Free Republic

What’s Really on Trial in the Rittenhouse Case?It's not actually about Rittenhouse.The country was treated yesterday to an unusual spectacle as Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand in his trial for first-degree murder. This maneuver is generally considered a bad idea, or a sign of desperation, but in this instance the defendant seems to be acquitting himself admirably. Rittenhouse, only 18 years old, handled aggressive questioning about a complex incident with remarkable poise and calm, despite breaking down in tears at one point. Close observers seem to agree that the prosecutor’s case against Rittenhouse is weak and falling apart. Testimony by...

Belarus state TV reported that an American who faces criminal charges from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is seeking asylum in Belarus, a move that could heighten tensions between the turbulent former Soviet nation and the United States * * * The Belarus 1 anchors described Neumann as a “simple American, whose stores were burned down by members of the Black Lives Matter movement, who was seeking justice, asking inconvenient questions, but lost almost everything and is being persecuted by the U.S. government.”

Hunter Biden's text messages from December 2018 reveal concerning discussions about dealings in Russia and Communist China. ============================================================================= In a December 2018 text message exchange between Hunter Biden and his lover Hallie, the widowed wife of his late brother Beau Biden, Hunter describes feeling “very alone” in dealing with issues regarding his ex wife and children, the suspicious deaths of rich business partners, the arrest of foreign high-profile clients in Communist China, and his suspected involvement in business dealings in Russia “with Vladimir Putin directly.” National File has obtained over 800 pages of text messages sent or received by Hunter...

UFO’s buzzing warships and being reported by US pilots could be of alien origin, America’s top spy chief has said in a stunning admission. Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who oversees all 16 US spy agencies including the FBI and CIA, was speaking at the Our Future in Space event at the Washington National Cathedral. Haines was quizzed about UFOs which have become a serious national security debate in the US after years of being consigned to the dustbin of conspiracy theories. The stunning UAP Task Force report published by the Pentagon over the summer admitted there...

If you are shoplifting, Biden’s hyperinflation is of no concern OXFORD, CT (WFSB) – An investigation is underway after multiple people were seen stealing shopping carts full of items from an Oxford grocery store early Tuesday morning. The incident happened just after 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the Market 32 store on Oxford Road. Police said they were notified about 10 minutes after multiple people were seen filling shopping carts full of items inside the store, walking out without paying, and then filling two SUVs that were waiting outside. It is believed those vehicles were stolen. CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Multiple...

GLASGOW, Scotland — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the goal of limiting global warming to 2.7 F is “on life support” as UN climate talks enter their final days, but he added that “until the last moment, hope should be maintained.” In an exclusive interview on Thursday with The Associated Press, Guterres said the negotiations set to end Friday in Glasgow, Scotland, will “very probably” not yield the carbon-cutting pledges he has said are needed to keep the planet from warming beyond the 1.5-degree threshold. So far, the talks have not come close to achieving any of the UN’s...

Seattle has become so dangerous that the city can no longer protect its own employees, with security guards now escorting them after they finish work. King County's new 'walking bus' will debut on November 15, and see council workers based in Downtown Seattle and nearby Pioneer Square escorted to a nearby train station and ferry terminal each evening before being left to continue their commute home. An announcement on King County's official website says: 'King County is launching a 'Walking Bus' pilot program where county employees can join their colleagues and a Facilities Management Division (FMD) Security Escort each evening...

Sgt. 1st Class Doug Kirby curled up, broken and burned, on the ground in front of the flaming Army fuel depot. Nothing remained of his left leg but a bloody stump. Kirby enlisted in the Army in 1961 and was a sergeant first class by the time he arrived at Qui Nhon, South Vietnam, in June 1970. In the hours just after midnight that morning — June 5, 1970 — Kirby had been guarding the fuel farm at Qui Nhon, South Vietnam.

Just curious!

