Free Republic

The U.S. Central Command, the tip of the military spear in the war on terrorism, recently scheduled a briefing at its Tampa, Fla., headquarters by a member of the Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR), a group listed by the U.S. Justice Department as an unindicted coconspirator in a terrorism case. The CENTCOM senior lecture series was to host Ahmed Bedier, CAIR's Tampa chapter director, on Tuesday to discuss "Moderate Islam," but the meeting was postponed after calls from political leaders in Washington questioned the command for holding the meeting, especially in the aftermath over the firing of Joint Staff...

... there is indeed much to admire about Sen. John McCain ... this has not been the case with his disingenuous blustering on illegal immigration — particularly when his cosponsorship of mass-amnesty legislation with Sen. Edward Kennedy is raised... (snip) ...it doesn't give Mr. McCain the right to shut people up when they ask legitimate questions about his immigration record — which includes cosponsoring legislation to permit illegal aliens to pay lower in-state tuition rates denied to some students that are in the country legally, supporting Social Security benefits for illegals and voting against an amendment last year that would...

<p>Conservative officials who served in the Reagan administration are upset by the left-wing slant of the new movie about the covert action program that helped Afghan guerrillas defeat the Soviet army during the 1980s.</p> <p>The Reagan-era officials said the movie promotes the left-wing myth that the CIA-led operation funded Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and ultimately produced the attacks of September 11, 2001.</p>

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investment bank Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it sold a portion of itself to China Investment Corp., an investment arm of the Chinese government, for $5 billion to raise capital after taking $9.4 billion in writedowns on mortgage-related investments. Morgan Stanley said the investment will help bolster its capital position and allow it to continue growing its Chinese operations. China Investment will receive equity units that convert into as much as 9.9 percent of Morgan Stanley common stock. The equity units carry a fixed annual payment of 9 percent before converting to shares of common stock Aug....

BROADALBIN — A Broadalbin teenager’s encounter with a bear Wednesday night was one she’ll never forget. The black bear attacked the Oldsmobile Bravada SUV she was driving on Route 29. Hannah Pecora, 17, takes a look at the damage to her 1996 Oldsmobile Bravada, which was attacked by a bear. “I was just driving and I looked to the left,” recounted Hannah Pecora. “I saw its whole body and its face. Its mouth was wide open and its arms were up.” In an account verified by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, the 17-year-old Broadalbin-Perth Central High School student said Friday...

A NSW Senate candidate has compared the immigration of Muslims to Australia to the bird flu and says it should stop. Christian Democratic Party (CDP) Senate candidate Paul Green called today for a moratorium on Muslim immigration while a study on its social impacts was carried out. He said it would be easier to carry out such a study with the country's Muslim population at 300,000, rather than three million at a later date. A study would also give the Australian people a chance to have a say on the immigration program, Mr Green said. *snip*

A Kashmiri protester shouts pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans during the joint funeral procession of Bilal Ahmed Dar and two rebels in the village of Narwara, some 40 Kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Srinagar, India, Tuesday, June 19, 2007. Thousands of people marched in Indian-controlled Kashmir Tuesday protesting the killing of 17-year-old Bilal Ahmed Dar by government forces, who locals claim had no ties to militant groups. The teen was killed along with two rebels Monday in a gun battle between police and suspected Kashmiri rebels in the village of Chewdara. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (here is a previous picture and...

We've all seen this phrase in block letters: "REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY," followed by a 1-800 number. But if a House Democrat manages to kill a tipster-immunity measure under consideration in Congress this month, people who report suspicious behavior could be sued in civil court if the accused are not charged with a crime. November's frightened U.S. Airways "John Doe" passengers in Minneapolis are already in the crosshairs. The lawmaker in question is Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. He thinks that granting tipsters immunity amounts to racial and religious profiling. Yes, that's the Democrats' "homeland security" pointman...

E-mails from U.S. military officers in Iraq and Afghanistan have exposed an alarming, politically correct practice that is endangering the lives of troops serving in those conflict zones. According to the officers, U.S. troops are being forced to carry unloaded weapons on most U.S. bases because commanders are more worried about a "negligent" discharge than the very real likelihood of a terrorist attack by an insider on the base. The rule is all the more disconcerting because these troops are in areas where they receive combat pay. Defense officials say the fear of "negligent" weapon discharge is due to lack...

WASHINGTON — Military and civilian health facilities will be overwhelmed if a nationwide flu pandemic hits the United States, and the National Guard may have to be called out to provide medical help and even enforce a quarantine, the Defense Department warned in a report released Wednesday. As the Pentagon fights criticism from congressional Democrats that the war in Iraq is depleting the National Guard's ability to help out in domestic crises, the 86-page report says a possible pandemic could require National Guard assistance in supplying medical aid or isolating groups of people to minimize further spread of the disease....

