Free Republic

The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group said three Australian activists were being held as "prisoners" by the Japanese harpoon fleet Sunday after sneaking aboard one of their vessels overnight to protest. Sea Shepherd said they had helped the three men from the Forest Rescue Australia environmental group to board the Shonan Maru No.2 16 miles (26 kilometres) off Australia's west coast. "The boats approached the Shonan Maru under the cover of darkness and the three negotiated their way past the razor wire and spikes and over the rails to successfully board the Japanese whaling vessel," Sea Shepherd said of the Forest...

Something is happening in Iran. Forces are in motion. But what is happening? And who are the forces that are on the move? Since this week's bombing in Isfahan, the world media is rife with speculation that the war with Iran over its nuclear weapons program has begun. But if the war has begun, who is fighting it? What are their aims? And what are their methods and means of attack? Wednesday the Times of London published a much cited article about this week's blast in Isfahan. The article referred to the bombed installation as a "uranium enrichment facility." But...

Insight: Did Conficker help sabotage Iran's nuke program?By Jim Finkle Fri Dec 2, 2011 5:23am EST (Reuters) - A cyber warfare expert claims he has linked the Stuxnet computer virus that attacked Iran's nuclear program in 2010 to Conficker, a mysterious "worm" that surfaced in late 2008 and infected millions of PCs. **SNIP** The operators communicated with Stuxnet-infected computers over the Internet through servers using fake soccer websites that they built as a front for their operation: www.mypremierfutbol.com and www.todaysfutbol.com. If Iranian authorities noticed that traffic, they would be deceived into assuming it was from soccer fans, rather than suspect...

Missile and submarine secrets 'may have been stolen' in cyber attack on Japanese defence firm By Rachel Rickard Straus and Rob Waugh Last updated at 6:05 PM on 19th September 2011 Some of Japan’s most sensitive defence secrets have been targeted by hackers, who have gained access to up to 80 computers of its biggest defence contractor - in what appeared to be a coordinated attack. Contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd said today its submarine, missile and nuclear plant component factories had been targeted, according to a report. Some information could have been stolen in the first known cyber attack...

As I jumped in my car yesterday and headed home from work, I immediately recognized the raspy, Texas-seasoned voice coming across Newsradio 1040 WHO. It was Ken Crow, founder of Tea Party of America, the organization sponsoring this weekend’s “Restoring America Event,” which will feature former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. I recognized Crow’s voice because, while attending the Polk County GOP Summer Picnic on Saturday afternoon, I had been approached by Crow who was hoping to arrange a meeting with Texas Governor Rick Perry, a presidential candidate and one of the speakers at the event....

That’s the nickname I’ve been using for the woman in New Hampshire who used her own child as a puppet to launch what she thought were gotcha questions at Rick Perry. (“Ask him about evolution. Ask him why he hates science.”) This delightful woman’s name is Kristin Bunce, which is mentioned in exactly one story on the incident, a blog post on the NYT site. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t scrub that part. But now we’ve got a name, so let’s see what we can dig up about the esteemed Ms. Bunce, shall we? She hasn’t used her daughter...

The death toll at a hospital where medical supplies were deliberately sabotaged could rise still further, police said last night, after they began investigating the deaths of two more patients. Detectives launched a murder inquiry last week after three people being treated at the Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport died when batch of saline solution was contaminated with insulin Rebecca Leighton, 27, a nurse at the hospital was still being questioned last night after being arrested on suspicion of murder. She was arrested on Wednesday morning at her flat just a mile from the hospital where she was employed as...

Give the good ship Juliano some props -- literally. The Swedish-flagged craft was in the Greek port of Piraeus as part of a flotilla seeking to challenge Israel’s naval security cordon around Gaza when, according to flotilla organizers, “hostile divers destroyed the [ship’s] propeller house and cut the propeller shaft.” It seems that someone one-upped the peaceniks’ attempt to create an international incident. They should count themselves lucky no-one was hurt. Last year nine demonstrators were killed when they attacked Israeli naval commandos boarding the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. And there are more direct responses in more serious cases. In...

Shell Petroleum development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has linked the rampant cases of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta to international criminal network, and called on all stakeholders to take urgent steps to check the dangerous trend.According to SPDC, sabotage and crude oil theft was the cause of 22,310 barrels spilled from its facilities in 112 incidents in 2010, representing an average of about one spill every three days. However, 5,270 barrels was due to 32 operational problems, arising from equipment failures recorded during the period. Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of SPDC, Mr. Mutiu...

