Free Republic

There are currently a couple of kinetic wars ongoing- one in Ukraine and another in the Middle East but there is a third one that threatens the freedom of pretty much everyone on Earth. It is the war on free speech. And it’s global. During the 2020 election the FBI and former CIA officers suppressed information harmful to Joe Biden. In 2022 Biden pressured social media to again suppress information harmful to democrats. Without a doubt this affected the elections. With the taste of success in his mouth Biden is once again looking to suppress free speech, especially as Americans...

This story isn't new, but it came to my attention recently while looking into some of the work that the Mellon Foundation is funding and discovered this defilement of The Four Freedoms. I'll also be the first to admit that I'm not a big art person, but I have some favorites. And right up there is the great Norman Rockwell. What I've always loved about his work is the attention to detail and how every painting he created could easily be an entire short story captured in one frame. The facial expressions, the small details (such as headlines on a...

Tech magnate Hock Tan shelled out $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinping’s table during a high-powered dinner in San Francisco as he awaited approval of a $69 billion deal. The Malaysian-born CEO of Broadcom was one of a number of influential people to dine with the Chinese president, including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink, and other tech CEOs such as Qualcomm Inc.’s Cristiano Amon. Guests packed into the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on November 20, at one point giving a standing ovation for the Chinese leader. Tan did not have much to cheer about...

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said Monday night that candidates do not “always have to lash out” and levy attacks when a rival receives an endorsement, but his campaign did exactly that hours later on Tuesday morning. When news broke that Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP), which reportedly plans to spend millions of dollars in the GOP primary, endorsed former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) for president on Tuesday morning, the DeSantis campaign issued a press release rife with sarcasm that was critical of Haley, former President Donald Trump, and the AFP.

WASHINGTON — North Korea claimed Tuesday its recently launched reconnaissance satellite had snapped photos of the White House, Pentagon, and key US military installations across the world — though questions remain about the technology’s capabilities. Dictator Kim Jong Un has personally reviewed the images, which were captured late Monday, Pyongyang’s Korea Central News Agency propaganda service claimed. “[Kim] also received in detail satellite photos of the Norfolk Naval Station, the Newport News Dockyard, and an airfield of Virginia,” KCNA reported.

Legendary investor and polymath Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman and Warren Buffett's right-hand man and friend of nearly six decades, died on Tuesday in California, the company announced. He was 99. Together, Buffett and Munger built Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) into one of the most successful and long-lasting business partnerships that enthralled millions worldwide. In a statement on Tuesday, Buffett said, "Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation." Berkshire, originally a textile manufacturer, has grown into a multinational conglomerate that wholly owns popular brands like Dairy Queen and Fruit...

Red Planet Day, November 28, recognizes the planet which has captivated human observers for countless years, Mars. Right now, we know that Mars is red thanks to photographs beamed back to Earth from American rovers. For centuries, the naked human eye has been able to detect the reddish tinge of the solar system’s fourth planet, glimmering in the night sky. Little did scientists know, the red on Mars’ surface came from a preponderance of iron oxide, common rust. On Red Planet Day we celebrate our fascination with Mars, along with all the scientific advancements into understanding the dusty planet. HISTORY...

The competency crisis is upon usThe glue of expertise that held our complicated social machinery together is coming apart, yet we continue to shift more and more responsibility to failing institutions. The outcome won’t be pretty.Our current managerial elite predicates its rule on the notion of expertise. Americans once believed that “popular will” granted a ruling class legitimacy, but that story has been replaced with one of scientific knowledge and credentials.The modern political formula frames the world as a complex series of interconnected scientific disciplines that, if managed with a high degree of proficiency, can yield incredible material abundance and...

***Defense attorney Christopher Kise requested Judge Engoron issue a directed verdict at the conclusion of testimony from Deutsche Bank managing director Dave Williams*** "Was an event of default ever declared by Deutsche Bank on the loans to the Trump Organization?" defense attorney Jesus Suarez asked Williams at the end of Williams' testimony. "No," Williams replied, prompting Kise to jump up and make his request. "This witness has again testified the bank conducted its own due diligence" and was not defrauded by Trump's statements of financial condition, Kise argued. *** Judge Engoron took the defense's motion under advisement but signaled he...

Rashida Tlaib had the crowd eating out of her hand. It was March 2018, and the hookah lounge in a working-class suburb outside of Chicago was packed. Warm and engaging, switching frequently between English and Arabic, Tlaib - a Michigan State representative with larger ambitions - pleaded for out-of-state donations to help her become the first Palestinian American in Congress. She unashamedly told the audience that her Detroit constituents often declared: 'Rashida is a warrior, and this is a war we're in.' Sitting in the front row, Rafeeq Jaber listened intently, seemingly impressed and knowing a thing or two about...

