Free Republic

Fed chief Bernanke issues debt warningBy North America correspondent Jill Colgan, ABC February 3, 2012, 11:08 am United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the US economy could face the same fate as troubled European countries if it fails to curb its growing debt. Mr Bernanke delivered a sobering assessment of the economy that defies recent attempts by the Obama administration to talk up the economic turnaround. Testifying before a House Budget Committee, he said the pace of recovery had been "frustratingly slow". He urged lawmakers to be more aggressive in reducing the nation's $15 trillion debt...

DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Safety inspectors are on site of the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Cleveland. This after rescue crews were called Friday to Ontario and Prospect for a collapse near the Horseshoe Casino construction site. According to officials with Rock Gaming LLC the collapse happened across from Higbee building, on the site of the parking structure that is currently being erected. The collapse happened around 3:00 PM. There were 22 workers below when the floor with tons of steel, iron, and concrete, came crashing down above them. "They were pouring the concrete in the second floor and there...

Consider yourselves warned. @GridlockSam, our favorite source of New York City traffic information, calls today "the gridlock alert day of the decade." It's going to be a traffic nightmare today as President Barack Obama is in town for three fundraisers, coinciding with the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Obama is landing at JFK around 5 p.m., choppering in Marine One to Wall Street, and then attending three events in Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side, and West Midtown. Each neighborhood will be subject to a traffic freeze while the President is on the move. Plus, the area...

FULL TITLE: 'This isn't a party town!' Mayor warns Prince Harry not to 'fornicate the night away' as he settles into sleepy Arizona township He has already made a splash in the States, drinking until dawn and kissing a heavily tattooed cocktail waitress. But party loving Prince Harry has been ordered to be on his best behaviour while he trains in a heavily Christian desert town. Indeed the Mayor of Gila Bend, a tiny community in the heart of the Arizona desert, has warned that the lively British royal risks being taken to task by more than one angry father...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama hailed Muammar Gaddafi's death on Thursday as a warning to authoritarian leaders across the Middle East that iron-fisted rule "inevitably comes to an end," and as vindication for his cautious strategy toward Libya. Obama joined U.S. politicians and ordinary Americans in welcoming the demise of Gaddafi, who was for decades regarded as a nemesis of American presidents, and also claimed some of the credit for the Libyan strongman's downfall. ... "This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya who now have the opportunity to determine their own...

An unknown number of the over 1,000 terrorists who are to be freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit will be allowed to return to Jerusalem. A group of concerned residents has responded by announcing the creation of an informal “terrorist warning system.” The system is simple: activists will keep tabs on freed terrorists, and will alert the public if they attempt to enter public areas or use public transportation. In addition, the terrorists’ pictures and personal information will be made available.... “The public does not know them, and they could wander freely. People do not realize that these are terrorists...

Funny, Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel just can’t remember a darn thing about White House involvement in the $535 Department of Energy loan to bankrupt solar company Solyndra. In an interview with Chicago radio station WLSAM on Tuesday, now-Chicago Mayor Emanuel said that, while he can’t remember anything about Solyndra because he’s so terribly focused on being mayor of Chicago, the investment had nothing to do with “warning signs.” Emanuel originally dodged questions about Solyndra when asked by WSLAM about it several weeks ago, saying, “I don’t actually remember that or know about it.”

Nearly three years into President Obama’s first term in office, Michelle Obama finally said something with which I can agree. At a recent fundraiser for President Obama’s re-election campaign in Providence, Rhode Island, the first lady told her audience: “We stand at a fundamental crossroads for our country. You’re here because you know that in just 13 months, we’re going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come … let’s not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices … let’s not forget the impact that their decisions will...

Federal authorities are warning that the killing of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in a CIA-led strike on his hideout in Yemen early Friday may trigger revenge attacks ....

New Zealand, like most Western countries has had socialized health care for decades. It is a constant source of public dissatisfaction and bitching. The system is in perpetual crisis, with overworked and underpaid doctors and nurses, more bureaucrats than health professionals in the system, long waiting lists, rationed care and restricted access to drugs and treatment. Families regularly have take their cancer stricken children to other centers or even Australia for treatment. People mortgage their houses to pay private hospitals to administer treatments not available in the public sector. if waiting lists get too long, you get a letter telling...

