Free Republic

SNIPPET: "Search at Grundy County plant called part of ongoing probe" SNIPPET: "But a source said the owner of the plant, which processes lamb and goat, was taken into custody at his home in Chicago. Documents and records were taken from the plant and from a Chicago travel agency on West Devon Avenue, also owned by the same person, the source said."

The Subprime home mortgage collapse...a Primer. It's ALL about the CRA of 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 - This required banks to offer credit throughout their entire market area for “underserved” populations and small businesses. The CRA gave incentives to help low income borrowers become “home owners”. Liberals call this group “low income borrowers”. Conservatives call them a RISK!The CRA was passed by the Carter administration. In 1995 the Clinton administration authorized subprime loans under the CRA. Democrats added these provisions for the securitization of subprime loans and then ENFORCED the lending to high risk individuals. By 2000,...

<p>WASHINGTON - Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86.</p> <p>Kennedy, the third child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, was born mentally retarded and underwent a lobotomy when she was 23. She lived most of her life in a Jefferson, Wis., institution, the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children.</p>

A third man charged in a plot to attack Southern California military sites and other targets pleaded guilty Monday to a terrorism conspiracy charge. Gregory Vernon Patterson, 23, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana to one count of conspiring to levy war against the U.S. government through terrorism. He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to use a firearm during that offense. Patterson could face up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 14, prosecutors said. Two other men - Kevin James, 31, and Levar Haley Washington, 28 - pleaded guilty in the...

A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration's public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson's employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many related administration deliberations. The administration's discussion of Wilson's link to the CIA was meant to undermine criticism by her husband of administration allegations that Iraq attempted to acquire uranium, a matter that her husband had probed for the CIA, according to testimony presented in a 2007 trial. *snip* He mentioned in...

Incoming Global Warming Czar Carol Browner was — until last week — listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group that advocates what's called "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change. The Washington Times reports Browner's name and biography were listed on the Web page for Socialist International . Mr. Obama's transition team says Browner's membership in the organization is not a problem and that it brings experience in policymaking to her new role. But House Minority Leader John Boehner’s spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier asks, “Does she agree with the group's positions...

Maybe we’re looking in the wrong direction on this whole NSA issue. I can’t help but think that for the Dems to go to such lengths, there has to be some campaign money in it for them. Just like they pander to the far left whackos I.E. Moveon.org, maybe they also have to protect themselves as well as pander to some of their big money supporters who may not want their overseas calls monitored by the Bush administration. This is just a first attempt to connect some dots, but it is interesting. Let’s start with Judge Robertson and the Clintons....

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - After more than five years, the Pentagon revealed why it is holding a Saudi nicknamed "the Professor" at Guantanamo Bay, saying he once lived with a Sept. 11 conspirator and received a stipend from Osama bin Laden. Shaker Aamer's lawyer denies the allegations, made after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week requested the release of the Saudi, who has been an unofficial leader among the detainees, and four other former residents of Britain. The Bush administration, which has been urging other nations to accept Guantanamo prisoners amid international pressure to close the military jail,...

So what is Freeman's solution to the "race problem?" Why stop talking about it, of course. Mike Wallace has no frickin' idea how to handle that kind of blasphemous candor.

A New Zealander working for Reuters in London says two colleagues witnessed the unconfirmed shooting by police of two apparent suicide bombers outside the HSBC tower at Canary Wharf in London. The New Zealander, who did not want to be named, said the killing of the two men wearing bombs happened at 10.30am on Thursday (London time). Following the shooting, the 8000 workers in the 44-storey tower were told to stay away from windows and remain in the building for at least six hours, the New Zealand man said. He was not prepared to give the names of his two...

Exiled hate preacher Omar Bakri faces death by hanging after being found guilty of training Al Qaeda terrorists. The 51-year-old Muslim cleric, who fled Britain in 2005, yesterday revealed plans to appeal to a Beirut court which convicted him.

Note: Photo included. Trio not guilty of helping 7/7 London bombers Jury clears men of conspiring with four bombers over London 2005 explosions that killed 52 Rachel Williams guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 April 2009 17.01 BST Three British Muslims were today cleared of helping the 7 July bombers choose their targets by carrying out a reconnaissance mission in London seven months before the attacks that killed 52 people and injured almost 1,000. A jury at Kingston crown court unanimously found Waheed Ali, 25, Sadeer Saleem, 28, and Mohammed Shakil, 32, all from Beeston, Leeds, not guilty of conspiring with the four...

