Free Republic

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2006 – As the 21st century progresses, the United States must be prepared to deal with threats posed by terrorists, corrupt regimes and emerging state powers, a top Pentagon leader said here yesterday. The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review will go a long way toward helping the U.S. military meet these challenges, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told the House Armed Services Committee. "The QDR is a strategic document," he said. "It is based on the recognition that the Department of Defense, and our nation as a whole, face a global security climate of dynamic, complex threats,...

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday called for an end to violent protests over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad that have swept the Muslim world after the images were published in several European newspapers. "We should try to cool down the situation. We do not support any violence," Mottaki said, adding that freedom of expression must be exercised with sensitivity and people's and nations' values and beliefs fully respected.

'We will cut them until Iran asks for mercy' By Massoud Ansari (Filed: 15/01/2006) Deep in the lawless triangle connecting Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, eight terrified Iranian soldiers are being held hostage by a Sunni group that is vowing to "slaughter" them if Teheran does not bow to its demands. "We will chop their heads once our deadline is over," Abdul Hameed Reeki, chief spokesman of the Jundallah or Brigade of God group, told the Sunday Telegraph, slowly drawing an index finger across his neck to demonstrate the seriousness of his intent. The deadline for the men is tomorrow. The...

Father imprisoned four girls in flat to 'teach them Islam' By Henry Samuel in Paris (Filed: 07/01/2006) A Moroccan father of four girls who imprisoned his wife and children in their flat "in the name of Islam" received a 10-month suspended sentence and was stripped of his parental rights yesterday. The unidentified 45-year-old was found guilty of breaking French law on compulsory schooling for children over the age of six, which applies to three of the four girls - aged four, 10, 13 and 14. The man, from the town of Romans-sur-Isère in the Drôme region, said he had refused...

(IsraelNN.com) Gush Katif refugees, many of whom are still dwelling in hotels awaiting permanent housing, lit a unique menorah tonight, one made of mortar shells fired by Arab terrorists into the heart of N’vei Dekalim, the largest community of Gush Katif. That special menorah commemorates the miracle of Jewish survival throughout the ages, and reminds us of the symbolic role Gush Katif has played in the saga of Jewish history: a community standing victorious despite constant attempts by Arab terrorists to wipe it out. 5000 mortars rained down on Gush Katif, from the onset of the Oslo War in September...

Greek gods and those who doubted them Gregory Elder For the Daily Facts It was a bad day in the year 406 B.C. Euripides, an elderly playwright, was wandering around the palace, skulking in his gloom. For decades he had dedicated himself to the theater and written and directed more than 90 plays, performed before thousands of people. Yet for all his pains, he had won prizes for only three of his dramas, a minuscule number compared to his rivals Sophocles and Aeschylus. More than once, he had been held up to public ridicule by the tart-tongued comedian Aristophanes. In...

"Police told to respect traditions," from the Herald Sun, with thanks to Terry: POLICE are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits. Officers are also being urged to work with Muslim leaders, who will try to keep the families together. Women's groups are concerned the politically correct policing could give comfort to wife bashers and keep their victims in a cycle of violence. The instructions come in a religious diversity handbook given to Victorian police officers that also recommends special treatment for suspects of Aboriginal, Hindu and Buddhist background... Police...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2005 – The U.S. is determined to deny radical groups the support and sanctuary of outlaw regimes like Syria and Iran, President Bush said here today. Speaking to the Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives Luncheon at Bolling Air Force Base, Bush said that these governments have a long history of collaboration with terrorists and deserve no patience from the victims of terror. "Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has chosen to be an enemy of civilization," Bush said. "The civilized world must hold those regimes to account." The U.N. Security Council will hear...

No longer centre stage, but Clinton leaves them calling for more By Philip Sherwell in New York (Filed: 18/09/2005) If there was any doubt that Bill Clinton still elicits the adoration of women, Barbra Streisand was on hand last week to squash it. As the former president laid out his agenda for world change from a podium flanked by Tony Blair, Condoleezza Rice and King Abdullah of Jordan, the singer-actress emitted a series of gentle but disconcerting squeals of approval, interspersed with admiring sighs. Bill Clinton and Tony Bennett Hers was typical of the audience reaction at launch of the...

