Free Republic

Nato must be ready for Russia launching an “existential” war against the Baltic states “masked by a blizzard of disinformation”, ambassadors from the three countries have warned. Writing exclusively for The Sunday Telegraph, the top diplomats to the UK from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said that Russia could “pivot quickly” from Ukraine to invade the Baltic. And they said that Vladimir Putin’s brutalisation of Ukraine is evoking the three countries’ “darkest memories” of occupation under Stalin. The Estonian ambassador Viljar Lubi, the Latvian ambassador Ivita Burmistre, and Lithuania’s charge d’affaire Lina Zigmantaite, wrote the joint article to mark Friday’s 20...

Residents of Lilliput, one of the islands of “Gulliver’s Travels,” dubbed Gulliver “man-mountain.” In the plight for his freedom, “said man-mountain” promised to, “be aiding and assisting to our workmen, in helping to raise certain great stones.” Perhaps a figurative stone is the weight of the political moderates. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) the senator, as opposed to John Fetterman the candidate, seems to be doing this in a Sen. Joe Manchin-esque (D-W.Va.) manner. We might want to start calling the 6-foot-8 Fetterman man-Manchin. Capturing the politically murky middle is a difficult task, particularly in a journalistic environment where extremes get clicks....

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and the slew of other central banks raising rates, could pose harm to the global economy. UNCTAD calculated that for every Fed basis point rise, the economic output of wealthy countries declines by 0.5%, and for poorer countries, the value of all sales of goods and services is reduced by 0.8% for a duration of three years. UNCTAD Report Criticizes Central Bank Rate Hikes During Global Economic Downturn Monetary tightening measures may not be a good idea according to the United...

Most Democrats say former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should be investigated by special counsel John Durham over her alleged role in trying to gin up dirt linking former President Donald Trump to Russia. A poll conducted last month found that 66% of Democrats say Mrs. Clinton should be questioned, according to a survey by TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) in New Jersey. That’s up 22% from October, when TIPP asked the same question, a sign that Democrats are getting increasingly concerned about Mr. Durham‘s probe into the early stages of the FBI’s probe of Russian interference in...

Washington DC's Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Monday during her COVID-19 address that the nation's capital will no longer require indoor businesses to verify vaccination status before allowing customers entry, effective February 15. In addition to dropping the vaccine requirement, DC will no longer enforce indoor masking come March 1 except for areas that pose greater risk for spreading the disease, such as schools, medical facilities and public transit. Private businesses who wish to continue enforcing its vaccine and mask mandates are still able to do so. The mayor's announcement follows similar orders issued in other major Democratic cities...

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Tuesday Democrats need to “communicate a clear off-ramp” to people before November’s elections. Several blue states with Democratic officials, including Delaware, Connecticut, and New Jersey, have recently announced plans to end universal school mask mandates and have eased some of the mitigation efforts adopted to reduce the spread of the virus as cases dipped after the surge of the omicron variant. In response to a question about whether Democrats should embrace the idea that it’s time to move on from some of the public health measures adopted...

President Joe Biden plans to spend Wednesday pivoting his priorities back to the coronavirus pandemic, even as thousands of Americans remain stranded in Afghanistan. The president plans to meet with his coronavirus team in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, according to his schedule, before delivering remarks about the pandemic at 4:30 p.m.

Longtime Democrat strategist James Carville told Vox on Tuesday that "wokeness is a problem" for the party "and we all know it." Carville added that despite success in the 2020 elections, Democrats have a "messaging problem." "If we’re just talking about [President Joe Biden] Biden, it’s very difficult to find something to complain about," Carville said. "And to me his biggest attribute is that he’s not into 'faculty lounge’ politics." Carville explained. "You ever get the sense that people in faculty lounges in fancy colleges use a different language than ordinary people?," he said. "They come up with a word...

Pivot just couldn’t pivot fast enough. The small cable channel shuts down on Monday, ending its short life with the film “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the 2005 movie about Edward R. Murrow produced by Pivot owner Participant Media. The movie’s title is an appropriate farewell for Pivot, and perhaps also serves as a message for the cable industry in general — as more networks face an uncertain future in the wake of so-called “skinny bundles” (cable packages with fewer channels) and the growth of cord-cutting. […] The company is believed to have invested around $200 million into the enterprise,...

Already scrambling to confront multiple simultaneous international crises, the Obama administration stepped up efforts Saturday to avert another, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on China and its smaller neighbors to take new steps to ease tensions over maritime disputes in Asian waters that many fear could spark conflict....

President Obama's renowned grasp of, and historic successes in, foreign policy show that He is the Strongest and Bestest little President ever!President Barack Humble Obama, pausing briefly in South Korea during the second leg of His tour of Asia to reassure our allies that He has their backs, gave a strong warning to North Korea against conducting a fourth nuclear test while He was in Seoul. Since no test occurred during His visit, it is beyond dispute that North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Chi-un fears Him greatly. Kim's fears are totally justified. As reported here, SEOUL – President Obama arrived in Seoul on Friday to news that North Korea may be counting down...

While Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took an Obamacare victory lap Tuesday afternoon, she appeared hesitant to make the law the central plank in her party’s push to win in 2014, telling reporters that “while we’re proud of the Affordable Care Act, we now pivot to jobs.”

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) -- Republican presidential contender Herman Cain grew agitated with reporters after a debate with Newt Gingrich and is vowing to never answer questions about allegations of sexual harassment a decade ago. Speaking after a one-on-one debate with rival Gingrich on Saturday, Cain cut off reporters who asked about allegations of sexual harassment and suggested journalists who wanted answers were behaving unethically.

President Obama’s advisers assure us that he will use his State of the Union address tonight to deal with our nation’s ailing economy. Americans have already begun to hear talk of a “hard pivot” at the White House, away from health care and towards jobs. Yet in economic terms, the president’s shift thus far has been more of the same: more government control and less individual freedom. His attacks on banks—including a new tax that will invariably be passed on to consumers—caused stocks to plummet last week. He has targeted some banks for being “too big,” but without ending the...

With health care reform in a political "timeout," President Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats plan to pursue legislation that would create jobs and strengthen the economy in hopes of winning back a disenchanted public. Democrats hope to release a jobs bill this week or next, said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa. He said it will likely include funding for construction and infrastructure projects. "We can't just get paralyzed by this health care problem," Mr. Harkin said Friday on Capitol Hill. Republicans, meanwhile, say they have a plan to create jobs as well. "Well, the first thing you do is you...

A. Definition. 1. The pivot is defined as the accumulation of mature believers living in a client nation or under civil government in a specific geographical location. 2. While a pivot is composed primarily of mature believers, it may also include those positive believers whose momentum has carried them into spiritual adulthood. 3. Technically, the pivot may include all believers who have fulfilled the principle of virtue first as their first priority in the plan of God. 4. Believers in the pivot stand out in contrast to believers living in the cosmic system, whose arrogance from motivational arrogance results in...

Design flaws noted in Miller Park roof Defects don't harm safety, officials say By DON WALKERof the Journal Sentinel staff Last Updated: April 17, 2002 The mechanism that drives the Miller Park roof has a "disturbing pattern of design errors" and is the product of defective workmanship, according to stadium district and construction officials. Miller Park Photo/Karen Sherlock Officials associated with Miller Park say that the noise generated by the pivot system for the stadium's retractable roof does not indicate a safety problem. The pivot system is located behind home plate, high above those seated in the upper deck on...