Free Republic

Russian government hackers successfully penetrated the internal systems of Burisma, the Ukrainian-based oil and gas firm that once employed former Vice President Joe Biden's son, a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity company has found. Area 1, the cybersecurity outfit, issued a report detailing Russian GRU phishing efforts beginning in November 2019 aimed at "targeting the email credentials of employees at Burisma Holdings and its subsidiaries and partners" in an effort to "gain control of [Burisma's] internal systems." "Our report is not noteworthy because we identify the GRU launching a phishing campaign, nor is the targeting of a Ukranian company particularly novel. It...

LAKEWAY, Texas (AP) — Fighting to stay in office, George P. Bush — the last of the Bush family still on the ballot — greeted a small outdoor crowd at an Austin brewery sounding like most Republicans running in Texas’ primary Tuesday. He’ll secure the border. He’ll support police. He didn’t mention Donald Trump, but his campaign passed out leaflets showing him with the former president: the man who mocked Bush’s father, shoved aside the Bushes as the GOP’s standard-bearer and isn’t endorsing him for Texas attorney general. It’s a heated race that, if Bush doesn’t win, will take America’s...

In a sane world, censorship wouldn’t exist. In a sane world, tech giants like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, which have become de facto modern ‘public squares,’ would respect and allow the free and open exchange of ideas on their platforms. In a sane world, former President Donald Trump and countless others wouldn’t have been summarily banned from said platforms for the ‘crime’ of simply expressing what they believe to be true. In a sane world, the urgent need for alternative platforms like Truth Social wouldn’t exist. But we don’t live in a sane world, do we? Instead, we find ourselves...

“Just as Kennedy could not accept missiles in Cuba from the ex Soviet Union, so Putin cannot accept missiles (and NATO bases) in the Ukraine from the United States. It’s the same exact thing. So now judge for yourself who is provoking the war without letting yourself being influenced by the American propaganda” – Samuel Col0mbo In the Old Testament, when Israel no longer obeyed God, God used as an instrument a pagan nation to punish and bring back Israel to obedience to God. At Fatima we were told that Russia will be God’s instrument to punish the world and...

Herat (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Jobless, debt ridden, and struggling to feed his children, Nooruddin felt he had no choice but to sell a kidney -- one of a growing number of Afghans willing to sacrifice an organ to save their families. The practice has become so widespread in the western city of Herat that a nearby settlement is bleakly nicknamed "one kidney village". "I had to do it for the sake of my children," Nooruddin told AFP in the city, close to the border with Iran. "I didn't have any other option." Afghanistan has been plunged into financial crisis following...

Oops! Nobody’s agreed to the narrative yet, so…? They’re all scrambling, visibly uncomfortable, all the pundits coming on all the talk shows on cable news, contradicting one another and stepping on one another’s narrative. The hosts have become so used to having a storyline to parrot, they can’t stand it. They’re practically begging to be told the “right” tack to take! But Ukraine/Russia isn’t following a path that anybody predicted. Biden and his administration are no help at all given he’s the one who practically invited Russia to come on in, then got upset about it. It’s not clear whether...

Only bureaucrats could waste time and taxpayer money doing this kind of thing. No matter the purpose for which they’re established, bureaucracies often become ends in themselves, self-perpetuating entities that generate paper to justify their existence. That seems to be the case with FEMA, at least insofar as its rules for nuclear disasters go. Some poor desk drone was given the task of updating FEMA documents to reflect the CDC’s ridiculous COVID requirements. That drone worked hard, with the result being that the FEMA guidelines for a nuclear explosion now include masks and social distancing in bomb shelters. Once again,...

After ignoring Biden's first State of the Union address on Mar. 1, you can express your sentiments in the same way Nancy Pelosi did: Let 'er rip! Get your free copy and join us for the "Great American Rip up."

The Kremlin says Russia's economic reality has changed but sees no reason to doubt the effectiveness and reliability of the central bank, which hiked interest rates to 20 percent as it sought to shield the economy from unprecedented Western sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 28 that President Vladimir Putin would meet with several officials during the day, including the finance minister and Bank of Russia governor. He said Russia had a plan to react to sanctions and was now carrying it out. His comments come as the national currency plummeted by almost a quarter to a record...

