Free Republic

Alleged spy seen in video calling Saddam 'our inspired leader' ILLINOIS -- Prosecutors say he spied on dissidents, reported to U.N. mission honeycombed with secret agents. By MIKE ROBINSON Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP) -- Jurors watched a video Tuesday in which a man accused of spying on Iraqi dissidents for Saddam Hussein's intelligence service described the dictator as "our inspired leader" and spoke scornfully of "American colonial imperialism." "A light has illuminated our path and our procession toward the struggle and the liberation," Khaled Dumeisi said in describing Hussein at an April 2001 birthday party for the dictator at...

Guilty verdict in spying case Tue Jan 13,11:14 AM ET - Chicago Tribune By Matt O'Connor, Tribune staff reporter A federal jury deliberated less than three hours Monday before convicting a suburban Arabic-language newspaper publisher on charges he acted as a secret agent of Iraq before Saddam Hussein fall. The government alleged that since 1999, Palestinian-born Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi provided information to Mukhabbarat, the Iraqi intelligence agency, about Hussein opponents living in the U.S. Prosecutors said Dumeisi betrayed the U.S. out of admiration for Hussein's support for the Palestinian cause and to get money for his cash-strapped publication, though he...

The Danish newspaper famous for its decision a decade ago to publish cartoons mocking Islam and the prophet Muhammad, said Friday that it won't republish cartoons from French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo because it's afraid of being attacked. "It shows that violence works," the newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, explained in an editorial.<> Islamic terrorists attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris Wednesday, killing 10 journalists and two police officers in the process. It is widely believed that the murderous assault was revenge for the magazine’s satirical portrayals of Muslims.

Not exactly Je suis Charlie, but it’s also not entirely different from it either. The Santa Barbara News-Press found its offices vandalized yesterday morning, spray painted with slogans such as “THE BORDER IS ILLEGAL NOT THE PEOPLE WHO CROSS IT.” The attack has not changed the minds of the newspaper’s editors, who plan to keep using the term: A California newspaper will continue to use the term “illegals” to describe people who enter the U.S. without permission, despite an attack on its building by vandals believed to object to the term.The Santa Barbara News-Press’s front entrance was sprayed with...

The two men suspected of attacking a newspaper in Paris have stolen a car and reportedly have several hostages. A car chase is under way on the N2 motorway, and police sources say shots have been fired. The car is now on the outskirts of Paris - close to Charles de Gaulle airport - and several helicopters are reportedly hovering overhead. Sky's Ian Woods says the police focus now appears to have turned to an industrial building near to the airport. Two people with gunshot wounds have been taken to hospital in Meaux.

12 DEAD IN PARIS MASSACRE: Islamic gunmen execute French police officer as he pleads for his life after terror attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo at centre of Mohammed cartoon storm Masked gunmen storm Paris headquarters with AK-47s shouting 'Allahu akbar!' and 'the Prophet has been avenged' Stalked building asking for people's names before killing the editor and cartoonist during weekly editorial meeting Horrific footage shows a police officer begging for his life before being shot in the head at point-blank range Killers fled in stolen car across eastern Paris after a 'mass shoot-out' with police officers and remain on...

The Boston Herald received a wave of criticism Wednesday morning after publishing an editorial cartoon about President Obama that many have deemed as racist.

Tyler Durden09/11/2014 Bidet sales across Venezuela are set to soar as just months after running out of toilet paper, AP reports that Venezuela's oldest newspaper is shutting down due to falling advertising, mounting inflation and a lack of basic materials. In addition, at least nine Venezuelan regional newspapers have stopped circulation because of the shortages. Of course, this is likely great news for President Maduro who can now manage his people's minds direct from his Twitter feed... welcome to socialist utopia. As AP reports, Venezuela's oldest newspaper is shutting down because of a lack of newsprint and a difficult economic...

