Free Republic

... In writing my book on suicide attackers, I had researchers scour Lebanese sources to collect martyr videos, pictures and testimonials and the biographies of the Hezbollah bombers. Of the 41, we identified the names, birth places and other personal data for 38. Shockingly, only eight were Islamic fundamentalists. Twenty-seven were from leftist political groups like the Lebanese Communist Party and the Arab Socialist Union. Three were Christians, including a female high-school teacher with a college degree. All were born in Lebanon. ... Robert A. Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, is the author of...

In 1976, two U.S. Army officers trimming a view-blocking tree in the DMZ were attacked by some 30 North Korean soldiers who bludgeoned and hacked them to death with metal pipes, axe handles and the Americans’ own hatchets. In late 1984, a full-blown, albeit brief, gun battle erupted between the two Koreas in the DMZ’s Joint Security Area. In 1996, a North Korean submarine ran aground off the South’s coast. Twenty-six heavily armed commandos then disembarked, split up and moved inland on various deep-reconnaissance missions aimed at gathering intelligence on South Korean military bases. All this is just scratching the...

Hooper winner in bitter contest Wednesday, July 19, 2006 By BEN RAINES Staff Reporter Perry Hooper Jr. defeated John Amari in Tuesday's runoff election, earning the Republican nomination for the state Public Service Commission, Place 2. Hooper will face Democrat Susan Parker, a former state auditor, in the Nov. 7 general election. Amari and Hooper fought a bitter contest, notable for the rancor expended bashing each other, especially in the days before the June 6 primary. Hooper led the primary race, with Amari second and former PSC employee Jack Hornaday a close third. "I look forward to carrying my message...

.....Leftist leadership: A danger to AmericaPosted: July 7, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern This past week, liberals proved, again, that they are still unfit to lead this nation. Our nation is at war. An Islamic terrorist network that wants to topple the governments of Western nations and impose a strict code of Islamic fundamentalism across the globe has repeatedly attacked our nation and our people. But the left just doesn't get this. They are blinded by their own dark view of America: that our nation is the greatest threat to the world. I've spent the past few weeks personally involved in...

Long ago the prophet Yeshaya warned, "Your ruiners and destroyers will come from amongst you" (49:17). It is doubtful whether that the truth of those words has ever been more evident than today. Last week the leaders of the Presbyterian Church, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, engaged in three days of searching debate over whether to rescind a 2004 resolution calling for divestment from Israel. Similar resolutions have been passed in recent years by the Anglican Church of England and the American Episcopalian Church. Divestment resolutions are of immense propaganda value because they embed in the public mind a connection between...

AL QAEDA in Saudi Arabia have rejected a renewed amnesty offer to repentent Islamist militants from Saudi King Abdullah, according to an Internet statement. "We say no surrender. It's either victory or martyrdom," said the statement signed by the al Qaeda Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula and posted on a Web site frequently used by Islamic militants. "This move shows the fear felt by the apostate government. The government is not in a position of power (because) this offer which has already expired has proven to be a failure," it said. Al Qaeda urged Muslims in the birthplace of Islam...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday his government will give weapons to local tribesmen so they can help fight the biggest increase in Taliban violence in years. [0] A U.S.-led coalition soldier and seven Afghan civilians were killed in the latest violence in the country's south, which has been hardest hit by the surge in insurgent attacks. Speaking to a group of tribal elders from eastern Afghanistan, Karzai said he did not want to form militias that could clash with rival tribes. "We just want to strengthen the districts to safeguard them from terrorist attack," he said....

The vehicle, if close enough to the blast, flips into the air, snapping necks and spinal cords. Heads and limbs are torn from bodies. Gasoline ignites and ammunition cooks off, burning any survivors to a crisp. Those soldiers and Marines (many of whom are still teenagers) who witness the action are instantly shocked, physically sickened, grief-stricken, and enraged over the horror of having watched buddies—who have become closer than any sibling might ever hope to be—torn to pieces. Badly wounded buddies are screaming in agony. Yet the ones uninjured or with minor injuries have to respond as trained. They are...

"Carbon dioxide... we call it life," TV ads sayBy Deborah Zabarenko Wed May 17, 6:58 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A little girl blows away dandelion fluff as an announcer says, "Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life," in an advertisement targeting global warming "alarmists," especially Al Gore. The television ads, screened for the press on Wednesday and set to air in 14 U.S. cities starting on Thursday, are part of a campaign by the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute to counter a media spotlight on threats posed by worldwide climate change. The spots are timed to precede...

