Free Republic

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rampant fraud in the mortgage industry has increased so sharply that the FBI warned Friday of an "epidemic" of financial crimes which, if not curtailed, could become "the next S&L crisis." Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker said the booming mortgage market, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, has attracted unscrupulous professionals and criminal groups whose fraudulent activities could cause multibillion-dollar losses to financial institutions. "It has the potential to be an epidemic," said Swecker, who heads the Criminal Division at FBI headquarters in Washington. "We think we can prevent a problem that could have...

KIRKUK, Iraq - A car bomb exploded outside the Iraqi National Guard headquarters in the northern city of Kirkuk on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20, officials said. The blast tore through a crowd of people waiting to apply for jobs in the force, said National Guard Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin. The street outside the national guard building was littered with bloodied bodies, debris and shards of glass. Ambulances with sirens wailing rushed to the site of the explosion and firefighters doused flames leaping up from a burning car. Police Cap. Salam Zangana said at least 10...

WASHINGTON - What would it take to get someone to turn in one of those spammers who send millions of unwanted e-mails? At least $100,000, the Federal Trade Commission figures. Six-figure incentives are the only way to persuade people to disclose the identity of co-workers, friends and others they know are responsible for flooding online mailboxes with unsolicited pitches for prescription drugs, weight loss plans and other products, according to an agency report Thursday. The commission said a government-funded reward system could work if the payoff was between $100,000 and $250,000 — higher than rewards in most high-profile criminal and...

Founder challenges: Prove me wrong and I'll take down page Claiming Muhammad's teachings are the root of terrorism, a website founded by an ex-Muslim attempts to dispel the oft-quoted statement "Islam is a religion of peace." Headed by Ali Sina, FaithFreedom.org presents articles and commentaries that debunk much of the Quran and charge that Islam's founder, Muhammad, was a rapist, pedophile, mass murderer and an "evil man." On the site, which features, the description "Islam and Quran denounced by ex-Muslims as the root of terrorism," Sina promises that if anyone can prove him wrong in his assertions about Muhammad and...

Each customer gets wristband embedded with RFID chip A new theme park in Florida is fitting all patrons with wristbands that include tracking chips in them to allow visitors to keep track of one another. Wannado City issues bands with radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology to all its patrons, according to a statement from the maker of the bands, Texas Instruments and RF Code. Located in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area, Wannado City is an indoor role-playing theme park for children that opened last month. The purpose of the bands is to provide a way for family members to...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has engaged in "particularly severe violations" of religious freedom and for the first time included the kingdom, a key U.S. ally, on a list of countries that could be subject to sanctions. A department report assessing the state of religious freedom worldwide said that in Saudi Arabia, freedom of religion does not exist and is not recognized or protected under the country's laws. The report also said that those who do not adhere to the officially sanctioned strain of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia can face "severe repercussions" at...

CAIRO (AFP) - The Arab League condemned terrorism in Iraq (news - web sites) and called on member states to restore full diplomatic relations with the interim government in Baghdad and do all they can to support it, after warning that the "gates of hell" had been opened there. This came in a statement issued at the end of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the Egyptian capital dominated by Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Sudan and the violence in Iraq "It is natural to resist occupation, but this does not mean cutting off heads," Secretary General Amr Mussa told reporters at...

Pakistan finds memo detailing ideas for walking bio-chem-nuke warheads If suicide bombers come to America, they are likely to be carrying biological, chemical or nuclear weapons with them, according to an al-Qaida memo discovered by Pakistani authorities. Pakistan President Pervez Musharaf, under heavy American pressure, has once again instructed his security and intelligence chiefs to focus on jihadi suicide volunteers – this time because of a memo showing they will be used to carry weapons of mass destruction, reveals Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The president, himself under the constant shadow of militants threatening to assassinate him, reacted to a coded...

Will held Jewish state acquire 2 new boats, modernize 3 others Germany said yesterday it will help Israel acquire two nuclear-capable submarines and modernize three older vessels amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel over Iran's planned construction of several nuclear reactors. "We are of course ready to help Israel's acquisition, and support it. ... The exact details now need to be clarified in a working group of both ministries," German Defense Minister Peter Struck said in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper. Struck also said Germany planned to accelerate the purchase of four new frigates for its own use. Germany...

