Free Republic

Israel’s president has hit back at Benjamin Netanyahu after the prime minister said in reference to the country’s Arab minority that Israel was “not a state for all its citizens”. Less than a month before the 9 April election in which the prime minister hopes to win with the support of far-right politicians and voters, Netanyahu wrote on Instagram that: “Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people – and only it.” While not mentioning the prime minister – a long-time political foe – by name, Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, criticised what he said were recent “entirely unacceptable remarks...

A carefully researched study by economists at the Brookings Institute estimates that the Chinese government inflates its gross domestic product by about 12%.  The reason this is important is that even with the Chinese overestimating their national wealth, they still have a huge economy.  And the current downturn in economic growth in China threatens to hurl the world into a serious recession. Zero Hedge: Since China managed to weather the fallout from the financial crisis without registering much of a slowdown in its "official" GDP figures, playing "guess the real growth rate" has become one of the most popular parlor...

New York City is headed for financial ruin and could go bankrupt for the first time in 40 years, financial experts say. Financial experts predict that there are already signs the city is headed for financial disaster, as many individuals and businesses are leaving the city for lower tax areas and city government spending is at an all-time high. The last time the city came close to filing for bankruptcy was in 1975 when former President Gerald Ford refused to give the city a bailout package to settle its debt. “The city is running a deficit and could be in...

Presidents typically have the backing and support of their political party. Although all presidents have the bully pulpit to broadcast their messages, the presidency is a busy job and the president must delegate messaging and branding to surrogates, including elected officials in the president’s party. Barack Obama had legions of apologists and defenders. Every Congressional Democrat and scores of leftovers from the Clinton administration were ready, willing, and able to defend all things Obama, as well as viciously pounce on any of his detractors. The Obamacare and Benghazi scandals were vociferously shielded from any criticism. Bill Clinton enjoyed the same...

n a wide-ranging interview on the CBS show 60 Minutes, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said President Donald Trump did not have the authority to remove him from his position. The Fed has often been the target of criticism from the Trump administration. Toward the end of last year, Bloomberg reported that the president had discussed firing Powell. When CBS’s Scott Pelley asked Powell whether the president could fire him, he responded: “The law is clear that I have a four-year term. And I fully intend to serve it.”

Calling all FReepers: We need your help to keep the lights on. Please donate today if you can. Wouldn't it be great if we could wrap this baby up today? FR is funded solely by contributions made by the liberty loving patriots who love and use it. We are beholden to no political party. No advertisers, no outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers. Definitely no government subsidies or tax breaks. No 501c or other IRS non-profit status. This means no commercial ads. No annoying pop-ups. No ad tracking. No mail campaigns. No spam. No third-parties -- not even...

German political leaders have reacted positively to a raft of suggestions by French President Emmanuel Macron for strengthening the European Union. […] On Tuesday, Macron, who has come under fire in France by yellow-vest protesters and others, presented ideas for a “European renaïssance” in an article published in newspapers throughout Europe and online. Among his wide-ranging suggestions were enhanced protection against hate speech, greater control of EU borders and immigration, and a nationally adjusted European minimum wage — ideas that went down well with most German politicians. […] Some of those who expressed support for Macron’s ideas criticized the German...

DENMARK, S.C. (AP) — Deanna Miller Berry doesn’t often see presidential candidates. So when New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker recently came to Bamberg County, South Carolina, she was primed to unload about a contaminated water system. “What is your plan to fix it?” Berry asked, her eyes narrowed. Booker, former mayor of Newark, the largest city in the most densely populated state, assured Berry he cares about the 3,000 residents of Denmark, South Carolina. “This is a time in America where too many people are feeling left out, left behind, not included,” he said, promising “a massive infrastructure investment” targeting...

