Free Republic

Still No Accountability (excerpted from: http://www.commoditynewscenter.com/blogs/When_Regulators_Need_Regulators) Over the past couple of days the plot has once again thickened, and guess who is back at the center of it all? Mary Shipiro and her agency, the SEC. Didn't hear about what happened? Neither did anyone else. On Friday a story hit the wire late in the day and that has gone largely unnoticed. Around 6pm EST, both the New York Times and Reuters covered what happened and the stories were similarly titled "SEC Lawyers Investigated for Insider Trading." In a nutshell the story goes like this... What is the reason that...

Top Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro is reportedly facing a criminal probe into his ties to Bernard Madoff, although experts say it’s not clear the 96-year-old Hub man will ever face charges. “When you hit 96, I think you get some immunity,” said Willis Riccio, former New England chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Shapiro is one of at least eight Madoff associates targeted by a probe into Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Others include Shapiro’s son-in-law Robert Jaffe - a part-time Weston resident who allegedly served as Madoff’s Hub salesman -...

Spokesman Robert Wood says the top US diplomat for the Middle East Jeffrey Feltman and National Security Council member Daniel Shapiro are traveling to Damascus on Tuesday for their second visit to Syria since March. The trip was announced as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad arrived in Syria to meet with leaders of 10 hardline Palestinian groups.

By Judy Shapiro United States News Agency New York --- February 18, 2009...... I find myself in an usual business at a very unusual time. After spending years working with technology leaders in telecommunications, software and security, I wanted to explore the expanding role of social networks in our everyday online worlds. So I went looking for opportunities in this new “cool” space. Not so easy given my decidedly lack of “coolness” (I haven’t seen “20 something” in a few decades). Yet nonetheless, in a sheer stroke of great luck and timing, I recently landed at Paltalk — the leader...

Enough with the pseudonyms. Western civilization isn't at war with terrorism any more than it is at war with grenades. Western civilization is at war with militant Islam, which dominates Muslim communities all over the world. Militant Islam isn't a tiny minority of otherwise good-hearted Muslims. It's a dominant strain of evil that runs rampant in a population of well over 1 billion. Enough with the psychoanalysis. They don't hate us because of Israel. They don't hate us because of Kashmir. They don't hate us because we have troops in Saudi Arabia or because we deposed Saddam Hussein. They don't...

Our political leadership -- folks like President George W. Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and President-elect Barack Obama -- told us that the government would save us. They said that the economic crisis was so dire, so grim, that we needed to allow the government to spend our money to bail out Wall Street. They stated that Paulson, with full authority and no oversight, would be able to right the ship. We were ignorant enough to believe them. Now they tell us that Paulson has exercised his authority recklessly. They say that...

Greg Campbell is an obscure writer for the Fort Collins, Colo. But on Oct. 26, he penned what serves as the perfect window into the mind of many Barack Obama supporters. Campbell attended an Obama rally with his 11-year-old son, Turner. Turner was excited by Obamas typical American Dream stump speech. Campbell himself was excited not by Obama, but by his sons reaction: “For me, (Obama’s message) sunk in because I could see it through the eyes of an 11-year-old.” We have reached a dangerous point in American politics when parents take their voting cues from 11-year-old children. But Campbell...

Watch this video. It is Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast singing "Be Our Guest" -- Barack Obama's version. The lyrics: Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as the government proudly presents - your dinner! Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test Give your money to the IRS, And we'll provide the rest Welfare check Free health care Why, we always do what's fair! Try abortion! Costs no money! Don't believe me?...

With the election fast approaching, and American Jews still polling strong support for Obama, I cut a YouTube video entitled "The Jewish Case Against Barack Obama." There's a 1:40 second trailer, which can be found here, as well as the video itself, which is split into three parts (total about 20 minutes). Part I discusses Obama's advisors. Part II covers his friends. Part III touches his running mate and his own statements, and concludes. Every American Jew, and every American supporter needs to watch this video before voting. Barack Obama is the most frightening candidate for pro-Israel Americans since the...

Forget buyer's remorse -- the real malady likely to be triggered by the never-ending Democratic presidential race is buyer's confusion. [snip] With the chances to rerun the outlaw Michigan and Florida primaries now at the vanishing point, it may be time to inquire about a do-over for the rest of America. This is not an argument for Clinton, who otherwise probably has too far to go and too few remaining primaries to get there. But after a week punctuated by Obama's right-stuff response to wrong-way Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Clinton's document dump of today-tea-was-served White House schedules, Democrats are being...

Sen. Barack Obama's star appeal is causing physiological reactions in his supporters. Which is to say, they're fainting. And these fainting routines are causing me physiological reactions. Which is to say, I'm throwing up. At no less than six of Obama's recent rallies, fans have reportedly fainted. Those incidents were caught on video or audio. In each, Obama -- who never even thinks to put down the microphone or ask a campaign aide to take care of the matter -- narrates to the crowd as medical volunteers show up to minister to the stricken. In two of the videos, he...

