Free Republic

A few days before Christmas, Julian Assange testified to a Spanish court that a Spanish security company, UC Global S.L., acting in coordination with the CIA, illegally recorded all his actions and conversations, including with his lawyers, and streamed them back in real time to the CIA. He will, at the end of February, make a similar complaint to a British extradition court about the CIA’s alleged misbehavior. Will such misbehavior, if proven, set Assange free? The Daniel Ellsberg case may be instructive. You may recall that after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the “Pentagon Papers” case, Ellsberg was...

A 23-year-old man fell to his death Saturday while jumping between rooftops in North Philadelphia, according to police. The incident occurred just before 2 a.m. on the 1200 block of Buttonwood Street. Police identified the man as third-year Drexel College of Medicine student Vivek Subramani. Witnesses told police that they were jumping between the rooftops of their apartment building when Subramani did not make the jump, falling two stories down and hitting his head. Witnesses also explained they had been drinking earlier in the evening

On September 25, during the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)—a pro-Israel, anti-Iran lobby group—held a “summit” in New York that was attended by, among others, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, and Sigal Mandelker, the outgoing Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, as well as diplomats from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. As usual, tough rhetoric was uttered by all the speakers, and threats were made. The day before the summit, another meeting was held that had allegedly been organized by Mark Wallace, the...

In the late fall, Sen. Bernie Sanders came to speak at Georgetown University and was treated like a rock star. He was followed across campus by a hoard of students desperate to get a photo, have a question answered, or even just be near the candidate.Sanders deeply affected many young people in 2016. He energized a passionate millennial base, and it is estimated he won more youth votes than Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton combined. He also gained popularity among many adolescents too young to vote then, but who have since come of legal voting age. This momentum has...

A senior Iranian commander who admitted to Iran's role in the recent downing of a Ukrainian airplane bragged in 2016 that even the youngest Iranian officers have unilateral authority to conduct strikes like the one that downed the Ukrainian plane, killing every civilian aboard, according to video obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. ... "Ahead of time, scenarios have been planned and units have been given the authorization," Hajizadeh said in the 2016 interview, which was independently translated for the Free Beacon. "Look, when it comes to the shooting of defensive missiles, if an enemy aircraft is incoming, why would...

Cdl. Burke: Abortion Pre-Eminent Social Issue Prelate calls notion of 'Francis Magisterium' preposterous ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - An American cardinal has issued a stinging rebuke to American bishops, hitting back at the attempt to downgrade the "pre-eminent priority" of abortion in Catholic moral teaching.  "It is absolutely clear that abortion is the pre-eminent social issue," Cdl. Raymond Burke categorically said in response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) controversy over whether Pope Francis prioritizes other social and moral issues on the same level as abortion. "Abortion, from the very first days of the Church, has always been considered to be among the most grievous of sins." "In the...

"Mas, que Nada!" is a song written and originally performed in 1963 by Jorge Ben on his debut album, which became Sérgio Mendes' signature song in his 1966 cover version. Brazilians use Mas que nada (or just que nada) colloquially to disagree with someone. A fitting English translation might be a sarcastic "Yeah, right!". Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 - Mas que nada (from Eartha Kitt's "Something Special", 1967)

Despite the Iranian government’s brutal crackdown on protesters in recent months, throngs of Iranians showed up this weekend to march against the regime after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted it shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 on board. The remarkably brave protesters chanted about how they have been lied to concerning who the true enemy is and students at Beheshti University in Tehran refused to walk on American and Israeli flags. According to The New York Times, the latest protests even included some “conservatives who ordinarily support the government.” Despite the heavy security presence, large crowds...

The Iranian people are demonstrating. You can see the protests on Twitter, and read about the internal ferment online at the Free Iran Herald, which appears on Gateway Pundit. The current round of demonstrations erupted all over the country after the destruction of the Ukrainian commercial airplane taking off from Tehran. The security forces are reacting with even greater than usual violence, shooting the protesters with live ammunition. At the same time, supporters of deceased General Qassem Soleimani within the Revolutionary Guards are being rounded up in significant numbers, suggesting that there was a power struggle underway within his...

William Tyndale lived over 400 years ago. In his day, the church would allow only its leaders to read and interpret the Bible. It also refused to let the Scriptures be translated from Latin into the language of the people.God gave Tyndale a deep desire to give the people a Bible they could read for themselves, but he was unable to convince the church to do this work. He therefore began the enormous task of translating the Bible into English himself.Tyndale worked feverishly from dawn to dusk, six days a week, for 11 years. He taught himself Hebrew in order...