If you want a piece of 3D-printed sushi from a Japanese company exhibiting at SXSW, first they want a piece of you... A company representative explained the process. When you make a reservation, the restaurant sends you what it calls a "health test kit." You send back a biological sample -- saliva, urine, stool -- and they analyze what kinds of nutrients your body needs. "Then we add those specific nutrients to your food to 3D print out those sushi for you," the representative explained. Using a combination of proteins, vitamins, minerals and other elements, the restaurant then prints each...

An inmate death at Corcoran State Prison is being investigated as a homicide, according to prison officials.

Just came across the video of a r/c model Enterprise that is actually a underwater submarine. Thought it was really cool.

A horde of 200 vegans stormed a farm in Lincolnshire, England, to protest animal cruelty but crushed two piglets in their stampede, according to the farmer. Farmer Sylvia Hook said the mob of vegans from the “Meat the Victims” group distressed her animals while storming Sandilands Farm and, in their rush to cuddle newborn piglets, stomped two of them to death. The crowd reportedly damaged farm property, frightened Hook’s family, caused injury to two other animals and sowed chaos by cuddling piglets that did not want to be held and placing them in the wrong pens with the wrong sows....

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg lambasted Mike Pence -- a man he used to work directly with during Pence's time as governor of Indiana -- calling the vice president a "cheerleader for the porn star presidency" on Sunday at CNN's town hall. Buttigieg went on to question Pence's faith, asking rhetorically whether Pence stopped "believing in scripture when he started believing Donald Trump." "How would he allow himself to become the cheerleader for the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing Donald Trump?" Buttigieg said. "I don't know. I don't know."

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Old Testament) 1 Samuel 13 Israel Without Weapons 16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah[e] in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness. 19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!”...

Lifestyles of the Rich and Socialist: From Chavez to Castro, leaders who lived the high life Socialist leaders come to power promising to equalize society. But, in the words of George Orwell's "Animal Farm," their followers soon learn "some are more equal than others." American democratic socialists have faced scrutiny for their own indulgences under the capitalist system -- for instance, Sen. Bernie Sanders has three homes and a proclivity for private jet travel.But American socialists' luxuries pale in comparison to those of history's most infamous socialist and communist leaders around the world.

A man has revealed how running two minutes late for the doomed Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight saved his life. The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed six minutes after departing Addi Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday morning killing all 157 people on board.

Pope Francis railed against unjust employers Friday, saying it is hypocritical to go to church on Sunday and then exploit one’s workers. “Many Christians, even Catholics, who say they are practicing Catholics exploit people! They exploit their workers!” the pope said during his daily homily at Mass in the Casa Santa Marta Friday. They send them home at the beginning of summer to avoid having to pay benefits and then take them back again at the end, he explained. “And so many of these call themselves Catholics. They go to Mass on Sundays and then they do this. This is...

I’m not blaming them, they’ve been subjected to anti-capitalism pro-Gaia propaganda since they were old enough to watch Sesame Street. They were praised for everything and nothing, collected gold stars and participation trophies without ever even having to try. They’ve been taught that the culture they were born into is nothing but the summary of 9 evil isms: Capitalism, Colonialism, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Ableism, Ageism, Heterosexism and Anti-Semitism – although that last one is now open for negotiation. Current proposal is to replace it with Islamophobia.The five “faces” of oppression - violence, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism - formed...

HIPHOPDX – This week in Hip Hop, Jussie Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts. Also, R. Kelly sat down with Gayle King for an interview on CBS and opened up about the sexual abuse and misconduct allegations against him. Lastly, a radio ban was placed on Michael Jackson‘s music following HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary.

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continued to heap praise on fellow freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar early Sunday night — calling her “one of the most effective voices right now.” “Rep. Omar, a survivor of war, is one of the most effective voices right now at cutting through the authoritarian foreign policy tendencies of this administration,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez. She linked back to a post that the Minnesota lawmaker put up earlier in the evening criticizing President Trump’s handling of the crisis in Venezuela. “Trump and Elliott Abrams cannot be trusted to tell the truth about what’s happening in Venezuela,” Omar tweeted, along with...