Free Republic

In my last post, I commented on Joe Stiglitz view, heading to Davos, that billionaires and corporate leaders are anxious to pollute the air. In my wealth tax series I reported on the popular view on the Warren Sanders Saez Zucman view that corporate leaders and billionaires represent a regressive right wing political force, that must be stopped by any means including expropriation of their wealth, even if that means destroying the businesses that make them rich. My colleague Niall Ferguson reports from Davos what seems actually to be on billionaires' minds:

About 5 million residents left Wuhan before the lockdown because of the deadly coronavirus epidemic and the Spring Festival holiday, mayor Zhou Xianwang revealed on Sunday, as health officials ­warned the virus’ ­ability to spread was ­getting ­stronger. There were about 9 million people remaining in the city after the lockdown, Zhou told a press conference. Of the 2,700 people currently under observation in the city, about 1,000 were likely to be confirmed cases. As of Sunday, Wuhan had 533 confirmed cases. The central government imposed a lockdown on Wuhan and several cities on Thursday hoping to stop the new...

THE World Health Organization today said the global risk from the deadly virus in China was “high”, admitting an error in its previous reports that said it was “moderate”. The UN health body said in a situation report published late yesterday that the risk was “very high in China, high at regional level and high at global level”.

U.S. Senator Susan Collins said on Monday the case for calling witnesses in President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial had been strengthened by a New York Times report on a book manuscript by former Trump adviser John Bolton. “The reports about John Bolton’s book strengthen the case for witnesses and have prompted a number of conversations among my colleagues,” Collins said in a statement she posted to Twitter.

“A friend texted me today to tell me that a friend of her’s saw #KobeBryant at #Catholic Mass this morning,” Boston priest David Barnes said via Twitter on Sunday. “Mass is the worship of God. Heaven is the worship of God. Go to Mass here so that you can worship God forever in heaven.” In the wake of the fatal accident, fellow Catholic and singer Cristina Ballestero posted about an encounter she had with Bryant at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, California, during a weekday Mass. I want to tell a story about the time I met Kobe Bryant. “I...

New students at the University of Missouri will be required to participate in a tracking program designed to measure and enforce class attendance, according to a new report from The Kansas City Star. Despite privacy concerns, officials defended the decision as one to the benefit of students, as the school's athletics department has already been using the same app, SpotterEdu, to track certain student-athletes.

Kobe Bryant plays Moonlight Sonata. He taught himself this to show to his wife. A tribute to a legend, a union of sports and music in one man. Director : Brandon Nicholas DP: Zach Voytas Featuring: The Luring Quartet Winner of a 2014 Bronze Telly Award We had a very narrow window of time to shoot this promotional piece with Kobe. He arrived in the conference room at the Graves 106 Hotel in MN at 6:45pm and 20 minutes later he was gone. CLICK ABOVE LINK TO WATCH

Happy New Year, everyone!! Here's hoping 2020 is the best year yet!! President Trump should take the win in the Senate trial without dragging it out, then concentrate on winning the 2020 election with wide coattails, then bide his time as the cases against the various coup plotters wind their way through the justice system. Win the election, hold the senate, take back the house!! And then continue the work of making America great again: Build the wall, enforce the law, deport them all!! End DACA!! End sanctuary cities!! End anchor babies!! Continue cutting regulations, cutting government, cutting spending and...

Governments need to implement “draconian” travel curbs to stop a mystery coronavirus in China becoming a global epidemic, a team of experts mapping the outbreak said Monday. Scientists at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) presented a briefing warning that the spread of the deadly SARS-like virus that first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan was accelerating. “We have to be prepared that this particular epidemic may be about to become a global epidemic,” said Gabriel Leung, head of the team. “Substantial, draconian measures limiting population mobility should be taken sooner, rather than later.” Leung leads a group of...

