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Investigators discover stolen video games, laptops, iPods Thousands of dollers worth of holiday goods didn't make it to their intended destinations and police say a deliveryman is to blame. Ronald Lozano, a 38-year-old deliveryman with the United Parcel Service, was arrested Wednesday after a month-long investigation into the thefts at the UPS distribution center in Fairfield. Investigators say they found $8,000 worth of laptops and video game systems at Lozano's home. Since April 2009, police said that personal packages and commercial merchandise worth more than $40,000 had been stolen from the UPS warehouse. Most of the stolen items were video...

Immediate annuities promise that your money will be there when you need it. But many investors are questioning how good those guarantees really are. The reality is that insurance companies offering annuities can, and have, failed. But policyholders can take comfort from a well-established, industry-financed safety net. Although investments aren't always covered in full, history suggests these annuities are about as safe an investment as you can get without the full backing of the U.S. government. That said, there's no reason to court trouble. The current environment shows why -- even in good times -- investors should seek out the...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, released Thursday, shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16 (see trends). Check out our review of last week’s key polls to see “What They Told Us.” The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates are also available...

Yeah. Merry Christmas al-Qaida. So will the US President try this terrorist in a civilian court? Let's hope we don't give Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a London engineering student, that Christmas present...read more.

WASHINGTON — With the nation's jobless making up a major part of future home foreclosures, advocacy groups are meeting with top Obama administration officials to seek ways to help keep the growing wave of unemployed borrowers in their homes. Groups are meeting with officials at the Treasury Department, Housing and Urban Development, and in the White House's National Economic Council to have them take part of an existing $75 billion program to help homeowners modify mortgages and put it in a program that would help the jobless stay in their homes. The program would go beyond a measure included in...

GOPer sets new push to oust tax-challenged RangelBy ISABEL VINCENT Last Updated: 2:54 PM, December 20, 2009 Where are Charlie Rangel's tax returns? That's the question Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) is asking as he threatens next month to lead a second attempt to strip the Harlem Democrat of his powerful post as Ways and Means Committee chairman. "Every tax attorney in the country will tell you that if a normal taxpayer committed the violations of Chairman Rangel, they would be assessed serious penalties and interest, if not charged with criminal tax evasion," Carter said. "This is about defending the rule...

Nigeria on Saturday ordered a top-level probe after a botched attempt by a young Nigerian to blow up a US plane as it was preparing to land in Detroit, a government statement said. "The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has directed Nigerian security agencies to commence full investigation of the incident," the statement said. Information Minister Dora Akunyili said Abuja had learnt with "dismay the news of an attempted terrorist attack on a US airline. "We state very clearly that as a nation, we abhor all forms of terrorism," she said in the statement....

The man law enforcement officials identified as the suspect in Friday's attempted attack on a overseas flight as it approached Detroit, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, is a Nigerian who was reportedly on a U.S. government terror watch list but did not appear on a "no-fly" list. Mutallab, 23, reportedly told investigators he had links to al-Qaida. The Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam carried 278 passengers and a crew of 11. An U.S. intelligence official said Mutallab tried unsuccessfully to detonate an explosive mix of powder and liquid. He was quickly subdued by other passengers. NBC News, citing anti-terrorism officials, said...

Part I -- Realizing and correcting our mistakes... After putting an end to mutiny of 1857, British viceroy Lord Lytton (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878(11 of 1878);an act which, exempted Europeans and ensured that no Indian could possess a weapon of any description unless the British masters considered him a "LOYAL" subject of the British Empire. Father of Nation M.K.Gandhi referring to Arms Act of 1878 remarked "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest" (page 238,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After months of political brawling in the Congress, the final act of the healthcare fight -- negotiations between the House of Representatives and Senate -- could be the most contentious stage of all. When Congress returns to work in January, feuds between moderate and liberal Democrats on major elements of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul will threaten the carefully calibrated accords that led to narrow passage in the Senate and House. The focus will be disputes between Democrats in the two chambers over the use of federal funds for abortion, new taxes to pay for the plans,...

ANDERSON — Romando James, a professor emeritus at Clemson University, understands the traditions and purpose of Kwanzaa. He also knows he is among a minority of people who know what the cultural celebration is about. “We celebrate the first fruits, responsibility to community,” James said. “But when the mass of television and radios and even hip hop artists see there’s no big returns coming in, it just doesn’t happen.” In essence, because of the lack of understanding and the ability to make money of it, the celebration is losing some if its popularity, James said. Take Evita Broughton. Four years...

