Free Republic

Now that Hugo Chávez is out of the picture, former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Otto Reich warns President Obama to tread carefully in dealing with the “evil, evil men” that are now running the South American nation. “These guys are so tricky and so evil, quite frankly,” Reich, tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview following the announcement of Chávez’ death on Tuesday. “The people in power in Venezuela today are evil.” … Reich added that Fidel Castro and his brother may be calling the shots in Venezuela. …

Thursday was inauguration day in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez — who has dominated Venezuelan politics one way or another for 14 years — was again sworn in as President. Only this time, the authoritarian populist could not take the oath in person. He departed for cancer surgery in Cuba on Dec. 10, 2012, and has not been seen in public since. This latest surgery is his fourth round of treatment in Cuba. Few expect Chavez to serve out this next six-year presidential term.

Massive breaking news out of the Middle East is sending shockwaves around the world, as Israel blasts Hezbollah’s headquarters in the heart of Beirut, potentially killing the terror group’s notorious leader Hassan Nasrallah. What would his death mean for the Iranian regime’s ring of fire that encircles the Jewish State? Will we look back on this day as the prophetic moment that local conflicts turned into a full-scale regional war in the Middle East? Watch now.

Just for the sheer novelty, I am posting one of the 11 tongue-in-cheek tweets related to the discovery of a dead racoon next to a bus station. I decided not to post pics because it is a dead animal, but I don't think it rates as 'severe' as far as this kind of picture goes. I'll put a link to one of the pics in the series for those interested.The first tweet in the series was an image of a dead racoon on the sidewalk near the open doors of a bus - and the text notified animal control (Toronto)...

Silvio Berlusconi may be gone, but Trump’s still here. The rotten populist legacy is everywhere | Paolo Gerbaudo When he hurriedly left the prime minister’s official residence, Palazzo Chigi, for the last time on 16 November 2011, Silvio Berlusconi looked like a humiliated man. Italy’s finances were in trouble, with international investors betting against the country’s treasury bonds; prosecutors were on his heels due to the infamous “bunga bunga” scandal, which involved an underage sex worker; European allies Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel had made their displeasure with him public. Few would have guessed at the time how much future...

14 min clip from Viva/Robert Barnes podcast. Barnes explains why DeSantis is running for president, donors convinced him Trump would be kneecapped by numerous indictments (most have failed) and thus DeSantis would win the primary. Secondly, DeSantis will not win the general because Trumpers will not vote. Outcome - destroy Trump, DeSantis and MAGA in one swoop. Barnes also explains the case against Trump and other insights. Worth the time.

BOXER Musa Yamak has tragically died at 38 after collapsing in the ring and suffering a heart attack. The unbeaten Turkish-born German fighter faced Hamza Wandera in his ninth professional bout on Saturday. Yamak took a heavy shot in the second round in a local show in Buergerhaus, Garching, near Munich. The light-heavyweight tried to come out for the third round but collapsed onto the floor and fell unconscious. Yamak was later pronounced dead in the hospital after being diagnosed with having suffered a heart attack. The Munich-based boxer turned pro in 2017 and most notably won the WBFed International...

Harry Reid, political pugilist and longtime Senate majority leader, dies Former Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.), one of the Senate’s longest-serving majority leaders and a Democrat who played a central role in enacting President Obama’s biggest legislative accomplishments, died Tuesday at age 82. The death was announced by longtime political reporter Jon Ralston, who called Reid "probably the most important elected official in Nevada history."

Partial human remains, along with a backpack and notebook believed to belong to Brian Laundrie were discovered in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park by the man's parents on Wednesd Dental records confirm that the human remains recovered at the Florida environmental park are of Brian Laundrie, the FBI said on Thursday. The partial human remains recovered at the Florida environmental park where Laundrie was last believed to have been a day ago were described as "skeletal," a North Port police spokesperson earlier had confirmed to News 4 Thursday. Two senior law enforcement officials also tell NBC News that the apparent human...

