Free Republic

Movement invades stores in push for government to tax the rich and big companies more instead of making budget cutsWith superglue and megaphones, pop-up protests forced several branches of Topshop and Vodafone around the country to close today on one of the busiest trading days of the year. Campaigners staged a sit-in at Sir Philip Green's flagship London Topshop store, and in Brighton a few glued themselves to the branch windows, while other high streets in towns and cities across Britain saw similar protests in a day of action against the tax arrangements of rich individuals and big businesses. Green,...

<p>But on Sunday, two days after federal law enforcement officials arrested Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, and accused him of plotting to bomb the square during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, it was more subdued.</p> <p>Workers were preparing the brick-covered plaza for the 15th annual Holiday Ale Festival that starts on Wednesday. Private security officers patrolled the area. And visitors were still puzzled by the news of the plot.</p>

Airport Lobbies Possible Terror Targets in European Plot, Official Says Mounting 'Chatter' by Jihadi Extremists Has Law Enforcement Nervous Among the possible targets in the suspected European terror plot are pre-security areas in at least five major European airports, a law enforcement official told ABC News. Authorities believe terror teams are preparing to mount a commando like attack featuring small units and small firearms modeled after the Mumbai attack two years ago. The State Department issued a highly unusual "Travel Alert" Sunday for "potential terrorist attacks in Europe," saying U.S. citizens are "reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack...

Conservative blogger Pamela Geller says she has been threatened with discontinuation of her online payment account by PayPal, the most widely used service of its kind. On her popular Web site, Atlas Shrugs, Geller posted the text of an e-mail notice she received Saturday morning from PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy Department. "[A]fter a recent review of your account, it has been determined that you are currently in violation of PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy," the PayPal e-mail said. "Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for items that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance...

The clip begins with Machete delivering a threatening message to Arizona, which recently cracked down on illegal immigrants. The script, leaked to Alex Jones, a right-wing radio talk show host, seemed to confirm conservatives' worst fears that the film... Full Article at The Australian

The United States is working with both Egypt and Russia to rid Israel of its nuclear weapons, as part of a comprehensive plan to neutralize Iran’s nuclear power. Reports of this nature are being reported in various news media. The Guardian (London) reports that the US and Russia have drafted an initiative to ban nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, while the Wall Street Journal says the Obama Administration is considering support for a “nuclear-free Middle East.”

WASHINGTON (AP) - New federal rules are in the works to limit the amount of mercury and other harmful pollutants released from boilers and solid waste incinerators. A proposal Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency targets mercury emissions from about 200,000 industrial boilers, heaters and solid waste incinerators. Mercury can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled. First there was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles. Later, Robin Beaton, a registered nurse from Texas. And then, most recently, there was Patricia Relling, a successful art gallery owner and interior designer from Louisville, Kentucky. None of the women knew about the others. But besides their similar narratives, they had something else in common: Their health insurance carriers were subsidiaries of WellPoint, which has 33.7 million policyholders -- more than...

RUSH: So what's a tea party, folks? The tea party, when you boil it down to its essence, is a backlash. It is a backlash from people who work and who expect their kids and grandkids to work, who want to work, who want their kids and grandkids to work, who understand what it is that's made this country great. That's who the tea party is.

JERUSALEM - Should Israel attack Iranian nuclear facilities, it would probably carry out precision strikes while making every effort not to hit the oil sector or other civilian sites. Past Israeli operations, such as the 1981 bombing of Iraq's Osirak atomic reactor and a similar sortie against Syria in 2007, suggest a strategy of one-off pinpoint raids, due both to military limitations and a desire to avoid wider war. A simulation at the Brookings Institution in Washington last December theorized that Israel, intent on halting what the West suspects is Tehran's covert quest for atomic arms, would launch a sneak...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Federal prosecutors have started a criminal investigation into the investment activities of the California Public Employees Retirement System, a newspaper reported Friday. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said Justice Department officials in Los Angeles are examining potential influence-peddling within CalPERS, the nation's largest public pension fund. At issue is whether the investment decisions of fund managers were influenced by bribes rather than the best long-term interests of pensioners. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, declined to comment to The Associated Press. Brad Pacheco, CalPERS' chief...

