Free Republic

Arriving members of the Rolling Stones and their 175-person entourage could face lengthy delays at Pearson airport when a new immigration law takes affect at midnight tonight, a Toronto lawyer says. Some band and entourage members were slated to begin arriving here as early as tomorrow to conduct advance work for their coming world tour. Sources said the band may postpone arrival dates to avoid delays and the uncertainty of the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. "It is pretty sad when a big group like this has to adjust their travel plans," said lawyer Ben Trister, who handles many...

If you've felt compelled lately to take action after reading a newspaper or magazine, here's why: The media are getting bossy. It used to be that print outlets were all about being descriptive. Now they are using more commanding language in their display type – a 21st-century way to keep people engaged. Want to know about the latest trends in home design? Consult a two-year-old magazine called Dwell. Looking for the hip happenings in Bean Town? The Boston Globe newspaper offers a column called Go! Got kids who like to get their hands dirty in the garden? Give them a...

Prayers requested during week of 6/23/02 Prayers for ImAMightyRighty's father-in-lawUpdate on Ann, home from the hospital, continued prayersPrayer request for rwfromkansas' motherPrayer request for those affected by fires in ArizonaContinued prayers for foster childPraise report on friend and prayers for foreverfree's mother and pastorPrayers for gwmoore and familyPrayer request for those affected by bus accident in TexasPrayer request from LeeMcCoy for resolution to two issuesUrgent prayer request for Teacup, mini teacup, and sonPrayer request for potlatch and mother Prayers requested during week of 6/16/02 Continued prayers for Lex and familyPrayers for EggsAckley's mother and familyPraise report--Update on NatureGirl's father-in-lawPrayers for...

A NERVOUS Zimbabwe government has put its opponents under siege in what analysts this week said was a futile effort to thwart swelling public anger and agitation over the administra-tion’s failure to end a worsening economic and food crisis. They said the government was panicking at the prospects of mass protests threatened by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "The strategy is to thoroughly terrorise the population into submission as a way of neutralising the impending MDC-led mass action," University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political analyst Masipula Sithole told the Financial Gazette. The MDC has threatened to call mass protests...

Mystery surrounds a number of signs which have gone up in a Suffolk village warning motorists of exotic animals.They ask drivers to beware of crossing camels and aardvarks, low flying llamas and rampant dodos.It all started when a concerned villager put up a road sign warning drivers to beware of fowl on the road in Beyton, near Bury St Edmunds.The other signs have since been added under the cover of darkness.John Orsler, landlord at The Bear pub in the village, told the East Anglian Daily Times: "People are all laughing about it in the pub, but I really can't shed...

WASHINGTON -- ABC's decision to cut an angry anti-terrorism song from its July 4 television special has prompted a smelly protest from Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, an avid country music fan. The Democratic senator announced Wednesday that he would mail a pair of his own boots to ABC News anchor Peter Jennings in retaliation for the network's decision to remove country artist Toby Keith's song from the concert. "This is a disgrace and the rankest kind of hypocrisy from these so-called advocates of free speech," Miller said in a floor speech. The network deemed the song, entitled "Courtesy of the...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- "Political correctness run amok" is how one senator is describing a court's ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional.</p> <p>A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional "endorsement of religion" because of the addition of the phrase "under God" in 1954 by Congress.</p>

The New York Times says President Bush decided to call for a change in the Palestinian leadership after receiving an intelligence report last week that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was helping finance al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group that claimed responsibility for the most recent suicide attack in Jerusalem. According to the Times, Mr. Arafat had authorized a $20,000 payment to the group, which is an off-shoot of the Palestinian leader's Fatah Movement. The report did not say when the payment was made. Earlier this year, Israel said it had found two documents signed by Mr. Arafat authorizing payments to known...

Western leftists find themselves in strange company when it comes to the Middle East. Are they really happy to line up with neo-Nazis and Islamic fundamentalists? By Mick Hume Once upon a time, a hundred years or so ago, it was fashionable to attack something called "Jewish capitalism". August Bebel, a German friend of Karl Marx, described this attempt to give anti-Semitism a progressive spin as "the socialism of fools". Today's fashion for Israel-bashing seems to me to represent a similar foolishness. It is not old-fashioned anti-Semitism. But there is a growing tendency to endorse dubious ideas under the guise...

CALGARY -- Lids are flipping after media and delegates attending a city-sponsored party were handed free white straw cowboy hats -- made in Mexico. "That's free trade in a nutshell -- when you have the icon of a Canadian city handed out with pomp and pageantry and they're made in what's probably a sweatshop in Mexico," said Dave Robbins, a trade campaigner with the Council of Canadians. "It's an irony to be sure." While Robbins claimed that free trade enables workers in countries like Mexico to be exploited by low standards, ineffective unions and large multinational corporations, the hat issue...

