Free Republic

NTRODUCTION Governor Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment charges – and the subsequent suspension of Assembly impeachment proceedings – have left other serious allegations of wrongdoing by the governor unresolved. Of particular concern are questions surrounding the Cuomo administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in nursing homes – including a March 25, 2020, directive that compelled homes to admit COVID-positive patients and a months-long effort to conceal the fallout of that policy. The exact impact of the original policy on nursing home residents remains uncertain, in large part because the Cuomo administration succeeded in clouding the picture. The ensuing cover-up, however,...

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released its quarterly Operation Freedom's Sentinel report to Congress on Tuesday, providing "background about events leading up to recent, significant and fast moving developments in Afghanistan." The 98-page report reveals what the Pentagon knew about Afghan security forces' capabilities and the threats posed by the Taliban and other terrorist groups in the country. What it shows is that the Biden administration knew that the events of the last few weeks were not only possible but were likely to take place. The report is peppered with DIA intelligence and media reporting that showed...

Aug. 16—Family members of Milton Roberts asked a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge for the maximum prison term Monday for a Toledo woman who shot the man multiple times as he allegedly burglarized her home. Robert's older sister, Lorena Roberts, asked Judge Ian English on Monday to sentence Laniesha Walls, 25, to a maximum term of 17 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting the man multiple times at her apartment in the 1400 block of Norwood Avenue on June 22, 2020. Roberts later died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Lucas County Coroner's Office. "An...

Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday criticized the “failure” to prevent the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan and suggested that Georgia was ready to take in some refugees following the repressive Taliban regime’s swift takeover of the country. Kemp said in a statement that “it is vitally important to keep those who partnered with American armed forces over the last 20 years safe from harm.” Republican governors in Maryland, Massachusetts, Utah and South Carolina have expressed willingness to accept refugees, as have a number of Democratic leaders. And top GOP contenders in Georgia’s 2022 contests have also called for...

An Arab, a Mexican and a Texas girl were in the same bar at Pappy's Cafe last week. When the Mexican finishes his beer,he throws his glass in the air, pulls out his pistol, and shoots the glass to pieces... The Arab, obviously impressed by this, drinks non-alcohol beer (cuz he's a muslim!),throws it into the air, pulls out his AK-47, and shoots the glass to pieces... He says, 'In the Arab World we have so much sand to make glasses that we don't need to drink with the same one twice either.' The cool Texas girl,picks up her beer,...

The development of purified vaccines for the control of common infectious diseases may lead to a sense of false security and a tendency to over-immunize. Repeated antigenic challenge may cause hypersensitivity reactions which could harm the individual. For each vaccine there is an opitmum time and age for dosing; for those vaccines requiring a course of doses, there is a minimum but no maximum time interval between the doses. In Australia, active immunization is conducted on a regular basis against seven preventable infectious diseases. In this article, the vaccine control of each disease is discussed briefly and suggestions made to...

The US media blasted Joe Biden today for his 'blame shifting' over the Afghanistan crisis after the President criticised Afghan leaders and military for refusing to fight while defending his decision to withdraw troops. The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial that Mr Biden 'refused to accept responsibility for the botched withdrawal while blaming others' and the 'one group he conspicuously did not blame was the Taliban'. A Washington Post editorial said he could have listened to the 'many seasoned hands' giving him alternatives to withdrawal, adding that him blaming others was 'unseemly' given that 2,448 US service members...

The US media blasted Joe Biden today for his 'blame shifting' over the Afghanistan crisis after the President criticised Afghan leaders and military for refusing to fight while defending his decision to withdraw troops. The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial that Mr Biden 'refused to accept responsibility for the botched withdrawal while blaming others' and the 'one group he conspicuously did not blame was the Taliban'. A Washington Post editorial said he could have listened to the 'many seasoned hands' giving him alternatives to withdrawal, adding that him blaming others was 'unseemly' given that 2,448 US service members...

The rapid US withdrawal from Afghanistan that has left the gate open for the Taliban to surge to power may come as a surprise to some, but President Biden has been in favour of pulling out for years. In 2010, Biden reportedly told Richard Holbrooke, then Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, that the US had to leave Afghanistan regardless of the cost for the Afghan people. According to Holbrooke, when Biden was asked about America's obligation to maintain their presence in Afghanistan to protect vulnerable civilians, he scornfully replied by referencing the US exit from southeast Asia in...

