Free Republic

Mayor Bloomberg made an impromptu visit to the Rockaways this week—although he was predominantly there to discuss Sandy recovery efforts with local paper The Wave (and declare that the age of the wooden boardwalk is so over), Bloomberg also was confronted by some Occupy Sandy members. And for once, he had nothing but praise for them: "Thank you for everything you've done. You guys are great," Bloomberg told them, as you can see in the video below. "We really do appreciate it, all kidding aside. You really are making a difference. Goodbye," he said. (VIDEO AT LINK) Bloomberg probably would...

A doctor charged Saturday with possessing a large quantity of chemicals used in bomb-making spent 15 years on the staff of a Manhattan hospital until he was fired in 2006 for refusing to submit to a psychiatric evaluation when a nurse accused him of stalking her, court records show. Roberto Rivera, 60, was charged with recklessly creating a risk of widespread injury or damage after federal and local authorities found precursor chemicals used in the making of explosives in the basement of a Ridgewood house, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said in a release Saturday afternoon. Rivera was being held...

This past Sunday, remnants of what is left of the Occupy Albany movement celebrated their one-month Anniversary by tying up traffic and insisting that they were "taking it to the man". Who that man is, is anybody's guess. A report from WNYT-Albany showed protesters insisting that despite a meager number of participants in the historic one-year march, the movement was far from dead. “As the capacity of an organizer, it never left. It’s not dead. It’s alive and well. It’s just that most of the organizers like myself, had school to do,” said Eddie Alkubari. It's not dead. It's alive...

Trinity Church is cancelling its annual Halloween celebration. A post on the church’s website says the “decision was made out of an abundance of caution as we continue to face safety issues arising from the sidewalk camp in front of Trinity Church.” A group called “Occupy Trinity Wall Street Church” –which labels itself as “An action of Occupy Wall Street” – set up a makeshift camp on the sidewalk in front of the church. -snip The church said some 1,200 people attended last year’s Halloween celebration and that it’s been held for the last eight years. “It’s a popular event...

Protest group Occupy today took over St Paul's Cathedral to mark the first anniversary of its original camp. Four women from the movement went into the cathedral and chained themselves to the pulpit during a service. They then gave a sermon attacking cathedral authorities for "colluding with the City of London Corporation" which led to their eviction. The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul's, said he was taking an evening prayer service when "four young women dressed in white" chained themselves to the structure. City of London Police are at the cathedral but the women from the...

Everyone who contributed to the violence and mayhem at Occupy Oakland protest marches should be held accountable - in one way or another - for their actions. Unfortunately, that's not how it works here in Oakland. On Friday, Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan meted out punishment to 44 police officers for misconduct connected to Occupy demonstrations over the past year. The discipline ranges from recommendations to terminate two officers to 30-day suspensions, written reprimands and counseling. In comparison, 106 protesters have been charged with felonies and misdemeanors during all Occupy actions in Oakland, according to the Alameda County district attorney's...

A report today in an official outlet of the Iranian regime claims that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, will meet with members of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Ahmadinejad is currently in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, where these reported meetings will take place. "Ahmadinejad is also set to meet American university students, artists, intellectuals and elites, including Occupy Wall Street anti-capitalist protestors, despite the ongoing efforts made by the pro-Zionist lobbies to prevent direct link between American people and the Iranian president," the Iranian organ Fars News reports. Earlier this year American professors gathered...

NEW YORK — During the final moments of what was meant to be a weekend of rejuvenation for the Occupy Wall Street movement, a key organizer looked to call it quits. Aaron Black is a protester who emerged in recent months to take up the mantle of leadership within a movement that prides itself on being “leaderless.” He expressed his own frustration with Occupy Wall Street in a tone of defeat. The movement celebrated its first anniversary Monday at Zuccotti Park, right on Wall Street’s doorstep. Black was among hundreds of protesters arrested during the weekend. Without going into details...

September 17th marks the one year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. Last year when the protests broke out, we were slightly confused when a barrage of insanely rich celebrities had hypocritically thrown their support behind the movement. Occupy Wall Street’s slogan “We are the 99%” is derived from the idea that the protesters represent the difference in wealth that separates the top 1% of society from every other American citizen. Occupy has defined the top 1% of Americans as anyone who with an annual household income greater than $593,000. So why are multi-millionaire celebrities announcing their support to grab headlines?...

Wall Street is today braced for its first major demonstration in a year, as hundreds of people are expected to take to the streets to mark the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. A series of "sit-ins" are planned throughout New York's financial district from about 7:30am, according to the organisers' website. The New York Stock Exchange, the headquarters of bailed-out insurer AIG and the New York Federal Reserve are expected to be among the targets. Monday's action follows a series of largely peaceful marches over the weekend in New York, where more than 200 people descended on...