The relationship between the Bush administration and the pro-Second Amendment community has been lukewarm, at best... *snip* At issue is whether this or future administrations would have the statutory power to deny the sale of a firearm to a person otherwise lawfully entitled to buy a gun, based on mere suspicion the prospective purchaser is somehow connected with acts of international or domestic "terrorism." At first blush, this might seem a no-brainer; with common sense telling us "of course we don't want terrorists being able to purchase firearms." The Senate sponsor of the administration proposal, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank...

Fifteen years ago, the U.S. intelligence community judged that the People's Liberation Army of China was more than 20 years behind the West... *snip* In the last five years, China has brought 20 state-of-the-art, super-quiet, diesel-electric submarines on line, increasing its fleet of modern subs to 55. Now there is speculation the Chinese are developing Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells that allow their subs to stay submerged far longer and eliminate any detectable mechanical noise. This would explain how a Chinese submarine was able to surprise the USS Kitty Hawk battle group last October by popping up in its midst...

(CNSNews.com) - Four of the ten men who took part in a jihadist training exercise in the Pocono Mountains last year have yet to be charged in connection with the planned terrorist attack on Fort Dix, N.J. A DVD showing 10 Islamic radicals firing assault rifles and calling for jihad spurred the federal investigation that culminated in six arrests this week. But what about the other four? "We know where they are and the investigation continues," Jerri Williams, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told Cybercast News Service. "However, at this time we do not have evidence...

NEW YORK -- Six men from New Jersey have been arrested in an alleged terror plot against soldiers at Fort Dix, according investigators. Investigators said the men planned to use automatic rifles to enter Fort Dix and kill as many soldiers as they could at the N.J. base. Fort Dix was just one of several military and security locations allegedly scouted by this group, authorities said. Investigators told Newschannel 4's Jonathan Dienst that these arrests are the result of a tip to the FBI and use of an informant to track the suspects. Authorities were alerted in January 2006 after...

A doomsday scenario of a flu pandemic that might never happen is driving a sweeping review of what states should do to minimize the potential impact. Closing schools has been determined to be one of the best defenses to slow the spread of a flu outbreak, but the implications of long-term school closings are staggering. A flu outbreak of huge proportions would force school doors shut for weeks, if not months. School administrators, health officials, law enforcement officers and business executives gathered recently to discuss how to handle closing schools for such an extended time. They also received a lesson...

(CNSNews.com) - A paid Mexican informer for the U.S. government who worked in an undercover operation targeting a major narcotics cartel allegedly went off the rails and was involved in more than a dozen murders. Amid allegations of a bungled investigation and an accompanying cover-up, at least one member of Congress is calling for hearings into the matter (see related story). Guillermo Ramirez Peyro is now fighting an attempt by the U.S. government to deport him and said he fears for his life at the hands of the cartel should he be sent back to Mexico. Statements from key players...

A thousand body bags. Computer chips to plant on corpses to better track the dead. More saws for autopsies. The Erie County Health Department wants to prepare for a swift- moving flu pandemic in which hundreds of people die. Health officials say they need $300,000 for basic items. The amount includes nearly $100,000 for laboratory supplies to identify the influenza strain, $23,000 for protective gowns and eyewear for workers, and $73,000 for 800,000 masks to be given to residents - still too few for the county's 930,000 people. The Health Department also wants $27,000 for autopsy saws, bone-dust collectors and...

The case of Border Patrol Agent David Sipe is an alarming example of misplaced priorities. On duty in April 2000 near Panitas, Texas... (snip) In the course of making the arrest, Mr. Sipe struck one of the border crossers, a Mexican national named Jose Guevara, in the head with his flashlight... In 2001, Mr. Sipe, who had no previous complaints against him, was convicted for using excessive force, and dismissed from the Border Patrol... (snip) It turns out that three illegal aliens who testified against Mr. Sipe -- that is, Mr. Guevara along with two others who had fled into...

A former BNP candidate who is accused of possessing explosives told a court yesterday that he thought the UK was on the brink of civil war and he had purchased crossbows and airguns to protect his family from attack. Robert Cottage, 49, told Manchester crown court that police would be unable to control the civil unrest that would break out. He stockpiled food, petrol and chemicals to make gunpowder... *snip* Cottage claimed that if civil war broke out the authorities would be unable to control the public as the armed forces were fighting in the Middle East and the police...

Those who think that Europe is America's past, think again. Europe matters to America. It matters more than ever before. Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and the liberal special-interest groups that currently dominate Congress want to reshape America in Europe's image: socialist, secularist and multicultural. Americans who want to know what their country will be like 20 years from now if it follows the path its politicians want it to take, need only look at Europe... the collapse of a civilization. First there was the rise of the welfare state,... (snip) Second, there was secularism... (snip) Third,... welfare immigration......