Free Republic

So brave [/sarcasm]: An American who medaled in fencing at the Pan American Games took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustice. Race Imboden, who earned a bronze medal in the individual men’s foil event and a gold in the team competition, kneeled as the national anthem was played during a medal ceremony during the competition on Friday in Lima, Peru. Imboden is pictured on the podium kneeling as his teammates Gerek Meinhardt and Nick Itkin stand. “This week I am honored to represent Team USA at the Pan Am Games, taking home Gold and Bronze,”...

I mean this really isn’t shocking. For years, they’ve been saying it. It’s just been a mixed bag of those who want to get it done now like he far left of the Democratic Party, and those who want to do it, but not so close to an election year; the ones who take into account political realities. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she would rather censure Trump than impeach him. Pelosi appears to be someone unable to corral the crazies in her caucus. Maybe she looked a bit out of step, but I stand corrected. She may...

Assertions and speculations spread like wildfire. Epstein was murdered. He isn’t dead at all, he was ferreted out of jail and taken to Israel. He killed himself. The video cameras in jail malfunctioned (were turned off on purpose). Epstein paid off guards so he could engineer his covert escape. He’s dead, a victim of the rising Clinton body count. Trump is in the Epstein scandal up to his eyeballs. And so on. I call your attention to two writers who are digging into Epstein’s seemingly endless, high-level connections. One is Wayne Madsen (twitter), whose recent article is posted at Intrepid...

The uncle of an infant who lost both parents in the Saturday mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that killed more than 20 people defended a photo the president took with the child while giving a thumbs up, The Washington Post reported. Trump traveled to El Paso on Wednesday to meet with first responders, hospital workers and victims of the shootings. Tito Anchondo, whose brother and sister-in-law were killed in the attack, chose to take his orphaned nephew to meet the president and first lady. The 2-month-old boy suffered two broken fingers, but he survived the shooting after his parents...

Swiss gun ownership remains fairly high for Europe — there are about 27.5 guns for every 100 people in Switzerland — Pro-gun advocates in the U.S. often point to Switzerland to prove that high gun ownership doesn't necessarily mean high gun deaths. Where Switzerland does shine - is in its low number of mass shootings. It hasn't had one since 2001, when a man raided the local government body in Zug, killing 14 people before himself. This said, there are a few factors that may play into their lower rates of mass shootings. First, Switzerland has mandatory military service for...

Show no mercy for you shall receive none and never, ever think that Democrats are your friends; they’re not. They’re the folks who will shank you at the earliest opportunity. The inherent rot of their character, the condescension, and aura of moral superiority they carry, despite being complete and total idiots, is absolutely nauseating. They hate America. They hate us. There is nothing that we share in common. Maybe a tax form ever April, but that’s about it. We do indeed have aliens in America. And these aliens, these disgusting progressive creatures, are not done with Supreme Court Justice Brett...

With the help of his professor, Gary Urton, a scholar of Pre-Columbian studies, Medrano interpreted a set of six khipus, knotted cords used for record keeping in the Inca Empire. By matching the khipus to a colonial-era Spanish census document, Medrano and Urton uncovered the meaning of the cords in greater detail than ever before. Their findings could contribute to a better understanding of daily life in the Andean civilization.

Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who hanged himself in a federal jail in Manhattan, was supposed to have been checked by guards every 30 minutes, but that procedure was not being followed the night before he was found, a law-enforcement official with knowledge of his detention said. In addition, the jail had transferred his cellmate and allowed Mr. Epstein to be housed alone in a cell just two weeks after he had been taken off suicide watch, a decision that also violated the jail’s normal procedure, two officials said. The disclosures about apparent failures in Mr. Epstein’s detention at the Metropolitan...

A youth pipe band from Winnipeg will be taking their bagpipes, drums and kilts — and their talent — to Scotland to compete against some of the world's best next weekend. Dozens of members of the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band spent Thursday evening blowing pipes and pounding their drums at Assiniboine Park as the sun set behind the trees, in preparation for the World Pipe Band Championships, to be held Aug. 16 and 17 in Glasgow. Every year, more than 200 teams involving 8,000 bagpipers and drummers from around the world gather in Scotland for the competitions....

The Rise Up October rally...featured Tarantino as a speaker. The event aimed to call attention to police brutality and its victims. While there, Tarantino said the following: "I’m a human being with a conscience. And when I see murder I cannot stand by. And I have to call the murdered the murdered, and I have to call the murderers the murderers." The quote first received major exposure via the New York Post on the day of the protest. The next day, Patrick J. Lynch, president of New York's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, a labor union representing police, called for a boycott...

