Free Republic

Throughout his career, Denzel Washington has embodied a fearless dedication to his acting roles. In every character, he imbues a deep psychological exploration informed by a process of extensive research, with Washington diving into the nuances and minutiae of their personal lives and habits. Whether portraying a ruthless drug lord in American Gangster, a corrupt cop in Training Day or a critical historical figure in Malcolm X, Washington has always approached his roles with an unrivalled commitment, proving his deep-set work ethic and boundless professionalism. There was one movie in particular where Washington took his acting dedication to the next...

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR. From writer-producer David Guggenheim, who wrote two 2012 movies: “Safe House” (53% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) and “Stolen” (16%). When the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General and almost all the other top-ranking cabinet officials die at the same time, Kiefer Sutherland finds himself running the United States.

Hail to the Chief. Dave Baldwin, the mastermind behind Milwaukee's legendary spy-themed bar and restaurant the Safe House, died Sunday, his wife, Shauna Singh Baldwin, said. Baldwin had just retired this summer after nearly 50 years devoted to celebrating the spy craft. In June, at age 84, he sold the Safe House to the Milwaukee-based Marcus Corp., but it remains true to his vision. With its entry tucked away on an alley off E. Wells St., the Safe House honors a type of 1960s Hollywood image of secret agents and spies. Passwords, secret doorways, spy memorabilia and a booth that...

Tehran, Dec 28 (ANI): al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri were spotted in Iran's Najamabad city two months ago, The News reported on Sunday while quoting a British daily. The daily attributed the story to a source having links with the Revolutionary Guards. The report said: "A man with links to Iran's intelligence services and hard-line Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC) has told the daily that he saw the al-Qaeda leader in Iran two months ago. He saw him arrive at an RGC guesthouse close to the small town of Najmabad on 23 October." The Al-Qaeda leader,...

For months, Lori Berenson, New York's most notorious revolutionary tourist, has had her fingers crossed, counting on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to overturn her 20-year sentence for terrorist activities in Peru. The Lima government also clearly expected a ruling in Berenson's favor — it announced last week that it would defy any order by the Costa Rica-based court that the MIT dropout-turned-sandalista be set free. But guess what? The court has upheld her sentence, imposed after a three-month civilian trial after her first conviction, by a military tribunal, was overturned following pressure from the Clinton administration. The...

CIA watched bin Laden from nearby safe house inside Pakistan By Augustine Anthony and Michelle Nichols Fri May 6, 1:44 am ET ABBOTTABAD/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Extensive surveillance of Osama bin Laden's hideout from a nearby CIA safe house in Abbottabad led to his killing in a Navy SEAL operation, U.S. officials said, a revelation likely to further embarrass Pakistan's spy agency and strain ties. The U.S. officials, quoted by the Washington Post, said the safe house was the base for intelligence gathering that began after bin Laden's compound was discovered last August, and which was so exhaustive the CIA...

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A "Black Widow" suicide bomber planned a terrorist attack in central Moscow on New Year's Eve but was killed when an unexpected text message set off her bomb too early, according to Russian security sources. The unnamed woman, who is thought to be part of the same group that struck Moscow's Domodedovo airport on Monday, intended to detonate a suicide belt on a busy square near Red Square on New Year's Eve in an attack that could have killed hundreds. Security sources believe a spam message from her mobile phone operator wishing her a happy new year received just hours...

KARACHI (AFP) – Eight suspected insurgents were killed Friday when explosives intended for a bomb attack accidentally blew up, destroying a militant safe house in Pakistan's financial capital Karachi, police said. Guns, grenades and suicide vests were recovered from the house in a poor Karachi neighbourhood, which officials said was a den for Islamist insurgents involved in the escalating campaign of violence in the nuclear-armed nation. Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmad said that early intelligence suggested the militant cell had been planning to attack a court in the city, possibly when Interior Minister Rehman Malik was due to appear. In...

At least a half-dozen friends and relatives of Maurice Clemmons helped him flee the Parkland coffee shop where he killed four police officers, helped him clean up and treat a bullet wound and took him to a house in the Leschi house in Seattle. Two of them have been arrested for rendering criminal assistance based on a probable cause declaration. They are Eddie Lee Davis and Douglas Edward Davis who live in a residence on 132nd Street South. According to the declaration of Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, the two were among six who helped Clemmons after the Sunday morning...

Note: The following text is a quote: Terror Charges Unsealed in Minnesota Against Eight Defendants, Justice Department Announces The Justice Department announced that terrorism charges have been unsealed today in the District of Minnesota against eight defendants. According to the charging documents, the offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization; attending terrorist training camps operated by al-Shabaab; and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab. Thus far, 14 defendants have been charged in the District of Minnesota in indictments or criminal complaints that have been unsealed and...

