Free Republic

Australia's peak actuarial body has asked the government to urgently investigate the country's "incredibly high" 13% excess death rate in 2022. An analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data by the Actuaries Institute showed that an additional 15,400 people died in the first eight months of the year in the country. 13% was an "incredibly high number for mortality," and it was "not clear" what was driving the increase, said Karen Cutter, spokeswoman for the institute's Covid-19 Mortality Working Group. "Mortality doesn't normally vary by more than 1 to 2%, so 13% is way higher than normal levels," she...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday called President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan excessive, arguing there are other ways to help people burdened by student debt. “I just thought that it was excessive. I just respectfully disagree on that,” Manchin told reporters.

Infected internationals? Come on in! Vaccinated, virus-free Americans? Stay out! None of that makes any sense, of course. Even for the government of Justin Trudeau, it is deeply, deeply unintelligent. And you can’t blame any of it on the provinces, either, as Trudeau’s TruAnon cultists are wont to do. Jurisdiction over international borders, and international airports, lies wholly with Ottawa. You know, the government of the aforementioned Justin Trudeau.... Easter and Erskine-Smith were joined by Brian Higgins, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represents a New York district that borders Canada. A Democrat, no less — no...

Speaking at a Rotary Club gathering in Kentucky on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vented about how President Donald Trump's lack of political experience has led to him setting “excessive expectations” for legislative priorities. McConnell, R-Ky., told the group in Florence that he found it “extremely irritating” that Congress has earned the reputation of not accomplishing anything. “Part of the reason I think that the storyline is that we haven’t done much is because, in part, the president and others have set these early timelines about things need to be done by a certain point,” said McConnell, a Republican...

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon slammed the United States on Thursday after a State Department spokesperson accused Israel of using "excessive force" when subduing Arab terrorists. While addressing ongoing Arab terror in Israel on Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby asserted that "without qualifying each and every one of them, we’ve certainly seen some reports of security activity that could indicate the potential use of excessive force." In an interview with Army Radio, Yaalon blasted Kirby's contention, calling it utter nonsense. "We are using excessive force?" the Defense Minister asked incredulously. "If someone is wielding a knife and killing people, [then...

Two Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies are under fire, accused of using excessive force—and all of it was caught on camera. BSO is conducting an internal affairs investigation to find out if the two officers involved were justified in using force and are also questioning why Sheriff Scott Israel wasn’t notified until three months after the incident....

Reuters) - Underground sensors have detected excessive radiation levels inside a nuclear waste storage site deep below New Mexico's desert, but no workers have been exposed and there was no risk to public health, U.S. Department of Energy officials said on Sunday. An air-monitoring alarm went off at 11:30 p.m. local time Friday indicating unsafe concentrations of radiation inside the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in what DOE officials said appeared to be the first such mishap since the facility opened in 1999. As of Sunday, the source of the high radiation readings had yet to be determined, and a plan...

Top IRS officials, whose agency was under investigation for targeting conservative groups, visited the Obama White House more than 100 times over two years while the probe was going on, far more often than in previous administrations ... reports Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examiner. Granted, some of the meetings were about the IRS' role in implementing ObamaCare. But take note of this: Former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman visited the White House 118 times between 2010 and 2011. Acting Director Steven Miller, who took over at the IRS in November, also made numerous visits to the White House,...

Fullerton police officers charged in death of Kelly Thomas have made their first court appearance. Cpl. Jay Cicinelli pleaded not guilty today to charges of involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force. He was released on $25,000 bail and is due back in court November 4. Arraignment for Fullerton Officer Manuel Ramos was continued until Monday. He's being held on $1 million bail. Thomas' father asked that bail not be reduced based on the "horrific way my son was murdered." Both officers have been ordered by the court not to be in possession of firearms.

Jakarta - Indonesia's top Islamic body said on Thursday that Christmas decorations in malls, amusement centres and public places were "excessive and provocative" in the Muslim-majority country. Christmas ornamentation had been put up in an "excessive and provocative way", said Muhyidin Junaedi, one of the chairpersons of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI). "It should be done in a proportional manner as Muslims are the majority here, otherwise it will hurt their feelings," he said.

