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An al Qaida-linked suspect who allegedly tried to blow up a transatlantic plane is studying at a UK university, it has been reported. The Nigerian is accused of trying to detonate a powdery substance on a plane from Amsterdam as it prepared to land at Detroit with 278 people on board. US sources said he was subdued by passengers and has since claimed to have been acting for al Qaida. He has been named by ABC News as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, an engineering student at University College London, with the broadcaster citing US government documents. The suspect, who has...

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.

Rep. Peter King has named the suspected terrorist who attempted to blow up an Amsterdam to Detroit flight today as "Abdul Mudallad.", according to the AP in an article timestamped 7:04 p.m. EST.King was just on live with CNN talking about the failed terrorist attack, but the CNN anchor cut King off when he started to say the suspect's name and would not allow King to name him. The anchor said CNN was not able to confirm the name.King is the Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee.Citing federal officials, MSNBC is also naming the suspect, but uses a...

Man on Flight to Detroit Claims Al Qaeda Ties; Obama Tightens Security DETROIT -- A passenger on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight tried to detonate an explosive device that was strapped to his leg and later told investigators that he was trying to blow up the plane and had affiliations with al Qaeda, according to a senior U.S. official. The man, who has not been publicly identified by officials, told investigators that he was given the device by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, where he was also given instructions on how to detonate it, the official said. The Associated Press...

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Congress has the authority to mandate that people buy health insurance and that there is no constitutional limit on Congress’ power to enact such mandates, adding that this unlimited authority stemmed from the Commerce clause of the Constitution. And apparently 59 other Democrat senators agree with her. It is my understanding that the intent of the commerce clause is to assign the responsibility of regulating commerce (the transportation and trading of goods with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes) to the central government, taking the law-making responsibility for...

A passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, caused a brief disturbance Friday at the end of the trip by igniting firecrackers, a Delta Air Lines spokeswoman said...

The government has handed its ATM card to beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Treasury Department said Thursday it removed the $400 billion financial cap on the money it will provide to keep the companies afloat. Already, taxpayers have shelled out $111 billion to the pair, and a senior Treasury official said losses are not expected to exceed the government's estimate this summer of $170 billion over 10 years. Treasury Department officials said it will now use a flexible formula to ensure the two agencies can stand behind the billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities they sell...

KABUL (AP) - The Taliban released Friday a video purporting to show a U.S. soldier who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan.

Luke 2: 1-20 The Story of Christ's Birth And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David), to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being with...

All interstates closed in Oklahoma City [All Highways Closed in Oklahoma Now] FROM STAFF REPORTS Published: December 24, 2009 Blizzard-like conditions and wrecks prompted state authorities to close all interstate highways in Oklahoma City along with the H.E. Bailey and Turner turnpikes. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed Oklahoma City interstates about 2:30 p.m. Troopers had previously closed eastbound Interstate 40 at U.S. 81 in El Reno. The H.E. Bailey Turnpike, which is the portion of Interstate 44 extending southwest from Newcastle to the Texas state line, is closed because of the weather, the patrol reported. The Turner Turnpike, which is...

Woman Knocks Down Pope At Christmas Mass Alex Watts, Sky News Online A woman has been arrested after jumping over barriers and knocking down the Pope at Christmas Eve Mass. Pope Benedict Pope Benedict XVI was attacked as he walked down the main aisle to begin the service at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Vatican spokesman Ciro Benedettini said the 82-year-old quickly got to his feet and was unhurt. Benedict calmly resumed his walk to the Basilica's main altar and then began the Mass.

We are all constitutionally guaranteed equality, happiness and welfare. The commerce clause guarantees that the government has unlimited powers and it has a responsibility to the people to guarantee equality, happiness and welfare. Health insurance as an entitlement is just a start. We are constitutionally guaranteed the equal right to health care. Everyone is entitled to equal health care. We're also guaranteed the right to die. Ain't none of us getting out of here alive. Now, people without burial insurance are placing a huge burden on society. If you die without burial insurance, then the costs of burial insurance goes...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats are poised to pass a landmark health care bill that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in U.S. history. Ahead lie complex talks with the House to reach final legislation in the new year. "We stand on the doorstep of history," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. "We recognize that, but much more importantly, we stand so close to making so many individual lives better." The vote Thursday on the bill extending health care coverage to some 31 million uninsured Americans brings Obama...

