Free Republic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Through music, scripture and song, Don Cornelius was remembered Thursday as the man who elevated black culture and entertainment with his "Soul Train," demolishing barriers of race and culture, and changing American history.

The Department of Homeland Security makes fake Twitter and Facebook profiles for the specific purpose of scanning the networks for 'sensitive' words - and tracking people who use them. Simply using a word or phrase from the DHS's 'watch' list could mean that spies from the government read your posts, investigate your account, and attempt to identify you from it, acccording to an online privacy group. The words which attract attention range from ones seemingly related to diseases or bioweapons such as 'human to animal' and 'outbreak' to other, more obscure words such as 'drill' and 'strain'. The DHS also...

The dead include (1) a young man who passed away at the Occupy Oklahoma encampment; (2) a woman at Occupy Vancouver overdosed; (3) a protester in Bloomington, Indiana, was found dead; (4) a man was found dead in his tent at Occupy New Orleans; (5) a man shot himself in an encampment at Occupy Burlington in Vermont; (6) a protester was shot dead at Occupy Oakland; and now this death at Salt Lake City brings the grim toll to 7 deaths.

RENO, Nev. – The death toll in the crash of a World War II-era plane during a Reno air race rose to nine people Saturday as investigators combed through wreckage and scoured amateur video clips to determine why the aircraft suddenly spiraled out of control and plummeted to the ground near hundreds of spectators. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/17/federal-investigators-looking-into-what-caused-deadly-crash-at-air-show/#ixzz1YGNn9wu6

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Yosemite National Park officials are trying to determine why a man fell to his death while climbing Half Dome Monday evening. Park officials tell Action News, search and rescue crews recovered the body of an unidentified man Tuesday morning at the base of the popular dome.

Federal authorities are investigating the deaths of at least six golden eagles at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Pine Tree Wind Project in the Tehachapi Mountains, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday. So far, no wind-energy company has been prosecuted by federal wildlife authorities in connection with the death of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. A prosecution in the Pine Tree case could cause some rethinking and redesigning of this booming alternative energy source. Facilities elsewhere also have been under scrutiny, according to a...

The number of fatal firearms accidents for the last six years of record are: 2002 - 762; 2003 - 730; 2004 - 649; 2005 - 630; 2006 - 680. 2007 - 613 I had to hunt a bit for this information, which I think many are interested in. The accidental firearm death rate is down over 94% since 1905. You have to do a bit of work at the link to find the figures in the source.

KABUL — Eight foreign soldiers died in one day in Afghanistan, officials said Sunday, including four in a single incident believed to have been a vehicle accident. The four died Saturday of "non-battle related injuries" in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. That incident, in a region containing many of Afghanistan's bloodiest battlegrounds, came on a day when ISAF said four other foreign soldiers also died in separate insurgent attacks -- three in the south and one in the east. In line with policy, ISAF did not give further details of what happened...

BAGHDAD: Two American soldiers have been killed during a mission in southern Iraq, the US military said on Saturday. The fatalities raised to 4,450 the number of US soldiers who have died in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, according to an AFP tally based on data from an independent website. “Two US service members were killed yesterday (Friday) while conducting operations in southern Iraq,” the military said in a statement without giving any other details. Sixty members of the US military were killed in Iraq in 2010, according to icasualties.org, by far the smallest number...

TOKYO—The Japanese government raised its assessment of the monthlong crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to the highest severity level by international standards—a rating only conferred so far upon the Chernobyl accident. Japan's nuclear regulators said the plant has likely released so much radiation into the environment that it must boost the accident's severity rating on the International Nuclear Event scale to a 7 from 5 currently. That is the same level reached by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union, which struck almost exactly 25 years ago, on April 26, 1986. "Based on the cumulative...

(CNSNews.com) – At least 858 U.S. soldiers have died in the Afghanistan war since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. That equals 60.13 percent of the 1,427 American soldier fatalities so far in the ongoing 10-year war in that country. For March 2011, there were 26 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan, including 4 non-combat related fatalities. That brought the total combat and non-combat deaths for 2011 (January, February, and March) to 70. Those fatalities include 57 combat-related deaths and 13 non-combat deaths. For the 858 U.S. deaths since Obama’s inauguration, 791 have been combat-related. This means that for...