Man shot by Kyle Rittenhouse reacts to gunman’s emotional testimony The lone survivor shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year said Thursday that he believes the teen’s emotional display at his murder trial was mostly about him being “upset that he was caught” for the shootings. Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a paramedic shot in the arm, said it was “emotional” to watch Rittenhouse, 18, testify about injuring him and killing two other men last summer as riots broke out in the city over racial injustice.

Today, the New York headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant has agreed to pay a total of $60.2 million in penalties to settle the documented charges of bribery. Italy was not the only country where Pfizer has been accused of bribing doctors and local officials. "Pfizer took short cuts to boost its business in several Eurasian countries, bribing government officials in Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan and Russia to the tune of millions of dollars," "Pfizer H.C.P. admitted that between 1997 and 2006, it paid more than $2 million of bribes to government officials in Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan and Russia," notes a press...

We all know the Malone and the VARS data issues. Let's see if the collective FREEPER mind can gaze into the crystal ball and figure out where this will likely go.

World leaders have committed to limiting Earth’s rising temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. But what does that feel like? It’s difficult to convey, because you may not notice changes in average temperature. But, depending on where you live, you might notice when it’s extremely hot. To better understand the issue, Columbia University’s climate school recently published a global dataset with estimates of both population and temperature. Increasingly, climate scientists and meteorologists are advocating for the use of a different metric for understanding extreme heat. It’s called wet-bulb globe temperature and it takes into account...

Graeme Edge, drummer and co-founding member of the Moody Blues has died, his family confirmed to NewsNation. He was 80. The English musician was a member of the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame for his 50 years of work with the rock band, providing their imaginative rhythms and memorable spoken word. Edge retired from touring in 2018 and was the only founding member continuously in the band since the mid-1960s. 2018 was also the year the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In an interview on the red carpet at the induction ceremony, Edge said that...

Preface: Last Friday, the National Law Journal ran an op-ed by Lisa Vicens and John Donohue with many errors in it regarding a case that the U.S. Supreme Court heard last Wednesday on New York’s concealed handgun law. The article gave readers very inaccurate information on the academic research regarding the risk of crime by concealed handgun permit holders. This false claim of public safety is really all the state of New York has to base its case on. The left-leaning National Law Journal, a business partner with Michael Bloomberg, is unwilling to respond to repeated requests to correct the...

George Soros-backed Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón is being criticized again for his lenient approach to violent crime — this time over the imminent release of a convicted murderer just six years into a 50-year sentence. Local ABC affiliate KABC-7 reported Tuesday: This month, [Gascón’s] office used a legal technicality that will lead to the release of Andrew Cachu, a convicted murderer and documented gang member who was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Cachu was convicted of gunning down 41-year-old Louis Amela outside a Palmdale restaurant in 2015. At the time, Cachu was a few weeks shy of...

U.S. President Joe Biden once again went off script and told a bizarre story during his Veterans Day speech about former Negro League baseball Satchel Paige. “You know I’ve adopted the attitude of the great negro at the time, pitcher in the negro league, went on to become a great pitcher in the pros, Major League Baseball, after Jackie Robinson,” Biden said. “His name was Satchel Paige.”

On the Google.com homepage today, you’ll find that the usual logo has been replaced with a bit of artwork created by Phenix City, Alabama-based artist and veteran of the US Army Steven Tette. The Veterans Day Google Doodle shows the diversity of members of the military as well as what they do at home. To express the duality of each service member, they’ve been artistically split in half, one side showing their branch’s uniform and the other showing the uniform of their civilian jobs.

My favorite song of remembrance, Poppy Day Performed live by the Legendary Pink Dots in Tel Aviv Poppy Day

Media figures went wild on Wednesday with accusations of bias on the part of Kyle Rittenhouse trial Judge Bruce Schroeder after his ringtone erupted in the courtroom — allegedly to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” though others heard “Southern Cross” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The moment occurred as the Kyle Rittenhouse defense tried to argue that the prosecution was deliberately trying to cause a mistrial by breaking several pre-trial orders to cover up for their lousy performance in the hopes of a do-over.