Free Republic

Chinese banks provided more loans to fund developmental projects in sub-Saharan Africa than some of the world's greatest economies combined from 2007 to 2020, according to a new study. The Washington- and London-based Center for Global Development on Thursday also reported that Chinese development banks provided a whopping $23 billion to finance public-private partnerships in the region. The figure is more than double the combined amount of $9.1 billion lent by banks in the U.S., Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, France and South Africa, the report found. "This is well short of what the region needs for roads, dams and bridges,"...

A 45 minute recent interview with Victor Davis Hanson about Biden, American politics, culture and society. Done by a polite Brit interviewer.

SIGNED... SEALED... DELIVEREDSchool mask mandates are officially ILLEGAL in the Commonwealth of Virginia.Thank you to Gov. @GlennYoungkin and everyone across Virginia who stood up for our children. https://twitter.com/approject/status/1494040028787490835

[H/T Jane Long] Peter McCullough, MD MPH on Twitter3:52 AM · Feb 16, 2022·Twitter Web App

@libsoftiktok This is apparently the dude who hacked GiveSendGo *Strong Language* Clip...

Sidhu's car crashed into the rear end of a truck in the northern state of Haryana, senior official of Sonipat Police, Virender Singh, told CNN. He died on the spot, Singh said. Sidhu was traveling with a woman who was unharmed, according to Singh. Born in Punjab state, Sidhu started his career as a model before landing a role in the film Ramta Jogi in 2015... He was a vocal supporter of India's farmer's movement, which saw tens of thousands of farmers camp for months on the outskirts of the capital Delhi. They were protesting against three laws implemented by...

Despite a number of countries around the world and U.S. states dropping Wuhan coronavirus restrictions, including vaccination and masking requirements, Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday the agency is not changing current mask guidelines at this time. "Many of these state-based policies have come out in phased approaches that they are talking about, you know, something that might happen in a week or two. Masks that might come off in a week or two at the end of February, early March. And so of course, our metrics are going to examine," Walensky said during a briefing with...

Wednesday, Hong Kong recorded 4,285 new infections, and 7,000 preliminary cases. Experts say this number underestimates the severity, as positive results from rapid antigen tests are not officially recognized, and other people probably are skipping tests. Hong Kong follows what it describes as a “dynamic zero covid” policy, which broadly aims at getting local infections down to zero. This zero-covid approach is promoted by Beijing, which exerts strong control over Hong Kong’s local officials, and the policy mirrors the one being implemented in the rest of China. Reopening the border to the mainland to end a closure that has now...

... According to the senior government source, Lindell was turned back because he was not fully vaccinated and did not have a negative PCR test in hand. ... Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had caught wind of the prominent Trump supporter ... through social media posts just before his arrival, the source noted. ... The source says Lindell is one of “dozens” of Americans who have been turned away at the border under current COVID-19 rules while trying to join trucker convoys across the country.

Residents in cold Ottawa Canada were filmed carrying empty gas cans around the city in an effort to confuse authorities who were told not to assist the truckers protesting in the city. Here is the video from YouTube:

Views of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's job performance have tumbled to the lowest point in her three-decade Senate career, with just 30% of California voters giving her positive marks in a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. Respondents gave similarly unenthusiastic marks to Vice President Kamala Harris, whose popularity is underwater, with 38% approval and 46% disapproval, while they are evenly divided in their rating of President Biden. The assessments of both Biden and Harris dropped sharply from last summer, in line with their slumping poll numbers nationwide. Amid the broadly pessimistic mood...

Now that Trudeau has declared war against the Canadian people, here is a look at possible controlled opposition. Report...

President Biden has demanded Congress give him $30 billion for additional pandemic spending while a reported $350 billion remains unspent. As the White House has acknowledged it has enough money from the $1.9 trillion relief package passed in March, Biden wants more taxpayer money already appropriated for fear of another Chinese coronavirus variant metastasizing, the Washington Post reported. Congressional Democrats have stated additional pandemic funds should also be used to expand welfare programs ahead of the midterm elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the continuing threat of Russia invading Ukraine, a foreign policy crisis is colliding with one of President Joe Biden’s political vulnerabilities: Rising gasoline prices at home. Americans are already dismayed by Inflation at a 40-year high, and Biden is warning that gas prices could get higher if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to invade. It’s a recognition of Biden’s own risks ahead of the 2022 midterm elections: Inflation has become an albatross for Democrats despite the nation’s strong economic growth last year. Biden wants to put the focus on how the Ukraine situation is contributing to...

GOP Rep. Mike Turner contends that the latest filing from Special Counsel John Durham is potentially a message to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann advising him that “he’s not being well-served by his lawyers.” Fox News host Bill Hemmer reported on America’s Newsroom Wednesday that Sussmann is now calling on the court to remove a section of the latest filing by Durham, “calling it prejudicial and false.” Hemmer asked Turner, “Does he have a point that report should be kept away from the case?” “What’s interesting about this filing is basically Special Counsel Durham is sending...

Pediatricians call it "breath-holding spells." It is when children hold their breath when upset until they experience syncope, or passing out. The media in Washington appears close to a collective faint over the recent filings of Special Counsel John Durham. While the media has largely buried or downplayed the alarming disclosures by Durham on the origins of the Russian conspiracy claims, Durham keeps adding new details implicating top Democratic figures in what he describes as an ongoing investigation. You can only hold your breath so long and Durham shows no signs that he is done by a long shot. The...

A total of 34 cryptocurrency wallets allegedly associated with the Canadian truckers protesting COVID-19 restrictions, which had been raising money with Bitcoin for the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign have reportedly been blocked. In particular, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Canada’s national police force has issued an order requiring all FINTRAC-regulated organizations in Canada to stop interacting with 34 crypto wallets, according to The Counter Signal. It is still unknown whether or not this request from the police will result in a breakdown in the disbursement of the funds. The order comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the...

@RandPaul Maybe the ACLU should travel to Canada to get a first hand look at what non-partisan, spirited defense of civil liberties looks like [RE: Canadian Civil Liberties Association: Trudeau's Emergencies Act Invocation Is Not Legitimate]. Not one peep from ACLU on Biden’s emergency act abuse with vaccine mandates.

Experimental Status of LENR David J. Nagel George Washington University NUCAT Energy LLC LENRIA Corporation ARPA-E Workshop on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions 21-22 October 2021 Goals & Outline of this Presentation: Provide background on LENR Experiments Give a few examples of promising approaches to repeatable LENR experiments that could be understandable and acceptable to the broader scientific community Provide a brief summary of the entire LENR field. Fundamental Considerations for any LENR Experiments: What was done? Equipment, Materials and Protocols What was found in the original & subsequent experiments ? Experimental Approaches to LENR: The Reactants, How to Join Them...

Democrats who investigated the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election are silent following the latest Durham filings, which indicate that operatives mined internet traffic pertaining to Trump Tower and the White House as part of efforts to link Trump to Russia. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of the 14 Democrats who sat on the House and Senate intelligence committees during their respective Russia probes seeking comment on the latest developments. On the House side, these politicians include Reps. Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Joaquin Castro, Mike Quigley, Jackie Speier, André Carson and Jim Himes. On the...