Free Republic

The utter hypocrisy of the ''anti-war'' movement's members--who never met a dictator they didn’t like--has been exposed yet again. After trying desperately to keep both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein in power, they now claim to be too busy fighting U.S. ''imperialism'' to help Iranian democracy activists. James Taranto, writing for the Wall Street Journal’s ''Best of the Web,'' sheds light on the shenanigans of A.N.S.W.E.R. How's This for an Answer? Blogress Karol Sheinin reports that an Iranian democracy activist named Banafsheh contacted the most prominent ''antiwar'' group asking them to take a stand against Tehran's thuggish theocracy. In an...

I mentioned a few months ago that I met with some people (including Ken and Yevgeny) who are interested in supporting the democratic movement in Iran. We've been in touch since then and have slowly begun thinking of some things we can do. Today I got an email from one of the guys in the group. He forwarded an email from an Iranian girl who is very involved in the democracy movement. The email literally took the wind out of me. I realize that I should not be surprised by the unbelieveable hypocrisy of the biggest anti-war group, ANSWER, but...

WASHINGTON - Protesters plan to return to the nation's capital next month to oppose the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq, demonstration organizers said Wednesday. The International ANSWER coalition, whose name stands for Act Now to Stop War and Racism, brought thousands of anti-war protesters to Washington in January, March and April. Organizers predict the Oct. 25 march from the Justice Department to the White House and the Pentagon will attract tens of thousands of people. The group is seeking a protest permit for 10,000 people, the National Park Service said. "We're getting people never touched by politics, but who...

WASHINGTON - Next week will see the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, which also spawned a whole new branch in international anti-Semitism. A survey published this week by the Anti-Defamation League finds that "hateful conspiracy theories" - claiming that Jews and Israel were behind the attacks in which 3,000 people were killed - are still being disseminated. In fact, these theories are gaining strength rather than dying out. "The 9/11 attacks have fueled an entire new genre of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories leading to an environment where rumors about Jews are finding acceptance in the...

<p>Antiwar protesters down under are finally getting some recognition. Australia's Daily Telegraph quotes a man named simply Sawad, who helped mix the explosives used in last year's Bali nightclub bombing, as saying: "I want to thank the Australian people who supported our cause when they demonstrated against the policies of George Bush. Say thank you to all of them."</p>

WHY WE ARE MARCHING ON WASHINGTON OCTOBER 25, 2003 There are times when a progressive demonstration, even a large activity, is little more than a symbolic protest. There are other times when a mass demonstration can function as a catalyst, a trigger unleashing new political energy; or serve as a vivid expression of a new genuine grassroots movement capable of stirring the country and changing the political landscape. When the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition one year ago initiated the October 26, 2002, mass demonstrations in Washington DC and San Francisco there was no way to know that hundreds of thousands would participate...

August 21, 2003 Dear ANSWER supporter: We are forwarding the following email on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal, an African American revolutionary journalist who has been languishing on death row in Pennsylvania for 21 years. Mumia is known and loved worldwide as the "voice of the voiceless" because he has defended the rights of the poor, the oppressed and working people everywhere. Mumia has supported every anti-war demonstration and you have probably heard some of his solidarity messages played at many rallies. Mumia needs the support of all of us as he continues to fight for his freedom and more immediately,...

Charity gears up for 1st campaign since its scandal A coalition of labor unions vowed Wednesday to help the Capital Area United Way with "unprecedented support'' in an upcoming fund-raising campaign. The charity soon will launch its first drive since a $2 million embezzlement discovery late last year. Official campaign goals have not yet been set, but board leaders appear focused on at least equaling the $6.9 million pledged in 2002. That could prove difficult in a sluggish economy, coupled with fallout from the embezzlement by the former finance chief - likely the largest ever from one of the United...

SARASOTA, Fla. - A retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq (news - web sites) to serve as a "human shield" against the U.S. invasion is facing thousands of dollars in U.S. government fines, which she is refusing to pay. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq." She and others from 30 countries spread out...

* UPDATE * Oct. 25 Mass March on Washington - Bring the Troops Home! - End the Occupation of Iraq! *New leaflet and sticker now available for Oct. 25 *Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation calls for feeder march to defend civil liberties and civil rights, and in opposition to racial and religious profiling on Oct. 25 NEW LEAFLET AND STICKER NOW AVAILABLE A beautiful two-color leaflet and sticker for the Oct. 25 March on Washington has been printed in mass quantities. The flyer and sticker are also available in PDF format. Space is available at the bottom to add in...

In June, Pacifica Radio's Los Angeles station, KPFK-FM, hosted a thirty-hour marathon of Dr. Kwaku Person-Lynn's anti-Semitic "Afrikan Mental Liberation Weekend."  It was the first time this once-annual program appeared for almost a decade. It had been banned by station management in 1993, after a long, hard-fought pressure campaign to remove it.  Afrikan Mental Liberation Weekend typically includes claims that the Jews disproportionately participated in the slave trade and persecuted blacks; in the past, he responded to criticism by calling the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League a "psychotic, idiotic, European Jew."   He has regularly played tapes by Nation of...

The effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis of California is like a runaway train, fueled by voter anger and political aspirations. But as we race toward the Oct. 7 election date, the public and the courts should take time to consider the major flaws of the process. If the recall vote goes ahead as planned, it will plow over the United States Constitution and the fundamental rights of voters. The problem stems from this rather circuitous phrase in California election law: "no vote cast in the recall election shall be counted for any candidate unless the voter also voted for...

Washington Post reporter Evelyn Nieves has delivered at least her third story in the last eight months touting the growing momentum of the anti-liberation of Iraq movement, an effort led by groups which she tagged as "mainstream." Her July 22 polemic trumpeted: "The letters are pouring in like a water main break -- fast and yes, furious" to join the ranks of activists of "antiwar groups, almost by definition anti-Bush." This movement apparently needed no outside analysis, since the only experts she quoted were five left-wing, Bush-bashing activists. [Tim Graham, the MRC's Director of Media Analysis, contributed this item to...

No Answer by Peter Beinart Post date: 07.11.03 Issue date: 07.21.03 For an article last week on Salon.com, Laura McClure did something mischievous: She called the leaders of International answer (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and asked why they don't care about Congo. ANSWER, you may remember, coordinated this winter's protest against the Iraq war. But its agenda is far broader than that. As the preeminent umbrella organization of the hard left, ANSWER directs its outrage across the globe. This September, for instance, it plans "International Days of Protest against Occupation and Empire, from Palestine to Iraq...

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 INTERNATIONAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON DC CALL TO ACTION MASS MARCH ON WASHINGTON TO SAY: - Bring the troops home now - End the occupation of Iraq - Money for jobs, education & healthcare - Not war To ENDORSE the October 25 International March on Washington, fill out the easy-to-use form at http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/o25/index.html#endo The people in Iraq want the U.S. occupation to end. The U.S. soldiers in Iraq want to come home. On Saturday, October 25, tens of thousands of people in the U.S., joined by delegations from countries around the world, will go back into the streets...

Clueless at the Constitution CenterBy Michael P. TremoglieFrontPageMagazine.com | July 8, 2003 They were not so much a coalition of protesters as they were a coalition of the clueless. At least that was my impression after speaking with them. There were two events in Philadelphia on Independence Day. One was the dedication of the first and only museum devoted to the United States Constitution-the National Constitution Center (NCC). Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the honored guest at the dedication ceremony for the NCC. Several thousand observed those ceremonies, which included speeches by O’Connor, Senator Rick Santorum, and Ray...

In what looked like a mini dress rehearsal for the cacophony of dissent that's expected to hit the streets of New York City during next summer's GOP convention, nearly 3,000 demonstrators gathered on Seventh Avenue to protest President Bush as he presided over a $2,000-a-plate fundraiser inside midtown's Sheraton Hotel on Monday. Vowing to deliver Bush a hearty unwelcome, the demonstrators clamored inside the metal pens that police had strung up along the west side of Seventh Avenue between 49th and 54th streets, denouncing everything from the war in Iraq and tax cuts for the rich to the Bush administration's...

The communist opposition to President George W. Bush has begun. On Friday, June 27th, President George W. Bush arrived in Burlingame, California for a fundraising lunch, and the communist Workers World Party was there to protest, with the help of their allies in the labor unions and on the far-left of the Democratic Party. It's a scene we'll see again and again in the next year and a half - through their anti-war International ANSWER, the Workers World Party has vowed to follow President Bush wherever he goes. Supporters of Democrat Dennis Kucinich and the leaders the Service Employees International...

View From The Left: Peace KooksBy Michelle GoldbergSalon.com | October 17, 2002 On Oct. 6, an antiwar movement seemed to have blossomed in New York. A sea of people -- newspaper estimates ran from 10,000 to 20,000 -- filled Central Park's East Meadow to protest a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq. And yes, there were the usual suspects, like the girl from the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade who donned a kaffiyeh and hurled red-faced imprecations against capitalist tyranny. But there were many more average people, the kind who don't usually spend their sunny Sunday afternoons demonstrating against government policy --...

In the early evening of the 27th of June 2003, Freepers gathered in Century City, near the Century Plaza Hotel, to express support for President Bush, his liberation of Iraq, and other issues. Freepers came out in force - at its peak, we had a few hundred people enthusiastically waving signs, banners and - most of all - American flags. Unfortunately, since I was coming from the Valley, I arrived late, around 5:30. Worse, I accidentally dropped my Canon XL1, which is currently recuperating in the video camera hospital. You can send it your cards and letters :-). By the...