Free Republic

The president of Palestine’s National Olympic Committee says he will not shake hands with his Israeli counterpart, or any of their delegation, at Paris 2024 unless they recognise his state’s right to independence. Jibril Rajoub, who has led calls for Israel’s athletes to be banned from international competition amid the war in Gaza, told the Guardian he would not engage with Yael Arad or her colleagues out of principle if they crossed paths during the Olympics. He also claimed the Palestine team have not been given any instructions about how to conduct themselves in the event that they come up...

From tech to tractors, companies are dialing back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Instead, a DEI alternative endorsed by Elon Musk could alter the fate of your next job application. It’s known as MEI, short for merit, excellence and intelligence. As described by Scale AI Chief Executive Alexandr Wang, who helped popularize the term, MEI means hiring the best candidates for open roles without considering demographics. “A hiring process based on merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas,” he wrote on his company’s website last month, adding that casting a wide recruiting net was important. “We...

At least 34 people were injured - and nine of them killed - when a rocket hit a soccer field on Saturday afternoon in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel. The soccer field is located near a park, and among the injured and killed are children and teens, ages 10-20 years old. Initial investigations by the IDF show that the aerial defense system had difficulty intercepting the rocket. The incident is under investigation. Following the sirens in Majdal Shamas, the IDF reported: "A short while ago, sirens sounded in the area of Majdal Shams. One projectile was...

Canada’s standard of living is on track for its worst decline in 40 years, according to a new study by Canada’s Fraser Institute. The study compared the three worst periods of decline in Canada in the last 40 years—1989, 2008, and today. They found that unlike the previous recessions, Canada is not recovering this time. Something broke. In fact, according to the Financial Post, since 2019, Canada’s had the worst growth out of 50 developed economies. On the ground, that means inflation-adjusted Canadian wages have been flat since 2016. So, yes, something broke. And it’s nowhere near over: Canada’s per-person...

Excerpts below. At the linked article, video clip segments of Coons, Van Jones, and Maddow are available.Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons became teary-eyed during a tribute to President Joe Biden following his announcement he would not run for re-election in November.There have been mixed reactions to Biden’s stepping down, but this particular display of praise for a man who has brought America to the brink of destruction is one of the more bizarre.Biden ally Coons became emotional while gushing over Biden, even pausing to gather composure as he fought back the tears.“Joe Biden is grounded. He’s grounded in his faith,...

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who is challenging longtime Democrat Senator Bob Casey, dropped an attack ad on Kamala Harris so brutal that the entire political world is taking notice. This was part of McCormick’s effort to tie Casey to who would be the most radical presidential nominee in American history. The ad opens with Pennsylvania Democrat Senator Bob Casey singing Harris’s praises and predicting people will fall for her. “Kamala Harris is inspiring and very capable. The more people get to know her, the more they’ll be particularly impressed by her ability,” Casey says.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have found his No. 1 “useful idiot.” Vice President Harris’ Hamas-curious stepdaughter Ella Emhoff jumped into the presidential race with gusto this week with aggressive social media posts to her 330,000 followers. “You already know what time it is,” Emhoff, a 25-year-old model, said on Wednesday, sharing a slack-jawed image of herself and a voter registration link. “This is not the time to sit back and defer responsibility. This is on all of us to show up, take action and vote for our future. We can be the change we want to see.” ***...

San Francisco has suffered another blow as one of the most luxurious department stores downtown is banning window shoppers. Saks Fifth Avenue in Union Square has decided to change its customer experience by moving to 'appointment-only' this summer... Locals will have to pre-book appointments ... Customers can no longer walk in and browse the luxury items... It comes as areas in San Francisco have become known for their squalor and misery - so much so that local businesses are unable to recruit staff and residents have felt forced to flee. ... It follows Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Palo Alto...

Democratic senators backing President Biden’s reelection campaign until its final hours were “quite angry and hurt” by the calls from fellow Democrats on him to end his campaign, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) says in a new interview with Robert Costa of CBS This Morning. Coons, Biden’s top ally in the Senate, described difficult weeks leading up to Biden’s decision as the Democratic Party was torn apart by the debate over Biden’s future. Costa said some Democrats felt “betrayed” by those calls, a point Coons did not dispute. “It was a very hard couple of weeks as folks who felt urgently...