Unidentified assailants blew up the Egyptian pipeline that carries gas to Israel and Jordan early on Monday, starting a fire and disrupting the flow of the gas, security officials said. The blast took place in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, near the Mediterranean coastal city of El-Arish, which is 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Israel's border. The Egyptian officials had no further details and there were no immediate reports of casualties. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The blast is the third to hit the strategic pipeline...

Dems dig in: GOP trying to sabotage economy on purposeBy Greg Sargent Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 07/01/2011 In recent weeks, there’s been some question as to how far Dems are willing to go in making the explosive charge that Republicans are deliberately trying to sabotage the economy in order to improve their chances of defeating President Obama in 2012. On a conference call just now with reporters, Senator Chuck Schumer made the most aggressive case we’ve heard yet along these lines, leaving little doubt that Dems are locking in behind this message as the deficit talks hit crunch time...

With deteriorating economic conditions putting a damper on his poll numbers and jeopardizing his 2012 re-election prospects, Barack Obama now portrays himself as a free-market leader for a change. Yet while he poses for pictures with CEOs and unveils a private-sector "jobs plan," his administration remains fundamentally committed to sabotaging the American marketplace at every turn. In North Carolina this week, Obama accepted the recommendations of his jobs council — corporate leaders who were asked to provide new economic ideas. What he got instead was a hodge-podge of recycled reforms — including an unspecified reduction in red tape, a pledge...

Slain al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was plotting to derail American trains on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, documents seized from his Pakistani hideout reveal, officials said today. The plan, which was formulated last year, was to sabotage the rails of a train, forcing it off the tracks over a bridge or into a chasm, the documents show. Although still considered in the "aspirational" phase, the information was disturbing enough that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued an alert to law enforcement and transportation agencies nationwide. "As of February 2010, al-Qa’ida [sic] was allegedly contemplating conducting an...

The raging union-led protests in Wisconsin have resulted in many Americans taking a closer, more critical look at labor unions and their political clout and influence in shaping policy. With the ubiquitous announcement from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka that he is granted an audience at the White House “nearly every day,” the American people have become more skeptical of unions and the role that they play in the political process. Spawning this renewed attention to organized labor are reports that Democratic politicians have been endorsing violence as a legitimate means of protest and political expression. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) has...

UNIONS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, LAWMAKERS, STUDENTS TO STRIKE CAPITALISM? Videos here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvlvejSxBVQ&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgOEraouhxU&feature=player_embedded While it’s tempting to simply think of these people as socialist wing-nuts, dismiss them as bitter marginalized morons, and move on to the next story, the events in Wisconsin provided our leftist pals with an increased sense of self-righteousness and ascendancy. As the aphorism says, the toothpaste is out of the tube. Former SEIU official, Stephen Lerner is organizing a “destabilization plan” to “recover the $17 trillion stolen from the middle class by Wall Street.” His ultimate goal is to “crash the stock market, isolate the banking class...

Affected lots have last four digits: DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51 Owners of Ranger 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point centerfire rifle ammunition may want to pause before chambering a round. Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six lots of the Ranger 223 ammo after determining that the lots may contain incorrect propellant. The last four characters of the affected lot numbers are: DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51. Incorrect propellant in the Ranger 223 may cause firearm damage

ABUJA (Reuters) – A Nigerian opposition party accused its political rivals of sabotage on Tuesday after its vice presidential candidate was forced to make an emergency landing due to a runway invasion by rams and goats. Fola Adeola, vice presidential candidate for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and other party chieftains made the forced landing, damaging their plane, after airport staff in the northern city of Bauchi failed to control the beasts. "Is it possible for President (Goodluck) Jonathan ... to be involved in such a situation where the runway he is to land on will be filled by...

Lawyer: Fake Utah drilling bids were 'sabotage'Posted: Wednesday, March 2, 2011 12:00 am SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tim DeChristopher, ex-wilderness guide, looked like trouble. He stood out among the bidders at an oil-and-gas lease auction. He didn't bring with him any experts, diagrams or maps. Dressed shabbily, all he had was a backpack. As his fellow environmentalists protested outside, he began bidding. When it was all over, he owed $1.7 million on more than a dozen leases near Utah's Arches and Canyonlands national parks. He had no way of paying, no doubt that he would get in trouble and...

There's been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible situation in Libya will get much worse. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos. Two weeks ago this same man had told me the uprisings in Tunisia...

