Free Republic

There are difficult months ahead for Eurozone nations, with the head of Europe’s central bank warning that the ongoing Ukraine Crisis poses ‘significant’ dangers to the currency union. ‘Significant’ dangers to do with supply chain issues and the rising costs of food and energy are now facing the Eurozone, the head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, has warned. These impending dangers can all reportedly be traced back to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with Russia’s invasion of the country creating a number of significant economic pressures which appear to be threatening Eurozone nation-states. According to a report by...

President Joe Biden said new sanctions on Russia were about 'increasing the pain' on Russian President Vladimir Putin – whom he termed a 'brute' during a tense exchange with a reporter at a press conference in Brussels Thursday. -snip- 'I did not say that sanctions would in fact deter him. Sanctions never deter,' Biden lectured. 'You keep talking about that.'

Almost exactly a year ago, writer Katherine Dee, who blogs about internet culture and trend forecasting, predicted what she called a “coming wave of sex negativity.” Sex positivity, she suggested, had created new stigmas, including around discussing the harms of sex work and self-commodification. “People do not want to be atomized,” she wrote, adding, “Nobody wants this dystopia.” Not everything Ms. Dee foresaw — like a shift toward earlier childbearing among the upper-middle class — has come to pass, at least so far. But she nailed an emerging movement, one that now has a manifesto in “Rethinking Sex: A Provocation”...

India is discussing how to set up a rupee-ruble payment mechanism to enable it to trade with Russia, to circumvent the U.S. sanctions regime.India abstained from voting on the March United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution demanding an end to Russian offensive in Ukraine (General Assembly resolution demands end to Russian offensive in Ukraine).Since its Independence, India has tried to steer a neutral course between the U.S. and Russia (and previously, the USSR). During the 1950s, India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a prime architect behind the Non-Aligned Movement, under which developing countries tried to pursue their national interests...

A Russian official on Friday issued a warning to Finland and Sweden should both nations intend to join NATO, saying such moves would have "serious military-political repercussions." During a news briefing, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova made the remarks as Russian forces continue to battle the Ukrainian military following an unprovoked invasion into the neighboring country.

President Biden is scheduled to spend at least part of his President’s Day weekend at his home in Delaware, the White House announced Sunday, amid warnings from administration officials that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent. Mr. Biden was expected to stay at the White House throughout the holiday weekend, but the White House scrapped those plans Sunday afternoon

The liberal conceit is that no man labors under any natural ontological requirement that he should submit to some authority, and so nor therefore can there be any legitimate authority; ergo, it is wrong, as unjust, to exert or submit to any authority, and eo ipso good to transgress against authority of every sort, and to undermine it. The propositions in the foregoing can be rearranged ad libitum, without undermining their joint agreement or their moral effect – or their morbid consequences in human lives. Reality being what it is, that liberal conceit tends in action always to the centralization...

VIDEO at link..................... Russian troops have completed their training drills in Belarus, close to neighboring Ukraine, and will begin returning to their places of regular deployment, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow has announced amid fears in the West that the exercises could have been a precursor to an invasion. Major General Igor Konashenkov, the chief spokesperson for the ministry, delivered the news in a. “As the forces complete their military exercises, they will, as always, complete a multimodal march back to their permanent bases. The divisions of the South and West Military Districts have finished their tasks and have...

Russia pulls some troops back from Ukraine border, slams invasion reports Russia said Tuesday it is pulling back some of its troops from Ukraine’s borders as it slammed reports of an invasion as “ostentatious hysteria” by the West. “We’ve always said the troops will return to their bases after the exercises are over. This is the case this time as well,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters. However, it was unclear how many units were being withdrawn after a build-up of an estimated 130,000 Russian troops to the north, east and south of Ukraine. Peskov also accused the...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that there will be ‘massive consequences” if Russia invades Ukraine. Anchor George Stephanopoulos said, “We now know that President Putin has forces surrounding Ukraine on three sides. He’s made it clear that he believes Russia and Ukraine are one people. Do you think he’s already made the decision to take control of Ukraine?”

