Free Republic

The Colombian government has announced a raft of measures to control its growing population of invasive hippos—descendants of animals introduced to the country by the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. Hippos are native to Africa, but in the 1980s, Escobar smuggled four of the animals into Colombia, keeping them at his luxurious country estate, Hacienda Nápoles, in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo—located east of Medellin—which featured a private zoo. As well as the hippos, the zoo housed numerous exotic creatures, including elephants, ostriches, rhinos, giraffes and zebras. Following the death of Escobar, who was killed by Colombian police during a...

AlterNet is claiming that it has uncovered a "widespread campaign of censorship" executed by a group of "influential" conservative and right-wing Digg members. The site - which defines itself as a viable "alternative to the commercial media onslaught" - refers to Digg as both a "behemoth" and a "powerhouse." "The [Digg] model [makes] it very susceptible to external gaming whereby users from certain groups attempt to push their viewpoint or articles to the front page to give them traction," claimed senior news editor "Oleoleolson." "But the inverse of this effect is more devastating, as Bury brigades could effectively remove stories...

December 8, 2008 Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/December/08-nsd-1072.html Colombian Terror Organization Leader Indicted for Two Separate Hostage Takings of U.S. Citizens in 1999 and 2003 WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in the District of Colombia has indicted Carlos Marin Guarin, also known as "Pablo," also known as Gustavo Anibal Giraldo Quinchia, a high-ranking member of the terrorist group the National Liberation Army (in Spanish the "Ejercito De Liberacion Nacional," or "ELN" for short), in connection with two separate hostage takings of United States citizens which took place in Colombia in 1999 and 2003, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey...

On September 23, 2005, a small, select group of U.S. Navy officers is scheduled to have an opportunity to help make a very important decision that will potentially affect the good order and discipline in the ranks of all our military Services. Specifically, these officers will recommend the type of administrative discharge to be given to a sailor who has claimed to be a conscientious objector to our ongoing global war on terrorism, and specifically our combat operations in Iraq. I On December 6, 2004, Navy Petty Officer Pablo Paredes showed up at the San Diego pier where his amphibious...

Author's "Truth" More Fancy Than Fact Pablo Wegesend Recently, filmmaker and political satirist Michael Moore has been getting some publicity. His most recent book "Stupid White Men" has been on the New York Times bestseller list for a while and his latest film "Bowling for Columbine" has received great applause at the Cannes Film Festival recently. His earlier works include his book "Downsize This", films "Roger and Me" and "The Big One," and the canceled TV show "TV Nation." Some of you may not be familiar with Moore's work. Michael Moore isn't a mainstream star, but he is a...