Welcome to NORAD Tracks Santa

Wither Sovereignty http://threatswatch.org/analysis/2009/12/wither-sovereignty/ Executive Order Amended to Immunize INTERPOL In America - Is The ICC Next? By Steve Schippert, Clyde Middleton | December 23, 2009 Last Thursday, December 17, 2009, The White House released an Executive Order "Amending Executive Order 12425." It grants INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) a new level of full diplomatic immunity afforded to foreign embassies and select other "International Organizations" as set forth in the United States International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday expressed frustration with the way the Senate does business, saying the use of delaying tactics there harms the nation's ability to "deal with big problems in a very competitive world." "Other countries are going to start running circles around us," Obama said in a White House interview with PBS. "We're going to have to return to some sense that governance is more important than politics inside the Senate." Obama's critique of his former Senate colleagues came just as his allies there were on the cusp of giving him what he wants: passage...

Obama plans for health care delay, new jobs bill By: Mike Allen and Alexander Trowbridge December 23, 2009 09:25 AM EST The White House privately anticipates health care talks to slip into February — past President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address — and then plans to make a “very hard pivot” to a new jobs bill, according to senior administration officials. Obama has been told that disputes over abortion and the tight schedule are highly likely to delay a final deal, a blow to the president who had hoped to trumpet a health care victory in his...

WYTHEVILLE, Va. - Authorities in Wytheville are dealing with a hostage situation at the town's post office. Mayor Trent Crewe says five hostages are inside the building, including three employees and two customers. Shots have been fired, but Crewe says no injuries have been reported. The situation began at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The suspect has not been identified.

WASHINGTON - Exultant Senate Democrats pushed President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul past a final procedural hurdle Wednesday, setting up a Christmas Eve vote to pass the legislation extending coverage to 30 million Americans. Democrats voted 60-39 to end a GOP filibuster and move to a final vote Thursday. All 58 Democrats and two independents hung together against unanimous Republican opposition. It was the 24th day of debate on the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill. "It is now only hours until this Senate will pass meaningful health care reform," said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.

At least 10 states are now raising questions about the legality of the deal that Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat, cut for his home state of Nebraska during the health care negotiations. Under the agreement, which is on the verge of being approved Thursday by the Senate, Nebraska is permanently exempt from paying for its expansion of Medicaid, shoving that cost onto taxpayers in every other state. Mr. Nelson was able to exercise such leverage because in exchange, he was providing the magical 60th vote that Democrats needed to advance their health care bill. The deal has enraged other Senators,...

Just in ...

Republicans, emboldened by a new letter from the Congressional Budget Office, accused Democrats on Wednesday of "Bernie Madoff accounting" for double counting the savings from Medicare as a means to pay for the Senate health care bill. As the Senate prepares for a crucial vote before final passage of a massive overhaul bill that Democrats argue will reduce the deficit by $132 billion over 10 years, Sen. Jeff Sesssions, R-Ala, said the nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare actually will add $300 billion to the deficit "The real score on this legislation is that it would cause the deficit...

Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C. No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs...

With the Census Bureau's release today of its annual population estimates for the 50 states, the final projections of next year's decennial census reveal further details of the likely winners and losers. Here are some highlights based on the analysis by Polidata, a demographic and political research firm. • Of the 11 House seats that would switch among the states as a result of the projections, Texas would gain four. The remaining seats would be distributed one each to seven states -- four in the West (Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Washington) and three in the South (Florida, Georgia and...

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Why Does Interpol Need Immunity from American Law?   [Andy McCarthy] You just can't make up how brazen this crowd is. One week ago, President Obama quietly signed an executive order that makes an international police force immune from the restraints of American law.Interpol is the shorthand for the International Criminal Police Organization. It was established in 1923 and operates in about 188 countries. By executive order 12425, issued in 1983, President Reagan recognized Interpol as an international organization and gave it some of the privileges and immunities customarily extended to foreign diplomats. Interpol, however, is also...

