Free Republic

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is sending five American military officers to South Sudan amid recent outbreaks of violence in the newly independent African nation. The White House said the U.S. forces will join the United Nations mission in the capital of Juba and focus on strategic planning and operations. They are not expected to engage in combat operations, but will be armed for personal protection. Obama issued a memorandum Tuesday declaring that the U.S. officers could not be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court during their deployment because South Sudan is not a party to the ICC. The White...

Two dogs attacked a 62-year-old woman who was exercising on a track at a senior center on Long Island Thursday morning...The woman suffered serious wounds but was able to call police... Nassau County cops responded to the area, near Brookside Junior High School in North Merrick, and found the dogs attacking the woman at the edge of a parking lot. The dogs, believed to be pit bulls, shifted their focus to the officers, who fired at them. ... In a separate incident not far from this area, some dogs attacked an elderly man around 1 a.m. Authorities believe the same...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Authorities say a Philadelphia woman found dead in her home had been fatally mauled by her own dogs. Autopsy results were released Thursday on 50-year-old Carmen Ramos.

SNIPPET: "There are some good reasons for allowing at least a few jihadi forums to operate." SNIPPET: "However, there are limits to our ability to exploit all the intelligence opportunities a forum may present. To put it another way, jihadi forums contribute to future terrorism in ways that are unpredictable and/or beyond our ability to control. This would be the view held by those other government agencies who prefer to seek out and destroy forums and to take down forum activists. For my part, I can live with keeping online those forums we have sufficient access to monitor and resources...

Israeli airstrikes hit smuggling tunnels along Gaza-Egypt border as well as a Hamas training camp in central Gaza; action follows rocket attacks against Beersheba and Ashkelon; no reports of injured in attack. Talkbacks (8) IDF aircraft struck targets in the Gaza Strip in the early hours on Thursday, Hamas said, a day after Palestinians fired about a dozen rockets and mortars across the border, striking deep into Israel. There were no reports of injuries in the attacks. Hamas said Israel targeted smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, as well as one of its training camps in central Gaza.

Recently defunded NPR apparently thinks it's funny to falsely accuse Michelle Malkin of being a birther while making lame jokes about her family. This, at a time, when Malkin's kin is frantic with worry over the disappearance of her niece. Malkin has a transcript of the inane little radio skit so I won't duplicate it here. Her comments: The premise of Jobrani's p.c. comedy gag is completely false, as actual readers of my work know. I was one of the first conservatives to criticize Birthers who go to the extreme and have never accused President Obama of being a "secret...

LUBBOCK, TEXAS -- A Lubbock resident and a citizen of Saudi Arabia is in FBI custody on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari allegedly purchased chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. Targets. Aldawsari, was arrested late Wednesday evening... He was lawfully admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa and is enrolled at the South Plains College near Lubbock. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempted use...

MEXICO CITY - As his fellow officer was dying in the seat beside him after gunmen ambushed their vehicle this week, U.S. special agent Victor Avila, wounded himself, telephoned the U.S. Embassy here to shout that they were under attack. Avila and Jaime Zapata were traveling in an armored Chevrolet Suburban with diplomatic license plates on a popular four-lane highway four hours north of Mexico City. They were returning from a meeting with fellow agents in Monterrey, who had met them at a halfway point near San Luis Potosi to exchange technical equipment. According to U.S. officials who spoke on...

When did demonstrating at the private homes of politicians or corporate executives become an acceptable way to voice one’s political opinions? Nearly two dozen activists from DC Vote swarmed House Speaker John Boehner’s Capitol Hill residence at 7:30 Thursday morning, chanting “Don’t tread of D.C.” and “No taxation without representation” to protest congressional “meddling” in the District’s local affairs, in particular a House continuing budget resolution that would cut $80 million in federal payments and prohibit the city from using local funds to pay for needle exchange programs and abortions. “Speaker Boehner is coming to our home telling us how...

There is a move underway, suggested primarily by the RATS and endorsed by some RINOs, to sit together during the State of the Union Address on 24 January 2011. The purported idea is to demonstrate the "unity" of America. The REAL, albeit unspoken, reason is to dilute the victory of last November and to make it appear more people support this President's policies than oppose him. It is the practice of many football teams to mix up the guest tickets among the home team supporters. This dilutes the voices of the visiting team's supporters and plays mind games with the...

