Free Republic

Rick Buckler, drummer for acclaimed English new wave band the Jam, has died at the age of 69. The musician’s passing was confirmed by his former bandmates who took to social media to share their memories. “I'm shocked and saddened by Rick's passing,” the Jam’s frontman, Paul Weller, wrote on X. “I'm thinking back to us all rehearsing in my bedroom in Stanley Road, Woking. To all the pubs and clubs we played at as kids, to eventually making a record. What a journey! We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time. My...

New Metropolitan Police Department body camera footage from January 6th shows an officer saying he was “set up”. Per Kyle Becker, the new footage stems from the bodycam footage of MPD officer Lawrence Lazewski which was used in the trial of Jan. 6th defendant William Pope. The footage itself shows officer Lazewski approaching a group of officers on the upper Terrance of the Capitol. One officer in particular that appeared on Lazeweski’s body camera footage appeared to be upset about how easily the Capitol was infiltrated and stated “They set us the [expletive] up. “That’s what they did. They set...

The J6 riot was not an insurrection but a protest that escalated into an out-of-control riot because then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund was denied intelligence about potential threats that day and denied National Guard backup that he was begging for. In the cold light of hindsight, a new Trump administration will ensure that the narrative of J6 is rewritten to reflect the truth of that tragic day instead of the lies spun by Democrat Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s J6 committee. Sund is a crucial witness to history. Pelosi made him her scapegoat, firing him immediately, but she knew that he...

Missing American Feared a Victim of 'Dirty War' April 13, 2007 The Financial Times Guy Dinmore in Washington and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran Just why Robert Levinson, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and now private investigator, should venture into Iran to meet a American fugitive wanted for murder in the US remains a mystery that the highest Bush administration authorities are trying to unravel. As the Financial Times revealed this week, Mr Levinson disappeared on March 8 after a six-hour meeting on the Iranian island of Kish with Dawud Salahuddin, an American who converted to Islam and was...

WARNING: certain links below contain graphic descriptions of sexual relations with minors. Reader discretion is advised. On January 16th, 2017, journalist James O'Keefe and Project Veritas released the first part of footage they had shot documenting attempts by the Anti-Fascist Coalition to commit acts of civil disobedience and protest during Donald Trump's Presidential Inauguration on January 20th.

One of the five people killed in the DC riots was a pro-Trump protester who was trampled to death, according to her friend. Rosanne Boyland, of Kennesaw, Ga., died as the mob stormed the Capitol building, squaring off with police Wednesday. The friend she was with, Justin Winchell, recalled her final moments as protesters began falling over one another. “I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking [on top of her],” Winchell told CBS46. “There were people stacked two, three deep …...

A District of Columbia police officer used a large wooden stick to strike the body and head of protester Rosanne Boyland three times as she lay motionless on the ground on Jan. 6, 2021, according to bodycam footage from several officers obtained by The Epoch Times. Use-of-force expert Stanley Kephart, upon reviewing the previously unreleased footage, concluded that the three full-force blows by D.C. police officer Lila Morris constituted a felony assault with intent to cause great bodily harm. Kephart called Morris’s use of force “indefensible” and the internal-affairs investigation of Boyland’s death a “clear and convincing coverup.” “I think...

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) is preparing to deploy the army after hundreds of police officers handed in their guns in protest of a murder charge brought against an unidentified officer who shot and killed Chris Kaba, a young black man who tried to evade a police roadblock by ramming his vehicle into theirs. The MoD announced it has “accepted a military aid to the civil authorities request from the Home Office to provide routine counterterrorism contingency support to the Metropolitan Police” and to “keep the public safe and respond to any eventualities.” The ministry further stated the soldiers...

According to Ukrainian Intelligence, numerous arrests of servicemen have started in Moscow, with traffic in the city centre blocked, although Russian media are failing to report this. Source: Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence Details: Intelligence reports that a set of measures against the servicemen have begun in Moscow, with traffic in the city centre blocked. Units of the Dzerzhinsky operational division – the elite of the Russian Guard – are reported to have entered the city. They are allegedly moving towards the centre together with police units. Quote from Intelligence: "Numerous arrests, detentions and blockades of...

The Ministry of Defence is poised to hand another major deal to a US company, with a £2bn contract for new Apache helicopters set to be awarded to Boeing. Leonardo, the Italian aerospace manufacturer until recently known as Finmeccanica, had been battling to land the deal, which would have seen the refitted helicopters produced at its base in Yeovil, Somerset, where 3,700 staff are employed. Such an agreement would have provided a significant long-term boost to UK jobs and skills. However, it is understood the MoD has decided to hand the 50-aircraft contract, worth £2bn over its lifetime when servicing...