Conservative bloggers are calling for a boycott of the company. Executives say the series, in which Santa is warned the North Pole could melt before Christmas, was intended to inspire children.St. Louis - First, Chicken Little warned children that the sky was falling. And now Build-a-Bear Workshop has warned children that the North Pole could disappear before Christmas. The Missouri-based company has found itself in hot water, defending an animated series on its website featuring polar bears, penguins and Mrs. Claus, as Santa is warned that global warming is "a serious situation." Conservative bloggers reposted the videos online and called...

U.S. rights activist crosses into North Korea - reports Jon Herskovitz, Reuters December 26, 2009, 4:00 pm Send SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. human rights activist trying to raise global attention about the suffering of the North Korean people has crossed into the reclusive state, other activists and South Korean media said on Saturday. There has been no comment from North Korea, which usually arrests foreign border crossers on site, or from U.S. officials. Activists told Reuters that Robert Park, 28, had crossed into North Korea from China on Friday, while South Korea's Yonhap news agency and the Kukmin Ilbo...

Envoy decries illegal migration to Holland From Laolu Akande (New York) and Abiodun Fagbemi (Ilorin) POUNDED at home and desperate to keep hope alive, Nigerians are among the top nationalities fleeing their own country and seeking asylum in industrialized nations, according to the United Nations (UN). Meanwhile, the Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to The Netherlands, Dr. Nimota Akanbi, has deplored illegal movement of many Nigerians into The Netherlands. Although Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia were three most affected countries, Nigeria was still grouped among the other "main countries of origin of asylum seekers" in mostly western nations as at the second...

MIAMI — A U.S. district judge has ruled that U.S. treasure-hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration should return to Spain a fortune in old coins recovered from the wreck of a 19th-century Spanish warship. Judge Steven Merryday nevertheless directed that the return of the treasure to Spain be stayed until an appeals process in the case was concluded. Merryday's order backed a recommendation by a U.S. magistrate judge in June that Odyssey should hand over to the Spanish government nearly 600,000 silver and gold coins valued at some $500 million that it recovered from the wreck of the 19th-century Spanish warship...

POLICE officers investigating Peter Tobin’s crimes believe he may be a prolific serial killer. And officers are now restarting Operation Anagram, tracing Tobin's past movements and examining whether he is responsible for any other unsolved crimes. Detective Superintendent David Swindle, who led the Angelika Kluk murder inquiry in 2006, said he believes Tobin has claimed more victims. On Tuesday night he made a televised appeal on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme and described the response from the public as “phenomenal”. Det Supt Swindle said: “The fact of his age and the method of [Angelika's] killing, and all the other factors surrounding...

PHOENIX – Phoenix police have rescued a 5-year-old girl who was reportedly abducted on Christmas Day. Sergeant Andy Hill with the Phoenix Police Department said 5-year-old Natalie Rose Flores and her two sisters, aged 7 and 9, were playing by a tree in a common area of an apartment complex near 19th Avenue and Cactus around 2:15 p.m. The girls are staying with an aunt, who reportedly has legal custody of the children, and her boyfriend, in an apartment in the complex. The parents live separately out of state. Hill said the male suspect parked his truck in the parking...

One might expect Democrats to be euphoric during this holiday season. After recapturing control of Congress in 2006, and last year taking back the White House by electing America's first African-American president, Democrats are now on the verge of passing a historic health care reform law. But instead of celebrating, they are bitterly divided. Former Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean and liberal bloggers are urging the Senate to defeat the health care bill. Many are criticizing President Barack Obama for compromising too much, saying the proposal doesn't go far enough, while more moderate and conservative Democrats are petrified the bill...

HARRISBURG - Investigators questioned Sen. Jane Orie's chief of staff for "many hours" and tape-recorded the interview, according to a letter her attorney sent to the Allegheny County district attorney. The letter from attorney Jerry McDevitt to District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. refers to the interview, but doesn't say when it occurred or elaborate on what its focus might have been. McDevitt also filed an open records request for information from Zappala's office. The letters McDevitt released today say Zappala's investigators obtained two boxes of documents from Orie's office — which a staff member carried out — days before...

In January 2009, retired Gen. Mauro Tello Quiñones took command of a police unit charged with combating drug-related violence in the popular Mexican tourist destination of Cancún. The assignment lasted just one week. In early February, Tello and two aides were kidnapped and killed. Before murdering Tello, the assailants broke his arms and legs and tortured him for hours. The incident provoked shock across Mexico, with the governor of Quintana Roo state calling it "truly horrible." Even by the standards of the violent drug war that has consumed Mexico of late, this crime stood out for its brazenness and brutality....

