Free Republic

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hasn't appeared in public since his country test-fired missiles that drew international condemnation, leading to speculation of a possible sense of crisis inside the reclusive nation. Kim attended a Russian art performance and visited a tire factory July 4, a day before the missile launches, and he hasn't appeared publicly since, according to South Korea's spy agency. The North's propaganda machine hasn't reported on Kim's activities since the missile launches, but last week the country's official news agency said Kim sent a consolation message to ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Kim usually visits military...

Hizbullah arch-terrorist Nasrallah appeared on TV Thursday claiming more surprises are in store for Israel. The Lebanese army has threatened to join in fighting against any Israeli ground invasion. Hizbullah terror group leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah appeared in an interview on the Arabic Al Jazeera television station just one day after an Israeli airstrike on a bunker believed to be Nasrallah’s hideout. "Hizbullah has so far stood fast, absorbed the strike and has retaken the initiative and made the surprises that it had promised,” Nasrallah stated of his terror organization. The arch-terrorist added, "There are more surprises."

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- An al-Qaida-linked group posted a Web video Tuesday purporting to show the mutilated bodies of two U.S. soldiers, claiming it killed them in revenge for the rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman by American troops from the same unit. The Mujahedeen Shura Council previously claimed responsibility for killing the two soldiers, who were seized in a June 16 attack near the town of Youssifiyah, southwest of Baghdad. A third soldier was killed in the attack. But the statement was the first time the group linked the slaying to the rape case. A statement by the group...

WASHINGTON (AP) - When "say," "they" and "weigh" rhyme, but "bomb," "comb" and "tomb" don't, wuudn't it maek mor sens to spel wurdz the wae thae sound? Those in favor of simplified spelling say children would learn faster and illiteracy rates would drop. Opponents say a new system would make spelling even more confusing. Eether wae, the consept has yet to capcher th publix imajinaeshun. It's been 100 years since Andrew Carnegie helped create the Simplified Spelling Board to promote a retooling of written English and President Theodore Roosevelt tried to force the government to use simplified spelling in its...

President George W. Bush took devout Elvis fan Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on a road trip to Graceland on Friday to pay homage to the King of Rock-n'-Roll, underscoring the allies' "Love Me Tender" bond. Wrapping up a two-day summit with Koizumi that touched on the North Korean nuclear threat and world trade talks, the two leaders were ready for a "A Little Less Conversation" as they boarded Air Force One to head to Memphis. For Koizumi, 64, who shares a birthday with Elvis Presley and whose wavy hairstyle resembles that of the singer, the tour of Presley's Graceland...

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs as a part of an extensive agreement the lawmaker reached with the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General. “I’ve always said that I wanted to take full responsibility for my actions. Today in court I did just that,” Kennedy said in a brief meeting with reporters after appearing before D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Aida Melendez. “I accepted the consequences of my actions. I’ve cooperated fully with the Capitol Police and with the attorney general’s office. “I think they’ve done a fantastic job. … I...

Calvin and Hobbes -- and MuhammadFeb 8, 2006 by Ann Coulter As my regular readers know, I've long been skeptical of the "Religion of Peace" moniker for Muslims -- for at least 3,000 reasons right off the top of my head. I think the evidence is going my way this week. The culture editor of a newspaper in Denmark suspected writers and cartoonists were engaging in self-censorship when it came to the Religion of Peace. It was subtle things, like a Danish comedian's statement, paraphrased by The New York Times, "that he had no problem urinating on the Bible but...

DOCTORS working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans killed critically ill patients rather than leave them to die in agony as they evacuated. With gangs of rapists and looters rampaging through wards in the flooded city, senior doctors took the harrowing decision to give massive overdoses of morphine to those they believed could not make it out alive. One New Orleans doctor told how she "prayed for God to have mercy on her soul" after she ignored every tenet of medical ethics and ended the lives of patients she had earlier fought to save. Her heart-rending account has been corroborated by a...