WHEREVER TWO or three politicos gather in the US these days, you can be sure the talk turns pretty quickly to the 2008 presidential contest. The next contest always seems to come around sooner than you think and with the view rapidly gaining currency that the Bush presidency is already in effect over, the succession talk can’t come soon enough.But there’s something very odd about the conversations among Republicans and Democrats, a widening disconnect in the estimations of the prospects of the long-time Democratic favourite, Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, Hillary’s procession towards the Democratic nomination (and perhaps the...

BEVERLY HILLS HIGH SENDING 1500 STUDENTS TO SEE GORE'S 'GLOBAL WARMING' FILM **Exclusive** School is nearly out for summer, but before the break, students at Beverly Hills High will get a "Heat Day" -- when they get to ditch class to see Al Gore's new movie! On May 24, 2006, 1,500 Beverly Hills High School students will be boarding 30 gas-guzzling buses across town to see Al Gore's new global warming film 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH' at the Arclight Theatre in Hollywood, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Sarah Utley, a science teacher at Beverly Hills High School, explained in an...

If you go to a college campus, watch television or go into a bookstore, you’re like to see these suspects: people like Al Franken, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, and Ralph Nader. They talk about a whole host of issues. They talk about affirmative action. They talk about economic justice. They talk about the importance of regulating corporations and avoiding entanglements with corporations. We also have people like Hillary Clinton, Barbara Streisand or Nancy Pelosi. Some of these people on the liberal left actually are in positions of power and authority. When it comes to debating them and arguing with them,...

Yale now doesn't even attempt to claim that Mr. Hashemi has changed. In conversations with donors, president Richard Levin has fallen back on two arguments: that Mr. Hashemi currently is a nondegree student, and that the State Department issued him a visa. But Mr. Hashemi's application to become a sophomore in Yale's full degree program, the same type of program that Mr. Farivar graduated from at Harvard, is pending before Mr. Levin. That makes his continued presence at Yale especially relevant as Yale's Board of Governors, the body that supposedly runs the university, prepares to meet this week. Many in...

Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, believes the power of a centralized government in Baghdad should be "lessened," and that more autonomy should be given to the 18 provinces that comprise Iraq. It’s a relatively new concept, the younger Talabani told an audience at the University of South Carolina, last week. It is an idea that will put his country on a governing fast-forward, and one in which Iraq’s neighbors are watching with particular interest, perhaps even concern.

Conference joins business, environmental idealsGore encourages corporations to address global warming before climate changes accelerate By Rick Jurgens CONTRA COSTA TIMES OAKLAND - Former Vice President Al Gore called for immediate action to avert global warming, which threatens to spread disease, make species extinct and turn tens of millions of coastal dwellers into refugees from rising ocean levels. Speaking Thursday morning in Oakland at the annual conference of a network of environmentalists and sympathetic investors, Gore quoted Winston Churchill's 1936 comment that the world was "entering a period of consequences." Churchill's remark addressed the threat posed by fascism. Gore's message,...

March 23, 2006 — Following are the ABC News Investigative Unit's summaries of five documents from Saddam Hussein's government, which the U.S. government has released. The documents discuss Osama bin Laden, weapons of mass destruction, al Qaeda and more. The full documents can be found on the U.S. Army Foreign Military Studies Office Web site: http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/products-docex.htm. Note: Document titles were added by ABC News. "U.S. War Plan Leaked to Iraqis by Russian Ambassador" Documents dated March 5-8, 2003 Two Iraqi documents dated in March 2003 — on the eve of the U.S.-led invasion — and addressed to the secretary of...

The DNC's mantra that President Bush "misled the nation into war" is losing whatever clout it once had as more and more people become better informed. The massive post-invasion evidence mounts confirming that it was the mainstream media and leading Democrats -- not the Bush Administration -- who lied to the American people on the issue of pre-war ties between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaida terrorists. We now know that during the years before 9/11/01 and the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, over 8,000 terrorists were trained inside Iraq by the Iraqi military.

The story did not simply specify that there were unprotected areas of the body perceptively protected by existing body armor, but it highlighted those areas in both content and a color graphic, which illustrated in red exactly where bullets and shrapnel had previously struck and killed Marines. Certainly, any terrorist training camp where the bad guys are learning how best to kill American soldiers could make use of such a graphic.