According to the linked page: "Unnamed freelance journalist has the goods on Obama and Rezko"

Gov. Blagojevich's Donations and deals raise eyebrowsAnalysis of political contributions and state contracts spurs questions from critics who recall pledge to end 'business as usual' in government January 30, 2005 BY CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporter Contractor Robert C. Blum gave Gov. Blagojevich's campaign $124,000 in cash and a $100,000 loan. Now he's on the receiving end. Two construction firms owned by Blum, a friend and business associate of Blagojevich's fund-raising chief, Christopher G. Kelly, have been awarded nearly $25 million in state contracts since July. They include a $24.4 million deal to build a Chicago State University convocation center named...

Ever heard of Nahmdi Auchi? Mr. Auchi was the financier for long-time Barak Obama friend and fund-raiser Tony Rezko. Mr. Auchi is the cousin of Saddam Hussein and his co-conspirator in the 1959 failed assassination attempt of the Iraqi Prime Minister. Although he eventually left Iraq in 1981 and became a British citizen, Auchi prospered mightily under Saddam, becoming a billionaire and pillar of British society (He ranks 279 on the Forbes list of the richest people) He was convicted of committing fraud in France in 2004 (only had to pay a fine) and has been barred from entering the...

The brilliant people at Wikileaks have produced a very useful collection of articles about stories removed from media websites following legal threats from an Iraqi billionaire The British-based Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi has become a highly controversial figure in the United States after being linked to Chicago-based businessman Tony Rezko - the weak link in the Obama campaign. The freedom of information site Wikileaks has now published some fascinating material about Auchi's attempts to stop people writing about him. Auchi was convicted of fraud by the French courts in 2003 for his involvement in illegal payments surrounding a deal he...

<p>WASHINGTON - At least 80 wealthy liberals have pledged to contribute at least $1 million each to fund a network of think tanks and advocacy groups, to compete with the potent conservative infrastructure built up during the last three decades.</p>

WASHINGTON -- Based on information received by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Harbor Tunnel and the Ft. McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore will be closed. Sources told News4 that the closure is based on uncorroborated information gathered outside of the United States.

Portions of I-95 briefly shut down on concerns over suspected terrorist plot; Uncorroborated information said to come from source abroad Federal authorities are detaining at least one man of Egyptian origin who worked at a Middle Eastern market in Baltimore in connection with a threat that closed Interstate 95 and the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels after concern over a suspected terrorist plot to blow up one of the tunnels. The shutdown caused gridlock throughout the metropolitan region as police and federal agents investigated the threat.

Terrorists from al-Qaeda have been making chemical and biological weapons in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Tuesday. Speaking at a world conference on bio-terrorism in Lyons that was organized by Interpol, he said that “several al-Qaeda cells have been trained in Afghanistan where they have learned to use biological agents including anthrax, ricin and botulism toxins. Later, after the fall of the Taliban regime, those groups continued their experiments in the Pankisi Gorge, on the territory of Georgia, bordering Chechnya,” Interfax news agency reported. The minister added that al-Qaeda terrorists “were able to use...

President Addresses and Thanks Citizens in Tbilisi, Georgia Freedom Square Tbilisi, Georgia 1:27 P.M. (Local) PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. President, thank you for that introduction. Citizens of a free Georgia, Laura and I were in the neighborhood -- we thought we'd swing by and say gamarjoba. (Applause.) I am proud to stand beside a President who has shown such spirit, determination, and leadership in the cause of freedom. (Applause.) And Laura and I are proud to stand with the courageous people of Georgia, in this place that has earned a proud name -- Freedom Square. (Applause.) When Georgians gathered here 16...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press SecretaryMay 10, 2005 President Addresses and Thanks Citizens in Tbilisi, Georgia Freedom Square Tbilisi, Georgia 1:27 P.M. (Local) PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. President, thank you for that introduction. Citizens of a free Georgia, Laura and I were in the neighborhood -- we thought we'd swing by and say gamarjoba. (Applause.) I am proud to stand beside a President who has shown such spirit, determination, and leadership in the cause of freedom. (Applause.) And Laura and I are proud to stand with the courageous people of Georgia, in this place that has earned a...

