Free Republic

BOSTON - A pharmacy college graduate conspired with two other men on a terror plot to kill two prominent U.S. politicians and carry out a holy war by attacking shoppers in U.S. malls and American troops in Iraq, prosecutors said Wednesday. But their plans — in which the men used code words like "peanut butter and jelly" for fighting in Somalia and "culinary school" for terrorist camps — were thwarted in part when they could not find training and were unable to buy automatic weapons, authorities said. Tarek Mehanna worked with the men from 2001 to May 2008 on the...

Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off. None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the...

LONDON — A Briton accused of hacking into US military and NASA space agency computers was on Friday refused permission to appeal to the new Supreme Court in London against his extradition to the United States. The High Court had turned down Gary McKinnon's extradition challenges and on Friday refused him leave to appeal, ruling that that his case did not raise "points of law of general public importance" -- a prerequisite of being able to pursue a cause in the Supreme Court. The 43-year-old could spend life in prison if convicted by a US court of gaining access to...

The Subprime home mortgage collapse...a Primer. It's ALL about the CRA of 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 - This required banks to offer credit throughout their entire market area for “underserved” populations and small businesses. The CRA gave incentives to help low income borrowers become “home owners”. Liberals call this group “low income borrowers”. Conservatives call them a RISK!The CRA was passed by the Carter administration. In 1995 the Clinton administration authorized subprime loans under the CRA. Democrats added these provisions for the securitization of subprime loans and then ENFORCED the lending to high risk individuals. By 2000,...

Terrorism: At a time when the public is losing heart on the war in Afghanistan, a decisive strike on Somalia's al-Qaida chief Monday reminds us that victory is possible and President Obama is an able leader on this front.Ten days ago, Obama signed an executive order authorizing U.S. special forces to hunt down and blow away Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a ruthless Kenyan-born terrorist operating out of Somalia. In 1998, Nabhan had a role in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which left 212 dead, including 12 Americans. The attack was so vicious, it put Osama bin...

NEW YORK – President Obama's newly confirmed administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has several times quoted approvingly from an author who likened animals to slaves and argued an adult dog or a horse is more rational than a human infant and should therefore be granted similar rights. A brief video on YouTube captures Cass Sunstein at a 2002 event using the writings of Jeremy Bentham, a 19th Century social reformer and animal rights pioneer. "You've heard a reference to Bentham, so let's listen to him, shall we," he begins in the video. He then...

DETROIT (AP) - A former aide to U.S. Rep. John Conyers has been arrested in Africa after skipping his sentencing on a federal fraud conviction, federal authorities said. DeWayne Boyd, 49, formerly of Detroit, was arrested Friday in Accra, Ghana, said Daniel D. Roberts, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. Boyd is a former aide to Willie Brown when he was the speaker of the California Assembly. Boyd was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear at the April sentencing hearing on convictions of mail fraud, making false declarations under oath, making false statements to...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

.S. and European investigators say an associate of an international arms dealer was providing key information in efforts to disrupt a network suspected of supplying weapons to the Taliban and al Qaeda, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The newspaper cited investigators who said U.S. intelligence agencies working to crack the arms empire of Victor Bout had been aided by inside information from a suspected top associate who is under arrest in Belgium. According to the paper, U.S. and European officials said Bout's associate, Sanjivan Ruprah, was arrested in Belgium earlier this month. U.S. officials and Ruprah's attorney told the ...

Two people have been charged with breaking into a naval base where seven nuclear submarines are based. The pair were found inside Devonport Naval Base, Plymouth, at about 1130GMT on Friday. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said Petter Joelson from Sweden and Elisa Silvennoinen from Finland had been remanded in custody to appear before Plymouth magistrates on Monday. They were arrested at 9 Dock, where the Trident submarine HMS Vanguard is currently undergoing a re-fit. Intruders got onto the casing of the submarine. In a statement anti-nuclear campaigners alleged the couple had got onto the submarine and rung its bell....

UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet believed to be smuggling goods for Saddam Hussein, a former senior inspector told the US Senate yesterday. In a move that provoked fury from officials of the Swiss firm Cotecna, an Australian former inspector detailed a picture of incompetence, indifference and drunkeness among the men acting as the frontline for UN sanctions. Arthur Ventham, a former Australian army officer and customs officer, joined the operation in 2002 and worked at various sites in Iraq and neighbouring states. He said that at Iskendurun in eastern...

GWB 2002 Speech :�More and more people own their homes in America today. Yet we have a problem here in America because fewer than half the Hispanics and African Americans own their own homes. That’s a home ownership gap; a gap that we got to work together to close. And by the end of this decade we’ll increase the number of minority homeowners (future Obama voters ) by 5.5 million families. “ “One of the major obstacles to minority home-ownership is financing. Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac (who I will bail out in 2008) have committed to provide more money...

When Barack Obama released Jay Bybee’s 2002 memos on enhanced interrogations, the Washington Post reported that Bybee recently expressed regret for his work. The New York Times today says that the Post got it wrong. Bybee stands by his work, even though it has cost him friends and prompted credential investigations:

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk. Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill....

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested Wan Min Wan Mat, a key leader of Kumpulan Militant Malaysia (KMM) during an operation in Kota Baru Friday morning. Inspector-general of police Tan Sri Norian Mai said the 42-year-old former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer was arrested at about 9.30am. Police are looking for eight suspects who are key KMM members and are offering a RM50,000 reward for information on each leader.

Holder’s view on terrorist detainees could very well cause some tension in the new Obama White House. Talking with CNN’s Paula Zahn in 2002, Holder had a different take on who fell under the Geneva Conventions: ZAHN: When you have Secretary of State Powell saying, "Let's abide by the Geneva Convention," and then folks on the other side, we are told, saying "Wait a minute. If we hold them to that kind of status, then all they'll be required to give us is their name, rank and file number." HOLDER: Yes, it seems to me this is an argument that...

(AP) Mexico City - Salim Boughader Mucharrafille was arrested in 2002 and convicted on organized-crime and immigrant-smuggling charges. Boughader, a Mexican of Lebanese descent, ran a cafe in the city of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California.

A Fox News timeline of documented facts and proof that the Mortgage Meltdown, precipitating this current economic crisis, all could have been prevented. This video clearly shows that George Bush and his administration warned Congress starting in 2001, that this economic crisis was coming, if something was not done to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Congress refused to listen, lead by the arrogant Congressman Barney Frank. This video says it all. The media reportedly did not want this video on You Tube. It was taken off. This link is of the same video, but is routed through...

The US justice department has agreed to transfer a Yemeni inmate from America's controversial Guantanamo Bay prison. But it declined to provide details of where Ayman Saeed Batarfi would go. The 38-year-old Yemeni doctor has been held at Guantanamo since 2002, a year after he was detained in Afghanistan on suspicion of assisting al-Qaeda. Some 250 detainees are being held at Guantanamo. In January, US President Barack Obama ordered the prison in Cuba to be closed within a year. Mr Obama also ordered a review of military trials for terror suspects and a ban on harsh interrogation methods.

NEFA Foundation Report - "The Union of Good: A Global Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Fundraising Network" By Evan Kohlmann The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by NEFA Senior Analyst Steve Merley titled, "The Union of Good: A Global Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Fundraising Network." The Union of Good is a coalition of Islamic charities that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. It is headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, and most of the trustees and member organizations are associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood. The Union of Good was...

Anthony Pellicano found guiltyConvicted of racketeering, conspiracyBy Leslie SimmonsMay 15, 2008, Hollywood ReporterAnthony Pellicano, the former celebrity private eye who set up shop on the Sunset Strip and boasted clients who were some of Hollywood's rich and powerful, was found guilty Thursday of racketeering, wiretapping and running a criminal enterprise. [Below Reprinted From Newsmax - 2003]From the NewsMax.com StaffWednesday, Nov.12, 2003 10:58 a.m. ESTPellicano Tapes Could Spell Trouble for Bill and Hillary Hollywood is buzzing over "investigator to the stars" private eye Anthony Pellicano, who copped a plea earlier this year after the FBI caught him with a drawer full...

