Free Republic

During the next 35 years, the traditional view of the sanctity of human life will collapse under pressure from scientific, technological, and demographic developments. By 2040, it may be that only a rump of hard-core, know-nothing religious fundamentalists will defend the view that every human life, from conception to death, is sacrosanct. In retrospect, 2005 may be seen as the year in which that position became untenable. American conservatives have for several years been in the awkward position of defending a federal funding ban on creating new embryos for research that prevents U.S. scientists from leading an area of biomedical...

NEW HAVEN — A two-hour animal rights demonstration on the Green Monday sparked outrage instead of sympathy from the public. "This is the most racist thing I’ve ever seen on the Green. How dare you," roared Philip Goldson, 43, of New Haven at the protest organizers at Church and Chapel streets. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a national animal rights group, posted giant photographs of people, mostly black Americans, being tortured, sold and killed, next to photographs of animals, including cattle and sheep, being tortured, sold and killed.

Peter Singer arrives for lunch with the liberated air of an east coast intellectual taking a break from George Bush’s America. The other diners at Woodlands, a Tamil vegetarian restaurant near Piccadilly Circus, don’t look up as he and his wife, Renata, pass by. Doubtless none of them realise that the lightly tanned man with wisps of white hair is one of the most consequential thinkers of our time: a radical philosopher whom many regard as the father of the animal liberation movement. The restaurant was my choice, not his. Singer asked me to book an old vegetarian haunt called...

MIAMI - Frances Langford, whose steamy rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love" captivated soldiers stationed overseas on Bob Hope's tours during World War II, died Monday. She was 92. Langford died at her home in Jensen Beach, her lawyer Evans Crary Jr. said. She had been ill with congestive heart failure, he said. Langford, a recording artist, radio star and actress from the 1930s to 1950s, joined Hope's troupe to boost wartime morale at military bases and hospitals through Great Britain, Italy, North Africa and the South Pacific. She entertained a new generation of soldiers in Korea and...

ATLANTA, June 30, 2005 – Country music artist Mark Wills didn't deliver a speech during the Military Child Education Coalition lunch and opening general session here June 29, but he spoke to the more than 550 conferees in the international language: music. Country singer Mark Wills performed some of his hit songs, including the megahit, "19 Something," for attendees at the Military Child Education Coalition conference in Atlanta on June 29. Photo by Rudi Williams (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. To the audience's delight, Wills and his musicians spoke to the crowd through some of his hit songs,...

Okay, y'all. I don't post vanities but this one is a doozie. If you can help, great. If not, that's fine, too. And if this gets pulled, I understand.This young (15-year-old) Texas performer has a chance to make it huge, and bring real rootsy-feeling music to the masses.Maren Morris has been invited to compete in CountryThunder.com's Young Guns 4 competition, which has 40+ performers battling (through internet voting) for the opportunity to share the stage with folks like Darryl Worley, LeAnn Rimes, Sara Evans and Montgomery Gentry.Country Thunder is a huge 5-day fest in Wisconsin next month.I believe this young...

Afghan Pop Star Killed After Toronto Concert Tuesday, May 10, 2005 VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Afghan singer Nasrat Parsa (search) died after an attack outside his hotel following a weekend performance at a downtown Vancouver theater, police said Monday. He was 36. Parsa, who had performed in Toronto (search) earlier in the week, was outside his hotel with his brother, Najib, when he was assaulted by three men early Sunday, police constable Tim Fanning said. Parsa, who had been living in Germany (search), died later after sustaining a brain injury, according to his official Web site. A 19-year-old man was...

NEW YORK -- By the dawn's early light, Caroline Marcil finally finished on national TV what she started at a hockey game — a flawless rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Montreal singer was to perform the national anthems of two countries before the United States' 5-4 exhibition victory over Canada on Friday in Quebec City. Despite two tries, she forgot the words to the U.S. anthem and then left to get the lyrics. When she returned to the rink, she slipped on the carpet covering the ice and plopped on her back before a Quebec Coliseum crowd of 7,166....

MARCH 15 - Leavenworth, KS PX Appearance, Ft. Leavenworth, 11am to 1pm - Kansas City, MO NAIA Basketball Tournament Dinner, 5 pm to 8 p.m. MARCH 16 Kansas City, MO - NAIA Basketball Tournament, Champions of Character Programs 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. - Ottawa University, Ottawa, KS 12 noon to 1pm - Ottawa High School, Ottawa, KS 2pm to 3 pm MARCH 17 Kansas City, MO - St. Patrick's Day Parade, WDAF Float 10am - Whiskey Tango Club, Keni Thomas and Cornbread, Performing with Trick Pony, 9pm MARCH 18 Kansas City, MO NAIA Basketball Tournament, Champions of Character Program 8:45...