Sharpton: Don’t let whites redefine usMarch 12, 2006 By Andy Grimm / Post-Tribune staff writer Reverend Al Sharpton arrives at a party to celebrate the 24 American Idol semi-finalists at Cinespace in Hollywood February 18, 2006. REUTERS/Max Morse GARY — A New York teenager named Al Sharpton left the 1972 Black Political Convention here believing that blacks could win any elected office. Nearly 30 years later — and two years after a failed run for a presidential nomination — Sharpton returned to Gary’s West Side High School as Saturday’s keynote speaker for the 2006 National Black Peoples Unity Convention. Though...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2006 – An al Qaeda military leader was killed today during a raid in Baghdad, and U.S. soldiers discovered a weapons cache Feb. 22, Multinational Force Iraq officials said. A raid in northern Baghdad by coalition forces, with assistance from Iraqi police, resulted in the death of Abu Asma, the al Qaeda "military emir of northern Baghdad." Intelligence reports indicated Abu Asma was in possession of and expected to use suicide-bomber vests against Iraqi civilians and security forces. Abu Asma, also known as Abu Anas and Akram Mahmud Al Mushhadani, was an explosives expert with close ties...

"You are exactly right, and let me tell you one thing: those people, who say Iraq is not ready for democracy, are racists. They are absolute racists! They are saying that the Iraqi people are neither intelligent enough nor mature enough to be able to experience democracy."

from "Hannity & Colmes," ... SEAN HANNITY...from San Francisco tonight, the board of supervisors here overwhelmingly voted to reject a plan last year that would bring the historic World War II Iowa battleship right here to San Francisco harbor, as a museum and tourist center. We're now joined by one of the supervisors that voted against that plan, Gerardo Sandoval is with us. You don't want a symbol of war in the harbor. Is what you said to me. GERARDO SANDOVAL: That's right... it's a warship and it's got guns on it. It fires things. You know, you can't deny...

<p>Leadership: What possesses a former vice president of the U.S. to travel to the birthplace of Islamist terrorism and denounce his country? Only a special breed of demons, apparently, can explain Al Gore.</p> <p>The chief demon, of course, surely must be Gore's continuing quest for the presidency. Embittered he may well be by his loss of the highest office six years ago. But showing such supreme disloyalty to his country, as he did in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, cannot be condoned as an honorable means of pursuing the prize once more.</p>

Just yesterday the WSFA 12 Sports team publicly recognized Demond Washington for a job well done, a plaque honoring Washington's 'Athlete of the Week' honors last fall. Today, Washington is getting a different kind of notice, one the Tallassee city school superintendent believes the football player regrets. "I'm sure he wished he had not done that, wished he could take his words back," said James Jeffers. We're told Washington spoke into the P-A system in the school and allegedly said, 'I hate white people and I'm going to kill them all!' "There were some words expressed to that affect," said...

Opponents of the war say the only Al Qaeda elements in Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion were those in Kurdish areas not controlled by Saddam. This simply is not so, but for the sake of argument, let’s say it is. And if so, would not the U.S. – as a critical front in the global war on terror – have to invade those areas to shut down the Al Qaeda cells? Of course. And that in itself would have been a far more dangerous “limited war” with Iraq involving a direct ground confrontation with Saddam’s army anyway.

A column by Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune got me thinking on this subject of web sites dedicated to firing coaches. Fire Joe Paterno.com, the subject of Downey's wrath, has backed down a bit from its "noble" cause, and the domain owner has reserved the domain name "Keep Joe Paterno.com." Too bad the board of directors at Penn State didn't reserve it first. My first foray into internet activism was Blue States for Bush. I got some hate e-mails, which I expected. The e-mails I got that really troubled me usually followed this line of logic. "Your site sucks...

By Mehmet Kalyoncu This provocative analysis of Turkey's nuclear ambitions, informed by current political realities and a historical summary of the country's previous plans and nuclear partnerships, asks the devil's advocate question: what do the US and EU plan to give Turkey to keep it from going nuclear? Recent heated statements of a nuclear variety made by both Iran and Israel toward each other introduce a whole new dimension for Turkey’s security concerns in its neighborhood. Given the current circumstances, Turkey could even be considered late in developing nuclear capabilities for defense purposes. However, that Turkey can and that Turkey...

Insurgencies are not put down in a fortnight. But considering the successes in the recent counter-insurgency sweep in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, one fact becomes obvious to anyone with so much as a sliver of an understanding of ground combat operations: Eliminating the insurgency in Iraq is best left to those who best know how to do it.

