Free Republic

A more than century-old hat boutique will shutter a location in San Francisco's Union Square, the latest retail shop to close in the city in the aftermath of pandemic shutdowns and crime spikes. Goorin Bros. haberdashery opened in 1895 and specializes in fedoras and leopard print hats, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The hat shop currently has nine locations in operation across the country. The store's location at 111 Geary St. in Union Square closed on June 23, the outlet reported, noting the city has struggled to attract tourists and office workers following government-mandated lockdowns during the pandemic The...

Six months after they raided the Northern Virginia headquarters of some of the nation's most respected Muslim leaders, federal agents say they are pursuing a trail of intriguing clues in a top-priority search for evidence of tax evasion and financial ties to terrorists.Federal and European investigators say that several lines of inquiry have emerged from their review of documents and computer files they carted off in a dozen panel trucks from offices and homes affiliated with the Herndon-based SAAR Foundation, a tight-knit cluster of prominent Muslim groups funded by wealthy Saudis.One avenue of investigation is the alleged transfer of millions...

It’s hard not to see the signs all around us that America has begun a cataclysmic downward spiral in finances and morality. It’s like watching a slow motion murderous wreck, all the while denying that it is actually occurring. I assure you, what is unfolding in the US now is all too real. It’s a reality that is about to smack Americans full frontal in the face and many will never even see it coming until it is way too late. It is hard for me to imagine how people cannot see what is happening in finances and in politics...

Jesus of Nazareth died for our sins and lived a sacrificial life, dying on the cross to justify our sins. He invites all who will listen, to come home and live with him forever. Please invite Jesus into your heart today. He is real and dearly loves you. Revski o7jimmy

LAMPASAS TX - Imagine driving down the street when suddenly, a deer leaps through a window into your car! That's exactly what happened to a woman in Lampasas this morning at 3rd and Porter. She had just dropped her children off at school and was driving down the street when the deer made its grand entrance.

Huge 'launch ring' to fling satellites into orbit 16:00 03 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service David Shiga A ring of superconducting magnets fires a projectile off a ramp at 8 kilometres per second, fast enough to reach orbit (Artist’s conception: J Fiske/LaunchPoint) A cone-shaped shell would protect the payload during its passage through the atmosphere into space, and includes a rocket at the back end to adjust its trajectory (Illustration: J Fiske/LaunchPoint Technologies) An enormous ring of superconducting magnets similar to a particle accelerator could fling satellites into space, or perhaps weapons around the world, suggest the findings of a...

Sunnis enraged as Iraq prepares to divide itself into regions By Oliver Poole, Iraq Correspondent (Filed: 07/09/2006) The future of Iraq as a sovereign nation was thrown into jeopardy yesterday after a new law was introduced to parliament that would enable the break up of the country into semi-autonomous regions. If passed, a self-ruling Shia state is likely to emerge in the south, based on the autonomous region Kurds have already established in the north. It would not only be able to levy its own taxes and govern itself but, Shia politicians say, would have its own armed guards posted...

Out in Texas, Libertarian gubernatorial candidate James Werner is having trouble getting into a televised debate A href="http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2006/08/02/TopStories/Libertarian.Candidate.Wants.In.On.Debate-2142979.shtml?norewrite200608060649&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com">(The Daily Texan): Libertarian gubernatorial candidate James Werner is asking public broadcaster KERA to include him in the gubernatorial debate in October. The Texas Debates, coordinated by KERA-North Texas, Univision and The Dallas Morning News, excluded Werner because he didn't meet the established debate criteria as a major candidate. Public broadcaster KERA came up with some excuses for not including Werner in the debate, saying it wasn't because of his party affiliation, but his lack of "newsworthiness": "It really has to do with...

FORT MEADE, Md., August 2, 2006 -- A step through the doors of the Military Entrance Processing Station here blows away the myths that the military is struggling to get enough recruits, dropping its standards to get those it does, or glossing over the fact that it’s recruiting into a wartime force. July 31 was the last day of a month in which all the services had already met their quotas for recruits. It was a relatively slow day at the station -- one of 65 dotting the country. Yet the station buzzed with activity as 102 men and women...

Lebanon stares into the abyss By Tim Butcher in Beirut, Harry de Quetteville in Haifa, Alec Russell and Graeme Wilson in St Petersburg (Filed: 17/07/2006) Your view: Are Israel's military tactics justifiable? In pictures: Beirut under siege Tens of thousands of civilians, many on foot, fled southern Lebanon last night as Israeli forces appeared ready to launch a ground invasion. Tanks and armour were reported to be massing on the border and a reserve infantry division mobilised as the air force dropped leaflets warning residents to leave. "We recommend them to leave their homes and go to the north of...