Tom, honestly......you know that our government (both parties) is infested with (controled by) our enemies. Many (most, all) are agents from the Federal Reserve (CIA). That is why they had to get rid of Joe McCarthy, Hoover and recent other conservative patriots (Kennedy and recent others even the demise of the FBI which may still have patriots within it's ranks) in our Government. Usually it is by assasinations, freak plane crashes, impossible suicide's or some other ridiculous story posted by our complicit news media. The majority of American People are simply in the dark. The "minite men" will be trapped...

Counterterrorism efforts got a major boost last week when an American district court found three Muslim organizations and one individual, mostly based in the Chicago area, guilty of funding Hamas and fined them an astonishing US$156 million.The four were found liable for their roles in the murder of an American teenager, David Boim, on May 13, 1996, when he was shot by Hamas operatives as he waited for a bus near Jerusalem. This case is important in itself, providing some measure of justice and relief for the Boim family. Beyond that, it helps fight terrorism in four ways.First, it validates...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Supporters of democratic presidential candidate John Kerry during the US election party, in Geneva, Switzerland, early Wednesday Nov. 3, 2004. Every four years on the first Tuesday in November, the American International Club of Geneva, AIC, organizes an all night party for those who wish to have last minute coverage of the US Presidential Elections. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron) Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

To our Vietnam Veterans: We can never begin to express the pride and honor that we have for ALL of you, for protecting our country in the hour of need. You are THE difference in this election. YOU fought the battle and were victorious! HOLD YOUR HEADS HIGH!!! Because of YOU your comrades did not die in vain! WE LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOU!!! Please accept this SALUTE on our behalf!

Until modern times, there existed no form of legitimacy in the Middle East outside of Islam. Rulers ruled in the name of God; assassins struck them down in the name of God. The assassinations of the early caliphs and the struggle between the Sunni rulers and the Assassins in the Middle Ages took precisely this form: each side claimed to act in accord with divine will, revealed in divine texts. Religion played a crucial role in the rationale of assassination, but it also played a crucial role in the rationale of government, law, and warfare—indeed, of everything. This invocation of...

September 17, 2004, 6:30 a.m.Throwing the Book at ThemCBS looked good on paper. By Dennis E. PowellAs long as CBS-related documents are being waved around, I have one that is of ironic significance. Its authenticity is unquestionable. It is a white plastic loose-leaf binder. Its cover bears the title "CBS NEWS STANDARDS." I'll name the source: CBS News Division. When I went to work there two decades ago, each new employee was issued one and was required to sign a receipt attesting that he or she had received it and had read it.It was typed; from the looks of...

Bigger breasts for free: Join the Army Reuters Posted online: Friday, July 23, 2004 at 1315 hours IST New York, July 23: The US Army has long lured recruits with the slogan "Be All You Can Be," but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers' dime. The New Yorker magazine reports in its July 26th edition that members of all four branches of the US military can get face-lifts, breast enlargements, liposuction and nose jobs for free -- something the military says helps surgeons practice their skills. "Anyone wearing a uniform is...

So, copying top secret docs means Sandy Berger goes without being charged with a federal crime?So, Bill Clinton is laughing about it?Folks, it looks like we're gonna hafta SMOKE 'EM OUT!!

Anti-Semitism is again on the rise. Why now? Blame the backlash against globalization. As public anxiety grows over lost jobs, shaky economies, and political and social upheaval, the Brownshirt and Birkenstock crowds are seeking solace in conspiracy theories. And in their search for the hidden hand that guides the new world order, modern anxieties are merging with old hatreds and the myths on which they rest. There is no shortage of symbols representing peace, justice, and economic equality. The dove and the olive branch. The peace sign. The rainbow flag. Even the emblem of the United Nations. So why did...

Were the attacks on New York and Washington the biggest act of terrorism in history - or just an enormous secret service conspiracy? Conspiracy theorists are filling bestsellers with their supposed evidence, and they already have one-fifth of all Germans convinced of their half-truths. The man with the shy smile who has been appearing in the dock in room 237 at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg since August 14 is accused of being involved in a conspiracy. His name is Abdelghani Mzoudi, and he has been charged with assisting in the commission of murder - in 3066 cases...