Free Republic

Erdogan was initially on the roster of speakers on the funeral — a list that includes a number of famous names, such as former president Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal. However, on Monday, Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell had said that two unnamed speakers had been added to the program, meaning that foreign guests Erdogan and King Abdullah II of Jordan would no longer be able to make an address. Gunnell told reporters that the two world leaders had been “gracious and understood.” But there were a number of suggestions that perhaps Erdogan had been removed from the list...

Mel Gibson is reportedly preparing a sequel to his 2004 film The Passion of the Christ. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gibson is working with Oscar-nominated Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace to pen the sequel, which will tell the story of Jesus’s resurrection. “I always wanted to tell this story,” Wallace told THR. “The Passion is the beginning and there’s a lot more story to tell.” Gibson and Wallace most recently worked together on the upcoming World War II drama Hacksaw Ridge, which the former directed and the latter co-wrote. The pair reportedly began working on the Passion sequel in...

Everything I have seen seems to indicate Muslims have to be buried within 24 hours of death. Ali's body is, if the news is correct, going to be paraded through the streets of Louisville. So: is there an exception for famous Muslims? Or, was Ali not a devout Muslim? Or, was he Muslim in name only?

Legions of blank-faced workers marching in lockstep, a bare-breasted woman dressed as a fallen angel suspended from the ceiling, dancers in their underwear simulating homosexual acts on a metal cart, robed Satanist-type figures bearing goat skulls, dancers in grass costumes worshipping a goat-headed man who "dies" and is resurrected. Is this some sort of bizarre witches' sabbat out in the woods? A Satanic black mass in the depths of an abandoned cemetery? No, it's the opening ceremony of the historic Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, attended by some of the most powerful leaders in Europe, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of...

World Famous Scientist: God Created the Universe ‘The final resolution could be that God is a mathematician.’ Michio Kaku has made a name for himself as a world-leading theoretical physicist unafraid to speak his mind.Kaku, the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York, has published more than 70 articles in physics journals on topics such as supersymmetry, superstring theory, supergravity, and hadronic physics.His latest claim is likely to make waves in the world of science.“I have concluded that we are in a world made by rules created by an intelligence”, Kaku says...

An overhead image of the monument photographed from a drone, and a detail overlay of the surface features in which the image is rotated 90 degrees clockwise. Photograph by I. LaBianca (Left) and Photograph by I. LaBianca; graphics by J. Blanzy (Right) ============================================================================================== Satellites and drones helped reveal huge ceremonial platform near the ancient city’s center. An enormous monument has been hiding in plain sight at the World Heritage site of Petra, according to a study recently published in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Archaeologists Sarah Parcak, a National Geographic fellow, and Christopher Tuttle, executive director...

The Pillars of Modern American Conservatism Over the past half century, conservatism has become the dominant political philosophy in the United States. Newspaper and television political news stories more often than not will mention the word conservative. Almost every Republican running for office—whether for school board or U.S. senator—will try to establish his place on the political spectrum based on how conservative he is. Even Democrats sometimes distinguish among members of their own party in terms of conservatism.Although conservatism as we know it today is a relatively new movement—it emerged after World War II and only became a political force...

On 27 January, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — founder of Iran’s Islamic Republic, the man who called the United States “the Great Satan” — sent a secret message to Washington. From his home in exile outside Paris, the defiant leader of the Iranian revolution effectively offered the Carter administration a deal: Iranian military leaders listen to you, he said, but the Iranian people follow my orders. If President Jimmy Carter could use his influence on the military to clear the way for his takeover, Khomeini suggested, he would calm the nation. Stability could be restored; America’s interests and citizens in...

Federal taxpayers are on the hook for nearly 20,000 JUST to settle each refugee and asylum seeker,who are IMMEDIATELY eligible for "CASH" welfare , food stamps , housing and medical aid,according to "new' report on the "refugee industry."

Atheists are embracing Gods and creationism Elon Musk, the billionaire inventor and entrepreneur, the twenty-first century’s answer to Howard Hughes, believes we are living in a computer simulation. The chances that we exist in ‘base reality’ are billions to one, he says.Last week he told an audience of Silicon Valley tech evangelists: ‘Forty years ago we had Pong. Like, two rectangles and a dot. That was what games were.’‘Now, 40 years later, we have photorealistic, 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously, and it’s getting better every year. Soon we’ll have virtual reality, augmented reality.’‘If you assume any rate...