Keni Thomas - Flags Of Our Fathers - A Soldier's Story Monday, February 21 2005 @ 01:14 PM ESTContributed by: ACstaff By: Christine Bohorfoush - AngryCountry.com Staff Writer Why Keni Thomas and Cornbread made this record: "It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the third of October, 1993 when someone in the hanger yelled out, ‘Get it on!’ A mission was coming down. It was time to gear up. And just like that; our lives were changed and bound forever." "About one hundred and fifty men from Task Force Ranger were sent into downtown Mogadishu, Somalia in search of a...

Visiting Tanzanian singer Remmy Ongalla last evening shocked a public religious gathering in Nairobi when he confessed of having been a devil worshipper. Amidst exclamations from the audience, Ongala revealed how he drank human blood and ate human flesh in a satanic ritual. "I would drink one glass of blood every week and the blood was from people like you," he said. "This is the truth but nobody, not even my wife knew about it," said the Standard Five dropout and father of four. He is married to a British high school teacher. Ongala was giving his testimony at Uhuru...

When talking to Prof. Peter Singer, you don’t get the impression that you’re talking to a monster. His views on what constitutes an ethical life might be diametrically opposed to 2,000 years of Catholic moral teaching and might even be construed as monstrous as seen through a God-centered view of the universe, but Peter Singer the person is intelligent, affable, complex and serious.For years he has held one of the most prestigious positions in academia as an ethics professor at Princeton University in New Jersey.Born in Australia, Singer has written and taught extensively on the topic of ethics. If his...

Silent No More: A Major Crisis in the African-American CommunityBy Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJRoman Catholic ChaplainHoward University, Washington, DC Do you know what the leading cause of death in the African American Community since 1973 is? Think about it for a minute. Is it heart disease-2,266,789 deaths since 1973, cancer-1,638,350, or accidents-370,723? Is it AIDS-203,695, or violent crimes-306, 313? There is one possibility that is often overlooked. It happens 1452 times a day in our community. It has taken over 13 million Black lives within the last 30 years. It has taken 1/3 of our present population. What...

WASHINGTON - Elton John (news) called his Kennedy Center Honor "icing on the cake," but actor Robert Downey Jr. (news - web sites) got a frosty reception when he introduced the rock legend as "the other first lady." John, opera diva Joan Sutherland, conductor John Williams and actors Warren Beatty, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were honored Sunday with a star-studded tribute at The Kennedy Center. The six recipients of the 27th annual Kennedy Center Honors were saluted for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts. But Downey stole the show with his rambling tribute to John....

AMSTERDAM - A hospital in the Netherlands - the first nation to permit euthanasia - recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives. The announcement by the Groningen Academic Hospital came amid a growing discussion in Holland on whether to legalize euthanasia on people incapable of deciding for themselves whether they want to end their lives - a prospect viewed with horror by euthanasia opponents and as a natural evolution by advocates. In August, the main...

he World Jewish Congress is in turmoil, two decades after the billionaire Edgar M. Bronfman Sr. rescued it from crushing debts and propelled it to remarkable successes. With just a few dozen employees and an $8 million annual operating budget, the congress, a nonprofit organization, brought to light the Nazi past of Kurt Waldheim, the former United Nations chief, and forced Swiss banks to pay more than $1 billion to settle Holocaust-related claims. Now the organization that criticized those banks for their lack of transparency and accountability finds itself under attack on similar accusations - and from within the Jewish...

    Inside the neonatal intensive care unit of a Metuchen hospital, a jungle of machines surrounded a two-hour old baby gasping shallowly. Tubes from one machine sent a steady stream of air pressure down her nasal passages, preventing her tiny airways from collapsing. Intravenous pumps and catheter tubes entered through her belly button, delivering nutrients to her bloodstream and energy pulses to her heart. A screen nearby showed continuous readings of her cardiac function, respiration and oxygen saturation level.     Around her at Saint Peters University Hospital on Friday were 13 Princeton students, members of bioethics professor Peter Singer's "Ethical Choices"...

