Free Republic

It began as ...she boarded a city bus ...Moments later, an ultra-orthodox man ... started yelling and calling her names ..."morality squads" that patrol Jerusalem's orthodox streets to root out "immodest behavior" ... attacks by "bleach patrols" - groups of ultra-orthodox men who throw bleach ...a recent rabbinical ruling forbids Haredi women from pursuing post-secondary education

If you miss me at the back of the bus, you won't find me nowhere. Come on over to the front of the bus, I'll be sittin' right there. That was the theme song that African-Americans sang during the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott in their successful attempt to integrate that city's public transportation system. More than a half-a-century later, thousands of miles away, Israel's haredi community is trying to resegregate a bus system - not along racial but sexual lines. Recently, the press carried a story about a woman who was beaten on a Jerusalem bus for refusing to...

Behind the mask of a brutal zealot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's embrace of martyrdom means the West should fear monstrosities from Iran, reports Matthias Kadiuntzel IT wasn't long after Iraq invaded Iran in September 1980 that ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini realised his forces were no match for Saddam Hussein's professional, well-armed military. To compensate for their disadvantage, Khomeini sent Iranian children, some as young as 12, to the front lines. There, they marched in formation across minefields towards the enemy, clearing a path with their bodies. But at one point the gore became a matter of concern. "In the past," wrote the semi-official...

Rabbi: Vote Shas or go to hell Member of Shas' Council of Torah Sages says during sermon at Jerusalem synagogue that PM Sharon had stroke because he went with Shinui, hurt religious services Ilan Marciano Rabbi Shimon Baadani, a member of Shas' Council of Torah Sages, provided on Saturday evening amazing explanations for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's illness. "Ariel Sharon had a stroke because he went with Shas and hurt religious services," Baadani explained during a sermon he gave at a Jerusalem synagogue. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: 'Vote Shas, reach heaven' / Ilan Marciano Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef speaks at...

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef – Will anyone be able to top his campaign promises? Rabbi Yosef: Vote Shas, reach heaven Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef speaks at pre-election rally in Tel Aviv, encourages followers to vote for religious Sephardic party; another rabbi tells those in attendance: Don't believe politicians, they are all liars and Arab-lovers Ilan Marciano Reaching heaven was never that easy: Anyone who votes for religious Sephardic party Shas in the upcoming elections is assured of a place in heaven, the party's spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef told about 8,000 activists at a pre-election rally in Tel Aviv Tuesday...

Bars wait for smoke ban ruling Law takes effect today;7 businesses will learn whether they're exempt By Kymberli Hagelberg Beacon Journal staff writer The smoking ban is now law for many Summit County businesses for at least the next five weeks, but a Common Pleas Court will decide today whether seven bars are temporarily off the hook. Attorney Chris Tipping has filed for a temporary restraining order on behalf of seven clients who own bars in Summit County townships that must comply with the Summit County Clean Indoor Air Ordinance. The law prohibits smoking in bars, restaurants and most other...

BEIRUT (AFP) - The leader of the Lebanese fundamentalist Shiite movement Hezbollah claimed that if Muslims had executed British novelist Salman Rushdie others would not dare to insult Islam. Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa or religious edict in 1989 demanding Rushdie's execution over his best-selling novel the "Satanic Verses," deemed blasphemous and insulting to the Prophet Mohammed. "If there had been a Muslim to carry out Imam Khomeini's fatwa against the renegade Salman Rushdie, this rabble who insult our Prophet Mohammed in Denmark, Norway and France would not have dared to do so," Hezbollah chief Hassan...

Rev. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says it's "an absolute revolt against God's design" if husbands and wives purposely avoid bearing children. On his Web site and other articles and interviews, Mohler argues that "marriage, sex and children are part of one package" and that "to deny any part of this wholeness is to reject God's intention in creation and his mandate revealed in the Bible." In a CNN interview, the Baptist leader added, “We grow up by having children. Without that responsibility, we have a generation of perpetual adolescents just growing old."

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Islamist zealots attack Ahmadiyya Mosque in Bangladesh Unruly Islamist zealots attacked an Ahmadiyya mosque and the homes of a number of leaders of the minority Muslim sect in south-western Satkhira district of Bangladesh on Sunday. Witnesses said several hundred bigots brought out a procession in Joginagar village of Samnagar Upazial of the district, demanding that members of the Ahmadiyya community be officially declared 'non-Muslim'. They marched towards the mosque and replaced a signboard inscribed with "It's not a mosque and no Muslim will enter here for namaj (prayer)" instead of the "Ahmadiyya mosque". "The Islamist bigots captured the mosque complex...

