Free Republic

Markus Roscher, a German lawyer, was fined €3,000 under a controversial speech law for criticizing government officials on X, highlighting growing concerns over free expression and political dissent in Germany.. The debate over free speech in Germany has taken a new turn following the case of Markus Roscher, a 61-year-old lawyer from Braunschweig, who was fined €3,000 for criticizing the government’s heating law. Roscher described Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as “malicious failures” in a post on X back in 2021. He was subsequently issued a penalty notice under the controversial Paragraph 188...

“Honestly, I think it’s an inspiring message,” Döpfner stated in an interview with the Financial Times. “You don’t have to take everything literally, but you should try to take it seriously.” He criticised the European response as “whiny,” cautioning that such reactions could undermine the transatlantic alliance. “We need a transatlantic security alliance and a transatlantic trade relationship,” he added. Döpfner also addressed recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who labeled Politico—a publication owned by Axel Springer—as a “leftwing rag” and claimed it had received $8 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Döpfner dismissed these...

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Failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Reportedly, the agency will help Harris book speaking gigs and publishing opportunities

The United States claims to be the land of the free, but freedom is impossible without individual privacy. You must be certain the government will not arbitrarily monitor you in your home or on your devices. Yet the US legal system does little to protect your privacy rights. Eight years ago, we wrote about Trump taking control of the NSA, however former President Biden also expanded the surveillance state, signing the law that renewed Section 702 in 2024(new window) (which we also covered). In general, the US surveillance state has greatly expanded its scope, under both Democratic and Republican administrations....

Former national security adviser John Bolton called President Trump’s positioning on ending the war in Ukraine “pretty close to surrender” in an interview released Thursday. “I think Trump’s remarks and that of [Secretary of Defense] Pete Hegseth and others come pretty close to surrender,” he told Politico. “It’s a position that’s similar to what [Vice President] JD Vance announced during the campaign about Ukraine: There’d be a ceasefire in place, a militarized zone would be created, negotiations would begin, Ukraine would agree not to join NATO.” Trump and Hegseth made waves last week with comments that broke starkly with U.S....

Dr. Robert Malone, the world-renowned biochemist who pioneered mRNA technology, has issued a warning about America’s food supply being spiked with “bird flu vaccines.” Malone is raising the alarm regarding the implications of rolling out untested mRNA “vaccines” on chicken populations heavily relied upon by American consumers. The celebrated scientist issued the warning during a new interview with Alex Jones on Infowars. “They have authorized vaccines, bird flu vaccines, for poultry,” Malone began. “One of the things about influenza is that it is a multi-stranded single-strand RNA virus which means that it mutates, drifts, and shifts very rapidly. “It’s almost...

He had to leave the game because he knows that he won’t able to make it through an entire season. Feliciano did leave the door open for a short-term return to action, however. Feliciano wrote that the 49ers or Bills, who he played for from 2019-2021, should call him in December if they need him because he’ll be ready for a playoff run.

The United States will no longer tend to Ukraine as if it were a helpless victim in the war. The media would like you to believe that Russia invaded Ukraine without provocation. The events that led to this war are detailed in “The Plot to Seize Russia.” The official US government stance on the war has pivoted after US and Russian officials met this week in Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump blasted Vladamir Zelensky on Truth Social for “playing Biden like a fiddle,” stating that is the only thing Zelensky seemed to be good at. He accused the former comedian of...

President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise of “mass deportations” and securing the southern border, and now CBP has released numbers showing the impact... ...Between January 21 and January 31, CBP reports reveal an 85 percent decrease in apprehensions along the southwest border compared to the corresponding period in 2024. The CBP report also details how in the 11 days following the termination of the CBP One app (just hours after Trump's inauguration), inadmissible alien encounters at the border have fallen 93 percent, as compared to the 11 days prior... ...Declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border was one...

Developer Rick Caruso’s non-profit organization, Steadfast L.A., is introducing free prefabricated homes for people to live in on their property in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, and Pasadena if they cannot yet afford to rebuild. In a press statement, Steadfast L.A. said that it “is partnering with CA-based company Samara to donate high-quality, prefab, small homes for people who face devastating circumstances after the wildfires.” The homes are “designed to allow homeowners who lost everything to remain in their communities at no cost.” Funding will come from the Caruso Family Foundation, as well as from Samara and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia,...