+657 DEAD +29,014 NEW CASES ***603,408** TOTAL DEAD

27-year-old mother suffers seizures, is hospitalized after taking COVID vaccineAfter six days she complained that her mind remained in a fog, that she had anxieties about the possibility of future seizures and not knowing when she would be back to normal.HAMILTON, Ontario, January 13, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A 27-year-old personal support worker suffered a severe allergic reaction including fainting, seizures, and hospitalization, when she received the abortion-tainted Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.Deborah Tilli, a mother of two girls, had looked forward to receiving the vaccination. She said, “I wasn’t scared, I was excited. I was like, ‘I’m going to be one of...

SLO County sheriff responds to report of active shooter in Nipomo.The Highway 101 Tefft Street off-ramp and Tefft Street at Oakglen Avenue have been closed, according to scanner traffic.The FBI is on the scene, helping secure the area, according to scanner traffic.

A US surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Wednesday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea just days after the communist nation fired what are believed to be two short-range ballistic missiles. The US Navy's EP-3E was spotted in skies above South Korea on Tuesday, Aircraft Spots tweeted. The operation came two days after North Korea fired two projectiles from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan toward the East Sea, marking the fourth major weapons test the North has conducted this year. The United States flew the same type of plane over the peninsula...

Joe Biden is reorganizing his top presidential campaign leadership after a fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, elevating Anita Dunn to a role that effectively puts her in charge of his third White House bid. Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed that Dunn, once the top communications aide in President Barack Obama’s White House, would take on an elevated role, but that campaign manager Greg Schultz would retain his title. One of the people told The Associated Press that Dunn will have final decision-making authority. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal campaign strategy. The...

As U.S. officials defended the decision to kill Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iranian leaders have stepped up calls for revenge against the United States on Tuesday. The calls for retaliation came as Iranian authorities prepared to bury Soleimani in his hometown in Kerman, a city in the southeast of the country. Early on Tuesday authorities had been forced to halt the burial proceedings after a deadly stampede killed scores. Here’s what we know so far: ● Iranian state news agencies reported that at least 50 people died and more than 200 were injured in a stampede during funeral...

Appearing Saturday on CNN’s Axe Files, Cindy McCain reacted to recent happenings in Washington, D.C., saying the United States needs her late husband, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), “more than ever.” A transcript is as follows: DAVID AXELROD: What would John McCain be saying right now? CINDY MCCAIN: I think he’d be disgusted with some of the stuff that’s going on. I really do. He’d be railing against what’s going on. I think John provided a lot of cover for other members and when he would do it, they could get behind him. I’m not seeing a real rudder in the...

The Washington Post apparently changed the headline of their obituary of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from "terrorist-in-chief" to describe him as an “austere religious scholar.” U.S. forces killed Baghdadi Saturday after a successful raid on a compound in northern Syria. While many celebrated the death of the serial rapist and murderer, the Washington Post left many confused by giving him the title of “austere religious scholar at the helm of the Islamic State.”

Translated from Arabic by Microsoft #عاجل- United States: A raid targeting ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and killing him

From Live Well Nebraska comes the most amusingly hysterical and extraordinarily ignorant advice column I have read in a long while. It consists of a question, posed by a man writing as “Dumbfounded Father,” and a response, offered by “syndicated columnist” Amy Dickinson. At no point in the exchange does either person range within a country mile of reality.Dear Amy: This week, I discovered that my intelligent, hard-working, responsible 24-year-old daughter (who lives with me) is a gun owner!What, exactly, is the purpose of this description of his daughter? Is the implication that an “intelligent, hardworking, and responsible” person should not...

1. Wither Beto?: Beto O'Rourke came into the 2020 presidential race as the hottest thing in Democratic politics. He (almost) shocked the world by beating Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and was immediately installed as a top-tier candidate. But the race hasn't turned out the way the former Texas congressman had hoped. Buttigieg has surged past him -- in polling and buzz -- and Beto seems at a bit of a loss as to how to (re)position himself in the race. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post have noted his struggles of late. And optics like this...