Free Republic

President Donald Trump Thursday said he wanted to thank Russian President Vladimir Putin for reducing his payroll by firing U.S. embassy staff in Moscow.

A U.S. district judge in Austin has rejected an effort by Texas to have a law that would punish so-called sanctuary cities be declared constitutional ahead of the measure taking effect next month.

Vegetable prices may be going up soon, as a shortage of migrant workers is resulting in lost crops in California. Farmers say they're having trouble hiring enough people to work during harvest season, causing some crops to rot before they can be picked. Already, the situation has triggered losses of more than $13 million in two California counties alone, according to NBC News. The ongoing battle about U.S. immigration policies is blamed for the shortage. The vast majority of California's farm workers are foreign born, with many coming from Mexico. However, the PEW Research Center reports more Mexicans are leaving...

Published on Aug 10, 2017 Bedminster, NJ

Dozens Of Female Employees Accuse Google Of Gender Discrimination August 9, 2017 6:23 PM By Kiet Do MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX 5) — Google could be facing a new lawsuit. Dozens of women have come forward accusing the tech-giant of gender discrimination. When civil rights attorney James Finberg asked on social media if any female Google employees thought they were unfairly getting paid less than male coworkers, the phone started ringing. Finberg said, “In my experience, having 70 people call you when you put up a post about a company is a very large outpouring of dissatisfaction. So I think it’s...

Ancient Egyptians, employing an arduous system of hieroglyphics to represent numbers in their ignorance of zero, displayed a man holding his hands over his head for 1,000,000 in seeming astonishment that numbers ran so high. Americans presented with our national health care bill increasing resemble that hieroglyphic. We average more than $10,000 per person this year in health care expenses. This collectively amounts to more than $3 trillion, a figure approximating nearly a fifth of our gross domestic product. Few nations pay even half that portion, and similar nations do not expend anything close to such an exorbitantly high percentage...

Former national security adviser Susan Rice is arguing that the United States can “tolerate” North Korea’s nuclear weapons, if necessary, adding that President Trump must put an end to “reckless rhetoric.” In an op-ed for The New York Times published Thursday, the former Obama administration official said pragmatism is needed to handle North Korea’s aggression. She encouraged an approach that includes a pressure campaign on Pyongyang and stresses U.S. antimissile systems. “[W]ar is not necessary to achieve prevention, despite what some in the Trump administration seem to have concluded,” Rice wrote. “History shows that we can, if we must, tolerate...

Veganism in Britain has increased by 360 percent over the last ten years, as healthy eating takes a hold amid a widespread obesity epidemic. In order to cut the risk of health related diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and stroke, many are turning to a plant-based diet. This involves cutting out all animal products, including meat, eggs and milk. Just 150,000 people followed a vegan diet in 2006, but that number rose to 542,000 in 2016. As a result, veganism is now the fastest growing lifestyle movement ever. Vegan study - Verdict Even The World Health Organisation have...

On Supplication for your Enemies In the papal office are gathered the Pope, Fr Antonio Spadaro S.J his communications confidant and Fr Arturo Sosa Abasca S.J, head of the Jesuits worldwide. There, at a time when they are under a considerable storm of fierce criticism, with only the praise of Catholic dissidents and the admiration of secular activists for consolation, four years into the pontificate of Pope Francis, the three gather in order to make supplication for their enemies and by invocation ask for guidance for themselves and the Church. Pope Francis: Brethren, I have convened this meeting of supplication...

Two of President Trump’s most ardent supporters, the YouTube stars known as Diamond and Silk, say a financial stranglehold has been placed on their videos. Lynnette Hardway and Rochelle Richardson of North Carolina, whose support of Mr. Trump and no-nonsense delivery during the 2016 U.S. presidential season turned them into online sensations, said Thursday their YouTube videos have become casualties of the company’s attempt to silence “extremism.”“@YouTube @TeamYouTube stopped over 95% percent of our videos from being monetized, stating: ‘It’s Not Suitable For All Advertisers,’” the two said in a series of tweets. “Wonder if @YouTube @TeamYouTube stopped the monetization...

Republican senators who have been a thorn in President Trump's side are beginning to see the political consequences of opposing the White House as pro-Trump activists start to mobilize. Just this week, it was revealed that conservative billionaire and Trump benefactor Robert Mercer would be contributing $300,000 to a super PAC supporting a primary challenger to Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawmaker has sparred with Trump on immigration and is promoting a book that argues the GOP is in “denial” about the president. Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller – who gave only tepid support to Trump’s presidential bid...