A claim by the British Ministry of Defence that UFOs have no defense significance is "designed solely to keep Parliament, the media and the public off our backs," according to former MoD UFO Desk administrator Nick Pope. Pope's startling statement was in response to the MoD's release last week of what it says is its final batch of UFO documents. Official MoD spokesmen and one self-styled UFO expert, David Clarke, claim that the MoD found no evidence of a UFO threat to the UK and, therefore, closed its UFO Desk. The subsequent, widely-publicized declassification of its UFO documents—the implication being...

Mods (moderns) and Rockers (rock and roll) strived against each other in the 1960's . Some called them plaids and greasers (from their oil slicked hair) Just anwser the questions to see which one you are...

In the most significant reforms the Army in half-a-century, The Daily Telegraph has learnt that as few as five infantry battalions totalling 2,500 soldiers will be cut but a further 17,500 jobs will go mainly from logistics troops, engineers and artillery. Military commanders have condemned the move as creating an “unbalanced Army” that will be reliant on a “Tesco’s just in time” supply tactic for campaigns. The reforms have been forced on the Army after it was forced to reduce from 102,000 to 82,000 under defence cuts. For the last three decades the Army has put an increasing emphasis on...

MoD urged to buy cheaper Navy jets COST CONCERN An artists impression of a Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft soaring above the Royal Navys two new carriers By Michael Powell Published on Tuesday 2 August 2011 17:30 THE Ministry of Defence is facing internal pressure to pull out of buying F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets for the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers, The News can reveal. A number of MoD officials are understood to be calling for Britain to withdraw from the under-fire Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme, which has faced criticism in America and Australia as costs run into...

<p>In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty.. oh wait, that’s not how this goes. Let’s try again.</p>

Incompetent defence chiefs cost British forces their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan by squandering nearly £1billion on armoured vehicles that have not been built. The Ministry of Defence wasted a shocking £718million on plans for thousands of properly-protected battlefield trucks which were then scrapped or delayed. Procurement blunders meant UK troops were sent to warzones in lightly-armoured or soft-skinned vehicles - such as the controversial 'death trap' Snatch Land Rover - which were unsuitable against deadly roadside bombs. The latest scandal emerged as the National Audit Office published a damning report today on military equipment procurement. The country's top spending...

Some well-known and high-profile charitable organizations are among those that North Dakota Catholic bishops have asked their parishioners not to donate to or volunteer with. Bishops Samuel Aquila of the Fargo Catholic Diocese and Paul Zipfel of the Bismarck Diocese issued a guideline for charitable giving for their members, and groups such as the March of Dimes, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Planned Parenthood, UNICEF, Amnesty International, the American Association of University Women and the Crop Walk for Hunger are among them. The "Guidelines on Charitable Giving" were designed in response to questions from laity about appropriate charities, said...

Catholics and Catholic organizations should not endorse organizations with “morally objectionable” missions, North Dakota’s bishops said, citing Amnesty International, the March of Dimes and Susan G. Komen for the Cure because of their links to abortion or unethical research. Bishops Paul A. Zipfel of Bismarck and Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo in a March 10 statement called upon pastors, clergy and the lay faithful to be prudent and just in making their charitable decisions, particularly on issues related to human life and marriage.  “All human life is sacred and must be protected,” the bishops said. “This is why we should...

The Royal Navy looks set to have two new carriers capable of supporting planes as well as helicopters, Ministry of Defence sources have confirmed. There had been speculation the second of the two carriers ordered by the Navy - the HMS Prince of Wales, due to enter service in 2018 - would be either be scrapped, downgraded, or moth-balled following the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). Originally conceived as a Queen Elizabeth class carrier capable of supporting the American-built F35 Joint Strike Fighter, it had been rumoured the MoD would alter its specifications to that of a helicopter carrier....

The ‘Cockers P’ parties have been hosted on board Navy ships since the time of Admiral Nelson. Officers entertain guests with the customary drink of a horse’s neck – a mix of brandy, ginger ale and Angostura bitters, garnished with the curl of lemon peel from which it gets its name. Prince's commando training Commanders insist the parties have an important role to play in unofficial foreign policy. They say foreign VIPs, which can include ministers, officials and councillors, are impressed by British ships and talk more freely than they might in more formal settings. There is also a morale-boosting...