Free Republic

REPORTING FROM SEOUL -– Even at first glance, the design renderings for the soon-to-be-built pair of apartment towers here pack a wallop: They evoke New York’s World Trade Center towers in mid-explosion in the terrifying moments after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But wait. The Dutch designers say the images have nothing to do with debris flying off two towers that have just been rammed by a pair of commercial airliners. It’s more like a dreamy cloud formation inspired by a gaze up at the sky. Netizens aren’t buying the explanation. In recent days, an international frenzy of criticism...

A York Township man is in York County Prison Friday after an investigation into child sexual assault. Kevin Sipe, 55, is charged with rape of a child, indecent assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor for incidents that occurred from December 2010 through October 2011. Sipe was placed in prison on $100,000 bail.

WHOM DO I VOTE FOR TODAY, WEST SIDE NYC, DISTRICT #8 ? We've got Jerrold Nadler (aka Jabba the Hutt) over here in Manhattan district 8, and I cannot find a Conservative Voter Guide anywhere on the web. I have no clue who's running. Any tips on Conservatives (or at least Republicans), and Propositions to vote for/against today?

Police man roadblocks with machine-guns and sniffer dogs. Drivers are questioned. Data bases are searched for suspects in potential terrorist attacks. The scene is not the IDF in the Palestinian Authority. It Is New York City on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks. Ground Zero was turned into a “frozen zone” Sunday prior to anniversary ceremonies that will be attended by President Barack Obama. Concrete barriers, similar to those separating some areas in Judea and Samaria from the rest of Israel, block cars from approaching the area. Bomb sniffing dogs late Saturday night patrolled Pennsylvania Station and...

Apparently, there was a kerfuffle earlier today because Rick Perry said the following: "If this guy [Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke] prints more money between now and the election ... I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous -- or treasonous in my opinion.” Now the very existence of the Federal Reserve is not without controversy, and the Fed's policy as of late has drawn some strong

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

The Virginia State Bar says an agreed disposition will be presented Monday during a hearing for York-Poquoson Commonwealth's Attorney Eileen Addison on charges she mishandled the prosecution of three men in the 2006 shooting death of a JamesCity man. Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Clerk Lanier said Addison, her attorney and Virginia State Bar Counsel Montgomery have negotiated an agreed disposition--which is similar to a plea agreement--that will be considered by a five-member panel during the conference call hearing. But Addison said Wednesday there is no deal. "I asked my attorney two weeks ago why the hearing was still scheduled because...

Newspapers covered the past Virginia State Bar investigation of York County-Poquoson's chief prosecutor Eileen Addison. They also have reported on the upcoming Virginia State Bar hearing against Addison. What they haven’t covered is that two-thirds of her assistant prosecutors resigned in a four-month timeframe when the underlying allegations of these two hearings were brought forth. I am one of those assistant commonwealth attorneys. When the four of us resigned, we took more than 50 years of dedicated and talented prosecutorial experience away from York-Poquoson to other prosecutors offices. Two of us were hired immediately by Williamsburg-James City, one by Newport...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wild boar are invading the farms of central New York state, attacking livestock, killing family pets, chasing people and posing "devastating consequences" for the area, federal officials warn. The feral swine are a non-native species suspected of escaping from game farms, and as many as a couple of hundred are roaming the state, said Paul Curtis, a natural resources professor at Cornell University. While an exact picture of the wild boar population in New York State is unclear, a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the swine were successfully breeding in the three counties...

Minutes after President Obama urged Americans this morning to tweet their support for a Democratic debt-ceiling bill, a New York Times reporter prompted the White House to organize the effort with a special Twitter hashtag. Hashtags use the “#” symbol to mark keywords or topics on Twitter. They often help drive messages by linking similar messages together in a common theme. At 10:55 a.m. the Times’s Jennifer Preston suggested that administration officials might create a hashtag, so tweeting Democrats could jointly target Republicans who are now trying to pass their own debt ceiling plan. Preston tweeted to a White House...

A Prominent Republican is joining a prominent Democrat in predicting that Gov. Cuomo will become President Obama's running mate for vice president next year. Former New York GOP boss William Powers, credited with playing a key role in electing Rudy Giuliani mayor and George Pataki governor, was effusive in his praise of Cuomo's successes in the just-ended legislative session, and in his prediction of the freshman governor's political future. "Andrew had a fabulous session. It was fabulous. A property-tax cap, ethics reform and, for Democrats, gay marriage," said Powers.

