Free Republic

The Catholic Archbishop of Cologne has slammed Germany's anti-Islam party, Alternative for Deutchsland (AfD). Rainer Woelki posted a video where he ridiculed the right-wing party's claim that Islam is incompatible with the German constitution. The archbishop's intervention comes after the anti-immigration party said it would press for bans on minarets and burqas. "Anyone who denigrates Muslims as the AfD leadership does should realise prayer rooms and mosques are equally protected by our constitution as our churches and chapels," he said. "Whoever says 'yes' to church towers must also say 'yes' to minarets." The AfD has grown in prominence putting pressure...

Star Trek actor and activist George Takei warned against discriminatory impulses in the wake of last night’s terror attacks in Paris, which took at least 127 lives.Takei expressed his condolences to those who lost loved ones in Paris last night but also warned not to make assumptions about any one group of people, pointing out that the Paris attackers were themselves acting out of such a misguided hatred. The actor, who himself was placed in an interment camp along with his family during World War II, likened racism against Muslims to Americans’ discrimination against peaceful Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.

In the aftermath of the hostage crisis in downtown Sydney, Australians are showing the world they're not caving to racism or Islamophobia. On Monday, an armed gunman stormed a cafe in Martin Place, entering a tense standoff with police. After the hostage-taker displayed an Islamic flag in the cafe's window, many of Australia's Muslims are understandably anxious about facing retribution. But instead, Australians have banded together on Twitter with #IllRideWithYou, a hashtag showing their solidarity with fellow countrymen scared of being attacked on public transportation. Why it matters. This hashtag movement is powerful sign that Australians won't get worked up...

ccupy Wall Street's slogan "We are the 99%" is derived from the idea that they represent the difference in wealth that separates the top 1% and every other American citizen. The top 1% of Americans is defined as anyone who has an annual household income greater than $593,000. So why are multi-millionaire celebrities showing up to offer their support and grab attention? And why is Occupy Wall Street taking them seriously? Here is a list of the 10 richest celebrities supporting Occupy Wall Street (they have a combined net worth of $1.255 billion by the way