Free Republic

They found that all four of these spike protein inserts appear as matches to at least one sequence in at least one variant of the HIV virus. The sequences come from the gp120 and Gag proteins in HIV, the former of which is also a viral envelope recognition protein. This has led many to credulously assume that this is evidence, or even a strong indication, that 2019-nCoV was engineered from its bat ancestor by humans inserting HIV sequences. But they’re wrong; it’s still not engineered. An analysis of the paper clearly reveals that: 1. There is nothing remarkable about the...

It was, to quote a certain Victorian author, the best of times and the worst of times at the Sundance Film Festival. Or, in the words of another one of history’s great scribes: “The players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” Those, of course, are the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off.” And while the song isn’t featured in Swift’s documentary “Miss Americana” — most likely, as a result of a legal battle with Scooter Braun, who now owns the catalog of most of Swift’s hits — there was still...

A row over the yeti has pitted experts against officials - and, for once, it is not about whether or not the mythical creature actually exists. Instead, it is how the creature looks. "This is not right. The government can't just do as it wants," passer-by Reshma Shrestha says, shaking her head in front of the 7ft (2.1m) tall statue at the centre of a row. "If you did not tell me, I would not have known that it was a yeti." 'It's a sumo wrestler' The arrival of the first of more than 100 statues emblazoned with the words...

Marco Rubio - @marcorubio #SenateTrial Day 10: Final arguments 11am Monday. Final vote Wednesday at 4pm. Last March Rep. Schiff said there was "little to be gained by putting the country through" the "wrenching experience" of a partisan impeachment. But then they decided to do it anyway. The House admitted they didn’t try to enforce testimony of witnesses in court because it would tie them up in litigation for a year. But then spent weeks demanding the Senate do it now. We were never going to play this stupid game with them The same people to say "how dare Trump...

WashingtonÂ’s Department of Transportation posted a series of photos on Twitter last week claiming a potential Sasquatch sighting near a highway at Sherman Pass. A webcam placed by the department in the stateÂ’s remote northeastern corner captured a shadowy figure resembling what appears to be a person, or Bigfoot, or just a tree trunk with an oddly humanoid figure. The following day, a crew of workers clearing snow in the area stopped by the cameraÂ’s location to see if they could spot anything out of the ordinary. However, if a Sasquach had been there, it apparently made a fast get...

The 31-year-old man didn't notice the mistake right away and pumped $60 of fuel.Mistakenly putting the fuel pump into a fishing pole holder, a Florida man pumped $60 worth of gas onto the deck of his boat and on the ground of a gas station, officials said. SNIP The gas flowed from the fishing pole holder and onto the deck of the 24-foot vessel. The 31-year-old man didn't notice the mistake right away and pumped $60 of fuel. When the man was trying to clean up the mess, the gasoline started to leak from the boat and onto the ground...

A widow with five children in her late 30s, she became a perennial best-seller over the second half of her life, writing or co-writing “A Stranger Is Watching,” “Daddy’s Little Girl” and more than 50 other favorites. Sales topped 100 million copies and honors came from all over, whether a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in France or a “Grand Master” statuette back home from the Mystery Writers of America. Many of her books, including “A Stranger is Watching” and “Lucky Day,” were adapted for movies and television. She also collaborated on several novels with her daughter,...

Before there was Robert Pattinson and the Hot Priest, there was Lord Byron. He was the nineteenth century’s answer to a bad boy. Romantic poet, bisexual man, adulterer and divorcee, his personal life was as well-known as his prose. I suppose that’s what happens when you father a love child with your half-sister and keep a bear as a pet. So, if you’re in a Bumble rut or you’ve got a bad case of Tinder finger, you’ve come to the right place. Byron’s private collection is being auctioned in London next month. A total of 93 items are up for...

Dry January might just have to be put on hold. Because an ATM has popped up in Monument and is currently doling out free prosecco to passers-by. It’s in celebration of the launch of a new branch from London wine bar group Vagabond, and as such, it’s being called a ‘Vagabank’. Since Vagabond Monument is opening inside a former Santander Bank in the City, the Vagabank will be taking up position in the space where a real ATM once lived. But instead of dispensing cash, this fancy machine will be handing customers a glass of the sparkling stuff. There seem...