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court this morning (Tuesday) issued a temporary order ordering the terrorist who stabbed and injured Moriya Cohen in the Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood in Jerusalem, and was released last night, to refrain from making any contact with Cohen or her children, as part of a request for a threatening harassment order. The order was issued by Judge Eliad Weinshall, at the request of Cohen's lawyer – Adv. Ofir Steiner from Honenu. In the coming days there will be a discussion on instating permanent restrictive conditions. Moriya Cohen, who was stabbed in the presence of her children, also participated...

The vote passed with a razor-thin majority of 291 votes in favour to 274 against, with 44 abstentions. The main proposed changes include the abolition of the principle of unanimity in a total of 65 areas of law, as well as transferring competencies from the member states to the European Union. These include the transfer of inclusive competency on the matters of environmental protection and biodiversity, meaning that law pertaining to those matters would be entirely set at the European level. In addition, the shared competencies would be expanded to seven new areas, those being foreign and security policy, border...

If there’s one RINO bum whom the America First base would love to see removed, it’s Ronna McDaniel. When this woman isn’t spending thousands on plastic surgery and fancy new clothes, she’s busy advancing the interests of the GOP establishment. Thanks to Ronna, we’re stuck with RINO candidates who have zero interest in promoting the America First agenda, and that’s precisely how she wants to keep it. Unfortunately, President Trump hasn’t fully thrown his weight behind removing Ronna, and that’s understandable to a certain extent. After all, she’s firmly entrenched in the RNC, and ousting her would be a messy...

Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson claims he 'inherited' the city's spiraling migrant crisis and lashed out at Lori Lightfoot's former administration. Johnson criticized Lightfoot's administration at a press conference on Tuesday held to announce the Unity initiative, an interfaith partnership aimed at bringing sleeping migrants out of police stations and into shelters. Johnson told reporters that 'the international crisis that I inherited six months ago, I've made it very clear we are going to move people out of police districts, women and children who are living on floors and sleeping outside that we're going to create spaces that provide more dignity.'...

Charlie Munger, a billionaire and long-time friend and business partner of Warren Buffett, has died. He was 99 years old.

Israel’s defenses took a giant leap forward this week when — for the first time ever — it used a laser beam to shoot down an incoming rocket fired by terrorists in Gaza. This isn’t science fiction, but the product of years of research and experimentation. The US military is doing its own laser-beam or “directed energy” research, and Israel and the United States cooperate. Lockheed Martin and Israel’s Rafael are developing Iron Beam, and ultimately it can mean not only ground-based laser defenses but lasers to mount on ships and planes as well. Israel fielded the weapon for the...

Mark Fisher, a co-founder of a Black Lives Matter chapter in Rhode Island and founder of a new BLM-related organization, is on a media tour advocating for Donald Trump to be president in 2024. "Everybody else sucks," Fisher told host Kim Iversen in a recent interview. After Iversen asked if he thought Trump was simply the best of the worst and "not that great either," Fisher clarified his views. "I like Trump, you know. Personally, and I think right now who we have sitting in the Oval Office is just a deep disappointment, you know? I deeply have disdain for...

The Daily Wire, the right-wing media company founded by conservative host Ben Shapiro, released a trailer on Monday for its first full-length feature film, a virulently transphobic “comedy” about a team of male basketball players who decide to identify as women in order to start competing in—and winning—women’s sporting events. The movie, Lady Ballers, which features cameos from Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Shapiro himself, is slated for an exclusive release on the Daily Wire’s YouTube channel. Matt Walsh, who put out his own anti-trans documentary for the company, appears in the film as well. It is a crucial moment...

Bank of Nova Scotia ... the Canadian lender missed fourth-quarter profit estimates as uncertain economic climate prompted it to set aside more funds to guard against bad loans. Scotiabank kicks off Canadian banks' earning season, wrapping up a financial year marked with economic uncertainty, rising credit loss provisions as more consumers struggle to pay off their mortgages, layoffs to cut costs, and rising expenses. The bank's shares fell nearly 5% in early trading, dragging down Canada's main stock index (.GSPTSE). Lenders have been bracing for a surge in loan defaults as effects of the central bank's monetary policy tightening flow...

Former first lady Michelle Obama joined former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Biden aboard Air Force One on Tuesday to travel to the funeral of former first lady Rosalynn Carter in Georgia. Michelle Obama, 59, traveled without her husband and Biden’s ex-boss, former President Barack Obama, amid renewed speculation that she could follow in Hillary Clinton’s footsteps and seek the nation’s top job for herself. The 81-year-old Biden faces dismal poll numbers ahead of next year’s expected rematch against former President Donald Trump, who leads in national and swing-state polls despite four pending criminal...