Free Republic

One of Barack Obama's elite fundraisers from the anti-American group Code Pink attempted to storm the stage last night during Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's acceptance speech at the GOP convention in St. Paul.Jodie Evans, one of a group of about 500 top financiers who have bundled tens of thousands of dollars for the Obama campaign was seized by the Secret Service after she had made her way to side of the stage and and started to yell at Palin.The Washington Post reported on the incident:10:45 p.m. A pair of Code Pink activists just got to the...

Enjoy and share it ! What about an Operation Chaos II for the Dems Convention ?

Good ad. August is a great month for Republicans.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An explosion rocked a municipal building Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, killing six Iraqis, two U.S. soldiers and two civilian U.S. Embassy employees, officials said. An Iraqi soldier removes razor wire to allow a vehicle to pass in Baghdad's Sadr City earlier this month.

We just had a very strong earthquake which fiercely rocked and rolled the main Island of Honshu in Japan. TV broke with news on all channels IN ADVANCE OF EARTHQUAKE, warning people to "get ready". 8:43 a.m. local time Saturday (just about 10 minutes ago). 7:43 p.m. Friday Eastern Time. Then, sure enough, the long, rolling shaking began, and increased in intensity. I estimate the shaking to have gone on for at least 45 seconds. It hit here at 8:45 a.m. It literally gave us 2 minutes to prepare. I have never experienced an advance earthquake warning. The epicenter is...

Updates welcome. The story just showed up. Casus belli ?

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday.

printable version » 03/11/2008 10:17IRAQSilence must not descend on Archbishop of MosulThe appeal was launched by the Archbishop of Kirkuk, 12 days on from Msgr. Rahoo’s abduction. To the Bishops and Christians of the world: “do not remain indifferent to this suffering, do not leave us alone to face this trial”. Amid increased fears, today in Kirkuk 15 Muslim leaders ask once again that the prelate be released. Kirkuk (AsiaNews) – The Iraqi Church is “suffering profoundly” from the “darkness and silence” which reign over the kidnap of Mosul’s Chaldean Archbishop, as anxiety and concern increase among the faithful...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's space shuttle Endeavour is on track to light the predawn Florida sky ablaze early Tuesday as it rockets toward the International Space Station (ISS) with seven astronauts on board. Led by commander Dominic Gorie, Endeavour's STS-123 crew will install the first piece of Japan's three-part Kibo laboratory, assemble a monstrous, two-armed Canadian robot and deliver a suite of on-orbit experiments during their mission. The shuttle is counting down toward a planned 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT) launch on Tuesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Gorie and his crew plan to spend...

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) — A senior Palestinian official on Wednesday called for a Kosovo-like declaration of independence in the absence of progress in peace negotiations with Israel. But Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas insisted he will continue negotiating and that he was "optimistic and hopeful" about the recently revived talks. "Our people have the right to proclaim independence as the people of Kosovo did. We were occupied long before the Kosovo problem emerged," Yasser Abed Rabbo, one of the Palestinian negotiators, told AFP. "Measures must be taken with a view to a unilateral declaration of independence as Kosovo did, and...

Fidel Castro Steps Down...

The Federal Reserve, confronted with a global stock sell-off fanned by increased fears of a recession, cut its target for the federal funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.5%, the biggest single move it has made on interest rates since a three-quarter percentage point increase in November 1994. The Fed, in a departure from recent tradition of moving rates at regularly scheduled meetings of policy makers, took the action week before its scheduled January 29-30 meeting "in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth." (Read the Fed's statement.1) It hinted...

By DAVID WOODING Whitehall Editor in Basra Published: Today GORDON Brown yesterday delivered a stirring festive message to Our Boys in Iraq: “Happy Christmas – war is over.” The PM was cheered as he praised UK troops and revealed combat operations in Basra will end “within two weeks”. Iraqi forces will take over as the 4,500-strong British force switches from front-line duties to a training role. By early next year, our contingent in Southern Iraq will be cut to 2,500 – and may be withdrawn completely in March. The PM broke the good news in a flying visit to Iraq....

VIENNA, Va. - Democratic leaders voted Saturday to strip Michigan of all its delegates to the national convention next year as punishment for scheduling an early presidential primary in violation of party rules. In spite of the vote, some party leaders and officials said they believed the delegates would eventually be seated at the convention. Michigan, with 156 delegates, has scheduled a Jan. 15 primary. Democratic Party rules prohibit states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding nominating contests before Feb. 5. Florida was hit with a similar penalty in August for scheduling a Jan. 29...

Hostage situation at Clinton Campaign Headquarters in Chicago, if I heard correctly. The senator is in Virginia today.