Wari Dir Bala, 21 August 2011, Militants have threatened to doctors, mobile dealers through written poster in Dir Bala. In which they warned the local Mobile Dealer that they don’t download songs in mobile phones. According to local media unknown militants has put on wall the written warning in Darora Market. It’s the second warning in the same area in which they warned also the local community, that they didn’t download hot pictures and songs in their cell phones. Militants also warned the shopkeepers that they didn’t allow those people who are not goes for pray to mosque. They threatened...

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa -- A Marshalltown homeowner faces felony charges after shooting at a trespasser Sunday afternoon. Officials said the trespasser has been charged with a misdemeanor. Clayton Jensen told officials he had just come home from running an errand when he looked out his back window and saw a man in his backyard. Jensen said he was concerned for his family's safety. "He was kind of heightened alert because one of his family members had seen someone outside the house at night and then they took off when they were confronted," said Brian Batterson, Marshalltown assistant police chief. Several homeowners...

The no's came from both sides of the aisle. Two Illinois Democrats and three Republicans voted the deal down. ... Jackson Jr. voted against the bill saying the cuts will do nothing to get Americans back to work. Evanston Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky says she couldn't vote for a bill that opens the door to entitlement cuts and does not include tax increases for the wealthy. "I really couldn't in the consciousness do this, which raises $1 trillion in spending cuts[?] of the middle class, the poor, seniors, while millionaires and billionaires are still not asked to pay a single penny,"...

WASHINGTON—Ushering in the largest decrease in auto fuel consumption since the 1970s, President Barack Obama and automobile manufacturers Friday announced a deal that will save drivers money at the pump and dramatically cut heat-trapping gases coming from tailpipes. The agreement pledges to double overall fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, bringing major under-the-hood changes for the nation's automobiles starting in model year 2017. Cars and trucks on the road today average 27 miles per gallon. "This agreement on fuel standards represents the single most important step we have taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on...

The state of Texas is warning Americans to avoid travel to the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo this holiday weekend because of an anticipated surge in drug cartel violence aimed at Americans. In a news release Saturday, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Webb County Sheriff's Office said their sources indicated that the Zetas drug cartel was "planning to target U.S. citizens who travel to Nuevo Laredo this weekend." Steven C. McCraw, the department's director, also said in the statement: "According to the information we have received, the Zetas are planning a possible surge in criminal activity,...

German Security in charge of protecting Angela Merkel should be prepared to protect her from an Al Qaeda 'Swarm Attack' similar in tactics to the Mumbai hotel hlaughter.

FAITH UNDER FIREWarning issued that Islam is coming Goal is 'grand jihad eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within'Kamal Saleem -Editor's Note: This is the last of a three-part series about Kamal Saleem, a onetime terrorist who abandoned violence for Christianity. "Islam is like a cancer. It grows and expands until it eventually consumes and suffocates the host." Those are the words of warning from Kamal Saleem, the former terrorist who left Islam and converted to Christianity. Saleem was raised by his parents to be an angry, West-hating terrorist and he eventually came to the U. S. to work for...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Asia Vanderwege said she never saw the signs that said "No Soliciting" and "Beware of the Dog." The 14-year-old was attacked by two dogs on Thursday when she went to a home selling candy. "I rang the doorbell and heard dogs barking," said Vanderwege. "I stepped back a little bit and then they burst through the screen door and came at me. Then they were biting me." The bite on Vanderwege's wrist has healed, but she said she has a deeper gash on her hamstring. The American bulldog and boxer mix have been taken to the...

Do you know why America is in a better state than Europe? Because you enjoy more freedom than Europeans. And do you know why Americans enjoy more freedom than Europeans? Because you are still allowed to tell the truth. In Europe and Canada people are dragged to court for telling the truth about islam. I, too, have been dragged to court. I am an elected member of the house of representatives in the Netherlands. I am currently standing in court like a common criminal for saying that islam is a dangerous totalitarian ideology rather than a religion. The court case...