"Now I understand why Paris is called the City of Lights. But seriously folks, these car fires are bad for the environment and are only increasing global warming. On a positive note, it's nice to see muslim youth turning to rioting, instead of terrorism." http://www.AlGoreLabs.com

If there is one trait in Al Gore that is to be admired, it is persistence. After losing the election he has tirelessly spread the word about global warming to anyone who would listen. Several times I have written about Al's rants, but this one takes the cake. In a visit 'down under' Gore compares the refusal of the US and Australia to sign the Kyoto pact to Neville Chamberlain who did everything he could to appease the Nazis in hopes they would not attack Britain. According to Gore, "I don't want to diminish the threat of terrorism at all,...

Al Franken (L) speaks to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in Boston, Massachusetts in this July 29, 2004 file photo. He pioneered mock television news 30 years ago and wrote a satirical book about becoming the 44th president of the United States. So when comedian Al Franken says he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate you have to ask--is he serious? To accompany feature Arts-Franken. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn/Files

An election for every American -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: October 14, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Just because there is no 2008 presidential candidate you're excited about, doesn't mean you can't be involved in politics. Just because there is no congressional candidate you can support in 2006, doesn't mean you can't be involved in politics. Just because there are so few righteous men and women running for office in America today, doesn't mean you are supposed to sit at home and drop out. In fact, it's more important than ever that Americans who revere the Constitution and who understand the...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 11, 2005) -- In the final weeks of their deployment, the “Warhorse” lifted the “Blue Devils” into Al Anbar province in support of security and stabilization operations. Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, were flown to a forward location by the rotors and Marines of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465, Sept. 21. The squadron officially ended it's deployment with a transfer of authority ceremony Sept. 30. The squadron was relieved by HMH-466. The Blue Devils of 3/504 PIR were deployed to the area to assist with security and stabilization efforts in...

I understand how Al feels. How could he singlehandedly invent the internet and loose the presidency to some guy who likes to clear brush and chop wood for fun? Al, like his mentor Clinton, never likes to stray far from the bright lights and friendly faces of a high paying speaking gig. Al was at a media conference in New York and decided to let the rest of America in on his ideas, some of which are far fetched to say the least. To start off the beginning of his speech, Al asks this question, "How many of you, I...

GADSDEN, Ala. — Roy Moore (search), who became a hero to the Christian right after being ousted as Alabama's chief justice for refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments (search) from the courthouse, announced Monday that he is running for governor in 2006. Moore's candidacy could set up a showdown with Gov. Bob Riley (search), a fellow Republican, and turn the Ten Commandments dispute into a central campaign issue in this Bible Belt state.

An interesting Newsweek story this week – that references CT Blog among its sources – claims scoring a point against what it paints as a “questionable” Bush administration portrayal of Abu Azzam. In short, the authors of the article, Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball claim the Administration’s leaders aggrandized the real importance of the killed al Qaida commander basing their conclusion on a number of non-identified U.S. counter-terrorism officials and a report posted by our colleague Evan Kohlman on the blog. The “charge” by Newsweek is about the hierarchy of the man. Was he or was he not the “number...

Just heard on CNBC Squak Box that FEMA has decided it will reimburse churches for providing for hurricane evacuees. My first thought is how corrupt churches are in certain communities. What will be the "proof" needed by FEMA to make payment? I suspect ligit lists of evacuees are already floating around churches. Provide the list to FEMA and get money for helping 3000 people in your one-room country church.This is exactly the type of situation I was affraid would happen. No way the Feds can keep this situation from getting out of hand. No amount of oversite will stop massive...

Good Sunday evening to you, fellow Freeper baseball fanatics. Great week just past, and an unreal last week to the season upon us..I wanted to get the thread up now, since I may not have a chance to do so tomorrow..The races are wilder, and tighter, than ever..

Many military bases have been closed during the past several years. Most have the infrastructure, messhalls, housing (barracks), medical facilities, security systems, jails and facilities to house and support thousands at this time.Many also had space for landing helicopters and other aircraft. This should have been part of the emergency plan. It would have been much better organized and offer more control and less impact on surrounding communities.. This should have been set up ahead of time. Provisions could have been pre-placed there. This should be implemented for future disaster. Supplies needed, food, water and medical could have been warehoused...