Mayor Tom George sounds weary. He presides over a congested suburb where nearly every structure, street, and sewer is 100 years old. Its few factories are either dead or walking with a limp. Its retail is slim and struggling. Aside from thrift stores, it has but one thriving industry: bars. And now the Lakewood City Council is considering killing them. This month, a commission will recommend whether or not to enact a smoking ban. In a daintier locale, this might not be cause for uproar. Everyone could rally around, knowing they were saving heathens from their carcinogens. Unfortunately, this is...

The Forbidden Side of ScientologyBy the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 28, 2005Religious Hard-Sell        A while back, I received a mailer from the Church of Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights. The mailer offered, "You are invited to a CONFIDENTIAL closed-door Briefing and Dinner." I've been a Scientologist long enough to know that what they were really saying. Essentially, the message was "Come to our dinner and give us the opportunity to brow-beat you into giving us thousands of dollars."        L. Ron Hubbard describes this approach as "come-on promotion." The words confidential and closed-door are meant to induce, allure and attract...

The Forbidden Side of ScientologyBy the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 24, 05Totalitarian Religion        In 2001, following the September 11 attacks, Church of Scientology Chairman of the Board David Miscavige promptly issued Inspector General Network Bulletin No. 44, titled "Wake-up Call." The Church's official position, although not exactly a denial of the facts, completely avoided one issue worth noting. Miscavige made absolutely no mention of the terrorists' radical religious extremism. I suspect that for most Scientologists, extremism is a concept that probably hits too uncomfortably close to home. Your average dedicated Scientologist, while able to perhaps recognize the dangers of suicide...

The Forbidden Side of Scientology By the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 18, 2005 Unauthorized Correspondent for The Church of ScientologyIndoctrinated Tyranny    One of the first things a new Scientologist encounters when studying Dianetics and Scientology is the absolute authority of L. Ron Hubbard. There's a gradual indoctrination process that takes place in which the Scientologist eventually comes to the realization that everything Hubbard says is absolutely true and completely correct. Sooner or later every Scientologist arrives at a point where Hubbard's word becomes law, not to be questioned.     Every course begins with the same Hubbard Policy Letter, Keeping Scientology...

The Forbidden Side of Scientology By the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 13, 2005 An Ex-Fanatic Speaks Out     This is the first entry in a series of reports and commentary on the ever controversial Church of Scientology. I've been a member for roughly thirty years, and as of this writing I still remain in good standing. I've received hundreds of hours of Scientology counseling, and have attained some of the highest spiritual levels that it offers. I've also done significant amounts of training in the delivery of Scientology counseling, as well as courses in the administration of Church management policies....

This is abominable!!!! Contact the committee via e-mail at info@inaugural05.com. BUSH SWEARING IN: TAKE 2 Kid Rock too vulgar for inauguration? Some wonder why values voters rewarded with F-word-spewing rapper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 5, 2005 8:40 p.m. Eastern By Ron Strom © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Kid Rock, a popular vulgar rock-rapper whose lyrics wouldn't begin to pass muster with the Federal Communications Commission, is headlining the youth concert during the inauguration festivities for President Bush – a politician who was re-elected largely due to the participation of traditional "values voters." The Detroit-based rapper, who dedicated his first album to songs about...

On November 8, 2004, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the Bush administration had improperly ignored the Geneva Conventions in establishing military commissions to try detainees at the Guantánamo Bay U.S. naval base as war criminals. Ted Lapkin's timely article delves into the complexities of the Geneva Conventions, and how much they should apply to the war on terrorism. —The Editors. From Manhattan to Mindanao, Islamist zealots draw no distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Jihadists target women, children, and the elderly without even the pretence of discrimination. In June 2004, an Al-Qaeda affiliated group distributed a video proudly documenting...

Zealots made to call off 9/11 ‘celebration’ Nick Fielding and Abul Taher The Sunday Times - Britain September 12, 2004 ISLAMIC extremists were forced to call off a London conference commemorating the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America yesterday when the owners of the venue cancelled the booking after consulting police.

What is the separation of church and state?: That is a very good question - the separation of church and state is perhaps one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented and maligned concepts in today's political, legal and religious debates. Everyone has an opinion, but unfortunately, many of those opinions are woefully misinformed. That is one of the primary purposes of this FAQ: to provide as much information as possible in order to better inform people about this debate. After all, the separation of church and state is not only misunderstood, it is also exceedingly important. That is probably one of...

FRISCO, Colo. - An American flag placed atop a mountain peak in a national forest as a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks was torched, authorities said. Summit County deputies were investigating a report that a hiker found a note on the 13,589-foot snowcapped summit claiming responsibility for the fire, sheriff's spokeswoman Jill Berman said Monday. The burned flag was found Sunday. The FBI was notified because the flag was in the White River National Forest, Berman said. The flag had been placed on the peak on Thursday, the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks,...