   *Click* ***** ~ Canteen Music Dedication ~ *****~ Support The Artists ~   Support the artists you hear throughout the Canteen! Click on the links below! Keep the music going! ArtistDirect l  Internet Radio l  AOL Music l  Sonique (Lycos) l  Real Radio Live365 l  971TheRiver  l  GotRadio  l  Wherehouse  l  Target  l Shoutcast AFRTS l  VH1 l XM Radio l  BET l  audiophile l  Virgin Radio l  Soma (Alternative) Acaza l AudioRealm l VH1 l  Yahoo! Launch Music l  Radio Disney l  Live-Radio Net ITunes l Amazon l Salsa Radio l MTV l CMT l Ticketmaster l...

California's budget coffers are emptier than a politician's promise, but there may be a silver lining to the state's dark financial clouds: Fewer new laws. Legislators approved only 872 bills in their 2009 regular session, and just 632 have become or will become law by Jan. 1. While that may seem like a lot more new laws than we need, it's actually the fewest bills passed, and the fewest signed into law, in more than 40 years. In fact, according to legislative consultants, it's 131 fewer to become laws than last year; 393 fewer than 10 years ago, and a...

Now that we have been painted into a corner with the passage of this Constitution-trampling explosion of government, we have only 4 options left before things get ugly: 1) Vote them out in 2010. This option requires much patience and will not actually mean anything unless those elected actually reverse all the spending, bailouts and takeovers. Most likely, Democrats will be punished for a few years while Republicans ride the tidal wave of public outrage into office, at which point they will throw us some symbolic scraps from the table, rather than making a serious commitment to uprooting federal tyranny....

German fighters patrolling the territory of Estonia are prosecuted by the Russian Su-27. Assistance to NATO by Finns. This is not a scenario of military maneuvers or war movie, but the real incident, which took place September 15. Informed about the military industry magazine "Loyal". According to him, two German machine Eurofighter approached the Baltic Sea west of Tallinn to czterosilnikowego jet aircraft Beriew A-50, trying unsuccessfully to establish radio communication with him. One of the German pilots photographed intruder. Then suddenly toward the German planes flew at a speed of two supersonic Su-27 fighters, but no one opened fire....

The Senate’s passage of a massive health-care reform bill yesterday morning was greeted by partisan applause by Democrats, but President Obama noted that “we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that I can sign into law.” We don’t expect reconciling the House and Senate versions will prove all that difficult, but another aspect of Obamacare that deserves closer examination is whether it passes constitutional muster. Republican senators Jim DeMint of South Carolina and John Ensign of Nevada this week offered an amendment stating Congress lacks power...

SALISBURY — - More than 3,000 volunteers gathered on Christmas Day to take part in the ongoing search for an 11-year-old girl who police say was kidnapped from her bedroom by a registered sex offender. The voluneers gathered around 7 a.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to register for the search. The night before, more than 200 people scoured frozen fields and ponds the night before without success. Sarah Haley Foxwell was wearing a pink shirt and red pajamas printed with Christmas trees when she disappeared from her maternal aunt's home Tuesday night, police said. A younger sister awoke during...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A man is in police custody after opening fire at a northwest Oklahoma City apartment complex near Hefner and Council roads. Police said the man started firing multiple shots in the parking lot of the Tammaron Village apartments around 4 p.m. Thursday. Witnesses said the man initially went into the apartment complex's main office. When employees locked him out, he opened fire in the parking lot. As the man was firing shots, another citizen armed with a gun came around the corner and ordered the gunman to put his weapon down. The gunman dropped his weapon and...

The NBA and Washington Wizards are investigating Gilbert Arenas for storing firearms in his locker, which would be a violation of the league's gun policy. After CBSSports.com first reported the incident Thursday, the Wizards released a statement saying that Arenas stored unloaded firearms in a locked container in his locker. The guns were not accompanied by ammunition, the team said. But under league guidelines collectively bargained between the players and owners, players are not permitted to carry firearms on league property or during league business. Arenas, who was previously suspended one game in 2004-05 for violating the NBA's weapons policy,...

FAIRBANKS - A Fairbanks lawmaker has proposed the Alaska Firearms Freedom Act, which seeks to stop the federal regulation of guns and ammunition made and sold within Alaska. Republican Rep. Mike Kelly said federal rules should only apply to firearms sold across state borders, where the U.S. government has constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce. The bill easily passed the state House of Representatives in April after picking up 11 co-sponsors. It now sits before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Its chairman, Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage, said he will schedule a committee hearing this winter. The bill could place Alaska into...

