Free Republic

The Chinese government is buying shares in Alibaba, Tencent and other tech companies to be more deeply involved in their businesses, sources told the Financial Times. The stakes usually involve a 1% holding in a key segment and are known as "special management shares," which give Beijing rights over certain decisions at the companies. That allows the Communist Party to gain greater influence...

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the most epic troll I have ever seen. A pro Ukrainian protester destroyed in such a hilarious fashion I am still laughing. Epic level stuff. Makes the Jonathan Swift work seem piker.

When First Lady Jill Biden was in Mexico City on Sunday, she went with Mexican First Lady Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller to pay homage at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Protectress of the Unborn. “Began my trip to Mexico City with a visit to the beautiful Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Jill Biden said in a tweet, which featured a photograph of her standing in front of the framed image of the Virgin Mary as she had appeared to the Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, in 1531. […] St. Pope John Paul II named Our Lady of Guadalupe...

This war is one that Russia cannot win in any meaningful sense. Putin's foreign military successes around the world after 2008 were all achieved by using small units of elite forces, mercenaries and local militia groups alongside air power. This gave Moscow considerable leverage at low cost during interventions in Georgia, Syria, and twice in Ukraine during 2014, first in illegally annexing Crimea and then in creating self-declared Russian statelets in Luhansk and Donetsk. In every case, Russia moved swiftly and ruthlessly in ways the western world was unable to counter except through graduated sanctions regimes - nothing that could...

The National Hockey League is hosting an upcoming conference for “diverse” job-seekers looking to pursue careers in the sport that is open only to racial and gender minorities. On February 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the NHL — a professional association composed of 32 teams in the United States and Canada — will hold a new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative called the Pathway to Hockey Summit. The event is exclusive to female, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled registrants.In a separate line on the advertisement, the NFL writes, “Veterans are also welcome and encouraged to attend.”...

A year ago today I made this post (in the link below the title above) about the disgraceful exclusion from the Australian Open of world number one tennis player at that time, Novak Djokovic, because he refused to surrender his bodily autonomy and get the "compulsory" vaccination. Forget the politicized over focus on the excesses of January 6, 2020, in Washington, but remember January 2022 in Melbourne, Australia if you want a better world. Seeing gorgeous, God-fearing Monica almost every day at the Free Nole protests (Nole is Novak's Serbian nickname) was one of the great pleasures of that time...

Please join fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Banking, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) IF NOAH'S FLOOD CAME TODAY, WOULD YOU MISS THE BOAT?

A half-naked man wearing a Speedo popped into the background of an Arizona counselor's Zoom call during a meeting of the Pima County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Openly Gay County Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz, 45, who previously served in the Obama administration, joined the meeting remotely from a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The 9:00 am meeting was two hours old when Heinz's unidentified 24-year-old travel companion wandered in to the shot. The man is wearing black vest and a black Speedo. The man begins to lift up his shirt, then freezes and looks at the computer, apparently not...

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday announced the upcoming retirement of David Kessler, the chief science officer who led the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts for the last two years. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday that Kessler “worked tirelessly” for decades to address the country’s most challenging public health issues, noting that “his work during the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different.” “Whether he was leading our effort to develop and distribute safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, or sharing his perspective during daily strategy sessions and data deliberations,...

Five women in California have filed a lawsuit alleging that the International Churches of Christ perpetrated a “systemic scheme of abuse” that included the sexual abuse of children as young as three years old and financial abuse of its members. The lawsuit names plaintiffs Darleen Diaz, 33, Bernice Perez, 31, Ashley Ruiz, 31, Salud Gonzalez, 30, and Elena Peltola, 23. The plaintiffs filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or “RICO,” lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Dec. 30 against ICOC and its affiliated organizations: The International Christian Church Inc., Hope Worldwide Ltd.,...

A Virginia police chief is blasting a prosecutor for dropping and agreeing to expunge charges against a megachurch pastor caught last year in a prostitution sting, calling the actions “bewildering.” Chesterfield County Police Chief Jeffrey S. Katz issued a lengthy statement Tuesday, challenging Commonwealth Attorney Stacey Davenport’s handling of prostitution charges against John D. Blanchard, pastor of Rock Church International in Virginia Beach. “When someone: 1. Rents a car, 2. Texts a phone number posted on a known sex worker website, 3. Solicits a ‘qv’ (‘John’ lingo for a ‘quick visit’), 4. Makes multiple inquiries if the person he’s texting...

