Free Republic

CLAIM: COVID-19 vaccines don’t provide protection against the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. While it’s true that people who are vaccinated can still get infected with omicron, early research has shown that the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death stemming from the new variant. THE FACTS: A video clip circulating on social media shows Dr. Robert Malone, a frequent critic of the COVID-19 vaccines who has researched mRNA vaccine technology, stating that the shots don’t protect people from omicron. The comments were made during a Dec....

December 29, 2021 5th day within the octave of Christmas St Thomas Becket Church, Lewisham, Australia Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.First reading1 John 2:3-11 ©Anyone who loves his brother is living in the lightWe can be sure that we know Godonly by keeping his commandments.Anyone who says, ‘I know him’,and does not keep his commandments,is a liar,refusing to admit the truth.But when anyone does obey what he has said,God’s love comes to perfection in him.We can be sure that we are in Godonly when the one who claims to be living in himis living the same kind of life as...

NASA is 'Psyched' as preparations to explore a wild metallic asteroid nears launch in the Summer of 2022. It will be the first time NASA has explored a world not made primarily of rock or ice, but of metal. NASA's Christmas day launch of the highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captivated those who have been looking forward to its launch. Along with JWST, however, many also await the launch of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) as it journeys to an asteroid in order to provide data about how to possibly divert the object and prevent an impact...

A gunman who went on a shooting rampage in several locations around the Denver area, killing five people and wounding two, targeted his victims based on previous personal and business dealings, authorities said. Lyndon James McLeod, 47, was also killed Monday night after he shot a police officer who confronted him in a busy shopping district in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. [T]he gunman knew most of his victims but not the last person he shot — a clerk in a hotel in Lakewood’s Belmar shopping area. Sarah Steck, 28, who died of her injuries Tuesday, was apparently targeted because...

At a time when the statues of good people who had done bad things are being torn down, the world must reckon with the mixed legacy of Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, even in the immediate aftermath of his death. He did much good in fighting apartheid but he also has long history of ugly hatred toward the Jewish people, the Jewish religion and the Jewish state. He not only believed in anti-Semitism, he actively promoted and legitimated Jew hatred among his many followers and admirers around the world. Tutu minimized the suffering of those killed in the Holocaust. He has...

Geneva: A "tsunami" of Omicron and Delta Covid-19 cases will pile pressure on health systems already being stretched to their limits, the World Health Organization warned Wednesday.The WHO said the Delta and Omicron variants of concern were "twin threats" that were driving new case numbers to record highs, leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths."I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference."This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health...

A Southern California man who shot and killed a woman holding her 2-year-old son during an argument over the 2016 presidential election was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison. John Kevin McVoy Jr., 40, of Corona, received the maximum sentence Monday after being convicted of murder last month... McVoy pulled a gun after he was teased for saying he had voted for Hillary Clinton and Garcia told him to leave, prosecutors said. McVoy shot and wounded Garcia and a second shot fatally struck Garcia’s wife, Susan Garcia, 33, as she held their child on her lap. The child...

Fairfax County police confirmed Tuesday that Rick Saleeby, senior producer for CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, is under investigation by the department’s Child Exploitation Squad. Saleeby’s investigation comes after Project Veritas revealed video and text messages on December 15 that allegedly show him fantasizing about sex acts with his former fiancé’s underaged daughter. Project Veritas revealed Saleeby’s information two days after their initial report on December 17.

The presidential election, pandemic and racial reckoning were stories that drove intense interest and engagement to news outlets in 2020. To a large degree, 2021 represented the inevitable hangover. Various metrics illustrate the dwindling popularity of news content. Cable news networks were the main form of evening entertainment for millions of Americans last year. In 2021, weekday prime-time viewership dropped 38% at CNN, 34% at Fox News Channel and 25% at MSNBC, according to the Nielsen company. The decline was less steep but still significant at broadcast television evening newscasts: 12% at ABC’s “World News Tonight” and the “CBS Evening...

Looks like dingy Harry just kicked the bucket and like Bob Dole, we will all have to see all the flags at half staff for a week. You ever think of how much time our flag is down for people corrupt people who spent their lives fleecing the American people to better themselves? I really wish people would say screw this half staff request. My flag is going to remain flying at the top with pride.