Former CIA Director David Petraeus called the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghan civilians from Afghanistan a “Dunkirk moment” — as Biden administration officials reveal they are unaware of the exact number of US civilians in the nation now under Taliban control. “This is a Dunkirk moment and our decisions created it. We need to acknowledge that. And we should now act as if we do recognize the catastrophe that we have created for Afghans who supported us​,” ​Petraeus, who commanded US forces in Afghanistan during the Obama administration, said in an interview with the Cipher Brief on Tuesday. “​​We...

Conservative radio talk show host Phil Valentine remains in “grave condition” a month after being hospitalized with COVID-19, according to his family. In a statement provided Monday evening, relatives asked his friends and followers to “pray for a miracle,” as he remained in “grave condition.” Valentine’s family revealed on July 22 that he was hospitalized “in very serious condition” and was suffering from “covid pneumonia,” along with other side effects of the virus.

In what has now become a familiar historical trend, one of the Taliban’s first acts after the militant group took Afghanistan was to confiscate firearms owned by civilians.Reuters reports that Taliban fighters in Kabul quickly set about collecting weapons from civilians because “people no longer need them for personal protection.”“We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe. We are not here to harm innocent civilians,” said a Taliban official.“Give us your guns. We will protect you.” – Every government that is about to commit mass murder ever,” remarked Spike Cohen. According to Saad Mohseni, director...

A Compton city councilman was arrested Friday morning and charged with conspiring to rig votes to secure his victory in an election he won earlier this year by just one ballot, officials said.Isaac Galvan, 34, was one of six people charged Friday with conspiracy to commit election fraud, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.Prosecutors allege Galvan conspired with Jace Dawson, one of his opponents in an April primary for Galvan’s council seat, to direct voters from outside the council district to cast ballots for Galvan in a June runoff, the complaint states....

Pfizer, along with its German partner BioNTech, and Moderna have together locked up over $60 billion in sales of the shots just in 2021 and 2022. The agreements include supply of the initial two doses of their vaccines as well as billions of dollars in potential boosters for wealthy nations. Going forward, analysts have forecast revenue of over $6.6 billion for the Pfizer/BioNTech shot and $7.6 billion for Moderna in 2023, mostly from booster sales. They eventually see the annual market settling at around $5 billion or higher, with additional drugmakers competing for those sales. Some early data suggests that...

Russia said Tuesday that the Taliban's initial assurances since completing their military takeover of Afghanistan have been a "positive signal" and that the militants are behaving in a "civilized manner." Moscow has been cautiously optimistic of the new leadership in Kabul and is seeking contact with the militants in an effort to avoid instability spilling over to neighboring ex-Soviet states. "I consider it a positive signal that the Taliban in Kabul are declaring and in practice showing their readiness to respect the opinion of others," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "In particular, they said that they are ready to...

Giant huntsman spiders are one of the world's biggest spiders. An Australian huntsman spider. Image credit: Shutterstock Huntsman spiders are large, fast spiders that live in warm climates throughout the world. They are named for the way that they catch their prey. Unlike many spider species, huntsman spiders "don't build webs to catch prey," said Christy Bills, an entomologist and the invertebrate collections manager at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Instead, these spiders hunt down their prey. There are thousands of subspecies in this family (Sparassidae). The average huntsman spider species is about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long with...

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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says Biden has not spoken to any world leaders since the fall of Afghanistan

Paliban Paleban1. Mutually congratulatory: 'What does Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban mean for the Middle East?' Ynet, Aug 16, 2021. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byqtdivet Hamas already congratulated the Taliban on its victory. In recent days, members of the Hamas Politburo have met with those of the Taliban in Qatar. The Taliban congratulated Hamas on its “achievements” during the 11-days of fighting with Israel in May. _____ 2. Both wrap their jihadi bigoted butchery in "anti occupation" cloth: 'Hamas says Taliban takeover proves Palestinians 'will achieve victory,'' i24NEWS, August 16, 2021. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/1629119521-hamas-says-taliban-takeover-proves-palestinians-will-achieve-victory 'We congratulate the Muslim Afghan people for the defeat of the American...

Rep. Seth Moulton says he was convinced by President Joe Biden’s speech Monday defending the decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, even as the Taliban surged back to take control of the country over the weekend. However, the Massachusetts Democrat took exception Tuesday to Biden’s argument that the chaotic evacuation of Afghan civilians fleeing their country this week was because some “did not want to leave earlier.” “That’s utter BS,” Moulton said Tuesday during a press conference in Salem. “I mean, don’t tell me that Afghans don’t want to leave when there’s been a backlog of Special Immigrant Visa...