Inconvenient Truth: Wind Energy Has Killed More Americans Than Nuclear By Lachlan Markay Created 03/17/2011 - 1:43pm By Lachlan Markay | March 17, 2011 | 13:43 There has been quite a bit of hysteria among some major media outlets in the past few days regarding the potential dangers of nuclear power. Some have even suggested that the benefits of nuclear energy do not outweigh its potential dangers to human life. The dangers of nuclear power, while serious, need to be put in perspective. To that end, here's an interesting fact you won't be hearing from the mainstream press: wind energy...

This is Mark Crutcher's compelling 320-page expose' of the American abortion industry. A unique and uncensored look at our nation's most wrenching social issue, it has already become a must read for anyone seeking to learn the truth about the abortion issue. It fully documents that women are being sexually assaulted, mutilated, and killed inside perfectly legal abortion clinics. It also shows how pro-choice groups have used raw political power to fight off regulation of the abortion clinic business. One chapter exposes a massive cover-up of abortion clinic disasters being carried out by an agency of the U.S. government. Other...

The recent mysterious deaths of birds and fish are causing alarm among naturalists around the world. Birds are literally falling dead out of the sky, and fish are washing up dead on shores and rivers across North America and around the world. The reaction from the mainstream media seems strangely subdued, as if they're all just blowing this off as some unexplained quirk about the natural world that should be largely ignored. NaturalNews readers think differently. We are concerned when thousands of dead birds fall out of the sky for no apparent reason. The sky itself may not be falling,...

A TV station in the East Texas town of Tyler reports that hundreds more dead birds have been discovered along the sides of a highway bridge. This news adds fresh fuel to a growing conundrum over the cause of hundreds of thousands of avian deaths in localities thousands of miles apart. The station, KLTV, acknowledges that around 200 birds were found dead this morning on state highway 155. The birds, identified as American coots or mud-hens, are the first of this species to be cited in the recent spate of deaths. As with previous cases, the cause of death is...

OK, fellow Freepers, next year is almost upon us. And, no doubt, it will be interesting. So here's your chance to show off your powers of prediction. Tell us what you think will happen next year..on any subject(s), as many as you wish... politics, sports, the economy, who will die next year, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars..anything and everything..as many as you want.

MIAMI -- Five young men who police said died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a South Florida motel room were constant companions who acted like brothers and even went shoe shopping together before Christmas so they all would have the same pair, relatives said Tuesday.

A sound-collage-and-video tribute to musicians who died in 2010.

Although by no means complete, the following list provides the names of the most well-known celebrities to pass away in 2010. Adele Mara (actress, 'Sands of Iwo Jima') Andrew Koenig ('Boner' on 1980's sitcom 'Growing Pains', son of Walter Koenig of 'Star Trek' fame) Art Linkletter Barbara Billingsley Daryl Gates (former chief of the LAPD and radio host) Dave Fisher (founding member of singing group the Highwaymen) Dennis Hopper Dino De Laurentiis Dixie Carter Don Meredith Dorothy De Barba (little girl in 'Our Gang' series) Dorothy Provine Eddie Fisher Erich Segal (wrote 'Love Story') Fess Parker Gary Coleman George Steinbrenner...

November 26 Toaster Related Deaths at an All-Time High Now that 2007 is nearly over, the World Organization of Statistics has released frightening new information that shows toaster related deaths are up all across the world this year. "It's not just in the US, it's everywhere," said Dr. Kevin Willie, self-proclaimed 'Statistical Genius'. "It is an alarming trend, and only appears to be getting worse." The number of toaster related deaths in the world this past year was 45. This is up 12 from last year, and up 15 from two years ago. The number of toaster related deaths in...

The number of children dying of abuse or neglect after involvement by Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services has steadily increased since 2008, according to confidential documents reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. The data represent the first time the public has gained access to the department’s year-over-year maltreatment fatality trends. According to information circulated recently among senior county officials, the number of children who have died of abuse or neglect by their caregivers rose from 18 in 2008 to 26 in 2009.

