Free Republic

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says China admitted they ignored trade commitments under Biden because they knew he wouldn’t enforce them: "Told us they ignored their obligations. We had an excellent trade agreement… Biden chose not to enforce it." https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1921907299704049986

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The two political parties expected to form the next German government have agreed to loosen the country’s constitution restrictions on borrowing, enabling 1 trillion euros ($1.08 trillion) or more in spending on defense and infrastructure. It´s a major change in Germany´s debt-averse political culture, rejecting conventional economic wisdom that long dominated Europe´s biggest economy and one of the world´s wealthiest countries. Here are key facts about the debt brake and what the changes will mean for Germany and Europe. The debt brake was passed in 2009, when a global financial crisis led to sharp increase in...

With history as a guide and two months to prepare for the announcement, there was relatively little wailing and gnashing of teeth when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement (for the second time; the lamentations were much greater in 2017) on his first day back in office. Despite efforts by politicos and influentials within the United States and internationally to encourage Trump to stay in the Paris agreement, the writing was on the wall. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax and the green new deal a scam. Trump’s words might indicate his...

After pulling his country from the World Health Organization (WHO), Argentine President Javier Milei admitted Wednesday in an interview with a French outlet that he intended to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit greenhouse gas emmissions to preserve the planet's temperature from rising. “The environmentalist agenda is a real fraud,” said Milei, thus echoing similar recent statements from US President Donald Trump. To withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Law 27.270 would have to b e repealed by Congress. Asked by Le Point if Argentina could leave the Paris Agreement, Milei answered: “Yes, I am considering it because I...

Fresh off the crackdown on so-called “keyboard warriors” over social media posts connected to the recent anti-mass migration riots, leading leftist politicians in Britain are beginning to demand for new speech restrictions on the internet. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose neo-liberal Labour Party government enacted some of the strictest speech laws in modern British history, has joined the chorus of commentators demanding a new crackdown on social media.

Israeli officials said Monday that Biden administration officials had secretly worked with mediators, without Israel’s knowledge, to craft a Hamas “agreement” to ceasefire terms in an attempt to deter an attack on Hamas in Rafah. On Monday, as Breitbart News reported, with Israel beginning its operation in Rafah by warning civilians to leave, Hamas suddenly announced that it agreed to a “ceasefire” — on unfamiliar terms that Israel had not actually offered. Israel, regarding the move as a bluff aimed at the international media in an attempt to pressure Israel to abandon the operation, decided to send junior-level diplomats to...

OPINION China’s recent outcry over the alleged breach of ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ with the Philippines reveals a profound irony, given the history of its coercion and deceit There is a huge amount of insincerity and gall involved in the Chinese complaint that the Philippines had torn up the bilateral ‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ between Beijing and Manila. While the term ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ has an implicit assumption of ‘trust’ as a fundamental tenet besting a relationship, which may otherwise not be legally binding -- to even imagine that there has been any element of ‘trust’ between these two sparing countries, is to put oneself...

The roller coaster of this year’s United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) has ended with a historic new agreement: For the first time, world governments have said countries should transition away from fossil fuels. The deal comes after days of tense negotiations, especially over the fossil fuel language, which caused the Dubai conference to stretch into overtime. Climate advocates have praised it as a step forward, but also raised concerns about potential loopholes in its language and criticized it for not going further as the climate crisis deepens — and fossil fuel production continues to increase.

Just hours before the House is set to meet for a vote to raise the debt ceiling, several progressive Democrats have come out in opposition to the bill and say they won’t assist House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in pushing the legislation across the finish line. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) announced she would be voting against the bill on Wednesday, setting the stage for several other progressive lawmakers to fall in line behind her. Jayapal told Axios that a “majority of the caucus” opposes the bill, which “could be” enough for them to actively whip against the...

Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have come to a deal on the debt ceiling negotiations.House GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy announces the debt ceiling deal will have "historic reductions in spending…no new taxes, no new government programs…" pic.twitter.com/7VWACUXrfI— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) May 28, 2023The news is that they intend to lift the debt ceiling and apply new caps on spending.McCarthy said there would be “historic reductions in spending…no new taxes, no new government programs.”He said they still had more work to do to finish the writing of it, but that it was an agreement “worthy of the American...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday that he is optimistic on the possibility of reaching an agreement on the government's planned judicial reforms. "We are currently in the process of negotiations with the aim of reaching a broad agreement. I would like to remind you that before the elections, many of the leaders of the current opposition supported fundamental changes in the judicial system. Therefore, there is a basis for agreements that can be reached with good will and genuine negotiations," Netanyahu said at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant entered...

