Free Republic

The German city of Cologne is considering dropping a depiction of its historic Christian cathedral from the city’s logo. Some have criticised the proposed change and called for residents to speak out against the city government. The local city government has stated that it will be producing a new city logo that will not include Cologne Cathedral, well-known for its massive height of 515 feet and status as one of the largest Gothic-style churches in Europe. According to the government, the logo is changing because the 20-year old current logo is supposedly too complex, with a so-called brand analysis alleging...

According to a public statement made by the city of Redmond, Washington, on Friday, March 26th, Andrew Bert Hammond, 50, was arrested by police in Redmond as part of an undercover operation where they used decoy profiles on location-based social networking/dating apps. He is charged with four counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, second-degree attempted rape of a child, and third-degree attempted rape of a child. Hammond currently is detained at King County Correctional Facility and held on a $100,000 bail. According to the report Andrew Hammond is employed as a fourth grade elementary school teacher at...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Jen Psaki has recently announced she will be resigning from her position as White House Press Secretary, immediately sparking discussion of who will replace her. The White House has announced that a last-minute job candidate, Grima Wormtongue, has swooped in, claiming himself to be perfect for the position. “I have personally been requested by his Lordship—I mean by President Joe Biden to speak on his behalf,” hissed Grima Wormtongue while addressing the press. “I have had many, many conversations with the President so I know his thoughts quite well.” When Wormtongue was asked basic questions about how Joe Biden...

Ukraine: @arakhamia_david, Ukrainian negotiator, says Russia had indicated that draft peace treaty documents were at an advanced enough stage to allow for Zelensky-Putin talks, adds that Russia accepted Ukraine's overall position with the exception of its stance on Crimea. More from Gönül Şamilkızı @shamilkizi: Arahamiya, head of the Ukrainian negotiation team: “With the exception of the Crimea issue, Russia has supposedly accepted our other proposals. The difference of opinion continues on the Crimea issue. We offered to open negotiations for 15 years, they want us to recognize the occupation.” Arahamiya: “So far, Turkey, Italy and Germany have accepted the guarantorship...

I just learned of Patriot Mobile. Cheaper, they don’t give to liberal causes, advertise as backing military and conservative causes. Anybody use them and is there service good? Coverage in Virginia?

When a Russian tank army swept southwest from the Russia-Belarus border region into northern Ukraine on the morning of Feb. 24, a single Ukrainian tank brigade stood between it and the eastern suburbs of Kyiv. The Ukrainian army’s 1st Tank Brigade was outnumbered—not only by the 10 or so battalion tactical groups belonging to the Russian 41st Combined Arms Army, but also adjacent Russian formations. Incredibly, the 1st Tank Brigade not only halted the larger Russian force in the first few days of Russia’s wider war in Ukraine, it swiftly transitioned to an active defense and, for the next five...

An Indiana man has been sentenced to ten years in prison for participating in a riot in Portland, Oregon in 2020 during which he threw Molotov cocktails at police officers. Malik Muhammed pleaded guilty this week to 14 felony charges related to the Portland rioting and will have to pay $200,000 in restitution along with serving 10 years in prison, according to a statement from Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt. “On September 5, 2020, Muhammed constructed multiple Molotov cocktails. He then brought those explosive devices, along with baseball bats, to a planned protest event that evening at the East...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday that Russian troops are creating a "catastrophic" situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and the bodies of those killed. "It’s still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting," the president told his nation in a nightly video message. "We need to wait until our land is demined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won’t be new shelling," he said.

Reports that White House press secretary Jen Psaki will soon leave government service to join MSNBC as a pundit raise serious ethical concerns, multiple experts told the Washington Examiner. Rumors have circulated for months that Psaki has been courted by MSNBC and CNN as she simultaneously worked with the outlets as President Joe Biden's chief liaison to the press. Those rumors came to a head Friday when Axios reported that Psaki was in "exclusive talks" with MSNBC to become a network pundit and to host a show on NBC's online streaming platform around May. "It bothered me when this sort...

Over one-third of Americans say they have had to cut groceries in order to afford gas as prices skyrocket in the second year of Biden’s presidency, a Quinnipiac University survey released this week found. Gas prices have skyrocketed throughout President Biden’s time in office. As of Thursday, the national gas price average stood at $4.225 per gallon, although some parts of the country are seeing prices well over $6.00 per gallon. While Biden has deflected, continuing to blame Russia for rising prices and inflation rather than his own bad economic policies and determination to quash American energy independence, not all...

