Free Republic

Now many of you are familiar with Milo Yiannopoulos. Many of you are not. You need to fix that about yourselves. As an openly gay man living in London, he’s also capable of verbally expressing his anti-authoritarian, freedom-centered principles better than our talking heads this side of the pond. Unshackled by the chains of political correctness, Milo really does offer a refreshing, challenging and wildly entertaining interview here. Also, for the first time, there’s an extended additional 45minute interview too raw for terrestrial radio! The guy deserves some support. Truly awesome.

Crowder interviews Milo Yiannopoulos - very impressive!

It was a weekend in which, according to traders, Greece facing an "absolutely final" was going to be saved. Instead, it may go down in history as the weekend in which the Eurozone finally split and its long-overdue disintegration began. After yesterday's dramatic report that Germany, together with 5 other nations, are contemplating a "temporary" 5 year Grexit, it started to become clear that Schauble does indeed want to make an example of Greece (perhaps for France and Madame Frexit, perhaps for the rest of the European periphery where the recovery is so "strong", record youth unemployment still assures...

Germany has reportedly began preparing for Greece to be rejected from the eurozone, as the European Union faces less than 24 hours to save the country from collapse. Greece failed to give its creditors in the 19-country eurozone proof that it can deliver on its promises to implement tough austerity and reform measures in return for billions more in bailout money. Finance ministers canceled a European Union summit meeting Sunday in an effort to do everything it takes to get a deal done or to decide to eject Greece from the eurozone. Should a deal fall through, The Telegraph reports...

A document prepared by Germany’s finance ministry and seen by The Wall Street Journal floats a “timeout” for Greece from the eurozone for “at least the next five years” as one of two options for dealing with the debt-ridden country. ... In the document, dated July 10, Germany takes a tough line on spending cuts and policy overhauls Greece submitted to its international creditors, the other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund late Thursday. ... Under the first scenario, Greece and its creditors would start negotiating a third rescue package, but only once the government has made improved proposals,...

Barbarians at the gate usually don’t bring down once-successful civilizations. Nor does climate change. Even mass epidemics such as the plague that decimated sixth-century Byzantium do not necessarily destroy a culture. Far more dangerous are institutionalized corruption, a lack of transparency, and creeping neglect of existing laws. All the German euros in the world will not save Greece if Greeks continue to dodge taxes, featherbed government, and see corruption as a business model. Even obeying so-called minor laws counts. It is no coincidence that a country where drivers routinely flout traffic laws and throw trash out the window is also...

Editor’s Note: This column was coauthored by Geno Lattus. The perfect formula for financial crisis: Imagine a country that spends more than it makes and continues to borrow to make up the difference, leaving it forever catching up on debt payments because of mounting interest. Another analysis on the Greek crisis? No. The United States is running its government in the same fundamental way as Greece and a meltdown may be coming soon. The Greek Formula. Greece recently defaulted on a $1.8 billion debt payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). After borrowing large sums, big bailouts and profligate government...

Greece is scrambling to get a new bailout package with its European creditors. These negotiations are playing out both behind closed doors and in public. And on Thursday at an event in Frankfurt, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble didn't exactly strike a particularly sincere tone when talking about Greece and the other major debt crisis going on right now, Puerto Rico. According to Bloomberg, Schaeuble said, "I offered my friend [US Treasury Secretary] Jack Lew these days that we could take Puerto Rico into the euro zone if the U.S. were willing to take Greece into the dollar union. He...

Greece may be dealing with a debt crisis, but the average U.S. household may have more to lose. The fate of debt-troubled Greece is now only days away from being decided. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras requested bailout funds on Wednesday, promising to submit reform proposals later this week. Either the country will agree to severe austerity measures in exchange for a reprieve from its lenders or will have to exit the eurozone and strike out on its own. Whatever happens, the average American may be worse off than Greece. Here are three ways to look at it: 1) Americans...

After dozens of separate interventions, manipulations, and central-planning machinations over the past three weeks, China resorted to threats overnight when it called for the arrest of "hostile short sellers." The reason they went full Orwell, this is the great loss of 'wealth' in China's history... China's $2 trillion loss in 17 days is the equivalent of 1 India, or... China has lost 15 Greeces in market cap in three weeks In other words, China has to stop the bleeding before it loses another India... or the socially-unrest citizenry will demand gambling returns elsewhere or, absent hope, demand change...

