Free Republic

Frankfurt has become the first German city to hang Ramadan lights at a cost of over €50,000 euros to honor the fact that 15 per cent of its population is now Muslim. On Monday morning, trucks began arriving on behalf of the city government to unload the stars and crescents, connecting them to the city’s power grid to honor the festival, which runs from March 10th to April 9th. The lights are similar to those that were displayed in London’s Piccadilly Circus last year. ... The lights are a result of lobbying from the Greens, the SPD and the ‘Green...

The European Commission will propose on Tuesday ways for the European Union to boost its arms industry so it can shift to “war economy mode” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner, will lay out proposals to encourage EU countries to buy more weapons together from European companies, and to help such firms increase production capacity, according to EU officials. “We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode. This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support,” said Breton, previewing the package. Breton, a...

Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games meant to hone the fighting skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance. But for troops taking part, they are very real. This week, crew members aboard the French frigate Normandie, one of France’s most modern warships, were roused from sleep and scrambled to hunt down and kill a submarine that snuck into cold Norwegian waters. The submarine belongs to Germany, also a NATO member. But for the purpose of the war games dubbed Nordic Response 2024, it was acting as an enemy vessel. The...

German law enforcement authorities on Thursday carried out raids across Germany against people suspected of posting misogynistic hate speech on the internet as part of of a coordinated push to shine the spotlight on online violence against women. Police raided homes and interrogated 45 suspects in 11 states early Thursday. None of the suspects were detained, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office said in a statement. Another 37 suspects were already searched and interrogated in previous weeks and months.The raids were part of a “combating misogyny on the internet” day of action, which comes one day before International’s Women’s Day. “We...

Arsonists calling themselves the Volcano Group left Tesla’s German factory without electricity on Tuesday, leading to damages the company claims could approach $1 billion.

A 62-year-old man in Germany intentionally got 217 doses of COVID-19 vaccines within 29 months. The vaccinations occurred outside of a clinical study, and after hearing about the "hypervaccinated" man, medical researchers in Germany reached out to him to run tests. The researchers say the man appeared to suffer no significant side effects despite the extreme number of doses. "In summary, our case report shows that SARS-CoV-2 hypervaccination did not lead to adverse events and increased the quantity of spike-specific antibodies and T cells without having a strong positive or negative effect on the intrinsic quality of adaptive immune responses,"...

A 62-year-old man from Germany has, against medical advice, been vaccinated 217 times against Covid, doctors report. The bizarre case is documented in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The shots were bought and given privately within the space of 29 months. The man appears to have suffered no ill effects, researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg say. ...Evidence for 130 of the jabs was collected by the public prosecutor of the city of Magdeburg, who opened an investigation with the allegation of fraud, but no criminal charges were brought.

If NATO is so much against sending troops to Ukraine, why doesn’t NATO demand that the soldiers already there be sent home? On Monday, February 26, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not provide its Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine because doing so would require German troops to be sent there to operate them, just as the British are operating the Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles. The British cried foul and accused Scholz of a “flagrant abuse of intelligence” – meaning that Scholz confirmed what everyone already knows, that NATO officers and trained personnel are in Ukraine...

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned on Thursday that NATO will be drawn into war if Ukraine is defeated by invading Russian forces. Speaking at a Republican-led House Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss his recent absence while hospitalized for complications from prostate cancer surgery, Austin predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not "stop" if Moscow wins the war in Ukraine. Austin made the remarks after being asked about Congress failing to approve a $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, as requested by President Joe Biden. Despite significant bipartisan support for Ukraine aid, the measure has stalled amid...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been accused of a "flagrant abuse of intelligence" after he revealed that British troops are helping the Ukrainian military launch long-range Storm Shadow missiles on Russian positions. Tobias Ellwood, a senior Conservative lawmaker and the former head of the UK's Defense Select Committee, said Berlin endangers the lives of British troops in Ukraine, the Telegraph reported on Thursday. "This is a flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germany's reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system. This will no doubt be used by Russia to racket up the escalator ladder."

'No Other Land’ co-director Yuval Abraham said on a social media post he has received death threats after calling for “equality between Israelis and Palestinians “ during a Berlin Film Fest closing ceremony.No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham has hit out at German politicians and the Israeli media for branding his award-winning acceptance speech at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday as “antisemitic.” In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abraham, part of a collective of four Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers that took home the prize for best documentary at the Berlinale for No Other Land, said he had received...