One of us had to do this, right? Here are, in order, Putative President Obama's State of the Union Address, Rep. Paul Ryan's (WI) official GOP response, and that of Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN) for the Tea Party (Express). I meant for my comments to be very sparing, but succeeded in making them very atypical. As you know, these speeches are about what politicians sort of think they can get away with, before the public, the media, and even the twittering tongues and tingling legs of the pundits. In other words, they are conventional and sanitized, to say the...

Mayor Bloomberg will order a probe into allegations that Sanitation Department told drivers to snarl the cleanup effort to protest budget cuts, saying this morning it "would be an outrage" if workers intentionally did not clear streets.

A train carrying birthday presents for Kim Jong-un, chosen successor to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was derailed, a radio station that broadcasts into North Korea said yesterday. “A cargo train that left Sinuiju for Pyongyang on Dec. 11 was derailed somewhere between Yomju Station and Tongnim Station,” a source within North Korea’s National Security Agency was quoted as saying by Open Radio for North Korea. Sinuiju, a port city on the Chinese border, and Yomju and Tongnim are in North Pyongan Province, northwest of the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang. “That incident put the North’s National Security Agency...

12/27/10 SEOUL -- A train packed with birthday gifts for North Korea's leader-in-waiting Kim Jong-un derailed this month in a possible act of sabotage, a Seoul-based radio station which broadcasts across the border reported on Monday. Open Radio for North Korea, a non-profit station which often cites sources in the reclusive, impoverished North, said the train laden with gifts including televisions and watches came off the rails on Dec. 11 near North Korea's border with China. "The security service has been in an emergency situation because a train departing Sinuiju and headed for Pyongyang derailed on Dec. 11," the radio...

As much as a million gallons of sewage has poured into Marin County's Corte Madera Creek this week - including sludge from a pipe that ruptured Wednesday - following a series of mishaps that officials believe could be sabotage. The raw sewage bubbled out of a badly clogged pipeline in Kentfield Friday. Then, about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a large pipe apparently burst underneath a berm used by locals as a jogging trail next to the creek, about three-quarters of a mile west of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. An undetermined amount of effluent spewed out of the ruptured pipe, said Brett...

Controversy occurs in the military when civilian officials attempt to impose questionable policies and practices on the armed forces in pursuit of misplaced priorities. Such policies, designed to put egalitarian goals to the ultimate test, frequently conflict with classic elements of military culture. Because the armed forces differ from the civilian world in many respects, an inherent tension exists between sociological goals and the needs of the military. Unit cohesion, for example, is essential for a strong military force. Cohesion is more than being liked by others; it is a willingness to die for someone else. Horizontal cohesion within a...

A top-secret Iranian military installation was struck by a triple blast Tues. Oct. 12 the day before Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Lebanon. debkafile's military and intelligence sources report the site held most of the Shehab-3 medium-range missile launchers Iran had stocked for striking US forces in Iraq and Israel in the event of war - some set to deliver triple warheads (tri-conic nosecones). The 18 soldiers officially reported killed in the blasts and 14 injured belonged to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) main missile arm, the Al-Hadid Brigades.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran acknowledged Saturday that some personnel at the country's nuclear facilities were lured by promises of money to pass secrets to the West but insisted increased security and worker privileges have put a stop to the spying. The stunning admission by Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi provides the clearest government confirmation that Iran has been fighting espionage at its nuclear facilities. In recent weeks, Iran has announced the arrest of several nuclear spies and battled a computer worm that it says is part of a covert Western plot to derail its nuclear program. And in July, a...

The Stuxnet worm has taken the computer security world by storm, inspiring talk of a top secret, government-sponsored cyberwar, and of a software program laden with obscure biblical references that call to mind not computer code, but "The Da Vinci Code." Stuxnet, which first made headlines in July, (CNET FAQ here) is believed to be the first known malware that targets the controls at industrial facilities such as power plants. At the time of its discovery, the assumption was that espionage lay behind the effort, but subsequent analysis by Symantec uncovered the ability of the malware to control plant operations...

(Sept. 30) -- The intrigue surrounding the mysterious, highly sophisticated computer worm Stuxnet got a little more Dan Brownish today with the revelation that there may be hidden messages embedded in the malware's code. The New York Times reported this morning that one of the files in the worm was called "Myrtus," which may be a reference to the Old Testament Book of Esther, in which Jews thwart a Persian plot against them. Along with mysterious Myrtus were two numbers that might be additional clues to who is behind the worm. Or, as the Times points out, they could mean...

