Free Republic

It’s Throwback Thursday, let’s ride! Trudeau voices support for farmers in India who blocked major highways to New Delhi for more than a year in 2021, saying at the time: “Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest.”That certainly didn’t age well Justine. Were you lying then or are you lying now? Mind you, we are talking about the Canadian Prime Minister of little brain who thought this a good idea: Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canada’s history, allowing the federal government to freeze assets, suspend the insurance of the Freedom...

One day after Ottawa's police chief resigned in the midst of historic civil unrest, city council voted to overhaul the police board and remove chair Diane Deans in a meeting full of high drama and vitriolic accusations.The surprise move was labelled as a way to "restore public trust" nearly three weeks into protests that have rocked the capital. (snip)At the heart of the dispute — one of the ugliest seen during this term of council — was the leaked news that the board had swiftly hired an interim police chief from outside the city without a competition, and without telling...

As SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has spread throughout the world, many observers have failed to take note of the millions of illnesses and deaths caused by HIV—another virus that has approached pandemic status during its history. Now an HIV variant that is more virulent and transmissible has been discovered in the Netherlands, where it apparently has been circulating for decades, according to new research. Luckily, none of the variant’s new mutations make it resistant to widely used therapies. But the finding may offer a warning for how the COVID pandemic could proceed in the coming months: viruses do...

New satellite images continue to show heightened military activity in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, dismissing Moscow's claims that it was withdrawing troops from Ukraine's border. The US has said that Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by "as many as 7,000 troops," some of whom arrived Wednesday. Maxar's high-resolution satellite images filmed over the past 48 hours show a new military ponton bridge less than six kilometers from the Belarus-Ukraine border, and deployment of troops and armored equipment in Crimea and western Russia. Self-propelled artillery units were also captured conducting training in Belarus in the...

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MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's pillow delivery for the protesting "Freedom Convoy" truckers in Canada has hit a snag. Lindell announced on Sunday that he would be sending a care package to all the "brave truckers" blocking major connections across the US-Canada border and clogging up roads in Ottawa to protest Canada's vaccine mandates. He told Insider then that MyPillow trucks would be sending some 12,000 pillows from his factory in Minnesota, with the delivery scheduled to cross the border by Tuesday evening. Lindell said he would have sent the pillows from his manufacturing facility outside Montreal but could not do...

We now know when and why inspectors went to the restaurant in the first place. It's been inspected four times and has always gotten an "A" grade. A customer complaint submitted to the Health District triggered a surprise inspection of the Centennial Hills restaurant on Feb. 10. That's the day before multiple other customers complained about serious symptoms. The person in charge at the restaurant wasn't aware of the complaint. And the same employee told inspectors spices are kept in the kitchen and "no additional unusual additives are added to the dishes."

A shockingly large price bubble appears to have formed in the real estate market. Although it’s impossible to predict economic crashes with certainty, a key economic indicator suggests the U.S. housing market is on the verge of an unprecedented crash, one that could end up being the biggest in America’s history.

People get vitamin D from sun exposure, foods (such as fatty fish), and supplements. A recent study has shown a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 severity and mortality. The study is based on data from Israel’s first two coronavirus waves before vaccines were widely available. It found that people with a vitamin D deficiency are more likely to develop a severe or critical case of COVID-19 compared to people who had sufficient levels of the vitamin in their blood. Patients with a vitamin D deficiency were 14 times more likely to have a severe or critical case of...

The GED Testing Service requires test-takers be 16 years of age or older. However, most states require that a person be 18 years or older. This needs to change: Anyone age 16 or older should be permitted to take the GED. High achieving students deserve the ability to verify their proficiency in key subjects so they can get on with college. Going even further, states should deem that anyone who scores high enough shall have satisfied the state’s graduation requirements and can leave school.

CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner said Wednesday on “The Lead” that cloth masks were “fashion” and do not protect against COVID-19. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “One of the issues I hear a lot from viewers is the CDC doesn’t seem to distinguish — although they acknowledge on their website that there is a difference — they don’t seem to distinguish the real difference between a cloth mask that your Aunt Sadie made you with Eagles logos on it or whatever and an N95 mask. But there is a big difference. The CDC acknowledges it on the website, but when...

After the Biden administration and the press wrongly predicted a Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 16th, they kept compounding the error in spectacular fashion.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was now "every indication" that Russia was planning to go into Ukraine, including signs Moscow was preparing a "false flag" operation to justify it. Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists within Ukraine earlier exchanged fire on Thursday across a frontline that divides them, in what Western officials described as a possible pretext created by Moscow to invade. Biden ordered Secretary of State Antony Blinken to change his travel plans at the last minute to speak at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine. "The evidence on the ground is that Russia is moving...

Canadia Prime Minister Justin Trudeau labeled a Jewish MP in Canada a Nazi and wouldn’t apologize while ignoring the fact that his Deputy Prime Minister’s grandfather was of Nazi.

Beijing Olympics organizers have repeatedly promised to host the greenest Games ever, aiming at carbon neutrality. But outside of the Olympics, things aren't so green: the central government pledged this week to run China's coal power plants at full capacity to meet energy demands. "Coal supply will be increased and coal-fired power plants will be supported in running at full capacity and generating more electricity, so as to meet the electricity needs for production and residential consumption," according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. Earlier this month, Chinese officials called on coal producers to ensure a steady supply of coal...

---SNIP--- First printed just three months after Andrew Jackson was inaugurated president, The Inquirer has been a chronicler of life in the city for almost two centuries, and any historic assessment would doubtless find many more faults. An acknowledgment of our failings is not sufficient. We also apologize — to the Black residents and communities of Philadelphia, to the Black journalists of The Inquirer past and present, and to other communities and people whom we have also neglected or harmed.

NBC News national security contributor and former FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi said on Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Deadline” that Attorney General Merrick Garland needs to establish limits on special counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump Russia probe. Figliuzzi said, “This is dangerous disinformation. It is pointing a finger at Hillary Clinton. It is lying about her. It is claiming she may be engaged in criminal activity.”

Four Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle employees have been fired after the agency said it discovered approximately 2,100 drivers were granted licenses without having to take a road test. An internal investigation by MassDOT and the RMV has determined that starting in April of 2018, approximately 2,100 customers were given road test passing scores by two road test examiners at the Brockton Service Center without taking the road test. MassDOT said it first noticed suspicious activity regarding some customer accounts back in 2020 and launched a probe, enlisting the help of Massachusetts law enforcement. "The RMV has terminated four employees...

Retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, waging an "outsider" campaign for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, is adding some help from a well-known national political consultant. Rick Wiley, a former Republican National Committee political director and the campaign manager of Scott Walker’s 2016 presidential bid, is signing on with Bolduc as a senior advisor. The move is a significant development for the general’s campaign as other Republicans begin to enter the primary field to take on incumbent U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan. In a campaign memo shared with WMUR, Wiley says the political environment of this election year favors a candidate like...

CNN anchor Don Lemon said Wednesday on his show “Don Lemon Tonight” that racist Americans who felt free to speak hate were infecting the country. Lemon said, “I’m not actually going to say the word. I usually like saying that word when it’s — not like saying the word, that’s the wrong way to put it. It’s important to say that word when you’re pointing out someone who’s using it in an offensive way. But I understand it offends some people to hear that word.”