An Oregon man who trolled President Joe Biden on Christmas Eve by saying "Let's go Brandon" at the end of a NORAD Santa tracker call says the 2020 presidential election was "100% stolen." Jared Schmeck, a 35-year-old father of four in Central Point, Oregon, talked about the now-viral moment with Trump ally Steve Bannon on his War Room podcast on Monday. Schmeck told Bannon some media reports falsely claim he does not support former President Donald Trump. “Donald Trump is my president, and he should still be president right now. The election was 100% stolen. So, I just want to...

NOTE: All these have embedded links at site............ . . . . . . Read 600 predictions for 2022, a year that will see the world transform in big and small ways; this includes disruptions throughout our culture, technology, science, health and business sectors. It’s your future, discover what you’re in for. Fast forecasts for 2022 U.S. automakers agree to adopt crash-avoidance braking by 2022. 10% of the world's population will be wearing clothes connected to the Internet. ESA and NASA will try to divert an asteroid out of its orbit. Construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) begins...

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will leave their Rehoboth beach house on Wednesday to head to their family home in Wilmington, Delaware, as they continue their vacation from the White House amid rising COVID cases throughout the country. The first couple slipped out for a walk on the beach Tuesday evening, taking their new German Shepherd puppy Commander with them.

There is no evidence currently that COVID-19 vaccines are linked to an increase in sportspeople collapsing or dying due to heart issues such as myocarditis.Numerous montage videos showing sports stars collapsing or suffering chest pains during matches are circulating on social media (here, here).One clip shared on Facebook (here) shows several incidents of football players collapsing on the pitch. It also includes news headlines about similar cases from around the world of sport, both professional and amateur.Another post (here) includes a link to a blog (here) which strongly suggests the incidents are related to COVID-19 vaccines.Reuters presented the posts to...

WASHINGTON, Saturday, Dec. 28. THE SETTLEMENT OF THE TRENT DIFFICULTY. The settlement of the Mason-Slidell case by the surrender of the prisoners to-day, is the universal theme of conversation in Washington. In army and Administration circles, the result gives great satisfaction. Government forbade the transmission of a single line on the subject by telegraph last night, although the entire correspondence was in the office of the National Intelligencer, set in type, to be published to-day. The reason assigned was that this was a more signified mode of giving expression to a National decision than the hot haste of the telegraph...

One of the world's best soccer players recently and inadvertently issued a frightening warning to the world, though neither he nor the world probably recognize it as such. Argentina's Sergio Aguero announced his retirement Dec. 15 after suffering a heart attack six weeks earlier during a game. While playing for FC Barcelona on Oct. 31, Aguero bent at the waist, experienced breathing problems, grabbed his lungs, lay on his back and received treatment from trainers before going to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with an irregular heartbeat. Aguero -- who played for Argentina in three World Cups and...

A certain Dr. Science was quite enthusiastic about Provasic, I mean, Remdesivir. This 9 minute video is worth watching. It takes place in the White House with President Trump in attendance.

Here is the full schedule for Wednesday’s bowl games with information on how to watch each game live. Wednesday, Dec. 29 Bowl Matchup Time (ET) Channel New Era Pinstripe Bowl Maryland vs. Virginia Tech 2:15 p.m. ESPN, fuboTV Cheez-It Bowl Clemson vs. Iowa State 5:45 p.m. ESPN, fuboTV Valero Alamo Bowl Oregon vs. Oklahoma 9:15 p.m. ESPN, fuboTV Maryland vs. Virginia TechMaryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has had a big season, passing for the 12th-most passing yards among FBS players at 3,595 with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. With the sophomore signal-caller at the helm, the Terrapins have averaged the 33rd-most...

ACalifornia woman is facing federal assault charges after attacking another passenger on a Delta Airlines flight on December 23rd, as reported by CNN. The incident took place on a flight from Tampa, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia. The woman in question, 51-year-old Patricia Cornwall, was leaving the lavatory to return to her seat when she found the aisle blocked by a beverage cart while the flight attendants were serving drinks to other passengers. Cornwall asked the attendants to move so she could pass, with one of the attendants telling her to instead find an open seat until they were finished serving....

While Tariq Ramadan is still waiting for his trial in Paris, following the accusations of violent and repeated rape by four women, he appears to be holding up well. He’s still receiving, thanks to the Emir of Qatar, about half a million dollars a year; he and his wife have bought two luxury apartments in Paris; he continues to flog his books on Islam on the Internet. But he is no longer a member of the Oxford faculty. He has a pseudo-job — a sinecure – holding occasional classes at the Al-Khalifa University in Qatar. Ramadan is no longer...