Free Republic

North Berkeley BART Station windows were smashed in the early hours of Thursday morning “in memory of Oscar Grant and all who are murdered at the cold hands of the police,” according to a message posted on www.indybay.org by “anarchists.” The message says in part, “This action was taken out in response to the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police and in solidarity with the riots that have been taking place in Oakland. Our hope is that this action will inspire others to rise up against this atrocious police state in which we live. “This action was very easy...

Coulter advocates punching protesters on live TV John ByrnePublished: Thursday January 8, 2009 Outspoken conservative author Ann Coulter said Republicans should have "punched" two protesters who interrupted Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's speech to the Republican National Convention last September on Tuesday's "Lou Dobbs Tonight."' Coulter, known for her over-the-top attacks on Democrats, bemoaned the liberal protesters and the muted response of "strong Republican men" on the convention floor. "How about a punch in the yap to these screaming banshees?" she asked. She also tried to tie the two women to Obama, saying they were "Obama bundlers." A video of her...

Sen. Harry Reid's office in Reno targeted by activists Friday RENO - Sen. Harry Reid's office here (Federal Building, 400 Virginia St. at Liberty) will be the site of a "CAMP HOPE" sponsored by anti-war and other social justice activists this FRIDAY, Jan. 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m."We will be building a Wall of Hope at CAMP HOPE where people can create and attach their vision of hope for the new Obama Administration, and Sen. Harry Reid," said CodePINK in a statement.Similar CAMP HOPE's are springing up all over the nation, with a big one in Chicago.The hot-pink...

This is part #2 of the best of 2008 of the Conscience of Kansas radio program. Listen to excerpts of such interesting interviews as those with Myrna Sokoloff of "An American Carol", Paul Shanklin of the Rush Limbaugh program and Duane Dog Chapman the Bounty Hunter. Listen to the debates with Westboro Baptist Church and CODE PINK. A great wrap up to a great year! enjoy!

Dear President-Elect Obama, Congratulations on your historic election as the next President of the United States. Last year, you pledged to ""take an active role, and make a personal commitment to do all I can to advance the cause of [Israeli-Palestinian] peace from the start of my Administration."" We are eager to work with you to fulfill this goal. To do so, your Administration should break with past policies of unconditional support for Israel's illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, and change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and...

Fox News just showed footage of Code Pink protesting outside the Hay-Adams hotel in DC where Obama is staying, demanding that he condemn Israel. Fox also reported that Code Pink plans to be there every day until the end of Obama's stay. No link yet.

Santa looks in on a car full of kids. Tells them they're all getting coal in their stockings! Sent them all off crying. BAD Santa! Notice you'll never see Mr Trooprally and Santa together in the same picture? Lurker Bill Mr Scrooge! What's the CO2-friendly equivalent for coal? MOAB Slogan Contest Current MOAB has been in use for some time and is starting to show a lot of wear and tear. Time for a new one. Here's our current MOAB as seen in Freep 193. The Original MOAB read: GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS LIBERATING THE WORLD OF ONE TYRANT...

US activists call for release, pardon of Iraq shoe-thrower Dec 29 03:52 PM US/Eastern US activists on Monday urged Baghdad to release the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush, insisting that his gesture was meant to insult, not harm the US leader. "This was a form of insult... If he had wanted to hurt George Bush, he would have chosen a different weapon," Medea Benjamin of the Codepink peace activism group told AFP at a rally of about a dozen people outside the Iraqi consulate in Washington. Zaidi, 29, threw his shoes at Bush...

On Wednesday, November 26, a 39-year-old woman, Fatemeh Haqiqat-Pajouh, was hanged, together with nine male prisoners, in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison. A few days before Fatemeh’s execution, Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, two wealthy American women and co-founders of Code Pink, arrived in Tehran on a “citizen diplomacy” trip. Well known for their radical stances and for their continued disruption of political events like the Hillary Clinton event where they protested by exposing their nude upper torso — or as they call it, “breasts for bombs” — until escorted to the exit by security, and the Republican Convention, where they...

For the antiwar crowd, the shoe is now on the other foot. The activists were really cut off at the knees when the nation voted in a president who promises to bring an expeditious end to the war in Iraq. And in a month, the other shoe will drop: George W. Bush will be gone — and with him will go the raison d’etre of those who have protested, picketed and heckled him these last eight years. And so they assembled Wednesday on Pennsylvania Avenue, outside the White House gate, to take a few final shots. Literally. They assembled a...

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...