"Relying, apparently, on concrete findings, former top U.S. weapons inspector Dr. David Kay said that "the Iraqis had developed new techniques for drying anthrax - techniques that were superior to anything the United States or the old Soviet Union had. That would make the former regime of Saddam Hussein the most sophisticated manufacturer of anthrax in the world." (Washington Post, 16 septembre 2005)

Associated Press WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Shoppers browse store displays brimming with succulent tomatoes and plump strawberries, hoping to enjoy one last round of fresh fruit before the Western growing season ends. There is no hint of a dark side to the blaze of red. But strawberries are a painful subject for Guillermo Ruiz. The farmworker believes his headaches, confusion and vision trouble stem from a decade of working in the fields with methyl bromide, a pesticide that protects the berries with stunning efficiency. Cheri Alderman, a teacher whose classroom borders a farm, fears her students could inhale a dangerous whiff...

The Americans were getting close. It was early in the winter of 2004-05, and Osama bin Laden and his entourage were holed up in a mountain hideaway along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Suddenly, a sentry, posted several kilometers away, spotted a patrol of U.S. soldiers who seemed to be heading straight for bin Laden's redoubt. The sentry radioed an alert, and word quickly passed among the Qaeda leader's 40-odd bodyguards to prepare to remove "the Sheik," as bin Laden is known to his followers, to a fallback position. As Sheik Said, a senior Egyptian Qaeda operative, later told the story, the...

Mike Krusee looked tired. The Republican state representative from Williamson County, interviewed at his Capitol office last week, for 10 days or so had been fighting what some people call the creeping crud, a debilitating mixture of cold, flu and allergy symptoms hitting many Central Texans this spring. But Krusee, for much longer than 10 days, has also been fighting the creeping realization among legislators that over the past two sessions, they might have granted Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Department of Transportation too much power to create toll roads. For the first time in his three sessions as...

NORFOLK -– A military judge today sentenced Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann to 12 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for espionage, desertion and other crimes. The 22-year-old submariner from Salem, Ore. admitted guilt to the offenses earlier this week at Norfolk Naval Station in a plea agreement that spared him the maximum potential penalty of life in prison with no possibility of parole. Weinmann, who deserted from the submarine Albuquerque in July 2005 after becoming disillusioned with the Navy, passed classified information about the Tomahawk cruise missile system to the Russians, according to a Pentagon source....

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, Aug 11: A British national, Rashid Rauf, who was arrested by an intelligence agency provided a lead to thwart the plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights, sources said. The sources said Rashid Rauf was father of Tayyab Rauf, a suspect who was arrested in United Kingdom last year in connection with 7/7 London train blasts. During interrogation, the suspect unveiled the terrorism plot aiming to destroy at least ten passenger aircraft in the UK, the sources said. They said the information was shared with the UK Home Land Security department that resulted in a raid in which 21 suspects...

Summaries of the 2005 financial disclosure statements for selected members of Congress from California: --- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Earned income: $162,100. Honoraria, all donated to charity: None. Major assets: Blind trust, $1 million to $5 million; Bertram Feinstein trust, of which she's the primary beneficiaty, $1 million to $5 million; Marital trusts of which she's the beneficiary, established by her husband, Richard Blum, chairman of a merchant banking firm, no single value given; Interest with her husband in Carlton Hotel Properties, $5 million to $25 million; Deposit account at Bank of America, $50,001-$100,000; Condominium owned with her husband in...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A military investigation into allegations that U.S. troops intentionally killed Iraqi civilians in a March raid in Ishaqi, a village north of Baghdad, has cleared the troops of misconduct, the military said Friday — despite dramatic video footage of slain children. Meanwhile, a lawyer representing families of some of the two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha on Nov. 19 said three or four Marines carried out the shootings while 20 more waited outside the homes. He also said victims' relatives turned down a request by U.S. investigators...

October 13, 2005 Sober = Drunk in Washington, DC posted by Daniel J. Solove I'm quite in favor of cracking down on DUI, but this story from the Washington Post is really disturbing: Debra Bolton had a glass of red wine with dinner. That's what she told the police officer who pulled her over. That's what the Intoxilyzer 5000 breath test indicated -- .03, comfortably below the legal limit. She had been pulled over in Georgetown about 12:30 a.m. for driving without headlights. She apologized and explained that the parking attendant must have turned off her vehicle's automatic-light feature. Bolton...

