http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/news-forum/ en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:56:26 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415299/posts Jasper Schuringa, a video director and producer from Amsterdam, told CNN how helped the cabin crew to subdue Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old who reportedly ignited a small explosive device on on board the plane Friday as it prepared to land in Detroit. Schuringa said he heard a sound that reminded him of a firecracker and someone yelling, “Fire! Fire!” "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," Schuringa said. He said he screamed for water and pulled Abdulmutallab out of his seat and dragged him to the front... NY Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415299/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:56:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415298/posts A Dutch airline passenger told The Post how he leapt into action when an alleged Muslim terrorist tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner packed with 300 people just moments before landing. Chaos erupted as alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23, tried to set off a sophisticated explosive device strapped to his body. "Suddenly, we hear a bang. It sounded like a firecracker went off," said Jasper Schuringa, a film director who was traveling to the US to visit friends. "When [it] went off, everybody panicked ... Then someone screamed, ‘Fire! Fire!’" New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415298/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:55:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415297/posts Quite a promise. More than a promise, it is a formula for smaller government. In my last edition, Safer Streets 101: Only you have the power, I pointed out that only you can make things happen and turn around the idea of bigger government. David Codrea mentioned taking a new person shooting. It's very good advice for several reasons. You learn more about liberty and your sovereignty from gun owners than you ever will from your public servants, including so-called educators. You'll learn more about civics, more about due process, and more about sovereignty from gun owners than from so-called... LA Gun Rights Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415297/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:51:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415295/posts The Obama administration's decision to cover an unlimited amount of losses at the mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next three years stirred controversy over the holiday. The Treasury announced Thursday it was removing the caps that limited the amount of available capital to the companies to $200 billion each. Unlimited access to bailout funds through 2012 was "necessary for preserving the continued strength and stability of the mortgage market," the Treasury said. Fannie and Freddie purchase or guarantee most U.S. home mortgages and have run up huge losses stemming from the worst wave of defaults since... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415295/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:48:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415293/posts 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,... merinews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415293/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:45:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415292/posts On 21 September 2004, Michelle Weinberger woke up on the 79ft powerboat that she and her husband, Mark, owned as it rocked gently in the waters of a marina on the Greek island of Mykonos. "I put my hand on his side of the bed, and I remember feeling it empty," she later told the US television channel NBC. Weinberger leapt from bed in alarm to find that her husband had vanished, taking with him his passport and money he had stashed secretly on board. It was the beginning of a five-year flight from justice that ended this week even... Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415292/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:45:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415290/posts Seconds after passengers spotted flames climbing above the back of a window seat midway down the left side of Northwest Flight 253, Friday's routine descent toward Detroit's main airport turned into horror, mayhem and instant heroism. Just as the widebody Airbus A330 made a rumbling sound as the landing gear started down, horrified travelers in seats around the young Nigerian later detained as a terrorism suspect started screaming, according to eyewitness reports by passengers. Flight attendants quickly joined the hubbub around the man in seat 19A, repeatedly screaming "What are you doing?" There was a pop and then smoke wafted... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415290/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:38:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415289/posts As an American in the biathlon, Tim Burke is used to being overlooked by the sport’s most passionate fans. His German and Norwegian rivals are celebrities in their home countries, where biathlon is broadcast live on television and races draw up to 30,000 spectators. In Germany, he is perhaps best known as the boyfriend of Andrea Henkel, a two-time Olympic gold medalist. So when Burke took first place in the World Cup standings last weekend — the first time an American has ever done so — his achievement stunned the sport’s mostly European fan base. NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415289/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:38:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415288/posts 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,... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415288/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:38:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415287/posts Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol as an indictment of nineteenth century industrialization and economic social classes. The following is a modern take on the tale exploring a different issue. Yes! and the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in! “All of the Bill of Rights shall be sacred to me and I will defend every free man’s right to keep and bear arms!” Scrooge repeated as he scrambled out of bed. “Oh, Jacob Marley! Heaven be... Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415287/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:32:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415285/posts Al Gore strides on stage and cracks his trademark joke about how he used to be the next president of the United States. The fact we all know what we are doing to our planet is largely due to one man. He failed to become US president, but now Al Gore is the world’s unlikeliest eco-warror. Peter Gorrie reports. After more homespun tales delivered in his Virginia drawl, a giant screen glows with depictions of Earth from space, melting glaciers, dessicated farmland, flooded cities and all manner of graphs and charts, accompanied by Gore’s darkly impassioned narration. This is the... The National http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415285/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:27:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415283/posts How al-Qaeda airline fiend used leg bomb and syringe The man who tried to blow up a US airliner as it prepared to land at Detroit on Christmas Day had an explosive powder strapped to his leg which he tried to ignite by injecting chemicals with a syringe, Fox News reports. The 23-year-old - named as al-Qaeda-linked Nigerian engineering student Abdul Mudallad (alters from earlier spelling of Mudallah) - failed in his bid to achieve a major blast, but succeeded in burning himself seriously and inflicting minor injuries on at least two other passengers seated nearby on Northwest Airlines Flight... