Free Republic

Even in modern times we are fascinated by crystals – from the diamonds we use as a sacred symbol of partnership, to the plethora of ‘healing’ gems that can be found in a New Age gift shop. So we can only imagine how ancient people viewed these transparent rocks with hidden structure. Evidence of the esteem in which crystals were held can be found in a “remarkable set” of ‘crystal weapons’ found in the megalithic tombs of southwestern Spain. At the site of Valencina de la Concepci
on, archaeologists have uncovered crystal arrowheads, an exquisite dagger blade, and cores used for...

In response to media inquiry and FOIA demands, the government of Australia formally admitted today to the role of High Commissioner Alexander Downer and his engagements with George Papadopoulos in 2016. The timing coincides with the Mueller Report (released today), which states it was information about this engagement from Alexander Downer that opened the FBI counterintelligence investigation in July 2016. The Australian government cited the conclusion of the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation as the background for their willingness to comply with an 15-month-old FOIA request from Buzzfeed News.

Tory MP Scott Mann has attracted mockery on social media after calling for strict new knife control measures including for every blade sold in the UK to be fitted with GPS tracking systems. In a post on the micro-blogging platform Twitter, the representative for North Cornwall went on to declare that Britain should create a “national database” of people who own knives, “like we do with guns”. Anyone found to have carried a knife outside their property “had better have a bloody good explanation”, Mr Mann wrote, adding that there could be “obvious exceptions” for activities such as fishing. Responses...

At the moment, YouTube is one of the biggest online platforms in the world. Well, if we take a look at what YouTube does, we’ll see that it is the only popular platform in its field of activity. In short, when one says that they want to watch a video, we don’t have to ask what website they are going to open. It’s already clear, YouTube will pop up and they’ll start searching for what interests them. However, YouTube is a place where you can do so much more than just watch videos of cute animals and such. This entire...

Texas law currently bans a number of weapons. Representative Joe Moody proposes to remove “brass” knuckles from the list of banned weapons in section 46.05 (a). Here is the list of banned weapons. From texas.gov: (1) any of the following items, unless the item is registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or otherwise not subject to that registration requirement or unless the item is classified as a curio or relic by the United States Department of Justice: (A) an explosive weapon; (B) a machine gun; or...

A LABOUR MP has been ejected from the House of Commons after picking up a ceremonial mace in a “symbolic protest” following the postponement of a vote on the proposed Brexit deal. Lloyd Russell-Moyle picked up the mace and walked towards the doors before being stopped by officials.

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan24) – Amb. Kenneth Ward strongly criticized Iran and Russia on Thursday for maintaining chemical weapons programs, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention to which they are both signatories. Ward, the US Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), addressing that organization, cited Iran and Russia for their own chemical weapons programs. He also criticized their support for Damascus, which, he said, is “enabling Syria’s chemical weapons use by shielding the Assad regime from consequences in international fora.” Turning to Iran, Ward explained that the US “has had longstanding concerns that [it]...

Full Title: "US Marines reveal plans for plasma crowd control weapon that can shout at people from 3,000 feet away - then be 'turned up' to temporarily blind and even burn them" The weapon can produce a range of effects. At the lowest setting, the weapon can produce speech, and it will be able to warn people upto 1,000m away by delivering voice messages. When it gets closer, the weapon will deliver a 'Flash-bang effect' by sending an 'acoustic blast of ~ 165+ dB at minimum distance of 100 meters'. It will also be able to send a 'Flash blind...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — About 400 guns have been stolen from a United Parcel Service facility in Memphis, Tennessee, and authorities are concerned about the theft’s potential effect on public safety in this city and elsewhere.

After the big bang of the Singapore summit in June, with its showy but vague North Korean commitment to denuclearization, many analysts doubted that the deal had any real substance. But we're beginning to see the first signs of what a serious accord would look like. This week's North-South summit meeting in Pyongyang produced accord on some basic essentials of a real denuclearization process. North Korea agreed to accept internal inspectors to monitor destruction of one of its test sites, a first step toward the broader inspection process that will be essential for any verifiable pact. North Korea also agreed...

There are a lot of ways to win a battle at different levels, but the most effective methods involve some kind of surprise and deception. Sneak attacks go back as far as war itself, and since then man has always come up with a lot of weapons designed to deliver damage without getting caught. In this list, we’re going to take a look at some of the coolest, scariest, and most notorious sneak attack weapons in history, focusing on attack weapons – not traps or ambush tactics. This list of stealth weapons is meant to take out a single target...

