Free Republic

As forecast by the meteorological office, Eid morning on Tuesday began with shower that continued intermittently into the evening. Despite the pouring, Dhaka’s citizens went to say their Eid prayers in the morning and sacrificed their animals. As rainwater built up on the roads of Dhaka and flooded many areas of the capital it got mixed with the blood to create an unusual and gory scene; it appeared as though there were red rivers running across the city.

Nearly two years after publicly announcing her transition from male to female, Caitlyn Jenner has undergone sex reassignment surgery and tells the world about the decision in her upcoming memoir, a new report claims. “The surgery was a success, and I feel not only wonderful but liberated,” Jenner reportedly writes in “The Secrets of My Life,” out April 25 (as excerpted by RadarOnline).

What do we call me? I’m a 26-year-old writer who lives in a gentrifying neighborhood in Brooklyn. I’m a straight white man with a single-speed bike and a mustache. I studied liberal arts in college, and I have ideas about stuff, you guys. Millennial? Hipster? Yuppie? All of these, or none? We don’t have a term that quite encapsulates this corner of the despicable millenn-intelligensia. And like any other privileged member of a so-called “creative class,” being called a hipster offends me for its inaccuracy. I demand to be snarked in precise terms. Let's consider something new: Yuccies. Young Urban...

<p>Just like countless other exercise fanatics, Chloie Jonsson wanted to test herself in a CrossFit strength competition. The increasingly popular fitness events culminate each summer with the crowning of the "Fittest Man and Woman on Earth."</p> <p>But Jonsson, who is a transgender woman, was told she would have to register as a man.</p>

David Brooks admitted in his column yesterday what conservatives have long suspected: He really, really liked Obama. In fact, he’s “a sap.” Here are ten examples of his sappiness over time. 10. David Brooks thought he had a wonderful plan for poverty reduction. Why? “A neighborhood is a moral ecosystem, and Obama, the former community organizer, seems to have a . . . feel for that.” 9. In a 2009 profile of Brooks in The New Republic, the columnist describes Obama as capable of holding his own as an intellectual: “He can do the jurisprudence, he can do the political...

St. Paul, Minn. — Members of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Minneapolis decided to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America after a 96 percent vote by members on Sunday. The decision to leave came after the ELCA Church-wide Assembly vote on Aug. 21 in Minneapolis, that allowed gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. Before the ECLA's decision, gay clergy were allowed to be ministers only if they were celibate. Some church members object to the new policy, saying it goes against Scripture. The St. Paul's congregation's council set a policy in October 1990 that...

Let us detour for a moment from the recent death of Senator Ted Kennedy and the continuing debate over health care reform to consider a bizarre little happening in the Twin Cities that occurred last week. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America convened for an annual meeting at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Among the items on its agenda was a vote to decide whether to allow non-celibate homosexuals to be ordained as pastors. On Wednesday, the day of the vote, a freak storm unexpectedly swept through town without warning, bringing a tornado that damaged both the convention center and the...

ELCA Churchwide Organization Begins Revising Its Ministry Policies 09-189-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) directed that ministry policies be revised to eliminate prohibitions against partnered gay and lesbian members serving as lay and ordained leaders of the church. When the policy documents have been revised, congregations will have the option of calling a person in a publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationship, but they will not be required to do so, said the Rev. Stanley N. Olson, executive director, ELCA Vocation and Education. The assembly also directed that the policies...

Pr. Cory Johnson, N Great Lakes moved amendment B-MP-7. This would add the following wording in the second resolved: RESOLVED, that this church, because of its commitment to respect the bound consciences of all, declare its intent to incorporate structured flexibility in decision-making into its policies and procedures so that synods, bishops, congregations, candidacy committees, and others involved in the candidacy process and in the process of extending calls will be free to act according to their convictions regarding the approving or disapproving in candidacy and the extending or not extending of a call to rostered service of a person...

The Assembly began with breakfast and “table talk,” small group discussion around tables, and then they convened in plenary As the public session began, two speakers expressed great concern that following the adoption of the social statement yesterday, there was loud applause and cheers. It was noted that our rules declare this kind of response to be out of order, and the PB did nothing to call the assembly to order. The cheers were hurtful to those whose “bound conscience” were sorely wounded. The PB agreed, and apologized for his mistake. Kirsten --- (didn’t get her name or synod) urged...

