Free Republic

I began studying in Leningrad, in the waning days of the Soviet Union, beginning in the fall of 1989. I was 19 years old, more interested in girls than politics, and thought of life behind the Iron Curtain as more novelty than terror. There was little visible suffering or hardship. * * * * Not until much later, after I’d heard years of stories from Russians who’d lived through harder times, did I start to understand the brutal system whose end I got to witness. Parents of friends talked about going on vacations and trying to guess who was the...

CHICAGO — An 18-time convicted felon on probation for being part of the “Puffy Coat Bandit” theft ring was arrested Sunday after he committed the exact same crime that he’s on probation for, according to prosecutors: stealing a man’s credit cards and using them almost immediately to buy things at Target. During an initial appearance this week, Judge Susana Ortiz released Jerome Sharp, 30, with a nighttime curfew. He was not detained for violating probation. One year ago, the “Puffy Coat Bandits” were the talk of the town as they slithered through restaurants in their bulky winter coats, stealing phones,...

BREAKING: Biden apologizes for calling Laken Riley's kiIIer an "illegal" "I'm not gonna treat any of these people with disrespect. They built this country."

While leading Democrats’ smears against constitutionalist Supreme Court justices, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was engaging in actual corruption, says the complaint.Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse allegedly spent the last 17 years in the Senate pushing legislation that directly benefits the environmentalist groups that pay his wife. A 21-page ethics complaint, filed by Judicial Watch last month, alleges Whitehouse abused his congressional position to enrich himself and his wife, Sandra Thorton Whitehouse, president of the consulting firm Ocean Wonks. She also raked in millions consulting for Ocean Conservancy and sat on the advisory board at AltaSea from 2015 to 2018, says the complaint.Whitehouse...

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. French neo-Nazi leader Cesar Aujard, who fought on the side of the Ukrainian military, has been liquidated near Avdeyevka, sources have told TASS. "A ringleader of French neo-Nazis, Cesar Augharome, who was taking part in hostilities on the side of the Ukrainian army, has been liquidated near Avdeyevka," the sources said. There is confirmed evidence of his connections with French secret services. Earlier, the head of the Main Operational Directorate, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Sergey Rudskoy, said that NATO military personnel, disguised as mercenaries, were operating air defense...

The mother of a Marine killed during the US’ botched withdrawal from Afghanistan on Saturday called “BS” on the fallen hero’s father getting arrested for heckling President Biden during his State of the Union address.“I was shocked because I thought it was complete BS that they arrested him,” Shana Chappell told The Post. “He shouldn’t have been arrested, he’s a Gold Star father. He’s in the same room as the man that he knows is responsible for our son’s death, so why was he arrested?”Chappell, 51, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., said she’s still struggling to survive nearly three years after...

During a portion of an interview with MSNBC set to air on Saturday’s broadcast of “The Saturday Show,” President Joe Biden stated that he regrets using the word “illegal” to describe the “Undocumented person” who is the suspected killer of Laken Riley. Host Jonathan Capehart asked, “I noticed the look of surprise on your face when you walked into the chamber and you saw Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). It was priceless. You feigned shock at seeing her. But, during your response to her heckling of you, you used the word ‘illegal’ when talking about the man who allegedly killed...

This weekend, a massive piece of space debris is set for an uncontrolled return. In January 2021, nine old batteries were thrown from the International Space Station (ISS). It is reportedly the heaviest piece of ISS trash that will reenter Earth. This 2.6-metric-ton cargo pallet is now slated to naturally reach the Earth’s atmosphere between March 8 and 9, 2024.

Former President Donald Trump's escalating legal penalties are a little larger after a judge in the United Kingdom ordered him to pay more than $380,000 to a firm run by Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy who penned the infamous 2016 dossier accusing Trump of harboring close ties to the Russians. Trump sued Steele's firm, Orbis Business Intelligence, in a London court in 2022 over claims that the series of memos known as the "Steele Dossier" harmed his reputation and violated British data privacy laws.

It might be the most unforgettable year for film in agesWe look back at the ’90s with newfound respect these days.The decade lacked the signature style of the ‘80s, and few films or TV shows sing its praises. The ‘80s has “Stranger Things,” “The Wedding Singer” and “Hot Tub Time Machine,” to name just a few movies honoring the decade. The ‘90s? We’re still waiting, and flops like “Mid90s,” Jonah Hill’s respectable debut as writer/director, don’t count.It’s still the last decade when free speech reigned supreme. Political correctness began in that era, but it didn’t fully take over Hollywood …...