CHARTED: Yoko Ono, 71, has the No. 1 single on the dance chart, "Every Man Has A Man Who Loves Him"/"Every Woman Has A Woman Who Loves Her," a mix of techno beats and her somewhat off-key vocals that delivers a message in favor of same-sex unions. "This is a victory not just for me but for all Americans who are against the administration's decision to ban gay marriage," Ono says about the success of the tune, as quoted by the BBC.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former pop singer Cat Stevens, a Muslim, was deported to Britain on Wednesday after U.S. officials said his activities could be "linked to terrorism" and his name was put on a U.S. no-fly list. Arab-Americans and Muslims in Britain voiced outrage over the treatment of Stevens, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam when he shelved his singing and songwriting career and became a Muslim almost three decades ago. He was seen being escorted by U.S. security officials onto a United Airlines flight at Dulles International Airport bound for London's Heathrow Airport on Wednesday evening. Homeland Security...

      From Cole Cross                                                                                       FORWARD this Postcard to friends and loved ones.         This song is _______ Dedicated to our Troops Support this Artist by Visiting www.ColeCross.com   Cole Cross is a rising Country Music star who has written more than 500 songs             From Cole...

IRAN'S Islamic Propagation Organisation has approved for sale the music of Cat Stevens, the British singer who converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. "We have chosen to put on the market a selection of songs from Cat Stevens, to show to the Iranian youth that not everything in the West is bad," the organisation's music director Reza Mahdavi told AFP. He said Stevens, a folk icon of the late sixties and early seventies, contrasted with the likes of Michael Jackson - the "King of Pop" facing trial in the US for alleged child abuse. "There may...

Who is Daize Shaynes publicist? I saw a girl tonight almost afraid to admit she is a republican. She will be singing at the GOP Convention and she is unsure if she is Republican? She sounds more to me like she isnt quite sure about her beliefs, or her publicist is telling her not to be too overtly political (kind of a bit late considering she is commited to the GOP convention already. Sorry I am just irked that either we would invite somebody who is unsure of their own beliefs and commitments or something else

HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICA1st Linda Ronstadt, now Don Henley booed'We used to be able to have civil debate in this country. Not anymore' Posted: August 3, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Don Henley Singer Don Henley was booed at a concert in Orange County, Calif., after mentioning his friendship with Linda Ronstadt, who gained national attention after alienating much of her audience with a song dedication to leftist filmmaker Michael Moore. At the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Thursday Henley made several political comments between songs, according to a report in the Orange County Register. One comment began: "Given what...

Hollywood Backlash Continuesby William R Alford - July. 20, 2004 Certain entertainment industry figures are having a tough time going beyond their qualifications by engaging in political discourse. 1970s diva Linda Ronstadt was recently booed off the stage for casting filmmaker Michael Moore as a truth-spreading “patriot” and encouraging the audience to see Fahrenheit 9/11. Las Vegas’ Aladdin Hotel president Bill Timmins reportedly had Ronstadt summarily ejected from her quarters for having “spoiled a lovely evening for our guests” by needlessly causing “all bedlam” to break loose. [Note: there were no fires, looting, brawling, etc. – these were not...

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND (Talon News) -- Controversy ensued during a live concert appearance in Ireland when British music act and ex-Smiths lead singer Morrissey announced to his fans that former President Ronald Reagan had died. The singer then added that he wished current President George W. Bush had died instead. The concert crowd, attending the event at Dublin Castle, actually cheered upon hearing that Reagan died after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Yet, when Morrissey opined that he wished Bush had died, the crowd allegedly erupted into a tizzy. Tony Murray, a Morrissey fan who attended the concert, confirmed what...

I've had to open the Oval Office doors more frequently for a bad performance on television than for somebody whose temper flared enough to cause for such summons, since the doors to the Oval Office, and the term itself, debuted February 22 at Rockingham, NC. (And Francis Ferko should . . . I can't say it. He homewrecked two cities and a whole state to please himself.) But now the Oval Office doors are opening wide again for a looney show on the WB called "Superstar USA". "Auditions for The WB's Superstar USA were held in Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Orlando...

Madonna Defies US Warnings, Will Perform in Israel By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem----March 31...Madonna, one of the world's most famous performers, is about to teach the U.S. State Department a lesson in counter-terrorism. Madonna, who will be performing twice at Israel's Tel Aviv Bloomfield Stadium in September, is saying: don't give into terrorism's greatest weapon - fear. "We are pleased to confirm the rumors. Madonna will be touring during the coming summer and fall," Caresse Henry, the singer's longtime manager, said yesterday. This would be Madonna's second appearance in Israel. Her first was in October 1993. "The Re-Invention Tour"...