A conflict between Russia and NATO would be inevitable if Western troops go to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said today. The Kremlin's comments come after French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out putting boots on the ground in Ukraine as Kyiv struggles to fend off Russia's full-scale invasion. While Macron noted that there was no consensus about troops at this stage, Ukraine has not asked allies for soldiers to fight its cause and other Western governments even scrambled Tuesday to insist troops were not set to be deployed, the mere suggestion sparked a furious response from Moscow....

Weaponry systems in Ukraine, many of which were supplied by European countries, have been rendered unworkable, not due to Russian interference, but because of damage caused by mice and other rodents. Seemingly, these creatures have developed a preference for cable insulation made of corn fiber over synthetic materials. This predilection leads to malfunctioning electrical installations, rendering the expensive equipment essentially worthless, and requiring rapid overhauling. Mice and rats have become a bane on the frontline for both Ukrainian and Russian forces, with these rodents capable of nesting almost anywhere, even in the exhaust systems of armored vehicles. The disadvantage of...

BMW is introducing a trial fleet of the BMW iX5 hydrogen car throughout the world, including South Africa. The company views hydrogen cars as an addition to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), not as a rivalry between the two technologies. The iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet is not meant for commercial use, but the German automaker has begun testing hydrogen-powered cars in South Africa. The hydrogen car trial was revealed during the regional meeting of the Hydrogen Council in Sandton, Johannesburg. BMW has revealed that it will begin testing in collaboration with Anglo-American Platinum and Sasol. The Sasol BMW Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle,...

Russia has made an explosive claim about NATO's involvement in the Ukraine war. Moscow claimed that NATO troops, disguised as mercenaries, are operating in Ukraine. The claim has been made by the chief of the main operational directorate of the Russian general staff, Colonel General Sergey Rudskoy. He said that NATO troops control multiple launch rocket systems and air defences in Ukraine. The startling statement comes as the Ukrainian army is unable to defend its territory. In the latest blow, the Ukrainian military lost control over Avdiivka. Watch this report to learn more.

Following the draconian precedents of Canada and the UK, which have passed legislation prohibiting expressing any sort of protest or demonstration around abortion clinics (In Canada, first-time offenses can land you one year in jail), Germany’s Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus has introduced a draft bill that follows suit, creating a massive buffer zone around these murder mills. Thought Crimes! Woman Fined For Silently Praying Outside Abortion Clinic +Video 72 y/o Pastor Found ‘Guilty’ of Breaking Law by Holding Sign that ‘Disapproves’ of Abortion Priest Charged in Britain For Having THIS Bumper Sticker Near An Abortion Clinic According to a...

Instead of a statue of Queen Elizabeth, Trafalgar Square will feature "transgender sex workers". Satire is practically pointless nowadays. I’ve done plenty of satire over the years and I doubt that I could make up wilder headlines than the reality. Take this one up above. I’d like to say that I made it up, but we ended up living in a world in which it’s just everyday reality. Sadiq Khan has been criticised for effectively blocking a statue of Queen Elizabeth II in Trafalgar Square until 2030 at the earliest – with “woke art” going there instead. The London Mayor...

The European Union is good at coming up with inoffensive-sounding terminology to talk about unpleasant things. For example, the phrase “strategic autonomy” is a nice way of saying, “We don’t trust the Americans” — and, with Donald Trump leading the polls and boasting about encouraging Vladimir Putin to invade European countries, it is impossible to blame them. It is important to get the context of Trump’s remarks straight: Trump says he told an unidentified NATO counterpart whose country hadn’t met the organization’s target for defense spending, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage [Russia] to do...

Severe penalties for countries that refuse to take them.. The EU has passed a migration pact dubbed “the suicide of Europe” which could lead to the continent being flooded with as many as 75 million new migrants. The European Parliament’s LIBE committee passed the act on Wednesday, which formalizes the distribution of migrants to member states and punishes those that refuse to take them. Because cultural enrichment and diversity is “our greatest strength,” countries that try to maintain their national identity without being subsumed by migrants will be hit with severe financial penalties. Marine Le Pen, the leader of National...

The prime suspect in the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann has appeared in court in Germany in a trial for unrelated sex offences. Christian Brückner has gone on trial in Braunschweig facing three charges of rape and two of sexual abuse, dating back to between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal. He is already serving a seven-year jail sentence for rape. Brückner has never been charged with Madeleine McCann's disappearance. He has denied any involvement. Friday's public appearance was his first in court since he was named as the main suspect in the McCann case four years ago. However, the unrelated...