By Abigail R. Esman World Defense Review columnist "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" declared the posters taped across the city, the banner strung above the massive hole that once had been the World Trade Center, in the months after 9/11. And for a year, anyway, tourists came to pay respects at Ground Zero while New Yorkers brought flowers to their local fire departments, contributed to funds benefiting the families of those killed, pasted American flags to the windshields of their cars, and somberly marked the eleventh day of every month that passed. But four years later, to walk the streets of...

All, I don't know about you, but the MSM coverage of the aftermath of Katrina has really discouraged me in many ways. They are spending 90% of the time reporting on only the bad that is coming out of the storm. OTOH, I have been uplifted by reports from my particular denomination that are filtering out the area. I would like to establish this thread for the sole purpose of posting information from all churches that are striving to glorify God in the affected areas. Please post any information you might have so that we may pray for these brothers...

Unlike the easy ambush of Private Jessica Lynch and her ordnance maintenance unit that made a wrong turn in a bad neighborhood back in 2003, insurgents today are learning that striking any American unit – combat arms or not – can be costly. "When the guys we're training today get hit, they'll fight their asses off," Reece says. Recruits are certainly learning from those who've been in the fight.

KATRINA-BISHOPS Sep-1-2005 (800 words) xxxn Most bishops in hurricane's path accounted for By Mark PattisonCatholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Efforts by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Washington headquarters to get through to bishops whose dioceses were in the path of Hurricane Katrina generally met with success in the initial days after the hurricane, as power and telephone outages left bishops and laity alike incommunicado. Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. As of the morning of Sept. 1, the USCCB had yet not heard from Bishop Sam G. Jacobs of Houma-Thibodaux, La., but had heard...

Cindy Sheehan and the Company She Keeps By William John Hagan Houston Home Journal Warner Robins, GA 08/30/2005 The average American has been ill served by the media coverage of Cindy Sheehan’s anti-Bush protest. Maureen Dowd wrote in The New York Times, "The moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute." That attitude has been adopted by the majority of America’s media in their biased reporting on Sheehan. The reality is that Sheehan’s case is built on lies and her true belief system has been hidden from the American people. Cindy Sheehan has chosen to lie...

E-mail Author Author Archive Send to a Friend Version August 22, 2005, 5:29 p.m. Sometimes It's Who You Offend Radio-talk-show host Michael Graham is out of a job. Let’s imagine a scenario that’s not so fictional. Suppose we had a big multinational corporation called Filch. Its code of conduct includes some dubious provisions that can be interpreted to encourage aggressive business and accounting practices. Filch is huge, and overwhelmingly composed of decent, honest officers and employees. But a not insubstantial cabal of its officials, taking advantage of the climate created by the code, cheats its suppliers and customers in...

Contents IntroductionWhat is the PSM/ISM?ISM Rewriting History ACT NOW! - OPPOSE GOOGLE'S PLAN Automatically send emails opposing Google's planSign a petition Introduction According to Lee Kaplan, writing for FrontPageMagazine.com: The Internet giant Google will give news agency status to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), according to an anonymous source at Google. If true, the ISM—an affiliate of the anarchist/communist wing of the PLO—would be on par with professional news services such as CNN, Fox, and Associated Press. … The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM) are related and interconnected organizations that have one goal: the...

Air America and the race hustlers By Michelle Malkin COLUMNIST Where are they? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the supermen of the civil rights establishment -- able to leap tall buildings in a single bound to get in front of a picket line. When victim politics calls, the demagogic duo leap into patented action: March. Boycott. Shakedown. Repeat. But the raging reverends are nowhere to be found as a scandal involving the liberal radio network Air America and a Bronx, N.Y.-based inner city charity for poor children brews. Why the silence? It's all about the Benjamins, as they say....

The Air Out There Hugh Hewitt Fri Aug 5,12:06 PM ET Washington (The Daily Standard) - WHAT DID AL FRANKEN KNOW, and when did he know it? When Air America launched last year, it was the beneficiary of more free publicity than any radio show or network launch had ever received. So desperate was the mainstream media to find some left-leaning response to the Limbaugh-led revolution in talk radio that the many and obvious flaws in the network's offerings went largely unreported. Those of us who have been around radio studios for a few years know, though, that launch hype...

13 July 2005: Britain is seeking the special assistance of the Indian government to deal with Asian Islamic terrorism, and relations are also being strengthened with Spain and France to combat North African terrorism. Diplomats said that Britain is also actively considering creating a US homeland security-type department, and a bill will be brought for this in the British Parliament soon, and as part of a new anti-terror regime, following the London bombings last week, mosques will be compulsorily registered, and visitors to them would have to reveal their identities.