Free Republic

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas (AP) -- The bloody drug war in Mexico shows no sign of relenting. Neither do calls for tighter border security amid rising fears of spillover violence. This hardly seems a time the U.S. would be willing to allow people to cross the border legally from Mexico without a customs officer in sight. But in this rugged, remote West Texas terrain where wading across the shallow Rio Grande undetected is all too easy, federal authorities are touting a proposal to open an unmanned port of entry as a security upgrade. By the spring, kiosks could open...

Washington, Oregon, federal government struggle to determine how to pay for project (Vancouver, WA) Knock aside the steel beams and concrete, and there’s just one thing that the Columbia River Crossing will be built upon: money. And one of the largest public works projects in the Pacific Northwest has an unusual plan to get that money — one that relies on the federal government, two states and local tolls to pay the estimated $2.63 billion to $3.76 billion price tag. The CRC is coming of age in an era where paying for big infrastructure projects is growing increasingly difficult, so...

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A program to expand the busiest commercial crossing over the U.S.-Mexico border was inaugurated on Friday, nearly doubling the capacity for trucks entering Laredo, Texas, from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, authorities said. The program increased the number of truck lanes at the World Trade Bridge into Laredo, to 15 from eight, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said. The expansion also added an additional exit lane for vehicles leaving the facility, which currently handles around 5,000 trucks a day and has been so busy that trucks were delayed several hours. "It is going to be a...

(IsraelNN.com) Israel National News is pround to bring its readers a new film that has been produced to explore the proliferation of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incidents on North American college campuses, particularly in the wake of Israel’s counterterrorism Operation Cast Lead last year in Gaza. Crossing the Line: The Intifada Comes to Campus is produced by filmmaker Raphael Shore, directed by Wayne Kopping and distributed by Imagination Productions. Shore also produced the critically acclaimed Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West and The Third Jihad: Radical Islam’s Vision for America. Kopping, who also worked on both films, has been featured...

The Israel Defense Forces has sharply cut back its activity around the Karni border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and defense officials told Haaretz that the crossing, which was closed after Hamas took over the Strip in June 2007, is not slated to reopen in the future. Due to the structure of the crossing, it is at high risk for terror attacks, said an official. This, combined with the inability to coordinate operations with Hamas, led to its abandonment. "The Karni crossing won't resume operating," said one. "At least not as long as Hamas controls the Strip." Advertisement...

Fox and Friends interview with Rick Baker. Baker is the founder of Timely Medical Alternatives, a company that helps Canadians “leave the queue” and come to the US for treatment. Mr. Baker gives examples of a 2 year wait for a gynecological consultation and that cancer is considered as elective medical care

President-elect Barack Obama is asking the country to look to George Washington's improbable crossing on the Delaware River on Christmas Day as inspiration to get through current tough times. Obama said in a holiday message that Washington and his army "faced impossible odds" as they fought against the British on Dec. 25, 1776, the day they surprised Hessian forces and won victories that gave new momentum and hope to American Independence. Obama used that story to say that "hope endures and that a new birth of peace is always possible" — even as many Americans are serving overseas and others...

The Portland-Vancouver area recently participated in a federal disaster-preparedness drill in which the city of Portland saw fit, among other things, to rehearse the safe evacuation of house pets in response to an explosion on the Steel Bridge. But a more realistic disaster-drill scenario for this area would simulate the effects of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake -- magnitude 6.9 and lasting 15 seconds -- directly under the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River. Then consider this: We could simulate that disaster by simply opening the existing lift spans on the bridge with no public notice and leaving them open...

Seminole County officials scrambled to fix a typo on a roadway after a motorist informed them the word school was misspelled. The error was reported along state Road 426 at Reed Road in Oviedo. School was misspelled as "scohol" and painted on the road to warn motorists they are entering a school zone. Seminole County traffic engineers said the typo was to be repaired on Friday morning. Workers removed the error and placed a new warning with school spelled correctly.

Thanks for visiting! Are you upset about the way the Columbia River Crossing task force is conducting their business? Does it seem to you like the Columbian isn't telling us the whole story? You're not alone! We at this site are trying to get the word out about how the CRC process has been skewed with a particular bias: bringing light rail into Vancouver as a part of any new Columbia River bridge. Supposedly the CRC process examined 11 different options for a new river crossing, including ideas ranging from a third bridge to a tunnel under the Columbia River....

When it comes to planning a $2 billion, once-a-century bridge, armchair quarterbacks are a dime a dozen. So don't be surprised by the gaggle of "experts" who are promoting bridge "solutions" that have been rejected by the legitimate experts at the Columbia River Crossing project. Grassroots gurus are plentiful, but let's respect the side that relies on expertise, hard work and due diligence. On the third floor of the downtown Vancouvercenter, about 60 full-time engineers, planners and other specialists are creating a better river crossing. They're working with many other part-time consultants, even some of national stature, who regularly visit...

