Free Republic

Wildlife officials say a bear was found feeding on the body of a 73-year-old woman who had been repeatedly warned not to give dog food to the bruins that live near her home north of Ouray. Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman ...says the woman was known to feed bears dog food and would not stop, even after repeated requests from wildlife officials. Sheriff's deputies investigating the incident killed an aggressive bear at the woman's home. A necropsy is planned for the 250-pound male to determine the contents of its stomach.

Experts and emergency management officials in Grand County worry that a large stretch of forest devastated by pine beetles may be waiting to burn in a massive wildfire. At least a quarter million acres of lodge pole pines are either dead or dying because of the mountain pine beetle. They've turned once green forests into large areas of dead, red colored trees. "Some of these county roads are very thin," Billy Sumerlin, director of Grand County's Natural Resources department said. "It makes it very difficult for fire apparatus to get in, especially if we're in the process of trying to...

<p>Did you know that in New York City, through 1969 virtually all the public high schools had riflery teams?</p> <p>Thousands of students carried their rifles on subways, buses and streets on their way to school, when they went to practice in the afternoon and on their way home. And until 1963, all commercial pilots were required to carry guns and were allowed to carry guns until 1987.</p>

A small band of archers has been shooting bows and arrows for 37 years on a range in the Pike National Forest north of Deckers, paying the U.S. Forest Service about $450 a year for a permit. This year it will all end because the Forest Service presented the Columbine Bowmen with a bill for $23,000 for the one-year permit, said club president Tom Younger. The same fate faces the 180 or so members of the Buffalo Creek Gun Club, who shoot targets in the Pike forest near Bailey. The club's annual permit fee of $150 over the past 40...

There's another accusation of rape floating around Durham this week. The accuser was allegedly attacked at a house party this Saturday. The accuser is white. The suspect is black. Heard anything about that? Yeah, I didn't think so. The mainstream media has bent over backward to keep race out of this. Even those who first gave a description of the alleged rapist as a “black man” later redacted that from their reports. The News & Observer never printed it at all. And none has pointed out, as the Duke Chronicle has done, that the alleged victim was white, making this...

Some experts have questioned the alarmists theory on global warming leading to shrinkage of Himalayan glaciers. VK Raina, a leading glaciologist and former ADG of GSI is one among them. He feels that the research on Indian glaciers is negligible. Nothing but the remote sensing data forms the basis of these alarmists observations and not on the spot research. Raina told the Hindustan Times that out of 9,575 glaciers in India, till date, research has been conducted only on about 50. Nearly 200 years data has shown that nothing abnormal has occurred in any of these glaciers. It is simple....

The World Economic Forum in Davos is a sanctuary for America-bashers. John Kerry was the star there yesterday. In case you missed it, Allah's got video and the lowdown. All I can say is: Thank God for the Swift Boat Veterans. Davos is getting feedback. LGF'ers are leading the charge. Matt at Blackfive notes that while Kerry schmoozed former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, evidence of Iranian special ops orchestration of the horrific attack on US troops in Kerbala is building.

this New York Times photograph of a crowd of Lebanese refugees: This is probably nothing. If it’s photo manipulation, it’s certainly an incredibly mundane example, and I can’t think of a reason why anyone would do it. I’m tossing this to the lizardoid community for comment from the other photoshop geeks out there, without rendering any judgment yet. In other words, I am not saying this is a definite fake; I know we’ve got quite a few experts at digital manipulation among our readers, and I’m sincerely asking for their opinions. But look at the image of the man in...

A journalist working for Arabic TV news channel al-Jazeera has been arrested in Egypt for allegedly fabricating videos of police torturing suspects. Huweida Taha Metwalli was stopped on her way to Qatar and 50 video tapes were found in her luggage, the Egyptian interior ministry said. She is reportedly charged with "tarnishing Egypt's reputation and harming Egyptian national interests". Al-Jazeera said the tapes showed a "documentary reconstruction" by actors.

Big cuts are coming to the Boston Globe, according to memos from publisher Steve Ainsley and editor Martin Baron. (See story here.) According to the memo, the New York Times New England Media Group will see a cut of about 125 employees. The New England Media Group includes the Globe and The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. About 19 editorial jobs will be slashed at the Globe. Here are both memos: January 11, 2007 To the staff: As I trust all of you will understand, this is a difficult memo to write. You know as well as anyone that we are...

It bears the hallmarks of a classic urban scourge: back-channel sales, assaults on enforcement officials and even death. It is the price of parking in San Francisco. Burdened with one of the densest downtowns in the country and a Californian love for moving vehicles, San Franciscans have been shocked in recent months by crimes related to finding places to park, including an attack in September in which a young man was killed trying to defend a spot he had found. More recently, the victims have been parking control officers — do not call them meter maids — who suffered four...

There is so much wrong with the Conyers situation that Pelosi shouldn’t have to think twice about nixing Conyers’ chairmanship. Let us look at how the Conyers scandal epitomizes the ethics mess in the House: First, releasing its report late on Friday before the New Year’s holiday weekend made it clear that the House “Ethics” Committee intended to minimize public understanding of the Conyers scandal. This is classic Washington Establishment manipulation of the news cycle to insulate itself against public accountability. Second, Conyers responded to the “Ethics” committee by “accepting responsibility” for a “lack of clarity” in asking aides to...

Democrats are getting people to vote for moderates in order to put extremists in power. There is no real question that Democrats are more skilled at politics than the Republicans are. Democrats are more articulate, not to say glib, and they know how to stick together. Democrats know better than to betray their base of supporters — welfare-state beneficiaries, the teachers’ unions, environmental zealots, the ACLU, and tort lawyers... That the Republicans are still a viable party is one measure of how far the Democrats’ policies and values differ from those of most Americans. Nowhere is that difference greater than...

Here's a great way to ring another new year of the culture of corruption in Washington. Jason Smith notes: Incoming Judiciary Committee Chair Admits Breaking Ethics Rules... Conyers is a slimeball, but he cooperated with us, so we'll issue this public statement we hope no one will see and trust him to "monitor" his staff so all that bad stuff doesn't happen again under his vigilant watch. Business. As. Usual. The back story: As The Hill newspaper reported last spring, "two former Conyers’ aides alleged that he repeatedly violated House ethics rules by requiring aides to work on local and...