In last Thursday’s column, Paul Krugman admitted to having fun watching “right-wingers go wild.” One of the things that apparently delighted him was the map which Sarah Palin posted on her Facebook page...Each of the cross-hairs represents a Democrat from a conservative district who voted in favor of health reform. Immediately after highlighting the map, Krugman wrote: All of this goes far beyond politics as usual…you’ll search in vain for anything comparably menacing, anything that even hinted at an appeal to violence, from members of Congress, let alone senior party officials….to find anything like what we’re seeing now you have...

(CNN) -- A Virginia man has been accused of threatening to place pipe bombs along the Metro transportation system in Washington. According to a federal complaint, Awais Younis, who was arrested December 7, related his plans to someone on the social networking site Facebook. Younis, also identified as Sundullah Ghilzai, told an FBI complainant through Facebook how how to build a pipe bomb "and what type of shrapnel would cause the greatest amount of damage," according to federal authorities.

Man injured in mortar attack airlifted to Soroka Hospital after sustaining light wounds; attack follows warning by Ashkenazi that security situation along Gaza border "very fragile, may deteriorate rapidly." The Israeli Air Force early Thursday morning struck three terror sites in the Gaza Strip, responding to a barrage of mortar shells fired Wednesday night in which one Israeli man was wounded. The IDF spokesperson said that the air strikes targeted a weapons facility in central Gaza and two centers of terrorist activity in the northern Strip. Four to five mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip into the Eshkol...

Movement invades stores in push for government to tax the rich and big companies more instead of making budget cutsWith superglue and megaphones, pop-up protests forced several branches of Topshop and Vodafone around the country to close today on one of the busiest trading days of the year. Campaigners staged a sit-in at Sir Philip Green's flagship London Topshop store, and in Brighton a few glued themselves to the branch windows, while other high streets in towns and cities across Britain saw similar protests in a day of action against the tax arrangements of rich individuals and big businesses. Green,...

<p>But on Sunday, two days after federal law enforcement officials arrested Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, and accused him of plotting to bomb the square during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, it was more subdued.</p> <p>Workers were preparing the brick-covered plaza for the 15th annual Holiday Ale Festival that starts on Wednesday. Private security officers patrolled the area. And visitors were still puzzled by the news of the plot.</p>

Airport Lobbies Possible Terror Targets in European Plot, Official Says Mounting 'Chatter' by Jihadi Extremists Has Law Enforcement Nervous Among the possible targets in the suspected European terror plot are pre-security areas in at least five major European airports, a law enforcement official told ABC News. Authorities believe terror teams are preparing to mount a commando like attack featuring small units and small firearms modeled after the Mumbai attack two years ago. The State Department issued a highly unusual "Travel Alert" Sunday for "potential terrorist attacks in Europe," saying U.S. citizens are "reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack...

Conservative blogger Pamela Geller says she has been threatened with discontinuation of her online payment account by PayPal, the most widely used service of its kind. On her popular Web site, Atlas Shrugs, Geller posted the text of an e-mail notice she received Saturday morning from PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy Department. "[A]fter a recent review of your account, it has been determined that you are currently in violation of PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy," the PayPal e-mail said. "Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for items that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance...

The clip begins with Machete delivering a threatening message to Arizona, which recently cracked down on illegal immigrants. The script, leaked to Alex Jones, a right-wing radio talk show host, seemed to confirm conservatives' worst fears that the film... Full Article at The Australian

The United States is working with both Egypt and Russia to rid Israel of its nuclear weapons, as part of a comprehensive plan to neutralize Iran’s nuclear power. Reports of this nature are being reported in various news media. The Guardian (London) reports that the US and Russia have drafted an initiative to ban nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, while the Wall Street Journal says the Obama Administration is considering support for a “nuclear-free Middle East.”

WASHINGTON (AP) - New federal rules are in the works to limit the amount of mercury and other harmful pollutants released from boilers and solid waste incinerators. A proposal Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency targets mercury emissions from about 200,000 industrial boilers, heaters and solid waste incinerators. Mercury can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled. First there was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles. Later, Robin Beaton, a registered nurse from Texas. And then, most recently, there was Patricia Relling, a successful art gallery owner and interior designer from Louisville, Kentucky. None of the women knew about the others. But besides their similar narratives, they had something else in common: Their health insurance carriers were subsidiaries of WellPoint, which has 33.7 million policyholders -- more than...

