Free Republic

"...The charity was the Joyce Foundation on whose board of directors Obama served and which gave nearly $1.1 million in two separate grants that were “instrumental in developing and launching the privately-owned Chicago Climate Exchange, which now calls itself “North America’s only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide.” And that’s only the beginning of this tawdry tale, Mr. Barnes. The “privately-owned” Chicago Climate Exchange is heavily influenced by Obama cohorts Al Gore and Maurice Strong. For years now Strong and Gore have been cashing in on that lucrative cottage industry known...

Hollywood isn't alone in its anticipation of Armageddon. Writing in the summer issue of World Policy Journal, Maurice Strong - Canada's very own prophet of doom - unequivocally embraces the apocalypse. Straight-forwardly entitled "Facing Down Armageddon: Environment at a Crossroads," Mr. Strong's essay ends with a dire warning. "Human existence is at risk," he says. "We face an Armageddon that is both real and imminent." Yet he implicitly grasps for hope - choosing at any rate not to specify (as the new film 2012 does) the precise day, month and year of the catastrophe. More so than most people who...

Artist and blogger Todd Wilkinson is unhappy about the upcoming rules change which will permit law abiding citizens to carry defensive firearms in National Parks beginning in February. He asks... Always, the first question responsible legislators should ask when writing a law is this: What significant problem is being solved by putting another code on the books? I happen to agree with that particular statement. In this case, the significant problem being solved is that visitors to National Parks, unlike State and local parks, are having their Second Amendment rights taken away from them and are rendered defenseless. Wilkinson doesn't...

Canandaigua, N.Y. - Matt Glowacki, a national speaker on disabilities, will give a talk on “Diversity According to Family Guy and South Park,” on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Finger Lakes Community College. Glowacki will explore how TV shows operating on the fringes of societal acceptance, such as “The Family Guy” and “South Park,” often have a more developed, logical and inclusive view of society. His lecture begins at 1 p.m. in Stage 13 on the second floor of the main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive. Entry is free and open to the public. Visitors should arrive early to leave time...

Given that consumers have been so reluctant to spend lately, the family-run amusement park would seem especially vulnerable. But amusement park owners around the country say the weather, not the housing downturn or job losses, played a bigger role in their fortunes this past summer. “We had a lousy, wet June and a couple of hurricane threats this summer, so that was bad,” said Jack Morey, who with his brother Will, owns and runs three amusement piers along the Wildwood boardwalk. “Then the weather got better in August, and suddenly everyone was there.” If they have sunshine and moderate temperatures,Mr....

A senior Hamas terrorist, involved in planning the 2002 suicide bombing of the Park Hotel in Netanya, was arrested overnight Monday in the West Bank, security officials announced Tuesday. IDF soldiers detain a... IDF soldiers detain a Palestinian man (illustrative) Photo: AP [file] SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World Muhammad Harwish, head of Hamas's armed wing in Tulkarm, was apprehended along with his personal aide, Adnan Samara. The two were being interrogated by security forces. A Duvdevan special forces unit, along with personnel from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and special Border Police forces, arrested the pair after encountering...

Note: The following SNIPPET is a quote: Head of English Language School Sentenced to Federal Prison for Immigration Fraud Conspiracy Songwoo Shim Obtained Fraudulent Certification for School and Used School as Front to Issue Fraudulent Immigration Documents to Illegal Aliens ATLANTA, GA—SONGWOO SHIM, 48, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. to serve three years, 10 months in federal prison for conspiring to encourage and induce aliens to reside unlawfully in the United States and for manufacturing fraudulent visa documents. Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant obtained approval...

Iraqi Police officers and their families from Kirkuk province, and 1st Cavalry Division Soldiers ride the rollercoaster together at the Iraqi Police Kids Night at the Kirkuk Amusement Park, Aug. 18. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor, 1st Cavalry Division. FOB WARRIOR — The high-pitched sound of children laughing and a rollercoaster's rumble were heard at the Kirkuk Amusement Park on the outskirts of Kirkuk City, Aug. 18. Iraqi Police (IP), their children, and U.S. Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, traveled in groups, wandering the park looking for the best rides.Weeks...

August 14, 2005 -- LONDON — The $21.3 billion United Nations oil-for-food scandal has now widened to include the brother of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Kobina Annan, the Ghanaian ambassador to Morocco, is said by investigators to be "connected" to an African businessman at the center of the scandal. The probe into Kobina's dealings are at an early stage and he has not been interviewed. However, investigators are understood to suspect that Michael Wilson, an African businessman, and Kobina had a business relationship at the time of the scandal. A source close to the investigation said: "We believe Kobina Annan...