A retired Florida couple would appear an unlikely source to have given $83,000 in campaign donations over a five-year period to members of Congress from all over the country. Both in their 80s, they lived in a $118,000 Daytona Beach house they didn't own; they each voted only twice since 1992; and they seemed to lack the financial means to make the contributions. Yet, both were listed as having given dozens of donations to lawmakers, nearly half of which went to members of the House Appropriations Committee - legislators who were especially important to their then-son-in-law, superlobbyist Paul Magliocchetti, who...

WASHINGTON – Sales of new homes plunged unexpectedly last month to the lowest level since April, a sign the housing market recovery will be rocky. The 11 percent slump from October's pace shows that consumers are taking their time following an extension of a deadline for first-time buyers to qualify for a tax credit. The incentive was set to expire at the end of November, but Congress pushed back the date to April 30 and expanded the program to include current homeowners who relocate. "They don't have to act today," said David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of...

WASHINGTON — Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison. As a result, officials now believe that they are unlikely to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer its population of terrorism suspects until 2011 at the earliest — a far slower timeline for achieving one of President Obama’s signature national security policies than they had previously hinted. While Mr. Obama has acknowledged that he would miss the Jan. 22 deadline for...

The Medicare savings in the Senate health care bill was double-counted by Democrats and the legislation will increase the deficit -- not decrease it, a a senior Republican senator said Wednesday, citing a letter from the CBO's chief.

Infiltrators given 48-hr ultimatum By Abdul Aziz Al-Rubei’i Major military operations in Jizan are ‘over’ SAUDI-YEMEN BORDER – Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation, said Tuesday that “all major military operations on the border are over.” Prince Khaled said that “only individual efforts carried out by sole infiltrators remain, and they are being dealt with immediately.” Prince Khaled issued a stern warning for an unstated number of infiltrators shored up in the village of Al-Jaberi. “The village will be destroyed over their heads if they do not surrender in 48 hours,” a deadline...

Osama bin Laden’s closest relatives are living in a secret compound in Iran, members of the family said last night. They include a wife and children who disappeared from his Afghan camp at the time of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. There has been uncertainty about the family’s whereabouts for the past eight years, with reports that some of the children had been killed in bombings, while others had joined their father in planning terrorist attacks. However, relatives said that they found out last month that the group, including one of Osama’s wives, six of his children and...

An American Airlines plane crashed and broke in two after landing at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to local reports. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Details were not immediately available, however, passengers on the plane told local media that flight 331 had just arrived from Miami in pouring rain when the accident occurred. The flight apparently originated in Washington, D.C.

Notice: I've just been informed that a certain ex-poster is going to expose on a yet to be named MAJOR website somewhere on the Internet that FR is an anti-Catholic site. Of course, others have accused us of being anti-Mormon, anti-Jew, anti-Protestant, anti-Pentecost, anti-Baptist, etc, anti-atheist and anti-Darwinist among other things. Well, maybe we are anti some things. Knock yourself out, pal. Just make sure you spell my name and url correctly. Sincerely yours, Jim Thompson

OKLAHOMA CITY - The voters of Oklahoma will have the opportunity to preserve the existing health care system in Oklahoma under legislation sought by three state legislators. State Reps. Mike Ritze and Mike Reynolds and state Sen. Randy Brogdon announced today that they will file legislation enacting the "Freedom of Healthcare Choice Act," allowing voters to preserve the existing healthcare system in Oklahoma regardless of congressional action at the federal level. The legislation will allow a vote of the people to opt out of the proposed federal system. "It's clear the overwhelming majority of Americans want the current doctor-patient relationship...

..Jim DeMint and John Ensign are going to force a vote on the issue. Democrats will be forced to take a position on whether or not the federal government can force individuals to buy products on pain of criminal penalty. “I am incredibly concerned that the Democrats’ proposed individual mandate provision takes away too much freedom and choice from Americans across the country,” said Senator Ensign. “As an American, I felt the obligation to stand up for the individual freedom of every citizen to make their own decision on this issue. I don’t believe Congress has the legal authority to...

