Free Republic

For those of you who have seen the BBCAmerica mini-series "Torchwood: Children of the Earth". I would like to discuss the critical theme of the series that even the "best" government can become evil on very short notice. SPOILER ALERT - We will be discussing the plot of the series.For those of you who have not seen it all, it will be repeated all day tomorrow (Sunday 26-July).

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Highway Patrol this week retracted a controversial report on militia activity and will change how such reports are reviewed before being distributed to law enforcement agencies. The Highway Patrol also will open an investigation into the origin of the report, which linked conservative groups with domestic terrorism and named former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.....

Berkeley peace activists are gearing up to circulate a petition to place a measure on the November ballot restricting where public and private military recruiters can locate within the city. “Most towns regulate adult-oriented businesses—the initiative is modeled on that,” said Sharon Adams, the attorney who wrote the initiative, which is signed by former Councilmembers Carole (Davis) Kennerly and Ying Lee (Kelley) and Code Pink activist PhoeBe Anne Sorgen. While Adams said she believes the government has to follow local zoning ordinances, Acting City Attorney Zach Cowan told the Planet that “in general, the city can’t regulate the state, its...

A feature piece in this coming Sunday's New York Times Magazine on Republican candidate for president, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, portrays his followers as including a wild mix of "wackos" on both ends of the political spectrum. Paul, a libertarian, has been gaining media and public attention of late. The cover line reads: "A Genuine Radical for President." The headline inside: "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul." The article closes with the author, Christopher Caldwell, attending a Ron Paul Meetup in Pasadena. The co-host, Connie Ruffley of United Republicans of California, admits she once was...

A new film depicts President Bush being assassinated. Should it be shown? * 55345 responses Yes, it's a good display of free speech. 52% No, the filmmakers have gone too far. 43% Perhaps -- but not in the United States. 5.2%

Congratulations to Dummie steve2370! After over a year of probation, you have finally REDEEMED yourself and came up with an hilarious DUmmie thread again worthy of publication in the DUmmie FUnnies. Yes, DUmmie steve2470, you are back in the spotlight again with your incredibly ENTERTAINING cluelessness. For those of you unfamiliar with DUmmie steve2470, he is the author of two of the FUnniest threads featured in the DUmmie FUnnies. The first of the classic steve2370 threads appeared in the February 21, 2005 DUFU edition titled, Clueless about women, please help me out in which our boy couldn't figure out...

Artists Speak Out Against the War Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Steve Earle, Moby and more play New York anti-war event R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Steve Earle, Rufus Wainwright, Fischerspooner, Moby, Peaches and Devendra Banhart all performed at Monday night's Bring 'Em Home Now! concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The event, to benefit a number of anti-war groups, could be seen as an anti-war rally at the third anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq, bringing together an array of musical styles -- hip-hop, country, rock, pop, indie and electronica -- with one shared view: It's time...

The liberal bias that permeates American college campuses isn’t news. Repeated polls show convincingly that that faculty members with liberal views or affiliations far outnumber their relatively few conservative colleagues. No problem here, you might say, so long as they keep their political and social biases out of the classroom. But, of course, they do not as many students whose grades have suffered because they vocally challenged an instructor’s biases can tell you. Beyond the challenges posed to students who try to maintain conservative perspectives, problems arise when faculty members and students try to suppress opposing viewpoints. Sadly, this has...

Investigators say they found briefcases filled with anti-government material inside a van but no explosives or drugs in Princeton, Illinois, Wednesday afternoon. That's after an explosives scare that allegedly included threats against the president and Washington D.C. Authorities credit a truck driver for intercepting threatening chatter over CB radio that could lead to more serious charges against Terry Daniel (photo at right), 44, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tammy Chamberlain knows all about the fear and uncertainty. At the Princeton gas station where she works, police tape surrounds a van. It's a van suspected to be carrying explosives bound for Washington,...

