Free Republic

The Los Angeles Fire Department is investigating an incident in which a firefighter “responded inappropriately” after being handed a letter to comply with the city’s vaccine mandate, a department spokeswoman said Wednesday. The LAFD member responded to receiving the non-compliance letter by dropping his pants and wiping his buttocks with the letter, leaving fecal matter on the document, before dropping it to the ground, according to the Stentorians of Los Angeles City, a group representing African American firefighters. The alleged incident underscores the deep resistance among some within the Fire Department over the city’s mandate that employees be vaccinated. LAFD...

California regulators haven't approved permits for the controversial oil and gas extraction process known as fracking since February, effectively phasing out the process ahead of Gov. Gavin Newsom's 2024 deadline to end it. The state's Geologic Energy Management Division, known as CalGEM, has rejected an unprecedented 109 fracking permits in 2021, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. That's the most denials the division has issued in a single year since California began permitting fracking in 2015. Fifty of the permits, mostly from Bakersfield-based Aera Energy, were denied based solely on climate change concerns.

People from the country's most populous island, Malaita, had traveled to the capital in a spillover of anger about a host of domestic issues including unrealized infrastructure promises, media reported. As well as anger about a lack of development, the Solomons government has faced pressure over a 2019 decision to cut ties with Taiwan and establish a formal relationship with China. As well as looting stores, demonstrators set fire to a thatched roof building on the grounds of the Parliament -- as it was sitting -- and a police station, said the Prime Minister. The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force...

Taking aim at a distant asteroid, SpaceX fired a small NASA probe into space early Wednesday, setting up a head-on 15,000 mph impact next September to test the feasibility of nudging a threatening body off course long before it could crash into Earth. The $330 million Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, the first test flight in a NASA planetary defense initiative, "will be historic," said Tom Statler, mission program scientist at NASA Headquarters. "For the first time, humanity will change the motion of a natural celestial body in space." Perched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the DART mission...

OAKLAND, Calif. - An armed security guard protecting a local news crew on Wednesday afternoon was shot during an attempted robbery in Oakland, police said. The shooting was reported about 12:30 p.m. in the 300 block of 14th and Webster streets in downtown Oakland.

Authorities in the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe have extended a nightly curfew until Sunday as police attempt to restore calm after several nights of protests and violent clashes that were triggered by Covid-19 regulations but are rooted in long-running concerns over the high cost of living, low wages, youth unemployment and mistrust of the Paris government. Gunfire has targeted police over the past few days, a general strike has entered its second week and many stores remained closed ... ..In nearby Martinique there were gunshots fired at police for a second night running, French media reported on Wednesday... ...The...

Those hoping to snag a Dungeness crab for their Thanksgiving table may find them in short supply this year, after the commercial crabbing season was delayed again in parts of California over concerns for the endangered humpback whales that share their waters... ...“We’ve gone from a seven-month-long crab season to one that is going to be three months, at best,” Ben Platt, the president of the California Coast Crab Association told the New York Times. Meanwhile, environmental advocates have called for stronger regulations to be enforced statewide and urged the crabbing industry to transition to ropeless gear....

Members of the Binjari and Rockhole communities are "very upset by the untrue comments being made in the media and social media about their situation," according to a statement from community leaders. In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, via the Wurli-Wurlinjang Aboriginal Health Service which provides health care to the residents of Binjari and Rockhole, the senior community members spoke out on behalf of the two communities. They rejected claims made on social media that members of Binjari community were being forcibly removed by Australian Defence Force personnel or otherwise mistreated by authorities. "We have been treated with a...

Euthanasia and the attendant preparations require "human closeness," which is a prerequisite and breeding ground for coronavirus transmission, according to a statement made by the group. As numerous European countries proceeded to impose new limitations aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, the German Euthanasia Association (Verein Sterbehilfe) declared that it will now only help those who have been vaccinated or recovered from the disease. The Euthanasia Association said in a statement put on its website that both euthanasia and the preparatory study of the voluntary responsibility of our members wanting to die requires human closeness. The statement read, "human...

