Free Republic

AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) – One of the most pressing issues for conservative Republican primary voters is illegal immigration. It’s also an issue that could prove troublesome for Gov. Perry in his presidential bid. The question of border security is something that has long been considered “red meat” for conservative grassroots activists whose support is crucial in Republican primaries.

Tens of thousands of Syrians took to the streets nationwide on Friday shouting that President Bashar Assad should "leave," Reuters reports. Video The wave of protests comes in answer to organizers calls to "light the flame of revolution" earlier in the week despite a military assault on northwestern towns, witnesses and activists say. Demonstrations ranged from the suburbs of Damascus and Aleppo, to Lebanese border regions and the desert bordering Iraq, where tank assaults on villages near Turkey killed three civilians overnight. Last nights deaths raised the toll to at least 14 villagers in the last two days, human rights...

Tens of thousands emerged from Friday afternoon Muslim prayers to participate in rallies against the regime of President Bashar Assad Friday despite the harsh military crackdown in Syria, Reuters reports. Opposition leaders said tens of thousands rallied in the southern province of Deraa, the epicenter of the three-month revolt against Assad's rule, the Kurdish east, the cities of Homs and Hama north of Damascus, and suburbs of the Syrian capital itself. Friday prayers – and sermons – have been a platform for the biggest protests leading to the most bloodshed in Syria's "Arab Spring" inspired revolt. Similar revolts have topped...

CAIRO — Syria’s state news agency reported Monday that “armed gangs” had killed 120 police, security personnel and civilians in multiple attacks in a northwestern town, and that residents were “pleading” for the army to intervene. The reports could not be independently verified, but regardless of whether the numbers are inflated, they appear likely to presage an even harsher crackdown on antigovernment protesters. The reported number of dead ballooned over the course of the day — from 28 to 40 to 80 to 120 — as state media described escalating violence in the town of Jisr al-Shughour by the unspecified...

New VP/longtime security chief Omar Suleiman prefers "not to use police tools"... thereby implying he just might Starting to look like the party's almost over in Cairo: popular support for the protesters is fading as the dug-in Mubarak regime offers measured concessions... whilst preparing to turn the screws- VOA: Egypt's vice president says the government will not tolerate prolonged anti-government protests in Cairo's main square, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered Tuesday in the latest effort to force the ouster of long-serving President Hosni Mubarak.  Egypt's state-run MENA news agency quotes Vice President Omar Suleiman as saying that a crisis triggered by 16 days...

A state legislative panel studying whether Georgia should adopt an Arizona-style crackdown on illegal immigration has received a long list of proposals to consider, including authorizing all local and state law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws. Also on the list is a proposed requirement for all businesses to use the federal E-Verify database to ensure their employees are in the country legally. Other proposals include creating new criminals offense for people who stop vehicles to hire and pick up day laborers; conceal, harbor, or shield illegal immigrants; or encourage illegal immigrants to move here. These proposals are outlined...

20 detained in Beijing for celebrating Nobel to Liu 2010-10-08 05:30:00 Beijing, Oct 8 (DPA) Police in the Chinese capital detained at least 20 human rights activists who were celebrating Friday's award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the jailed dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, one of the activists said. 'First we went to karaoke because we feel happy and we also took photos (of each other),' activist Wang Lihong told DPA by telephone. When the group of about 20 activists moved to a restaurant near the east gate of Beijing's Ditan Park, more than 50 police in a dozen vehicles...

SIERRA VISTA — The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is stepping up its effort to stop the flow of illegal guns flowing into Mexico and into the hands of drug cartels. The agency is setting up specialized teams along known trafficking hubs and routes, including Sierra Vista. Project Gunrunner will establish teams in seven U.S. cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Brownsville, Texas, Las Vegas, Miami, Oklahoma City and Sierra Vista. The move is a follow-up to the ATF’s Gun Runner Impact Team (GRIT) initiative, which saw a 100-day deployment of resources to the Phoenix Field Division, according to the...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Nicaraguan mother Lorena Aguilar hawks a television set and a few clothes on the baking sidewalk outside her west Phoenix apartment block. A few paces up the street, her undocumented Mexican neighbour Wendi Villasenor touts a kitchen table, some chairs and a few dishes as her family scrambles to get out of Arizona ahead of a looming crackdown on illegal immigrants."Everyone is selling up the little they have and leaving," said Villasenor, 31, who is headed for Pennsylvania. "We have no alternative. They have us cornered."The two women are among scores of illegal immigrant families across Phoenix...