Just leaving the movies in downtown Palo Alto. Cops are all over, sealing off the two main streets. Gang of black dressed punks just tore thru breaking stuff up. Still on the rampage. Every cop in Palo alto and Menlo seems to be on the streets. All traffic diverted. Developing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/international/asia/27china.htmlState-Run Chinese Paper Lashes Anti-Japan Protests as 'Evil Plot' By JOSEPH KAHN Published: April 27, 2005 EIJING, April 26 - A top Chinese state-run newspaper said in a staff editorial this week that the wave of popular protests against Japan were part of an "evil plot" with "ulterior motives," suggesting that at least some elements of the Chinese leadership now wish to portray the demonstrations as a conspiracy to undermine the Communist Party.The editorial, published in The Liberation Daily of Shanghai on Monday, used the most strident language to date in an escalating campaign against the anti-Japan protests, which officials...

In outlining their tactics and strategy for anarchist protests during the inauguration of President George W. Bush on January 20, the Anarchist Resistance website has called for an end to the United States. Below is their "Call to Action" posted on their website http://www.anarchistresistance.org/anarchistcall.shtml *************************************************************************************** All out for an anarchist mobilization against centralized power...at the 2005 Presidential Inauguration: Washington, DC - January 15-20th. As George W. Bush is coronated on January 20th, the question is not if there will be protests, but what shape these protests will take. Thousands are organizing to oppose Bush's Inauguration. As the liberal and authoritarian...

Fringe elements are hoping to spark major disruptions at the Republican National Convention with a series of sneaky tricks - including fooling bomb-sniffing dogs on trains bound for Penn Station, the Daily News has learned. Internet-using anarchists are telling would-be troublemakers to decoy specially trained Labrador retrievers with gunpowder or ammonium nitrate-laced tablets in a bid to halt trains or even spur the evacuation of Madison Square Garden. Top cops are girding against the attempt to foil strong anti-terrorist strategies aimed at protecting conventiongoers - including President Bush - as well as peaceful protesters during the Aug. 30 to Sept....

The Santa Cruz anarchists who rent basement space from the Resource Center for Nonviolence have been told to leave. The reason? A clash of philosophies, said Kyle Sirman, at the Anarchist Infoshop. Incompatibility, said Bob Fitch, a Resource Center official. The anarchists have ``been unable to create a continuity of safe and welcoming atmosphere,'' said Fitch, who manages the property. But Sirman said Fitch told the group there was too much traffic and not enough personal hygiene. Some of the complaints, Sirman quoted Fitch as saying, ``had to do with us smelling.'' The Resource Center sells books and bumper stickers,...

Not allowed to post the story per lawsuit, check the link.Click

U.S. Navy (news - web sites) veteran Robert Turner holds a U.S. flag as demonstrators march in Brunswick, Ga., to protest the G-8 Summit being held on nearby Sea Island, Ga. Tuesday, June 8, 2004. Turner said he supports President Bush (news - web sites) and that he 'wanted to show my colors'. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

A response to a letter sent to HP investor relations: I apologize to your offense to the radio commercial airing on an Air America affiliate. It is not the view of HP to use mediums like TV or radio to support or disagree with any type of political agendas, and the overriding consideration in buying media is to reflect HP as a responsible and global corporate citizen of good standing. When purchasing media for use in communicating HP messages, we generally look for where are core target is and where we will garner the highest response rates. We do not...

It didn't take long for Ted Rall to weigh in with a predictably boneheaded comment on the beheading of Nicholas Berg. Rall quotes -- and mocks -- Bush Administration pronouncements on the Abu Ghraib scandal and the beheading of Berg. Rall then argues that if the beheading says anything about the true nature of the terrorists, then the Abu Ghraib scandal says something about the true nature of the American people. In Rall's twisted view, any contrary opinion reflects "cognitive dissonance." Here is the beginning of Rall's post: Cognitive Dissonance "I share a deep disgust that those prisoners were treated...

Liberal radio is airing bad jokes and worst taste The United States "is on the slippery slope to theocratic fascism." "The Catholic Church has been secretly encouraging oral sex for years." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "ought to be tortured." President Bush should be taken out and shot. Those are a few nutso nuggets from the hosts of Air America Radio, which calls itself the new liberal voice.