Free Republic

OK. This is weird. Poll after poll shows that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is losing to Governor Scott Walker in the recall race. Democrats are so distraught that they’ve resorted to mass “Omming” at the Wisconsin Capitol. Via Revealing Politics: Good luck with that.

A White House official said the incident was an attempted act of terrorism. The FBI is investigating and President Obama, celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, was told of the incident about three hours after the plane landed, officials said. Obama has told White House officials that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel, a spokesman said. Nevertheless, officials said, they are not prepared to raise the terrorism alert level, currently at orange -- or the second-highest of five levels -- for domestic and international air travel.

The Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, is meant to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's orders. But now the holiday could also be associated with something else: the execution of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

It's Official: Media Body Burning Story is Bogus Posted by Greg Sheffield on November 27, 2006 - 13:25. The news that six Sunnis were captured by Shiites, doused with kerosine and burned alive, was too sensational to not be picked up by the mainstream media. But it turns out that the event never happened. Furthermore, the Iraqi "spokesman" relied on to give all information regarding this event is as fictional as the story itself. Jamil Hussein, the man news reports called "police Capt. Jamil Hussein," was the source for all information regarding the burning. Although he is mentioned by USA...

IT WAS ten days ago that rumours began circulating in Baghdad that Margaret Hassan had been murdered, but it was not until last Thursday that a video of her murder was given to the Arab satellite station al-Jazeera. The station decided not to broadcast the film. Instead it contacted British diplomats who sent a specialist team to the network’s headquarters in Qatar. At first the experts could not be sure it was Mrs Hassan who could be seen blindfolded and kneeling on the floor before being shot with a pistol at point blank range. One official who has seen the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- By now, almost everyone in the world with a television has seen the videotape that appears to show a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded Iraqi terrorist inside a mosque in Fallujah. For the record, here are the facts, because facts -- not rumors or emotions -- really are important. Here is what those who were there told me:  On Friday, Nov. 12, U.S. Marines were fired upon by terrorists armed with AK-47s, RPD machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades from a mosque and an adjacent building. The Marines returned fire, first with M-16s and 240G machine guns, and...

"If this film were shown on national television, there is little doubt George Bush would win......

HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) - UN chief Kofi Annan said in an interview to be published on Monday that Iraq would need military aid for years to come but ruled out sending UN peacekeepers to help stability in the war-torn country. The UN secretary general also lashed out again at the US strategy of pre-emptive action which led to the launch of the war on Iraq in March and warned that if others followed suit the "law of the jungle" would prevail. "We must expect that Iraq will need military aid for years," Annan was quoted as telling Germany's weekly news...

The American republic died at Appomattox in 1865, replaced by a national government that has gradually evolved into an empire in a permanent state of war. Most of us don't pay much attention to such stuff as history and perspective. Certainly the news media don't. Nevertheless, there are consequences of living in a war state, both to our own individual freedom and to our pocketbooks. This past week, President Bush made a big deal about signing a military authorization bill with a $30 billion increase. Here we are, 12 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and without a...