ATLANTA, May 3, 2006 – More than 900 people representing organizations with a stake in how the Base Realignment and Closure process goes forward are gathered here this week to discuss the implications of the 2005 BRAC round. The conference brings together officials from the White House, Defense Department, individual service branches, various federal departments and agencies, and state and local leaders from areas affected by past and ongoing BRAC actions. Philip W. Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, noted that nearly all of the 22 federal agencies working on BRAC-related issues have representatives here. "In my...

Al-Qaida Figure Backs Iraqi Insurgents Top al-Qaida Figure Ayman Al-Zawahri Urges Support for Iraqi Insurgents in Video The Associated Press (snipped) CAIRO, Egypt - No. 2 al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri praised insurgents in Iraq, particularly Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and called on all Muslims to support them in a video posted Thursday on the Internet. The video was dated with an Islamic month corresponding to November 2005 and al-Zawahri mentions an Oct. 23 earthquake that hit Pakistan and Afghanistan. But it appeared to be the first time the 28-minute video has been made public. It was not clear why the video...

We’ve just launched our new campaign website: www.GeorgeAllen.com! I hope you’ll take some time to click in. I am particularly excited about the many features on the site that allow friends in Virginia and across the country to participate in our positive campaign regardless of where they live.

Rotten Banana Awards: 20 worst movies for 2005 -------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 28, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: Dr. Tom Snyder contributed to this column. By Dr. Ted Baehr -------------------------------------------------------- © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com There's a smell of rotten bananas at this year's Oscar festivities. Oscar favorite "Brokeback Mountain" leads the pack among MOVIEGUIDE's list of the 20 Most Unbearable Movies of 2005 receiving the "Rotten Banana" Award. Other Oscar nominees, including "Good Night, And Good Luck," "Munich," "Match Point," "Syriana" and "Transamerica" are also on MOVIEGUIDE's Rotten Banana list of the year's worst movies. "Brokeback Mountain," in fact, deserves the...

A must read for everyone!

Take a Look at 2005 from the Right Side with Paul Nowak's Editorial Cartoons FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Catholic PRWire The year 2005 was quite a year for news – Hurricane Katrina, political turmoil over the war in Iraq, the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI, just to name a few events that made headlines. Remember this momentous year with “A Look at 2005 From the Right Side: Editorial Cartoons by Paul Nowak” (ISBN: 097723442). This 120-page collection of cartoons from CNSNews.com cartoonist Paul Nowak features the best of his cartoons from 2005, ranging on...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2006 – Army re-enlistments in 2005 were the highest they've been in five years, with more than 69,500 soldiers choosing to continue their service, the Secretary of the Army said here yesterday. This surplus in retention made up for recruiting shortfalls the Army has faced, Francis J. Harvey said at a Pentagon news conference. The U.S. Army is the most capable, best trained, best equipped and most experienced force the United States has fielded in more than a decade, and 2005 was a year of many significant achievements, Harvey said. Speculations that the Army is severely stretched...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 17, 2006) -- Six-year Navy veteran, Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher D. Baird, was presented the Thomas A. Christensen Jr. Award Dec. 16, for “going above and beyond the call of duty,” according to the award citation. The Cordell, Okla., native, a corpsman with 2nd Dental Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, was selected from three contestants – one from each MLG. The Thomas A. Christensen Jr. Award is presented to a dental technician in recognition of significant contributions to the Navy and the Fleet Marine Force. Baird is one of 15 Sailors to...

Every year, as we enter a New Year, my mind goes back to Daniel Pearl, the Mumbai-based American correspondent of Wall Street Journal, who met with a brutal end to his young life during a visit to Karachi in January 2002 to enquire, inter alia, into the suspected Pakistani links of international jihadi terrorists. In his keenness to find out the truth, Pearl fell into a treacherous trap laid by a mixed group of Pakistani terrorists belonging to different organisations and orchestrated by Omar Sheikh, a British resident of Pakistani origin, who had participated in the so-called jihad against the...