RUSH: So what's a tea party, folks? The tea party, when you boil it down to its essence, is a backlash. It is a backlash from people who work and who expect their kids and grandkids to work, who want to work, who want their kids and grandkids to work, who understand what it is that's made this country great. That's who the tea party is.

JERUSALEM - Should Israel attack Iranian nuclear facilities, it would probably carry out precision strikes while making every effort not to hit the oil sector or other civilian sites. Past Israeli operations, such as the 1981 bombing of Iraq's Osirak atomic reactor and a similar sortie against Syria in 2007, suggest a strategy of one-off pinpoint raids, due both to military limitations and a desire to avoid wider war. A simulation at the Brookings Institution in Washington last December theorized that Israel, intent on halting what the West suspects is Tehran's covert quest for atomic arms, would launch a sneak...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Federal prosecutors have started a criminal investigation into the investment activities of the California Public Employees Retirement System, a newspaper reported Friday. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said Justice Department officials in Los Angeles are examining potential influence-peddling within CalPERS, the nation's largest public pension fund. At issue is whether the investment decisions of fund managers were influenced by bribes rather than the best long-term interests of pensioners. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, declined to comment to The Associated Press. Brad Pacheco, CalPERS' chief...

2/12/2010 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- Information warfare was around long before the computer. Even in the days of homing pigeons, adversaries would attempt to intercept each other's messages to gain an advantage. Today, the enemy is still trying to steal our secrets, but they have devised new methods in this age of ones and zeros. One of these methods is known as spear phishing. Phishing is defined by Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations officials as "criminal activity using social engineering techniques." Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords, personal information, military operations and financial...

The shopping malls of America will be among the next major terrorist targets. Malls make such obvious high-value targets that it's difficult to grasp why they haven't been hit up until now. Shopping malls are America's marketplaces, constantly packed with people, with uncontrolled entry, and openly vulnerable to any given form of attack. We need only consider the darkest days of the Iraqi terror campaign of 2006-2007 to grasp how the jihadis view marketplaces. Scarcely a week went by without another Iraqi marketplace bombing, with casualties largely consisting of women and children, mounting from the dozens to the hundreds. We...

The shopping malls of America will be among the next major terrorist targets. Malls make such obvious high-value targets that it's difficult to grasp why they haven't been hit up until now. Shopping malls are America's marketplaces, constantly packed with people, with uncontrolled entry, and openly vulnerable to any given form of attack. We need only consider the darkest days of the Iraqi terror campaign of 2006-2007 to grasp how the jihadis view marketplaces. Scarcely a week went by without another Iraqi marketplace bombing, with casualties largely consisting of women and children, mounting from the dozens to the hundreds. We...

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan, Jan. 4, 2010 – Adjusting his body armor, a designated marksman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, tracked the progress of a patrol of Marines from his perch atop a rocky hillside. The marksman followed the line of tan figures as they plodded along toward the platoon attack course at Range 3 here Jan. 2. A Marine advances toward targets during a training exercise at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan, Jan. 2, 2010. The targets marked with yellow represent civilians, while the solid green silhouettes are enemies. The platoon attack course focused on the positive identification of...

Snips: Dallas is now officially one of the nation's top 10 terrorist targets – a designation that sounds alarming but which state and local officials have sought for years, because it means millions in federal funds to beef up security. In Washington, homeland security officials had little to say publicly about the rationale for moving Dallas – along with Boston and Philadelphia – into the top tier of cities facing potential threat. The additions create a top 10 list for the first time. The Tier 1 list already included New York and Washington, which were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001,...

In his new book The Audacity to Win, Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe recalls that Sen. John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was a fundraising boon -- for the Obama campaign. "We had taken in millions of dollars in the three hours since Palin had started speaking," Plouffe recalls. "We hadn't even asked for most of it; we had sent out just a single unplanned fund-raising email highlighting her attacks on community organizers, but it was just starting to hit people's in-boxes as I checked the numbers. So the big response from...

On October 15, the State Security Court of Jordan imposed jail sentences of 15 to 20 years on 12 alleged Jordanian members of al-Qaeda accused of attacks against a church in the Kingdom last year (Al-Ghad [Amman], October 16; Al-Rai [Amman], October 16). In a reaction similar to those seen in trials of Salafi-Jihadis, plot leader Shaker al-Khatib and the rest of the convicted group prostrated themselves, thanking Allah as a sign of defiance against the court (al-Jazeera, October 15). Al-Khatib and four others in the group, aged between 19 and 28, received the death penalty, but the court commuted...