CNN tonight clarifying earlier reports today that Jackson was an informant working with the Prosecutor. Jackson told CNN that in 2002 he was asked for a $25,000 campaign contribution to Hot Rod's 2002 campaign to ensure a job for Jackson's wife at the Illinois lottery. Jackson said he went to the authorities and reported it at that time. Funny thing, that was the year Obama was so proud to be working for Hot Rod's Gubanatorial race! Funny how things work out, eh Democrats?

Scouted L.I. for camp - feds The son of a former Malcolm X aide was nabbed yesterday, along with a Florida doctor, in a plot to start an Al Qaeda training camp in the U.S. - even scouting out a Long Island warehouse for a terror school, officials said last night. Tarik Shah, 38, a self-proclaimed martial arts expert from the Bronx, and Dr. Rafiq Sabir, 50, presented themselves as a "package deal" to help Muslim "brothers" wage jihad here and in the Middle East, said Manhattan U.S. Attorney David Kelley. Kelley said Shah - son of Lieutenant X, one...

Secret Service Investigating Alleged Bush Threat— WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service said on Sunday it had no comment on a report that a trucker had been arrested outside Chattanooga, Tennessee after allegedly threatening President Bush. "The Secret Service is conducting an investigation and due to there being an active, ongoing investigation, I can't make any further comment about it," said a Secret Service official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Cable News Network reported the man told police he had a 3,000-pound bomb "... and the president has problems," in a telephone conversation that led to his apprehension...

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indiana truck driver was sentenced Friday to more than 13 years in prison for what prosecutors said was a plot to sell U.S. intelligence secrets to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. "I am not a bad man," Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban told U.S. District Court Judge John D. Tinder during his sentencing hearing. "I help this country a lot. ... I came to live in peace." Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Jackson said Shaaban was putting up a front in maintaining his innocence. "This defendant is a man without a conscience. Mr. Shaaban has no allegiance to this...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Greenfield man has been indicted on accusations he tried to sell the names of U.S. intelligence agents to Iraq before the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Authorities: Man Was In Iraq In '02 Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban, a 52-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested Thursday after an investigation of more than a year by the FBI and other agencies, U.S. Attorney Susan W. Brooks said. Shaaban, also known as Shaaban Shaaban Hafed and Joe H. Brown, is suspected of going to Iraq in 2002 and making a deal to sell the names. He isn't accused...

Minnesota Mondale 50 Colman 45 New Jersey Lautenburg 54 Forester 38 Arkansas Pryor 51 Hutchinson 40 Colorado Strickland 53 Allard 44 Missouri Carnhan 49 Tallent 48 South Dakota Johnson 52 Thune 47 Georgia Cleland 49 Chamblis 49 North Carolina Dole 52 Bowles 46 Texas Kirk 48 Coryn 49 Florida guv Bush 57 Mc Bride 42 The result: http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2002/senate.htm

William Ayers, author of A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court(Beacon Press, 1997), says “We should call a child a child. A 13-year-old who picks up a gun isn’t suddenly an adult. We have to ask other questions: How did he get the gun? Where did it come from?” Ayers, who spent a year observing the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, is one of four panelists who will speak on juvenile justice at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the C-Shop of the Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University Ave. The panel, which marks the...

Local report just heard on the top of the hour update.Anomaly: 1. Deviation from the normal or common form or rule. (syn anomalousness)2. A person who is unusual (syn. unusual person) Source-Word Net 1.6 1997 Princeton University

A two-alarm fire has broken out at the Chicago Stock Exchange. The building has been evacuated but trading has not been halted. Developing....

This article was from 1997 - pretty recent history. More recent than what Obama proposes.