Wha' happen? I posted a funny thing about Sesame Street. Did I do wrong? Please advise.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2007 – Coalition forces have positively identified a terrorist killed in a recent operation as al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Duha, coalition officials announced today. Coalition and Iraqi forces also discovered arms caches and improvised explosive devices and distributed food to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The enemy continued to launch attacks aimed at civilians and Iraqi security forces. Duha was responsible for attacks in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. The terrorist was involved in a number of criminal activities to include kidnapping, officials said. During the raid Oct. 13, Duha fired a...

Craig says he'll stay in Senate

Producers of Sunday's Emmy telecast bleeped drama actress winner Sally Field in the midst of a controversial acceptance speech attacking U.S. involvement in Iraq. "If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any god -" she said when the sound went dead and the camera suddenly turned away from the stage so viewers would be distracted. Chopped off were the words "goddamn wars in the first place." (The phrase was not censored in the Canadian telecast.) "This belongs to all the mothers of the world -- may they be seen and valued," she added when she won for outstanding actress...

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas police said they've arrested O.J. Simpson on charges related to an armed robbery of sports memorabilia. The arrest came after another man was taken into custody in the alleged incident. Police said Walter Alexander was arrested on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon. Two firearms were seized, police said. Simpson has said he was among several people who went to a casino hotel room this week. He said he'd hoped to retrieve some items that...

September 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - The New York Times dramatically slashed its normal rates for a full-page advertisement for MoveOn.org's ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. Headlined "Cooking the Books for the White House," the ad which ran in Monday's Times says Petraeus is "a military man constantly at war with the facts" and concluded - even before he testified before Congress - that "General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us." According to Abbe Serphos, director of public relations for the Times, "the open rate for an ad...

Confronted with the possibility that disgraced fundraiser Norman Hsu might be running an illicit investment scheme, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign announced late Monday that it was returning $850,000 from 260 donors associated with Hsu. The amount is one of the largest ever returned by a single candidate, and the action marked a sharp turn for the Clinton campaign. --SNIP-- Before the announcement, new evidence surfaced that the Clinton camp had dismissed allegations about Hsu made by a Southern California businessman. In an e-mail obtained by The Times, a Clinton campaign staffer told a California Democratic Party official in...

(Some taps fail spot tests for cleanliness) Wisconsin beer lovers who belly up to the bar for an ice cold tap aren't always being served the fresh draft they're paying for and instead are getting mouthfuls of unwelcome bacteria.Brewers, both big and small, say Wisconsin bars and restaurants - including downtown hot spots - aren't cleaning their beer lines as they should, leading to a buildup of bacteria that "infects" and spoils tap beer. "They actually can be very, very dirty, to the point that you'd be shocked," said Dan Carey, the brewmaster for the New Glarus Brewing Co. in...

High-5 to Bobalu!!! Mine is only the assist.. your link brought me right to this! They are streaming video of them arresting Alex Jones... he is a guy from Texas who claims that the 911 Attackers were assisted by a Cabal of United Nation-types. Not sure.. but, the scene on Geraldo was seriously testing the Video Production crews. They'll hold for the 48 Hours likely.. then what are they going to charge hom for.. petitioning his greivences.. maybe a permit violation or something.

Carry trade unwinds as yen hits one-year high An anonymous investor has placed a bet on an index of Europe's top 50 stocks falling by a third by the end of September, as world equity markets plunged for a third day and volatility hit a three-year high. The mystery investor has bought put option contracts on the DJ Eurostoxx 50 index that will result in a profit if it plunges to 2,800 or below by the end of September. Based on the 2,800 strike price, the position covers a notional €6.9bn, and potentially even more using a market price of...

Anyone else experiencing problems using Cox Internet in Phoenix today? There is a major outage that is not affecting all web sites but the majority we try and access we cannot get into such as Yahoo, and other sites. FR is fine.

MINNEAPOLIS - A freeway bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed during evening rush hour Wednesday, sending many cars into the water. Tons of concrete collapsed and there were injuries, authorities said. Survivors were being carried up the riverbank. Some people were stranded on parts of the bridge that weren't completely submerged. The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. where the freeway crosses the river near University Avenue in Minneapolis.

A crowd of 100 stunned stargazers brought a town centre to a standstill when five mysterious UFOs were spotted hovering in the sky. Drinkers spilled out of pubs, motorists stopped to gawp and camera phones were aimed upwards as the five orbs, in a seeming formation, hovered above Stratford-Upon-Avon for half an hour. The unidentified flying objects lit up the otherwise clear night sky above Shakespeare's birthplace in Warwickshire on Saturday. Although Air Traffic Control reported no unusual activity, some witnesses were convinced they were witnessing an extra-terrestrial spectacle. Crows gathered to gawp at the strange lights that hovered silently...