Keith Olbermann is mad as hell at the Daily News for its Wednesday front page featuring the gaunt face of the late Robin Williams, which included the headline “HANGED” and subheads detailing the police report. The current sports Gasbag, and former political gadfly, said as much during a Wednesday rant on his late night ESPN2 show. Boiling his melodramatic soliloquy down to a few words, the front page was too graphic for him. It offended his sensibilities. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/raissman-keith-olbermann-trashing-ny-daily-news-robin-williams-front-page-reveals-hypocrite-article-1.1904100#ixzz3APqs0STa

"The Billings Gazette," a Montana newspaper that endorsed President Obama over John McCain in 2008 (but went with Romney in 2012) admitted Friday that they were wrong -- Obama is in fact worse than his predecessor, George W. Bush. Apparently, the potential collapse of Iraq (and the disastrous worldwide consequences sure to follow) was the last straw. "[W]e were wrong," the editorial page notes,"We said things couldn't get much worse after the sub par presidency of George W. Bush. But, President Barack Obama's administration has us yearning for the good ol' days when we were at least winning battles in...

Block Communications Inc. said it will lay off 136 people at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 131 at the Blade of Toledo, a decision that will help cut costs at the two money-losing dailies where the company has been wrangling with unions for more than a year over concessions. [snip] Negotiations with the unions over a new contract have been ongoing for a year, with Block asking for wage and benefit concessions after years of losses. In March, members of the Newspaper Guild “celebrated” their 3,000th day without a raise with a pie party in the newsroom. Block told employees in...

TwinCities.com has switched its commenting system from Facebook to Disqus. You've probably seen this system - pronounced "discuss" - on dozens or hundreds of other sites. You might even already be one of Disqus's 1 billion users. There are many benefits in making the switch, including: •It does not require Facebook. You can log in with your Facebook account if you like, but you can also log in with Twitter, Google, or just an email address and password. •You can vote comments up or down; report offensive comments; and choose how to view comments -- only the best ones or...

Alaska Dispatch Publishing LLC, the parent company of the online newspaper the Alaska Dispatch, will purchase the Anchorage Daily News from The McClatchy Co. for $34 million. The sale is expected to close in May. ... Billionaire Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 31 small- and medium-sized daily newspapers. It has bought most of those newspapers since 2011 at bargain prices. Including weekly papers and other publications, Berkshire owns 70 newspapers.

"Amanda Knox has reportedly told an Italian newspaper that if she is again convicted of murder, she will become a fugitive rather than return to an Italian prison."

Bai Zhongren, the president of state-run China Railway Group - the state-owned engineering giant behind many of the country's largest railway projects - committed suicide over the weekend. As SCMP reports, Bai is among several senior railway officials and executives who have committed suicide since corruption scandals implicating the senior railway officials began to come to light three years ago. ... Xinhua quotes a colleague as saying that part of the cause of Bai's depression might be the heavy debts that his company has run up.

Digital First Media, the second-largest newspaper company in the United States, is adopting an all-access subscription model for its newspapers, including the Daily Camera in Boulder, the Longmont Times-Call and the Loveland Reporter-Herald. ...

(HOUSTON) -- Sen. Ted Cruz’ hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, wishes it could take back its endorsement. The Chronicle’s editorial board, which endorsed Cruz, R-Texas, in his 2012 race, now says it misses his predecessor, former Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. “When we endorsed Ted Cruz in last November’s general election, we did so with many reservations and at least one specific recommendation -- that he follow Hutchison’s example in his conduct as a senator,” the Chronicle said. “Obviously, he has not done so." “Cruz has been part of the problem in specific situations where Hutchison would have been part...

A former journalist at the Daily Mirror tabloid and a veteran editorial director at Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper are to be charged with making illegal payments to public officials, British prosecutors said on Tuesday.

MEDIA & MARKETING Updated July 18, 2013, 7:35 p.m. ET Washington Post Diversifies... Into Boilers Publishing Company Buys Industrial Unit from United Technologies By WILLIAM LAUNDER It's not uncommon for an industrial company to seek some glitz by buying into media and entertainment. Washington Post Co. WPO -0.11% may be the only media company going in the other direction—adding soot and grease. The company on Thursday said it is buying a maker of parts for industrial furnaces from United Technologies Corp. UTX +0.48%

In May 2013, John Rosemond — America's longest running newspaper columnist—received an astonishing order from the Kentucky attorney general: Stop publishing your advice column in the Bluegrass State or face fines and jail. The attorney general and Kentucky's psychologist licensing board believe that John's column, which is syndicated in more than 200 papers nationwide, constitutes the "unlicensed practice of psychology" in Kentucky when it appears in a Kentucky newspaper. Kentucky's crackdown is part of a national surge in the abuse of occupational licensing laws to censor advice. On July 17, 2013, John joined the Institute for Justice to fight back...