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 2:49 am Ford $131 Million Verdict 9th Largest in U.S. History By Stacy In a landmark ruling going against U.S. automaker Ford, a $131 million verdict was returned by the jury leaving the manufacturer culpable for the wrongful death of Minor League baseball player Brian Cole. The New York Mets hopeful had been driving his Explorer and was thrown from the vehicle when it flipped, suffering terminal injuries. Get the full story, pictures and video below Company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said Cole had been driving over 80 miles per hour when he went off the...

Given Russia's reputation for excessive bureaucracy, it's only right that a company would exist to help businesspeople to set up, find the right translators, and also provide the right legal guidance to navigate the Byzantine direction of Russia's business bureaucracy. Center of Economic Planning consists of a professional team of skilled translators, auditors and IT specialists who will also not just help foreign businesses, but also help native Russians build their businesses.

LONDON (Reuters) – People who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are more likely to show signs of depression, British scientists said on Wednesday. But it is not clear whether the internet causes depression or whether depressed people are drawn to it. Psychologists from Leeds University found what they said was "striking" evidence that some avid net users develop compulsive internet habits in which they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. "This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly two out of three Americans believe the media gave too much coverage to the death of Michael Jackson and just three percent think it was too little, according to a survey published on Wednesday. Twenty-nine percent of the 1,000 people polled June 26-29 for the survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press believe the coverage of Jackson's sudden death on Thursday at the age of 50 was the "right amount." Thirty percent of those polled said they followed the coverage of Jackson's death "very closely" while 28 percent said they followed...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrat lawmakers on Friday proposed guaranteeing health coverage for nearly every American, despite mounting concerns the cost of doing so could torpedo the Obama administration's healthcare reform effort. In the latest draft of the healthcare bill, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives suggested all citizens should be able to get insurance regardless of medical history and that coverage should be mandatory for individuals and businesses. The proposal would create a new government plan to help cover the uninsured -- a move backed by President Barack Obama but resisted by Republicans and some centrist Democrats who fear...

Judge slams Mountie in Banff arrestRCMP and the Crown are looking into the case of a Banff constable who Tasered a man multiple times while arresting him, after a judge ruled the officer was not justified in handcuffing him in the first place. Provincial court Judge John Reilly accused arresting officer Const. Casey Murphy of using excessive force and giving "deliberately false" evidence during the trial on a charge of obstructing a police officer. Exshaw resident Adam Dormer, 26, was found not guilty on Monday and will not have to pay a bylaw fine issued for being a nuisance. "We...

Whispers started with the first few gunshots. Neighborhood rumors had it that a cotton farmer who leases land from the Chickasaw Basin Authority near the Wolf River was shooting deer on the property. So when residents discovered nearly 40 of the animals had been killed and left to rot in the surrounding woods, they reacted with horror. "I don't like to see (deer) slaughtered, and that's what happened down there in these cotton fields," said Brenda Flanagan, a nearby resident. "To me it's inhumane. ... What's gone is gone, and I would hate to see that ever happen again." Angry...

EPA Clean Air rules take effect in EastRule mandates cuts in emissions over next decade By Stephanie I. Cohen, MarketWatch Last Update: 12:19 PM ET May 12, 2005 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New federal air rules took effect Thursday that require eastern states to reduce harmful emissions from coal-burning power plants that dirty the air of other states located "downwind" of the pollution sources. The Clean Air Interstate Rule, or CAIR rule, was published in the Federal Register Thursday, kicking off a timeline to clean up the air in 28 states and the District of Columbia by making permanent cuts in...

Just saw an interview with the widower of a woman who apparently died from a lung disease supposedly caused by a diet drug produced by Wyeth (I didn't hear the words "Fen-Phen" ...so I'm not sure if it's related. Anyway, the story indicated that the judgement awarded was $1 billion - which far exceeds Texas' cap on punative damages.

US troops 'used excessive force' at Fallujah protest By Phil Reeves in Delhi 18 June 2003 The United States should hold a "full, independent and impartial" inquiry into the "apparent use of excessive force" by American troops who allegedly opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators in the Iraqi town of Fallujah, according to a report issued yesterday by Human Rights Watch. As debate grows over the bungled aftermath of the invasion, the group also accuses US authorities of following a "recipe for disaster" by placing combat-ready soldiers in a volatile environment without adequate training, translators or crowd control devices....