Free Republic

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU (Reuters) - India on Saturday raised taxes on imports of goods such as electronic items, toys and furniture, aiming to give impetus to domestic manufacturing in a move that will hit Sweden's IKEA and other foreign firms. The measures, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2020-21 budget, come amid criticism from some companies that India has increasingly resorted to protectionist rules that discriminate against foreign companies. Listing the new taxes, the government said they were in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" programme aimed at promoting domestic industry. Taxes on imports of items...

Today I went to lunch with a new Ladies Who Lunch group. This group was socioeconomically upper middle class, aged 50 to 74 Caucasian, all married, some on second marriages, and all were parents and most were grandparents. These women spoke tenderly and lovingly with tears spilled at times, over their ....dogs. Not that I want to dismiss dogs, wonderful pets that they are, but the care that these 10 ladies and their spouses lavished on their pets was quite something to behold. They mentioned their children and grandchildren, but the pictures that were brought up on their phones to...

San Francisco 49ers @ Kansas City Chiefs Match up chart at the link. Did you know the Forty Niners have a better offense through the regular season than the Chiefs? And did you know the Forty Niners have a far more effective defense and running game than the Chiefs? On paper this should not be a close game, and should be quite boring as the 9ers chew up clock and keep the Chief's offense on the sidelines.

And so the Trump impeachment saga is coming to an end not with a bang but a whine. “We wuz robbed!” shriek the foot-stomping Democrats as they repeat their poll-tested mantra that the trial was rigged because no witnesses were called to testify. Consequently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decreed that the president will remain impeached forever, and his presidency and all that flows from it will be deemed unclean and illegitimate. Obviously, this latest failed effort to depose Trump has left the Democrats frustrated, bitterly disappointed and, quite possibly, wondering how their sure-fire impeachment gambit turned into such a...

What else would you expect from the man who accused Navy Seal Chris Kyle of being a "racist," and described his work as a sniper as "killing sprees?" The same man who suggested that a Palestinian stabber in Jerusalem was unarmed when shot by police despite footage clearly showing a knife in his hand? Joy Reid had the man in question, Ayman Mohyeldin, formerly of Al Jazeera, now co-host host of the Morning Joe lead-in show, on her MSNBC show today to comment on the Trump administration's proposed Israeli/Palestinian peace plan. Reid was highly skeptical/critical of the plan. When a...

DES MOINES, Iowa — Julia Caldwell played with the broken call box outside a gated two-story apartment complex and then joked about her next move. “If I break-and-enter you are going to think I am a crazy Bernie person,” she said with a laugh. The 29-year-old was among a slew of die-hard volunteers from across the country that scattered out across Iowa’s capital city on a warmer-than-typical day here to knock on doors as part of Sen. Bernard Sanders‘ final get out the vote efforts before the iconic caucuses. “It feels like he can actually win - it is insane,”...

China has reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Hunan province which lies on the southern border of Hubei province, the epicenter of the rapidly spreading coronavuirus. Excerpt- No human cases of the Hunan H5N1 have been reported.

Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton conceded on Friday that Americans must vote President Trump out in November if they want to remove him from office, effectively making the same argument Republicans have been making since the launch of the partisan impeachment process. “With their votes to make the American president accountable to no one, Republican senators have put the interests of one president over the interests of all Americans,” Clinton tweeted on Friday as the Senate voted down a motion to allow for additional witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial. “The only remedy now is for us all to vote...

Drag queens may be coming to a library near you. Drag Queen Story Hour, a program that brings drag queens to libraries, schools and bookstores for storybook readings, is planning to expand to more rural parts of the Bay Area after receiving a $10,000 grant from the Horizons Foundation.

Candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt) took direct aim at the prosperity message of the Trump reelection campaign in his bid to become the nation’s next leader. “Wages may be up and unemployment at record lows, but the Trump economy lacks the social cohesion needed for a true human society,” he asserted. “Before capitalism supplanted feudalism there were solid social bonds between lords and serfs. Neither class could renege on its social responsibility to the other. Now employers can simply dismiss employees if they are redundant or unproductive and employees are free to seek other...

"Pray without ceasing on behalf of other men...For cannot he that falls rise again?"~Saint Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius of Antioch is one of the earliest of the Church fathers who left significant writings behind. Born in the mid-First Century AD, it is believed that he, along with Polycarp, were disciples of Saint John the Evangelist. Ecclesiastical historians of the fourth and fifth centuries mention that Ignatius was consecrated bishop of Antioch by Saint Peter himself. His feast day, on the traditional calendar, is February 1. Ignatius was martyred during the reign of Trajan, thus sometime between AD 98 and 117....