Nationwide Rally to Stop Illegal Immigration on Saturday, July 1st, at noon, at every City HallOn May 1st - Million of Illegal Aliens Marched in our StreetsTwelve million illegal aliens demonstrated their political power, and declared May 1st to be A Day Without Undocumented Workers ( illegal aliens ). They boycotted the USA, all US businesses and institutions. Millions of them marched in our streets, carried Mexican flags, shouted "Si se puede!", and demanded new laws from our Congress. On July 1st - U.S. Citizens Nationwide Rally and BoycottRally to stop the invasion by millions of illegal aliens. 1-Day boycott...

USA Citizens Day - July 1st Immigration Control Rally Nationwide Rally on Saturday, July 1st, at noon, at your City HallMay 1st - Million of Illegal Aliens Marched in our StreetsTwelve million illegal aliens demonstrated their political power, and declared May 1st to be A Day Without Undocumented Workers ( illegal aliens ). They boycotted the USA, all US businesses and institutions. Millions of them marched in our streets, carried Mexican flags, shouted "Si se puede!", and demanded new laws from our Congress. July 1st - U.S. Citizens Nationwide Rally for Immigration ControlRally to stop our continuous invasion by...

A minority party candidate faces an uphill battle this November in strong opposition majority territory. No, it's not a Democrat trying to regain one of the 21 seats needed to overturn power in Republican-controlled Congress. It's not a Democratic gubernatorial candidate trying to take back one of the four states needed to overturn the Republican majority. The San Gabriel Valley's own former Republican state senator, Richard Mountjoy of Monrovia, has announced he will run against US Sen. Diane Feinstein. The 73-year-old Mountjoy is no stranger to politics or controversy. As former president of the California Republican Assembly, the state's largest...

Gaza dissolving in anarchy ‘Palestinians’ kidnap foreigners, hijack buildings, commandeer border crossing By Stan Goodenough December 30th, 2005 Four-and-a-half months after Israel abandoned the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, the situation in the Arab-occupied stretch of land along the Mediterranean is rapidly spiraling out of control. Recent weeks have seen armed gunmen from various political, tribal and family factions taking over election offices and police stations, kidnapping more than a dozen foreigners – most recently this British aid worker Kate Burton and her parents this past Wednesday. On Friday, yet another gang of gun-waving masked men sent European Union...

JNW HEADLINE NEWS PA already exploiting Gaza-Egypt crossing By Stan Goodenough November 30th, 2005 Well that didn’t take long. Just days after Israel – under intense US pressure – relinquished full control of the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to the Arabs, the Palestinian Authority allowed a Hamas terrorist exiled by Israel to enter the area. Fadel Zahar, a senior member of the Hamas terror gang, and brother of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, walked across from Egypt Tuesday, 15 years after Israel banished him from all areas under Jerusalem’s control. The PA’s prompt abuse of its newly acquired...

Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, and last week permitted Palestinians to pass between Egypt and Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. The agreement to open this border point was hailed as a positive step for Palestinians -- but who cares about the consequences for Israel? It looks like Rafah will become another security loophole for Palestinian terrorists (Jerusalem Post): Rafik al-Hasanat, a senior member of Hamas who has been wanted by Israel for more than a decade, on Wednesday night returned to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. ... A senior member of the armed wing of Hamas,...

Egyptian border policemen on Monday shot and killed a Palestinian south of Rafah, Palestinian Authority security sources reported. Another three people were wounded in the incident, the first of its kind since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this morning. The sources identified the victim as 34-year-old Nafez Atiyeh. They said Egyptian soldiers opened fire at a group of Palestinian men who were trying cross the border into Egypt. Dr. Ali Mussa, director of the Khan Yunis Hospital, said Atiyeh had been shot in the head and died instantly. In Cairo, a spokesman for President Hosni Mubarak denied...

(PRWEB) - Beverly Hills, CA. (PRWEB) September 2, 2005 -- A final decision was issued in the complaint of discrimination filed by former Customs and Border Protection Officer Julia Davis against the Department of Homeland Security (EEOC No. 340-04-00317X). The Honorable Administrative Judge Daniel Leach found the Agency liable, awarding to Julia Davis damages, attorney fees and costs in excess of $225,000.00 dollars. Ms. Davis was represented by Beverly Hills attorney David Ross of Ross, Rose and Hammill, LLP. Judge Leach ruled that Ms. Davis "established agency culpability of an egregious sort and has been awarded a significant sum in...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- David Smith Sr., who already holds a world record for the longest distance traveled by a human fired from a cannon, added to his list of accomplishments by shooting across the U.S-Mexico border. The feat was the brainchild of Venezuelan artist Javier Tellez and is part of a series of public art projects in the border cities of San Diego and Tijuana. Smith climbed into the barrel of the cannon Saturday afternoon and flashed his U.S. passport as about 600 people applauded

TWO GROUPS OF MIDDLE-EASTERN INVADERS CAUGHT IN COCHISE COUNTY IN PAST SIX WEEKS Information officer Andy Adame, from the Border Patrol Tucson sector says, “I guarantee it’s not true.” However, seasoned Border Patrol field agents have shared some disturbing information with the Tumbleweed as well as other civilian sources with the hope the information will make it to the general public.The Tumbleweed has verified information that a flood of middle-eastern males have been caught entering the country illegally east of Douglas, Arizona. The increased patrols in the Huachuca Mountains area of Cochise County, seems to have diverted the flow...

