Free Republic

TRENTON — The State Police are investigating complaints that two troopers escorted a caravan of luxury sports cars at speeds in excess of 100 mph down the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic City last month. The occupants included former Giants running back and sports car enthusiast Brandon Jacobs, according to a source with knowledge of the trip. In the complaints, obtained by The Star-Ledger, witnesses said that in the early afternoon March 30, they saw two State Police patrol cars with their emergency lights flashing driving in front of and behind the southbound caravan, which included dozens of Porsches, Lamborghinis,...

Mr Obama was briefed immediately on the suspected poisoning of the 41 year-old, which Chinese officials are linking to Mr Heywood’s powerful political allies, when American diplomats were told of the murder allegation. Gu Kailai, Mr Heywood’s former business partner and the wife of Bo Xilai, a senior politician who had been tipped for the highest political office, is suspected of ordering the Briton’s murder in a case at the centre of a political storm in China. The couple have disappeared from sight as the Communist Party attempts to regain stability....... Mr Obama was informed of suspicions over Mr Heywood’s...

One of my favorite pieces of writing to emerge from the 1992 Los Angeles riots is a poem by a writer named Nicole Sampogna, called "Another L.A." In it, the poet traces the odd dislocation of living on the Westside while so much of the city burns. "They send us home early, again," she begins, "supposedly for curfew sake, / but I know it's to beat the traffic." And then: "over there the smoke rises, / horns blare, streets scream, / shoot, loot, / bash windows, bash heads, / lights out / knocked out / by a black & white...

China typically exercises caution when making public statements about terrorist attacks in Xinjiang. When China blames attacks on Pakistan-based terrorist organizations, such as the possibly defunct East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), it risks adding tensions to the Sino-Pakistani “all-weather” friendship. [1] However, when China blames attacks on local Uyghurs it is tantamount to an admission that its policies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have not created a “harmonious society.” Zhou Yongkang (left), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), shakes hands with a local Uygur farmer...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The memo has gone out, the date has been saved. This coming Tuesday, radicals of all stripes will descend upon the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C. to rally in support of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. Organizers are hoping to speak with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about why Mumia should be set free. They’re also planning acts of civil disobedience to draw media attention to their cause. Officially known as "Occupy the Justice Department," the event is endorsed by the usual group of malcontents, including "Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal" – a collection of left-wing...

Unlike the government of the United States, I can’t claim any hands-on experience with Colombian hookers. But I was impressed by the rates charged by Miss Dania Suarez, and even more impressed by the U.S. Secret Service’s response to them. Cartagena’s most famous “escort” costs $800. For purposes of comparison, you can book Eliot Spitzer’s “escort” for $300. Yet, on the cold grey fiscally conservative morning after the wild socially liberal night before, Dania’s Secret Service agent offered her a mere $28. Twenty-eight bucks! What a remarkably precise sum. Thirty dollars less a federal handling fee? Why isn’t this guy...

Pelosi joins Democrats' push for Republicans to act on student loan ratesBy Mike Lillis - 04/21/12 11:11 AM ET The leading House Democrat on Saturday joined President Obama in calling on Republicans to extend low interest rates on student loans. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned that allowing rates to jump, as they're scheduled to do this summer, would put college "further out of reach" for middle class families struggling in the still-limping economy. "[I]f Republicans don't act, interest rates are set to double this July, and more than seven million borrowers will find themselves paying more," Pelosi said Saturday...

Under sunny skies, Obama hits the linksBy Mike Lillis - 04/21/12 01:38 PM ET President Obama took advantage of gorgeous weather around Washington on Saturday morning to hit the golf course, his third round this year. The president and his entourage – Vice President Joe Biden, White House staffer Mike Brush and Marvin Nicholson, the trip director – arrived at the Andrews Air Force Base Golf Course a little after 11 a.m., when temperatures were hovering just below 80 degrees. The outing is the latest indication Obama doesn't intend to steer clear of the links in the face of recent...

Struggling Obama super-PAC asks Clinton for helpBy Cameron Joseph - 04/21/12 10:15 AM ET Priorities USA, a super-PAC focused on reelecting President Obama, has asked former President Bill Clinton to help them pick up the pace on fundraising. Democratic donors have been resistant to giving to the group. This is partly because of liberals' hesitation about super-PACs in general and partly because Sean Sweeney and Bill Burton, the two former White House staffers heading the group, aren't as plugged in to the fundraising world as those helping some of the Republican groups, which include heavy-hitters like Karl Rove and Mississippi...

Muppets Revenge: Outraged Homeless Muppets to Converge on Goldman SachsPRWeb – 6 hrs ago At 11:00 a.m., April 23, 2012, artist Joey Skaggs will lead a band of outraged costumed muppets down to Goldman Sachs offices at 200 West Street in NYC. Skaggs will be peddling his Mobile Homeless Homes prototype -- a low cost alternative living space for the millions of upside-down, underwater or foreclosed homeowners who have lost their houses due to the banking crisis that caused the real estate collapse.