Unique among the public lands of this country, national parks traditionally have banned the carrying of loaded firearms. National forests, wildlife refuges, preserves and other conservation areas have no such blanket rule. Neither should national parks, as Congress reluctantly recognized this month. For decades, Americans accepted the simplistic reasoning behind the firearm prohibition: Parks don’t allow hunting. Therefore, no one needs to carry a firearm within one. Advocates viewed the ban as a simple way of helping prevent poaching in parks, and it was. It dispensed with the complexities of actually showing some wrongdoing by a park visitor who carried...

Great Falls National ParkOver the last few years states have been moving aggressively to make parks safe for gun carry. The states have been going about this in two ways: First, by repealing state statutes and regulations which make gun carry in parks unlawful. And second, by preempting localities from regulating gun carry in any way. For example, in 2002 the Virginia Attorney General issued an opinion stating that the Virginia Department of Conservation's regulation forbidding the concealed carry of handguns in state parks, National Forests, and certain other lands was in conflict with state law. Virginia Governor (and now...

Washington — Take the freeway out of town and soon you’ll see the huge headquarters of the National Rifle Association just a short way away in suburban Virginia. The NRA moved here in 1994, the year the gun lobby helped Republicans win control of Congress in midterm elections. The group’s logo, in a power font, bears down with influence. The NRA exerts enormous sway over members of Congress. Lawmakers are reluctant to be at odds with the gun lobby. As much as this country may be shifting left on many issues, experts say voters remain solidly behind the Second Amendment....

The guys at Arkansas Carry are tonight reporting that the Sebastian County Quorum Court meeting went well. In fact they apparently voted unanimously to end the ban on guns in city parks! Arkansas Carry gets a big, "Bravo Zulu" for their work tonight. This could effect the rest of the state's rules on guns in city parks. Right now here's the update from their website, "The Quorum Court agenda tonight was really full, and they moved the Ben Geren gun ban repeal to the very last. The meeting started at 7 pm, but they didn't get to our subject until...

WASHINGTON -- A coalition of House Democrats, retired rangers and supporters of national parks called on House leaders Tuesday to kill a Senate-passed amendment by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to allow loaded guns in national parks. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, conceded the group faced an uphill battle. That did not stop Grijalva and other members of the coalition from describing the Coburn amendment and its consequences in stark terms. Grijalva warned the Coburn provision would be dangerous and accused the senator of hijacking a popular credit card...

Related ArticlesWe Must Keep Guns Out of National Parks Gun Owners Overturn National Parks Gun Ban Louisiana Student Fires Gun Over Teacher's Head, Shoots Self Students Rally to Keep Guns Off College Campus Get ready to pinch yourself. After eight years of clashing with anti-gun bureaucrats and congressional leadership hostile to gun rights, we have never been closer to victory in the battle to repeal the National Park Service (NPS) gun ban. As you are by now undoubtedly aware, NPS land is subject to a blanket gun ban. A Bush administration regulation partially reversing the ban was singlehandedly negated recently...

New legislation currently winding its way through Congress is forcing Democratic leaders to face the serious problem the party has when it comes to guns. At the heart of the matter is the question of packing heat in Yellowstone. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to attach an amendment to unrelated credit card legislation allowing people to carry guns in National Parks, something more liberal House Democratic leaders are determined to yank out of the bill. A similar thing happened with the DC Voting Rights Bill passed earlier this year by the House and Senate. The measure, a priority of Democratic leaders...

Arkansas Carry has contacted Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, asking him and the Sebastian County Quorum Court to repeal a county rule that bans firearms at Ben Geren Park, according to information provided by Arkansas Carry Vice Chairman Steve Jones. The Sebastian Code rule reads: “It shall be unlawful for any person to introduce or otherwise bring into the Ben Geren Regional Park any firearm or to have within his or her possession a firearm while within the Ben Geren Regional Park unless the person has been given express permission to do so by the administration of the Ben Geren...

Here's a timely story. Polihale State Park on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, has been closed since December when flooding damaged a small bridge at the entrance to the park (for Wikipedia link on Polihale State Park see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polihale_State_Park). It would have taken $4 million and 2 years for the State to repair the bridge. But the State of Hawaii, like other states, is out of money. So when the bridge could be repaired and the park re-opened was anybody's guess. A bunch of the vendors and residents whose livelihoods depend on the tourist trade from the park got...

Video on site"And it's gone!"