The day after the deadliest example of Muslim terrorism to be carried out inside the U.S. since 9/11, President Obama told us not to “jump to conclusions” about the motives of the alleged shooter, in spite of the fact that several eyewitnesses reported that the alleged shooter, Maj. Malik Hasan shouted “Allah Akbar” as he gunned down his fellow soldiers. On Sunday, in an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Casey Jr. also warned the public of drawing any conclusions about Maj. Hasan, and lamented that “It would be a shame — as...

The Blue Dog Democrats have 53 members who are deamed to be considered Fiscal Conservatives, but the analysis of their three votes on the Stimulus, Cap and Trade, and Healthcare tell a different story for the vast majority. There are two members of the Black Caucus who are Blue Dogs: Rep Sanford Bishop (GS-02) and Rep David Scott (GA-13) both of who voted for all three bills. With so many people on here attacking Republicans for not doing more, decided to look into the numbers. Since the loss of a Republican seat on Tuesday to a Dem in NY-23, the...

SNIPPET: "Shopping malls stepped up security measures and terrorism awareness training after 9/11, but it’s unlikely they could prevent a shooting rampage by a terrorist hell-bent on killing, according to industry experts. Malls lack access control, and their civilian security officers usually are unarmed, making them much more vulnerable to an attack such as the one suspect Tarek Mehanna allegedly suggested, although they are less likely terrorism targets than more high-profile, class-A office buildings, other iconic centers or power facilities.

United States To Send 'Up To 45,000 More Troops To Afghanistan' The US is expected to announce a significant surge of up to 45,000 extra troops for Afghanistan after Gordon Brown said that 500 more British troops would be sent to the country. By James Kirkup and Andrew Hough 14 Oct 2009 Newsnight reported he would announce a surge in troop numbers. President Barack Obama's administration is understood to have told the British government that it could announce, as early as next week, the substantial increase to its 65,000 troops already serving there. The decision from Mr Obama comes after...

Tired of fighting, and largely losing, against the US in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia, a group of Somali terrorists devised a strategy to take on the superpower in South Africa...the US's closure of its offices in the country was because of intercepted cellphone communication detailing planned attacks on American interests here. It is unclear whether American interests necessarily include a possible visit by US President Barack Obama for the official opening of the World Cup. Intelligence officers, according to two sources, intercepted a call made in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, to a group based in Somalia, and the conversation confirmed a...

Is it just me, or are Muslims causing more and more problems in our country? Didn't we recently see numerous other Islamic terror plots stopped here in America? Because according to the Islamic apologist crowd, this would never happen here. Oh yea....lets cue the Muslim victim card. DC Security Scare Becomes Federal Case Documents: Man threatened to blow up NW DC Metro

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2009 – An indictment handed down yesterday in a North Carolina federal court charges three men with plotting to attack Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., with the intent to murder U.S. military personnel. The men -- two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident from Kosovo – are Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39; his son, Zakariya Boyd, 20; and Kosovo native Hysen Sherifi, 24, according to Justice Department and Marine Corps news releases. The three allegedly were involved in a plot to procure maps of the base and assemble weapons as a precursor to an attack, the releases...

Representative Aaron Schock (R-IL) is hoping the foiled home grown terrorist plot in Springfield, IL this week will cause the Obama administration to re-think its plans to close down the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The terror plot disrupted by an FBI sting operation on Wednesday in Springfield, IL, had a federal courthouse and the Republican congressman's district office in its sights. Rep. Schock said that the FBI "outlined that the primary target for this individual was the federal court house building in Springfield but that my office which is located across the street was the secondary target."...

Rep. Aaron Schock's (R-Ill.) office in Illinois state capital of Springfield was one of the targets of a planned terrorist attack, his office said Friday. Michael C. Finton, known as Talib Islam, was arrested Wednesday after trying to detonate a van he believed was stuffed with explosives near the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield. Finton had been collaborating on the attack with an undercover FBI agent and is being charged with attempting to murder federal officers or employees and trying to detonate a weapon of mass destruction, according to the Associated Press.

