Free Republic

Diplomacy is an instrument of strategy that great powers use to survive and gain an advantage in competition with other powerful states. Excellence in diplomacy is a vital prerequisite to the success and endurance of great powers. Diplomatic skills atrophied in the United States after the end of the Cold War, as we came to rely on military technology and economic sanctions as the main tools of our foreign policy. But now we are entering a dangerous age in which great powers are competing for the things they have competed over from the beginning of time: territory, resources, influence, and...

Microsoft has released an out-of-band hotpatch update, KB5084597, to fix three remote code execution vulnerabilities in the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) management tool. The update targets Windows 11 Enterprise devices enrolled in the hotpatch program that did not receive the fixes through the standard March 2026 Patch Tuesday cumulative update. The three vulnerabilities are tracked as CVE-2026-25172, CVE-2026-25173, and CVE-2026-26111. All three were addressed in the March 10 Patch Tuesday release for standard Windows 11 devices.

Research suggests compounds in foods like blackberries and kale can influence brain chemistry tied to motivation and activity — another reminder that what we eat affects more than we realize.Key Takeaways: -A 2025 study suggests that astringent, flavanol-rich foods like berries and red wine may stimulate the nervous system through their puckering taste, potentially triggering physiological responses similar to moderate exercise. -In the study, mice given oral doses of flavanols exhibited increased physical activity, greater exploration, and improved learning and memory compared to a control group. -Researchers also observed elevated levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and related compounds associated with motivation,...

In March 2020, on a Libyan battlefield, civilization may have crossed an ominous threshold. Turkish-made autonomous drones reportedly “hunted down and ​. . . ​engaged” retreating forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar with no human guidance. According to a UN-commissioned report, those lethal autonomous weapons were “programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true ‘fire, forget and find’ capability.” That was no theoretical scenario devised by military analysts or ethicists. Nor was it a scene from a Hollywood sci-fi thriller about rogue killer robots. It was a real occurrence, one...

The Israeli leader poked fun at bogus online claims he had been assassinated by Iran, posting a video of himself buying a drink at a coffee shop, joking that it was dangerous because of the calorie count. SNIP “I think coffee is to die for, I think my nation is to die for,” he said in the video as he bought a cup of coffee. Rumors about Netanyahu being assassinated began circulating online late last week after online loons claimed they spotted him with six fingers during a speech he gave, and surmised it was an artificially generated video of...

Arising among these men, Saturninus (who was of that Antioch which is near Daphne) and Basilides laid hold of some favourable opportunities, and promulgated different systems of doctrine — the one in Syria, the other at Alexandria. Basilides again, that he may appear to have discovered something more sublime and plausible, gives an immense development to his doctrines. He sets forth that Nous was first born of the unborn father, that from him, again, was born Logos, from Logos Phronesis, from Phronesis Sophia and Dynamis, and from Dynamis and Sophia the powers, and principalities, and angels, whom he also calls...

“Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following his assassination on February 28, but a string of reports have said he has been in a coma following an airstrike with some observers, including President Donald Trump, suggesting he is dead. Khamenei is apparently unaware both that there is a war on and that he is the country's new leader. His injuries have required him to be flown to Russia for an operation 'personally offered by Putin', according to news outlet Al-Jarida.”

Famed Democratic strategist James Carville has opened up about some of his worst botched predictions, admitting that experts don’t necessarily have better insights into the future than the average person. “One of the things that I don’t like to ask experts in sports — and people ask me all the time, I don’t get mad about it — is, ‘Who’s going to win?’ The truth of the matter is, I’m not sure,” Carville told ESPN sports analyst Stephen A. Smith during a video interview for Politicon that aired last week. "The truth of the matter is, I’m not a very...

13 March 2026 7:54 PM Today the Ides of March survives as a powerful historical metaphor. What was once simply a day for settling debts and observing rituals became one of the most famous dates in historyFew dates in history carry the dramatic weight of the Ides of March. Falling on March 15, the phrase is forever tied to political intrigue, betrayal and the assassination of one of ancient Rome’s most powerful leaders, Julius Caesar. In the Roman calendar, the term “Ides” referred simply to the middle of the month. While the Ides fell on the 13th day in most...