Pennsylvania Dem who sponsored police 'reform' bill gets carjacked in crime-surging Philadelphia U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia on Wednesday as crime continues to surge in major cities across the country. Scanlon, whose district includes parts of Philadelphia and its western suburbs, was returning to her vehicle after attending a meeting when the alleged crime occurred, her office said in a statement. "The Congresswoman was physically unharmed," the statement added. "She thanks the Philadelphia Police Department for their swift response, and appreciates the efforts of both the Sergeant at Arms in D.C. and her...

Forensic analysts have alerted the District of Columbia's Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) that there is a new synthetic opioid circulating in the illicit drug supply in the city as it continues to grapple with a flood of fatal overdoses. Scientists at the DFS found the synthetic drugs during a routine study of used syringes in September and October, The Washington Post reported. The opioids - called protonitazene and isotonitazene - were found to be several times more potent than fentanyl.

Usually at this time of year, San Francisco’s luxury stores are decked with holiday garlands. Instead, they’re boarded up after widespread “flash mob” looting turned Union Square — the city’s most fashionable shopping district — into an area resembling a blighted neighborhood in Detroit. “It’s a ghost town,” said Michelle Tandler, a San Francisco native and high-tech entrepreneur, whose photos of the stores barricaded in plywood went viral on social media this week. “Every store has a security guard. People are going to lose their jobs. And these things have a ripple effect.” Two weeks ago, San Francisco was the...

A perfect storm is brewing for the busiest travel week of the year, with severe weather forecasts, post-pandemic record levels of travelers, and President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate deadline for federal workers all converging to cause potential chaos. The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday it expects to screen about 20 million air passengers during the busy Thanksgiving travel period, shattering post-pandemic records. But TSA screeners, like all federal employees, face a Monday deadline to show proof of vaccination for COVID-19, and last month the agency revealed only 60 percent of its workers have been vaccinated so far.

Filling up your car in California is now costing you more than ever before as gas prices in are once again at record-highs. The record-breaking gas prices are coming just as we head into the busy holiday travel season. We have never seen prices so high at a time of year when typically prices start to go down. "It's ridiculous, I'm so over it. My car used to be $20 or $30 max and now it's like $40 or $50," a SoCal resident said.

California just hit a new all-time record high for the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline, and some local gas stations around SoCal are charging even more. At one gas station in the Mid Wilshire district, on Monday, a gallon of regular unleaded is $5.99, while a gallon of premium gas is $6.59. California's gas prices are higher, on average, than any other state: the national price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $3.41. According to AAA, the statewide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $4.68 in California as of Monday.

Brian Sproule squinted against the sun on Monday as he examined the price board at a Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles, where a regular gallon of gas was $6.05. Sproule, 37, is a mobile notary who spends much of his time in his car. He said he’s used to spending about $40 to fill his tank, but by the time he capped off his Hyundai Elantra, the meter displayed a whopping $71.59. “This is absurd,” he said, shaking his head. Gas prices in California are soaring to record levels as the holiday season approaches, combining with supply chain problems...

Success. Joe Biden and Democrats promised to rid the US of fossil fuels and they are doing it. And what that means is higher energy costs for you. CNN reported: California gas prices hit $4.682 per gallon on Monday, setting a new record for the state for a second day in a row, according to the American Automobile Association. Monday’s price for regular unleaded was six-tenths of a cent higher than the Sunday average reported by AAA, which broke the all-time record of $4.671 previously set in October 2012. America’s largest state by population has the highest gas prices in...

On Sunday, California gas prices rose to a record-setting high average of $4.676 per gallon for regular gasoline, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). The previous record average price of $4.671 was set in October 2012. The Golden State is America’s largest state by population and currently has the highest gas prices in the country even as the national average dropped slightly to $3.413. One reason for the increase, AAA said, is the state’s reduced refinery production capacity due to heavy rainstorms in northern California which then trickled down the supply chain, impacting southern California similar to what happened...

Last month, The Washington Post editorial board called for the U.S. government to intervene in Haiti. It’s hard to fathom what this nation has endured in the last year alone: high profile kidnappings, political violence including the assassination of its president, devastation from natural disasters, gang violence, new allegations of horrific abuse by U.N. troops … the list seems unending. Some nations are able to achieve a level of stability that allows them to navigate crises like these. Haiti has not. In fact, its instability seems to make it a breeding ground for more calamity. Billions of dollars in foreign...