Jewish donors and fund-raisers are warning the Obama reelection campaign that the president is at risk of losing financial support because of concerns about his handling of Israel. Some Jewish donors say President Barack Obama has pushed Israeli leaders too hard to halt construction of housing settlements in disputed territory, a longstanding element of U.S. policy. Some also worry that Mr. Obama is putting more pressure on the Israelis than the Palestinians to enter peace negotiations, and that the president has allowed relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fray. One top Democratic fund-raiser, Miami developer Michael Adler, said...

Breaking his silence on Sunday’s U.S. Navy SEAL operation against Osama bin Laden, Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani has warned the United States not to contemplate a similar mission in the future. Pakistan also wants the U.S. to reduce the strength of U.S. military personnel inside the country “to the minimum essential,” he said. Kayani made the comments during an emergency forum on Thursday with top army brass at headquarters in Rawalpindi, called to discuss the implications of the Abbottabad raid, and “military-to-military relations with the United States.” An army statement released afterwards said Kayani “made it very clear...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has cut the outlook on US sovereign debt to "negative", raising doubts about Washington's ability to tackle its huge debt and fiscal deficits. The move, the first time S&P has ever placed such a warning on the US's gold-standard AAA rating, raised the stakes as Washington's political leaders began grappling over how to address the government's yawning budget shortfall over the long term. Administration officials said S&P "underestimates" political leaders' ability to agree a path out of the country's worst financial jam since the 1930s. But S&P said it could not foresee...

President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies are using U.S. economic problems (which they partially created) to sell Americans on the need to cut defense spending. This is what America’s enemies have wanted for decades. If America can be dis-armed, Russia, China, Cuba and Iran will face little or no opposition to their plans for world domination. More than two years ago, Cuban trained, former Weather Underground terrorist Mark Rudd, warned us that Obama’s game plan would be to exploit economic crises to push for defense cuts . Rudd, an unrepentant Marxist to this day, works closely with at three...

The United States strongly condemns the use of violence by Yemeni government forces against demonstrators in Sanaa, Taiz and Hodeida in the past several days. The Yemeni people have a right to demonstrate peacefully, and we remind President Ali Abdullah Saleh of his responsibility to ensure the safety and security of Yemenis who are exercising their universal right to engage in political expression. We call upon the Government of Yemen to conduct full investigations into these events and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

Dear FReepers, Most of you know from experience that re-reading God's Word frequently causes us to reevaluate our lives out of a new, or fresh revelation we get from the scriptures. We are tempted to look for prophetic interpretations that don't become relevent until such a time as God decides that they should become known to us. Earlier today, I was reading an FR post about Matthew 24. It's the great warning chapter, which outlines what we are to watch out for at the beginning of the Last Days. It talks about wars, earthquakes and false messians; nothing new here...

EARTHQUAKE WARNING FROM RUSSIAN INSTITUTE of PHYSICS of the EARTH A new report released today in the Kremlin prepared for Prime Minister Putin by the Institute of Physics of the Earth, in Moscow, is warning that the America’s are in danger of suffering a mega-quake of catastrophic proportions during the next fortnight (14 days) with a specific emphasis being placed on the United States, Mexico, Central America and South American west coast regions along with the New Madrid Fault Zone region. This report further warns that catastrophic earthquakes in Asia and the sub-continent are, also, “more than likely to occur”...

Tsunami Warnings/Advisories Occurred at 14:46 JST 11 Mar 2011 Region name Sanriku Oki Depth about 20km Magnitude 8.8 Issued at 1350 JST Issued at 13:50 JST 12 Mar 2011 *******************Text******************** Changed; Tsunami Warning --> Tsunami Warning Tsunami > EASTERN PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO CENTRAL PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO WESTERN PART OF PACIFIC COAST OF HOKKAIDO IBARAKI PREF. WAKAYAMA PREF. KOCHI PREF. Tsunami Warning --> Tsunami Advisory Tsunami Advisory> JAPAN SEA COAST OF AOMORI PREF. KUJUKURI AND SOTOBO AREA, CHIBA PREF. UCHIBO AREA, CHIBA PREF. IZU ISLANDS OGASAWARA ISLANDS SAGAMI BAY AND MIURA PENINSULA SHIZUOKA PREF. TOKUSHIMA...

