Free Republic

The Division for the Investigation of Police officers has submitted to the Jerusalem District Court an indictment against Border Police officer Mohammad Hamza, who stole and sold police weapons. According to the indictment, Hamza joined the Border Police two years ago, and served at the base in Atarot. Hamza had access to police equipment, weapons, and ammunition as part of his job, and he used this access to steal, on a number of occasions, police weaponry such as stun grenades and night-vision equipment. In one case, Hamza even turned to an officer he knew and asked him to steal nine-millimeter...

A 25-year-old man was jailed Wednesday for six months for he attempted to “buy” a Covid-19 vaccination certificate from a nurse with HK$1,000 without actually getting the shot. The defendant Cheung Chin-hang had earlier pleaded guilty to offering an advantage to an agent, breaching the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. Passing the sentence in West Kowloon Court today, Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han said it was selfish of Cheung to ask the nurse to assist him in getting a fake vaccination record when the government spared no effort to keep the severe epidemic situation under control. Given the offense’s serious...

Weapons said to be for sale include not just Ukrainian-origin arms such as old Soviet-era AK-47 rifles, but also American-made rifles like the M16 and the M4, along with other NATO member-origin firearms like the ARX 160 A1 manufactured by the Italian weapons company Beretta, newspaper Il Giornale reports. It remains unclear whether the weapons are being sold by Ukrainians or by Russians who have collected them over the course of the war. Canadian NGO Project Ploughshares warned earlier this year of the possibility that arms from the West could end up on the black market, with researcher Kelsey Gallagher...

Chinese stocks got slammed overnight as rumors about a potential lockdown in Beijing have sent people scrambling for food and other necessities (many items, like fruit, coffee and even disposable diapers are now considered “frivolous” under the terms of the lockdown in Shanghai). Meanwhile, the situation in Shanghai, having entered its 4th week (and even longer in the eastern part of the city), has spurred a level of need that is not only leaving citizens desperate – but also reminding many of the bad old days when central planning was the status quo in China, creating an environment that allowed...

If only they would apply that lesson to other goods and services.At the beginning of 2022, tax rates for marijuana cultivated in California are set to increase, even though black market sales completely dominate the retail market in the Golden State. Experts estimate that about three-quarters of all marijuana sales in California happen not through legal dispensaries, but through unlicensed vendors. California voters legalized the cultivation and sale of marijuana for recreational use in 2016, but extremely high taxes and oppressive regulations have caused the rollout to be a disaster. The tax increase set to hit on New Year's...

How is it possible to survive a nation with inflation rates of 20%/month and 1700%/year? The answer? The underground economy. This is the level of hyperinflation we have found ourselves with here in Venezuela, and considering the spread of inflation worldwide, it would be well worth the prepper’s time to glean what we can learn here. Virtually everything you read dictates inflation on this scale necessitates civil war. Yet Venezuela hasn’t seen this. Why not? Why are the streets not being taken by armed civilians? While the main reason revolves around 20 years of disarmament and anti-self-defense teachings, I would...

State health officials have seized a total of RM8,240 in unregistered Ivermectin products in seven raids on clinics, pharmacies and online sellers. State executive councillor for health, Rahmad Mariman, said the sale of products not registered with the health ministry was in violation of drug control regulations. He urged members of the public to report any sale of Ivermectin on e-commerce sites or social media. “They should inform the Pharmacy Enforcement Division so that appropriate action can be taken to curb the sale of unregistered Ivermectin products,” he said. Rahmad said no Ivermectin product had been approved for registration for...

A civilian exposed China’s black market involving the trafficking and selling of newborn babies under the guise of adoption after a year-long voluntary undercover investigation.According to The Paper, a Chinese state-owned digital newspaper, a civilian played a critical role in the anti-trafficking effort. The civilian, Zhengyi Shangguan, joined a baby trafficking WeChat group disguised as a barren woman who desired a daughter. After prolonged undercover work, Shangguan gradually gained the trust of the middleman and was later considered to be a suitable buyer.There were about 100 members in the WeChat group, consisting of people from various cities and provinces in...

The chief executive of the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes was quoted by Britain’s Mail on Sunday as saying that the tobacco company foresaw an end to its sales of traditional cigarettes in Britain within 10 years. “I want to allow this company to leave smoking behind,” Jacek Olczak, the CEO of Philip Morris International, was quoted in the paper saying. “I think in the UK, ten years from now maximum, you can completely solve the problem of smoking.” […] For years, Philip Morris has said that its future will not include Marlboro cigarettes as it shifts to electronic devices....

Multiple incidents of people using counterfeit tests results to work around coronavirus restrictions laid out by various countries have been reported in recent weeks. Last week, French police arrested six men and one woman who were selling falsified negative test results at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. All seven were charged with forgery, use of forgery and complicity in fraud. The fake testing certificates showing a negative coronavirus diagnosis were allegedly going for about $180 to $360 a piece.