Stuxnet is believed to be the most destructive virus ever devised for attacking major industrial complexes, reactors and infrastructure... and it's hitting Tehran HARD The Islamic Republic of Iran looks to be in the midst of a major ongoing cyber attack upon it's most vital computer systems by the unprecedentedly menacing Stuxnet virus... including nuclear reactors and other sensitive facilities: ____________________________________________ Mahmoud Alyaee, secretary-general of Iran's industrial computer servers, including its nuclear facilities control systems, confirmed Saturday, Sept. 25, that 30,000 computers belonging to classified industrial units had been infected and disabled by the malicious Stuxnet virus. This followed DEBKAfile's...

WWL-TV in New Orleans has confirmed the Coast Guard is responding to a rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Dozens are reported injured. According to the Coast Guard, it happened 80 miles south of Grand Isle. Rescue choppers from New Orleans and Houston are responding. The injured will be taken to hospitals in various coastal areas from Houston to the Louisiana/Mississippi border area.

The online version the New York Post editorial in today's issue harshly criticizing WikiLeaks for publishing stolen classified Pentagon Afghan war documents without redacting them to prevent Afghans from facing retribution from the Taliban has been hacked.Attempts to access the editorial directly through NYPost.com and through Google result in being directed to Pages.US.comWikiLeaks and its founder, reputed computer hacker Julian Assange, have come under criticism from allies Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International for outing Afghans without regard to their safety.This week, Assange called Afghans aiding the U.S. in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban "genuinely traitorous." That...

Live from the Oval Office! It's Barack Obama and the State of the Sham Wow, Gulf Oil Spill edition!Starring TOTUS as Barack Obama! Featuring: Robert Gibbs in a special YouTube after the speech infomercial.

BP America President and Chairman Lamar McKay: “BP supports an economy-wide price for carbon based on fair and equitable application across all sectors and believes that market based solutions, like a cap and trade or linked-fee, are the best solutions to manage GHG emissions.” (Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, U.S. House Of Representatives, Hearing, 6/15/10) Shell President Marvin E. Odum: “That is why Shell supports legislating a solution to energy and climate issues as a means to create a secure U.S. energy future, reduce dependence on foreign oil and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. This requires...

President Barack Obama has not ruled out sabotage in the near-panic on Wall Street Thursday afternoon. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama's economic team was jolted by the news and met with Obama shortly after the market plunged. The president announced Friday morning that a full review is being conducted, and Gibbs said Obama is waiting to hear the results of a review before ruling out what might have caused it, including the possibility of sabotage. “I wouldn’t rule anything in or rule anything out,” Gibbs told reporters in his West Wing office Friday. “I think that’s, appropriately,...

The Obama administration has revealed - for the first time ever - the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in detail. This information was a closely guarded secret for more than 60 years. By unloading such sensitive information, President Obama is responsible for deliberately exposing a chink in America's defensive armor. The Land of the Free is less secure for it. On orders from the White House, the Pentagon on Monday released the exact number of nuclear warheads as the 189-nation nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference got under way in New York. The U.S. nuclear stockpile now stands at 5,113...

VENICE, La. -- No remedy in sight, President Barack Obama on Sunday warned of a "massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster" as a badly damaged oil well a mile deep in the Gulf of Mexico spewed a widening and deadly slick toward delicate wetlands and wildlife. He said it could take many days to stop. Obama rushed to southern Louisiana to inspect forces arrayed against the oil gusher as Cabinet members said the situation was grave and insisted the administration was doing everything it could. Mindful of the political damage suffered by President George W. Bush for a slow response...

Obama administration officials say the Gulf Coast oil rig spill will be considered in the expansion of offshore drilling and will become part of the debate on climate change in Congress. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that the cause, still not determined, could impact what areas the government would open for future drilling. But he also said that President Barack Obama remains committed to a process that could open drilling in areas now off limits. White House adviser Carol Browner said "obviously this will become part of the debate" on climate change. The administration has proposed expanded...

On all offshore oil rigs, there is one main switch for cutting off the flow of oil by closing a valve located on the ocean floor. Many rigs also have automatic systems, such as a "dead man" switch as a backup that is supposed to close the valve if it senses a catastrophic failure aboard the rig. Much still isn't known about what caused the problems in Deepwater Horizon's well, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. It went out of control, sending oil surging through pipes to the surface and causing a fire that ultimately...