Following the bill signed into law by President Donald Trump imposing sanctions on Russia, Vladimir Putin announced the expulsion of 755 U.S. diplomats from Russia on July 30. Trump’s response to what would seem to be a hostile action on the part of Russia? Thank you. During a question and answer session with the press pool on Thursday, Trump appeared to be serious while saying that he appreciated Putin’s decision to expel the diplomats as it would allow the U.S. to cut costs. “I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down on payroll,” Trump said. “And as...

North Korea has been steadily assembling all the technologies it needs to put a nuclear warhead on a submarine-launched missile. If the Pyongyang regime deploys an effective undersea nuke—and all signs point toward that eventuality—it might be able to sail a sub behind U.S. defenses on the Korean Peninsula and launch a surprise strike on South Korean cities. The new undersea threat comes at a time of escalating hostility between the United States and North Korea. The communist country recently produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside its missiles, according to The Washington Post. Warhead-miniaturization is “a...

According to Wikipedia, a JTTF is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Terrorism_Task_Force). It may not be a new concept to some of you, but it is to me. It does make sense at this point. Wikipedia defines it as: Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is a partnership between various local, state, and federal agencies, and private organizations that are charged with taking action against terrorism, which includes the investigation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft. The agencies that a JTTF comprises generally include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal agencies (the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its notable...

Five transgender people in the US military have launched a legal bid to block a ban announced by President Trump on Twitter last month. The anonymous plaintiffs from the army, air force and coast guard are suing Mr Trump and several officials. They say thousands of transgender troops have declared themselves since the military said they could serve openly and now face uncertain futures. Mr Trump said transgender people would "disrupt" the military. However it is not yet clear whether formal steps to enforce the ban have yet been taken or how it will affect serving personnel. One of the...

"If I give all my possessions to feed the poor . . . but do not have love, it profits me nothing" (1 Cor. 13:3). Love is characterized by self-sacrifice, but not all self-sacrifice is an act of love. If you've ever donated to your church or another charitable organization out of obligation, peer pressure, legalism, guilt, a desire for recognition, or simply a tax deduction, you know what it means to give without love. In our society it's easy to fall prey to that kind of giving because the needs are so great and fund raisers appeal to every...

“‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth’” (Matthew 6:19). Wealth comes from God, and we are to manage it wisely for Him. John Wesley was a godly man who devoted his life to serving the Lord. What is not as well known perhaps is that he was rich, gaining most of his wealth from his published hymns and other works. At one point in his life he gave away 40,000 pounds sterling—a fortune in those days. When he died, his estate was worth only twenty-eight pounds, for he had given nearly everything to the Lord’s work. It is...

Trump Thanks Putin for Firing Embassy Employees: ‘We’ll Save a Lot of Money’ BY: Charles Fain Lehman August 10, 2017 5:36 pm President Donald Trump Thursday said he wanted to thank Russian President Vladimir Putin for reducing his payroll by firing U.S. embassy staff in Moscow. Putin ordered the cut of 755 personnel at the end of July, in direct response to new sanctions on Russia passed overwhelmingly by the House and Senate. The sanctions, which Trump signed three days after the cut, were designed in part as a response to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump was asked...

As a small investor (not small for me in that my life savings hangs in the balance), I watch the market daily.It tells me what is going on in the world (among other things).Considering that the issue of the day is North Korea and the possible invasion of said Norkdom, I watch my small investment in the ETF "ITA". ITA is a Defense and AeroSpace ETF which is supposed to be a defensive buy against any attack on the Norks. ITA rose to 170 in today's premarket and then fell to 168 at the close of today's trading. Now, what...

Turkish authorities have detained a Russian national and suspected Islamic State group militant for allegedly planning a drone attack on U.S. aircraft at Turkey's Incirlik air base, police said Thursday. Renad Bakiev was detained in the southern city of Adana over suspicions that he plotted to crash an American aircraft or attack the Incirlik air base using a drone, Adana police said in a statement. Turkish private news agency Dogan said a court later ordered him formally arrested pending a trial. Bakiev also intended to attack the local Alevi community in Adana city, the statement said. It said he was...