SNIP “@diddy I heard your #Grammy speech about how u are now for the artist and about how the artist must take back control. So I will be the first to take that initiative,” the Harlem MC wrote on Instagram Friday. “I heard u loud and clear when u said that u are now for the artist and to that, my response is if u want to see change you can make a change today by starting with yourself.” SNIP The “Tell Me What You Want” rapper then revealed that “just a few days ago,” he offered to pay Diddy...

But perhaps President Trump’s greatest advantage is the utter arrogance of establishment elites like Rick Wilson. When “Never Trump” zealots routinely demean millions of Americans as “rubes” (or “deplorables”), Trump voters become incensed and ready for battle. Criticizing the millions of Americans who support the president sends a message to the American heartland: that your views and values don’t matter. Attacking their president comes down to attacking them and their beliefs. Just like in 2016, President Trump’s supporters see a president who is facing unprecedented attacks from the Washington establishment: Democrats, faux-Republicans, and the liberal media. Those establishment figures can’t...

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, January 19) -- Vowing first to protect Social Security with trillions in expected budget surpluses, President Bill Clinton unveiled on Tuesday a variety of initiatives in his seventh State of the Union address to Congress. The president did not mention his impeachment trial during his 77-minute speech. Most members of Congress routinely applauded, but some Republicans shook their heads, frowned or refrained from clapping during Clinton's forceful, smooth and sometimes light-hearted delivery. At one point Clinton, only the second president in history to be impeached, left his prepared remarks and bantered with the audience, making a seesaw motion...

We all owe Chief Justice John Roberts a big thank you for confirming the name of the phony, Deep State whistleblower who launched this stupid impeachment hoax. Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella, a CIA analyst and raging partisan who falsely accused President Trump of impeachable crimes, who has a history of working with former Vice President Joe Biden, and who might have had his own agenda in wanting Biden’s corruption in Ukraine covered up… Yep, that’s him. After much speculation that Ciaramella is the guy, Roberts confirmed it Thursday through his unconstitutional act of commission. Justice Cuck...

BANGKOK: Thailand has seen its first case of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus inside the country, a health official said on Friday (Jan 31), as it raised its total number of cases to 19, the second-highest after China. The first patient to contract the virus inside Thailand is a Thai taxi driver, said Tanarak Pipat, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control. "(He) ...does not have the record of travelling to China, and it is likely that he was infected (by) a sick traveller from China," Tanarak said. Authorities have conducted virus scans on 13 people, including three...

Affordable-housing shortages are an abiding challenge for cities around the nation. But often policies meant to alleviate the problem aggravate it instead. That’s certainly the case in Seattle, where the City Council imposed a pair of ordinances aimed at restricting property owners’ right to choose their tenants. These misguided laws, recently upheld by the Washington Supreme Court, attempt to solve problems caused by the housing shortage by destroying property rights. Property owners in other cities should take note: Such reforms have a tendency to spread once they take root. The two ordinances in question strip landlords of the right to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgDo3YjRH1A&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop "That's It, It's all Over" ~ Nigel Farage

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Sen. Bernie Sanders and his support network of being responsible for disunity within the Democratic Party. In a Friday podcast, Clinton called the behavior of Sanders supporters "distressing," assigning blame to them for the outcome of the 2016 election. . . . Clinton additionally categorized the first-in-the-nation caucuses in Iowa, where some polls show Sanders in the lead ahead of Monday's event, as being "undemocratic." She criticized how the caucuses limit voting to one evening, claiming it prevents Iowans with night shifts from voting.

I understand Romney can't be recalled, so what can be done with the traitor? I don't keep up with Utah politics so not sure how the folks feel about the vote and how Romney has conducted himself during the impeachment trial.

Senate Republicans rejected a resolution to call witnesses, including former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, on Friday evening, setting up a potential acquittal vote in the coming days. The Senate voted 51–49 to not subpoena any documents or witnesses in the trial. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined Democrats in the losing bid. Potential swing-vote Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) voted against the measure. No Democrats joined the Republican majority. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that there is “no need for the Senate to re-open the investigation which the House Democratic...

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. rejected Democratic efforts to rope him into possibly playing an active role in the impeachment trial of President Trump, saying he will not cast any tie-breaking votes. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, Democrats’ floor leader, had suggested the chief justice could break ties, pointing back to the trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868, where the chief justice at that time did cast votes to break two ties on procedural issues. Senators rebelled against that involvement, and Chief Justice Roberts said he didn’t consider those two “isolated episodes” to be sufficient precedent for him to...