Free Republic

PCs Used in Korean DDoS Attacks May Self Destruct There are signs that the concerted cyber attacks targeting U.S. and Korean government and commercial Web sites this past week are beginning to wane. Yet, even if the assaults were to be completely blocked tomorrow, the attackers could still have one last, inglorious weapon in their arsenal: New evidence suggests that the malicious code responsible for spreading this attack includes instructions to overwrite the infected PC's hard drive. Update: This is already happening. Please be sure to read the updates at the end of this post. Original post: According to Joe...

FOUNTAIN – A man clubbed a cat to death on Thursday to save his two dogs from injury. According to an incident report from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, a 53-year-old man residing on Sherry Lane reported an animal attack about 11:23 p.m. Thursday. The man said he was cooking dinner about 10 p.m. when he heard his two dogs fighting in the front yard. He went to check on them and found them fighting with a cat he had not seen before. He tried to pull the dogs away from the car, but the cat kept attacking. The man...

U.S. Marshals partnered with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to carry out an operation for one month. The operation was carried out during June and nationwide Marshals were able to arrest 35-thousand fugitives and clear more than 47-thousand warrants. " We serve and clear as many warrants as we can nationwide on every state in any level." That is the mission within “Operation Falcon.” Here in Laredo U.S. Marshals teamed with local, state and federal agencies to carry out the operation. Arresting 307 fugitives and clearing more than four hundred warrants in just one month alone! Helping other...

A mother is suing a hotel claiming her teenage daughter fell pregnant simply from using a hotel swimming pool. Magdalena Kwiatkowska says the 13-year-old conceived after coming into contact with 'stray sperm' in the water of an Egyptian resort.

WILKES-BARRE – Two Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers af2 football players were suspended by Head Coach Rich Ingold after they allegedly were involved in a brawl outside a South Main Street caf� early Thursday morning. City police said Justin Denmar Parrish, 25, assaulted a woman, who was knocked unconscious, and Jason Prince Acquaye, 23, failed to leave the area when told by officers, according to arrest records. Police said the incident began just before 2 a.m. at Caf� Luna, 41 S. Main St., while police were investigating a report that a man was waving a gun. Police said that when they arrived, a...

Vatican City, Jul 10, 2009 / 11:37 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI received President Barack Obama this afternoon in his private library, and after 36 minutes of private conversation, the pair emerged without providing any details about their topics of conversation. Nevertheless, the Holy See revealed that the Pope gave Obama an “unannounced gift”--a Vatican document on bioethics and the right to life. "The G8 has been very productive, 20 billion dollars have been allocated [to poor countries]; that's something concrete," President Obama told the Pope when he asked about the summit, as photographers and journalists were ushered out...

With the release of a letter written by Obama that "clarifies" where he was born... comes more confusion than ever. Now we have THREE different reported places of birth from sources within the Obama family. I wonder why there's so much confusion about this?

WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve deputy chairman Donald Kohn on Thursday defended the U.S. central bank's independence, saying congressional oversight could interfere with monetary policymaking. If the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, were authorized to audit the Fed, that "could cast a chill on monetary policy deliberations," Kohn told a House of Representatives committee. He acknowledged that the possibility of expanding the audit authority of the GAO over the Fed "has recently been discussed." "Although Federal Reserve officials regularly explain the rationale for their policy decisions in public venues, the process of vetting ideas and proposals, many...

Yesterday, theHalfrican posted a link to the Free Republic Website where several of its regular members were bashing Malia Obama for wearing a peace symbol t-shirt. The thread had several derogotary, racist, and sexual remarks about Malia. It also included a picture of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that was accompanied with a racist caption. I wrote the media contact at Free Republic yesterday, kristinn@bellatlantic.net, questioning the nature of the posters and the site: Hello. I am an independent writer developing a book about the grassroots conservative movement online, of which your site, Free Republic, is included as a primary...

WASHINGTON, DC – After shutting down a resolution to honor Michael Jackson this week, Nancy Pelosi was voted House Party Pooper. Pelosi put an end to a possible resolution that would have paid tribute to the recently deceased musician this week. She claimed that Congress could express their condolences individually but such a measure would waste valuable government time. The House then passed a nearly unanimous vote naming Pelosi the House Party Pooper. The Party Pooper Resolution is merely the culmination of a long string of events in Congress. Nancy Pelosi voted down Congressional Casual Fridays last spring, and moving...