"Brokeback Mountain" wasn't 2005's only tearjerker -- Here are eight tragic movie moments that made us love to emote. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! If you're not ready for key details about these movies, or if you just want to stay in your happy place, skip this article...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2006 – The new year will build on 2005's progress in the war on terror, President Bush said at the Pentagon today after meeting with his national defense team and top military leaders overseeing operations in Iraq. During today's Pentagon meeting, the president met with Vice President Dick Cheney; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and three top Army generals supporting the war on terrorism: Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command; Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq; and Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey,...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, December 30, 2005) – As is usual at this time of year, most news organizations take a look back at what made news in the year just ended. The Army News Service is no different. So what made news for the Army in 2005? You could almost sum it up in three words: war, hurricanes and elections. Almost. January The Army started 2005 just as it ends 2005 – as an Army at war. Soldiers were fighting for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan throughout the year. It wasn’t just Iraqi insurgents and Taliban remnants that Army...

Top 10 overlooked stories of 2005 -------------------------------------------------------- © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com If you're tired of hearing the rehashes of Katrina, Iraq, terrorism, et al., this will give you a little breather. 1. World evangelization. The Earth is becoming Christian at a very fast clip. My best estimate is that there are 64 million more Christians now than a year ago. That breaks down to 175,000 a day (births plus conversions minus deaths). The numbers are debatable, of course, but I've consulted with several of the best religion statisticians on the planet, and my stats are defensible, being partly based on denominational...

Every day, news organizations choose which stories to highlight in their news coverage and which to omit. In their coverage of hard news, the media inevitably trumpets meaningless, skewed, or false stories, while overlooking news items of vital importance – and this year was no exception. TOP TEN OVERREPORTED STORIES OF 2005 10. The Passion of Mary Mapes Mary Mapes, you’ll recall, is the former CBS employee who produced the now-infamous “60 Minutes II” story about President Bush’s National Guard service based on forged documents just days before the 2004 election. She accepted the phony “Vietnam-era memos” from a longtime...

2006 may see the end of the weekly commie "vigils" outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The increase in police activity over the past few weeks has prompted speculation among the FReepers that CodePink is looking for a face-saving way to end their blood dance by getting the permits for both sides revoked. Once again, someone called D.C.'s finest complaining about "the noise", but our permit actually allows us to use megaphones (which we have not used...yet) Pictures here:http://gunnnutt.blogspot.com/2006/01/end-of-year-at-walter-reed.html

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2005 – This has been a year of strong progress toward a freer, more peaceful world and a more prosperous America, President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address today. "This year we watched the Iraqi people defy the terrorists and suicide bombers and hold three successful elections, voting to choose the only constitutional, democratic government in the Arab world," Bush said." We also saw the people of Afghanistan elect a democratic parliament in a nation that only a few years ago was ruled by the Taliban. "These are amazing achievements in the history of...

It’s a bumper crop for Florida’s annual all-points bulletins of wild and crazy news. When Debra "I'm Too Sexy For My Cell" Lafave, the Carolina Panthers cheerleaders and the strip-joint party bus in the Bucs parking lot fail to crack the 17th annual Sour Orange list, you know it has been a very good year for absurdity. For the past 12 months, we scoured newspapers, magazines and the Internet for all the futile, inane and moronic news stories in Florida. And as usual, we came away overloaded. Here's the best of the best. Keep in mind that it's people like...

The Rolling Stones break box office records in North America (excerpt) Current jaunt most successful of all time The Rolling Stones' 2005 tour of North America is the most successful US concert tour of all time, according to US trade publication Pollstar. The veteran rockers, on a jaunt promoting new album 'A Bigger Bang', broke their own 11-year-old record by selling $162m (£94m) worth of tickets, playing 42 performances before 1.2m people. U2's 'Vertigo' tour came second, making $138.9m (£80.1m). Celine Dion came third, having made $81.3m (£47.1m) from 155 dates during her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas,...

December 29, 2005 The Year in Asia, 2005 By Todd Crowell The simmering feud between Japan and China was the most important continuing story in Asia during 2005. Even as the year ended, Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso irritated the Chinese once again by publicly asserting that China’s military buildup posed a threat. Relations between the two countries worsened significantly during the year, strained by competition over natural resources, leadership in East Asia and wartime history. They blew up in a short-lived spate of anti-Japanese demonstrations in the spring, while the authorities looked away. Chinese officials refused to meet with...