If the healthcare scam gets signed into law the democrats have only one option to save their stinking party of prostitutes. That will be the passage of the immigration reform bill and having 20 million new democrat voters with payouts in hand (our money of course) to vote for the democrat ticket. When you throw in ACORN, SEIU and the New Black Panther Party you will begin to see the whole taco. So, we witnessed the fall of freedom and the democrats in the senate applauded after the vote, conservatives whined. Merry Christmas everyone and may God turn his favor...

First it was Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat suggesting that firearms ownership should be regulated like driving and car ownership, and now the newspaper’s editorial page has blamed the “Second Amendment crowd” for “some responsibility” in the shooting of two Pierce County sheriffs’ deputies. The editorial also mentions the slaying of four Lakewood police officers, a vicious crime perpetrated by a career thug who got leniency from a governor and at least one Pierce County judge. There is nothing in the Times editorial about how two dead gunmen – David Crable and Maurice Clemmons – were able to skate through...

Questions about race, an antagonistic relationship with police and an ongoing dispute compelled the family of a Farmville man killed Nov. 15 to press for charges against a shooter who authorities say acted in self-defense. Ellis Hunter III, 26, died a week after a fight with William Payton, 23, of Greenville. An investigation by Farmville police concluded Payton shot Hunter after Hunter attacked Payton with a knife, District Attorney Clark Everett told Hunter's family at a meeting last week. Everett told Hunter family members and Pitt County NAACP president Calvin Henderson during the Dec. 15 meeting that evidence collected at...

Restrictive smoking law takes effect Jan. 2December 19, 2009 10:00 PM Sue Book Sun Journal Staff Tar Heels and tobacco are typical tag words for North Carolina, but 2010 won’t be a smokin’ New Year in this state. After New Year’s Eve parties and a day to deal with hangovers, no legal smoke will be hanging in North Carolina restaurants and bars. A state smoking ban begins at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 2. Restaurants, bars and other establishments that fail to enforce it will be warned twice, and then fined $200 for each subsequent violation. Private, non-profit clubs that serve only...

SNIPPET: "From Cilacap, Baridin apparently took shelter in Garut district, West Java province, where he acted as a traveling sugar salesman. When he was captured he had a pair of identity cards under aliases." SNIPPET: "Earlier this week, in fact, the newly-promoted head of Special Detachment 88, General Tito Karnavian, stated that there was evidence that the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah are still attempting to recruit new members despite some of their most aggressive leaders getting killed over the past quarter." December 24, 2009 09:59 AM Print

A car crash victim who was believed to have been in a coma for the past 23 years has been conscious the whole time. Rom Houben was paralysed but could not let doctors know that he could hear every word they were saying, reports the Daily Mail. "I dreamed myself away," said Mr Houben, now 46, who doctors thought was in a persistent vegatative state. Doctors conducted a series of coma tests before concluding that his consciousness was "extinct". But three years ago, new hi-tech scans showed his brain was still functioning almost completely normally. Mr Houben said: "All that...

Published December 25, 2009 12:15 am - A blizzard for the ages plowed through Norman and much of the state Thursday, leaving about a foot of snow on the ground and stranding motorists and emergency responders all over the city. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol shut down all of the interstates in the state, including Interstate 35 through Norman. White-out Christmas [All Oklahoma Highways Ordered Closed by Governor] By Andrew Knittle A blizzard for the ages plowed through Norman and much of the state Thursday, leaving about a foot of snow on the ground and stranding motorists and emergency responders all...

The world, and our region of it, was expecting a lot around this time at the end of last year. We had been promised a new president in the White House, by all measures a historic leader in terms of skin color, the intelligence of his speech and his sincere manner of expression. We had been promised a speech by Barack Obama addressed to the Muslim world that would turn the page on Bush's warmongering and his provocative language of hate. And indeed Obama didn't deprive us of that. He stood before students at Cairo University, reminded us of his...

WHEELING -- Local tanning salon operators are upset over a last minute tax on their business in the health care reform bill. If the legislation passes in its current form, artificial sun worshipers would pay 10 percent more for a trip to the tanning beds.

WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON - When the feds whack New York, you usually hear Chuck Schumer lead the outrage. But on health care, he's been practically mute about some mighty hits headed our way. Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Paterson both slammed the Senate bill Monday, charging it would cost the city more than $500 million and rip a $1 billion-a-year hole in the state budget. Schumer, a veteran streetfighter for federal cash, has been suddenly recast as a defender of Washington - and a deal he helped cut that shafts New York. "He's being uncharacteristically quiet in part because the numbers...

--The question of how to pay for new subsidies to cover the uninsured is likely to be one of the most contentious issues in upcoming House-Senate negotiations on health-care legislation. Here's an overview of how the tax provisions in the two bills stack up. --High-income Americans are likely to see their taxes increase no matter which side prevails in conference negotiations, but it is a matter of by how much. The House bill included a 5.4% surcharge on incomes above $500,000, or $1 million for married couples. That would raise marginal tax rates as high as 45% in 2011 when...