The Obama administration said Thursday that the massive oil spill along the Gulf Coast will be considered in a planned expansion of offshore drilling and will become part of the debate on climate change in Congress. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the cause of the oil rig explosion, still not determined, could affect what areas the government would open for future drilling.

Pelosi: Oil spill must be considered when judging Obama's drilling plan By Jordan Fabian - 04/29/10 03:47 PM ET House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that a massive oil spill threatening the Louisiana coast must play a role in considering President Barack Obama's offshore drilling plan. Pelosi refused to endorse a ban on new exploration and drilling proposed by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) Thursday in the wake of the spill, but she said that the disaster -- which officials believe killed 11 people -- needs to be taken into account when weighing Obama's plan to expand offshore oil...

The White House escalated its response Thursday to the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as administration officials said that the disaster could prompt a rethink of President Barack Obama's recently announced proposal to allow expanded offshore oil and gas drilling. In an afternoon appearance in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama promised to use "every single available resource" of government to help with the spill. Federal officials said that the slick is spreading and could make landfall as early as Friday evening. The prospects for slowing the spread of the oil appear dim. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano,...

2010/04/26 Kim Su-Young NK Tries to Sabotage G-20 Summit - North Korean government orders to disrupt the G-20 summit - Aggressive attitude by the North Korean government will continue until the end of the year On April 15, a source close to a high-level official in North Korea informed us that there was an order to disrupt the G-20 summit after it had been decided on September 25, 2009 that the G-20 summit would be held in South Korea. The source stated that the order was to jeopardize the decision that the G-20 summit would be held in South Korea...

Clinton said Cuba's response to Obama administration efforts to enhance cooperation revealed "an intransigent, entrenched regime" that had no interest in political reform or ending the isolation imposed by Washington's 48-year old economic embargo on the island. "It is my personal belief that the Castros do not want to see an end to the embargo and do no want to see normalization with the United States, because they would lose all of their excuses for what hasn't happened in Cuba in the last 50 years," Clinton said "I find that very sad, because there should be an opportunity for a...

I was home sick yesterday, so I got to see some of Fox’s daytime coverage. Cavuto had some Tea Party folks on who condemned attacks on others, and then played some of the death threats that they have received. This is nothing new; the left has been doing this sort of thing for years. It has NEVER been fully covered by the MSM. For my next thoughts, let me say that this is 100% conjecture on my part. With disclaimer done, I believe that these attacks on the Democrats could very well have been done by folks on their side....

5 Muslim US Army soldiers have been arrested at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. They stand accused of attempting to poison the Army food supply at Fort Jackson, and they are now supposedly being referred to as “the Fort Jackson five.” These 5 muslim soldiers worked as Arabic translators for the US Army. Details of the situation are not clear, as this is still an ongoing investigation; and it is not yet known whether the “suspects” are still in custody.

Yesterday Rush was talking to a caller re Toyota and the recalls. He said that Toyota has 5 plants here in the US, none of which is UAW/ union. THey had ONE union plant in Fremont, CA (Bay Area) that they had inherited but closed last year because it was too costly. The caller suggested that this recall has totally to do with the UAW and Obama protecting the unions. And of course doing in competitors for Obama Motors. Rush agreed totally. Made me want to go right out and buy a Toyota.

<p>Toyota's sales freeze last week intensified the focus on Elkhart, Ind.-based CTS since it was singled out after the world's largest automaker's Jan. 21 U.S. recall of autos whose pedals might "stick." CTS expressed "deep concern" on Jan. 29 about how its parts were being portrayed.</p>

UN officials have likened the theft of e-mails from university climate researchers to the Watergate scandal, after claiming computer hackers were probably paid by people intent on undermining the Copenhagen summit. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that the theft from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was not the work of amateur climate sceptics, but was a sophisticated and well-funded attempt to destroy public confidence in the science of man-made climate change. He said the fact that the e-mails were first uploaded to a sceptic website from a...

What does the theory of anthropogenic global warming signify? On the Web Site of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise we find a page on coping with economic sabotage. "Sabotage is a wartime concept," it says. "In simplest terms, sabotage means deliberate or underhand damage or destruction, especially carried out for military or political reasons." This includes "interferences with production ... as by enemy agents...." There is also another definition that should be referred too, as well. Political subversion may be defined as the "lending of aid, comfort, and moral support to individuals, groups, or organizations that advocate...