http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/crime-news/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 07:33:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418852/posts A 33-year-old El Monte school board member and five other men were shot dead execution-style in north central Mexico on Wednesday night, after they were abducted by gunmen, according to family members. Agustin Roberto “Bobby” Salcedo was having dinner with his wife in a restaurant when armed men burst in and kidnapped Salcedo and five other men. All six were found dead Thursday, El Monte officials said. Salcedo’s wife was not abducted. LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418852/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 07:33:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418851/posts Most people in the US and leading European economies have no confidence in official figures and believe they are distorted by politicians, a survey for the Financial Times has found. Only one in eight adults believe official data are accurate and an equally small proportion feel that figures are produced without political interference, according to the survey conducted by Harris in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The lack of confidence in official statistics comes as many governments seek to persuade their populations that difficult decisions need to be taken to help secure recovery from the worst economic... The Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418851/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 07:28:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418847/posts Taiwan has been forced into a stand off with the US, its most important ally, by popular uproar over a deal reached two months ago to remove a ban on some American beef imports. Taiwan depends on the US for arms and protection against Chinese attack and has been hoping to negotiate a broad trade pact with Washington. The public backlash, which hurt the ruling Kuomintang party in elections this month, echoes an outcry that erupted over the readmission of US beef imports to South Korea last year when Seoul was trying to sway Washington to ratify a free-trade agreement.... The Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418847/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 07:21:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418843/posts I have been a list-maker for as long as I can remember. My kids used to laugh about Daddy's lists: the notes written on the back of business cards or small notepads I always carried in my shirt pocket. At first the lists were just things to do, but when I started a small business, they expanded into goals.   I had a bucket list -- things to do before I die -- long before the movie popularized the concept. Here's a bucket list for America. These are not things to do before dying, but things to do to keep... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418843/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 07:02:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418825/posts U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Thursday said he will focus on addressing climate change, poverty and regional conflicts next year. "As U.N. secretary general, I will try my best to cope with climate change and poverty and resolve issues in conflict regions," Ban said in a New Year's message in Korean to his fellow Koreans. It is the second time in as many years that Ban, former South Korean foreign minister, reminded Koreans of the need to tackle climate change in a New Year's message. A year ago, Ban urged South Koreans to take the lead in international efforts to... Yonhap http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418825/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 05:41:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418823/posts It's been two decades since New York City was held hostage to violent crime -- murder especially. All that's changed, and therein lies a lesson for those charged with protecting America from Islamist terror.   This year's 461 murders through last Sunday promises the lowest mark since record-keeping began in 1963. Overall crime dropped 11 percent since 2008, with murder down 19 percent. And it's been a while since 2,200 homicides a year was considered the norm.  None of this happened by itself.  If not for the focus, determination, vision and courage of certain men -- and one in particular --... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418823/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 05:30:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418821/posts SPRING HILL, Tenn. - For more than 20 years General Motors was the driving force behind much of Middle Tennessee's growth. In 2009, government bailouts, bankruptcy and company restructuring took a toll. The day before Thanksgiving, GM closed most of its' Spring Hill Plant. More than 1,000 workers lost their job. GM's decision to shut down the Spring Hill Plant did not happen overnight. For the first half of 2009 corporate officials weighed their options behind closed doors. The company could keep production of the Chevy Traverse in Spring Hill or move the product to plants in Michigan or Wisconsin.... Nashville Channel 5 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418821/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 05:21:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418798/posts A prison guard who acknowledged being a member of white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan has been fired for belonging to a subversive or terrorist organisation, a violation of the county agency's code of ethics. Wayne Kerschner, an Alachua County Sheriff's Office corrections officer, was fired on Tuesday following a 10-month internal investigation. The investigation revealed that Kerschner applied online for membership to the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan a year ago, paid $US30 a month for access to a members-only Klan web site and that the group did a thorough background check that... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418798/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 04:32:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418796/posts NORTH RICHLAND HILLS – Authorities tell News 8 a suspicious device found in a North Texas neighborhood did contain explosives. It was found near a copy of the Koran. Investigators don’t know whether they were left by the same person. A resident found what appeared to be a coke can on the street just before noon Thursday. What he saw inside, however, caused him to call 9-1-1. “It’s some type of metal in a coke can,” said Sean Hughes, Northeast Explosives Response Team. Firefighters at the scene called in the Northeast Explosives Response Team. “They zip tied the can in... WFAA - DFW http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418796/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 04:31:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418782/posts Updated 2:43 PM PST, Thu, Dec 31, 2009 Gang task force members in Hemet are lucky to alive Thursday after they noticed their office was flooded with natural gas in an apparently deliberate attempt to cause a deadly explosion, police said. "It was basically designed so that once somebody came in and moved around a little bit, it would have gone off," said Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart. "At the very least, it would have leveled the building and killed whoever was inside." Wisehart told the Southwest Riverside News Network that there is no doubt the trap was meant for... NBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418782/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:40:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418773/posts HEMET, Calif. – Police say someone tried to blow up a gang task force building in Southern California by piping in natural gas. Police say two officers from the Riverside County-based task force evacuated the building early Thursday after arriving for work and smelling a strong odor. Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418773/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:08:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418766/posts A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed most of a lawsuit against Milberg LLP, brought by former clients who accused the law firm of paying them millions of dollars to serve as lead plaintiffs in class actions. The plaintiffs sought to recover their attorneys' fees. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska dismissed the plaintiffs' racketeering claims as time-barred, but kept alive a breach of fiduciary duty charge. Melvyn Weiss, David Bershad, William Lerach and Steven Schulman, four ex-partners of the law firm, pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks to clients in order to induce them to file suits. Prosecutors said the fraud... Courthouse News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418766/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:00:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418758/posts It could take less of the greenhouse gas to reach a particular level of warming. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may have been lower in warm eras of the Earth's distant past than once believed, scientists reported this week. The finding raises concern that carbon dioxide levels from fossil fuel burning may, in the near future, be closer to those associated with ancient hothouse climates. More immediately, the work brings one line of palaeoclimate evidence — that deduced from ancient soils — into agreement with other techniques for studying past climate. "It makes a major revision to one of the most... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418758/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:51:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418744/posts Metropolitan Medical Associates in Englewood, among the state’s largest abortion clinics, reached a $1.9 million settlement with a woman who suffered massive hemorrhaging, a coma, a stroke and a hysterectomy after she had an abortion at the facility in 2007.  The incident led to an inspection by the state, which shut the facility down for more than a month until improvements were made.  The settlement includes $1 million from the facility, $575,000 from one of the doctors involved in the case and $325,000 from another doctor who had assisted. The settlement was first reported in the New Jersey Law Journal.Rasheedah... northjersey.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418744/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:12:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418741/posts NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- On cold mornings, with the click of a button, Metro Councilman Buddy Baker starts his car without even going outside. Related: Watch This Story "I can start it from in the house and let it warm up, and it will run for 10 minutes and shut down," said Baker. It's against the law in Nashville to leave one's car idling with no one in it, and the act can earn a ticket. It's a rule designed to prevent car thefts. Metro police said more than 800 vehicles with keys inside were stolen this year. But Baker wants... WSMV Nashville, TN. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418741/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:01:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418728/posts New York is about to achieve a dubious milestone: For the first time in history, the state's main bank account is poised to end the year in the red. After months of plunging revenues and weeks of budget battles, New York had a negative balance of $174 million in its general fund on Wednesday, with nearly $1 billion in bills owed by day's end. Every sign pointed to the account still being in the hole when 2010 begins. New York moves toward a previously unimaginable eventuality: A government check that bounces. "New York state is officially living paycheck to paycheck,"... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418728/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 01:38:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418725/posts South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is leading the charge to challenge the constitutionality of part of the federal health care bill. He and 12 other Attorneys General sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In the letter they warn congressional leaders that legal action may result if they do not remove a provision that gives Nebraska a break on Medicaid payments.  The group says the “Cornhusker Kickback” is unconstitutional and was added to secure the vote of Nebraska U.S. Senator Ben Nelson. Republican U.S. SE Lindsey Graham and Jim... WCBD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418725/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 01:30:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413760/posts 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... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413760/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:45:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418711/posts The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration, sent federal agents to the homes of two journalists and served them with subpoenas on Tuesday night to try to identify the source of a leak about aviation security changes imposed after the failed attempt on Christmas Day to blow up Northwest Flight 253. In separate visits, the DHS employees told Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling that their computers and all e-mail correspondence related to the leak of the security directive were being subpoenaed as part of an investigation into who leaked the document to them, which both journalists... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418711/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:43:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418690/posts A park ranger sacked for asking a black colleague if he 'put polish' on his legs has won £40,000 compensation after a judge ruled that skin colour is a 'fact of life'. Michael Farmer said he was branded racist and even falsely accused of being a member of the British National Party after making the comment. Lambeth Council sacked him under its 'zero tolerance' policy on racism after two disciplinary hearings. But employment judge Lindsay Hall-Smith has ruled that he was unfairly dismissed, saying: 'An individual's race or colour is a fact of life. It does not follow that alluding... dailymail uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418690/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:03:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418658/posts Nearly seven years prison for child abuser guru Oliver Shanti Published: 5 Dec 09 10:56 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091205-23735.html Supposed spiritual guru Oliver Shanti was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison on Friday, after a Munich court convicted him of 76 counts of child sexual abuse. Shanti, whose real name is Ulrich Schultz, 61, abused the children of his devotees over a ten-year period, in Munich and then in Portugal, the court found. It handed him a sentence of six years and 10 months. Judge Stephan Kirchinger criticised the relationship between the children’s parents and Shanti, which he said meant the... The Local (English) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418658/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:11:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418652/posts www.michaelsavage.wnd.com/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418652/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:55:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418645/posts HANOI (AFP) – The Red River that divides Hanoi is at its lowest level in more than a century, and global warming could be a factor, a Vietnamese official said on Thursday. > "There isn't yet clear scientific proof to say that this phenomenon is linked to climate change but I think there is a link between the two," Hai told AFP. He blamed the low water levels on the year's short rainy season, warming because of the El Nino weather effect, and construction of hydro-electric projects on rivers in southern China and northern Vietnam. > AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418645/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:37:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418633/posts Will we see a repeat of 1994—or 1964? My apologies to Buffalo Springfield. But what’s happening with the Tea Party movement, and where it’s going, ain’t exactly clear.  All we know at this point is that the villagers have pitchforks and torches, and are marching up the hill. But will they burn the castle of the Al Franken monster in Congress, or will they join Sarah Palin and her populist following and simply go RINO (Republican In Name Only) hunting? The point is that we could be heading toward 1994 all over again. Or toward 1964. The tea leaves are... Reason Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418633/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:23:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418611/posts On Saturday night, Virginia Beach police arrested Jorge Alberto Fuertes Loredo, 31, and Isidor Loredo Amaya, 31, after Florentino Martinez-Melendez, 40, was shot to death in a trailer park. A second victim survived the shooting but remains in critical condition in a local hospital. Apparently, the fatal shooting was the result of a heated argument. Both Loredo and Amaya have been charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Both Mexican nationals are in the country illegally, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have placed a hold on them. Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney, Harvey Bryant,... Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418611/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:36:26 GMT