Published: February 14, 2008 Conservatives: Sitting Out 2008 Is the Height of IdiocyBen Shapiro The conservative base isn't fond of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. They disagree with him on a wide variety of issues, and they feel insulted by McCain's ardent desire to please those across the political aisle.            But conservatives are fools if they stay home in November.            There's plenty to question about John McCain, but there's one thing conservatives can't question: McCain is better than Hillary Clinton. He's better than Barack Obama. And it's not close.            McCain is a hard-line proponent of victory in Iraq. He has pledged to...

The American Left is fond of bumper sticker slogans. One of their favorites comes from arch-wit Samuel Johnson, who once reportedly remarked, "Patriotism is that last refuge of a scoundrel." Johnson was describing false patriots – his 1755 dictionary defined "patriot" as "one whose ruling passion is the love of his country." Nonetheless, Leftists have rallied around the anti-patriotic banner. Their current leader is lauded scholar and campus hero professor Howard Zinn, quasi-Marxist author of the virulently anti-American "A People's History of the United States." On July 4, Zinn posted his most recent diatribe against patriotism: "On this July 4,...

Standing Up Against The Anti-Police Axis By Ben Shapiro Wednesday, May 23, 2007 On May 11, in Franconia, New Hampshire, 48-year-old police Cpl. Bruce McKay pulled over a 24-year-old, longhaired ne'er-do-well named Liko Kenney for speeding. The two had met before -- in 2003, Kenney pled guilty to assaulting McKay during an arrest. Now, Kenney blithely informed McKay that he would prefer to deal with another officer. Then he drove off. McKay quickly followed in his patrol vehicle. About a mile down the road, he forced Kenney off the road, then pepper-sprayed Kenney to subdue him. Kenney then pulled out...

A state senator in Texas is feeling the heat from constituents – and trying to apologize – for arranging to have a controversial Muslim imam deliver a prayer to open the state Senate that excluded both Christians and Jews. "Imagine the outcry if a Christian or Jew had offered a prayer that excluded all other religions to open the state Senate!" said S. Newman. "This state and nation were established and have been sustained on a foundation of Biblical principles and practices. The only reason to attack the foundation of any structure is to initiate the process which leads to...

UPS's purchase of Mail Boxes Etc. looked great on paper. Then came the culture clash. By RICHARD GIBSON May 8, 2006; Page R13 When United Parcel Service Inc. announced it was acquiring the Mail Boxes Etc. shipping chain five years ago, franchisee Dana Houser thought his entrepreneurial dreams were finally coming true. UPS was one of the biggest names in the business, known for prompt, reliable service. Mr. Houser figured the company's reputation would send customers surging into his Mail Boxes Etc. store in Lincoln, Neb. UPS, he recalls, told him that outlets would see so much more volume they...

Preschool for All Committee Total (last twelve months):$2,169,584 Cash on Hand (as of June 30):$195,431 Expenditures (Note: this includes only late contributions, generally large electronically filed contributions.This is not necessarily the total amount of cash-on-hand for the committee.) << Donor >> << Amount >> << Received Date >> << Report Date >> Carl And Estelle Reiner (Beverly Hills, CA) $500,000 12/07/2005 12/16/2005 Jamel Perkins (San Francisco, CA) $5,000 11/22/2005 12/02/2005 Catholic Healthcare West (Phoenix, AZ) $25,000 11/11/2005 11/18/2005 Brian S. Snyder (New York, NY) $30,000 11/10/2005 11/18/2005 Hispanic Express, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) $20,000 11/09/2005 11/18/2005 Elon R. Musk (Los...

The 24-year old son of renowned defense attorney Robert Shapiro died Monday of an apparent drug overdose, authorities said. Brent Edward Shapiro, a USC student on the dean’s list, had been partying with friends at a residence near the Hollywood Bowl after Saturday’s USC-Arizona football game. He became ill and was found in a comatose state at 7 a.m. Sunday. His friends called paramedics, who took him to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. At the hospital, Shapiro’s friends told emergency staff that he had taken the drug Ecstasy (also known as MDMA). He was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Blood tests at...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC News President Neal Shapiro resigned on Tuesday, ending months of speculation about his future at the network that is facing heightened competition at its flagship morning program, "Today." An NBC spokeswoman confirmed Shapiro's resignation, which the 12-year network veteran announced in a memo to news staff. He has held the top NBC News job since 2001. Shapiro said he had been considering a change since the network began its annual planning and that he missed the creativity he enjoyed in previous jobs as a producer. "I've concluded that it's time to move on to a...

Contents IntroductionWhat is the PSM/ISM?ISM Rewriting History ACT NOW! - OPPOSE GOOGLE'S PLAN Automatically send emails opposing Google's planSign a petition Introduction According to Lee Kaplan, writing for FrontPageMagazine.com: The Internet giant Google will give news agency status to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), according to an anonymous source at Google. If true, the ISM—an affiliate of the anarchist/communist wing of the PLO—would be on par with professional news services such as CNN, Fox, and Associated Press. … The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM) are related and interconnected organizations that have one goal: the...