The Chinese authorities have released first pictures of a new strain of coronavirus which has killed at least 81 people and infected more than 2,800. China's National Microbiology Data Center published electron microscopic images of the novel coronavirus extracted from two patients in Wuhan, the ground zero of the outbreak of the deadly virus. Wuhan's mayor Zhou Xianwang today revealed that the city was seeing human-to-human transmission of the disease 'on a large scale'.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could earn more than £400,000 ($500,000) for a single speaking engagement and millions more for a book deal when they begin raising their own income, according to leading American agents. GDA Speakers, whose clients include Nicole Kidman and Diane Keaton, said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would attract much higher fees than regular celebrities, even without their HRH titles. Meanwhile, showbiz and sport agent Darren Price predicted they could easily earn £8m ($10million) as an advance on a book deal - and that's even before any royalties from sales are taken into account.

When President Trump (tweeted) on Sunday that Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was a “CORRUPT POLITICIAN” who “has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!” the media and Democrats loudly protested, as they do, that this was a threat. “Schiff ‘has not paid the price’ for impeachment, Trump says in what appears to be veiled threat,” said a Washington Post headline. “Schiff, Calling Trump ‘Wrathful and Vindictive,’ Sees Tweet as a Threat” The New York Times headlined. “Trump makes ‘threat’ against Rep. Adam Schiff,” was the New York Daily News headline. “Adam Schiff: Trump Saying...

Senate Impeachment Trial LIVE - day 6

Oldest Scorpion Stings Darwin January 27, 2020 | Jerry Bergman Oldest Known Scorpion Tells a Lot about Science and Speculation: Much Promised, Little Delivered by Jerry Bergman, PhD In searching for data on the evolution of body organs and structures, one of the best sources is small organisms trapped in amber. Every now and then, though, fossilized creatures in rock contain soft tissue impressions, revealing evidence of organs or organ structures. The evidence is often indirect. Recently, paleontologists found what they call the oldest known scorpion ever uncovered: two fossil specimens of a scorpion named Parioscorpio venator. They claim it...

In about 30 seconds, one man in Iowa exposed a major weakness in the Democratic Party’s 2020 strategy. It’s a weakness, but it’s also a blindspot. After a Monday town hall in Grimes, population 13,562, a father confronted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a photo line. Warren, it should be noted, touts a higher education proposal that “cancels $50,000 in student loan debt for every person with household income under $100,000,” paid for by her 2 percent annual “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” on families worth $50 million and more. “My daughter is getting out of school. I’ve saved all my money. She...

The US government is rushing to evacuate Americans from the coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan as officials warned the deadly strain's spread is picking up speed. A charter flight is scheduled to fly from the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday. The US consulate in Wuhan began reaching out to all Americans registered as living in the city - of which there are said to be roughly 1,000 - last week to offer them a seat on the plane. The State Department warned that the single flight will have 'limited capacity' to transport private US...

The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others that crashed into a rugged hillside outside Los Angeles was flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers. Bryant's helicopter left Santa Ana in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, shortly after 9am, a time when conditions were not suitable for flying, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. There was an overcast at 1,300 feet and visibility of about five miles. The pilot, who was named as Ara Zobayan was flying under visual flight rules (VFR), meaning that he was relying on...

Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday it's "increasingly likely" there will be enough Republican senators to vote in favor of calling witnesses in President Donald Trump's Senate trial to compel their testimony after major revelations from a soon-to-be released book from former national security adviser John Bolton. "I think, with the story that came out yesterday, it's increasingly apparent that it would be important to hear from John Bolton," the Republican senator from Utah told reporters in brief comments. He said he hasn't fully made up his mind on calling witnesses, but what Bolton has to say is "relevant" and "therefore...

TACUN UMAN, Guatemala – Chanting “Hon-dur-as! Hon-dur-as! Hon-dur-as!” hundreds of migrants from the first U.S.-bound caravan of 2020 last week showed up at the Puente Rodolfo Robles International bridge in this violent smuggler’s town on Guatemala’s northwestern border with Mexico, always a symbolic turnstile to the American goal line. Mexican officials on the other side had let the hundreds of caravan migrants stacking up here by the hour know they would be allowed to cross in the morning. But visible excitement went negative, then dissipated into disbelief, as I explained to a dozen young male migrants surrounding me of the...

President Trump denied early Monday that he told then-national security adviser John Bolton the holding of military aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats. Trump said he “NEVER” had that conversation with Bolton despite a New York Times report that claims Bolton was told Trump wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance until officials in Ukraine helped with the probes. “I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very...