HAMPTON, Tennessee (AP) -- A Tennessee man has beaten his own record for staying underwater with scuba gear after five days in a lake -- complete with recliner, a checkerboard, music and good friends to keep him company. After emerging from the lake Friday, Jerry Hall cheerfully signed a pledge to his wife never to do it again. "I had the easy job," Hall said. "It was my dive team that did all the work. I kept them hopping all the time, and they never once complained. Whatever I wanted or needed, they were there for me." Hall, 39, of...

The Hadith Volume 2, Book 26, Number 595: Narrated 'Aisha: (the mother of the faithful believers) I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We consider Jihad as the best deed." The Prophet said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj Mabrur. " The Hadith Volume 2, Book 26, Number 594: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet was asked, "Which is the best deed?" He said, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle." He was then asked, "Which is the next (in goodness)?" He said, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." He was then asked, "Which is the next?" He said, "To...

They have become legendary in UFO circles. Huge, silent-running Flying Triangles have been seen by ground observers creeping through the sky low and slow near cities and quietly cruising over highways. The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), has catalogued the Triangle sightings, sifting through and combining databases to take a hard look at the mystery craft. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, NIDS is a privately funded science institute with a strong research focusing on aerial phenomena.The results of their study have just been released and lead to some unnerving, still puzzling conclusions. The study points out: The United States...

NEW YORK – Israel will accelerate construction of the West Bank security fence after a double suicide attack in the southern city of Beersheba Tuesday left 16 people dead, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman told WorldNetDaily. "We will step up our construction of the fence," said Gillerman, after speaking yesterday at a reception welcoming the Republican National Convention to New York City. "This latest suicide bombing, which took place in a town where the fence has not yet been built, only strengthens our resolve to complete construction. If the U.N. wants to blast someone for the fence,...

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com NEW YORK – Israeli leaders warned Syria yesterday that Damascus bears the blame for a double suicide bombing by Hamas militants because it harbors the group's leadership, and also hinted at possible retaliation and increased targeting of Hamas leaders. In an initial response to Tuesday's attack that killed 16 people in a southern Israeli city, Israeli troops blew up the home of one of the bombers and isolated the West Bank city of Hebron, where the attackers lived. But several Israeli officials told WorldNetDaily the Jewish state must send a strong message to Syria, which openly allows...

New York, NY, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- The New York City Police Department's first Muslim chaplain will give the invocation at the Republican National Convention's Monday evening session. Imam Izak-El Mu'eed Pasha is the imam, or spiritual leader, of Harlem's Malcolm Shabazz Masjid. In June 1999, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appointed Pasha as the city's Muslim police chaplain.

JERUSALEM – Israeli military intelligence has concluded Iran is preparing to accelerate uranium enrichment in violation of Tehran's pledge to the European Union, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence information service. The assessment anticipates an Iranian effort to complete the acquisition of nuclear expertise and technology and produce fissile material. In an Aug. 17 briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser said Iran would spend the next few months acquiring the expertise and technology to produce fissile material and weapons assembly. Kuperwasser said the Iranian effort would be completed in 2005 and Teheran would then...

MOSCOW - A top Russian official acknowledged on Thursday what many citizens already suspected — that terrorism was the most likely cause of two jetliners crashing minutes apart, a feeling reflected in a newspaper headline warning that "Russia now has a Sept. 11." Just a day after officials stressed there were many possibilities besides terrorism, presidential envoy Vladimir Yakovlev told Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency that the main theory "all the same remains terrorism." He said the planes' flight recorders had not provided any clues to the disaster. Additionally, Transport Minister Igor Levitin confirmed Sibir airlines' report that its crew activated...

SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday. "We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around," said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 km) northeast of Seattle. The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles in Gaza City after nightfall Wednesday, one at a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood, witnesses said, setting a fire. Residents said the first missile's target was a car battery factory, in a building with two empty apartments. Rescue workers could not approach the structure because of burning chemicals and but said there were no casualties. The target of the second missile strike was not immediately known. The targeted building belongs to the family of Reem Raiyshi, who blew herself up at the Erez checkpoint between Israel and Gaza in...

Interesting ad on the radio today (classic rock station) ... it was a Saudi ad restating they were partners in the War on Terror ... heard it a couple times today. Anybody else heard these? What do you guys think?