TUCSON, Ariz. - Diana Ross was ordered to return to Tucson to serve a two-day jail sentence in her drunken-driving case. The singer, who pleaded no contest to DUI last month, had arranged to serve her sentence in Greenwich, Conn., where she lives. But during her stay, she left and returned multiple times, said City Court Magistrate T. Jay Cranshaw. Greenwich Police Chief James Walters originally wrote Cranshaw to say that Ross, 59, had completed her sentence, spending 48 hours in custody over three days, including two overnight stays. Cranshaw asked for a full accounting of the time spent there,...

By ERLIN, Jan. 8 — The European Commission agreed Thursday to revive planning for a conference on anti-Semitism that it suspended two days ago after accusations from European and American Jewish figures that some of its recent decisions were anti-Semitic themselves. The announcement seemed to put an end to an unusually public display of animosity involving charges of anti-Semitism made by leaders of Jewish organizations and an angry reaction by the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. The dispute involving Mr. Prodi, a high-profile European generally seen as friendly to Jewish interests, had threatened relations between Jewish organizations and...

Princeton's Peter Singer advocates killing disabled after birth. A controversial professor who advocates killing the disabled up to 28 days after birth, has been honored with an international ethics award. Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University, has been given the 2003 World Technology Award for Ethics by the World Technology Network. The organization says its members are dedicated to the business and science of emerging technologies such as biotechnology and new energy sources. "I am delighted to have been selected by my peers as a winner of the 2003 World Technology Award in the ethics category," Singer said...

The lead singer of a Minneapolis rock 'n' roll band was found dead Tuesday morning in her home in Great Falls, Mont. -- the apparent victim of a murder-suicide. Jessica McDonald, 32, who was known as Jessica Schwartzbauer when she sang with the Gooney Birds during the band's heyday in the late 1980s and '90s, died along with her two children and her husband, Ric McDonald, 44. Police told the Great Falls Tribune that Ric McDonald killed his family and then himself and that the handgun apparently used in the crime was found at the home. Police are trying to...

Music piracy 'great', says Robbie Williams challenged record labels about pirate copies Singer Robbie Williams has said he believes music piracy is a "great" idea. He made the comment at a music trade fair in Cannes, predicting it would anger his record company EMI. Williams said he had investigated the issue of music piracy before renegotiating his new recording contract last year. The heads of the record labels don't know what to do about it Robbie Williams He said: "I think it's great, really I do. "There is nothing anyone can do about it. "I am sure my record label...

<p>Just announced on FOX, he has been in there for a while-no word if his singing career is finished.</p>

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Blazers beat Dallas 98-79 in Game 4 of their NBA playoff series on Sunday, but that's not the only thing Portland head coach Maurice Cheeks had to be proud of. Prior to the game, Cheeks went to the rescue of 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert, who froze up and forgot the words to the national anthem before a nationally televised audience. Video: National Anthem Amnesia After she faltered and shot a pleading look toward the sideline, Cheeks went to her side and began to sing the song with her. Despite the fact that he was off-key and couldn't...

US immigration authorities have refused to grant a visa to Israeli singer Rita on the grounds that she is Iranian-born. The top Israeli singer, who has a string of performances lined up in the US, will stay in Israel for the time being. "Yediot Ahronot" reported that Rita had been invited for a twelve-day singing tour in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Rita accepted the invitation and was planning to fly to Los Angeles with her husband, singer and pianist Rami Kleinstein, and their two children. The US embassy in Israel has been asked to assist the singer with...

QUEENSRYCHE's GEOFF TATE posted the following message at his website, www.geofftate.com, on February 4th...We have some surprises planned for you with regards to the new studio cd and the upcoming tour that I'm betting that most of you will like. For all you net junkies out there, take a breath and go outside. The QR pipeline will be opening very soon and the details will be made public so you can all hear what the hell has been going on. Unless GWB brings us to our knees with a NUCLEAR HOLOCOST. Peace and NO WAR - GT."[my emphasis]...

Michael Jackson is still indulging in "sleep-overs" with children, despite his multi-million-dollar, out-of-court payment to the father of a boy nine years ago following allegations of sexual abuse. The singer was questioned about the pay-out to Jordan Chandler, 13, by Martin Bashir in a television documentary screened last night. He said: "I didn't want to do a long drawn-out thing [trial] on TV like OJ [Simpson] and all that stupid stuff. It wouldn't look right. I said, 'Look, let's get this over with. I want to go on with my life. This is ridiculous. I've had enough."' Bashir had assumed...

