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Gunmen broke into the house of a women's rights activist in the volatile northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday and beheaded her, police said. The victim was identified as Nahla Hussain, the leader of the women's league of the Kurdish Communist Party. She was alone in the house at the time of her death. It is not known what the circumstances were that led to the attack. Violence against women has been an ongoing problem in Iraq. The killing comes ahead of next month's provincial elections, a post-Saddam era watershed event that's generating an uptick in civil unrest and...

"He's lucky he didn't try something like this under Saddam Hussein." ### Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie: Mr. Muntader al-Zaidi is very lucky that it was Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki and not Saddam Hussein. Because, had it been Mr. Saddam Hussein you would be carrying a different plaque by now. Number 2, in our country, I know that people have told you that showing shoes at someone is an insult. But, it is a bigger insult to the host; in our culture anyone who insults a guest is insulting the host. So in our culture we believe that what Mr al-Zeidi...

BERKELEY (BCN) Anti-war activists from the group Code Pink will hold a march at a Marine recruiting station in Berkeley this morning to show solidarity with an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush on Sunday. Members of the group and others will march around the recruiting station holding shoes in the air to show support for Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who hurled two shoes at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad. In many Arab countries, showing the sole of one's shoes, much less throwing shoes at another person, is considered a sign of extreme disrespect. Organizers...

Code Pink, the anti-American 'peace group' that supports terrorists and President-elect Barack Obama, held a demonstration in front of the White House this morning in support of the Iraqi terrorist, Muntader al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush at a press conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad last weekend.The group threw shoes at a demonstrator dressed as President Bush in prison stripes as part of their protest:AP PhotoCode Pink drew a media throng to their protest as reported by This Ain't Hell.Photo by This Ain't HellCode Pink is holding similar demonstrations supporting violence against President...

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: President-elect Obama made it very clear in one of his debates that he would meet without preconditions with leaders of rogue countries, like Iran and Syria, and while many blasted him for this comment, our next guest probably welcomed this diplomatic approach. Now liberal antiwar group Code Pink is concerned the soon-to-be president is shifting too much to the center and even points to some of his cabinet picks as being too hawkish. Joining us now from Code Pink is Medea Benjamin. Is that an accurate summation, Medea, of your position? MEDEA BENJAMIN, CODE PINK: Yes. Yes,...

Hope to defy sanctions and build peaceful relations WHAT: CODEPINK to lay out plans to invest in Iranian wind energy; "Let's talk!" campaign with Obama WHEN: Friday, Dec. 12 to Sunday, Dec. 14 WHERE: United for Peace and Justice National Assembly, Wyndham O'Hare Hotel (near Chicago O'Hare Airport), 6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL CHICAGO -- To defy crippling U.S. sanctions on Iran and build peaceful bridges between the countries, CODEPINK Women for Peace will announce plans this weekend to launch a new company that will invest in an Iranian wind energy company, allowing Americans to show support for peace...

Another Friday, another FReep outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. As evening began, the faithful gathered to show their support for the troops. Due to super-heavy traffic I didn't get their until almost 8:00, and it seemed too late to put up the MOAB (Mother Of All Banners, which I had with me), so we contented ourselves with the flags. Faithful Freepers Mr. Trooprally, Cindy-True-Supporter, Jimmy Valentine's Brother, Plea Deal, GunsAreOK, Fraxinus, Lurker Bill, VictoryNY, BufordP, RonGKirby, your author Tom the Redhunter, and our special guest from Siler City, North Carolina, FReeper Wolfpat and his dog Nicholette!...

Just a few years ago, I took the opportunity to attend special guest appearances by two high-profile political personalities at Syracuse University whose visits were within a few weeks of each other—Ralph Reed, former leader of the Christian Coalition and a Republican strategist on the right, and Jocelyn Elders, former surgeon general of the United States during the Clinton administration and a Democrat of decidedly left orientation. Although their addresses and responses to questions that followed illustrated vividly their wide differences of opinion on current issues, that was not the most striking contrast between the two mid-week evening events at...

Berkeley's City Council will delve into national policy again next week when it votes whether to demand the United States charge Berkeley resident and former Bush adviser John Yoo with war crimes. Yoo, a tenured professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, wrote the memos offering legal justification for torture while he worked for the White House from 2001 to 2003.The five measures attacking Yoo were drafted by the city's Peace and Justice Commission, the same group that recommended that the city tell the Marines they were "unwelcome intruders." The City Council will vote Monday on the five...

BERKELEY — Berkeley blogger Jane Stillwater is suing the federal government for the cost of an airplane ticket to Kuwait and the cost of 15 mocha lattes from the airport Starbucks, where she spent two sleepless days because her previously approved embed with the U.S. Army suddenly was canceled.Stillwater, a 66-year-old grandmother, embedded with the U.S. military twice last year and has gone to Iraq to hang out with troops and blog twice since her Starbucks layover. But in February she had an experience that prompted her to take the Department of Defense to small claims court.In Alameda County Superior...

