Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia who turned 75 today with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, according to the corresponding decree published on the Russian president’s website on Saturday. "[I hereby decree] to award the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia (Gundyayev Vladimir Mikhailovich) for an outstanding contribution to the preservation and development of spiritual and cultural traditions, the strengthening of peace and accord among peoples," the decree said. Putin congratulated Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on his...

Barack Obama and Eric Holder did not create a weaponized DOJ and FBI; the institutions were already weaponized by the Patriot Act. Instead, what Obama and Holder did was to take the preexisting system and retool it so the weapons of government only targeted one side of the political continuum. This point is where many people understandably get confused. In the era shortly after 9/11, the DC national security apparatus was constructed to preserve continuity of government and simultaneously view all Americans as potential threats. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence...

Dr. Steven Templeton, an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, attends the inaugural conference of the Brownstone Institute in Hartford, Conn. on Nov. 13, 2021. Lockdowns, school closures, universal masking, vaccine mandates; these responses to COVID-19 are “self-destructive” and more politicized than scientific, according to immunologist Steven Templeton. Templeton once worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for four years. Now he’s an associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Indiana University. At the inaugural Brownstone Institute conference on Nov. 13, he shared his views with EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders”...

Submitted plans for the fission surface power system should include a uranium-fueled reactor core, a system to convert the nuclear power into usable energy, a thermal management system to keep the reactor cool, and a distribution system providing no less than 40 kilowatts of continuous electric power for 10 years in the lunar environment. Some other requirements include that it be capable of turning itself off and on without human help, that it be able to operate from the deck of a lunar lander, and that it can be removed from the lander and run on a mobile system and...

Thieves reportedly targeted a Neiman Marcus store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and a GameStop on the South Side on Friday night as protesters took the streets to oppose Kyle Rittenhouse’s’ acquittal. At the Neiman Marcus, a group of 15 men reportedly rushed into the department store and left in three vehicles with their stolen merchandise. The protests in Chicago remained largely peaceful, according to FOX 32. "We have to protest tonight to show these right-wingers, to show the system that we won’t back down," demonstrator Shavvir Manjee told the station. "Because the precedent that they’re setting is that these armed...

Sherronna Bishop is a mother of three from Grand Junction, Colorado who has been active in protesting against her “woke” local school board and protecting election integrity. She runs the website AmericasMom.net, which features an article and video titled “We the Parents: How Did We Get Here?” On Tuesday morning, Bishop was home with her family preparing to homeschool her children when she heard a knock on the door, and she was stunned to open it to see FBI officials preparing to raid her house. Bishop claims that the agents “manhandled” her 18-year-old daughter, pulling her upstairs by her hoodie...

Eggnog: You either love it or hate it. But as controversial as the holiday drink may be — it’s only a fraction as contentious as ranch dressing, which is way off the love-or-hate chart. Now the genius marketers at Hidden Valley Ranch — who have previously brought to the world such marvels as Halloween-treat-sized HVR packets and HVR Crocs — have boldly piled controversy upon controversy and seen fit to introduce a Limited Edition Holiday RanchNog Kit. Yes, a kit to make ranch dressing eggnog is actually a thing you can now buy for $50 at the Hidden Valley Ranch...

Current and former professional athletes slammed Friday's not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial as evidence of a racist America and criminal justice system. The charges against Rittenhouse were first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. The trial, which lasted several weeks and finished with closing arguments on Monday, resulted in the jury on Friday finding Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts after three days of deliberations. Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, said the result of the trial shows the need for "our current system" to be abolished...

@TulsiGabbard The jury got it right—finding Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges. The fact that charges were brought before any serious investigation is evidence that the government was motivated by politics, which itself should be considered criminal. Clip...

Media "Across State Lines" MASHUP

NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace says Kyle Rittenhouse, who was found not guilty Friday of murder for killing two people and wounded another at protests in Kenosha, Wis., last summer, would have gotten life in prison if he were Black. “​​Ha, let the boy be black and it would’ve been life…hell he would’ve had his life taken before the bullshit trial.. sad,” Wallace said in a tweet shortly after the verdict.

KENOSHA, WI—In a stunning reversal, Kyle Rittenhouse awoke this morning to discover that he had been found guilty after all. Prosecutors explained that during the night, they had found dozens of mail-in jury votes declaring the defendant guilty on all counts. Apparently, boxes of these mail-in votes arrived in a truck at the courthouse around 3:00 am. Attorneys for Mr. Rittenhouse were dumbfounded as to how such a thing could have happened, raising questions as to the validity of mail-in jury voting. They stated: “We’ve never heard of this. This isn’t part of the legal system. Where did these votes...

...Today, after two weeks of trial and more than three days of deliberation by the jury, Rittenhouse has been found not guilty on all counts. This represents another stark confirmation that there can be no real justice under capitalism, a system based on exploitation, oppression, and racism.The 2020 BLM protests struck fear in the hearts of the ruling class and sent Trump scurrying into his underground bunker. However, in the absence of a clear revolutionary program and leadership, the movement was co-opted by the Democrats and, after phony promises of “police reform,” driven back into safe channels for the system.........

VIENNA (AP) — Thousands of protesters gathered in Vienna on Saturday after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown beginning Monday to contain the country’s skyrocketing coronavirus infections. The far-right opposition Freedom Party was among those who have called for the protest and vowed to combat the new restrictions. Demonstrations against virus measures were also expected in other European countries including Switzerland, Croatia and Italy. On Friday night, Dutch police opened fire on protesters and seven people were injured in rioting that erupted in Rotterdam around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions. The Austrian lockdown will start early Monday. Initially it...

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (CNS) -- A resident grabbed a gun and opened fire on two men taking part in a predawn home-invasion robbery along with four other accomplices in Oceanside today, killing one of them, authorities said. The shooting in the 300 block of Moonstone Bay Drive, near Libby Lake Park, took place at about 1:15 a.m., according to the Oceanside Police Department. Patrol officers responding to reports of gunfire arrived to find a 31-year-old suspect mortally wounded in the residence, OPD spokeswoman Jennifer Atenza said. The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, died at the scene. Meanwhile, other...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police opened fire on protesters in rioting that erupted in downtown Rotterdam around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions late Friday night. The Dutch city’s mayor called it “an orgy of violence.” Police said that two rioters were hospitalized after being hit by bullets and investigations were underway to establish if they were shot by police. The condition of the injured rioters was not disclosed. Officers arrested 51 people, about half of them minors, police said Saturday afternoon. One police officer was hospitalized with a leg injury sustained in the rioting, another was treated by ambulance...

Drew Holden’s masterful thread revisiting Kyle Rittenhouse coverage conveniently doubles as ‘a list of potential defendants in upcoming defamatiTon lawsuits’ Posted at 2:43 pm on November 19, 2021 by Sarah D. Once the not-guilty verdict was handed down in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, we knew it was time to hunker down immediately and brace for media outrage. We also knew that it was time to keep a close eye on Thread King Drew Holden’s Twitter feed: So have we. And now it’s here. And it’s even better than we hoped it would be: We need to start with the media...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) NEVER PROMISES TO SAVE US FROM ADVERSITY, ONLY TO BE WITH US IN THE MIDST OF IT – David Watson

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Tesla drivers say they have been locked out of their cars after an outage struck the carmaker's app. Dozens of owners posted on social media about seeing an error message on the mobile app that was preventing them from connecting to their vehicles. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk personally responded to one complaint from a driver in South Korea, saying on Twitter: "Checking." Mr Musk later said the app was coming back online. The Tesla app is used as a key by drivers to unlock and start their cars. Owners posted a multitude of complaints online about not being able...