Free Republic

The entrepreneur tells Michael Odell about inheritance, his new London hotel, dancing on the tables at 74 and why he has stopped afternoon drinkingSo what does a billionaire business tycoon eat for breakfast? I’m sitting with Sir Richard Branson in his spanking new, 120-room Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch, where I imagine they served him something delicious this morning. I am wrong. “I went to E Pellicci in Bethnal Green, it’s a proper old East End restaurant,” he beams. “The welcome you get and the size of the breakfast is incredible. You should go there — 84-year-old Maria Pellicci still runs the...

There's a new Sheriff in town. Trump is not Biden and everybody knows it. see link

There's a persistent truism out there that while Jimmy Carter was an execrable president, he was nevertheless a great ex-president. It's balderdash. He may have done some worthy deeds around the eradication of disease and the building of homes for the homeless. But he was every bit as bad an ex-president as he was a sitting president. It wasn't just his nasty, irritable personality, as described by newsman and AT contributor Peter Chowka here, and former U.S. diplomat Lewis Amselem from firsthand experience as bystanders in random events. It was in his meddling political involvement abroad. Amselem described in his...

United Airlines was first and now this. Seems like Virgin Atlantic is more focused on their empolyees sexual deviants and pronouns vs. qualifications. https://rumble.com/v48qnd0-not-satire-this-is-an-actual-ad-from-virgin-atlantic.html

Finding yourself named in a document dump involving the world's largest underaged sex ring, a dead pedophile billionaire, his convicted female accomplice, a disgraced Prince of England, and the conflicting statements of an alleged victim is without compare. When I learned that I was included in the Epstein documents unsealed on Monday, my first response was disbelief. Then again, of course this was going to happen. It was only a matter of time. Much has been written in recent days about the documents concerning Sarah Ransome - who first approached me in 2016 with bombshell claims that she had videotapes...

Another batch of documents from a defamation lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein were released on Monday morning. The Gateway Pundit obtained the 17 new documents on Monday and they are explosive! ..... Snip..... The new documents reveal there are alleged sex tapes of Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson. “When my friend had sexual intercourse with Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson, sex tapes were in fact filed on each separate occasion by Jeffery.” BILL CLINTON, PRINCE ANDREW AND RICHARD BRANSON’S FACES ARE ALL CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE IN THE ALLEGED SEX TAPES.

The rich and famous appeared to have few qualms about palling around with Jeffrey Epstein following the disgraced financier’s 13-month prison stay for soliciting sex from an underage girl, with boldface names appearing on his schedule such as Chris Rock, David Blaine, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon, and the former CEO of one of Donald Trump’s Atlantic City casinos. That’s according to a tranche of emails obtained by The Daily Beast, which reveal others who showed up on Epstein’s dance card as having included music industry titan Tommy Mottola, Wendi Murdoch, Russian supermodel Irina Shayk, late comedian...

A vast trove of Jeffrey Epstein's private calendars and emails are being revealed today by DailyMail.com. The hundreds of pages in the files give an unprecedented insight into the late pedophile's extraordinary network of power and influence. Among the revelations is that Epstein appeared to know personal details about the marriage of Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda – while magician David Blaine had numerous dinners with the financier.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings (VORB.O) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday after the satellite launch company failed to secure the long-term funding needed to help it recover from a January rocket failure. The Long Beach, California-based company lodged the filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking a sale of its assets after announcing the layoff of roughly 85% of its 750 employees last week. “At this stage, we believe that the Chapter 11 process represents the best path forward ... Virgin Orbit went public in 2021 through a blank-check deal, raising $255 million...

Virgin Atlantic unveiled a revamped uniform policy Wednesday that will do away with gendered clothing requirements for its staff and introduce pronoun badges for crew members and customers. The UK-based airline said that, effective immediately, all of its pilots, flight attendants and ground crew members will be given a choice to wear either of its Vivienne Westwood-designed burgundy or red uniforms featuring pants or skirts — “no matter their gender, gender identity, or gender expression.”