According to the ImportGenius website that tracks the import/export activity at shipping docks, the U.S. Army Contracting Command received the 3D mobile air-defense radar system from Ukraine. The notice by the ImportGenius said that the U.S. Army Contracting Command center in Orlando has received 3D mobile air-defense radar system, called the 36D6M1-1, from Ukraine through SFTC “Progress”. The 36D6M1-1is a mobile 3D airspace surveillance radar system that was developed by the SE “Scientific and Production Complex “Iskra” and is designed to be used as a part of modern automated Air Defense systems, Anti-Aircraft Missile Complexes and to detect low flying...

New technology promises to give tankers an unprecedented view of the battlefield around them—without exposing them to lethal enemy fire. Camera systems, often linked to VR headsets, can provide soldiers with a real-time view of the world outside their tank, eliminating the often severely restricted view tankers are forced to fight with. Tanks are large, lethal, imposing beasts, surrounding their crews with layers of thick steel, composite, and even uranium armor. All of that protection makes it hard to see outside the tank, however, and tankers usually must rely on small vision ports to make sense of things. Seeing to...

SEOUL — South Koreans are growing more anxious about President Donald Trump’s commitment to the North Korean nuclear deal, fearing he could simply walk away, having already declared victory back home. The president has earned the respect of many people here for his unconventional diplomacy in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, even among those who otherwise deride Trump as a “merchant” who lacks the “class” of his predecessor. But behind the surprising goodwill and relentlessly upbeat pronouncements from Seoul officials, there are creeping doubts, according to interviews this summer with current and former government advisers, a leading...

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea again next week to try to persuade it to abandon its nuclear weapons, and will take a new U.S. special representative, Stephen Biegun, with him in an attempt to break the deadlock. Pompeo on Thursday named the Ford Motor Co executive, a veteran Republican foreign policy hand, as the U.S. special envoy to North Korea. “Steve will direct U.S. policy towards North Korea and lead our efforts to achieve President Trump’s goal of the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Kim Jong Un,” Pompeo told...

South and North Korea agreed on Monday to hold a third summit meeting between their leaders in Pyongyang in September, after the two met for high-level talks on the north side of the demilitarised zone (DMZ). Next month’s meeting comes amid faltering progress in efforts to denuclearise the Korean peninsula, following two inter-Korean meetings and a June summit in Singapore between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US president Donald Trump. South Korean unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon met Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, at the truce village of Panmunjom. The leaders did...

Is the US-North Korea War inevitable despite the Singapore summit? While the US-North Korea Summit earlier this year marked a historic event in the making of global denuclearisation, Kim-Jong-un has turned down all proposals of denuclearisation made by the Trump Administration. Pyongyang has blatantly refused to give up on its nuclear arsenal out of goodwill as it finds the US proposals ‘gangster like.’ North Korea Will Not Denuclearise As reported by Sputnik News, North Korea has taken a complete dislike to the proposal made by Washington for denuclearisation. The North Korean government reportedly highlighted its efforts made in good faith....

North Korea threatened to end the “hard-won atmosphere of stability on the Korean Peninsula” on Thursday, in response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s efforts to enforce economic sanctions against the regime. The North Korean foreign ministry warned there is no guarantee stability will continue in a message carried by state-run KCNA. Pompeo and other U.S. officials don’t want any international sanctions eased until North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un takes substantial steps to roll back his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. Kim’s diplomats have taken offense at this position, which the Trump administration believes is necessary to prevent...

North Korea said the "military confrontation" between Pyongyang and Washington must come to an end, in order for trust to develop between the two countries. Workers' Party Newspaper Rodong Sinmun said Thursday the solution is a "declaration of the end of war," a reference to the 1950-53 conflict that ended in a truce and a divided peninsula. "As the military confrontation ends through the declaration of the end of war, an atmosphere conducive to trust building will emerge," the Rodong article stated. The Rodong stated the declaration of the war's end is a priority and a "necessity for the times."...

The Trump administration has presented North Korea with a formal timeline for starting the process of denuclearization — and Pyongyang has rejected it several times. It shows that even after months of talks, Washington and Pyongyang have made little progress toward ending the North Korean nuclear threat. The details of the US-proposed timeline, which have not previously been reported, are as follows: North Korea hands over 60 to 70 percent of its nuclear warheads within six to eight months; the US or a third party — likely another country — takes possession of them and removes them from North Korea....