As we reported earlier, a bunch of the people who had been holding out against Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for Speaker of the House flipped their vote to support him.The people who flipped all used the same language when asked about why they flipped, indicating that they believed that they had negotiated in good faith and that there was a framework for an agreement in place; so they were voting for McCarthy, believing progress was continuing. Here’s a sample of the types of things there were saying, from Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA).We’re at a turning point. I’ve negotiated in good...

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has come to a “general agreement” to forward some criminal referrals to the Justice Department, its chair told reporters Tuesday. It was a confusing morning at the Capitol, with Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) walking back statements he made earlier in the day when he told reporters “we will” be making criminal referrals. “We’re not there yet,” Thompson said later, adding that the earlier “gaggle [with reporters] was wrong.” The panel will meet later on Tuesday to discuss the issue, following a Friday presentation from a subcommittee of the...

President Biden on Thursday said he supports increasing paid leave accommodations for rail workers, but that it should be addressed separately from a congressional bill to avoid a work stoppage that he warned could cause a recession. “I think we’re going to get it done, but not within this agreement,” Biden said when asked if the rail workers deserve more than one day of paid sick leave. “We’re going to avoid the rail strike, keep the rails running, keep things moving, and I’m going to go back and we’re going to get paid leave, not just for rail workers, but...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that there is “widespread agreement” among leaders in Washington about the need to pass an omnibus spending package next month, despite calls from conservatives to punt such decisions into next year. But the GOP leader cautioned there are “significant hurdles” to reaching a deal, which means talks could drag right up until Christmas to avoid a government shutdown. “We had a really good meeting. Laid out the challenges that we’re all collectively facing here. I think there’s widespread agreement that we’d be better off with an omnibus than a [continuing resolution], but...

Attorney Robert Barnes is saying President Trump and Governor DeSeantis have an agreement. President Trump will focus on international issues while DeSantis can focus on domestic issues. To sum it up DeSantis is insurance for President Trump against any federal indictments because Leftists fear them both. Per Robert Barnes this will be announced later. He did not say when. https://banned.video/watch?id=62d8788c71452116cf83545f

News commentator Matt Walsh has just released a documentary titled “What is a Woman?” He interviews many in the woke establishment, asking for a clear and concise reply to this simple question. The answers are full of academic gobbledygook and politically correct jargon about social constructs and “gender” identity. None of those he interviewed gave him a straightforward answer about what a woman is. Mr. Walsh should do a follow-up documentary with a different question. Something simpler. Instead of sinking into the impossible quagmire of “gender” ideology, maybe he could deal with something much more practical and urgent: an economic...

New Jersey Turnpike Authority officials approved a $10 million agreement to rebuild two Garden State Parkway service areas, including one that has been criticized by Bloomfield officials for including a Chick-fil-A restaurant. The agreement, approved by a unanimous vote by the board of commissioners Tuesday, would reimburse Applegreen Ltd. and Sunoco for $10 million the companies would spend to build new facilities at the Vauxhall service area on the Parkway north in Union and at the Brookdale Service area on the Parkway south in Bloomfield. The Turnpike authority runs the Garden State Parkway. A Shake Shack, Popeyes, Dunkin’, and a...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The White House has hired TikTok influencer Benny Drama to help promote COVID vaccinations, and this move has already delivered stunning results. After Benny released a video of himself with long nails and a skirt prancing around with Jen Psaki, tens of millions of unvaccinated people have signed up to get vaccinated. There is a catch, though: They first want Benny and other TikTok influencers like him launched into the sun. “Okay, you win,” said Douglas Mcguire, who has always been skeptical of the COVID vaccine. “You can inject me with your vaccine. Or multiple vaccines. Or bleach. I...

Background: Pfizer has been extremely aggressive in trying to protect the details of their international COVID19 vaccine agreements.Luckily, I've managed to get one.Because the cost of developing contracts is very high and time consuming (legal review cycles), Pfizer, like all corporations, develop a standardized agreement template and use these agreements with relatively minor adjustments in different countries.These agreements are confidential, but luckily one country did not protect the contract document well enough, so I managed to get a hold of a copy.As you are about to see, there is a good reason why Pfizer was fighting to hide the details...