A 21-year-old citizen of Chad who has been held for seven years at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba must be released, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the government had not proven that Mohammed el Gharani was an enemy combatant and the detainee must be freed and sent home soon either to Saudi Arabia, where he was raised and his family lives, or Chad. Leon's ruling comes just before President-elect Barack Obama, who has vowed to close the prison camp, takes office on Tuesday. Since Obama's election in November, federal...

TIJUANA – Days after a wild, deadly shootout between drug cartel gunmen and Mexican police and soldiers, authorities have uncovered what they say is a clandestine training ground for cartel assassins, complete with an underground target range that investigators believe went undetected for months. The house was raided late Saturday night by heavily armed federal police. They found two armored pickups parked at the home, along with two other vehicles that had hidden compartments, authorities said. At ground level, the two-story green-and-white hillside house in the Independencia section of Tijuana included a machine shop for assembling and repairing weapons. Parts...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2007 – Iraqi army scouts accompanied by U.S. special operations forces destroyed a suspected weapons cache and insurgent safe house yesterday in a helicopter assault. Other operations across Iraq have led to the capture of enemy fighters and weapons caches. Yesterday’s raid targeted a residence near Karmah suspected of being used by foreign fighters and al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists. Multiple secondary explosions indicated munitions were stored there. “The destruction of this target and weapons cache will send a clear message to insurgents that Iraqi army and coalition forces are intent on preventing any safe havens for...

Border Patrol finds fifth stash house in two weeks FROM STAFF REPORTS Yuma sector U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 13 illegal aliens Friday from the fifth drop house agents have discovered in two weeks. At 11:45 a.m., agents working off a tip went to the 1200 block of 3rd Street and found one suspected smuggler and 12 illegal aliens inside two small travel trailers in a trailer park. The people had been hiding for one week while waiting to be smuggled farther into the U.S., according to a Border Patrol release. None of the illegal aliens required medical attention. Three...

McLEAN, Va. (AP) - A man accused of plotting to assassinate President Bush was indicted Thursday on additional charges that could bring life in prison, and prosecutors now say he also planned to establish an al-Qaida cell in the United States. Prosecutors say Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 24, of Falls Church joined al-Qaida in 2002 while studying in Saudi Arabia and that he discussed possible terrorist operations, including a plot to kill Bush either by shooting or by a suicide bombing.Prosecutors also allege Abu Ali discussed plans to assassinate members of Congress and to hijack aircraft and fly them into...

U.S. military forces have discovered a smuggling ring moving copious quantities of explosives and weapons from Iraq to terrorist training camps constructed by the Saddam Hussein regime inside Syria prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The Pentagon also announced that the structure bombed by U.S. warplanes last week, described by many major media outlets as a wedding celebration at a private ranching operation, was actually a "dormitory-like" facility used as a "safe house" to facilitate the clandestine movement of foreign terrorists into Iraq from Syria. According to Pentagon officials, small arms, explosives, and bomb making materials are being removed from...

Release A050918c BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces conducted raids on high-level al-Qaida in Iraq safe houses in the city of Tall Afar Sept. 18, killing numerous terrorists and capturing four. Upon entering the first safe house, Coalition forces were engaged by terrorists employing small arms; Coalition forces returned fire, killing four terrorists and detaining four. Alerted by the firefight, terrorists from a second safe house opened fire on the Coalition forces. After securing the first target, Coalition forces then turned their attention to the second safe house, where they killed two more terrorists. Coalition forces called in close air support...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2005 – Coalition forces in Iraq arrested 10 suspected terrorist during a raid in western Ramadi today after Iraqi citizens pointed out a safehouse where the suspects were hiding and storing weapons. The military said a local Iraqi citizen confirmed the building was being used as a terrorist safehouse. When coalition forces approached the building, several suspects fled, officials said. Six of them were immediately detained, and four others were captured hiding inside a nearby Mosque after Iraqi citizens alerted coalition forces to their whereabouts. Meanwhile, a male who lived at the house told coalition forces the...

Con Coughlin discovers the last safe house in Baghdad that the former Iraqi dictator moved into - and then days later suddenly abandoned - just before American troops overran the cityFrom the outside the house, with its front garden filled with lofty palm trees and neatly trimmed gardenias, looks like any other family residence. It is only when you walk into the main living room that the real function of this modest-looking Baghdad villa is revealed - as Saddam Hussein's suburban hideaway.In fact the spacious bookcase that lines an entire wall of the room is more giveaway than hideaway, especially...