The left wing media last week: The people of Iran love Soleimani and Khamenei! This week: Who knew they hated Soleimani and Khamenei? But it's still Trump's fault! Donald Trump has frequently referred to the left wing media as the "enemy of the people." They then cry about it and whine about a free press but then go on to prove Trump was right. The press shoved down our throats the notion that the people of Iran loved Qasem Soleimani despite him killing 1500 Iranian protesters last November. Chris Matthews likened Soleimani to Elvis and Princess Diana. The press was...

If this was supposed to be damage control by Nancy Pelosi after she was forced to give up her impeachment stunt and cave to Mitch McConnell, it wasn't very smooth. Madame Speaker joined George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week on Sunday and did the worst thing she can do these days: speak her mind.The Washington Examiner: Pelosi, 79, then pivoted to McConnell, saying he has "resisted sources" that suggest Russian meddling in American elections. "Sometimes I wonder about Mitch McConnell too," remarked Pelosi. "What's he — why is he an accomplice to all of that? He has resisted sources...

(Singing the song in 1967, and 2007) "To Sir with Love" is the theme from James Clavell's 1967 film To Sir, with Love. The song was performed by Lulu, and written by Don Black and Mark London. Mickie Most produced the record, with Mike Leander arranging and conducting. The song reached No. 1 in the United States record charts, and it became the bestselling song of 1967 in the US. Lulu - To Sir With Love (2007)

In November, 25-year-old Japanese citizen Midori Nishida was checking into a flight to Saipan, a US island in the Pacific, where she was going to visit her parents. She wasn't pregnant, and said so on a check-in questionnaire, but airline staff made her take a pregnancy test anyways before she was allowed to board. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nishida was asked to give permission to an authorized medical provider to conduct a "fit-to-fly" assessment, and the form said it was for women who had a body size or shape resembling a pregnant woman. Nishida told the Wall Street...

On Sunday and Saturday, for two consecutive days people of Iran, and students at different universities took to the streets, protesting the downing of the Ukrainian passenger airplane by the IRGC. The protesters were targeting the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and calling for the overthrow of the regime by chanting, “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, resign, resign,” They also were chanting, “death to the dictator,” “Death to this murderous regime,” “Death to the oppressor, whether the Shah or the Leader (Khamenei),” “Soleimani was a killer and so is his leader,” “Death to this theocracy, for crimes in all these...

Democratic congressional leaders and presidential candidates who were unsparing in their criticism of President Trump for the escalation with Iran over the past two weeks largely have gone silent now that the protests on the streets of Tehran and beyond have turned their rage toward the regime — and not the Trump White House. Even as videos emerged online Monday that purportedly show Iranian police and security forces firing live ammunition to disperse protestors, so far among the 2020 Democratic candidates only former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have spoken out in support of the people....

The sole female Iranian Olympic medalist has defected. Kimia Alizadeh bid farewell and has relocated to Europe. It is reported she has gone to the Netherlands. The bronze medalist in Taekwondo posted her letter of farewell on Instagram just one day after the Iranian government admitted it shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. She wrote in Farsi. “Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences,” the 21-year–old wrote in an Instagram post explaining why she was defecting. “I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years.”“They took...

Early one morning on May 5, 2006, Paul Allen Houser walked into a convenience store in Columbus, Miss., to purchase cold medicine, a copy of Tradewind magazine, lithium batteries and a 24-ounce bottle of Mountain Dew. Houser, then 43, had struggled with substance abuse for most of his adult life, after a work-related back injury at age 15 left him with a prescription-painkiller addiction. Houser was on his phone at the check-out counter when he noticed a police officer approaching the store. He rushed out after paying for his items and drove off in his truck. #Shortly afterward, the same...

President Trump is not letting Iran's mullahs off easy. Following the spectacular rubout of Iranian terrorist chieftain Qassem Soleimani and the blunderous events in Iran that followed, Trump is now cheering, hard, for Iran's student protestors.   To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020   The demise of the...

They use it to call it "voting with their feet" or something like that.  Indeed, people are voting with their feet by trading in their old blue shoes for shining red shoes. This is from Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas: According to an Election Data Services analysis of the Census Bureau report, "The population projections point toward a ten [congressional] seat change over 17 states across the nation by year 2020." Seven states are projected to gain one or more congressional seats after the 2020 election; 10 states are projected lose one...