Asylum-seeking migrants being housed in a $500/night four-star hotel in New York City have been reported to be acting like animals, according to a whistleblower in housekeeping.Filipe Rodriguez, a Row NYC hotel worker, says that they are “drinking all day,” “smoking marijuana,” “consuming drugs,” “having sex in the stairs,” “hoarding whatever,” “spreading all type of illnesses,” as well as occasionally engaging in “domestic violence.”In addition, they’re illegally cooking their own food in their rooms instead of consuming the food they’re given.“It’s every day you’ll find someone cooking. You can smell the eggs and rice that they’re making,” stated a housekeeping...

Mexico President thanks Biden for doing nothing. pic.twitter.com/FrYcestslOCLICK ABOVE ARTICLE LINK FOR THE VIDEO — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 14, 2023

Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaking tonight saying she will not resign... The Russian Embassy in the UK says that Ukrainian forces appear to be getting ready to use chemical weapons... The US pressuring Serbia over recruitment of Serbian nationals by Russia's Wagner Group... An explosion on a gas pipeline that connects the Baltic nations of Latvia and Lithuania... The German Defense Minister is resigning... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigating the possibility that Pfizer's Bivalent COIVD vaccine increases the risk... The Biden Administration has notified Congress of the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye (Turkey)... In...

A hero military veteran jumped into action to take down a knife-wielding man threatening to stab shoppers at a South Carolina Walmart - by smashing him over the head with a metal pole. Video shows the unidentified man dressed in red hoodie swearing and shouting on the floor of the Walmart located in Columbia, SC demanding $20. The man is seen waving his knife yelling, 'I'm going to start cutting you all up,' as horrified bystanders stand by during the incident that took place on January 4th around 2pm. One of the store managers tried to confront the suspect, but...

The 2022 midterm elections were a catastrophe for Republicans, and a historic one at that. Every meaningful trend favored GOP candidates: uneasy economic conditions, an unpopular president who seems better suited to a bingo hall, a volatile foreign-policy environment, and a midterm voter pool that has consistently favored Republicans. Democratic candidates won many competitive Senate races, and the nearly inevitable Republican takeover of the House barely materialized. Some candidates, like Kari Lake in Arizona, snatched defeat from the jaws of certain victory. And President Trump vented his frustration at pro-lifers who fueled his 2016 victory. It might be time to...

"Skeletonized" human remains were discovered in a years-long unoccupied building at UC Berkeley’s Clark Kerr Campus earlier this week, school officials announced. University police were notified of the remains on Tuesday, Jan. 10, a UCPD statement from the school’s communications department said. The cause of death is still undetermined, and school officials didn’t tell SFGATE which building the remains were found, how they were discovered, and how long the building has been unoccupied for.

How do you feel about religion?As Statista's Katharina Buchholz details below, depending on which country you are in, this question is more or less likely to be met with a shrug or even an objection to religious belief.In China, the highest percentage of people among the 56 countries and territories included in the Statista Global Consumer Survey is non-religious or atheist, the latter describing people rejecting the idea that there is a God.You will find more infographics at StatistaAmong European countries, Germany ranks high for the share of its non-religious and atheist population, which stands at around a third of...

On a national scale, the United States and Canada rely on a very different makeup of sources to generate their electricity.The U.S. primarily uses natural gas, coal, and nuclear power, while Canada relies on both hydro and nuclear. That said, when zooming in on the province or state level, individual primary electricity sources can differ greatly.In the infographic below, Visual Capitalist's Selin Oğuz takes a look at the electricity generation in the states and provinces of these two countries using data from the Nuclear Energy Institute (2021) and the Canada Energy Regulator (2019).Natural GasNatural gas is widely used for electricity...

The Minnesota Legislature is on a roll.Of course, most politicians are embarrassing, so I shouldn’t be too shocked at how stupid and morally vacuous they can be. But still, I keep hoping that there are limits, and I keep getting disappointed.As I was perusing my local paper, the Star Tribune, I ran across this Op/Ed arguing that schools should provide menstrual products to students.I don’t have a problem with that. I have never been a teenage girl, but I can imagine the embarrassment of needing menstrual products and not happening to have one. While I usually scoff at the use...