Khat-chewing former fisherman known as Garaad is the brains behind pirates' brawnWhen Gilbert and Sullivan composed their melodies about the pirate king, it was doubtful they had a Somali like Garaad in mind. Yet this former fisherman, the man behind many of the recent hijackings in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, is as close as it comes to pirate royalty in the modern world. In an interview on the breezy patio of a Somali hotel, he explains how he exerts direct control over 13 groups of pirates with a total of 800 hijackers, operating in bases stretching from...

Divorce papers filed in a New Jersey court claim rock and roll star Bruce Springsteen was having a long affair with another man's wife, says a report. Arthur Kelly alleges in papers filed in Monmouth County on March 27 that his wife, Ann, “committed adultery with one Bruce Springsteen, who resides in Rumson, N.J., and Colts Neck, N.J., at various times and places too numerous to mention," reports Star Magazine. -snip-

Barbie has changed quite a bit over her 50 years. She's been a princess, a mermaid, and most alarmingly, a NASCAR fan. But she's never gotten inked up...until now. That's right, kids. America's sweetheart now comes with tattoos, and some parents are outraged. The Buzz is alive with articles on "Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie." Some parents remarked that they wouldn't buy a Barbie with tattoos, as it encourages girls to show off their bodies. To be fair, the blond bombshell doesn't come with tattoos already applied. It's up to the kids to attach the stickers where they see fit. The...

The more I look at this whacky hair, the more I think of a big brown tongue hanging off the back of this chick's (I PRESUME she's a chick) head. Obviously a back sleeper, if you catch the pattern.

LONDON - An artist is inviting Londoners to come face-to-face with the wretched labour of one of India's lowest castes - by filling an art gallery with 21 big blocks of human excrement. The monoliths are the brainchild of Santiago Sierra, whose previous work includes pumping a former German synagogue full of poisonous car exhaust (visitors wore gas masks) and an attempt to write the word "Submission" in giant, flaming letters near the U.S.-Mexico border. Elena Crippa, curator at the Lisson Gallery where the work is being displayed, said the Spanish-born artist's intention is to confront audiences with the horror...

Cure for killer bug - but there's a catch KATE FOSTER IN THE annals of medical history, this could go down as one of the most effective but stomach-churning treatments ever devised. Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces. Trials in a Scottish hospital have shown patients suffering from the Clostridium difficile bug can be cured using 'donor stool' administered via a tube through the nose into their stomach. Clostridium difficile was last week at the heart of a damning report into cleaning failures at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust...

WikiPedia.org: you can find links to it everywhere. Online forums, scholarly journals, blogs, high school research papers. WikiPedia is an "open source" encyclopedia with the philosophy of democratic contribution. This encyclopedia differs from other more established encyclopedias by its editors; WikiPedia is composed of anonymous people contributing, deleting, and voting on various aspects of articles. WikiPedia is the frontier of online information distribution, with over 830,000 articles in the English language. It does have many criticisms, but there is one very important question that goes ignored by the mainstream media and wikifans alike. Who, exactly, edits WikiPedia? It has come...

Eddie Murphy once did a hilarous skit about how instead of getting a McDonalds hamburger, his mom would make him a soggy ol' burger using wonder bread. So todays' question is: what gross food were you forced to eat as a kid (or how did you sneak it to the dog?) For example: 1. Chipped Beef on toast - Gross, gross, gross! My dinner on those nights usually consisted of dry toast. I'd practially use an eyedropper when applying that white, pasty goop. 2. Canned spinach - like algae from a fish tank. 3. Raisins - My brother liked them...

Last Updated: Sunday, 23 November, 2003, 11:59 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version German 'cannibal' tells of regret Meiwes said Brandes agreed to be eaten A German accused of killing and eating a man he met on a website for cannibals has expressed regret for his actions. Armin Meiwes, who is awaiting trial, told a German newspaper he wants to deter other people from copying him. Mr Meiwes, from Rotenburg, says his victim was a willing participant who ate part of his own body before Mr Meiwes stabbed him to death and stored his remains in a freezer....

FILE--An unidentified person holds a two-headed snake in this Feb. 18, 2002 file photo, after it was found by a farmer in Pinoso, southeastern Spain. Biologists hope to determine if the 25-centimeter (10 inches) reptile, called a ladder snake, has separate digestive tracts and whether one head dominates the other or the two rule in coalition. (AP Photo/EFE, Morell/File) *SPAIN OUT*