Free Republic

The Russian central bank said it will suspend the buying of gold from banks from Tuesday to meet increased demand for the precious metal from households, its latest attempt to weather the storm on Russian markets in the face of Western sanctions. "Currently, households' demand for buying physical gold in bars has increased, driven, in particular, by the abolition of value-added tax on these operations," the central bank said in a statement. The central bank raised the key rate to 20% from 9.5% on Feb. 28 as the rouble crashed to record lows and people rushed to withdraw money from...

The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia are travelling to Kyiv by train, the first foreign leaders to visit the Ukrainian capital since Russia invaded its neighbour last month. “The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a Twitter post. His Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, said on Facebook the trip was taking place on the 20th day of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “criminal aggression against Ukraine”. “At such breakthrough times for the world, it is our duty to...

Watchdog group Project Veritas published a video on Tuesday showing FBI agents raiding the home of one of their journalists. In the video, which was taken in November 2021, armed agents are shown banging on the door. After entering the home, they shouted, “Let me see your hands!”The footage also shows agents holding rifles and searching the journalist’s home. They went through his bedroom, kitchen, and closets, digging through his belongings. He can be heard telling agents “[his] hands are up.”Last November, RedState’s Jennifer Van Laar reported:Friday afternoon Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe announced that the homes of current and...

...Already nearly 15,000 people have been detained in Russia for participating in demonstrations against the war. What future awaits these brave citizens, as well as Ukrainians captured in the occupied territories? Since its occupation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has escalated the punishments for people exercising their right to freedom of speech and assembly. The most recent manifestation of the clampdown on civil rights is the law rushed on to the statute books to punish citizens spreading “fake news” about the military, with custodial sentences of three and a half to fifteen years. Marina Ovsyannikova, who held up an anti-war...

Sen. Mitt Romney joined his Democrat colleagues on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in voting to keep the federal mask mandate in place for children as young as two-years-old. Romney voted against lifting the mask and vaccine mandates in the federal Head Start program during a HELP Committee hearing on the PREVENT Pandemics Act. The PREVENT Pandemics Act takes “common-sense steps to act on lessons learned from the pandemic response.” according to a committee press release. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced an amendment to the legislation that would prevent the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...

“The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 16:4-5).

Scientists are learning more about a hybrid variant of COVID-19 that has been detected called “deltacron.” Deltacron was first reported early this year, when it was thought to be a co-infection of the omicron and delta coronavirus variants (meaning people were possibly infected with two variants at once). Now, researchers believe it’s a single, hybrid variant that combines genes from both delta and omicron. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization decided to start tracking deltacron, but is not yet calling it a variant of concern. “It’s got features of omicron and features of delta,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, a professor...

An elderly substitute teacher at a Texas middle school was left with a bloody face after a student threw a chair at him - and then retaliated by throwing two chairs back at the teenager. A video circulating on social media from last week showed the fight in a classroom at DeSoto West Middle School, between the student and Larry Brumfield, 73, who was struck in the head, in front of a group of students. It is said to have erupted after the boy, who hasn't been named, refused to leave a classroom that he should not have been in....

Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos has agreed to a meeting with election integrity experts and constitutional attorneys tomorrow to discuss constitutional remedies to decertify the fraudulent 2020 election. On March 1st, the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections held an informational hearing on the Gableman 2020 Election Report featuring invited speakers Special Counsel and Former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman and Attorney Eric Kaardal. Justice Gableman disclosed during the hearing that nursing homes in the Zuckerberg-funded cities had a 95% to 100% turnout. Mark Zuckerberg distributed $8,800,000 to influence elections in five cities. This is clear voter fraud. Gableman...

Thousands of American soldiers trained to use Surface-to-Air missile systems, High Mobility Artillery Rockets and unmanned aircraft are bound for Australia as tensions over China grow. The rotational US Marine force will be comprised of about 2200 servicemen and women based in the Northern territory during the upcoming dry season from September. It is the 11th deployment to the Top End and for the first time will include 250 US Army personnel, the Australian Defence Force announced. The contingent is part of an ongoing US posture initiative to promote stability in the Indo-Pacific region with fears Beijing could be plotting...