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's opposition on Sunday renewed its call for a rally in support of protesters in Tunisia and Egypt despite a government warning of repercussions if demonstrations take place, a reformist website reported. In a statement published on Kaleme.com, the opposition urged its supporters to rally on Monday in central Tehran and accused the government of hypocrisy by voicing support for the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings while refusing to allow Iranian political activists to stage a peaceful demonstration.

The Dept. of State has issued this Worldwide caution to update information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against U. S. Citizens and interests throughout the World. U.S. Citizens are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. ..................................

PASADENA - As soaring gold prices tempt many to sell off jewelry and other gold items, police are working to keep thieves from taking advantage of the trend by making it difficult to sell stolen gold. With gold selling for more than $1,400 per ounce, officials remind the public that there are laws governing the buying and selling of gold, Pasadena police said in a written statement. "The Pasadena Police Department would like to inform the public that buying gold is against the law unless you are licensed by the California Department of Justice," the statement said. In addition, police...

Going on walks with my darling wife is a great joy to me. Sixteen years ago we used to walk almost six miles daily. These days we don’t get out as often as we did, but we still do get out and walk together. Holding her hand makes me feel happy and secure. Sometimes we “exer-walk” so there isn’t much hand holding going on, but I still enjoy her presence. As we pop along we talk about the scenery, family, hopes, dreams, politics, religion and other stimulating topics. What I have observed over the years (and what my wife will...

So the FDA has created 36 new designs for warnings about the dangers of smoking that will cover the top half of cigarette packs. It's all WAY over the top, but they did get really creative with them. If you must, you can download all of them at the FDA's website here I went ahead and picked out, for lack of a better word, the top 5 designs. Guess which one is my favorite. :-) ----------------------------------------------------See more posts and art at The Looking Spoon (www.thelookingspoon.com)

A warning against Islamophobia A threat to burn the Koran by a fringe American religious denomination, controversy over a proposed mosque near the scene of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and assaults on Islamic symbols in European countries have been a major talking point for Muslim nations. Normally strong allies of the West have spoken out at the UN against the growing religious tensions. Many were embarrassed by comments by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad linking the US government to 9/11, diplomats said. But Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, emir of Qatar, who has launched Western-backed diplomatic...

The Obama administration will issue a warning Saturday to U.S. travelers in Europe to avoid places frequented by Westerners after new intelligence suggested an attack by Al Qaeda could be imminent, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Fox News. The travel warning is expected to be announced at 4 p.m., pending Secretary Hillary Clinton's approval, the official said. The move is expected to have significant implications for European tourism. The travel warning will advise Americans to stay away from European tourist sites, transportation hubs and other facilities because of fresh threat information, U.S. officials said. A European official briefed on...

Video Linky A parrot in the Colombian city of Barranquilla was seized during a drug raid. Authorities say "Lorenzo" was trying to tip-off a local drug cartel when officers conducted the undercover raid. (Sept. 17)

Terms such as “moderate,” “secular,” and “radical” are innately controversial as any group is able to contort them to mean what they want.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R- S.C.) said that if President Barack Obama gets his way and the Senate ratifies the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the precedent would be set to place parental rights under the jurisdiction of the international community. “We believe we need to take clear action here in Congress to protect the rights of parents to raise their children," DeMint said at a Wednesday panel discussion. "This treaty would, in fact, establish a precedent that those rights have been given over to the international community." DeMint is lead sponsor of S. Res. 519, a...

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea began naval drills off its west coast Thursday to strengthen its ability to counter any North Korean provocations despite Pyongyang's latest threat to retaliate against Seoul over its war games. The drills, which follow joint military exercises with the U.S. last month off the east coast, are set to run through Monday and will include exercises in areas near the disputed western sea border with North Korea. They involve about 4,500 South Korean troops, more than 20 ships and submarines, and about 50 aircraft, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Both sets of...

The Obama administration faced an embarrassing diplomatic blunder today after it was forced to pull a warning about racism in Spain - just as the First Lady arrived in the country for a summer holiday. Staff at the U.S. State Department removed the contentious advice to travellers, which included the phrase 'racist prejudices could lead to the arrest of Afro-Americans who travel to Spain,' on Monday. The First Lady landed in the Costa del Sol this morning for a break with her youngest daughter Sasha, nine.