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 18, 2002 THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very much for that kind welcome. I'm here for a couple of reasons. First, I want to thank you all for your service to the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. (Applause.) I'm here to celebrate National Homeownership Month, because I believe owning a home is an essential part of economic security. And I'm concerned about the security of America. (Applause.) ... One of the things that we've got to do is to address problems straight on and deal with them...

Trucker Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban is what trucker/terrorist-wannabe, Mohammed Yousef Mullawala dreamed he could be. Mullawala is facing deportation on various charges, including suspicious activities surrounding his brief attendance at the Nationwide Tractor Trailer School in Rhode Island. Unlike Mullawala, Shaaban was the real deal – a terrorist spy hiding behind the steering wheel of a big truck. The story of Shaaban is as captivating as it is unsettling. The Palestinian-born Russian-educated Shaaban settled in Greenfield, Indiana, with his family and worked as a truck driver for CLM Freight Lines in nearby Indianapolis. According to reports, his commercial driver’s...

THE US must choose between supporting Georgia's leadership and maintaining a partnership with Russia on international issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says. "The Georgian leadership is a special project for the United States," Mr Lavrov said on TV today. "At some time it will be necessary to choose between the prestige of this relatively virtual project and partnership on questions that require collective action." Washington has actively supported Georgia's pro-West president, Mikheil Saakashvili, since he came to power in a popular uprising known as the Rose Revolution. In return, Georgia sent 2000 troops to join the US-led coalition in...

Russian Mogul's Planes Took al-Qaida, Taliban Gold To Sudan9-3-2 Planes owned by Russian businessman Viktor Bout have been used to fly al-Qaida and Taliban gold to Sudan in recent weeks, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Several shipments of gold were delivered by boat from Karachi, Pakistan, to either Iran or the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper said, citing unidentified European intelligence officials. From there, the gold was flown on charted planes to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, where al-Qaida has broad business contacts, the paper said. European officials believe the gold was transported by Air Bas, an airline set up...

The Kurdish daily Kurdistani Nwe has published a 2002 letter from the Iraqi presidency that it says proves that there was cooperation between the regime of Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda. The letter, which appeared on the paper's front page, was published by the intelligence apparatus of the Iraqi presidency and discussed an intention to meet with Ayman Al-Zawahiri in order to examine a plan drawn up by the Iraqi presidency to carry out a "revenge operation" in Saudi Arabia.

Large amounts of uranium may have gone missing from a nuclear technology company in Sweden. The American Central Intelligence Agency fears a worst-case scenario where the material has already fallen into terrorist hands, newspaper Expressen reports. "The company (Ranstad Mineral) is a security risk and we have taken the matter to top level to get the Swedes to stop them," a CIA spokesman told the Swedish newspaper. The CIA operative claims to know that the little Swedish company has educated Syrian nuclear physicists in the treatment of uranium. He also has information that a Swedish consultancy has sold nuclear equipment...

Here is an english translation from french. http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/12/1/12030/8816#2 Paris - The Direction Générale de la Sécurité extériéure (Dgse) is the French counter-espionage abroad. Alain Chouet was Vice-Director. Today he is enjoying his retirement in the country but - up to the summer 2002 - he was the man who handled the `Nigergate' on behalf of Paris. He says: "I know what happened. When it happened. How it happened. I guided the French intelligence in this affair. I made the decisions. I communicated and exchanged with the Americans all information concerning this case. At the time I was head of the...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government. Mahathir told reporters he was aware a payment was made to Abramoff, but he didn't know who made it. He said he had been persuaded by the U.S. think tank Heritage Foundation to meet with Bush at the time. "It is true that somebody paid but it was not the (Malaysian) government," Mahathir said. "I understood some people paid a sum of money...

Dear Barack Obama: I grew to like you over the last year. I’ve always thought of you as dangerously naive at best. Eloquent, gifted, genuine, yes. But dangerously naive at best. I couldn’t vote for you — but not because of your funny name or your lunatic pastor. I couldn’t vote for you because you say we should raise taxes (even on the rich, who I’m convinced already pay too much), and because you say we should abandon Iraq (which I’m convinced would be surrendering a war we must win), and because you don’t respect the Second Amendment (which I’m...