Top Obama Bundler Hobnobs With Iranian Regime in Tehran (Updated) These three stooges would be arrested on site in Iran if they went out in public with their hair showing or if they wore tight fitting clothes. But, they could care less how the women in Iran are really treated. They are not there to support the women-- They are there to support the regime. (Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin, top Obama bundler Jodie Evans and Col. Ann Wright in Tehran.) With the Iraq War pretty much over and won the women of Code Pink are now focusing on Iran....

Letter: Obama can expect same treatment Bush received To the editor:The selective memory of liberals never ceases to amaze me. In the midst of a Sound Off whine, the commentator labeled "No Democrats?" bleated, "Why are people so mean and hateful of this future president? I don't understand this. Give the guy a chance."Give Obama a chance? Let's take a walk down memory lane. Remember the screams that Bush stole the 2000 election? That he was poisoning children by putting arsenic in the water? That he was killing millions by not funding stem-cell research?Remember the bumper stickers? "He's not MY...

The FBI on Wednesday quintupled rewards for four suspects in the $26 million arson of a Colorado ski resort 10 years ago. The four suspects, who are thought to be the last members of the eco-terror group known as "The Family," are believed to have fled overseas. "The Family" was thought to be affiliated with ELF, the Earth Liberation Front. Together, the four are suspected in "at least 25 domestic terrorism criminal actions totaling over $48 million in damages, including the largest eco-related arson in history, a $26 million arson at the Vail Ski Resort," ... "These individuals are terrorists;...

Early signs are Obama has to guard his left Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political WriterFriday, November 14, 2008 (11-13) 17:44 PST -- As he prepares to enter the ring of White House politics, President-elect Barack Obama might need to perfect that left jab just as much as his right hook. Images View Larger Images Not only can the Democratic president-to-be expect the predictable shots from the conservative right, but eventually a pounding from the left if he doesn't deliver "change you can believe in" on issues that concern liberal voters - health care reform, an end to the war in...

Ejected at ’04 Convention, a Protester Gets $55,000 By COLIN MOYNIHAN Published: November 15, 2008 During President Bush’s acceptance speech in Madison Square Garden at the 2004 Republican National Convention, a San Francisco woman briefly interrupted the proceedings by standing on a chair and unfurling a banner that accused the president of lying. That protest set into motion a chain of events that has ended in one of the more unusual legal resolutions connected to the four days of the convention, during which more than 1,800 demonstrators and bystanders were arrested, most of them in street protests. Hundreds of them...

John Edwards surfaces in S.F. -- alongside Karl Rove! OMG! Forget Sarah Palin's comeback in Miami, how 'bout that news that John Edwards, two-time former Democratic presidential candidate, surfaced Thursday in San Francisco ... on stage alongside ''the architect'' himself, Karl Rove. Bad economy and all, apparently the Commercial Financial Association had the big bucks to bring in GOP strategist Rove and Edwards to debate at its annual convention at the Marriott Hotel.We don't have the price tag on this event, but Rove's reported speaking fee is $40,000, and -- we reported last year -- Edwards reaped $55,000 for a...

Obama Cabinet could include Republicans like Hagel By ANNA JO BRATTON Saturday, Nov 15, 2008 - 01:46:13 pm CST OMAHA, Neb. - Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel's political career may keep going after he leaves the Senate in January, if predictions that he'll be chosen as a member of Barack Obama's Cabinet prove true. The Democratic president-elect has said he'll put Republicans in his administration, and Hagel's name continues to be on the short list of candidates that political blogs and news stories suggest for jobs in the Obama administration. Others believed to be under consideration for secretary of state include...

FORT HUACHUCA — The Main Gate will be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday to all traffic including foot traffic, due to a planned demonstration. The event is part of the Southwest Weekend of Witness, which is sponsored by Southwest Witness, Tucson SOA Watch and Torture on Trial. The events will have a “No to Torture” rally at Veterans’ Memorial Park, followed by a procession and presence at the Main Gate. These events occur between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com invites all Freepers and lurkers in good standing to join us this Monday evening, November 17, as we freep unrepentent Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers at his book promotion appearance at Busboys and Poets, aka, Busboys and Terrorists, in Washington, D.C.When: 4 P.M. Monday, November 17, 2008. We'll stay into the evening as the Ayers event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.Where: Outside Busboys and Poets, aka Busboys and Terrorists, 14th St. and V St., NW, Washington, D.C.Nearest Metro: U St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Station, 13th St. exit, Yellow and Green Lines.Bring: American flags...

Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice. Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia, Iran and Syria – without the direct link to Bush’s policies. “That would be an unmistakable...