Noam Nir, an Israeli businessman who lives and owns a property in Morocco, was shocked when he found out that the building he owns in the city of Mogador became the focus of an anti-Semitic demonstration. Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Nir expressed a serious concern that such demonstrations, that were not commonplace in Morocco until recently and have suddenly begun to appear on its streets, would lead to imminent harm anhd endanger the lives of the Jewish community in Morocco.

A federal judge in Arizona on Wednesday broadly vindicated the Obama administration’s high-stakes move to challenge that state’s tough immigration law and to assert the primary authority of the federal government over state lawmakers in immigration matters. The ruling by Judge Susan R. Bolton, in a lawsuit against Arizona brought on July 6 by the Justice Department, blocked central provisions of the law from taking effect while she finishes hearing the case. But in taking the forceful step of holding up a statute even before it was put into practice, Judge Bolton previewed her opinions on the case, indicating that...

Warning signs are everywhere -- most of them carefully phrased and nuanced, but warnings, nevertheless. Greece and, closer to home, California are painful reminders of what could happen. CNBC is reporting that the Dow is repeating patterns that prevailed just before the Great Depression. The U.S. workforce suffered one its sharpest declines ever -- a drop of 652,000 -- in June. Economists claim that "wages are flirting with deflation." It's hard to find good news on the financial front. Now, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its "Long-Term Budget Outlook" to confirm what people already feared: The national debt...

Ohio, with its 20 electoral votes, has always been in the top tier of bellwether-states-to-watch in presidential elections given that you have to go back to 1960 -- when Richard Nixon carried it in his losing race against John F. Kennedy -- for the last time it failed to support the winner. And most of those races have been close if you subtract the blow-out elections when Lyndon Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon swamped George McGovern, Ronald Reagan trumped Jimmy Carter and then Walter Mondale, and George H.W. Bush dispatched Michael Dukakis.

This dangerous and violent crime is on the increase: Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in the gutter, etc. Pay attention to this. 1. a plastic bottle with a cap. 2. a little Drano. 3. a little water. 4. a small piece of foil. 5. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!! 6. No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc.. People are finding these bombs in mailboxes and in their yards, just waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the trash. But,...

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a Tsunami warning for all areas of the Indian Ocean after a 7.7 earthquake struck Nicobar Islands India Region. A Tsunami Watch is in effect for India / Indonesia / Sri Lanka / Myanmar / Thailand / Malaysia. Officials say earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a destructive local tsunami and sometimes a destructive regional tsunami along coasts located usually no more than a thousand kilometers from the earthquake epicenter. It says areas further from the epicenter could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents. It...

WASHINGTON - The man removed from an Aeromexico flight bound for Mexico City Sunday was the subject of a terror warning issued for the U.S.-Mexico border last week, senior U.S. counterterrorism officials told NBC News on Monday. Homeland Security had asked law enforcement in Houston to be on the lookout for a suspected member of al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida ally based in Somalia, early last week, the sources said

RBS' Bob Janjuah: "THIS IS AN UBER BEAR EARLY WARNING ALERT!" Vince Veneziani May 24, 2010, 9:11 AM Permabear and RBS economist Bob Janjuah sent out an early warning today in his "Bob's World" newsletter. Janjuah reminds us that he called this 10% S&P sell-off back in late April in the last edition of "Bob's World" and that things are about to get a lot worse. His key points include: * "Sovereign limits and sovereign credibility concerns are not a future risk - they are HERE." * The UK and China are undergoing voluntary/pre-emptive tightening; one could argue it's over...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The economic crisis could be entering a "new phase" with rising public debt threatening to undermine the stability of the global financial system, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday. In a biannual report on economic stability, the IMF said the latest challenge to the world's rocky financial system came as banks were regaining their footing amid the nascent global recovery. "Risks to global financial stability have eased as the economic recovery has gained steam, but concerns about advanced country sovereign risks could undermine stability gains and prolong the collapse of credit," the report said. "Without more fully...

WARNING to all Tea Party Patriots I have seen various responses posted from people who say they are a part of the grass roots movement called “The Tea Party Patriots”. Many of those responses play into the hands of the people who fear the Tea Party movement. I felt compelled to suggest that careful consideration and a great deal of thought go into any actions individual Tea Party Patriots or Tea Party Patriot groups are considering.