WASHINGTON — It may be the only bipartisan agreement that Congress reaches this year on overhauling health care. Republicans, under pressure not to wreck Christmas for lawmakers and their staffs, agreed Tuesday that Senate passage of the Democrats' controversial bill seemed inevitable and scaled back procedural-delay mechanisms to allow a vote by the morning of Christmas Eve.Had the full debate continued, the Senate would have voted at around 9 p.m. Thursday, too late for many lawmakers and their staff members to get home in time for the holiday. Instead, the vote is set for 8 a.m. President Barack Obama had...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday set a Christmas Eve vote on final congressional approval of a bill to provide a two-month increase in the federal debt limit. The measure, passed last week by the House of Representatives, would increase the debt limit, now at $12.1 trillion, by $290 billion. Senate Democrats may approve the measure largely by themselves because most, if not all, Republicans are expected to vote against it, Republican aides said. Democrats control the Senate, 60-40.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian Supreme Court's top judge ruled on Tuesday that Sean Goldman, the boy at the center of an international custody battle, must be reunited with his father and return to the United States, a press officer at the court told reporters.

Republican candidates now have an eight-point lead over Democrats, their biggest lead of the year, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for GOP candidates held steady over the past week, but support for Democrats slipped by a point. Perhaps this helps to explain why Parker Griffith, a freshman congressman from northern Alabama, is expected to announce today that he is switching parties. Elected as a Democrat, he is...

Senate leaders set final health-care vote for 8 a.m. ET on Dec. 24

Why let a holiday season come between the White House and making some political statements? The White House pegged controversial designer Simon Doonon to oversee the Christmas decorations for the White House. Mr. Doonon, who is creative director of Barney’s New York has often caused a stir with his design choices. Like his naughty yuletide window display of Margaret Thatcher as a dowdy dominatrix and Dan Quayle as a ventriloquist’s dummy. For this year’s White House, he didn’t disappoint.These photos of ornaments on the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room were taken just days ago. Of course, Mao...

Senate Republicans have agreed to end their filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) health care reform bill a few hours early on Christmas Eve, a move that will allow the GOP to technically stick to its promise to force Dec. 24 vote on the measure while still making it possible for Senators to return home for the holiday.

<p>The White House on Tuesday warned Iran to take seriously a year-end deadline over its nuclear program, saying the international community is prepared to take the "next steps" if Iran does not accept a U.N.-drafted deal.</p> <p>The White House on Tuesday warned Iran to take seriously a year-end deadline over its nuclear program, saying the international community is prepared to take the "next steps" if Iran does not accept a U.N.-drafted deal.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama won't leave Washington for his Hawaii vacation until the Senate finishes work on the health care overhaul, even if that means staying in town for Christmas Eve.</p> <p>"My attitude is that if they're making these sacrifices to provide health care to all Americans then the least I can do is to be around and provide them any encouragement and last-minute help where necessary," Obama said Tuesday.</p>

Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) has thumbed through Harry Reid's manager's amendment and discovered some "particularly troubling" rule-change provisions, especially with regards to the proposed Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which he finds could be unrepealable:

Politico is reporting that Rep. Parker Griffith, a Democratic freshman from Alabama, has flipped sides and will caucus with the Republican Party: POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican. According to a senior GOP aide familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place in this afternoon in his home district in northern Alabama. Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by...

POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican. According to a senior GOP aide familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place in this afternoon in his home district in northern Alabama.

The U.S. economy grew at a much slower pace than previously thought in the third quarter, restrained by weak business investment and a slightly more aggressive liquidation of inventories, data showed on Tuesday. The Commerce Department's final estimate showed gross domestic product grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate instead of the 2.8 percent pace it reported last month. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the report to show GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, unrevised at a 2.8 percent growth rate in the third quarter.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-three percent (46%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president on Tuesday dismissed a year-end deadline set by the Obama administration and the West for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel, and claimed his government is now "10 times stronger" than a year ago. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks underscored Tehran's defiance amid the nuclear standoff — and also sought to send a message that his government had not been weakened by the protest movement sparked by June's disputed presidential election. His comments came a day after the latest opposition protest by tens of thousands mourning a dissident cleric who...