One thing the Iran War has demonstrated is that the overwhelming majority of journalists and commentators on the war are blindingly ignorant of the basics of military operations, they are unacquainted with the staff process, and they are so eaten alive by the all-devouring TDS virus that they have lost the ability to reason when Trump is involved. The purpose of this post is not to declare victory, but to demonstrate that President Trump is leading a top-shelf strategic team put together by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He is getting good advice, he's listening, and he's making good decisions....

ABC News fired correspondent Terry Moran last year, calling his social media post describing President Trump as a “world-class hater” a “clear violation of ABC News policies.” One year later, looks like Moran's still rooting against Trump—and America. Appearing on The Weekend on MS NOW, Moran did his best Lord Haw-Haw impression, painting the bleakest possible picture of the war with Iran. Moran warned that the war “isn’t anywhere near over,” because Iran still retains the ability to strike back. “They can still pop off drones and missiles,” Moran said ominously. “They’ve got speedboats.” Speedboats: scaree! All the U.S. has...

JERUSALEM, March 15 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu ⁠posted a video of ⁠himself getting a cup of coffee and chatting with ​his aide on Sunday, after rumours that he was dead or injured were ‌aired by Iranian state media ‌and spread online in Iran. In the video, taken at a ⁠cafe in ⁠Jerusalem's outskirts and posted on Netanyahu's Telegram account, his aide ​asks him about the rumours. Netanyahu responds with a pun on the word dead -- which in Hebrew slang can be used to describe "being crazy about" someone or ​something -- as he reaches for a...

Paul R. Ehrlich, an eminent ecologist and population scientist whose best-selling book, “The Population Bomb,” was celebrated as a prescient warning of a coming age of food shortages and famine but later criticized by conservatives and academic rivals for what they called its sky-is-falling rhetoric, died on Friday in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 93. His death, at a nursing facility in the retirement community where he lived, was caused by complications of cancer, his daughter, Lisa Marie Daniel, said. As a young professor of biology at Stanford University in the mid-1960s, Dr. Ehrlich was known for his absorbing lectures...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to request a phone call, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel. The official does not say what Netanyahu wishes to discuss. According to Ynet, Netanyahu wants to discuss cooperating on countering Iranian drones, which Ukraine has been facing for years.

Explanation: To see the feathered serpent descend the Mayan pyramid requires exquisite timing. You must visit El Castillo -- in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula -- near an equinox. Then, during the late afternoon if the sky is clear, the pyramid's own shadows create triangles that merge into the famous illusion of a slithering viper. Also known as the Temple of Kukulkan, the impressive step-pyramid stands 30 meters tall and 55 meters wide at the base. Built up as a series of square terraces by the pre-Columbian civilization between the 9th and 12th century, the structure can be used as a calendar...

In 2012, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif) won election to Congress by ousting 20-term incumbent Democrat Pete Stark in the general election. During the campaign Swalwell mocked Stark, saying "Stark lives in Maryland--2,850 miles from the district he claims to represent. I live in the district. I will make sure that I commute to Washington and always stay connected with my district. That means driving the roads of my district, shopping the businesses of my district, and the basic requirement, sleeping under a roof in the district." Swalwell, now the leading candidate in the race to replace the retiring Gov. Gavin...

The Data Analytics Center at the Institute for National Security Studies presents a real-time situation report on the military campaign against Iran. The report includes a dedicated dashboard featuring selected data, accompanied by an interactive map depicting the situation on the ground. The data is updated continuously and as accurately as possible, based on intelligence assessments, open-source information, and media reports.

@TRobinsonNewEra I’m preparing for the most important presentation I’ve done to date & in the process I’ve kidnapped an American . Thanks for all the love america

A case of mistaken identity involving AI facial recognition software has led to a civil lawsuit and national scrutiny after a Tennessee grandmother spent more than 5 months in jail for a crime she did not commit, according to first reporting by Matt Henson of WDAY.

Why is intelligent life so rare in the universe? According to Richard Feynman, the odds are far lower than most people imagine. While the universe is vast, the emergence of complex, intelligent life requires a delicate balance of physical, chemical, and environmental conditions — conditions that are extremely unlikely to align perfectly.