Austin police teamed up with code enforcement for a little club hopping last night. The goal was not the usual weekend checklist but reducing violent crimes. The party at La Rumba Night Club on East Riverside was cut short last night as police, fire and code inspectors hit the dance floor in search of violations. “We want to go out there and make sure everyone is in compliance. People aren't creating more victims by serving them too much alcohol so people can't make sound decisions and protect themselves at night,” said Lt. Paul Christ with the Austin Police Department. APD's...

THE tax on cigarettes will rise by 25 per cent from midnight as part of the Federal Government's crackdown on smoking. The Government will also force tobacco companies to use plain packaging from July 1, 2012. The changes will cut tobacco consumption by six per cent and the number of smokers by two or three per cent - about 87,000 Australians, the Government said. The 25 per cent tax increase will mean an increase of about $2.16 for a pack of 30, raising the cost to about $17.95.

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2010 – Iraqi forces working with U.S. advisors killed one senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader and captured two others in recent operations in Mosul, military officials reported. In eastern Mosul yesterday, Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors cornered Ahmad Ali Abbas Dahir al-Ubayd, also known as Abu Suhaib, the suspected military leader for the terror organization in northern Iraq. He allegedly is responsible for oversight of both bombing attacks against the Iraqi government and the people of Mosul. Ubayd refused to leave the building where he was hiding. Instead, he fired at Iraqi forces, who returned fire and...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2010 – Iraqi forces, with U.S. advisors, continued their assault on al-Qaida in Iraq this week, arresting one terrorism suspect near Baghdad and two others in Mosul, military officials reported. Iraqi security forces today arrested a man suspected in vehicle-borne bombings in the Baghdad area after a combined patrol searched a building just west of the capital city for another man believed to be his associate in the bombings. In the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on April 7, Iraqi forces arrested two suspected associates of an al-Qaida in Iraq leader for eastern Mosul during a combined...

/begin my excerpts A String of Arrests were Made on those Watching the Movie '2012': Why? 'Human race going extinct on the centennial anniversary of Great Leader's birth? Unacceptable!' Asahi Shimbun of Japan reported on Mar. 25 that a string of arrests were made on N. Koreans watching the movie '2012.' A man recently brought in a pirated copy of '2012' from China and watched it. He was arrested when his acquaintance reported it(to the authorities.) According to the newspaper, there has been several incidents like that in N. Korea, quoting its source. '2012' was directed by Roland Emmerich, in...

March 11, 2010 Hundreds rounded up in Tibet crackdown Jane Macartney in Beijing Hundreds of Tibetans are being rounded up and detained in Lhasa and armed paramilitary groups are patrolling the streets in advance of the anniversary of fatal riots in 2008, The Times has learnt. Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of the anti-Chinese attacks, in which about 20 people were killed when Tibetans rampaged through the city, setting fire to shops and offices. This month marks a particularly sensitive period in the region as March 10 is also regarded by Tibetans as the anniversary of the start...

Just thought I'd get your take on this. I was coming home just now and went through a relatively busy intersection of San Pedro (13th and Grand). There were four cops--one on each corner at the 4-way stop with ticket books in hand. Actually one was just returning from a car he had just given some unknown citation to. Since it was nothing I had seen before, It got me thinking... I'm sure that there were some long-established violations that they were on the lookout for--not stopping, busted tail light, etc. But I'm sure that their real cash cow was...

CAIRO – The No. 2 leader of Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood and two other top figures were arrested by police Monday in a dawn sweep targeting members of the nation's most powerful opposition group. The arrests, part of an ongoing crackdown, come as the group recently chose a new leadership and ahead of parliamentary elections set for October. Police arrested the new deputy leader, Mahmoud Ezzat, and two other members of the Guidance Council, Essam el-Erian and Abdul-Rahman el-Bir. A fourth member of the group's top level decision making body was not home when police raided his house. At least...

The Daily Bell is pleased to publish an interview with the distinguished libertarian attorney and activist, Edwin Vieira, Jr. Introduction: Dr. Vieira holds four degrees from Harvard: A.B. (Harvard College), A.M. and Ph.D. (Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences), and J.D. (Harvard Law School). For over thirty-six years he has been a practicing attorney, specializing in cases that raise issues of constitutional law. He has presented numerous cases of import before the Supreme Court and written numerous monographs and articles in scholarly journals. His latest scholarly works are Pieces of Eight: The Monetary Powers and Disabilities of the United...

After three decades, the revolution is returning. Back the government of the Shah was corrupt and unpopular, and the small businessmen and clerics supported widespread discontent, which evolved into massive demonstrations that the security forces were not willing to put down with force. It's different this time, in that hundreds of thousands of hard core government supporters are in the Revolutionary Guard. Unlike the shah's forces, the Revolutionary Guard contains a lot of Islamic true believers, who will shoot to kill. They have already done this. Will they do it on a large enough scale to intimidate most Iranians? The...

