Free Republic

This drama about a man who takes the law into his own hands was wildly controversial upon first release, sparking much debate about the perceived pro-vigilante stance of the story, and established Charles Bronson as a major box office draw in the United States. Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is a liberal architect living in New York City. One day, a group of drug-crazed thugs break into his apartment while he's gone, killing his wife Joanna (Hope Lange) and brutally raping his married daughter, leaving her comatose. When the police are unable to find the culprits, Kersey arms himself and begins...

"Back in the Sixties," sighs an ex-hippie lady I know, "everybody was happy. Really. Everybody."   Gosh, that wasn't what other people remember. Most teenagers go through a lot of ups and downs, and in the Sixties the Baby Boomers were rollercoastering through their own adolescence. (Some still are.) But as the Boomer Left thinks back to those glory years, they sound like the poet Wordsworth rhapsodizing about the early French Revolution -- before the heads started to roll from Dr. Guillotin's clever new contraption: Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very...

Two friends accused of robbing a Subway sandwich shop didn't count on a customer packing a gun. After a quiet dinner with his grandfather Wednesday, Donicio Arrindell and his best friend headed out for the night. Three hours later, he was dead and his friend Fredrick Gadson was critically wounded. The duo -- lifelong friends and roommates -- are accused of storming into a Plantation Subway shop, armed and announcing a robbery. They didn't plan to encounter retired Marine John Lovell, 71, who had just finished a veggie sandwich and had a gun tucked in his waistband. On Friday, two...

The night he met his violent end, Alan Shalleck, the creator of Curious George children's books, had planned an evening of sex with two men he met through a gay magazine ad, according to a taped confession from Vincent Puglisi, who with co-defendant Rex Ditto is charged with Shalleck's February 2006 slaying.

A MELBOURNE man who fantasised about catching HIV before he contracted the virus has spoken out about a gay subculture in which infection is seen as desirable. The young professional, who does not want to be named, told The Age a combination of complacency about the virus and the wish to have unprotected sex with an HIV-positive man he loved led him to become infected. "I wasn't actively seeking it, but maybe there were parts of me, dark corners, that wanted it, that were thinking, 'Let's just do it and get it over and done with and then it won't...

I had an opportunity last weekend to take a mental snapshot of the Jewish liberal species at Limmud New York, a learning conference held at the Friar Tuck Convention Center in Catskill, N.Y. Of some 900 people present for the beautifully organized smorgasbord of presentations on religious, political and other topics, I was probably one of about five Republicans. I was also among the 100 or so speakers. The slogan of the multi-denominational event, a four-day party for Jewish intellectuals, was “Jewish Learning Without Limits.” The buzzword was “pluralism,” but what stood out was the limitations of liberal tolerance. Don’t...

WASHINGTON — Immigration policy and party message are at the top of a list of issues Republicans are reviewing as they try to woo back the rapidly growing Latino population following a November midterm election that saw Hispanic support for the GOP drop by nearly a third. The Republican share of the Latino vote fell from 44 percent in 2004 to 30 percent this year, according to FOX News exit polling data. With the Hispanic vote making up 8 percent of the electorate in 2006 compared to 5 percent in 1996, the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority in America...

Photos taken by Kelly James raise concerns over ability to survive Story Published: Dec 19, 2006 at 10:22 AM PST Story Updated: Dec 19, 2006 at 10:30 AM PST By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER Associated Press Writer HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) - Photos found with deceased climber Kelly James have raised worries about how long his two colleagues can survive on the brutal summit of Mount Hood, an official said on Tuesday. "We've got some pictures. Kelly James had taken some pictures of his climb," said Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler. "So we know pretty much what they had with...

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - An Bellingham teen was injured in a sledding accident early Thursday morning. Police say 18-year-old Brian Johnson was sliding on a metal sled down a large hill in the Fairhaven neighborhood at about 5:30 a.m. when he entered the intersection of 11th St. and Taylor Ave. and ran into a small pickup driven by 34-year-old Michael Norton of Bellingham. Johnson, a Sehome High School student, was taken to St Joseph Hospital with head and leg injuries. He is expected to recover. Police said it appears that Johnson was sledding alone at the time and had come from...

Police have agreed to consult a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist raids or arrests. Members of the panel will offer their assessment of whether information police have on a suspect is too flimsy and will also consider the consequences on community relations of a raid. Members will be security vetted and will have to promise not to reveal any intelligence they are shown. They will not have to sign the Official Secrets Act. The first panel, expected to consist of four people, will be set up initially in London. Tomorrow representatives from police forces across England and Wales...