Shocking footage shows the moment a car exploded in Florida, killing a woman who police believe was targeted by her husband. Doorbell footage obtained by NBC 6 shows that the car was parked on a road in the Miami suburbs of Hialeah Gardens when it erupted into a fireball just before 6 a.m. on Feb. 1. The explosion was outside the home of Noel Ruiz Mestre, 50, who police now allege intentionally detonated a homemade bomb while his wife was sitting in the passenger seat. His wife, who has not publicly been identified, was killed in the blast.

Democrats have railed against Patel, taking issue with his rhetoric toward Jan. 6 defendants and saying he could oversee politically motivated firings at the bureau. What's happening today: - Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick for FBI director, will get a final confirmation vote in the Senate today. If confirmed, Patel would serve for a 10-year term following the resignation of FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom Trump appointed in 2017. - While Republicans rallied around Patel and advanced his nomination on a 48-45 party-line vote Tuesday, Democrats have railed against the pick, taking issue with Patel’s rhetoric about Jan. 6...

The University of Pennsylvania announced it would require standardized test scores for undergraduates in the upcoming admissions cycle. The school says the change will bring 'clarity and transparency to the application process.' Another Ivy League institution has elected to reinstate mandatory standardized testing after making it optional for undergraduate applicants since the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, the University of Pennsylvania announced it would require SAT or ACT scores in the upcoming admissions cycle in order to bring “clarity and transparency to the application process.” ... ”Beginning with the 2025-2026 undergraduate admissions cycle, Penn is reinstating a standardized testing requirement for...

Marian Enache, head of Romania’s Constitutional Court, insists that the law must be followed, dismissing alleged U.S. pressure to allow Călin Georgescu to run again in their upcoming May elections. “Various desires of certain candidates aimed at changing fundamental elements of the democratic constitutional model… should be viewed with caution and reservation.” Ironically, this is the same court that scrapped last November’s elections based on flimsy "Russia Interference" claims and blocked candidates over “anti-democratic” views. Meanwhile, Romania’s Foreign Ministry denies any U.S. interference. Convenient timing? Source: Euractiv

China’s experimental hyperloop T-Flight maglev train is advancing toward making record-breaking transportation speeds a reality, which could represent another milestone in the country’s expanding global influence in science and engineering. Following successful tests in 2023, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) is pushing forward with developing the high-speed magnetic levitation transportation system amid similar Chinese advancements in AI, semiconductors, space exploration, and other areas of science and technology. But can the world’s third-largest country make traversing its enormous land mass a breeze? T-Flight Hyperloop Train At a planned 600 mph operating speed, T-flight would exceed even the...

Predictably enough, the Ukrainian government has objected to its exclusion from the peace talks Trump administration officials held with their Russian counterparts this week in Riyadh and, for its trouble, is getting slammed by what is supposed to be its ally, the United States. In breathtaking remarks to reporters, President Trump poured contempt on Ukraine for its frustration. “But today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years,” Trump said of Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine. “You should’ve ended it in three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a...

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that President Donald Trump cannot end birthright citizenship with his executive order, likely setting up a battle about the issue in the Supreme Court. The Justice Department had filed an emergency request for the court to lift a Seattle judge’s freeze on the policy, but the appeals court denied it on Wednesday. CNN reports: The 9th Circuit panel – made up of a Trump appointee, a Jimmy Carter appointee and a George W. Bush appointee – said that a closer review of the case will move forward in its court, with...

“The quick-wittedness that he has is really second to none,” People fully grasp how serious and thoughtful he is about what he does. He can be informative; he can be offensive; he can be hilarious. He’s certainly going to be provocative. But at the base level, it’s based on preparation as much as anything else.”

It was inevitable. We have been together from the outset of the conversation where we admitted to ourselves that sooner or later the pretending was going to have to stop. Well, here we are. President Donald Trump begins a very uncomfortable process to peel back the mask that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy represents. This is needed: President Trump – Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S....