Shoplifters at Country Mart tend to favor cold medicines and packaged meats. They used to steal cigarettes, too, until tobacco was moved behind the counter. But the doughnuts were never a target for thieves. Country Mart's doughnuts — fried fresh daily in the store — sell for just 52 cents each. That is why the "shoplifters will be prosecuted" signs are displayed in aisle 4 with the pricey pain and allergy pills, and not in aisle 5 beside the glass doughnut case with its tiger tails, jelly-filleds and eclairs. Then one man's sweet tooth got the better of him. He...

Iranian Parliament Ready for Talks with Nancy Pelosi TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Vice Chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission here on Friday voiced preparedness to attend talks with the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Speaking to FNA, Mohammad Nabi Roudaki said, "We are ready to attend parliamentary talks with the speaker of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi." Meantime, he reminded that such preparedness should not be interpreted as restoration of political ties with the US, "because the US administration is a bullying and occupying government which ignores the rights of nations and violates the international...

President Niyazov of Turkmenistan has ordered the construction of a palace made of ice in the heart of his desert country, one of the hottest on earth. It is the latest in a series of colossal building projects instigated by the all-powerful president that seem to defy the country's environment. "Let us build a palace of ice," said President Niyazov, "big and grand enough for 1,000 people." The palace will stand in the mountains just outside the capital, Ashgabat. President Niyazov made the announcement in a speech broadcast on Turkmen television, which in effect made it a presidential order. Environmental...