SAO PAULO, July 17 (Reuters) - A passenger plane carrying 170 people crashed into a filling station at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport on Tuesday after failing to brake in time upon landing, Globo News television said. Air Force Command confirmed the fire but could not say how many people were on board, if any, at the time of the accident, and whether there were any victims.

Gov. Ritter was not there at time, his spokesman says. DENVER - An unidentified man armed with a gun was shot and killed in Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's offices Monday, Ritter's spokesman said. The governor was not injured, spokesman Evan Dreyer said. The man was shot by a member of the governor's security detail, Dreyer said. Dreyer said the man walked into the office and said, "I am the emperor and I'm here to take over city government."

TACOMA, Wash. — A 42-year-old convicted sex offender from Thailand who entered the U.S. illegally was being questioned by police Friday after he provided information that led to the discovery of the body of 12-year-old Zina Linnik, who police believe was kidnapped July 4 while watching a fireworks display.

Senate will reconvene at 2:30pm to argue cloture. CSPAN indicates that Sen. Reid will use a "little known procedure known as the 'clay pidgeon rule'" to limit the number of amendments to as few as one.

DURHAM, N.C. - A judge suspended District Attorney Mike Nifong effective immediately Tuesday after learning the prosecutor disbarred for his handling of the Duke lacrosse rape case intended to stay in office for another month. The sheriff immediately stripped Nifong of his badge and the keys to his office. There is probable cause to believe that Nifong "has engaged in willful misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, which brings the office into disrepute," Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson wrote in his order. Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill went to Nifong's house with a deputy to...

An Atlanta-area man — infected with a rare, potentially deadly type of tuberculosis — is under federal quarantine with an armed sheriff's deputy outside his door following his odyssey on international flights, including some to smuggle himself back into the country.... "I didn't want to put anybody at risk," the Fulton County man, who declined to be identified, said in a telephone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We just wanted to come home and get treatment."... "I'm a very well-educated, successful, intelligent person," he said. "This is insane to me that I have an armed guard outside my door when...

Wikipedia is a wildly popular online encyclopedia that anyone can edit – and in some cases, sabotage with misinformation and libelous or politically slanted content. Its co-founder, Jimmy Wales, has explicitly stated that he doesn't make any distinction between the contributions of an Ivy League professor and a bright 16-year-old, as long as the 16-year-old is doing good work. Whenever a student in the English-speaking world hears the name of an American politician for the first time, he or she is likely to run a Google search on the name. The first, second or third Internet page produced by such...

Gay Aussie Hotel Wins Right To Ban Heterosexuals, Lesbians May 28 05:00 AM US/Eastern An Australian hotel popular with gay men has won the right to refuse entry to heterosexuals and lesbians, officials and the owner said Monday. The Peel Hotel in Melbourne won an exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent insults and abuse directed toward gays in its bars and nightclubs, owner Tom McFeely told AFP. "The hotel predominantly markets itself towards homosexual males, towards gay men and we want to protect the integrity of the venue as well as continue to make the men feel comfortable,"...

Jordin Sparks, the perky 17-year-old high school student from Glendale, Ariz., won the sixth round of "American Idol" last night, beating out 11 other finalists, including several who were better singers, but none with her winning package of big voice, big smile and teetering-on-womanhood. Did we mention she's only 17, as the show's three judges reminded viewers at every possible moment in the four-month-long competition? That makes her the youngest "Idol" winner ever. Sparks defeated Blake Lewis, the Beat-box Boy from Bothell, Wash., whose utter detachment from the rituals of the competition had to have given the "Idol" producers and...

Prince Harry will be deployed to Iraq with his regiment, the head of the British army has said. General Sir Richard Dannatt said he had taken the decision personally but stressed it would be kept under review. He called for an end to the "somewhat frenzied media speculation around this issue... in the interests of all our people deployed in Iraq at this time". There have been fears for the safety of the prince in Iraq amid apparently worsening tensions in the country. Gen Dannatt added: "The decision has been taken that he will deploy. I will of course keep...

On Thursday, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid did something that will surely cut at the heart of troop morale. With brave men and women risking their lives everyday in Iraq to promote freedom and combat terrorism, Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, announced to the media that “this war is lost.” As noted in the Washington Times, Reid is going public with the same comments he said he relayed to the White House on Wednesday. “This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday,” Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, said at...

An explosion has hit a cafeteria at the Iraqi parliament, killing at least one person and injuring several others, witnesses have said. The cafeteria is reserved for MPs and their staff, some of whom were having lunch there when the blast happened. The building, where parliament was in session, is located inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Earlier, a bomb on a bridge in Baghdad killed at least eight people and sent several cars into the River Tigris. The security around the parliament building and around the whole of the Green Zone is extremely tight, so it is very hard...