South Park dares to say who REALLY should get credit for all the economic stimulus and budget spending. (Hint, it's not Obama). http://www.butasforme.com/2009/03/26/kids-will-pay/

I'll leave it to others to present statistical arguments refuting U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's insane ruling that an environmental impact study has any relevance to real-world consequences if existing state laws regarding concealed carry are applied in national parks. The crux of her extremist position? The lynchpin of Defendants’ response is that the Final Rule has no environmental impacts–and that Defendants were not required to perform any environmental analysis–because the Final Rule only authorizes persons to possess concealed, loaded, and operable firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, and does not authorize persons to discharge, brandish, or otherwise use...

This happened because I was looking at a picture of Australia from space and I said to myself, "What is that island off the coast from Adelaide?" Here's a map: So this island is Kangaroo Island, and it has a rock formation called Remarkable Rocks. I recommend a Google image search for them: if you include the name of the national park (Flinders Chase), you'll find quite a few. Below is one example This is probably the most photographed one:

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Oct. 10, 2008 – A new park is setting the stage for progress in one of Afghanistan’s most impoverished areas. A soldier from the New Zealand provincial reconstruction team stands guard while U.S. Army Capt. Eileen Stiffey, Task Force Warrior project purchasing officer, and John Weckera, political advisor to the New Zealand PRT, await access into the Woman’s and Family Park in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province, Sept. 25, 2008. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Bamyan Valley has a rugged beauty unmatched by most of Afghanistan, but it remains one of the poorest and...

In a town once predominantly Eastern European but now mostly Mexican, there's a flag flap blowing in the wind. Cicero residents recently complained that the Mexican flag was flying at the town's new Cicero Community Park. Although the U.S. and Illinois flags, as well as a sports flag, are flown there, some longtime residents accused town officials of being un-American and demanded the Mexican flag be taken down. "We are at war and you're flying a foreign flag?" Susan Masek, 56, said at last week's town meeting. "We want that flag down. This is the United States. Only the American...

What if you decided to patronize the local neighborhood park and discovered that baseball, football, softball, wiffle ball, volleyball, basketball, soccer, kickball, handball, tennis, frisbee, kite flying, model airplane flying and ping pong were all banned there? Sounds like fun, no? (I’m not sure about go-fish or European-style tiddly-winks). And what if I also told you that if you were contemplating a nice bike ride through the park, you could just forget it? Bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, roller blades, shopping carts, golf carts or any other motorized-wheeled modes of transportation are also banned – although, to be fair, baby carriages,...

Artists display their talents as they paint works of art during “Karadah Day” and the reopening of Jadriya Lake Park in the Karadah District of southeast Baghdad, Aug. 22, 2008. Photo by Spc. Grant Okubo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE RUSTAMIYAH — An estimated 2,250 Iraqi citizens witnessed a step toward a return to normalcy as local officials reopened Jadriya Lake Park in the Karadah District of eastern Baghdad, Aug. 22.Government officials, security force leaders, contractors, and Soldiers who all worked together to restore the lake and surrounding grounds joined the people in celebrating the successful lake reopening.Karadah District Council chairman Dr....

The snake hunter shakes his head as he crouches over a sandy trail that pushes through Collier-Seminole State Park. Hoping to spy subtle signs of his slithering prey, Paul Andreadis instead finds only pebble-sized pockmarks left by raindrops overnight and maybe tracks left by a deer, probably that morning. “No, nothing here,” said Andreadis, a snake researcher visiting Collier-Seminole last week from Denison University, located near Columbus, Ohio. Andreadis stands up and, from behind the mosquito netting hanging from the brim of his wide-brimmed hat, sets his sights on the trail ahead. He knows Burmese pythons are out there; a...

Just minutes before 2:30 p.d.t. a fire broke out above Travel Town the train location of the park. Located half way up the mountain, the fire continues to grow as of this writing. It appears to have spread to several acres at this point, but I am unable to see it up close. Photos and video to follow...

Another in an occasional series of great state parks. Ricketts Glen is a fairly large state park west of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre; apparently chock-full of waterfalls (24 named on the Falls Trail). Here's a couple: This one's called Ganoga Falls; nice change-of-pace with black-and-white. At 94 feet, it's the tallest in the park. Nice small picture, no name given. Could be the same fall as the one below it (Murray Reynolds Falls). Murray Reynolds Falls: This last one was also taken at Ricketts Glen, not a waterfall, and it's 1/4 size (click for full-size). Nice desktop candidate.

