Free Republic

The great East-West divide in Europe isn't what it used to be. During the Cold War the independent Western republics faced off against Eastern Communist dictatorships in thrall to Moscow. Now the Western side of the divide are part of a regional union whose mission is to diminish nationalism and national independence, while on the Eastern side all the nationalism that had been suppressed by Communism reigns unchecked. And some of the smaller and weaker nations are caught in the middle "betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea " Centuries of invasions, wars, and subsequent population transfers have left...

When you hear the word, “dollar,” you probably think of the U.S. dollar. It is, after all, the most widely used dollar in the world. In fact, the U.S. dollar (known as USD at international currency exchanges) is accepted in many cities, countries, and regions of the world either as primary or secondary currency. The U.S. dollar is also currently the reserve currency of many countries. A reserve currency is a specific type of money held by central banks and international financial institutions to trade with one another.The United States is not the only country to use an official currency...

BP's decision to abandon its stake in oil giant Rosneft is the first high-profile example of the self-sanctioning by companies of their business links to Russia, a process likely to have major short- and long-term implications for energy markets. BP's dramatic exit of its 19.75% share of Rosneft could cost the London-listed oil major as much as $25 billion, a hefty price to pay in order to be seen to be doing the right thing in response to Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. "I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine and my heart goes...

Economic discontent is slamming Joe Biden and his party’s midterm election prospects, with six in 10 Americans experiencing inflation hardships, three-quarters saying the economy’s in bad shape and a nearly 20-point lead for the Republican Party in trust to handle it. Biden has other problems, with underwater ratings for his handling of the invasion of Ukraine, a split on the pandemic and weak scores on personal attributes including leadership, handling a crisis and mental sharpness. But 40-year-high inflation leads his headaches: By 35-17 percent, Americans are twice as apt to say they’ve gotten worse off than better off under his...

Appearing on The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, Fordham law professor Christina Greer committed a huge self-own with this ludicrous allegation: "We're seeing so many senators trying to justify their own racism and sexism when they seamlessly voted for Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, where we can look at their CVs, and they are abysmal and embarrassing to a certain extent about why they should be on the Supreme Court." Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

The green nutters in this country, like basically all Democrats are obviously on the side of Russia. While they prevent oil drilling and fracking on US lands, and Biden kills the Keystone XL pipeline, this country continues to import nearly 600,000 barrels of Russian oil per day. You have to ask yourself, why the hell are we still important Russian oil with the “threat of war” with the Ukraine, if Putin is such a baddie? The answer is simple. As is the case with communist China, communist Democrats love Russia and envy Putin. They would never cut off his oil...

America offered to evacuate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy replied, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”

A Ukrainian tattoo artist blasting heavy metal in a black Opel pulled up to Poland’s border with Ukraine on Sunday, informing the immigration officers on duty that he was headed back to his home country to fight. “Good,” a Polish officer told Nikita Azarkhin, 32, who stepped out and loaded a camouflage-print duffle bag full of first-aid kits onto a bus headed into Ukraine. ... Ukrainians from across Europe—part of a huge diaspora that has spread across the continent in the three decades since the former Soviet republic gained independence—are returning to their home country to pick up arms in...

Which brands are likely to be removed? Are there any collectible bottles that are likely to be good investments?

Ukraine said on Monday that the Russian bombing of Kharkiv has killed dozens of civilians and wounded hundreds more. The Ukrainian general staff tweeted that an indiscriminate bombing of Kharkiv left "dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded Ukrainian citizens." Kharkiv, located on the northeastern side of Ukraine, has seen heavy fighting since the Russian invasion began. Russian troops entered the city, which is home to 1.5 million people, on Sunday, but Ukrainian officials said that the attack was successfully repelled and that Russian troops across the city were surrendering in groups of five to 10. Russian bombs blew up...

Russia is extremely likely to default on its external debts and its economy will suffer a double digit contraction this year after the West launched sanctions unprecedented in their scale and coordination, the Institute of International Finance said on Monday. The IIF estimates that half of the foreign reserves of the central bank, which on Monday hiked interest rates and introduced some capital controls, are held in countries which have imposed asset freezes, severely shrinking the firepower policymakers have to support the Russian economy.

Check out this hot garbage.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Richard Blum, husband of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 86. Feinstein announced her husband’s death in a statement Monday morning that said her “heart is broken today.” She said her husband, a wealthy San Francisco investor, “left things better than he found them” and was devoted to his family. She described his work for the people of the Himalayas and noted he was a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama. “My husband was my partner and best friend for more than 40 years,” Feinstein said in the statement....

What a s—show. A man smeared human feces on a woman’s face in an unprovoked rush-hour attack inside a Bronx subway station, sickening new video shows. The 43-year-old victim was sitting on a bench on the southbound platform of the Wakefield–241st Street station around 5:15 p.m. Feb. 21 when a man began walking toward her, holding a black plastic bag, according to cops and the clip released late Sunday. Then, without saying a word, he smashed the vile contents of the bag in her face, and then smeared it on the back of her head, the footage shows.

New York Times Magazine reporter and founder of the controversial 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones was sharply mocked by critics over the weekend for falsely claiming that Europe was "not a continent." The left-wing writer took to Twitter Sunday to make the odd claim, appearing driven by others' concerns over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military. She also referred to such alarm over people that "appear White" as a racial "dog whistle.

More voters approve of former President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus than President Joe Biden’s handling of the pandemic over two years later,a Harvard Harris poll found. The survey asked voters to rank the approval of Biden’s handling of key issues, including “reacting to coronavirus.” As of February 2022, just 44 percent expressed approval — 26 percent down from the 70 percent who approved of his handling of that issue in May 2021. Biden garnered the same 44 percent approval on that issue in January 2022 as well, marking his lowest rating on the coronavirus throughout his presidency, according...

During the US Presidential campaign of 2008, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin warned us that if Senator Barack Obama were elected President, his "indecision" and "moral equivalence" may encourage Russia's Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. Well Obama won and became President, then in 2014 he sat back and watched as Putin rolled into Ukraine to take the Crimea. 8 years later his former Vice President and now President, Joe Biden, is sitting back as he watches Putin finish the job by invading Ukraine again.follow the link below to see video of Palin warning us about Russia’s motives for Ukraine....

Climate change is upon us and humanity is far from ready, the United Nations climate science panel warned in a major report on Monday. Noting that nearly half the world's population was already vulnerable to increasingly dangerous climate impacts, the report calls for drastic action on a huge scale: A third to a half of the planet needs to be conserved to ensure future food and freshwater supplies. Coastal cities need plans to keep people safe from storms and rising seas. And more. "Adaptation saves lives," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said with the report's release. "As climate impacts worsen –...

The Kremlin has sent more than 400 Russian-paid mercenaries into Kyiv with the mission to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a report. The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company accused of covertly working with the Russian government, flew in mercenaries from Africa to Kyiv about five weeks ago, The Times of London reported. Their assignment was to decapitate Zelenskyy’s government and prepare the ground for Moscow to take control in exchange for handsome financial bonuses, according to the newspaper.

Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan is clearly fed up with uber-liberal mega-billionaire Bill Gates and his incessant claims that meat-eating is sinful and unhealthy, while at the same time allegedly not being in the best shape himself. Rogan addressed the “problematic” methodology of a study published in The Lancet during the Feb. 25 edition of The Joe Rogan Experience. The study alleged that 2019 estimates of deaths traced to unprocessed red meat intake have spiked 36-fold. The controversial study listed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as one of its key funders. A rebuttal published in The Lancet warned that...