Records Document 3,589 Adverse Reactions Related to Gardasil between May 2009 and September 2010, Including 213 Cases Resulting in Permanent Disability Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has received new documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), detailing reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. The adverse reactions include 16 new deaths (including four suicides) between May 2009 and September 2010. The FDA also produced 789 “serious” reports, with 213 cases resulting in...

A series of bomb attacks have badly hit US troops in eastern and southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours. The death toll among in the Nato-led coalition has reached 484 this year and is predicted to far surpass 2009’s total of 521. SNIP n two of the most deadly recent incidents, three Americans died in eastern Afghanistan on one bomb attack on Tuesday. Five died in a single bomb attack in the south on Monday. Military spokesmen would not say if the bombs hit vehicles or foot patrols. Homemade bombs using old shells or homemade explosives and hidden in...

More than 2,000 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since the war began in late 2001, according to the independent icasualties.org website. In all, 2,002 soldiers have been killed since the US-led invasion, including 1,226 Americans and 331 British. In contrast to these deaths over a span of almost nine years, 1,271 civilians were killed in the first six months of 2010. June 2010 was the bloodiest month of the war with 102 killed as foreign forces pushed ahead with operations in southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Another 88 were killed in July. There are currently more than 140,000 US...

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 20, 2010 – U.S. Forces Afghanistan officials have launched a criminal investigation into allegations that a small number of U.S. soldiers were responsible for the unlawful deaths of as many as three Afghan civilians. The investigations also include allegations of illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy, officials said. No charges have been preferred yet, officials said, but one soldier has been placed in pre-trial confinement. The Army's Criminal Investigation Command initiated its investigation after receiving credible information from the soldiers' unit earlier this month, according to a written statement command officials released today. Command officials are “committed...

Amnesty International may be best known to American audiences for bringing to light horror stories overseas such as the disappearance of political activists in Argentina or the abysmal conditions inside South African prisons under apartheid. But in a new report on pregnancy and childbirth care in the U.S., Amnesty details the maternal health care crisis in this country as part of a systemic violation of women's rights. The report, titled "Deadly Delivery," notes that the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth in the U.S. is �ve times greater than in Greece, four times greater than in Germany, and three...

It may be a little early to start this, but this is http://www.findagrave.com's annual list of notable people who have died during the current year(more info on each person at source link): Michael Jackson; musician, entertainer Patrick Swayze; actor, dancer Walter Cronkite; communist sympathizer (it doesn't say that on the site) Farrah Fawcett; actress Dom DeLuise; entertainer Edward Kennedy; US Senator and ... Paul Harvey; news commentator Beatrice Arthur; actress Ed McMahon; television personality Ricardo Montalban; actor Soupy Sales; comedian Karl Malden; actor David Carradine; actor Mary Travers; vocalist James Whitmore; actor Les Paul; musician Jim Owens; college football coach...

The global number of swine flu deaths has jumped by more than 1,000 in a week, latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show. At least 7,826 people are now known to have died following infection with the H1N1 virus since it first emerged in Mexico in April. Europe saw an 85% increase in the week, with the total number of deaths rising from at least 350 to at least 650. However, in most cases the virus continues to produce mild symptoms. The overwhelming majority of patients usually recover, even without medical treatment, within a week. The biggest rise...

70 deaths on ward of shame: Patients neglected by lazy nurses in a filthy, blood-spattered casualty unit, says damning report By Daniel Martin Last updated at 9:39 AM on 27th November 2009 Dozens of patients died needlessly as a result of filthy conditions in an NHS hospital, a shocking report said last night. Appalling nursing care in Basildon University Hospital contributed to a mortality rate that was more than a third higher than the national average. At least 70 people may have died who should have been saved. It is the latest example of patients paying the ultimate price for...

WASHINGTON — Signaling he's decided on new troop levels for the Afghanistan war, President Barack Obama said Tuesday he intends to "finish the job" on his watch and destroy terrorist networks in the region. The president said he would reveal his decision on how many additional soldiers to deploy to Afghanistan after Thanksgiving. The White House is aiming for an announcement by Obama either Tuesday or Wednesday in a national address. Congressional hearings will quickly follow. Military officials and others have been expecting Obama to settle on a middle-ground option that would deploy an eventual 32,000 to 35,000 U.S. forces...