PRAGUE -- Slovak authorities have broken a Russian spying network that was operating on Slovak territory, officials said on Tuesday. Stefan Hamran, the country’s chief police officer said four Slovak nationals have been detained in the case with two of them facing spying and bribery charges... “We’re talking about serious cases,” Lipsic said. “It’s about a long term, paid cooperation with the Russian military intelligence service" (known as GRU). The two are accused of seeking out and gathering highly sensitive, strategic and classified information about Slovakia, its armed forces and NATO and handed them over to undercover GRU officers who...

After Ukraine, Could Central Asia Be Next? Ukraine and Russia’s western flank is the first step of an attempt to restore a Russian Empire. Kazakhstan and its Central Asian neighbors look set to come next. /snip The world’s attention is understandably fixed on Ukraine right now and its remarkable defensive effort, led by a democratic champion in Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But we must also consider the bigger picture. It is not just Ukraine that now finds itself at an existential crossroads vis-à-vis Putin’s Russia. Central Asia, a vast and frequently misunderstood region stretching from the Caspian Sea to China, was long...

Dr. Cadegiani just published a new research paper (“Pfizergate 2.0 - Active actions against competitive anti- COVID drugs? The case of the anti-androgens.”) that shows that there is no rational explanation for the corruption of clinical trial results other than deliberate sabotage by Pfizer to ensure that there are no viable competitors to Pfizer's products. I interviewed him just minutes before he published the paper:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a report recommending an increased focus on scanning the social media accounts of its employees in order to detect “extremism.” Among the examples of “extremism” cited by DHS are: a belief that fraud occurred in the 2020 election, and objections to current coronavirus policies. From the DHS report, obtained by Reclaim The Net: A March 2021 unclassified threat assessment prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Justice, and DHS, noted that domestic violent extremists “who are motivated by a range of ideologies and galvanized by recent political...

Fear of The People's Convoy deepened in the nation's capital today with expanded blockades of Interstate 295, 395 and 695 exits in southeast and southwest Washington DC. For the second day the convoy moved in from the Capital Beltway using the interstate highway network in northern Virginia and the District. This triggered blockage of highways by police with even more exits involved today and a greater gridlock of traffic. Dump Trucks were also used in some cases. "We have to assume it's going to continue at least for the next several days" That's the word from Chris Rodriguez, director of...

Dear Freepers Despite all the bad news in the world, we have some positive news. For example, some companies are considering hiring non-jabbed staff. My life has to work around the jab, like many people. Everything was on hold for more than 8-9 months. Despite my faith wavering, the Lord has spared me from the jab. For this, I am grateful for His Grace. I feel that if I have faith, my life can turn around in a very positive way and God will let me into the "Promised Land" (a figure of speech, not necessarily Israel). Please say a...

Kamala Harris has cemented her place in United States history as the “worst vice president” after her performance this week, Sky News host Rita Panahi says.

LONDON- The economic cost of Russia's assault on Ukraine was fully exposed on Wednesday as Vladimir Putin's sanctions-ravaged government teetered on the brink of its first international debt default since the Bolshevik revolution. Moscow was due to pay $117 million in interest on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds it had sold back in 2013. But the limits it now faces making payments, and talk from the Kremlin that it might pay in roubles - triggering a default anyway - meant even veteran investors were left guessing at what might happen. One described it as the most closely watched government debt payment...

Trans activists avoid debate and instead rely on intimidation and insults to silence women. In 2016, Ruth Barrett published Female Erasure, a collection of essays by women speaking out against gender identity politics with the aim of exposing the harmful effects of this novel belief system on the lives of women and children. In a prologue to the book, Barret assumes a male voice to illustrate how male appropriation of womanhood works first to silence and ultimately to erase women: Because I am a woman, therefore you must treat me as if I actually am, otherwise you are transphobic. As...

ORLANDO, Fla. — In a career of great offensive nights, this was Kyrie Irving’s greatest. The Nets star’s mesmerizing 60 points were a career-high and a franchise record, while matching an NBA season-best. Those 60 points also led the Nets to their fourth consecutive win, a 150-108 rout of the Magic, as Irving was showered with cheers and serenaded with chants of “Kyrie! Kyrie!” from the Amway Center crowd of 15,282. The irony of the Magic crowd reveling in Irving’s magic while he still can’t play on his home court at Barclays Center wasn’t lost on the Nets. Now Irving...