Free Republic

The Ukrainian army has deployed some of its best brigades to eastern Ukraine, including the 92nd and 93rd Mechanized Brigades and the 1st Presidential Brigade. But these elite Ukrainian formations might not be the biggest killer of Russian troops in the east. Under-trained, under-supplied and ambivalently led, Russians in the region are freezing to death by the dozen. Shocking videos that have circulated online in recent weeks tell a tragic story. The videos, shot by the Ukrainian brigades’ hovering drones, depict Russians in the late stages of hypothermia, so cold and sick that they barely react when the drones drop...

Ponzi king Bernie Madoff is seeking new business ventures behind bars — in the hot chocolate market. Madoff , 78, has bought up all Swiss Miss packets from the commissary at the Butner federal correction complex in North Carolina, and is reselling them for a profit, according to a report. “Bernie really was a successful businessman with quite original insights into the market, and he’s continued applying his business instincts in prison,” journalist Steve Fishman told MarketWatch after interviewing Madoff at length for his new podcast “Ponzi Supernova.” “He made it so that if you wanted any, you had to...

Sen. John Kerry dashed home from the Swiss Alps yesterday to man the barricades of a futile filibuster against Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. Well before he reached the battlefield, however, Democrats had waved the white flag and agreed that next week's vote to confirm Judge Alito will surely succeed. "Everyone knows there is not enough votes to support a filibuster," Minority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday, several hours before Mr. Kerry arrived. By midday, Republicans had dubbed Mr. Kerry's international politicking the "Swiss Miss." White House spokesman Scott McClellan called it a "pretty historic" day. "This...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry has decided to support a filibuster to block the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, CNN's Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry reported Thursday. Kerry, in Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum, was marshaling support in phone calls during the day, Henry said.</p>

Women's tennis has yet another comeback tale after the announcement by Martina Hingis that she plans to return to the tour next year. She was only 22 when foot injuries and slumping results caused her to retire early in 2003. It was a surprising, depressing end to a career that peaked very early, with Hingis becoming both the youngest No. 1 player in history and winning all five of her Grand Slam singles titles before her 19th birthday. Now, at age 25, the Swiss woman has decided that she is fit and well-adjusted enough to plunge back into the brightly...

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