The widespread frustration in this electoral season has given rise to perhaps the dumbest political idea in recent U.S. history: the notion that the way to advance the conservative cause is to insure the defeat of conservative candidates. Frequent callers to my radio show have echoed the arguments of numerous e-mailers, and a few fringe commentators, suggesting that a Republican wipeout in November of 2006 would punish the GOP for its many failures and betrayals, thereby insuring the emergence of a new, more conservative, more ideologically committed party in place of the feckless current operation. Another element of this demented...

Thousands of students from Saudi Arabia are enrolling on college campuses across the United States this semester under a new educational exchange program brokered by President Bush and Saudi King Abdullah. The program will quintuple the number of Saudi students and scholars here by the academic year's end. And big, public universities from Florida to the Kansas plains are in a fierce competition for their tuition dollars. The kingdom's royal family — which is paying full scholarships for most of the 15,000 students — says the program will help stem unrest at home by schooling the country's brightest in the...

BERLIN - A German businessman has founded an airline dedicated to smokers. Smintair, or "Smokers' International Airways," aims to cater for smoking passengers, particularly from Asia, who feel they have been squeezed out of the market. Its first aircraft are due to take off in October on a route between Dusseldorf and Tokyo and are expected to serve mainly Japanese businessmen. ......... "It disturbs me that I pay a lot of money for a ticket only to be told what I can and cannot do," he said.

ACCORDING TO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Berkeley criminologist Franklin Zimring, the best way to survive a robbery is through "active compliance." In other words, do exactly what the criminal says, as quickly as possible. However, the statistics suggest otherwise. After examining data from the Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Survey from 1979 through 1987, Gary Kleck found that the best way to survive a criminal attack was to resist – with a gun. Women were 2.5 times more likely to suffer serious injury if they offered no resistance than if they resisted with a gun. Having a gun made the...

 Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards suffered a mild concussion while vacationing in Fiji and was flown to a New Zealand hospital for treatment, a band spokeswoman said Saturday. Media reports said Richards fell out of a palm tree and remained hospitalized in Auckland. Richards, 62, suffered a mild concussion while on holiday in Fiji earlier this week and was flown to New Zealand, band spokeswoman Fran Curtis said in a statement. "Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure, he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife, Patti, for observation," Curtis said. The statement did not elaborate on...

After Ellen Krips' cousin died of an overdose of extremely potent drugs last week, the heroin addict's first thought was not how she could avoid the bad junk. It was more like: I have to get some of that stuff. A bad batch of drugs for sale on the streets of Philadelphia and southern New Jersey has killed at least nine heroin users over the past two weeks. And while authorities are warning people to stay away from the stuff, they are afraid some junkies are drawing the wrong lesson. Like Krips, 32, they are intrigued by the possibility of...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike at British and American targets if the nation’s nuclear sites are attacked. According to Iranian officials, 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action.

Kassam Rocket Hits Ashkelon Industrial Park 21:30 Mar 25, '06 / 25 Adar 5766 (IsraelNN.com) A Kassam rocket launched on the Sabbath struck and damaged a building in the Ashkelon Industrial Park. There were no injuries. A second rocket landed in an open field, once again, without resulting in injuries. A third rocket landed in the hothouse area of the community of Netiv Ha’Asarah. No injuries were reported. On Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz stated a solution to the ongoing Kassam rocket attacks would be found, adding that he does not believe they will be eliminated totally...

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran will resume large-scale nuclear enrichment if the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors refers the Islamic Republic to the U.N. Security Council, the country's chief nuclear negotiator said Sunday. Ali Larijani also warned that Iran could use its oil production "as a weapon" if the nuclear imbroglio worsens. The IAEA board of governors meets Monday, and it is expected to refer the matter to the Security Council. "Referral to the Security Council will not have any benefit for us or anyone else," said Larijani. "And this will actually cause a lot of problems for...

Such morbid speculation has crept into the mainstream media as well. A writer for Time magazine offered this last night: He's 78. He got hit in the face and body by a spray of tiny pellets. He's back in intensive care. It's not inconceivable that the vice-president may have accidentally killed someone. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I don't know Texas law; and I'm not a lawyer. But wouldn't this be a case of something like negligent homicide? This morning's New York Times picks up the theme: In Texas, Carlos Valdez, the district attorney in Kleberg County, said...