An L.A. Speculator Plans a Disney-Style Park in BaghdadWhat a blast By DAVID FERRELL Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - 6:19 pm Only five years after U.S. warplanes rained down “shock and awe” on Iraq, decimating towns and families, a few rich Californians have figured out how to counter the mortar attacks, suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism that continue to ravage the capital city, Baghdad. Build an amusement park. Not enough excitement in machine-gun fire and cars blowing up? Soon, thanks to some Los Angeles–area venture capitalists, Iraqis may have what every adrenaline junkie really craves — thrill rides....

Bo (woof) in commentary: Cool device for those younger than 106. Another machine that will allow your owner to get fatter than ever http://boknowsonline.com/2008/04/30/perpetual-motion-machine/

Texas Department of Transportation that claims it has no money for roads uses $20 million in gas tax funds to build a park. Woodall Rodgers ParkThe Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation announced yesterday that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) would hand over $20 million in gas tax funds to help build a 5.2 acre park near downtown Dallas. The $67 million park is intended to serve as a model public-private partnership with a restaurant, a children's playground and a dog park. It will have no roads. "The park... will connect Uptown, Downtown and the Arts District, and is expected to...

Matthew Murray was kicked out of a missionary training program five years ago for strange behavior...Murray performed a pair of dark rock songs at a concert at the mission that made fellow workers "pretty scared,"...which included a song by rock band Linkin Park...Werner, of Balneario Camborius, Brazil, said he had a bunk near Murray's and that Murray would roll around in bed and make noises. "He would say, 'Don't worry, I'm just talking to the voices,' " Werner said. "He'd say, 'Don't worry, Richard. You're a nice guy. The voices like you.' "

FORT HUACHUCA — Humans like to socialize. So do dogs. Unlike two-legged mammals who can throw a party in the back yard for neighbors or engage in more high-toned activities, the socialization of humans’ four-legged best friends is limited. But no more. On Saturday, a new park opened on the fort. It’s an off-leash area for dogs to run and meet the varying members of the canine species. Until the park opened, dogs had nowhere else to run loose on post. The Williams Field Dog Park was the brainstorm and project of the Fort Huachuca Sgt. Audie Murphy Club. It...

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — An undercover investigation into public sex in Johnson City parks has led to the arrest of 40 men in two weeks. "Our parks are for family use. People should not be exposed to this while they are out there with their family or trying to enjoy the walking trails," Johnson City Police Chief John Lowry said. "They are not built nor maintained for sexual activity, be it homosexual activity or heterosexual activity." The investigation in the Winged Deer and Buffalo Mountain parks began after police received complaints from the public. "Part of this took place off...

This one was still passed out at 8:22 this morning. this is in St. Augustine's historical plaza, right across from the Cathedral steps. Yeah, I made sure he was breathing. The police department seems to have it's hands tied, the plaza is full of these.

The United Nations' Cash for Kim Jong Il scandal is now six months old, so it's a good time to assess progress, if that's the right word. The evidence of misdeeds at the U.N. Development Program in North Korea continues to mount, but there's still no "urgent" and "external" inquiry, as ordered by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in January. Now the U.S. has uncovered evidence that in addition to transferring millions of dollars in cash that may have gone to help prop up Kim's grotesque regime, the UNDP also transferred dual-use technology. It did so without bothering to secure a U.S....

San Diego Chapter: Any freepers know about the park just south of downtown that had the overcrossing painted Red White and Green?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A fire broke out in the hills above Los Angeles on Tuesday, not far from the famed Hollywood sign, forcing evacuation of the city's largest park and zoo and snarling traffic on a major freeway. The fire, which authorities say may have been started by arson, began about 1:20 p.m. PDT (4:20 p.m. EDT) and was fanned by unseasonably high temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. The blaze was centered in hilly Griffith Park, home of the Griffith Observatory, where scenes from James Dean classic movie "Rebel Without a Cause" were filmed in the 1950s. Authorities...

Two days after they were beaten in a city park as they tried to help a girl who was under attack, Edward White and his wife, Angelique Denwiddie, are determined to move back to Chicago. White, a native of the North Side, said Thursday that he wants to return to the city to help youths find jobs and stay out of trouble. "It's time. I want to be a part of the community. I want to keep it strong," said White, 38, who has lived in Skokie with this wife and children for four years. Seeking better schools for their...

A 20-year-old Richmond man was sprayed with gunfire early Friday as he sat in a car across the street from a "tent city" occupied by people campaigning to end gun violence. But residents of the encampment said the killing had only strengthened their resolve. Travante James was shot multiple times shortly after 4 a.m. across the street from John F. Kennedy Park, home of one of four tent cities that have sprung up recently around Richmond's Iron Triangle and other crime-plagued areas. The victim was taken by paramedics to Kaiser Medical Center in Richmond and pronounced dead, making him the...