A police crackdown on climate protesters in Copenhagen in which more than 960 people were arrested was preplanned and apparently without justification, according to an Australian eyewitness. Simon Sheikh, national director of the progressive Australian lobby group Get Up, watched the crackdown from his apartment - and has exclusive video footage of it. Mr Sheikh said the marchers were peacefully making their way through the bohemian district of Christianshavn on Saturday afternoon when the police moved in. "At a preplanned time they ran with full riot gear straight at women, children and families," Mr Sheikh told AAP. "We were taken...

BEIRUT - As they gear up for a major anti-government protest Monday, Iranian students are besieged by a clampdown in the universities, with a wave of arrests and expulsions. At the same time, authorities are intensifying enforcement of Islamic morals on women's dress and men's hair length as a way to punish political dissent.

The Obama administration today announced a new campaign to get mortgage companies to lower mortgage payments for struggling homeowners – and part of the strategy is some old-fashioned "name and shame." Share To date over 650,000 homeowners have entered into trial modifications under the Treasury Department's housing relief plan – a ratio of about one in five eligible borrowers. But the administration – frustrated with the performance of mortgage companies thus far – will now try to ratchet up the pressure on servicers, especially with 375,000 of these trial modifications set to convert to permanent ones by year's end.

El Salvadoran leaders of the MS-13 gang allegedly put out a contract on the federal agent responsible for a crackdown on its New York factions, the Daily News has learned. The brazen plot to assassinate the unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was revealed in an arrest warrant for reputed gang member Walter (Duke) Torres. Torres tipped authorities to the plan after he and four other MS-13 members were stopped by NYPD detectives for hassling passersby on Northern Blvd. in Queens last month. He told cops he had information to pass on, and was debriefed Oct. 22 at Rikers Island,...

Obama declares swine flu emergency 9 mins ago WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama has declared swine flu a "national emergency," the White House said Saturday, as the United States reels from millions of cases of infection and over 1,000 deaths.

"Thousands of people have gathered at a mosque in Guinea's capital, Conakry, to identify those killed in Monday's opposition rally against military rule ... Soldiers used live rounds against huge crowds of protesters on Monday ... Eyewitnesses have told human rights groups of soldiers raping women in the streets during the crackdown ..."

Iranian police have warned shopkeepers not to display female mannequins without a hijab, or showing bodily curves, Irna news agency reports. Display of bow ties and neckties, and the sale of women's underwear by men are also banned, the police said. The move is part of a crackdown on Western influences and enforcement of dress codes in recent years.

...snip..."The 47-year-old former radio talk show host, who now broadcasts commentary on his Web site, urged his blog readers earlier this month to "take up arms" against Connecticut lawmakers and suggested government officials should "obey the Constitution or die."

Power Struggle Looms in N.Korea The North Korean elite lead insecure lives nowadays. Some members of the Unification and Propaganda Department of the Workers Party, accused of having bungled their South Korea policy, have recently been sent to the Yoduk concentration camp. All North Korean intelligence officers assigned overseas were called back home early this year to undergo questioning by the State Security Department. About 30 percent of them have yet to return to their overseas posts, and those who have returned were emaciated from harsh interrogations, according to sources. Asked what the food situation is like in North Korea,...

Tensions between Egypt and Lebanon’s Hizbollah group have escalated after the Shia movement admitted that one of its members had been smuggling weapons from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian authorities were chasing 10 Lebanese men on Monday, allegedly members of a Hizbollah cell, on the Sinai peninsula, which shares a border with the Gaza Strip, in a crackdown on a group that they claim was planning to attack Egyptian institutions and Israeli tourists.

Seoul set to crack down on illegal immigration The government will escalate its crackdown on illegal foreigners, with the goal of cutting their numbers in half by 2012, officials said yesterday. It will also overhaul the guest-worker program to better meet the need of local companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. The labor and justice ministries reported to a presidential committee an array of measures to strengthen law enforcement and enhance public order. President Lee Myung-bak called for measures to stop the inflow of illegal migrants and to better supply much-needed foreign labor to local industries. "The massive presence of...

American made hi-tech goods are being used by Iran controlled companies to produce the deadly roadside bombs used by terrorists in Iraq, according to the US government. According to the Miami Herald, the 13-count indictment was handed down by the Federal Government on Wednesday alleging 16 foreigners and overseas businesses had sold hi-tech "dual use" goods to businesses that were actually "fronts to Iran". The companies were doing "business" building roadside bombs, or IED's. Roadside bombs, or IED's, have killed 1722 troops since the US invaded Iraq in March 2003. "The 16 foreign defendants were charged with conspiracy and violations...