2/12/2010 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- Information warfare was around long before the computer. Even in the days of homing pigeons, adversaries would attempt to intercept each other's messages to gain an advantage. Today, the enemy is still trying to steal our secrets, but they have devised new methods in this age of ones and zeros. One of these methods is known as spear phishing. Phishing is defined by Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations officials as "criminal activity using social engineering techniques." Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords, personal information, military operations and financial...

The shopping malls of America will be among the next major terrorist targets. Malls make such obvious high-value targets that it's difficult to grasp why they haven't been hit up until now. Shopping malls are America's marketplaces, constantly packed with people, with uncontrolled entry, and openly vulnerable to any given form of attack. We need only consider the darkest days of the Iraqi terror campaign of 2006-2007 to grasp how the jihadis view marketplaces. Scarcely a week went by without another Iraqi marketplace bombing, with casualties largely consisting of women and children, mounting from the dozens to the hundreds. We...

The shopping malls of America will be among the next major terrorist targets. Malls make such obvious high-value targets that it's difficult to grasp why they haven't been hit up until now. Shopping malls are America's marketplaces, constantly packed with people, with uncontrolled entry, and openly vulnerable to any given form of attack. We need only consider the darkest days of the Iraqi terror campaign of 2006-2007 to grasp how the jihadis view marketplaces. Scarcely a week went by without another Iraqi marketplace bombing, with casualties largely consisting of women and children, mounting from the dozens to the hundreds. We...

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan, Jan. 4, 2010 – Adjusting his body armor, a designated marksman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, tracked the progress of a patrol of Marines from his perch atop a rocky hillside. The marksman followed the line of tan figures as they plodded along toward the platoon attack course at Range 3 here Jan. 2. A Marine advances toward targets during a training exercise at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan, Jan. 2, 2010. The targets marked with yellow represent civilians, while the solid green silhouettes are enemies. The platoon attack course focused on the positive identification of...

Snips: Dallas is now officially one of the nation's top 10 terrorist targets – a designation that sounds alarming but which state and local officials have sought for years, because it means millions in federal funds to beef up security. In Washington, homeland security officials had little to say publicly about the rationale for moving Dallas – along with Boston and Philadelphia – into the top tier of cities facing potential threat. The additions create a top 10 list for the first time. The Tier 1 list already included New York and Washington, which were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001,...

In his new book The Audacity to Win, Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe recalls that Sen. John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was a fundraising boon -- for the Obama campaign. "We had taken in millions of dollars in the three hours since Palin had started speaking," Plouffe recalls. "We hadn't even asked for most of it; we had sent out just a single unplanned fund-raising email highlighting her attacks on community organizers, but it was just starting to hit people's in-boxes as I checked the numbers. So the big response from...

On October 15, the State Security Court of Jordan imposed jail sentences of 15 to 20 years on 12 alleged Jordanian members of al-Qaeda accused of attacks against a church in the Kingdom last year (Al-Ghad [Amman], October 16; Al-Rai [Amman], October 16). In a reaction similar to those seen in trials of Salafi-Jihadis, plot leader Shaker al-Khatib and the rest of the convicted group prostrated themselves, thanking Allah as a sign of defiance against the court (al-Jazeera, October 15). Al-Khatib and four others in the group, aged between 19 and 28, received the death penalty, but the court commuted...

The day after the deadliest example of Muslim terrorism to be carried out inside the U.S. since 9/11, President Obama told us not to “jump to conclusions” about the motives of the alleged shooter, in spite of the fact that several eyewitnesses reported that the alleged shooter, Maj. Malik Hasan shouted “Allah Akbar” as he gunned down his fellow soldiers. On Sunday, in an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Casey Jr. also warned the public of drawing any conclusions about Maj. Hasan, and lamented that “It would be a shame — as...

The Blue Dog Democrats have 53 members who are deamed to be considered Fiscal Conservatives, but the analysis of their three votes on the Stimulus, Cap and Trade, and Healthcare tell a different story for the vast majority. There are two members of the Black Caucus who are Blue Dogs: Rep Sanford Bishop (GS-02) and Rep David Scott (GA-13) both of who voted for all three bills. With so many people on here attacking Republicans for not doing more, decided to look into the numbers. Since the loss of a Republican seat on Tuesday to a Dem in NY-23, the...