Free Republic

Landing in jail for fare evasion is still possible in Germany. But the coalition government wants to change this, according to a German news report.You may be surprised to know that, in Germany, riding public transport without a ticket — so-called Schwarzfahren — is a criminal offense which can lead to hefty fines and, in extreme cases, up to one year in prison. But according to a report from Der Spiegel, the new German coalition government is now considering decriminalizing riding on public transport without a ticket. According to the report, government officials are examining whether minor offenses such as...

Kelly McCarthy may be the only adult in America who thinks it’s legal for some airline passengers to bring firearms onto planes in their carry-on bags. So, it only makes sense that Kelly McCarthy is a Cook County judge. McCarthy released Aguilar on his own recognizance. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because we wrote about McCarthy’s stunning debut as a felony bond court judge in November. During her first session, McCarthy set bail for 27 defendants. She gave 22 recognizance bonds — including two charged with felony robbery. She refused to grant prosecutors’ requests to have several defendants held...

The incident took place at a popular tourist attraction At least two people are dead and several injured after a massive rock formation collapsed on top of three boats in Brazil in an incident that was captured on video and posted on social media. Brazilian authorities have confirmed the incident which happened in the city of Capitolia in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on Saturday... In the video posted on Twitter, a large portion of a cliff can be seen crashing into the water at a popular tourist attraction along the Rio Grande river, directly on top of several...

Deloitte’s new report sees a messy future. A new report from the big-time, grownup pants Deloitte consulting firm indicates just how big an undertaking that is proving to be. Much of what Deloitte reports is unsurprising. People still vastly prefer personal vehicles over public transportation; are willing to embrace high technology as long as they don’t have to pay for it; that they still want to buy new vehicles in person and not over the internet; and that they’re fine with electric vehicles as long as they’re affordable and at least as good as those relying on internal combustion. Governments...

Like anyone newly betrothed, Bailey Kenworthy wanted to shout her news from the rooftops of New York City. Her mistake was thinking New York City would give a crap. “I’m engaged, New York!” Texan Bailey Kenworthy, 24, shouted out an apartment window, unable to contain her joy in a TikTok posted last week. The response? Downright aggressive indifference. “Shut the f–k up!” a cyclist can be heard yelling below. “I love it here,” she joked to the camera. The video — captioned “The nicest city” — has amassed 2.1 million views and more than 316,800 likes.

Adding insult to injury, the passengers, including social media influencers and reality TV stars, were branded “idiots” Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. MONTREAL (AP) — Passengers who filmed themselves partying without masks aboard a chartered flight from Montreal to Mexico face being stranded after three airlines refused to fly them home to Canada. Sunwing Airlines cancelled the return charter flight from Cancun that had been scheduled for Wednesday and Air Transat and Air Canada also both said they will refuse to carry the passengers. Adding insult to injury, they were branded “idiots” Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Sunwing...

(CNN) — Some members of a rowdy group shown dancing, drinking and vaping maskless aboard a flight to Cancun find themselves stranded in Mexico after their return flight to Canada was scrubbed and other airlines have declined to fly them home. The group flew to Cancun from Montreal on December 30 aboard a Sunwing Airlines charter flight for a trip organized by "exclusive private group" 111 Private Club. Video of the party on board, which shows passengers dancing and drinking in the aisles, has sparked outrage in Canada....

The yacht BOLD was built in 2019 by SilverYachts. Measuring 85m with a volume of 1,504 GT, she sleeps up to 16 guests. BOLD is the fifth largest and most recent Superyacht under construction by Australia’s premier luxury yacht builder SilverYachts. She harnesses the world leading fuel efficiency and technical supremacy defined by her predecessors. Working in collaboration with renowned yacht designer Espen Oeino, BOLD reveals aggressive styling, expansive interior and exterior spaces.

Tucker Carlson and Va. radio host Vince Coglianese offer reaction on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'

Just one problem, however: Youngkin won’t be sworn in until Jan. 15, leaving the highway mess in the hands of lame-duck Democrat Ralph Northam. “Looks Youngkin failed his first test in Va, with traffic stopped for 10-12 hrs on 95 in Virginia. Failure for gov,” wrote one user, who described themselves as a “liberal transplant in NC.” “Collateral damage between Glenn Youngkin and the wrath of God,” posted South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Fred Grimm. The errors were immediately noticed by other social media users, who were quick to point out that Northam was still in charge.