Daniel Alman from Squirrel Hill @DanielAlmanPGH I dare the #Olympics to mock #Muhammad the exact same way they mocked #Jesus. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-drag-queens-opening-ceremony-c635aa276be1147e4643231bdbe5478e #JesusChrist #TheLastSupper #LastSupper #Christianity #Christians #Islam #Muslims #Olympics2024 #Mohammed #Mohamed #Muhammed #Mohammad #News #Woke #DragQueens #LGBT #LGBTQ

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a podcast released Saturday that attacks aimed at Vice President Harris claiming she was hired due to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are “a bad look for Republicans.” Asked about the attacks by The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro said on the outlet’s “The Interview” podcast, Buttigieg argued they are likely to backfire on Republicans. “Well, I do think that those attacks have been a bad look for Republicans,” Buttigieg, who is seen as a possible contender for likely Democratic presidential nominee Harris’ running mate, responded.

On the afternoon of July 13, 2024, lone gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at former US President Donald Trump as he spoke at a podium during a campaign event in Pennsylvania. It was almost a miracle that Trump was saved; at the moment of the shots, he turned his head sharply, and the bullet only slightly grazed his ear without damaging his head. Crooks was immediately shot dead by the guards. A couple of days later, a video of a strange flying object was published on social networks (see below). It was stated that the video was filmed at the...

An iconic city steakhouse is hitting an off note. Gallaghers, a theater district warhorse with a century of patronage by celebrities, was forced to add an embarrassing addendum to a signed portrait of Perry Como after customers kept confusing the crooner for Jeffrey Epstein. The framed black and white photo of a smiling Como, just off the main entrance is now ribboned by a blunt message reading, “This not Jeffrey Epstein. This is Perry Como.” Gallaghers owner Dean Poll said he had no choice but to add the disclaimer last year, after “hundreds” of customers demanded to know why the...

God could have made us with solar cells in our skin, so all we would have to do is lie in the sun to get the energy we need for life. But he didn't. In his divine plan, God created us as creatures that need to eat. The first command he ever gave us concerned food: what to eat and what not to eat. We turned away from him by an act of eating. And now, since the coming of Christ, we can turn back to him by an act of eating. Our need to eat reminds us that we...

MAGDALA, Israel — Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, said Saturday that Israel faces “all-out war” after a rocket fired by Hezbollah at the Israeli Druze Arab village of Majdal Shams killed at least nine people, including children, on Saturday evening. Children from ages ten to twelve were playing a soccer game when the rocket hit the field. According to an eyewitness interviewed by Israel’s Channel 13, a warning siren only sounded as the impact happened.

LONDON — With several news media outlets broadcasting or Web streaming every event at the Olympics, it is almost inevitable that water polo will have its share of R-rated moments At these Games, the most notable transition from tenacious to titillating (and quickly back again) came in the women’s preliminary-round match between the United States and Spain last Wednesday. During a particularly spirited passage of play, NBC cut to an underwater camera, hoping to show players thrashing for possession. Instead, the network gave viewers a brief bit of risqué theater as the American Kami Craig pulled at her opponent’s...

While the term “Christian” is widely used today to describe followers of Jesus Christ, it is unclear whether the early Christians actually used this term to describe themselves. The word “Christian” only appears three times in the New Testament, and in each instance, it is used by non-Christians to refer to the followers of Jesus.

Kelly’s ties to China, including the surveillance balloon company he founded, are under renewed scrutiny. The Arizona Daily Independent reports Kelly cofounded World View Enterprises in 2012. The Tucson-based aerial surveillance company contracts with the federal government and has received funding from Tencent Holding Unlimited, one of China’s largest tech companies connected to the CCP. Axios reported: An Arizona company that manufactures and operates high-altitude surveillance balloons, and contracts with the federal government, faces renewed attention in the aftermath of the destruction of a spy balloon sent by the Chinese government that entered U.S. airspace earlier this month. As recently...

Daniel Alman from Squirrel Hill @DanielAlmanPGH #MotherJones says we know how to prevent #ForestFires from spreading, but the people who run #California have chosen to do the exact opposite. #ForestManagement #Wildfires #Environment #Environmentalism #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #GlobalWarming https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/12/a-century-of-fire-suppression-is-why-california-is-in-flames/

New video from inside the window of the sniper nest BEHIND and very close to the Trump Shooter. This window is referenced in previous video taken on the rooftop after the shooter is killed. The snipers must have easily seen the shooter access the roof and prepare to shoot. New video from window: https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1816818248727306406 Previous video from rooftop (window referenced about 20 seconds in): https://x.com/MattWallace888/status/1815885071800275306