Free Republic

As an openly gay politician who lives with her Sri Lanka-born partner in Switzerland, Alice Weidel was an unusual choice to many to lead Germany’s far-right AfD into Sunday’s elections, where it scored its best-ever result. To her legions of political foes, Weidel serves as a “fig leaf” for a party that has railed against asylum seekers, Islam and multiculturalism and some of whose top figures have voiced revisionist views on Germany’s Nazi past. On Sunday the 46-year-old, who says Margaret Thatcher is her political idol, led the Moscow-friendly AfD to a record result of around 20 percent. She told...

Former President Mary Robinson has condemned what she called “ridiculous”, “nonsense” and “malicious lying” regarding Israeli claims that it is ready to distribute aid into Gaza. Mrs. Robinson said that Israeli claims that UN agencies are not working quickly enough to distribute aid are “all ridiculous”. “We saw the most there was incredible collaboration between the Egyptian Red Crescent… and the UN,” she said, after a visit to Egypt and the Rafah crossing alongside former New Zealand president Helen Clark. Following the visit, Mrs. Robinson said that targeted sanctions should be imposed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all...

Ursula's new "European Media Freedom Act" permits the arrest of journalists if it is in the "public interest." ... The act also allows surveillance software to be deployed on devices used by media service providers, editorial staff, or related persons in the “public interest. Who decides the “public interest?” Sophie ... The new law also contains numerous provisions that call for action against alleged "disinformation." Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President ... "national lists" are to be created listing the owners and addresses of media outlets, as stipulated in Article 6. Despite its intent to strengthen media freedom, critics...

The EU is inching toward the biggest peacetime surveillance experiment in its history, with plans to quietly search every private message before you hit send. The European Union is still wrestling with a controversial plan that would turn private messaging services into surveillance tools. For over three years, talks have stalled over whether providers should be forced to scan every user’s messages for possible illegal material and forward anything suspicious to law enforcement. The European Commission is still pushing for a universal scanning requirement. In contrast, the European Parliament insists any checks should apply only to unencrypted messages from people...

Amazon says it will roll out its biometric palm-recognition technology to its more than 500 Whole Foods Markets stores in the United States this year. The technology, called “Amazon One,” lets registered users confirm their identity and pay for items by holding a hand over a scanning device. Users connect a payment method when signing up. Amazon One is currently available in more than 200 Whole Foods stores. The technology debuted in 2020 at the original Amazon Go store in Seattle. The company also offers Amazon One to third-parties. The technology is installed in 400 total locations in U.S., including...

Online ID verification causes friction for customers more often than not, yet identity theft makes up 40 percent of Europe’s online fraud. Digital identity can work simply and deliver trust like payment cards, however, says Mastercard. The EU Digital Identity Wallet is in part a recognition of this issue, according to a post by Mastercard EVP for Services Europe Michele Centemero, who sees an opportunity for digital ID to work more like his company’s forte, digital payments. Mastercard supports the EUDI Wallet program as an advisor to the EU’s NOBID project, and a partner in the WE BUILD Consortium. The...

Palestinian statehood comes at the end of negotiations for a two-state solution and that process can no longer be held in abeyance, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday. “A negotiated two-state solution remains the only path that can offer people on both sides a life in peace, security, and dignity,” he said in a statement issued shortly before his trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, as reported by Ynet News. “For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of that process. But such a process must begin now.” Wadephul’s remarks follow a string...

The founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has been accused of ordering the falsification of research to make it appear that Brexit was detrimental to Britain’s economy. An internal probe conducted by the Homburger law firm into the alleged misconduct of former WEF Chairman and founder of the globalist Davos institution, Klaus Schwab, has reportedly found that the German-born economist orchestrated the manipulation of economic research to advance his political agendas. According to the Swiss Sonntags Zeitung newspaper, the architect of the Great Reset is accused of personally intervening during the World Economic Forum’s 2017/18 Global Competitiveness Report to...

The Netherlands’ counter-terrorism authority has included Israel in its latest report as one of the state actors assessed to pose a threat to the country’s security. The country is thus placed alongside Iran, North Korea and Turkey, among others. The Netherlands’ National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) published on July 17, 2025, its annual report “Assessment of threats from state actors 2025” (Beoordeling Dreigingen door Staatactoren 2025), where Israel is listed for the first time as a security-threatening actor. Israel’s placement on the list is linked to assessments that the country uses informal methods to influence public opinion and...