Sen. Rand Paul sharply criticized the “politicized” FBI and the Department of Justice, calling for more whistleblowers to expose government trampling of American liberties. “I think anytime someone is breaking the law in government, it’s a good idea to hear about it,” the Kentucky Republican said in a Thursday interview with The Daily Signal. “And so, frankly, yes, I think it is a good idea for people to reveal when the government’s breaking the rules.” Paul’s remarks follow news that the head of the FBI’s Criminal and Counterterrorism divisions reportedly ordered agents Oct. 20 to identify threats against school board...

Join together with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, 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 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

A fourth MP has quit Daniel Andrews' Labor ranks with more resignations expected in the coming days. Mr Andrews on Thursday announced Planning Minister Richard Wynne would not be contesting the next election on Thursday. Mr Wynne issued a statement thanking his family and his political party for their support over the years. 'I'm proud to be a part of this socially progressive, reforming government - but I am focusing on the next 12 months,' the minister said. 'If you believe in social progress, there is always more work to be done.' It comes hot on the heels of former...

Norway’s postal service has released a lavishy-produced advert depicting a homosexual relationship between Santa Claus and a man named Harry. The LGBT love affair, which ends in a kiss, has been met with mixed reactions online. Produced to mark 50 years since Norway decriminalized homosexuality, ‘When Harry Met Santa’ depicts the blossoming love affair between a Norwegian man and Father Christmas himself. Over several years, Santa visits ‘Harry,’ and the pair fall for each other. The advert ends with a passionate kiss between the two men, as Posten, the country’s postal service, handles Santa’s deliveries for the night.

Vaccinated English adults under 60 are dying at twice the rate of unvaccinated people the same age And have been for six months. This chart may seem unbelievable or impossible, but it’s correct, based on weekly data from the British government. The brown line represents weekly deaths from all causes of vaccinated people aged 10-59, per 100,000 people. The blue line represents weekly deaths from all causes of unvaccinated people per 100,000 in the same age range. I have checked the underlying dataset myself and this graph is correct. Vaccinated people under 60 are twice as likely to die as...

President Biden said Wednesday that the conviction of three men for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery “reflect our justice system doing its job,” but added “that alone is not enough.” “Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin,” the president added in a statement released by the White House. “My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the Supreme Court, but a reality for all...

Left-wing activist actress Debra Messing found herself uncharacteristically on the opposite side of the left-wing corporate media, Wednesday, when she took to Twitter to scold news outlets for saying that the Waukesha Christmas parade attack was a mere “accident.” As one news outlet after another called the November 21 outrage an “accident” or a “car crash,” Messing found herself at odds with people with whom she is usually in accord. Messing was outraged that the “mainstream media” didn’t call the alleged actions of suspect Darrell E. Brooks, Jr., for what they are. In her estimation it is a “massacre.” “Dear...

Nitzan Horowitz urges parents to vaccinate children as campaign for ages 5-11 gets off to slow start; coronavirus czar says fresh round of infections already starting Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Wednesday that Israelis may need to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose at some point if cases climb again, as the country's top coronavirus official warned that the country may already be seeing the start of a fifth infection wave. "It's not unreasonable to think we'll need a fourth vaccine," said Horowitz in an interview with Channel 12, after Health Ministry data indicated that 9 percent of the new...

This year we give special thanks for the meme-makers who are delivering a heaping pile of tryptophanic material about the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal, with no thanks to the Biden Administration for inflation and their inflated excuses.

Failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday praised the legislative accomplishments of President Biden while appearing to claim that everyday Americans didn't understand or "appreciate" them. During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," Clinton complained about the successful "exploiting" of social media misinformation by Republicans, blaming the lack of "gatekeepers" and "people with a historic perspective" to help Americans understand what they were seeing. "You know, democracy is messy. You know, a lot of people got, oh I think, kind of frustrated looking at the messy process of legislation. And they didn’t really appreciate that, within a...

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s defense minister on Wednesday won a defamation case over a six-word tweet that called him a “rape apologist.” Critics and experts said the court case exemplified the conservative government’s heavy-handed approach toward regulating damaging commentary on social media — what Prime Minister Scott Morrison called “a coward’s palace.” The case also represented a troubling shift as politicians bring more lawsuits against ordinary citizens, they said. The dispute began when Shane Bazzi, an advocate for refugees who has 13,000 Twitter followers, wrote a Twitter post in February about Peter Dutton, then the country’s home affairs minister and...