~ Merry Christmas, Troops and Veterans !! ~~ Families and Allies !! ~ Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Martina McBride ~ Away In A Manger Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti ~ Adeste Fideles Handel ~ Hallelujah Chorus Johnny Cash ~ Hark The Herald Angels Sing Mater Dolorosa Choir of Holyoke Mass ~ Gesu Bambino Waitresses ~ Christmas Wrapping Toby Keith ~ All I Want For Christmas Ronettes ~ Sleigh Ride Rockapella ~ Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree Sesame Street ~ It’s...

<p>U.S. Senate candidates in Illinois walk carefully when discussing gun control, with most stressing support for the right to bear arms even if they favor some restrictions.</p> <p>Five Democrats and six Republicans, along with a Green Party candidate, are vying for their party's nomination Feb. 2 to run for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.</p>

Mohib Ebrahim has created professional timelines for exhibitions, so it must have seemed only natural to him to want to visually piece together the full timeline of ClimateGate, laying out the analysis, graphs, emails and history of the scandal as revealed by dozens of researchers over the past weeks, months and years. Download The PDF (788k)There’s a gif version of the poster if you don’t like pdf’s (1.7Mb)The PDF chart is available in different sizes, each also with the 10  pages of cited references. The full chart is over 2 meters wide (94″x34″, or 2 A0  landscape pages) and best...

apology to native peoples of the united statesSec. 8113. (a) Acknowledgment and Apology- The United States, acting through Congress-- (1) recognizes the special legal and political relationship Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land we share; (2) commends and honors Native Peoples for the thousands of years that they have stewarded and protected this land; (3) recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes; (4) apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native...

There are several information programs out there produced by John Stoical, that address our health care situation.  They are very good because they cover a number of important issues, help the viewer to understand basic principles, and provide sound ideas how to improve the presnt system, which the present health care plan on Capital Hill does not do. The first presentation I'm going to bring to your attention is a six part ABC 20/20 program that appears on YouTube.  The second will be a sixteen clip presentation on Stossel's FoxNews Business site. The ABC 20/20 presentation is entitled, "John Stossel...

Italy's four main mafia organisations have put aside their deadly differences to form a new and dangerous "fifth mafia" in Rome, a report has warned. The co-operation between the organised crime syndicates is a new and worrying development for the country's capital, researchers said. The impoverished south of Italy has been the traditional power base for the country's four mafia groups – Sicily's Cosa Nostra, the Camorra from Campania, the 'Ndragheta of Calabria and the lesser known Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia. But Mafiosi are now targeting Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio, according to a study by Libera...

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- You can celebrate Christmas but you won't be able to burn the Yule Log on Friday in the Bay Area. That's because the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is prohibiting the burning of wood on Christmas Day. Friday will be the season's third winter Spare the Air day. Officials are blaming what they call "stagnant weather conditions. “Air quality is unfortunately forecast to be unhealthy on Christmas Day, and the Air District is taking steps to protect public health by issuing a Winter Spare the Alert,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   New York: Town of Rhinebeck Reschedules Vote on Anti-Gun Proposal!   Wednesday, December 23, 2009   Please Contact the Town Board Today!The Town of Rhinebeck Town Board has rescheduled a vote on a comprehensive zoning plan that includes provisions which potentially impact local shooting ranges.  The vote has been rescheduled for Tuesday, December 29 at 6:30 p.m.If passed, strict limitations on the amount of noise emanating from ranges would be put in place.  Ranges would not be permitted within 900 feet of a property boundary, public trail or park, public or...

The Superhighway to Serfdom 23. Dec, 2009  Written by: Brian Roberts Comments (6) In 1944, nobel prize winning economist F.A. Hayek wrote The Road to Serfdom to describe the typical path tyrants use to lead free people from freedom to servitude. It’s not as long of a road as you might expect. In fact, it’s easy to see that America is on it and the pedal is to the floor. If you haven’t seen the illustrated road to serfdom, spend 5 minutes here: http://mises.org/books/TRTS/ (I’d guess we’re probably on step 9 or so.) The founder’s were fully aware of the road...

A conservative activist and Illinois comptroller candidate was escorted from the Illinois State Capitol building Wednesday when he tried to remove a sign put up by an atheist group. William J. Kelly announced Tuesday that he planned to take down the sign put up by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and on Wednesday, he tried to make good on his plan. But Kelly said when he turned the sign around so it was face down, state Capitol police were quick to escort him away.