Arianna Huffington sat down with The New York Times Magazine (you will recall, of course, the the NYT’s executive editor, Bill Keller, has made it quite clear that he’s none to happy with the Huffington Post’s method of aggregating content) to discuss pleasant topics like how her father, a former newspaperman, would feel about accusations that her site is responsible for that whole death of print thing we keep reading about in newspapers. The magazine broached another contentious and persistent criticism the Huffington Post has been contending with since it’s inception, and especially

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s obsession with racial grievance-mongering could get Americans burnt to a crisp in their own homes. That’s because his Justice Department is trying to force the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to hire flunkies who got 70 percent wrong on a basic, fire-related multiple-choice, open-book test. The exam was used to screen applicants to the fire academy. More than 90 percent of black and Hispanic test-takers passed, which isn’t enough for liberals addicted to affirmative action. At Justice’s urging, federal district Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis threw out FDNY’s test results - blocking admittance to...

A lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill are terrified of a government shutdown. Look at what happened in 1995, they say, when Newt Gingrich forced a showdown with Bill Clinton and got his clock cleaned. It was a disaster the party can't afford to repeat. But another view is emerging in Republican circles. Perhaps GOP strategists have learned the wrong lesson from 1995. Maybe this time, while Republicans shouldn't seek a shutdown, they shouldn't fear one, either. For five reasons: One, if shutting down the government in 1995 was such a catastrophe, how come the GOP not only kept control...

This is a video of a teleconference of Michelle Bachman at the Baxter Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Feb 18. She was supposed to appear in person, but she stayed in DC to finish voting last Friday. The video is over 1 hour long.

New York - In a letter to Brooklyn College President Dr. Karen L. Gould, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) decried the recent appointment of Adjunct Professor Kristofer J. Petersen-Overton who was hired to teach a Politics of the Middle East graduate course this spring at the College. Several concerned Brooklyn College political science graduate students, including Dina Kupfer, contacted the Assemblyman who, in turn, wrote to Dr. Gould after reviewing the grossly biased course syllabus and researching Petersen-Overton’s professional background and published works. Mr. Petersen-Overton has authored a number of anti-Israel papers, including one entitled, Inventing the Martyr: Martyrdom as Palestinian...

According to voter registration records, New York Times Editor Bill Keller is a registered Democrat. Keller has been registered as a Democrat since 1998 with his Manhattan apartment listed on forms as his address.The New York Times has long been criticized by conservatives as politically biased in favor of Democrats. In 2007 a Rasmussen poll found that 40% of Americans believe the paper has a liberal bias.Bob Christie, senior vice president for corporate communications of The Times Company, told The Daily Caller, “in terms of Bill’s affiliations, the fact that he votes is a matter of public record and

Police say that just prior to Sunday's fatal crash in West Manheim Township, the driver of an SUV tried to pull his girlfriend out of another vehicle as they were side-by-side on the Baltimore Pike. West Manheim Police charged the driver, 18-year-old Francisco Javier Santos -- who they said is an illegal immigrant -- with homicide by vehicle while DUI in connection with the deaths of two of his passengers. Rafael Garcia, 22, and German Lopez, 24, died in the crash. Both men were believed to be migrant workers in Adams County, according to the York County Coroner's office. Santos...

Have you noticed bagel shops tacking on a few more cents to your beloved pumpernickel and cream cheese? Blame Albany. Bagels – however you slice them – most likely haven't been subject to tax at your favorite neighborhood shop. But, desperate for cash, Albany began enforcing a little known clause in its sales tax code that calls for a tax on sliced bagels or whole bagels consumed at the place of purchase, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Call it "scared straight" for bad check writers: a holistic approach delivered with a barking threat of legal action to get and keep their finances in order. The York County District Attorney's Bad Check Restitution Program has been in operation since June 2007. More than $267,225 in restitution has been returned to area merchants because of it. And more than 800 defendants have avoided a bad check charge on their records by making good on their bounced checks and paying for a financial accountability class that makes the program no cost to the county. But one Spring Grove man got...