Free Republic

A San Diego man may be the latest victim of “knockout,” a disturbing new activity spreading across the country involving teens or young adults physically assaulting unsuspecting strangers. Victoria Hyatt says her husband was attacked in such a way by a stranger in downtown San Diego on Tuesday. As her husband waited to cross the intersection at 2nd Avenue and Ash Street, Hyatt says a man walked up beside her husband and then, out of nowhere, punched her husband in the face.

WASHINGTON (WJLA) - Phoebe Connolly says she had no idea what was coming when she biked through a group of teens in Columbia Heights. "My whole head went flying to the side," she explains. "It was a hard punch. One kid came from the side and pretty much cut me off. "He just like threw a hook with his left hand, and just got me right in the face," she continues. "And he said 'wa-pow' as he hit me in the face." Phoebe says she was able to pedal away, but was left sore and with a bloody nose. Otherwise,...

First published on FrontPage Magazine. By Enza Ferreri [Note: in the video that you can see by clicking on the "Enza Ferreri Blog" link above, two German Shepherd dogs are attacked and pelted with bricks by Muslims in a street of Casablanca, Morocco.] In the UK a Muslim taxi driver recently refused to give a lift to a disabled woman's dog, alleging that it broke the rules of Ramadan. Despite the fact that by law no taxi driver can refuse to carry a disabled passenger or assistance animal unless he is medically exempt, the man has not lost his taxi licence...

As a former trainer reveals, the U.S. government deployed nonhuman operatives—ravens, pigeons, even cats—to spy on cold war adversariesThere would be a rustle of oily black feathers as a raven settled on the window ledge of a once-grand apartment building in some Eastern European capital. The bird would pace across the ledge a few times but quickly depart. In an apartment on the other side of the window, no one would shift his attention from the briefing papers or the chilled vodka set out on a table. Nor would anything seem amiss in the jagged piece of gray slate resting...

While caring for both of her aging parents, Philadelphia-based photographer Isa Leshko made a conscious decision not to photograph her family. But about a year later, while visiting a friend’s farm, she found herself drawn to an elderly horse. Since then, she has captured dozens of animals in their winter years, including farm animals, horses and dogs. Some of them are factory farm rescues; others beloved pets. Many of the animals passed away shortly after Leshko photographed them. She writes: I am creating these photographs in order to take an unflinching look at aging and mortality. My maternal grandmother had...

All that's left of Doodles are his ashes, a clay impression of his paws and a whole lot of questions owner Patricia Cassidy has about his mysterious death.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is reminding residents to be aware that Halloween pumpkins, as well as fall decorations like gourds or squash, attract wildlife when displayed outdoors. “Javelina, coyotes, deer and even bears eat some of the vegetables that are part of traditional holiday displays,” said Regional Supervisor Raul Vega of Game and Fish in Tucson. “When displayed outdoors, they may attract wildlife to homes, potentially creating conflicts with people.” The department recommends that decorated pumpkins and cornucopias be displayed indoors, on window sills to be seen from outside if desired, and then discarded securely to help prevent...

A document found after Somali troops killed Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al Qaeda's former leader in East Africa and a senior Shabaab commander, details a plot to conduct multiple Mumbai-like attacks that target civilians in London. The plot highlights how al Qaeda and Shabaab seek to strike civilian targets outside Somalia, and foreshadowed Shabaab's attack on the Eastgate Mall in Kenya this week. -------------------------------------------------------------------snip--------------------------------------- Fazul said that the "first target" in London would be "Jewish communities with tens of thousands of Jews crammed in a small area" in the Golders Green and Stamford Hill neighborhoods of the city. "Our plan is...

Take a break and enjoy a moment with some of the Creator's smaller creatures.