At the link, above (this link will be good for a few more hours). North Korea's top diplomat to the UN, Mr. Park, strolls the streets of NYC yesterday, spouting additional DPRK nuclear threats, smirking, and stating that the UN should in fact "congratulate our scientists and researchers". Smirking later in the brief video when in a UN meeting, shaking hand of DPRK diplomatic colleague, etc..Japanese TV Windows Media Clip 300K. Smirking starts at 10 seconds into clip--be patient for the load. Additional threats issued later, in Korean, and subtitled into Japanese.http://meta.cdn.yahoo-streaming.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20061010-00000051-nnn-int-movie-000&media=wm300k

An aggressive squirrel pounced on a 4-year-old boy in an attack last week in Cuesta Park in Mountain View. The attack happened as the boy's mother unwrapped a muffin during a picnic. Ironically, efforts to curb the behavior may have exacerbated the squirrels' aggressive tendencies, Muela said. This summer, the city installed new trash receptacles featuring metal tops with a latch that makes it nearly impossible for an animal to rummage through the can in search of food. Increased park ranger patrols and flier distributions cautioning against feeding the animals might have further cut the squirrels' food supply, prompting them...

Bukit Mertajam Recreational Park is worth visiting. Its cool hill air encourages a profusion of ferns and wild flowers, as well as exotic butterflies, birds and insects. For the adventurous, there are numerous jungle tracks leading to the heart of the forest. Visit Fort Cornwallis was built on the site of Francis Light's historic landing in 1786. Originally a wooden stockade, it was replaced by a concrete structure built by convict labour, in 1804. Today, an open-air amphitheatre, history gallery, and handicraft and souvenir centre occupy the interior.

Canton police aren’t sure why Qamara Biquis Muhammad’s little boys were left in her van for more than two hours. They’re not precisely sure where the mother of the 3- and 5-year-old children went in the hours before 2:30 a.m. July 10. And they’re not really sure why Muhammad had lost custody of the children, and how long ago the boys went to live with their grandmother. The children were placed in the care of a family member, and Muhammad, 24, of Ypsilanti was charged with two counts of second-degree child abuse, each a four-year felony, and two counts of...

Saddam Hussein’s regime paid millions of dollars to a South Korean businessman to create a “secret backchannel” to top UN officials, including Boutros Boutros Ghali, then the UN Secretary-General, US prosecutors alleged today. The claim, formally naming Dr Boutros Ghali for the first time, was made at the start of the first US trial over the UN’s Oil-for-Food scandal. Prosecutors said that Tongsun Park received $2.5 million (£1.4 million) in cash plus promises of lucrative business deals in return for providing access to Dr Boutros Ghali and at least one other top UN official. “Tongsun Park has access at the...

GLYNDON, Minn.— Authorities arrested 10 people in a raid on an alleged drug ring that investigators said controlled part of a mobile home park, including one of its two entrances. The suspects "actually had the entire front of the trailer park sealed off,'' Police Chief Mike Cline said. But that control ended around noon Monday, when 37 officers from 11 law-enforcement agencies raided four mobile homes in the park, arrested all 10 suspects, and seized nearly $200,000 worth of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Demonstrations at Armory Park today are part of a national effort dubbed "A Day Without an Immigrant." Latinos across the country skipped work and boycotted businesses in an effort to demonstrate the importance of immigrants to the economy. At Tucson's Armory Park, hundreds sat in small groups listening to music, eating lunch and mingling around. The tone is low-key, unlike the demonstration last month ---

This started as a question to myself: "I wonder if there are sand dunes in northern climates?" Googling on "sand dunes" + Canada revealed another heretofore unknown (at least to me) geological location -- Athabasca Sand Dunes in Saskatchewan. I've heard of Athabasca before in association with tar sands, but this is a the first time I'd heard of a provincial Athabasca Sand Dunes Park. The Web site says that is only accessible by air. So I'm guessing not a lot of people have been there or visit there. Since this is very new to me and perhaps others, first...

Comedy Central Censored Mohammed I'm not sure if it's been reported yet, but for what it's worth, I just got off the phone with a Comedy Central spokesman. I asked him about last night's episode of South Park in which, at a moment right before the prophet Mohammed was supposed to make a cameo, the words, "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network" appeared on the screen. I asked him whether this truly was Comedy Central's decision or whether this was just another gag (with South Park, you never know). He said: They reflected...