On Thursday Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist confirmed our reporting from February last year. A new book from Mike Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman admits that a widely misunderstood phone call, on which Willis’ political prosecution rests, was illegally recorded. That means the entire prosecution could crumble with defendants having a new avenue to challenge Democrat lawfare.

The jobless rate rose to 3.9%, up from 3.7% in January, even as employers added 275,000 jobs, the Labor Department said. Its monthly report is being closely watched for clues into how the world's largest economy is absorbing the jump in borrowing costs since 2022. The latest numbers sent mixed signals. Overall, analysts said there was little in the report to fuel major worries or raise fears that the economy would be harmed by higher interest rates. "Overall things still looking good," said Harvard professor Josh Furman, a former economic advisor to Barack Obama, on social media, while adding that...

God disciplines those He loves. For the nation of Israel, this time of correction is called Jacob's Trouble, or the Tribulation. In Israel and the Tribulation, Amir Tsarfati looks at Israel's rebellion against God before the period of correction begins, the peace and the horror the nation will experience during that time, and the spiritual restoration that will take place when the seven years conclude. Israel abandoned the relationship that God loved for religion which He hates. It is the remnant that survives the Tribulation who will return once again to the relationship the Lord wants. You can find a...

Parents at the ultra-exclusive Avenues The World School are outraged after it was revealed that last weekend the Chelsea campus was rented out for a Ramadan & Eid Holiday Bazaar where vendors hawked “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” merchandise. The controversial slogan has been deemed antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League, which says it implies the destruction of the state of Israel and annihilation of the Jewish people. Avenues, a for-profit private school that Suri Cruise reportedly attends, alerted parents to the issue on Thursday night via a vague email sent by Head of School Judy...

The story begins after World War II, when the U.S. granted the Philippines independence in 1946. Despite this, the Americans remained active in post-war Philippines and its politics. The CIA, adept in covert operations, combined psychological, cultural, and political warfare into one. It was this type of operation that they used as a weapon in the Philippines, using the mythical aswang against the people. The aswang doesn’t have an exact match in the Western pantheon of monsters. Some people call it a vampire, but it feeds on more than just blood (organs, unborn children, phlegm) and it can take on...

Hunter Biden’s computer data, long a source of national scrutiny, is now a central feature in his various legal battles, but the first son is handling the data in different ways depending on the case, according to his court filings. Biden is aiming to prove data belongs to him in a lawsuit against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler and his company Marco Polo. Meanwhile in >Delaware, Biden has distanced himself from his computer data and said he will fight to suppress it in a criminal case brought by special counsel David Weiss. Last fall, Biden sued Ziegler, alleging...

A dual referendum in Ireland on redefining family and women's roles in the constitution has been defeated, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday. The government had supported the proposed changes, which would have widened the definition of the family and clarified out-dated language about the duties of women in society. "I think it's clear at this stage, that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated," Varadkar said at a press conference in Dublin.The votes are the latest attempt to reflect the changing face of European Union member Ireland, and the waning influence of the once-dominant...

If you slogged around during the first month of 2024 on the subways, you probably felt like there was a major delay every way you turned, and when you did get on the train, you were one wrong flicker of eye contact away from being a crime victim. With subway ridership hovering around 71% of pre-COVID normal, bus ridership at 60% of normal, and commuter rail at about three-quarters, we don’t want to lose any more riders to bad service or fear. But keeping straphangers riding the MTA will take work, just as the system has never felt more imperiled....

He’s not dead yet. Fans and well-wishers of University of Southern California football coach Lincoln Riley took to social media this week to offer faux condolences after President Biden accidentally mentioned his name during his State of the Union address on Thursday. During his remarks Biden intended to offer his sympathies to Laken Riley — a Georgia women killed by an illegal migrant — but instead flubbed the slain woman’s name. “Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.” And while Laken Riley’s family expressed outrage over the snafu, fans of Coach Riley went...

This video is live right now and Phil is saying that Fani has had a change of mind about reopening the hearing so that new evidence can be introduced.Phil Holloway is a local Atlanta attorney who has been reporting on the Fani hearing with Megyn Kelly and on NewsNation and has done a great job at keeping people up to date on this matter.