Some Dem Delegate Chiefs Say: No Crossing Picket Lines Gov. Wants Dispute Over Before Convention POSTED: 7:28 am EDT July 16, 2004 UPDATED: 7:30 am EDT July 16, 2004 BOSTON -- Several Democratic chairmen from around the country are urging their state delegations to honor Boston police union picket lines during the Democratic National Convention. The union is promising to picket any parties or other gatherings where Boston Mayor Tom Menino is scheduled to attend. The Boston Globe reported that the heads of the California, Ohio, Tennessee and Maine delegations have written letters or phoned members asking them to boycott...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's working elephants are to be fitted with reflective patches on their rears to prevent fender-bending road accidents that sometimes result in more than a damaged trunk. The Wildlife Trust of India introduced the reflectors this week to help drivers spot the working jumbos at night in the Indian capital. "The butt-reflector, roped to the howdah (seat), costs just 100 rupees ($2) and is the simplest way to protect them," said trust program director Aniruddha Mookerjee. Working elephants are often used at weddings, festivals and by the tourist industry and often have to walk long distances...

Pentagon to Oppose STT-Global Crossing Deal-SourceTue July 08, 2003 06:18 PM ET By Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Singapore Technologies Telemedia's plan to buy a majority stake in bankrupt Global Crossing Ltd. GBLXQ.PK ran into trouble when U.S. officials said on Tuesday the government had national security concerns about the deal. Concerns by the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security could make it difficult for STT, which is owned by an arm of the Singapore government, to complete its acquisition of a 61.5 percent stake in the telecommunications company. Defense Department officials cited national security concerns in a memorandum...

<p>Incorruptible labor legends Samuel Gompers and George Meany must be spinning in their graves. After becoming the first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886, Mr. Gompers founded the Union Labor Life Insurance Co. (now the major subsidiary of the ULLICO holding company) in 1925 in order to provide affordable insurance and other financial services to union members. Mr. Meany, who became the first president of the merged AFL-CIO in 1955 and served in that capacity for a quarter-century, worked inexhaustibly to eliminate corruption within the labor movement &#8212; which included expelling the Teamsters from the AFL-CIO in 1957. That same year, the AFL-CIO adopted a rule mandating the expulsion of any union official invoking the Fifth Amendment to avoid scrutiny in a corruption case.</p>

Former Ullico exec refuses to testify to lawmakers (GLOBAL CROSSING, TERRY MCAULIFFE) Tue June 17, 2003 05:08 PM ET WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The former top executive of union-owned insurer Ullico Inc. refused to testify to lawmakers on Tuesday about a sweetheart stock deal that netted board members some $5.6 million and caused his replacement last month. Former Ullico Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Georgine invoked his constitutional right not to testify at a hearing by the House Education and Workforce Committee on the scandal, which is also being probed by regulators and prosecutors. Rep John Boehner, the Ohio...

Antonio Hernandez will be separated from his children this holiday season by the forbidding border that separates his country from ours. Leaving his Northeast Austin apartment for the long trip back to Tamaulipas, Mexico, to see his four children would be expensive. Yet, nothing could be as frightening as the prospect of trying to return to America across a border that has become ever more hostile. It's hard enough for Hernandez, an illegal immigrant, and his wife to survive off what little work the local economy has to offer. Risking another border crossing where they might once again be robbed...

Global Crossing Ltd. will file Monday a consensual Chapter 11 reorganization plan and disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan

Sale of Global Crossing Faces Trouble Amid Paucity of Bids Wed Jul 17,11:04 PM ET By: Henny Sender and Dennis Berman, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal NEW YORK -- Texas investor Richard Rainwater, Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT), Platinum Equity LLC and Gores Technology Group have submitted bids for parts or all of Global Crossing Ltd. (GX - News) Still, it is a meager showing for the auction, scheduled for July 24 , of the telecommunications company under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This increases the likelihood that Global Crossing will be split into pieces. People familiar with the...

JUNE 17, 2002 PREVIOUS NEWS ANALYSIS Winnick Versus Winnick? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Winnick, founder and chairman of bankrupt carrier Global Crossing, apparently isn't done trying to recoup wealth from his fallen telecommunications empire -- in fact he thinks he might get it back from his own company. North Crescent Realty V LLC, a real-estate company controlled by Winnick, is demanding that Global Crossing pay nearly $500,000 in late rent, according to papers filed in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Read the rest here

LE BOURGET, France (AP) - Erik Lindbergh, two generations later, replicated his grandfather's groundbreaking 1927 solo Atlantic air crossing, landing in Paris on Thursday in half the time it took the aviation pioneer to make the historic journey. Lindbergh's Lancair Columbia 300 - dubbed the New Spirit of St. Louis - landed at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly before 11:30 a.m., 17 hours after taking off from Farmingdale, N.Y. Visibly fatigued, wearing his blue pilot's jumpsuit, Lindbergh addressed his sponsors and about 100 reporters who met him at the small airport. "It was an amazing time, 1927, and I...