The World Health Organisation said on Thursday that checks on many of the 30 deaths recorded following mass pandemic flu vaccinations had so far ruled out a direct link to the vaccines.

To honor our brave men and women in the military, we list below the names of the fallen. This post identifies these wonderful souls by name, listing the heroes who sacrificed everything for you and I. This is the list author and Conservative American talk radio star Mark Levin spoke of and listed on his website. They gave their lives to protect and preserve our freedom. We thank them, we remember them and we honor them. Unlike other lists you may see, our list includes deaths from both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as other military deaths (including...

ATLANTA – Federal health officials now say that 4,000 or more Americans likely have died from swine flu — about four times the estimate they've been using.

Where would we be without veterans? Did you ever think who would control the United States of America if it were not for the sacrifices made by our veterans? Did you ever wonder how many gave their lives so we might have the freedoms we take for granted? Did you ever think about what country we would belong to without the veterans? Could it be Great Britain, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, Japan or any nation that would conquer us? When we read about any Memorial Day or Veterans Day, we should be thankful for the veterans. When we read the...

The number of children who have died from the swine flu has jumped sharply as the virus continues to spread widely around the United States, striking youngsters, teenagers, young adults and pregnant women unusually often, federal officials said Friday. The deaths of another 19 children and teenagers from the new H1N1 virus were reported in the past week around the country, including two in Maryland, pushing the total number of fatalities to 76 among those younger than age 18. It was the largest number of pediatric deaths reported in a single week since the pandemic began last spring. "These pediatric...

Russia's population has fallen by 6.6 million since 1993, despite the influx of millions of immigrants, a United Nations report said Monday, and by 2025 the country could lose a further 11 million people. ...Russia's mortality rate is among the highest in the developed world, with average life expectancy for males at barely 60 years.... A study published in June in The Lancet medical journal found that drinking has caused more than half of deaths among Russians aged 15 to 54 since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Any experienced police officer or EMT will tell you that it is not unusual for drunks to survive vehicle accidents where many times the sober victims of the traumatic injuries caused from the same collision do not survive. Booze May Save Drunken Trauma Patients Trauma patients have better chance of survival if intoxicated, according to study By OLSEN EBRIGHT Updated 7:55 AM CDT, Fri, Oct 2, 2009 An intoxicated friend hands you his or her beer and says, "Watch this." A story like that usually ends with a trip to the ER. Obviously alcohol is to blame. But, according to...

Henry Bellmon, the Oklahoma farmer who became the state’s first Republican governor and turned his party into a political contender, has died. He was 88. Rural upbringing shapes former governor Henry... 03/01/2009 BILLINGS — They’ve never taken the country out of Henry Louis Bellmon. Don Todd rolled the steering wheel clockwise as he guided the 2005 Dodge... Bellmon’s former chief of staff told The Associated Press the former Oklahoma governor and U.S. Senator has died after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Andrew Tevington said Bellmon died shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday. Bellmon, who sometimes displayed a political independence that...

LONDON – Recent targeted attacks that killed militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at al-Qaida's power base, sapping the terror network of key leaders and experienced operatives who train recruits and wage attacks. Intelligence officials said Friday that the military strikes have reduced al-Qaida's core leadership to only a handful of men and diminished its ability to train fighters. This, they said, has forced al-Qaida to turn to its global affiliates for survival. The killings of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in Somalia, Noordin Muhammed Top in Indonesia and Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan — all in recent weeks...

August, and golden oldies. Serious thought is forbidden this month, which is why every middle-aged pop critic in America is still waxing on Woodstock and talking about how Janis changed the world and Arlo shut down the New York State Thruway, man. The vacuousness of August might explain why the White House thought it was the perfect month to go Kerouacing with Obamacare — ending up in Montana, no less. I wonder how it would play in Paris? After all, this is the month that marks what must surely be one of the most important anniversaries in the history of...