TinyPic is shutting down its image hosting service because we can no longer support a free service that derives 100% of its revenue from ever declining on-site ad revenues. While you may continue to host images from our site until further notice, we encourage you to consider selecting one of the premium plans offered by our sister site, Photobucket. Thanks for using TinyPic for your hosting needs over the years. We apologize that we can no longer continue providing this service, but Photobucket is a great option going forward.

Yemeni separatists have taken control of the strategic city of Aden after days of fighting with forces backing the internationally recognized government. A spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council (STC) told CNN the group took over the city including its presidential palace, port and airport. Aden has been the seat of the Saudi-backed government since Houthi fighters took over Sanaa in 2014. "We are not inside the presidential compound, which is on an island, but we have secured its entrances and exits," Nizar Haytham, the STC spokesperson, told CNN. CNN wasn't able to verify the claims. However, the interior minister...

An interesting movie on the Russian conquest of Asia in 1600s using German and Swedish POWs against the local nations and tribes and at the expense of China.

Remember when Hollywood low-life Harvey Weinstein was trying to payoff or shutup the girls decrying his sexual behavior..? Remember that BLACK CUBE, the IDF-affiliated, Blackwater-style private intel group was what Weinstein used to fakeBefriend and then spy on and harass the girls into silence..? HOW did the services of Black Cube come to Harvey Weinstein’s attention..? The freaking ex-Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, introduced them to Weinstein..! Can you believe this..? Barak, left And how did Ehud Barak know Weinstein? Via EPSTEIN..!! Yes, Ehud Barak was visiting Epstein’s NYC mansion and flying out to Rape Island. Isn’t this amazing?...

While about three dozen gun-control supporters were protesting against the Florida Gun Show in Pembroke Pines on Saturday, thousands of people were inside the City Center shopping, taking permit courses, joining the NRA and registering to vote.

Mandatory versus voluntary. Though court cases have sought to limit "mandatory" school-sponsored prayer, students continue to have the right to "voluntarily" pray! Brad Dacus, President of Pacific Justice Institute, stated (www.legaltopray.com): “In every case defending students’ rights to pray, the students have prevailed, even teachers have the right to pray in school." President Bill Clinton stated at James Madison High School, July 12, 1995: "The First Amendment does not require students to leave their religion at the schoolhouse door ... If students can wear T-shirts advertising sports teams, rock groups or politicians, they can also wear T-shirts that promote religion...

Mention of the American military-industrial complex conjures up images of massive weapons procurement programs and advanced technologies: supersonic bombers, strategic missiles, armor-plated tanks, nuclear submarines, and complex space systems. However, a key element of the military lifestyle for many years was not a weapon or even a machine, but one of the world’s most highly engineered consumer products: the manufactured cigarette. U.S. soldiers used to smoke often in historical footage, so why don’t they anymore? Why are U.S. military officers now banned from smoking in uniform on some installations? Looking back at military smoking culture, stark distinctions separate the past...

American fencer Race Imboden deserves induction into the "Hall of Shame" for kneeling on the victory stand at the Pan American Games and dishonoring his country on social media Friday. The Democratic Underground certainly loves his tweet blaming a "hateful" President for his pathetic protest, and Bleacher Report gave him a platform for encouraging other athletes to disrespect the U.S. flag. Along with teammates Gerek Meinhardt and Nick Itkin, Imboden helped the USA defeat Brazil, 45-23 in the team foil gold-medal match. Meinhardt and Itkin were the real heroes of the day Friday ― for standing, for representing the United...

“It doesn’t feel very safe” exclaimed one young Swedish lady following reports of a fourth rape in as many days in the Swedish city of Uppsala. “I even bought a self-defense spray yesterday. I’ll have it in my hand when I go home myself. If something should happen, you are always prepared.” And her fears (and preparation) are well-placed it appears as even the police admit they can’t protect everyone, warning women to walk in groups and to “think how to behave.” “Women in town should not be worried, but must think how to behave,” the city’s police force said...

2020 presidential candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris on Sunday called the Trump administration's decision to carry out immigration raids in the wake of two mass shootings a "campaign of terror." In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Harris noted the round-up of 680 suspected undocumented workers at several food processing plants in Mississippi on Wednesday. She believed that Hispanics were specifically targeted because the majority of detained workers were Latino. "This administration has directed DHS to conduct these raids as part of what I believe is this administration's campaign of terror, which is to make whole populations of...