Historical artifacts were discovered in eight tombs dating back to the fourth century in present-day northern Turkey, officials announced on Friday.The tombs were uncovered during roadway expansion efforts in the Kurtulus district of Ordu, a province on Turkey's Black Sea coast, with teams from the local museums directorate launching excavations for the artifacts' urgent recovery.Officials added that many human and animal remains, including skeletons, were found in the tombs, along with pieces of jewelry made of gold, sardine stone, silver, glass, and bronze.Pieces of a glass bottle and beads were also found in one of the tombs, they said.The findings...

Prof. Jennifer Bates and her coworkers, Kelly Wilcox Black and Prof. Kathleen Morrison... explore charred lumps from the site of Kadebakele, in southern India... The site dates from around 2,300 BCE to CE 1600 or so, but these data are from the Early Iron Age, about 800 BC. Charred lumps are usually seen as not identifiable, but using high-quality imaging, they were able to show that (some of) these are charred remains of dough or batter; these would have been used to make bread-like dishes. Comparing the data with experimental studies done another lab group, they identified two kinds of...

This is the future your overlords want for your grandmother walking her dog pic.twitter.com/x77AGiDwME — Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) January 4, 2022 https://twitter.com/Inkognito1117/status/1478060593198342154 The action begins at the 50-second mark.

If the arrival of 2022 has you thinking “new year, new me” get in line, because the humble goldfish has taken reinvention to a whole new level in a recent study that's got them driving about on land. Proving they are capable of dominating (read: navigating) alien environments, participant fish recently got behind the wheel of custom fish-operated vehicles (FOVs) to reach targets in return for a treat. That’s right everybody: fish can drive now. The illuminating research comes from scientists at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, who wanted to explore if navigational skills are dependent on species, environment or brain...

[AP, so no excerpt, the plane was shot down by the Germans July 10, 1943]

As you travel during the winter months, consider the important survival gear items to keep in your car. Your literal survival may even depend on it Example: Stranded on the highway, stuck in a major snow storm or ice storm, along with everyone else. The cars are running out of gas. No heat. Now what? Hypothermia sets in… Here’s a real world example that is occurring as I post this article: “Never Seen Anything Like It” – Drivers Trapped On Virginia Interstate Since Monday The fact is, we’re not always dressed appropriately for an emergency when we hop in the...

An ancient Egyptian "garbage dump" discovered within a temple honoring the powerful female Pharaoh Hatshepsut is piled high with offerings to a fertility goddess, archaeologists report.Archaeologists unexpectedly found the rubbish heap in a tomb within the 3,500-year-old Hathor cult complex, a three-temple complex that sits within the Hatshepsut Temple at Deir el-Bahari (also spelled Deir el-Bahri), near Luxor. Even though the dump was hidden in an early Middle Kingdom tomb, many of the artifacts in the dump date to the New Kingdom, which includes the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties...Many of these artifacts are votive offerings — special objects, like...

...the sources of silver used to produce Roman coinage have largely been used up, making it difficult to determine which deposits Roman miners exploited...The Iberian Peninsula, which includes modern Spain and Portugal, is host to world-class silver deposits, especially in the southern region. These deposits contain galena, which is the main ore of lead and an important source of silver. To extract silver, the galena ore is smelted and purified, with refined silver for coin minting able to reach a purity of over 95%.To track the source of Roman silver, the team of researchers analyzed the silver and lead compositions...

Police in Jerusalem seized a hoard of stolen antiquities that date to a 1,900-year-old Jewish rebellion against the Romans. The cache had been dug up by tomb robbers from a tunnel complex.The hoard included hundreds of coins, incense burners and a number of ceramics with decorations on them, including a jug that has a carving of a reclining figure holding a jug of wine. Researchers believe that during the Bar Kokhba revolt (A.D. 132-135), Jewish rebels captured the items from Roman soldiers and stored them in a tunnel complex where modern-day robbers found them, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in...

Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) have uncovered two objects in Oslo inscribed with Norse runic text.Excavations were being conducted in Oslo’s Medieval Park ‘Middelalderparken’ in what was once the southern part of the medieval city of Oslo. The park contains the ruins of St. Clement’s Church, St. Mary’s Church, and the former Oslo Kongsgård estate royal estate.Researchers discovered a bone inscribed in Norse and a piece of wood with inscriptions on three sides in both Norse and Latin.Professor Kristel Zilmer from the University of Oslo, who specialises in writing culture (runology) and iconography has studied...