Last year it was revealed that Pentagon scientists working in a secretive united created a microchip to be inserted underneath the skin, that can detect Covid-19 before the body exhibits symptoms. 60 Minutes interviewed retired Colonel Matt Hepburn, an army infectious disease physician, who spent years with the secretive defense advanced research projects agency or DARPA, working on technology he hopes will ensure COVID-19 is the last pandemic. "Dr. Hepburn showed us a few current projects, some sound like they’re from an episode of “Star Trek.” Consider a ship like the USS Theodore Roosevelt — hobbled last year when 1,271...

Zoltan! (Forbes) – Credit Suisse’s Zoltan Pozsar argues Bretton Woods II crumbled when the G7 countries seized Russia’s foreign exchange reserves. Keeping money inside financial institutions like the IMF was considered risk free. That is clearly no longer the case. Similarly, Bretton Woods I collapsed when Nixon took the US of the gold standard back in 1971 when dollars were convertible to gold at a fixed exchange rate of $35 an ounce. This led to Bretton Woods II, backed by “inside money” or the dollar, which itself is not linked to gold or any other commodity. Now the basis of...

The United States is providing Ukraine with gas masks, hazmat suits and other supplies to protect it from a possible chemical or biological weapons attack from Russia. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the assistance on Friday. She said it was being provided in light of warnings that Russia could use such weapons to counter Ukraine’s stiff resistance during the invasion and might be plotting a “false flag’ operation to justify such an attack.

A Staten Island judge lifted mask mandates for toddlers citywide Friday — but Mayor Eric Adams vowed shortly after to keep the rule in place, citing a new COVID-19 variant and saying the city is appealing the judgement. The ruling by Richmond County State Supreme Court Judge Ralph Porzio struck down the city rule requiring kids ages 2 to 4 wear masks — rendering it immediately unenforceable in schools and daycares and calling it “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable,” according to court documents. “It’s effective immediately,” attorney Michael Chessa said Friday after arguing for a permanent injunction of the ongoing face...

A two year federal probe found that Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s campaign did not “properly” disclose some of its expenses — but the Federal Election Commission voted to give her a pass, according to filings made public this week. The FEC found that two political action committees — Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats — “did not properly disclose the purpose of the disbursements” to similarly named shell companies set up by AOC’s former chief of staff Chaikat Sakrabarti during her first run for Congress in 2018. Despite the findings, the FEC’s six-member panel voted to dismiss a government watchdog complaint...

America had a record number of tornadoes in March. At least 219 were reported last month — more than any other March on record, twice the average and 21 more than last year, Fox Weather reported, citing the National Weather Service.

A New Jersey man who conspired with his then-girlfriend to cook up a feel-good story about a helpful homeless man and then used the lie to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations online was sentenced in federal court Friday to more than two years in prison. Mark D’Amico will also have to serve three years probation once he completes his 27-month term. He also must pay restitution and undergo gambling, drug and mental health counseling.

Gender rights activists today gathered in London to protest as they urged politicians to protect single sex services and spaces. Around 100 protesters wearing the purple, white and green of the suffragettes launched their new movement. The protest was led by three main groups called Sex Matters, Women's Rights Network and Women Uniting. Campaigners said that their movement is growing 'exponentially' but has remained largely underground and online until now. Protesters marched from the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Victoria Tower Gardens to a sculpture of Milicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. They chanted the slogan of their campaign 'Respect my...

-The family of a high school track star who was sucker-punched during a race say they had wanted to press charges against his attacker, -However, the family's attorney said deputies had threatened to arrest their son if they'd done so: -Now, they're looking into potentially filing a lawsuit. -The high school runner was punched in the head during his 1,600m race last Saturday at the Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida. -The athlete who threw the punch had earlier got in the way of the lead runner. -After still obscuring the track, the runner pushed him out of the way....

s it officially against the law to criticize Mayor Michelle Wu yet? Maybe not, but I’m sure City Hall is working on it. Because … diversity, or something. So now the Boston City Council has by a 9-4 vote basically shooed away the early-morning protesters from her home in Roslindale. Granted, these demonstrations — I’m surprised the alt-left media aren’t calling them insurrections — must be frustrating if you’re one of her neighbors. But in the past, there have been much more exasperating demonstrations by Michelle Wu’s card-carrying fellow travelers, and no punishment has ever been meted out to any...