Animal rights organization PETA is under fire after claiming the group's Colin Kaepernick-inspired Super Bowl advertisement was rejected by FOX and the NFL because the message was "too daring."

American Airlines removed a passenger who boarded a flight in Dallas on Thursday while wearing a gas mask - causing panic among the other fliers. The incident took place at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where American Flight 2212 was preparing to depart to Houston in the evening. But passengers grew alarmed at the unusual sight - a man boarded wearing a gas mask over his face and a black beanie covering his head. 'Just FYI flight 2212 to Houston was delayed an hour because you let this guy on the plane wearing a gas mask,' Joseph Say wrote on...

Ted Cruz appeared to mock Nancy Pelosi's infamous handclap on the floor of the Senate Friday after 51 Republicans voted against calling witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial - effectively ending Democrat's attempts to remove him from office. The Texas senator, 49, was seen mimicking the clap as he spoke with other Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, before the vote was called around 5 pm. Last year, Speaker Pelosi 'condescendingly' clapped her hands at President Trump following his State Of The Union address - a move which sparked international headlines and a flurry of memes. On Friday, Cruz's...

Leftist San Diego Bishop to Counsel Catholics on How to Vote Bp. Robert McElroy to deliver lecture on 'Candidates, Consciences' Feb. 6 SAN DIEGO (ChurchMilitant.com) - Bishop Robert McElroy, who once called faithful Catholics opposing homosexual behavior a "cancer" in the Church, will be presenting a lecture on how Catholics should vote. McElroy will present his address, titled "Candidates, Consciences and Faithful Voting" on Thursday, Feb. 6, little more than two weeks after Pope Francis exhorted U.S. bishops to teach Catholic voters how to properly discern how they should vote.  But, with an eye to McElroy's liberal record, faithful San Diego Catholics are bracing...

Linda Munkley began checking her breasts after one of her German shepherds repeatedly sniffed and butted her chest. She later found a lump and doctors diagnosed fast-growing breast cancerA dog lover says she owes her life to her beloved pets after they detected her fast-growing breast cancer. Linda Munkley, 65, started checking her breasts for lumps after unusual behaviour from her alsatians Bea and Enya. “I have four German shepherds including five-year-old Bea and her three-year-old daughter Enya,” said Linda. “One day I was sat on the sofa when Bea jumped up and began intensely sniffing and headbutting my chest...

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark stunned the media by wearing a sweatshirt depicting the "historic" meeting between Kanye West and Donald Trump. When asked about his sweatshirt, Clark wasn’t shy. The NFL star said he felt it depicted a very important moment in our country’s history and that a friend gave him it to him. The picture showed Kanye West meeting then-President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower just days after the 2016 election. The timing was superb as it coincided with the President’s impeachment trial making it even more poignant. This had to burn members of the mainstream...

A Phoenix-area resident, who is alleged to have been the leader of a group of Al-Qaeda terrorists in Al-Fallujah, Iraq, appeared today before a federal magistrate judge in Phoenix, Arizona in connection with proceedings to extradite him to the Republic of Iraq. He is wanted to stand trial in Iraq for two charges of premeditated murder committed in 2006 in Al-Fallujah. The arrest was announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael Bailey for the District of Arizona. An Iraqi judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Ali Yousif...

The Simpsons fans are convinced that the show predicted Coronavirus, and no one can deal. Yes, seriously. The news has been filled with news of the virus spreading around the world, with more than 200 people dying in China over the outbreak – and patients now being treated in the UK. And some fans on social media have suggested that the Simpsons creator Matt Groening predicted this all the way back in the 1990s. If you cast your mind back to Marge In Chains, from 1993, everyone in Springfield gets on the juicing hype, and get about ordering fancy blenders....

Chiefs offensive linemen Stefen Wisniewski shared his faith in Jesus while talking to Jason Romano from Sports Spectrum. When asked about what the Lord has been doing in his life this year, Wisniewski didn’t hesitate to elaborate. “It was really humbling being fired, being on the couch,” he began, referencing his time in between jobs after the Eagles let him go. “I really think God was testing me and trying to teach me humility, just to depend on Him...At the end of the day, my football success is only because God has given it to me. I love Job 1:21,...