Saturday, January 11, 2003 Police make arrest in 1993 Mia Zapata slaying By TRACY JOHNSON SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The 1993 killing of Seattle punk-rock singer Mia Zapata, which baffled police and her fans for nearly a decade, appears to have been solved with the arrest of a man in Miami. Police say they used DNA evidence to tie Jesus Mezquia, 48, to the slaying. The Gits, from left, were: Steve Moriarty, Matt Dresdner, Joe Spleen and Mia Zapata. Mezquia was arrested late Friday. He is a Cuban native who lives in the Florida Keys, where police searched his home Saturday,...

LOS ANGELES(AP) - Singer David Lee Roth has filed a lawsuit against his ex-Van Halen bandmates accusing them of conspiring to keep money from him. The suit filed Thursday in Superior Court alleges that Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony diverted royalties and breached their fiduciary duty to Roth. Roth claims that the band signed a deal with Warner Bros. in 1996 without his knowledge or authorization for increased royalties from sales of albums. He claims that his financial losses were estimated to be at least $200,000 at the end of 2001. The former frontman wants an...

The Choice For Men November 20, 2002 by Isaiah Flair Is it ever right to cruelly kill innocent human life? No, of course not. Quite the opposite: It is always very wrong to cruelly kill innocent human life. From the book, "Who Broke The Baby?", by Jeanne Garton: "At a time when society is calling for greater responsibility on the part of fathers... it seems ironic that the law denies them the appropriate legal rights necessary to protect their children when their children are the most dependent and the most vulnerable." Pro-life men fight valiantly for the right to...

The Fall Of Roe December 1, 2002 by Isaiah Flair With the late-January anniversary of Roe vs Wade approaching, the pro-abortion, anti-baby, empathy-free feminists are expected to bring a cake to several University campuses and then hand it out to other pro-abortion, anti-baby, empathy-free feminists. They do the "abortion is good, now eat this cake" deal every year. It's profoundly macabre. What manner of being celebrates the deliberately-caused abortion deaths of innocent, vulnerable, defenseless little prenatal babies? The annual pro-abortion table gets sponsored by the deeply toxic male-bashing feminist sector of society. Feminism, a movement based upon an insatiable...

Two Malaysian celebrities have been arrested by religious authorities for the Islamic offence of khalwat, which forbids men and women who are not married to each other from being in close proximity, reports said on Monday. Actress Aida Rahim and singer Joe Radzwill were detained early on Sunday at a condominium in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur following a tip-off, the New Straits Times said. They were expected to be charged under Islamic Sharia laws and face up to two years' jail or a 3,000 ringgit ($ 789) fine if found guilty, the daily said. The actress, in her mid-40s,...

The Military Tribunal has convicted in absentia a singer who performed in Israel of collaboration with the Jewish state and sentenced her to 15 years in prison at hard labor. Nada Rizk was also fined LL2 million for “serving in the (Israeli) enemy army, contacting its agents and entering the country without prior permission.” The verdict was handed down Thursday and posted on a court bulletin board Friday. In February, the court accused Rizk of frequently visiting Israel, giving an interview on Israel radio on Oct. 24 about her singing career, and of marrying Abdel-Basset Ahmed bin Oudeh, an Arab-Israeli...

One could hardly imagine a more civilized setting. A crisply sunny November afternoon at Colgate University, its campus of handsome nineteenth-century buildings tucked into the cadenced hills of upstate New York, all covered with the last fine glow of autumn foliage. The four hundred bright-eyed students, along with faculty and townsfolk, filled the auditorium, with many standing and sitting in the aisles. The great attraction, I was well aware, was Peter Singer. "The controversial Peter Singer," as he is routinely called, holder of a chair in bioethics at Princeton’s University Center for Human Values. He and I were to debate...

TLC Singer Killed in Car Crash Fri Apr 26, 4:08 AM ETBy TANIA FUENTEZ, Associated Press WriterATLANTA (AP) - Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of the top selling female trio TLC was killed in a car crash in Honduras, her record company said early Friday. Slideshows Reuters Lopes, 31, was in Honduras for a vacation, Arista Records' senior vice president of publicity Laura Swanson told The Associated Press. Lopes was reportedly among seven people in the car Thursday night and the only fatality."No words can possibly express the sorrow and sadness I feel for this most devastating loss," said Arista president...