“Government ’help’ to business is just as disastrous as government persecution... the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off.” That is what Ayn Rand has to say about government involvement in the world of business, but the full extent of this practice is difficult to nail down. Tad DeHaven of the CATO Institute investigated the situation to determine exactly how deep the problem runs. Periodically, CATO analyzes the federal budget to ascertain exactly how much money our government shovels out to favored parties. Unfortunately, over the years both parties have...

Twitter handed over the private tweets of an Occupy activist to a New York judge Friday after being threatened with contempt. The surrender ended a months-long standoff between the social media company and the Criminal Court in Manhattan. … Reuters reported that the Manhattan district attorney’s office hoped to use the tweets undermine (Malcolm) Harris’ claim that police intentionally led protesters onto the Brooklyn Bridge in order to arrest them. …

Police Thursday identified an Occupy Wall Street participant who is wanted for raping a fellow demonstrator and then throwing her over a second-story park railing earlier this week. The NYPD released a photo of suspect Jackie Barcliff, 44. Detectives believe met his 56-year-old victim during previous Occupy activities, police said. After the sex attack, the victim was tossed from the elevated park space, falling about 20 feet, breaking her pelvis and right arm, police sources said. She was found about 2 a.m. Monday morning. Her pants and underwear had been removed, the sources said, before she was thrown from the...

It's nearly impossible to find a subject on which the left and right agree in modern-day America. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm sure that the current Congressional gridlock is driving the centrists and moderates of both parties absolutely nuts. While the gridlock will undoubtedly remain until one party achieves some sort of clear edge in November, I believe that there are a few topics on which many on the left and the right do agree. First and foremost, there's the issue of corporate welfare. Chances are, you don't like corporate welfare. Neither do I. Nobody does, and who would? Big business...

Monday night protest blocks uptown streetsBy Meghan Cooke, Caroline McMillan and Ely Portillo The Charlotte Observer Posted: Tuesday, Sep. 04, 2012 **SNIP** A large force of bicycle-riding officers quickly surrounded the protesters, keeping them on the streets but preventing them from walking down some residential roads on the northeast side of uptown. More officers carrying batons and zip-tie handcuffs also walked with the march. **SNIP** “This is what a police state looks like!” they yelled. “Police everywhere, justice nowhere!” At times they broke into obscenities: “---- the police!”

Brief thoughts/quotes from the last 11 years. "Looking away, not caring, or hoping for the best are not viable options in fighting terrorism (in general) and the global jihad (specifically). Terrorism must be fought head on 24/7 and preventing terrorism is far better than just reacting to one terror-related event after another." -Cindy (July 1, 2011) ~ "WHAT DID I LEARN from the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001? OPINION: I have learned that more Americans love America than the lame-stream media will ever let on. I have learned that America's military is the finest in the world. I have...

SNIPPET: "I. When considering the matter of jihadis online, remember that most of what we think we know is based on analyses of the comments made by an handful of vocal activists. The vast majority of jihadis online, be they on forums or social networking sites[i], say nothing. Skillful translations and insightful analyses by definition tell us little about this potentially lethal yet silent majority."

(CNSNews.com) – The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – the “supreme leader” of Iran – praised America’s “Occupy Wall Street” movement on Thursday, calling it a reflection of people around the world who are “losing their patience” with the dominance of the United States and Israel in the international community. “Everybody has become tired of this faulty international structure,” Khamenei said in his inaugural address to the Non-Aligned Summit, a gathering of 120 nations now taking place in Tehran. “The 99-percent movement of the American people against the centers of wealth and power in America and the widespread protests of the people...

The CEO of Breitbart News and Andrew Breitbart's life-long friend Larry Solov said, "From day one, Andrew understood intuitively that the Occupy Movement was being orchestrated by sinister forces to wage class warfare in an attempt to divide Americans. He was not the kind of person to sit back and allow that to happen, nor would he allow the media to obscure their hateful agenda." If you want to know why Andrew Breitbart wanted the film “Occupy Unmasked” made, look no further than this email:

Yesterday, I interviewed my co-worker Brandon Darby as he was traveling toward the Republican National Convention in Florida. The interview focused on strategies used by anarchist protesters at the 2008 Republican National Convention and how those strategies will be used once again next week by the Occupy movement. In addition to trying to shut down bridges to prevent delegates from reaching the convention center next week, Brandon has learned that a subgroup of Occupy is looking to shut down EMS communications throughout the city. The video that goes along with this interview is one Brandon took at the RNC convention...