BP Spill Sickens People; What Thoreau Tells About Global WarmingBy Dino Grandoni | The Atlantic Wire – Thu, Apr 19, 2012 **SNIP** USA Today on the EPA's failure with cleaning up smelting sites Oil spills certainly aren't the only way to create a health crisis. USA Today offers an investigation into the government turning a blind eye toward old smelting sites, which can (and do) give folks living nearby lead poisoning. Until the 1970s and 1980s, factories processing lead spewed out plumes of smokes laden with the toxic metal that accumulated in nearby soils. The problem today, according to the...

In a sign of what may be coming, residents of a Chicago condo building located near the site of next month’s NATO summit have been asked to leave for the event or risk being caught in a storm of rioters. WND first reported in August 2011 that radicals, some with ties to President Obama, were planning to riot during the NATO summit. FOX Chicago News reported the people living in the 17-floor Library Tower building at 520 South State Street were warned in a letter from condo management that “we are STRONGLY recommending that all residents find places to stay...

A group of Muslim men who abducted and raped two teenage girls as part of their Eid celebrations laughed in court yesterday as they were jailed for a total of 38 years. The girls, aged 15 and 16, were lured miles from their home to a dingy hostel. In a horrifying weekend-long ordeal, they were plied with alcohol and repeatedly raped by two men, Shamrez Rashid and Amar Hussain, before being offered to a number of others who also ‘used them for sex’. ... One defendant, Rashid, 20, was said to have claimed the girls had enjoyed the sex, which...

After the last month’s shocking developments in Mali, including a military coup, the collapse of the national security forces, the conquest of northern Mali by Tuareg rebels and the emergence of an Islamist group with apparent ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the land-locked African nation has entered into a tense stand-off in which next steps are being planned by all parties. Even as the military staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) form plans for a possible military intervention and neighboring Algeria places a reinforced garrison and substantial air elements on high alert at...

Much of the $430bn global bail-out fund agreed in Washington over the weekend may not be available until next year, it has emerged. Britain pledged an extra £10bn ($15bn) to the International Monetary Fund but Treasury officials stressed the contribution is contingent on the US ratifying an agreement struck two years ago in Seoul. The US, though, is not expected to sign it off until after November’s presidential election at the earliest. According to IMF officials, a number of other countries have attached similar conditions to their contributions, potentially limiting the new bail-out fund’s firepower. Although the weekend’s agreement to...

Residents of a Chicago condo whose building will be in the eye of the NATO storm are being warned that they should move out for the weekend or risk being trapped inside by rioters. The people living in the 17-floor Library Tower building at 520 South State Street were warned in a letter from condo management that "we are STRONGLY recommending that all residents find places to stay during the conference from May 18 through May 21." ... The condo is hiring two off-duty police officers to provide security; those cops will be armed. "In the event of a riot...

Not only will it be impossible to find a jury without preconceived opinions in the Trayvon Martin case—it will be impossible to find one that will convict, says Mansfield Frazier. An editor I used to work for had a favorite saying: “Predicting the future is usually as easy as stating the obvious.” In the upcoming trial of George Zimmerman, the “obvious” is this: there’s little, if any, chance to avoid not only a mistrial, but a series of them if the state continues to reindict him, which it has the right to do and no doubt will, but with the...

The Marriott hotel chain is known for its comfortable rooms and amenities. But in addition to a plethora of appeasing services, the popular company also offers value packages to individuals who are gay. Curiously, numerous hotels within the Marriott chain offer what they call “OUT” packages. At the Renaissance Washington Marriott in Washington, D.C., for instance, the deal includes chocolate covered strawberries, sparking wine upon arrival and a copy of NaviGaytour Magazine, among other benefits. ... The main thrust of the deals seem to be predicated upon an urge to attract a gay customer base, while distinguishing the company as...

Governor Scott Walker is facing the fight of his political life. On June 5, in the third gubernatorial recall election in U.S. history, Wisconsin voters will either choose to keep Walker in office or elect a Democrat. Polls show a tight race with Walker hovering at or slightly below 50 percent and holding a small lead over potential opponents. Walker won’t know which Democratic opponent he’ll face until May 8, when the recall primary is held. Meanwhile, he’s letting the state of Illinois serve as a stand-in. Speaking on April 19 to machinists in blue-collared shirts, jeans, and boots at...

This is an email response I received regarding the predictable anti-gun hysteria following the sensationalization of the Trayvon Martin shooting, not to mention the hollow attacks against Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' laws. The United Sportsmen of Florida, led by the indomitable Marion Hammer, have provided here a rich source of information and facts regarding these current events, which I have transcribed.*** *** *** ALERT --- Protect Your Right To Refuse To Be A Victim -- Gov. Task Force DATE: April 20, 2012 TO: USF & NRA Members and Friends FROM: Marion P. Hammer, USF Executive Director, NRA Past President Florida...