EL ARISH, Egypt - Egyptian police captured six Sudanese, including a one-year-old boy, who were trying to cross into Israel early Friday to seek asylum, a security official said. The six were arrested at dawn as they tried to get over the coil of barbed wire that marks the border in Egypt's northeast Sinai desert, said Brig. Gen. Adel Fawzi, the chief of the North Sinai criminal investigation department.

Risk of asteroid smashing into Earth reduced 12:50 22 May 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kelly YoungThe asteroid's path through the solar system will bring it to close to Earth in 2029 (Image: JPL/NASA) The danger to Earth from an asteroid called Apophis, which once looked relatively likely to hit the Earth, appears to be waning. The odds of an Earth impact by Apophis in 2036 have now been reduced from 1 in 5500 to 1 in 24,000, following new radar measurements taken by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. On 6 May 2006, with the asteroid 42 million kilometres away,...

Bird flu strikes fear into Italy's shoppers By Hilary Clarke (Filed: 14/02/2006) Poultry sales in Italy have plunged by more than 50 per cent after bird flu was discovered in a wild swan in Sicily last Friday. Amid the panic, one driver for a battery chicken farm who had lost his job killed his wife and daughter before cutting his own throat. Police believe Claudio Robello, 48, of Grezzano, near Verona, was tipped over the edge by being laid off because of falling sales. He killed his 44-year-old wife and 10-year-old daughter with a knife and hammer in a frenzied...

Police inquiries into Islamic threat must improve, says Clarke By Duncan Gardham (Filed: 10/02/2006) Charles Clarke accepted yesterday that there had been a "lack of confidence" in the case against the radical cleric Abu Hamza and pledged to improve the way the police conducted investigations. The Home Secretary's remarks followed a claim by his predecessor, David Blunkett, that he had been accused by police and security services of exaggerating the threat posed by Hamza. The former imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in north London was jailed for seven years this week for incitement to murder, stirring up racial hatred and...

/20/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Six thousand miles away from her native country of China, Yi Liu knew she wanted to make a name for herself in America. She grew up in a small copper mining town in the province of Canton and immigrated to the United States in 2003. At the age of 21, she lived with her family in a “box-sized” apartment in San Francisco’s Chinatown. “I was thrilled to be in the United States,” said Airman 1st Class Yi Liu, who is assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Services Squadron “Grab and Go” flight kitchen. “We waited...

Dorismar -- aka Dora Noemi Kerchen -- has been many things: Playboy Playmate, calendar pinup, performer at a Democratic National Convention party and purveyor of sophisticated soft-core videos inspired by Girls Gone Wild.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2006 – The Pentagon is seeking answers as to why three U.S. helicopters have crashed in Iraq within the past two weeks, a senior Defense Department official said here today. "Is there a pattern? Certainly, in recent weeks three helicopters have gone down. Nothing has been ruled in or out in any of those three cases yet," DoD spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told Pentagon reporters. Twelve U.S. servicemembers and four civilians were killed as the result of three separate helicopter crashes that occurred in Iraq this month: Two U.S. soldiers died yesterday when their AH-64 Apache helicopter...

AL ASAD AIRFIELD, Iraq (Dec. 26, 2005) -- Marines and sailors poured from the back of assault helicopters to a familiar place last week as Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 (Reinforced) returned to western Iraq prepared to assist in Operation Iraqi Freedom. For many of the “Raging Bull” aircrew and maintainers, the airfield at Al Asad is quite familiar. Nearly half of the squadron’s Marines operated at the sprawling Iraqi air base for nearly seven months last year. The composite squadron is currently deployed as the aviation combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). While in...

AL ASAD, Iraq -- The Fighting Griffins of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266 are witnessing a change in their mission as they provide tactical mobility and logistical support to the ground combat element in Iraq. More and more, the squadron’s missions focus on moving Iraqi soldiers in support of anti-insurgent operations along the frontlines of the battle. While participating in Operation Moonlight, Dec. 19, the Griffins flew Iraqi forces from the 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, along with their Marine advisors from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, in support of large-scale operations east of Ubaydi, in western Anbar province. Operation...

Race riot fears turn Bondi into no-go zone By Nick Squires In Sydney (Filed: 17/12/2005) Australian police warned visitors to stay away from Bondi and other famous beaches in Sydney this weekend amid fears of another flare-up of race violence between gangs of white and Middle Eastern youths. The warning, unprecedented in a country in which the beach forms a central part of the national psyche, extended to two other cities in New South Wales. A young surfer carries her board outside a Sydney surf club Bondi was declared a virtual no-go zone for the weekend, along with other popular...