Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told an annual conference of intelligence officials and contractors in Nashville, Tennessee, yesterday that the “period of most vulnerability for the United States is the first year of a new president,” regardless of who that president may be.

One of the main fears of U.S. intelligence officials is that terrorists will try to use biological weapons in future attacks. (more…)

A female teacher made headlines in Bulgaria and other countries in the region on Friday, after she decided to surprise her students with a striptease. There was a party going on at the high school where she teaches, and, before students knew what was happening, the good-looking young teacher took the stage and, while a tap was played of “you can leave your head on,” started to take off her clothes.

We will publish the video below, because of the sheer insanity of the surprise.| MORE ›

Dennis Prager’s comment that equality is not an American value stirred up a few left-wingers like Ali at ThinkProgress.  His aghast reaction, like those of many TP commenters, was based on a superficial reading of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  Neither document guarantees equality in fact, merely in law.  We come into this world with equal legal standing but what we make of it may, does, and should result in very different outcomes.| MORE ›

In his last column for the Washington Post, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer endorsed Senator John McCain for president. He made clear in his column that he did not have a lot of appreciation for conservatives who turned their back on the Republican Party recently in order to support Senator Barack Obama.

Last week, Krauthammer argued that McCain should become America’s next president because of the situation in the world: there are too many crisis out there, Krauthammer argued, for an inexperienced president. (more…)

Reuters published an ‘analysis‘ (which normally means a column – the term ‘analysis’ enables the editors to pass it off as news rather than opinion) in which Ed Stoddard argues that no matter the outcome of the elections, Governor Sarah Palin will be a political force of immense significance.

Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas told Stoddard: “If they do in fact lose on Tuesday she becomes one of the central figures for 2012.| MORE ›

The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at the increasingly more complex methods used by Al Qaeda and Taliban militants to commit terrorist attacks in Afghanistan:

A suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a government ministry Thursday, killing at least five and injuring dozens. The attack is the latest in a series this year showing insurgents’ ability to penetrate the capital using complicated and daring methods.

(more…)

A new attack by the United States army has killed approximately 16 militants in Pakistan. The attack came after fightsty exchanges this month between Islamabad and Washington after the U.S. started carrying out crossborder attacks into Pakistan’s tribal region.

The strike was, according to U.S. officials aimed at an Al-Qaeda financial coordinator going by the name of Abu Akasa Al-Iraqi. Unconfirmed local reports say that the hit was successful. (more…)

Spain’s Queen Sofia is in trouble after refusing to call gay marriage a marriage. This despite official government policy which does consider same-sex unions to be ‘marriages.’

If these people want to live together and dress it up as marriage, they can be within their rights, or not, according to the laws of their country,” she is quoted as saying in a new biography “The Queen Up Close.”

Such a union, however, should not be called a marriage, Sofia said, “because it is not.” (more…)

Senator Barack Obama continues to be dishonest about criticism of his ideal to “spread the wealth around.” As most will know by now, many conservatives, libertarians and moderates have criticized Obama’s plans to redistribute wealth. These individuals believe redistribution is, one, unfair and, two, counterproductive in a time of economic crisis.

Obama admitted as much himself earlier this year, when he said that even if raising taxes on ‘the rich’ would cause harm to the United States economy he would do so. (more…)

Asian and European stock markets fell again Friday, causing world markets to have their worst month in history. The month October was truly a horrendous month in history, with markets worldwide collapsing. Then again, many believe that the stock markets would have fallen deeper if governments would not have bailed out banks and other financial institutions in trouble.

The Japanese stock market continued to fall despite the country’s central bank’s decision to cut interest rates by 20 basis points, to 0.3%. (more…)