NVASION USA Illegal detained in death of 'Christmas Story' director Bob Clark, son die in collision with SUV driven by Mexican Posted: April 6, 20075:16 p.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com 'A Christmas Story' director Bob Clark holds the famous 'leg lamp' from his holiday classic in this 2003 photo (courtesy Warner Home Video) An illegal alien suspected of causing a traffic accident and killing movie director Bob Clark, whose "A Christmas Story" has come alongside "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street" as a perennial holiday must-watch, has been placed under an immigration hold by federal authorities. The...

KUMBAKONAM: A farmer in a Tamil Nadu village loved his car so dearly that when he died, his relatives decided to bury his old Morris Minor along with him as per his wishes. Narayanswami, headman of Sivapuram village near Kumbakonam, in southern India died last week at the age of 64. A wealthy farmer with three sons and daughters, he bought his prized Morris Minor in 1958. According to reports, Narayanswami was spiritually inclined but lavished his affection on his vintage car. He had earlier expressed the wish that he be buried with his car when he died. When his...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad canceled a trip to New York to address the U.N. Security Council before it votes on whether to impose further sanctions against his country for refusing to stop enriching uranium, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday. The decision came as diplomats from the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council ? the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia ? and Germany held a flurry of last-minute negotiations in New York on a draft resolution seeking to pressure Iran to comply. The six powers want a vote on the resolution by Saturday, but diplomats said that could...

UK sailors captured at gunpoint Commodore Lambert Fifteen British Navy personnel have been captured at gunpoint by Iranian forces, the Ministry of Defence says.The men were seized at 1030 local time when they boarded a boat in the Gulf, off the coast of Iraq, which they suspected was smuggling cars. The Royal Navy said the men, who were on a routine patrol in Iraqi waters, were understood to be unharmed. The Foreign Office has demanded the immediate and safe return of the men, who are based on HMS Cornwall. The frigate's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said he was hoping...

The Government is demanding the "immediate and safe return" of 15 British sailors and Marines seized at gunpoint by Iranian forces. They were taking part in a routine operation boarding merchant ships in Iraqi territorial waters when they were taken captive by Iranian naval vessels. The sailors and Marines had completed a successful inspection of one ship, reportedly a dhow, when the group and their two boats were surrounded.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Reuters) - Democrat John Edwards said on Thursday he will continue his campaign for the White House even though his wife Elizabeth has suffered an incurable recurrence of the cancer that struck her in 2004. "The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said at a news conference in his hometown with Elizabeth at his side. "The bottom line is her cancer is back. We are very optimistic about this because, having been through some struggles together in the past, we...

White House hopeful Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) will not seek reelection next year as his 30-year-old son prepares to mount a race for his father?s seat. Duncan D. Hunter, the lawmaker?s son, confirmed late Tuesday that the 110th Congress will be his father?s last. The younger Hunter, who is working on his father?s presidential campaign, is in Washington this week. Rep. Hunter?s office confirmed his retirement from Congress. ?My understanding is yes. Congressman Hunter does not intend to run for two offices simultaneously and presently does not intend to seek reelection in the 52nd congressional district,? said spokesman Joe Kasper....

WASHINGTON - Not enough "star" power for Fred Thompson in a GOP presidential field that includes some of his friends? Whatever the case, the actor and former Tennessee senator is considering getting into the 2008 race. Thompson, who plays district attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's drama "Law & Order," said Sunday, "I'm giving some thought to it, going to leave the door open" and decide in the coming months. "It's not really a reflection on the current field at all," he said. "I'm just going to wait and see what happens," Thompson added. "I wanted to see how my colleagues...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's government said on Tuesday it would close its borders with Syria and Iran and extend the hours of a night curfew in Baghdad under a U.S.- backed security plan to rein in violence in the capital. The measures ordered by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki were announced on Iraqiya state television by Lieutenant General Abboud Qanbar, the Iraqi commander who is leading the U.S.-backed security offensive in Baghdad. Qanbar said the border with Iran and Syria would be closed for 72 hours. He did not say when the closures would take effect. The measures would...

Republican Georgia Congressman Charlie Norwood lost his battle with cancer and lung disease, passing away at the age of 65 Tuesday morning at his home in Augusta. Norwood, who suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and non-small cell lung cancer, received a lung transplant in 2004. Norwood decided to travel to Georgia to receive hospice care at home and "let the Lord decide what to do," according to a spokesman. "He said, 'Let me go back home, stop all the treatments and just see how I can do there,"' spokesman John Stone was quoted as saying. Norwood was re-elected by...