The House of Representatives passed a measure that is a direct attack on the First Amendment on June 25 by a vote of 389-22. Within the $671 billion fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647) is a proposal to ban the U.S. military from recruiting or retaining “a person associated or affiliated with a group associated with hate-related violence against groups or persons or the United States Government, as determined by the Attorney General.” The measure, offered by Armed Services Committee member and Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings (and a former federal judge impeached on bribery and perjury charges) uses a...

Women wanting to get pregnant should find themselves an ugly man, new research suggests. Scientists have found attractive males produce less sperm during sex. Researchers think good-looking males are biologically geared to hold back their sperm in each encounter to increase their chance of impregnating more females. But unattractive males know they are not going to bed so many females — so when they do get lucky they give it all they've got.

First on TVNewser: Yesterday afternoon, ABC News correspondent Chris Connelly sat down with Michael Jackson's father Joe Jackson -- Jackson's first one-on-one interview since his son's death. A small portion was used on "Nightline" last night, more of it today on "Good Morning America" and insiders tell us the interview may be used in an hour-long "Family Secrets" special Tuesday night. But it didn't come free. TVNewser has learned ABC News paid upwards of $200,000 for rights to video featuring Joe and Katherine Jackson - and with it, the interview with Joe Jackson. A source close to the situation tells...

Not happy with all the spending. What did these people think they were voting for?

Over 240 Chinese detained in Russia Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-07-10 07:12 China Thursday called upon Russia to guarantee the rights of Chinese business people and workers after reports said more than 240 Chinese had been detained in recent days. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Beijing had not yet received official notification from Russia about the reported detentions. But media reports said Russia's Federal Migration Service apprehended 150 Chinese "illegal immigrants" on Wednesday during an inspection at Moscow's Cherkizovsky Market. Authorities reportedly said 50 of those detained had overstayed their visas and would be expelled. Around 100 others were given 10...

LIVE. ONLINE. THURSDAY. Tune in for a new, live, online show – “Senate Doctors” – broadcasting here every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Mountain time. The first show will air today, Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) – an orthopedic trauma surgeon and former President of the Wyoming Medical Society – and Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) – a family practice physician specializing in obstetrics – will be regular hosts, with guests making appearances. The show will focus on policy discussions, with constituents sharing their questions, stories, concerns, and comments about health care proposals being...

While he was getting lectured by Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, he took the time to give a speech that totally ignored the Constitution of Honduras. “America supports now the restoration of the democratically-elected President of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies,” the president told graduate students at the commencement ceremony of Moscow’s New Economic School. “We do so not because we agree with him. We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not. “ I wonder if the President...

Michael Jackson was raised by Jehovah’s Witnesses and flirted with Scientology and Islam. Now many Christian groups wonder if the King of Pop is residing with the King of Kings. In the days since Michael Jackson’s death, much has been made of his ability to build bridges. His popularity spread across cultures and demographics. Jackson’s religion—at least what we know of it—followed suit. His parents raised him in the Jehovah’s Witness tradition, a semi-Christian sect. He was briefly married to Lisa Marie Presley, a Scientologist, and though he reportedly did some fundraising for Scientology, it’s not clear whether he ever...

Introduced in the Florida House on July 6, 2009, the “Firearms Freedom Act” (HB-21) seeks to provide “that specified firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition for personal use manufactured in state are not subject to federal law or regulation” in the State of Florida. The bill is sponsored by Florida State Reps O’Toole and Plakon. They follow in the path of Montana, and Tennessee who have already passed such legislation. And they join with Utah, Texas, South Carolina and others who are considering it in an effort to limit federal regulation of guns, and specifically invoke the 9th and 10th Amendments...

Last week, my wife and I concluded a trip to California with a visit to the Reagan Library, a place I had always wanted to visit.It wasn't exactly easy or convenient. We were staying in the Palm Springs area at the conclusion of a family wedding (her side, our nephew) and it was our first visit to California since the last family wedding five years ago. Our itinieary for the day consisted of dropping our daughter off at the John Wayne airport for a noon flight back to her college in Idaho, a quick lunch and an afternoon at the...