Free Republic

The Taliban took back Afghanistan in the late summer of 2021, shortly after the Americans withdrew, tired and weary and broke after nearly 20 years of fighting. They seized control of the country in the broad and particular sense: setting up command in the presidential palace in Kabul and targeting the individuals who criticized the new government. By December 2021, regular Afghans and the members of the Afghan press who had expressed critical views of their new rulers had “been subjected to months of intimidation and fear.” The Biden Administration has adopted these same tactics, calling for their critics to...

Someone made a comment about Antarctic islands being named after Covid variants a ways back, but while I was poking around on Google Earth the other day I noticed a pattern on the ocean floor by a certain family name near Alexander Island. Take a look and let me know what you think these divots/hills might be. Appears to be a 14 x 14 grid on the ocean floor, every 6 miles(??).

The newly minted president of George Washington University said he was "personally offended" by art posted around the college's campus condemning China's human rights abuses. "Please know that I am personally offended by the posters. I treasure the opportunity to work with talented people from all over the world, including China," George Washington University President Mark Wrighton wrote in an email. "I, too, am saddened by this terrible event and we will undertake an effort to determine who is responsible." A screenshot of the email was posted to Twitter by the artist behind the posters, known only as Badiucao. He...

Selenium—a mineral found in many foods—could reverse the cognitive impact of stroke and boost learning and memory in aging brains, according to University of Queensland research. Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) lead researcher Dr. Tara Walker said studies on the impact of exercise on the aging brain found levels of a protein key to transporting selenium in the blood were elevated by physical activity. "We've known for the last 20 years that exercise can create new neurons in the brain, but we didn't really understand how," Dr. Walker said. The research team investigated whether dietary selenium supplements could replicate the effects...

Raytheon Technologies (NYSE:RTX) -2.8% post-market following a Bloomberg report that three senior executives in its missiles division - the CFO, VP of contracts and general counsel - have left the company, citing an internal email. Raytheon faces a U.S. Department of Justice probe into cost reporting and other financial issues involving defense contracts at the missiles division dating back several years, but the Bloomberg report does not specifically say that the departures are related. Raytheon said on its Q4 earnings conference call last month that it had made progress in its internal investigation into the matter, but that it had...

Places with highest daily reported cases per capita Seven-day average of daily new reported cases per 100,000 residents

The Senate may consider about a dozen judicial and other nomination votes this week. The House is in session this week but out the week that begins with Valentine’s Day, so they may vote on a continuing resolution to extend funding beyond the current expiration on February 18, perhaps into March. “It will probably be a short-term CR and it will be this coming week to give us a little more time,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Sunday.Reconciliation bill – Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) made a joint appearance with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on CNN’s State of the Union,...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Monday on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” that the Justice Department was not pursuing former President Donald Trump as “vigorously” as they should be for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Guest host Ali Velshi said, “When you make the point, and you made it before that, it isn’t your job. It is not your role to do certain things and that the committee by nature of the type of thing it is does not have the ability to prosecute criminally, and that the Justice Department should be. What’s your sense of —...

This week, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen imposed new Covid restrictions that require all adults in the country to be fully vaccinated and boosted or risk being fined. The new authoritarian law runs through January 31st, 2024, and will go into effect next month. Beginning on March 15th, law enforcement authorities will begin checking people’s vaccine status by conducting random traffic stops, and spot checks, in order to find dissenters. Anyone caught violating the mandate can be fined “up to four times a year,” with the penalty increasing with each violation. An individual’s first offense will result in a...

And so we near the end of the Great Pandemic Hoax of 2019-22, an unprecedented and breathtaking power grab by governments around the world to seize powers far beyond their constitutional allotments and to transform a relatively minor flu virus — however originated and for what ill purposes — into a weapon of mass economic and emotional destruction whose effects will be felt for years and decades to come. It has been a textbook example of tyranny. Consider it a warning shot, though, because while Covid may finally have been exposed for the non-apocalyptic event it always was, such tyranny...

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Monday issued a legal opinion that determines that the ongoing crisis at the southern border is an "invasion" under the Constitution – a move he says gives the state the power to take additional measures to defend itself. In the opinion, Brnovich says that the definition of "invasion" contained under the U.S. Constitution is not limited to hostile foreign states, and can include "hostile non-state actors." "The violence and lawlessness at the border caused by transnational cartels and gangs satisfies the definition of an ‘invasion’ under the U.S. Constitution, and Arizona therefore has the...

Former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones (R) announced Monday he's dropping out of the race for Georgia governor, saying he will instead run for Congress, after former President Donald Trump reportedly offered to endorse Jones if he abandoned his bid for governor.

Patrick Byrne describes the 4 hr oval meeting he had with PJDT, Flynn, Guiliani, Cippilone, Meadows et al on the day after the election to discuss how to proceed. 1.5hr

The Republican National Committeeman from New Jersey has become an issue in a hotly-contested congressional primary in New Hampshire’s 1st district, where two former Trump administration officials and others are battling for the chance to take on two-term Rep. Chris Pappas in the mid-term elections. Bill Palatucci was one of just a handful of Republican National Committee members who voted against a resolution censuring Rep. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) on Friday for their involvement in an investigation of the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Now former White House Deputy Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wants Matt Mowers,...

A trio of suspicious brown envelopes – at least one containing “disturbing images” and an apparent skin and eye irritant – arrived at three local constituency offices for Conservative Nova Scotia members of Parliament Monday. Rick Perkins, the Tory member for South Shore-St. Margarets, said the lone staff member at his office in Barrington, N.S. described the envelope as being stuffed thick with papers. When the man opened the package, he saw it was full of “disturbing images” before his eyes and hands began to burn, Perkins said. The man rushed to rinse himself off and then called 911, and...

White-tailed deer on Staten Island have been found carrying the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, marking the first time the variant has been reported in wild animals. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that white-tailed deer are easily infected by the virus. The results are likely to intensify concerns that deer, which are widely distributed across the United States and live near humans, could become a reservoir for the virus and a potential source of new variants. Researchers have previously reported that the virus was widespread in deer in Iowa in late 2020 and parts...

Gov. Ned Lamont will end the controversial school mask mandate as of Feb. 28. That includes schools and daycare. “We now have the tools to keep ourselves safe,” Lamont said during a late afternoon virtual press conference. He said that means each city and town and local board of education can make the decision for themselves about what’s best for their community. ... Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said the case counts are dropping and the positivity rate is dropping. She said putting this decision at the local level works best. Asked if the state had any data about in-school...

Karen Chen was strong in the women's free skate for the United States in the figure skating team event, finishing fourth to lock up the silver medal.

GRAND FORKS — When state Rep. Rick Becker announced his retirement from the Legislature last month, it had the ring of a farewell. The Bismarck Republican wrote an editorial about passing the legislative torch; it seemed likely that the rest of his 2022 might mark a transition into private life. Not anymore. This weekend, Becker announced he’s entering the race for the U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Republican and ex-governor John Hoeven for one of the highest seats in North Dakota politics. The move sets up a long-shot challenge against one of the state’s most invincible politicians. Hoeven, who was elected...