Is there any place I can obtain hydroxcloroquine and a Zpack? My dr refuses to use it and i am fearful that I may fall ill and not be able to obtain it. Any ideas?

MANILA (Reuters) - At least 11 people have been killed and more than 300 treated in hospital after drinking coconut wine in the Philippines, including some who were celebrating at a Christmas party, health and local authorities said on Monday. The poisoning occurred in Laguna and Quezon, two provinces south of Manila, and all had consumed lambanog, a drink popular in provinces and consumed widely during holidays and celebrations. Many were admitted to hospitals on the urging of mayor Vener Munoz in Rizal, Laguna, where the deaths occurred between Thursday and Sunday.

MEXICO CITY – Tucked inside a narrow wedge of a traditional open-air market is one of Mexico’s most dangerous black market operations. It’s known as the Tepito. It’s a barrio where even the police mostly remain outside. Inside, it’s under the tightly controlled thumb of the Union de Tepito, otherwise known as the Union Cartel – one of the capital city’s most violent and well-financed criminal players. Cartel “hawks” – often children – are positioned in the entry to report on any unusual visitors inside the tented tunnel. Those inside worship the Mexican folklore legend Jesús Malverde, who steals from the rich to give...

Why is Communism relevant today? Ignorance! Just ask around. You may be shocked to find that nearly no one under twenty-five has ever heard of Stalin, whose genocide exceeded Hitler's by a factor of five. Communism is being repackaged in this atmosphere of ignorance. Films like “Motorcycle Diaries” and “Young Marx” portray Che and Marx as wise, prophetic figures fighting for mankind's betterment. Idealistic youth is responding enthusiastically in their need for heroes. If you travel abroad, say to India or South America, you can see full-scale marches complete with red banners and portraits of Stalin. How do you get...

Jennifer Zeng grew up admiring the Communist Party of China and adhering to its stringent rules. But her life changed forever when she embraced religion and was swept up in a government crackdown on Falun Gong. Arrested four times as a young adult and held in as a prisoner in a labor camp, she quickly woke up to the horrors of living in a socialist state. After being subject to brutal torture, Zeng managed to escape China and now tells about the evils of socialism and communism. At a time when more Americans are embracing Karl Marx’s teachings, Chris Wright...

Authorities said Friday they raided hundreds of black market marijuana operations in Colorado that flouted the state’s cannabis law by growing tens of thousands of plants in Denver-area homes and selling the drugs out of state. Investigators seized more than 80,000 plants and 4,500 pounds (2,040 kilograms) of harvested marijuana, state and federal prosecutors said at a news conference. Officers raided 247 homes and eight businesses and arrested 42 people in Denver and seven nearby counties. State law allows up to 12 marijuana plants per residence for personal use, but some of the homes had more than 1,000 and many...

The outlet reported that people donated the bodies of their loved ones to the Biological Resource Center of Illinois with the promise that they would be donated for medical research. Instead, the bodies were kept on ice and allegedly sold, some for up to $100,000, according to a search warrant. Federal prosecutors said the people who bought the bodies reportedly did not know they had tested positive for infectious diseases. According to CBS 2, the Greenes allegedly sold the diseased remains from 2008 to 2014. The charges allege the Greenes sold at least one part to Detroit Medical Center’s sports...

The QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange says it can't access some $190 million in bitcoin and other funds after its founder and CEO, Gerald Cotten, died at age 30 — without sharing the password for his encrypted laptop. Cotten was "the sole officer and director" of the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange when he died, said his widow, Jennifer Robertson, in an affidavit that is part of the company's request for court assistance as it seeks protection from its creditors. The debt filing comes weeks after Robertson announced that Cotten had died — an event she described as "a shock to all of us."...

On a retail level, it costs about $35 to buy a small bag of good quality medical marijuana in Los Angeles, enough to roll five or six joints. But in 2018, when recreational sales take hold and additional taxes kick in, the cost of that same purchase in the new market is expected to increase at the retail counter to $50 or $60. Medical pot purchases are expected to rise in cost too, but not as steeply, industry experts say. Or consider cannabis leaves, a sort of bottom-shelf product that comes from trimming prized plant buds. The loose, snipped leaves...

Fresh alarm is being raised over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, after a report that at least 200 people died in an accident at the country’s nuclear test site. Japan’s Asahi TV on Tuesday reported that at least 200 people died and 100 were trapped when a tunnel collapsed at the Punggye-ri test site. The collapse happened days after North Korea conducted its sixth and largest underground nuclear test in September, provoking fears that the Punggye-ri site may be falling apart. On Monday, Korea Meteorological Administration chief Nam Jae-cheol said that another detonation could possibly prompt a “collapse of the...