A new and better breast milk alternative has arrived, and it claims to be helpful for the environment as well. The U.S. firm, BIOMILQ, is artificially producing human breast milk from cultured human mammary epithelial cells to be commercially available to consumers. The start-up company has received $3.5 million from an investment fund that is co-founded by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Mark Zuckerberg. The fund was established to help prevent the ill effects of climate change brought about by carbon emissions. A Greener Infant Milk Alternative Additionally, BIOMILQ aims to provide a greener alternative for formula milk...

On Wednesday (March 30, 2022), at a meeting of the U.S. Senate Committee on Budget, Sanders raised an issue that’s been a regular part of his political platform for many years: wealth distribution. “Anyone who thinks we do not have an oligarchy right here in America is sorely mistaken,” he said. “Today in America, multibillionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson are off taking joy rides on their rocket ships to outer space.” Sanders appeared to be citing the three billionaires’ spaceflight companies: SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, respectively. All three U.S.-based businesses have played a large part...

The private spaceflight firm Scaled Composites has formed a support fund to aid the victims and families of those affected by an explosion last week at the firm's California desert-based facility. Three Scaled Composites workers were killed, and three others injured, in a July 26 explosion at the firm's facility at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California during an oxidizer system test for the company's suborbital SpaceShipTwo passenger spacecraft. "The outpouring of support form around the world has been incredible, and we can't thank you enough for all the support you have given us," Scaled Composites officials...

Excerpt - BAKERSFIELD - A series of explosions ripped through the Mojave Airport shortly before 3 p.m. First reports indicated there were a large fire, two deaths, and several other serious injuries. The explosion apparently happened on the edge of the grounds of the huge airport, where many experimental airplanes, jets, and even rocket planes are tested. One spokesman said a rocket exploded. Emergency equipment is being rushed to the area from throughout the county. Helicopter ambulances are being sent from Bakersfield. ~ snip ~

The company that flew the first privately funded manned rocket into space has been cited in connection with an explosion last summer that killed three workers, the state said today. California occupational safety inspectors said in a report that Scaled Composites LLC failed to properly train workers about the dangers of nitrous oxide that was used during a test in July. The state levied three citations against Scaled, including two that were considered "serious," and fined the spaceship builder $25,870. The company has 15 days to pay or appeal. Three workers died and three were seriously injured in the explosion...

This grieving has been a difficult time for many of us. Glen was the first propulsion technician we brought out to support SpaceShipOne because Glen had “The Right Stuff!” Glen considered himself a soldier on a mission, and he did whatever it took to get the mission accomplished. Glen accepted the risks that come with this line of work. Glen was a commonsense-oriented guy, and he performed many missions with impeccable valor. Glen May’s contributions to SpaceShipOne are seldom told. Glen was humble about his Scaled accomplishments. As a good soldier, Glen did not reveal program details. Most of what...

To All NSS Members and Friends: As many of you have heard, there was a serious accident last week at Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's pioneering company. Three lives were lost, including Charles 'Glen' May, an NSS member who was a leader within NSS's Huntsville HAL5 Chapter. In addition, three employees suffered serious injuries. Scaled has announced information on a fund for those wishing to support the families of the deceased as well as the injured and their families. The National Space Society urges all of its members to give generously to support these heroes. Please send contributions to Scaled Family...

Day-to-day operations resumed at Mojave Air and Space Port on Friday as state officials arrived to begin their investigation of the explosion that killed three Scaled Composites employees and seriously injured three others. Eric Blackwell, 38, of Randsburg; Charles May, 45, of Mojave; and Todd Ivens, 33, of Tehachapi were killed Thursday during what was described as routine cold-testing of a nitrous oxide propellent system for the company's latest spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo. The names of those hospitalized were not released. "We are doing our best to take care of the families of the deceased as well as the injured and their...

Virgin Galactic said on Thursday it is delaying its commercial space travel service to the fourth quarter of 2022 and will not conduct another planned test flight this year.Virgin Galactic said "commercial service is now expected to commence in Q4 2022." Shares in the company fell 13 percent in afterhours trading.The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on September 2 had barred Virgin Galactic from flying its SpaceShipTwo pending completion of a report into the flight of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane that carried British billionaire Richard Branson to the edge of space.Branson was among six Virgin Galactic employees who took...

"The excursion will be livestreamed by Blue Origin starting at 7:30 a.m. ET." If he comes back and only says, "IT'S FLAT!," and then walks away, it would be the single greatest troll of all time.