Free Republic

I follow many reporters on Twitter. They are usually free with their observations of the political scene—some more free than others. They have a caustic wit from years of covering hack politicians, but they also have a protective manner when it comes to President Barack Obama. A case in point is Obama’s interview with NBC Sports’ Bob Costas taped Thursday but broadcast Friday evening as part of the network’s coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. As reported last night at the Gateway Pundit, viewers took to Twitter last night to express their astonishment at...

<p>You know how it is: once one thing goes wrong it just seems like everything else goes wrong too.</p> <p>Take Sochi for example. It started with the dangerous face water, and the “pee with a friend” toilets for two (my guess is they forgot to order and/or install the stall walls, butt who knows).</p>

No sooner did AdMe.ru publish racy pictures of Russia's female athletes competing at Sochi wearing next to nothing, did the shots go viral online. And then came the judgment. Column inches spoke of the 'demeaning' way Russia is marketing its female Olympians. Others said the photos were controversial, adding that it brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'checking out the competition'. True, the photos are racy. True, these girls look like gorgeous pin-up models fit for a Pirelli calendar (well they are Olympic athletes; all those hours down the gym is bound to pay off). But what, really,...

A group of men with a lifetime of Eastern European authoritarianism to their names and the epaulettes and mustaches to prove it. Singing Daft Punk. The official name of this group is the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Choir. Ahh, Russia.The spectacle is so wonderfully weird as to look like a Will Ferrel skit. It’s not ironic(?), but it looks ironic. Ironically. America’s going to love it, as the world did the first time around, when this went viral. Click to watch:What’s the best outcome for Sochi? I’ve been reveling in the widely publicized inconveniences of journalists— no shower curtains,...

The market made an impressive stand yesterday, which points to one element of the 2014 selloff...a lot, was simply a buyer's strike. There's a lot of cash out there, but it's the smart players who have the luxury to wait for the moment. On the other hand, the masters-of-the-universe types had a poor 2014 and they're going to have to take extra risk this year, and maybe even do good old fashioned analysis rather than insider trading of wild shorts, like Green Mountain and Herbal Life. Of course there's certain arrogance in this bunch that's not unlike Vladimir Putin. The...

Hey, the president’s an athlete too. He’s golfed with Tiger Woods, is an avid skeet shooter and knows a thing or 22 about shooting free throws. Tonight, though, in an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas, President Obama looked like he just wanted to go to sleep....

Coca-Cola drew lots of negative reaction when it aired its multilingual “America the Beautiful” ad during the Super Bowl, but the company is defending its commercial and plans to release an even longer version of it during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games today. The world’s largest beverage company fired back at critics of the company’s take on the patriotic song, performed in English, Hindi, Spanish and four other languages.

FULL TITLE: Rob Ford asks for Pride flag — just raised at City Hall to support gay rights at Sochi — be taken down Police investigating threat against Rob Ford, mayor's office says Mayor Rob Ford demanded on Friday that officials remove a rainbow-coloured flag raised at Toronto City Hall in solidarity with the gay community in Russia during the Olympics, prompting fresh accusations that he is homophobic. The mayor duct-taped a Canadian flag to his office window overlooking Nathan Phillips Square shortly after officials pulled down a City of Toronto flag from a “courtesy” flagpole on city hall’s roof...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)“The towering presence, the empire that ascended to affirm a colossal footprint. The revolution that birthed one of modern history’s pivotal experiments. But if politics has long shaped our sense of who they are, it’s passion that endures. As a more reliable right to their collective heart. What they build in aspirations lifted by imagination. What they craft, through the wonder of every last detail. How magical the fusion of sound and movement can be. How much a glass of distilled perfection and an overflowing table can matter. Discover the Russian people through these indelible signatures. Discover what we share...

Sochi, site of the Winter Olympic Games, has all the markings of being a total disaster. Like Ishtar, but with a bigger body count. Though the Games have not yet begun, reporters from around the globe are beginning to descend on the so-called resort town. What has greeted them is nothing more than poorly produced modern-day relics of the Potemkin Village known as Russia. Chicago Tribune reporter Stacy St. Clair exposed the problem, and the comic relief. First, a photo of two glasses of yellow-ish/rust-ish third world "water." With the photo, a tweet from St. Clair stating: My hotel has...

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford wants to remove a rainbow flag at City Hall that protests Russia’s law restricting gay-rights activities, and he hoisted a Canadian flag in his office window in response on Friday. Some city halls across Canada raised the rainbow flag as the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics began in Sochi, Russia. “It’s not about someone’s sexual preference,” Ford said. “I do not agree with putting up the rainbow flag. We should put our Canadian flag up.” …

Live Discussion of the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Olympics

I just watched President Obama's taped interview with Bob Costas on NBC. He looked stoned. I'm not the only one who has that impression after seeing his droopy eyelids, bloodshot eyes and droopy mouth. Twitter lit up with comments about Obama's stoned appearance.

The recent ban on toothpaste on Russia-bound aircraft grew out of the discovery of a larger, ongoing plot by terrorists to explode a bomb on a plane during the Olympics, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence sources told ABC News today. "That is an ongoing concern right now, the effort to put a bomb on an airplane right now in or around Sochi… that Russian intelligence agents are looking very closely at," said Seth Jones, a counter-terrorism expert at the RAND Corporation. The intelligence on the plot also indicated terrorists could use tiny detonators taken from weapons, such as rocket-propelled grenade...

Does the following charter allow for non-discrimination against polygamous heterosexual people? "The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."

The American media is having a field day today mocking the Russians for some supposedly inadequate hotel accommodations....the proof for this is whining on Twitter. My suspicion is that the media has decided to AMPLIFY the complaints...which may be legitimate....merely to cast a pall on Putin's games. Consider: The entire Western media, along with Team Obama hates the unanimous decision of the Russian parliament to keep sodomite propaganda away from children. Yet they have to cover the story in a reasonable manner without risking getting the boot. I believe it is VERY FEASIBLE to that efforts are being made to...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Yellow, murky tap water. Warnings about what a toilet can and can’t handle. Missing floors, door handles and light bulbs. The complaints have been flooding in – and going viral on social media – as media members get settled for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. But just as quickly there’s backlash forming from people who say journalists need to stop grumbling about their accommodations in Russia and start focusing on covering the games. One columnist in the Toronto Star even accused reporters from around the globe of turning “into Ugly Americans when venturing beyond their comfort...

Russia on Friday staged a glitzy opening ceremony for one of the most controversial Winter Olympics in history, seeking to convince a sceptical world that the Games spearheaded by President Vladimir Putin would be a success. The high-octane ceremony at the 40,000 capacity Fisht stadium on the Black Sea in Sochi got off to a rocky start when one of five illuminated snowflakes which were supposed to morph into the Olympic rings failed to appear, leaving an embarrassing set of just four rings. Underlining the security concerns that have shadowed these Games, Turkish media reports said a Ukrainian man attempted...

ANKARA, Turkey — A Turkish official says a passenger claiming there was a bomb on board tried to divert an Istanbul-bound plane to Sochi, Russia, where the Olympics are kicking off.

"The games haven't even started yet and already there are people complaining about the horrible accommodations at the Sochi Olympic village. Toilets don't flush. The faucets spew discolored water. They say it's like being on a Royal Caribbean cruise." –Jay Leno  "The Olympics start Friday and Russia's implementing the most intensive security in Olympics history. The government will monitor every email. They will monitor every social media message and they will listen in on every phone call. In fact, people are now comparing Russia to the United States. That's how bad it is." –Jay Leno "Today, the Olympic torch arrived...