Federal prosecutors say two North Carolina terrorism suspects plotted to kill U.S. military personnel. A superseding indictment returned Thursday against Daniel Patrick Boyd and Hysen Sherifi is the first time authorities have said the men had specific targets. Prosecutors said Boyd obtained maps of Virginia's Marine Corps Base Quantico in order to plan an attack. Prosecutors have previously said the man went on training expeditions in the weeks leading up to their arrests in July, practicing military tactics with armor-piercing bullets on a property in rural North Carolina. Seven men are awaiting trial in the case, and investigators say an...

Investigation Into Possible Terror Plot Prompts FBI To Warn Mass-Transit Systems Around U.S. Feds Believe Up To 12 Suspects Could Be Involved In Possible Madrid-Like Attack On NYC Subways Counterterrorism officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorists' desire to attack stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels -- the latest in a flurry of such internal warnings as investigators chase a possible bomb plot in Denver and New York. In the two bulletins -- sent to police departments Monday and obtained by The Associated Press -- officials said they know of no specific plots against such sites,...

Stadiums, Hotels Put On Alert Amid Terror Probe Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009 in New York. Associated Press Writers Tom Hays And Devlin BarrettNEW YORK – The government expanded a terrorism warning from transit systems to U.S. stadiums, hotels and entertainment complexes as investigators searched for more suspects Tuesday in a possible al-Qaida plot to set off hydrogen-peroxide bombs hidden in backpacks. Police bolstered their presence at high-profile locations. Extra officers with bulletproof vests, rifles and dogs were assigned to spots such as Grand Central Terminal in New York. Plainclothes officers handed out fliers at a nearby hotel with a warning...

Terror Suspect's Computer Said to Show Sports Stadiums, Fashion Sites Officials Report Denver Man Sent Texts Suggesting Attack Coming; 'Wedding Cake' Is Ready By RICHARD ESPOSITO, BRIAN ROSS and CLAYTON SANDELL Sept. 19, 2009— --snip-- A computer belonging to alleged al Qaeda suspect Najibullah Zazi showed he had researched baseball and football stadiums and sites used in the recent Fashion Week event in New York City, law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com. Zazi, 24, had been scheduled to spend a fourth day today being questioned by the FBI but his lawyer, Arthur Folsom, canceled the session. "He has taken the day...

North Korea's Kim Jong Il and his henchmen are often described as "irrational" or "mad." This description does them a great disservice, for they have stayed in power for decades by manipulating great powers. Sunday's missile launch is just another step in a complicated political game whose aim has not changed since the 1960s: to ensure a steady influx of foreign aid without making any concessions which might put regime at risk. [...] The first target of the North Korean missile is, of course, the White House -- not literally, but figuratively. Pyongyang's leaders know that under Barack Obama's administration,...

For more than two years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers have been stuck in a self-congratulatory mode over the enactment of AB 32 and other laws meant to put California in the forefront of efforts to address global warming. Now that these laws are being implemented, it's plain congratulations aren't merited. Few states and nations have copied California's bold approach, validating our view that climate change is a global problem that requires a coordinated international approach. Instead, the chief result of our go-it-alone strategy will be to saddle our economy with unique burdens that will drive unemployment up and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee said on Tuesday he hopes to begin drafting legislation to reshape financial regulation in early May.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama's administration has broadened the number of radical groups targeted by the CIA inside Pakistan by attacking a militant network seeking to overthrow the Pakistani government, The New York Times reported Saturday. The newspaper said recent missile strikes on training camps run by Baitullah Mehsud represent a broadening of the US military campaign inside Pakistan, which has been carried out largely by drone aircraft. Under fromer president George W. Bush, the United States frequently attacked militants from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban but stopped short of targeting Mehsud and his followers. Mehsud was identified early...

This video from CBS News claims Pakistan screens drone missile targets. CBS is claiming high value targets like Mullah Omar are never targeted due to their close ties to Pakistani intelligence. CBS does not show any evidence to back up this statement. Pakistan denies this is true. Of course, Pakistan denies we are basing drones on their territory. That has now been proven to be false by a Google Earth photo(shown in video). Watch the video and decide for yourself. Video is here.

- Satire - In yet another bold move in a week of unprecedented executive action by an inexperienced community organizer in the White House, President Barack Obama abandoned several “old school” concerns harbored by the Bush administration in order to properly address more urgent threats. Specifically, President Obama announced that his administration has managed to isolate Osama bin Laden to a few “hot spots” where terrorists are known to congregate, thereby taking the bin Laden crisis off the president’s Urgent Action calendar.