In the rich world, each of us consumes or uses 30 or more animals a year (the bulk – 52 of the 59 billion – are chickens). We don't, in the nutritional sense, need these animals to feed us – certainly not in those numbers. Yet, in order to eat them at an acceptable price we have to imprison them, alter them genetically and chemically, and kill them. We have moved inexorably into ever greyer ethical territory. Any planning for a food future that still envisages using animal products and meat must debate the "moral cost". I am not sentimental....

video link only

The National Zoo's Giant Panda gave birth to a cub, the zoo said on Friday

A few weeks ago a human-interest story from South Africa was reported internationally. As described in the Wall Street Journal this past Friday: On Aug. 4, Graham and Sheryl Anley, while yachting off the coast of South Africa, hit a reef, capsizing their boat. As the boat threatened to sink and they scrambled to get off, Sheryl’s safety line snagged on something, trapping her there. Instead of freeing his wife and getting her to shore, Graham grabbed Rosie, their Jack Russell terrier. (One media account reported that Sheryl had insisted that the dog go first). With Rosie safe and sound,...

A hammerhead shark has shocked onlookers by giving birth to a litter of pups before dying on a packed Florida beach. The five-foot shark had been hauled to the shore by a man fishing at Panama City Beach, the Daily Mail reported. A beachgoer filmed as the fisherman abandoned his rod and dragged the creature onto the sand. As it writhed in the shallow water, the shark released its tiny hammerhead pups into the sea.

KENOSHA, Wis. —WISN 12 News investigates an operation raising questions about the use of government resources and the state policy that meant a death sentence for a fawn. "It was like a SWAT team," shelter employee Ray Schulze said. Two weeks ago, Schulze was working in the barn at the Society of St. Francis on the Kenosha-Illinois border when a swarm of squad cars arrived and officers unloaded with a search warrant. "(There were) nine DNR agents and four deputy sheriffs, and they were all armed to the teeth," Schulze said. The focus of their search was a baby fawn...

Visitors to one of France’s most beautiful tourist areas were today warned to be on their guard after a pack of feral cats launched an attack on a young woman. About six cats pounced on the unnamed dog owner as she walked her poodle in the city of Belfort, in the popular Franche-Comte region, on the Swiss border, dragging her to the ground and mauling her. She was bitten repeatedly and left with a torn artery which could have proved fatal, while the dog was also badly hurt. Josette Galliot, the mother of the 31-year-old victim, said: "They jumped on...

While much of the nation was focused on the pro-Trayvon Martin “protests” (practically riots) in Los Angeles and Oakland on Monday, demonstrators in Houston resorted to violence as they rallied for “justice for Trayvon.” The demonstrators in Houston on Monday evening successfully blocked traffic on a highway overpass and the road below. A woman, badly in need of getting her 7-year-old granddaughter to the hospital due to an allergic reaction, found herself at the mercy of the rowdy protesters.

Relatives recall Gizzell Kiara Ford as a smart, mature and respectful 8-year-old girl. Prosecutors said today her grandmother, Helen M. Ford, 51, of the 5200 block of West Adams Street, inflicted so many injuries on the girl over a long enough period and neglected her so badly that before she died Friday, Gizzell had maggots living in a head injury that had spread to another part of her scalp.

Four men charged in a quintuple shooting that left a toddler paralyzed at a Harvey apartment complex have pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges, according to court records. Jefferson Parish prosecutors charged Lashawn Davis, 20, of the Gretna area, Charlie Gumms, 18, and Davamte Robertson, 19, of Terrytown and Frankie Hookfin, 21, of Waggaman with five counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage in the April 22 shooting at the Lapalco Apartments. Sheriff's deputies think Hookfin and at least one of his co-defendants stood outside an apartment door in the 2300 block of Lapalco Boulevard...

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – San Francisco Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man suspected of a brutal robbery/aggravated assault. On June 30, 2013 at around 1:50 a.m., A female victim was robbed by a group of suspects. One suspect kicked her so violently in the face that she was knocked unconscious, police said. The suspects are described as a group of approximately 5 black males and an adult black female. The group appeared to have been in their late teens or early twenties. It is believed the suspects committed multiple robberies and assaults after the Pink...