The European arm of Sberbank (SBER.MM), Russia's biggest lender, faces failure, the European Central Bank (ECB) warned on Monday, after a run on its deposits sparked by the backlash from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Western allies have taken unprecedented steps to isolate Russia's economy and financial system including sanctioning its central bank and excluding some of its lenders from the SWIFT messaging system, used for trillions' of dollars of transactions.

Since the start of the conflict, Russia has fired more than 320 missiles. Its ground forces have advanced from Belarus to within 30 kilometers of Kyiv’s city center. Russian forces have also moved swiftly from their bases in Crimea and carried out a rare amphibious landing from the Sea of Azov. Now, the Pentagon says there are signs that Russia is resorting to more firepower, including rockets, in its attempt to take Chernihiv, a city 150 kilometers northeast of Kyiv. Mick Ryan, a retired Australian Army major general who has studied advanced warfare, says Russia’s failure so far to achieve...

Even if all North Americans aren’t getting comfortable, there is one sizable contingent in the United States that really likes the idea. Tamara Lich, a 47-year-old mother from Alberta, was arrested and charged recently for “counseling to commit mischief” after raising more than $10 million through a GoFundMe campaign in support of the Canadian Freedom Convoy protesters. Then, incredibly, Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois denied Lich bail, claiming that she was not convinced that Lich would go home quietly and discontinue her counseling activity if she were released on bond. According to the Ottawa Citizen, Judge Bourgeois told Lich: "I...

I’m not going to bury the lede the way the mainstream media is trying to bury the COVID, inflation, and dementia disasters: Donald Trump is running again. He gave every indication of it in public and at private events, and the word from the people within his orbit is unanimous - he’s already planning his next administration. Like it or not - there are plenty of folks unthrilled about him going Grover - you better get used to it. Trump is back. He looked great - slim, smiling, a total 180 from the talking husk we’re stuck with until January...

DURHAM, N.C. - Vice resident Kamala Harris will travel to Durham on Wednesday, according to an announcement from the White House. Harris will be joined by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to discuss the Biden Administration's investments in union jobs. A White House task force issued a set of recommendations on Monday that could make it easier for federal workers and contractors to unionize. The report submitted to Biden included 70 distinct policy proposals, according to a release by the White House. Biden created the task force chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh as...

Kyiv has survived another night under Russian attack with Putin's 'demoralised and exhausted' troops suffering 'heavy losses' trying and failing to break through defences in the city's outskirts, Ukraine's commander has said. Colonel General Alexander Syrsky, who is in charge of defending the city, said on Monday morning that 'all attempts' to breach the city failed and that the situation is currently 'under control'. 'We showed that we can protect our home from uninvited guests,' he added.

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Vast queues have been seen outside cash machines is Russia, despite the country's central bank hiking interest rates in a bid to stop a run on the rouble. Pictures show people in Saint Petersburg queuing around the corner to use nearby ATMs. It comes as fears rise of an economic collapse in Russia due to biting Western sanctions imposed following president Vladimir Putin's now floundering invasion of Ukraine. In a bid to stop a potentially disastrous run on the rouble, Russia's central bank - The Bank of Russia - is hiking interest rates from 9.5 per cent to 20 per...

I don't understand

Throughout history, political leaders have acted in strange fashion, with symptoms of neurosis, trauma, and anxiety. The list is long of those exhibiting some indication of insanity. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon 604-562 B.C., made no secret of his ambition to conquer the world, and saw himself as a deity. Caligula, Emperor of Rome, attempted to appoint his horse to the office of consul. Ivan the Terrible expanded the territory of Russia, created the secret police, and murdered his own son. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin vie for leading personification of hatred, evil, and madness. Russia this week may remember that...

Russia’s central bank on Monday more than doubled the country’s key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% as its currency, the ruble, hit a record low against the dollar on the back of a slew of new sanctions and penalties imposed on Russia by Europe and the U.S. for its invasion of Ukraine. The rate hike, the central bank said, “is designed to offset increased risk of ruble depreciation and inflation.” This follows the central bank’s order to halt foreigners’ bids to sell Russian securities in an effort to contain the market fallout. The ruble fell as far as 119.50...