Can't excerpt due to file format (.gif). The story is an article filed from Beijing and "corrected" by the Chinese government. Pretty much dead on. LIFE OF REILLY

The Crackdown to Come By WILLY LAM FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA August 22, 2008 Not only have the Olympics failed to act as a catalyst for political liberalization in China, but the regime's pre-Olympics security buildup looks set to enable the government to crack down as hard as ever on dissent after the Games are over. In line with the time-honored Chinese tradition of "taking revenge after the autumn harvest," police and military authorities are planning major reprisals against a host of troublemakers. Punitive action has begun even before the athletes and the estimated 400,000 foreign tourists leave...

PARIS (AFP) – The Dalai Lama accused China on Wednesday of pursuing a crackdown in Tibet in spite of the Olympic Games, French lawmakers said following talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Asked during a private meeting at the Paris Senate whether China was respecting the "Olympic truce", the Dalai Lama's "answer was very clear: no," said former French justice minister Robert Badinter. "While the Games are taking place, the oppression of the Tibetan people and repression continue," said the opposition lawmaker, who oversaw the abolition of the death penalty in France. The 73-year-old Buddhist leader, who arrived on...

Update on Tibet Demonstrations, 1 August 2008 Friday, 1 August 2008, 3:17 p.m. Dharamshala: Update on Tibet Demonstrations, 1 August 2008 Last updated 4 p.m. (IST) Karze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Karze "TAP", Kham Province (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - A series of peaceful protests still being staged by the youth at the county government office On 17 July, Yonten Gyatso, a 19-year-old nun from Dhargye Yetsag Nang village in Karze county, staged a peaceful protest at the county government office. She was severely beaten and arrested by the People's Armed Police (PAP). On 15 July, Kunsang Tsering,...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have arrested a prominent Internet dissident for violating his probation terms, a rights group said, as the country steps up a pre-Olympic crackdown on dissent to ensure the Games go smoothly. Du Daobin, from the central province of Hebei, was given a suspended sentence for subversion in 2004 having been detained by police in Wuhan for posting online essays in support of fellow dissident, Liu Di. Du was then released into house arrest, Reporters Without Borders said in an emailed statement, but was arrested this week having been accused of posting articles on overseas websites...

Chinese impose blackout over new Tibetan monk deaths Jane Macartney in Beijing Two monks at a monastery in western China were killed in a clash with paramilitary police last weekend, three Tibetan sources have told The Times. The monks, at a monastery in western Sichuan province, which borders Tibet, were killed in a clash on July 12. For monks of what are popularly known as the “red hat” sects, the date marks one of the most auspicious festivals of the year. It is the first report of the lethal use of gunfire against Tibetan protesters demanding the return of the...

N.J. Councilman Starts Crusade Against Saggy PantsPaterson Politician Is Sick And Tired Of The Look And If He Has It His Way, Indecency Fines Will Soon Follow Reporting Christine Sloan Jul 15, 2008 8:08 pm US/Eastern PATERSON, N.J. (CBS) ― Instead of "stick 'em up," it will be more like "pull 'em up" now that fashion police in New Jersey have started a crackdown on baggy pants. It's happening in Paterson, where city officials want to put the kibosh on this form of fashion. Bart Johnson says wearing his pants low in a fashion statement, but one councilman is saying...

Prince William County, Virgina's crackdown on illegals - one year later. From the Washington Post. Gotta love this first part. It seems not all people fully appreciate the great multi-cultural influences that diversity brings to a neighborhood. The family that planted corn in the front yard of their $500,000 home is gone from Carrie Oliver's street. So are the neighbors who drilled holes into the trees to string up a hammock. Oliver's list goes on: The loud music. The beer bottles. The littered diapers. All gone. When she and her husband, Ron, went for walks in their Manassas area neighborhood,...

A new report released on Sunday, exactly two months ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, details the current Chinese Government’s crackdown on unregistered Christians, including the funding of a campaign to eradicate house churches throughout China. The report, entitled “China: Persecution of Protestant Christians in the Approach to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games”, by Christian Solidarity Worldwide and China Aid Association, provides information on different tactics used by the government to restrict the religious freedom of Christians. CAA said that in May, two independent sources reported that the Chinese Central Government was providing funding to the Ministry of Public Security...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Business at Pedro Vargas' store, Club Video Mexico, has slid so steeply that only eight people walked through the door one day last month. One thing he has been selling, however, are one-way bus tickets from northern Virginia to Texas and Mexico. Soon he'll be getting his own ticket out of town – seeking a friendlier and more lucrative place to do business. “The last few months have been very, very bad for us,” said Vargas, who plans to move this summer from Prince William County, about 25 miles southwest of Washington, to Utah, where he recently...