<p>THERE ARE TIMES, George Orwell is reputed to have said, when the first duty of an intelligent man is to restate the obvious. President Bush did his duty this week when he cut through the murk of the past nine years - the years of the Middle East ''peace process'' - and asserted some obvious truths.</p>

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's foreign intelligence chief has warned against the nuclear capabilities of Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria at a meeting with top NATO officials, the Haaretz daily reported.Mossad chief Efraim Halevy also told a closed-door meeting of the alliance's North Atlantic Council in Brussels on Wednesday that "Islamic terror is a threat to alliance members", the newspaper said.Halvey charged that Iran was "investing heavily in developing long-range missiles" with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers (2,000 miles) "which could reach Europe and in the future, even North America, Haaretz said.In a hard-hitting speech fingering every country on...

The use of torture by the government in Zimbabwe has now assumed epidemic proportions, according to Zimbabwean human rights activists. The evidence, from epidemiological studies, show a systematic use of torture for political purposes, which goes well beyond mere physical assaults generated by heated political sentiments. Speaking yesterday at a London meeting hosted by the Law Society of England and Wales, an array of speakers presented the evidence to back up their claim. The event, held to commemorate the UN International Day for the Victims of Torture, focused specifically on Zimbabwean victims of torture. In a moving testimony, amid the...

<p>TEHRAN, IRAN -- So a senior Iranian official is explaining to me how the world looks from Tehran: Let's see, he says, Iran helps the United States organize the Northern Alliance, a longtime Iranian ally, to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan -- a regime Iran staunchly opposed. ("We are civilized fundamentalists," unlike the Taliban, sniffed an Iranian official.) Once the Taliban were out, Iran quietly aided the United States in forming the interim government in Kabul. Not a single Iranian was involved in Sept. 11, not a single Iranian has been found in Al-Qaida, and Iran's nuclear reactor is under international inspection. Iran has the most democracy and freest press of any Muslim country in the Middle East. And as a thank you, President Bush labeled Iran part of the "axis of evil."</p>

CAIRO, June 26 (Reuters) - A cautious nod from America's Arab allies to Washington's new Middle East agenda is at odds with popular scorn, but is a pragmatic move to maintain influence in the only game in town, analysts said on Wednesday. Egypt and Jordan -- the only two Arab states which have peace treaties with Israel -- called the long-awaited policy speech by President George W. Bush a good first step out of a regional logjam, while glossing over what amounted to a call for Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's removal. Saudi Arabia, another vital U.S. ally and key player...

Sex education vidoes have been made compulsory for adult giant pandas in China to stop the endangered species becoming extinct.The China Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre in Sichuan say the videos featuring both wild and captive pandas having sex will encourage them to mate.Researchers are now making all male pandas who reach sexual maturity watch the videos following successful experiments with so-called panda porn.Xinhua says the dwindling numbers of giant pandas is partly due to their relatively low fertility rate, which is reduced further in captivity.Only 10% of giant pandas in captivity are capable of natural mating and just...

This best-selling recording was performed by the legendary John Wayne. It's finally available as Duke’s spoken-word CD of poetry. It's a must-have for all patriotic Americans... Track listings: 1. Why I Love Her 2. The Pledge of allegiance 3. The Hyphen 4. Mis Raices Estan Aqui 5. The People 6. An American Boy Grows Up 7. Face the Flag 8. The Good Things 9. Why Are You Marching, Son 10. Taps

(New York-AP) -- Fire department officials have begun labeling New York City's ambulance fleet with a color of the day, to deter terrorists who might try to pack a bogus emergency vehicle with explosives and drive into a restricted area. The colored placards are placed in windshields. They are a response to a law enforcement alert issued last Friday that suicide bombers might try to use emergency vehicles for attacks.Only the city's 600 daily ambulance shifts are using the color codes. The 400 daily shifts run by private companies and hospitals are not participating in the program.Police commissioner Ray Kelly...

WASHINGTON -- Al Gore is holding a retreat this weekend that could let other Democrats know whether he can raise the money he needs to makes another run at the White House. Fund-raisers and donors will join Gore and his wife, Tipper, Friday through Sunday at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. "I don't think anybody's going down there expecting Al to say, 'I'm running,' but they want to hear what he thinks is going on around the country," said Joe Cari, a Chicago attorney and a leading Democratic fund-raiser who is headed to Memphis. The donor retreat comes while...

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China marked U.N. anti-drug day by executing 64 people accused of drug crimes, officials and state media said Wednesday. Many of the executions on Tuesday and Wednesday came immediately after public rallies where thousands watched judges condemn the accused. China usually marks International Anti-Drug Day on June 26 with a wave of publicized executions, underscoring authorities' belief that harsh punishments are an effective weapon against the spread of drugs. Officials from the United Nations ( news - web sites) have said they do not condone the practice. Another 188 people also accused of drug crimes were...