Free Republic

Over the years I have read stories on FR about reports of muslim males buying huge numbers of pre-paid cell phones, often triggering calls to law enforcement. While I don't generally discount reports from local media outlets (remember the OU bombing?), it seems crazy that this would be going on with nary a peep from other sources. Here is my odd story about this. ~3 months ago I was in New Orleans, and purchased a prepaid cell phone at a story on Royal street almost at canal (quarter-side). The store proprietors were obviously muslim, don't know if pak. or arab....

I know nothing about prepaid phone cards. I need to get a cell phone for teens to use ONLY in an emergency and to call home. Would a prepaid card be the way to go? Do I buy a cell phone and then buy the card or what(hey, I said I know zero about this)? What do I need to ask the company? What about extra or hidden charges? What's a super cheap, but reliable phone card? Just a quick online check I noticed Tracfone has many dissatisfied customers. ConnectTo site gave me visions of a Nigerian money scam so...

WASHINGTON — Americans responded almost immediately to early reports that wounded U.S. soldiers in Germany needed clothing, but now the facility as well as the Army hospital in Washington, D.C., are urging donors to hold off for a while. “It seems like every city had a clothes drive for our soldiers,” said Marie Shaw, public affairs officer at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (search) in Germany, which has tended to more than 18,000 servicemen and women wounded in Iraq since the beginning of operations there in March 2003. "We received tons of things over the holidays — we now have a...

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is now authorized to sell prepaid calling cards to any individual, company or organization that wishes to purchase cards for troops who are deployed. Up until now, those wishing to lend a helping hand had no other alternative but to purchase other retailer's prepaid cards that, in many cases, were not designed for affordable international calling in deployed areas. Now, anyone (even those not in the military) can help troops in contingency operations call home from one of the many AAFES call centers in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). Many of...