April 6, 2008 China struggles to quell Tibet rebels Michael Sheridan, Far East Correspondent A PICTURE is emerging of desperate and prolonged Tibetan resistance despite the huge scale of China’s military operation across the mountainous region that one ancient poet called “a place where snow lions dance”. The Chinese press focused yesterday on a campaign to whip up resentment against the foreign media as reports outside China spoke of at least eight unarmed Tibetans shot dead by paramilitary police. Scraps of evidence collected by exiles, campaigners, military analysts and daring witnesses inside Tibet all point to the conclusion that China...

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday he planned to launch more security crackdowns like the one in Basra against "criminal gangs" in Baghdad. Addressing a news conference, he singled out Sadr City and Shula — two Mahdi Army militia strongholds in Baghdad — as likely targets in the future crackdowns, saying they were under the sway of "criminal gangs." Al-Maliki did not mention by name the Mahdi Army militia, which is led by radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr City and Shula are militia strongholds and any attack by government troops there is likely to trigger a backlash...

HOUSTON - Mayra Figueroa — a naturalized U.S. citizen, community organizer and licensed driver — had no reason to fear being arrested, no need to worry about deported. Then she was pulled over by a Houston police officer, who told her he found it suspicious that a Latina was driving a late-model car. The first thing the officer requested? Figueroa's Social Security card, as proof of citizenship. Until now, few local police and sheriff's departments wanted any part of enforcing federal civil immigration laws. They had their hands full with local crime — and needed witnesses and victims to work...

NKorean women demonstrate against crackdown: aid group Wed Mar 26, 4:01 AM ET Thousands of North Korean women staged a rare street protest early this month against a government crackdown on illegal market vendors, an aid group said Wednesday, amid worsening food shortages. The protest was reported on March 4 in Chongjin, a port city in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, said the South Korean group Good Friends, which works in North Korea. More than 10,000 women rallied in several markets in the city, demanding the government either resume suspended food rations or allow them to keep open their...

CHENGDU, China - China attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Sunday for her recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, accusing her and other "human rights police" of double standards and ignoring the truth about the unrest in Tibet.(snip) The Chinese government has sought to portray itself and Chinese businesses as the victims of the riots.(snip) The violence has turned into a public relations disaster for China ahead of the August Olympics, which it had been hoping to use to bolster its international image. The Chinese government over the weekend was trying to give its own version of the events while clamping...

An off-duty Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Tuesday pleaded with Hales Corners police to let him continue driving home, saying, "You can't do this to one of your own," the incident report says. Sheriff's Deputy Christopher P. Conell, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was pulled over by a Hales Corners police officer about 12:50 a.m. at W. Grange Ave. and S. 110th St. after the officer observed Conell's car drift across the center line on W. Grange Ave. three times, according to the incident report. Conell, 34, failed multiple field sobriety tests...

Governor Tim Pawlenty Monday unveiled his newest plan to slow illegal immigration into Minnesota, which will include a citizenship test for new state workers. "We can't have a system, a secure system of identity and drivers licenses and other things, that is rampant with fraud," the Governor said flanked by law enforcement officers and Republican lawmakers. The plan features computerized drivers license photo cross checks to guard against multiple persons sharing the same legal names and identities. "Either in terms of the current drivers license, former drivers license version, social security cards that turn out to be fraudulent and there's...

ANNAPOLIS — Anne Arundel County has taken the lead in Maryland on cracking down on illegal aliens. County Executive John R. Leopold, a Republican, has already required Anne Arundel agencies to check the documents of contract workers and is now working with federal immigration officials. "I think the issue nationally is obviously a priority issue for many Americans," he said this week. "We want to discourage illegal immigration and encourage legal immigration." Mr. Leopold has pulled funding in the county budget for social programs to illegal aliens and will put together a plan that helps employers verify citizenship. Federal immigration...

Iran Cracks Down on 'Vices' November 13, 2007 Scripps Howard News Service Dale McFeatters Apparently the Iranian people were starting to enjoy themselves a little too much to suit the ruling clerics. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei has ordered a police crackdown on “social vices.” So the police have been seizing satellite dishes and raiding private parties in search of alcohol and unapproved videos and CDs and other trappings of Western decadence. The repressive hand of the ayatollahs has fallen especially hard on Iranian women who are enjoined from wearing “inappropriate” makeup and wearing clothes that show any part of the...