In an interview with Euronews, Plamen Ralchev says: “The euro is a lifeboat that Bulgaria should board!" The scientist at the University of National and World Economics warns against right-wing populist parties exploiting the currency debate. The days of the Bulgarian lev are numbered! Bulgaria wants to introduce the European single currency, the euro, in January. The reform efforts are paying off: The European Commission, central bank and EU finance ministers have given the green light. Bulgaria meets all the conditions for the euro: Consumer prices are rising only slowly The budget deficit is low Public debt is one of...

The orders include the purchase of 20 Eurofighter jets from Airbus, up to 5,000 Boxer armored vehicles from Rheinmetall (ETR:RHMG), and at least 3,500 Patria Oyj armored vehicles, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions. The German cabinet is scheduled to approve its medium-term financial planning on Wednesday. The plan will more than double the country’s annual defense budget to as much as €162 billion ($189 billion) within four years.

The age of smartphones is coming to an end. A bold prediction from Bill Gates reveals a revolutionary new tech set to replace your phone forever. In a bold prediction that’s making waves across the tech world, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has suggested that smartphones could soon be obsolete, replaced by an entirely new kind of technology. Forget everything you know about handheld devices—Gates envisions a future where electronic tattoos become the new norm. The Decline of Smartphones Smartphones have been an indispensable part of our lives for over a decade. From checking emails to scrolling through social media and...

France will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN general assembly, Emmanuel Macron has said. The French president announced the decision on X on Thursday evening, saying he hoped it would bring peace to the region. Macron published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirming France’s intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state. “True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron said. “I will make this solemn announcement at the...

Geofencing: "Think of it as an invisible fence around you... that will be related to your face recognition, digital identity, and access control" Big Tech whistleblower Aman Jabbi exposes the digital prison being constructed all around us in this clip from The Agenda: Their Vision Your Future.

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said that the government grocery store plan from New York City mayoral candidate Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D) is “a new and fresh plan for New York City. But it’s been tried in other cities around the country and has had some real successes.” Warren stated that Mamdani “said, we’ve got a problem with entire food deserts where people can’t get access to grocery stores. He said, I’d like to take a look at whether or not we can have some kind of — like we do on military bases...

He has no experience of elective office. He won by the narrowest of margins, and hasn’t even spent much of his recent career in his own country. Canadians took a huge leap of faith yesterday in voting for Mark Carney as their next prime minister at a moment in their history when the American president Donald Trump has imposed huge tariffs on their country and even threatened to annex it. Still, at least they can reassure themselves that Carney’s vast experience as Governor of the Bank of England means he is a safe pair of hands. But there is one...

“Germany is considering purchasing up to 2,500 armored fighting vehicles and as many as 1,000 battle tanks as part of a joint European effort to create new NATO brigades to deter Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has asked Germany to contribute as many as seven combat brigades to the alliance within the next decade. The fighting vehicles and tanks, if approved, would equip these forces, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.” “The order under consideration by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and the Bundeswehr’s top generals would include as...

PARIS/JERUSALEM, June 16 (Reuters) - France shut down the main Israeli company stands at the Paris Airshow on Monday for refusing to remove attack weapons from display, sparking a furious response from Israel and inflaming tensions between the traditional allies. Stands including those of Elbit Systems (ESLT.TA), opens new tab, Rafael, IAI and Uvision were blocked off with black partitions before the start of the world's biggest aviation trade fair. Smaller Israeli stands, which didn't have hardware on display, and an Israeli Ministry of Defence stand, remained open. France, a long-time Israeli ally, has gradually hardened its position on the...

On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed an executive order: “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” The bad old days of the “censorship-industrial complex,” allegedly responsible for suppressing online speech under President Joe Biden, were over.Except they weren’t. The driving force behind online censorship had never been the U.S. government, which meant that freedom of speech could not be restored by the stroke of a president’s pen. Rather, the European Union has wielded its Digital Services Act (DSA) to restrict the speech not just of Europeans but especially of Americans...

Once seen as one of the rising stars of the GOP, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw now is facing a growing list of Republicans who want to knock him out of office. Already, six have filed to run against the Houston Republican in the March 2026 GOP primary, and state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, could soon join the list. "We're trying to decide if it's best for us to continue our service in Austin or in Washington," Toth said in an interview on Monday. He said he and his wife expect to come to a decision by early July on...