Mysterious tear gas canister sickens 43 in city By KIRK SWAUGER and PETE BOSAK, the tribune-democrat November 20, 2002 In violence called domestic terrorism by authorities, a canister of highly potent riot gas was detonated in a busy Johnstown neighborhood yesterday, sending 43 passers-by to hospitals. None of the patients was seriously injured by the gas, which is only available to the military or large police departments. An unnamed victim was admitted to nearby Memorial Medical Center for observation. All others were treated and later released from local hospitals. Symptoms ranged from tightness in the chest and tearing and burning...

The Center for Public Intellectuals & The University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) April 19th-20th, 2002, Conference Participants include: William (Bill) Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Sen Barack Obama For a brief history lesson as to who these other two scum are, pls refer to my comment below...(beneath the 2002 UIC event announcement)

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors say Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion. An indictment in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary. In exchange, Al-Hanooti allegedly received 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil. The lawmakers are not mentioned but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and...

If we can't accuse them of being unpatriotic, can we at least accuse some Democrats of being monumentally dense? Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The three anti-war Democrats made the trip in October 2002, while the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq. While traveling, they called for a diplomatic solution. Prosecutors say that trip was arranged by Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a Michigan charity official, who was charged Wednesday with setting up the junket at...

The Center for Public Intellectuals & The University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) April 19th-20th, 2002, Conference Participants include: William (Bill) Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Sen Barack Obama For a brief history lesson as to who these other two scum are, pls refer to my 'comment' below...

Wellington E. Webb, MayorCity and County of Denver1437 Bannock Street, Suite 350Denver, Colorado 80202By facsimile to 720-865-8791 and United States MailDear Mayor Webb:The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) has obtained documents that demonstrate that the Denver Police Department is monitoring and recording the peaceful protest activities of Denver-area residents and keeping files on the expressive activities of law-abiding advocacy organizations.These documents also demonstrate that the Denver Police Department has inappropriately smeared the reputations of peaceful advocates of nonviolent social change by falsely labeling their organizations as "criminal extremist."Although the ACLU has obtained only a small sample of...

(Updated 8:30 a.m.) A body believed to be that of Indonesian terrorist leader Dulmatin, wanted for the October 2002 Bali bombings, was recovered Monday afternoon by a joint military team in Tawi-Tawi province. Intelligence reports said the body was found 1:30 p.m. at the vicinity of Sitio Salisit in Balimbing village, Panglima Sugala town in Tawi-Tawi. "(The) said corpse was jointly identified by informants with notable wounds in the head, chest and right foot to include clothing in physical characteristics matched with previous revelations," the report said. The body was exhumed for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing for confirmation. Reached for...

Arizona Sen. John McCain refused to apologize yesterday for his use of a racial slur to condemn the North Vietnamese prison guards who tortured and held him captive during the war. "I hate the gooks," McCain said yesterday in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. "I will hate them as long as I live." McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, was questioned about the language because of a story last month in the Nation magazine reporting his continued use of the slur. Since then, reports of...

A court convicted 15 Yemeni militants on terror charges including the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker and plotting to kill the US ambassador. One man was sentenced to death for killing a Yemeni police officer and seven received 10 year prison terms. Six of the defendants plus the one man tried in absentia, who received the longest prison terms, 10 years, were found guilty of participating in the October 2002 bombing of the Limburg oil tanker, which killed one Bulgarian crew member and spilled 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden. The conviction of one of...

<p>Haiti's government, while controlled by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his party, spent $7.3 million between 1997 and 2002 lobbying the U.S. government as more than 80 percent of the country was impoverished.</p> <p>During this time, U.S. funding to Haiti — a typical measure of lobbying success — declined, and its economy foundered, fueling his opposition's successful effort to depose Mr. Aristide last week for the second time in 15 years.</p>