The party ended when the you-know-what hit the fan around 2010. Soaring wages and gold-plated pensions had to end. Eternal austerity was the antidote. This was the EU at its best—worst, actually. It was like taking a middleweight boxer, putting him on a very strict diet, and expecting him to become a heavyweight contender. It was and remains an impossibility. ... As a Greek whose family helped finance the war of independence against the dreaded Turks in 1821, I sincerely hope there will be a compromise, and the ill-advised plebiscite will be ignored by the powers-that-be in the EU. Putting...

Judging by the returns from Sunday's vote in Greece, there is no judging. Voters there were asked to decide whether to accept Europe's terms for still more credit after those terms had expired -- even while Greece's erratic government opposed the very deal it had put on the ballot. Sure enough, the voters did. Though just what it all means seems as elusive as it was before the election. If not more so. This could go on for a while -- like indefinitely -- before the fog lifts. The one thing clear is that Greece's "governing" party stays in, which...

If Greece continues with austerity, it would be depression without end As the Greek saga continues, many have marveled at Germany’s chutzpah. It received, in real terms, the largest bailout and debt reduction in history and unconditional aid from the U.S. in the Marshall Plan. And yet it refuses even to discuss debt relief. Many, too, have marveled at how Germany has done so well in the propaganda game, selling an image of a long-failed state that refuses to go along with the minimal conditions demanded in return for generous aid.

Barbarians at the gate usually don't bring down once-successful civilizations. Nor does climate change. Even mass epidemics like the plague that decimated sixth-century Byzantium do not necessarily destroy a culture. Far more dangerous are institutionalized corruption, a lack of transparency and creeping neglect of existing laws. All the German euros in the world will not save Greece if Greeks continue to dodge taxes, featherbed government and see corruption as a business model. Even obeying so-called minor laws counts. It is no coincidence that a country where drivers routinely flout traffic laws and throw trash out the window is also a...

As we reported yesterday, following the latest European leaders summit, Greece was given until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe's currency bloc and into economic ruin. "The stark reality is that we have only five days left ... Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week," European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference. It did that moments ago when Greece...

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to compromise on an emergency financing deal that could keep Greece in the eurozone. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the president was encouraged by assurances from both leaders in separate phone calls that “it’s in their collective and mutual interest for Greece to remain part of the eurozone.” But Mr. Obama stressed in the calls that “the only way that we’ll succeed in achieving that goal is for all of the parties to agree to a package of reforms and financing that...

March 2010, two months before the announcement of the first Greek bailout, European banks had €134 billion worth of claims on Greece. French banks, as shown in the right-hand figure above, had by far the largest exposure: €52 billion – this was 1.6 times that of Germany, eleven times that of Italy, and sixty-two times that of Spain. The €110 billion of loans provided to Greece by the IMF and Eurozone in May 2010 enabled Greece to avoid default on its obligations to these banks. In the absence of such loans, France would have been forced into a massive bailout...

Last week the Greek government imposed capital controls to prevent cash from escaping from the Greek banking system, which is on the brink of collapse. These repressive financial measures, which were invented by "Hitler's banker" Hjalmar Schacht in the 1930s, include the closing of banks, limiting cash withdrawals from ATMs to 60 euros ($67) per day, and the banning of all money transfers via credit and debit cards to accounts held in foreign countries. Despite these Draconian controls, Greek banks continue to hemorrhage cash and, after yesterday's referendum, it is probable that the daily limit on withdrawals from ATMs will...

In a desperate bid to save his political career, Greek Prime Minister Alexei Tsipras bet big on both the gullibility of the Greek electorate and the unreconstructed hate the Greek left has for capitalism. He has just won that bet, and will remain Prime Minister until the Greek people realize what they have done. In their defiant vote for “NO" Greek voters naively believed that they were voting for “democracy” and “national dignity.” Unfortunately they are about to find out they actually voted for “poverty, corruption, and a blighted future.” Every conservative intuitively understands TANSTAAFL, There Ain’t No Such Thing...

Global Reset Soon? Let's recap the anomalies in the the last 24 hours. 1) Pope calls for one world government. 2) Chinese stock trading halted. 3) U.S. stock exchange halted. 4) Banks closed in Greece. 5) US mint suspends sale of American Eagle coins. 6) United Airlines flights grounded. 7) Web sites like Wall Street Journal (financial web site) and Zerohedge (financial web site) shut down. 8) Possible Cyber Attack? Feel free to add to the list. Can we connect the dots, or is this just a coincidence?