Free Republic

 Marvin The Martian and Daffy Duck (as Duck Dodgers) will appear on official patches that Warner Bros. has designed for two NASA Mars Exploration Rover Missions this summer. The special patches will act as the defining logo for the mission and will be worn by TEAM DELTA crews, comprising members from NASA, the United States Air Force, and Boeing. They will be featured on mission control and launch pad crew suits, jackets, and mugs. "Daffy Duck and Marvin The Martian struck us as such a perfect fit, capturing the fun and adventurous spirit of these important explorations, that we were...

"These are the times that try men's souls." So wrote the noted American patriot Thomas Paine in urging his countrymen to fight King George the Third. Well now we have another George, who is not a king, but increasingly seems to act like one. And this George also threatens Americans' freedoms. I refer to President George Walker Bush. When the American revolutionaries made their case for independence from Britain, they believed that a decent respect for "the Opinions of Mankind" required that they give their reasons. Let me, like them, say why we would be better off with Mr. Bush...

In a bid to protect its financing, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has denied Libya a seat on its committee. Accused of supporting terrorism, the nation has been refused by NEPAD due to concern over alienating potential western investors, reported Reuters. NEPAD has agreed to practice democracy and good governance across the continent in return for billions of dollars of private Western financing. It has full support from the G8 group of industrial nations. Libya recently strengthened its campaign to join the group, whose members include Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal and Algeria. However, African diplomats fear that Libyan...

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Eager to shake off his pariah image, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said Saturday his country is no longer a rogue state and has even detained some Islamists suspected of links with the al-Qaida terror network. In a two-hour speech on Libyan national television, Gadhafi condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, saying: ``We have never seen such a horrific and terrifying act performed in such an exhibitionist manner.'' But he warned the United States and Britain against any invasion of Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein, saying ``the collapse of the Iraqi regime will turn Iraq into another...