More than 390 people are believed to have been buried alive in the village worst affected by a massive mudslide caused by Typhoon Morakot. A National Fire Agency disaster relief centre spokesman told the BBC's Cindy Sui of the fears for Hsiaolin Village. This is the first time the government has released a firm estimate on the number of people they believe might have been killed. Thousands of people are still stranded by the worst by mudslides and floods. The typhoon struck Taiwan at the weekend, causing the worst flooding in 50 years, and leaving at least 116 people confirmed...

Swine flu toll up sharply in Latin America Wed Aug 5, 12:19 pm ET BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – Argentina reported on Wednesday a sharp spike in deaths from swine flu as cases jumped across Latin America and more countries worldwide coped with their first fatalities. Argentinian officials said deaths from the A(H1N1) virus had more than doubled to 337 from 165 two weeks ago, which would put the country second only to the United States with 353 dead. "We have confirmed 337 deaths by A(H1N1) flu," Argentina's deputy health minister Maximo Diosque said. "We have a similar number, of around...

H1N1: 94 official deaths, unofficial figures say 100 The National Health Ministry reported there are 94 H1N1 influenza deaths in Argentina. Meanwhile, Débora Ferrandini, the vice Health Minister of Santa Fe province announced that there are 30 lethal cases in the province which would lead to an unofficial figure of 100 deaths in the country. Santa Fe's Health Ministry confirmed another H1N1 influenza death in the province, where there already are 26 lethal cases, and adds up to 100 deaths in Argentina since the swine flu outbreak in May. The province's authorities reported yesterday another three deaths, most of the...

THURSDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Deaths and injuries on America's interstates have increased since the repeal of the federal 55-mile-per-hour speed limit in 1995, a new study finds, and some believe it's time to slow down again. Researchers tracking fatalities attributed 12,545 deaths and 36,582 injuries in fatal crashes to higher speed limits implemented during the 1995-2005 study period. "Our study clearly shows that policy can directly result in more deaths as well as reducing deaths on our country's roads," said lead researcher Lee S. Friedman of the division of environmental and occupational health sciences in the School of...

Comic Fred Travalena died last week.

NEW YORK — Health officials on Tuesday reported seven more deaths from swine flu, bringing the city's total to 23, the most in the nation. The Department of Health didn't identify the victims or say when they died in an update posted on its Web site. It said the victims were between the ages of 25 and 64 and most had been hospitalized late last month. The health department's last update was just four days ago, when it added one more death to make the total 16. That death involved a person in his or her 40s.

The Obama administration’s proposed mileage standards that will be announced today may kill more Americans at a faster rate than the Iraq War, his signature issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama’s standards will require automakers to meet a 35 miles-per-gallon standard by 2016, four years earlier than the same standard imposed by the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007. The only way for carmakers to meet these standard is to make smaller, lighter -- and deadlier cars. The National Academy of Sciences has linked mileage standards with about 2,000 deaths per year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...

Obama to cut slain officers program almost in half May 7, 2009 - 5:15pm By DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration wants to cut almost in half a benefits program for the families of slain police and safety officers. The president's proposed budget calls for cutting the Public Safety Officers' Death Benefits Program from $110 million to $60 million. Justice Department budget documents say the reduction is being made because "claims are anticipated to decrease" because the number of officers killed in the line of duty has been decreasing. The proposal is being made just...

Of the total of 91,358 Iraqi civilian deaths from armed violence recorded for this period, we excluded 10,027 deaths from prolonged violence (e.g., the two sieges of Fallujah and prolonged episodes of violence during the invasion of March 20, 2003, through April 30, 2003), and 20,850 deaths recorded only in aggregate reports from morgues and hospitals, since these deaths were not reliably linked to specific events of a weapon's use.

Remember Dr. Gilbert Burnham and his outrageous (and baseless) claims that over a half a million Iraqis had died in the three year aftermath of the US invasion? Remember how no responsible journalist challenged him? Well, finally, the American Association for Public Opinion Research has thrown the BS flag, and Dr. Burnham stands with nary a factual fig leaf to cover his intellectual nakedness. Incredibly, this comes courtesy of the BBC. Like all Bush Derangement Syndrome manifestations, his fevered imaginings were a combination of liberalism, fantasy, and crap: Libfantacrap. And the press, a great consumer and purveyor of libfantacrap, spread...