Can We Make Ourselves More Moral? Designer Babies, Hormone Therapy, and the New Eugenics of Transhumanism If a non-teleological process produced human morality, then how can we find a measuring rod for morality outside of nature that allows us to prefer “moral” behaviors to “immoral” behaviors? Julian Savulescu, professor of philosophy at Oxford University and editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics, provocatively argued in a popular 2012 Reader’s Digest article that “It’s Our Duty to Have Designer Babies.” Savulescu is a leading figure in the transhumanist movement, which seeks to transform humanity by seizing the reins of human evolution....

Police urges drivers and pedestrians to avoid wrong practicesThe Command & Control Centre of Dubai Police received 2,419 calls during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. "Yesterday [the first day of Ramadan], The Dubai Police Command & Control Centre received 2,419 emergency calls and reported 250 traffic accidents [two of which were serious] all between 2:30 pm until 7:30pm," said Lt. Colonel Khazraj Majed Al Khazraji, Director of the Command & Control Centre. Al Khazraji urged motorists to buckle up, adhere to the speed limits, maintain a safe distance and drive defensively – especially during the...

ISTANBUL // Turkish police detained four people in a hunt for the perpetrators of a car bombing in central Istanbul on Tuesday that killed seven police and four civilians. The third deadly attack in Turkey’s biggest city in six months targeted a bus transporting anti-riot police in Beyazit district, close to many of the city’s top tourist sites, said Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin. Thirty-six people were wounded, three of them seriously, he added. The four suspects were taken to police headquarters in Istanbul for interrogation, the state-run Anatolia news agency said, without providing further information. There was no early claim...

The United Church of Christ (UCC), a major mainline Protestant denomination, published a Facebook post telling all whites that they are racist against non-whites, no matter what they do. An infographic posted to the church’s Facebook page over the weekend gives white people a series of 10 tips on how to cope with their white privilege. Suggestions include “Listen when people call you on your microaggressions” and “Stop contributing to gentrification.” But the tenth suggestion is the most notable one, telling white readers to “Recognize that you’re still racist. No matter what.”

Spain laid claim to the Island of Jamaica from the time Columbus landed there in 1494. In 1503, Columbus was shipwrecked there for a year. In 1655, Jamaica was captured by British Admiral William Penn, the father of Pennsylvania's founder. Jamaica was too far from England to defend, so the inhabitants turned to privateers, freebooters, buccaneers and pirates for protection. The likes of Blackbeard, Calico Jack and Captain Henry Morgan, namesake of the rum, attacked Spanish ships and settlements, then returned to Jamaica with their booty. The skull pirate flag, called the "Jolly Roger," was adapted from the flag of...

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts this week, and most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims will be observing. This means there's a good chance you might encounter someone — a friend, a co-worker, the barista making your latte at Starbucks, your child's teacher — who is celebrating Ramadan. But what is Ramadan, exactly? And how can I make sure I don't accidentally offend my Muslim friends and acquaintances during Ramadan? We've got you covered: Here are the most basic answers to the most basic questions about Ramadan. 1) What is Ramadan actually about? Ramadan is the most sacred...

The president of Turkey and king of Jordan joined the long line of world leaders, religious figures and superstars set to speak at Muhammad Ali's funeral Friday. Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced funeral details at a news conference Monday. California imam and scholar Zaid Shakir will preside over the service at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. …

<p>At a time when Muslims in America are facing scorn and bigotry, the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali should be remembered as the true, peaceful face of Islam, residents of his hometown say.</p>

I'm asking for prayers for a good friend who I have been playing softball with for the past 8 years who had a very tragic motorcycle accident this past Thursday.

A growing number of Muslim refugees in Europe are converting to Christianity, according to churches, which have conducted mass baptisms in some places. Reliable data on conversions is not available but anecdotal evidence suggests a pattern of rising church attendance by Muslims who have fled conflict, repression and economic hardship in countries across the Middle East and central Asia. Complex factors behind the trend include heartfelt faith in a new religion, gratitude to Christian groups offering support during perilous and frightening journeys, and an expectation that conversion may aid asylum applications. At Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz,...