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415283/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:21:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415282/posts 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... Independent Mail (Anderson, SC) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415282/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:21:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415280/posts Arctic char is now on the bears' menu at the Polar Bear Habitat and Heritage Village in Cochrane. The recent change was prompted by a university study of the polar bears' adaptability to various diets. Arctic char is part of the bears' natural diet in the wild. Markus Dyke, who lived in Nunavut for 11 years and taught science at the Arctic College in Iqaluit, has been conducting the study for a PhD he's working on through the Department of Biology at Queen's University in Kingston. Dyke said the idea for the study was triggered by environmentalists who suggest global... THE DAILY PRESS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415280/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:15:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415278/posts 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. Park told to Reuters in Seoul earlier this week that he saw it as his duty as a Christian to make the journey and did not want the U.S. government to try to free him. "I don't want President Obama to come and pay to get me out. But I want the North Korean people to be free," Park said on Wednesday before departing for China. "Until... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415278/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:00:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415276/posts 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... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415276/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:46:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415273/posts As President Obama arrives in Copenhagen hoping to seal an elusive deal on climate change, his approval rating on dealing with global warming has crumbled at home and there is broad opposition to spending taxpayer money to encourage developing nations to curtail their energy use, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. .... At the same time, there's growing negativity toward the president's handling of the broader global warming issue. Around the 100-day mark of Obama's presidency, 61 percent approved of the way he was dealing with the issue. Approval slumped to 54 percent in June and to 45... washingtonpost.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415273/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:36:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415272/posts An attempted terrorist attack on a Christmas Day flight began with a pop and a puff of smoke - sending passengers scrambling to subdue a Nigerian man who claimed to be acting on orders from al Qaeda to blow up the airliner, officials and travelers said. -snip- Mutallab has been in the U.S. before, having received a visa in June 2008. His listed residence was in Houston, Texas. Authorities had placed him on a preliminary watch list, meaning they wanted to gather more information about him, but law enforcement subsequently lost track of him. CBS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415272/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:34:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415271/posts In the past year, exposure of significant jihadist recruitment inside the United States has left Americans worried that "homegrown terrorism" may become a serious threat. Eight years after the atrocities of September 11, 2001, media and government appear stunned by the upsurge of jihad incidents in the United States, including two lethal attacks. The Fort Hood massacre on November 5, for which an Army psychiatrist, Nidal Hasan, has been charged with 13 deaths, has been followed by two more cases. On December 9, five college-age Muslims from northern Virginia were arrested in Pakistan. They were allegedly headed for terror training... Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415271/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:32:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415268/posts Pity Ben Bernanke. The guy was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year and the reaction rivaled fish sticks in the enthusiasm category. Old Ben might well be the guy of 2009, but few know who he is or understand what he does. Being chairman of the Federal Reserve may have advantages, but public visibility is not among them. Here’s all you need to know: After being honored by Time, Oprah did not call Ben. When you think about people of the year, the list is short. Perhaps, Lady Gaga, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ... maybe the late U.S. Sen.... The Ventura County Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415268/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:26:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415266/posts Aside from ideologues, hydrocarbon haters, Gaia worshipers, profiteers and power-grabbing politicians, most of the sentient world now realizes that the hysteria over global warming disasters is based on dubious to fraudulent temperature data, analyses, models, reports and peer reviews. Climate Research Unit emails, HARRY_READ_ME.txt computer memos, and blatant tampering with Australian, Russian, UK and US temperature data make the scandal impossible to ignore or explain away. They certainly helped Copenhagen descend into an expensive, carbon-emitting gabfest, and cause China and India to reject any deal that would force them to curtail their energy generation, economic growth and poverty reduction programs.... Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415266/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:20:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415265/posts Imagine that there had been a series of three incidents in which members of a [invented for present purposes] fanatical Jewish sect had attempted to bring down airliners from Arab countries. In reporting on the latest attempt and describing the previous ones, do you think the New York Times might have mentioned the religion of the perpetrators? So do I. But with the ledgermain required to describe a spiral staircase without using one's hands, the Gray Lady has managed in its article today to report yesterday's attempt to bring down a NWA airliner, and the earlier attempts by Richard Reid... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415265/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:19:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415264/posts The title of the legislation is innocent enough: the Free Flow of Information Act. The motivation behind it is a seemingly worthy one. It would give anyone in the media a shield--special protection--against being forced to reveal the names of confidential sources of information. And the result would be more and more information flowing freely to the American people, satisfying their right to know. ... You may wonder why Congress is bothering to create a media privilege in federal cases at this time. It's not as if critical, top secret information isn't flowing to the media at a record pace.... Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415264/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:18:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415262/posts The Metropolitan Police are carrying out searches in the UK after a suspected al Qaeda operative allegedly attempted to blow up a US passenger jet. The man, said to be a student at a British university, is accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic aeroplane with explosives strapped to his leg on Christmas Day. The Nigerian man caused panic as the jet was about to land at Detroit with 278 people aboard when he apparently tried to detonate some sort of bomb. He was overpowered by passengers and crew after the device failed to ignite properly. Sources have since... Sky News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415262/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:11:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415261/posts By the time you've see this video 10 new outfits were born. You Tube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415261/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:09:36 GMT