Free Republic

ransomnote: transcript below the videoObserving Consciousness@holonaboveBQQM: THE WAR MACHINE JUST LOST IRANTrump walked into Versailles and converted military pressure into controlled peace architecture...The shooting stops... the blockade falls... Hormuz reopens... oil moves... frozen assets unlock... enriched material enters verification... read that again... enriched material moves toward IAEA supervised down-blending... BQQM...Every concession now runs through a 60 day corridor of compliance... sequencing... and receipts...This deal strikes the business model of permanent war...For decades... crisis fed weapons... intelligence networks... sanctions... reconstruction contracts... and political control...Trump compressed Iran with surveillance... force... naval pressure... and economic isolation... then turned that pressure into measurable terms...Sanctions...

Knicks owner James Dolan appeared to throw shade on Mayor Zohran Mamdani when he told revelers “I don’t need your vote” right after Hizzoner pumped out a speech heavy on Knicks history and their playoff run. “I don’t need your vote, I don’t need to quote to you, right, about what happened,” Dolan said, “cause if you’re real Knicks fans, you know it already.” Dolan’s remarks came after Mamdani mentioned dozens of former Knicks and ran back some of the most memorable memories in the franchise’s history, including giving shout outs to random former players like Jared Jeffries and Renaldo...

The BBC has been slammed after it emerged two asylum seekers who appeared on an episode of Question Time had been coached by charity campaigners. In the episode, filmed on December 5 in Dover, the audience featured two men who had crossed the Channel in small boats. The BBC previously told GB News that all those on the panel were informed "the day before the show that there would be people in the audience who had been through the asylum system". Now, it has been revealed the two men were placed in the audience and coached beforehand by the migration...

Synopsis Robert James Smith, frontman of The Cure, is widely regarded as one of the defining voices of alternative rock, shaping post-punk and gothic music through decades of influential songwriting. In a 2011 interview, he reflected on his personal philosophy toward existence and parenthood, stating that he has never regretted not having children because he fundamentally questions the value of imposing life on someone else. This outlook aligns with his broader introspective worldview, which often explores themes of meaning, discomfort with existence, and emotional complexity.

A wild University of California system policy that allegedly punished students for not using another person’s preferred pronouns has gotten the school into legal trouble courtesy of a lawsuit filed by a conservative watchdog. UC’s Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy impinges on free speech rights, according to the complaint filed by Defending Education and obtained by The California Post. “UC leaves no doubt that its ban on hostile-environment harassment covers protected speech,” legal representatives for Defending Education said in the documents. One section of the policy lists derogatory slurs related to sexual orientation as an example of “harassment.” A...

Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George is slated to be the next mayor of Washington DC after her opponent conceded on Thursday. Lewis George, a city council member, ran on a platform of expanding childcare, education and housing, and revoking the district’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. In the city’s first ranked-choice voting election, she succeeded in securing the Democratic nomination in a party stronghold, fending off another former city council member, Kenyan McDuffie. McDuffie had run a campaign more focused on public safety and local businesses. Now, Lewis George will be on the ballot in November’s general election, where she...

Thaïs d’Escufon has faced systematic silencing attempts ever since she started speaking out against immigration.French activist and online commentator Thaïs d’Escufon says she could face prison for saying immigration is the number one threat to French women. In an X video posted on her page, she argues that her case demonstrates the shrinking space for free expression in France. The case stems from statements she made on BFM TV in 2023, during a discussion about a rape involving an illegal immigrant. d’Escufon, who was herself the victim of a home invasion and sexual assault two years earlier at the hands...

@WhiteHouse "The United States is committed to PEACE... We expect a complete Ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel." - President Donald J. Trump

A nationwide welfare fraud crackdown reached Massachusetts this week, as federal authorities announced the arrests of 15 people — 11 of them illegal immigrants — accused of stealing more than $1.4 million in American taxpayer-funded benefits. The defendants are accused of fraudulently obtaining benefits through programs including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance, MassHealth, Social Security disability payments, housing assistance and unemployment benefits, according to the Department of Justice. "Alarmingly, 11 of the 15 charged defendants are suspected illegal aliens, some of whom assumed stolen identities to steal these taxpayer-funded benefits and avoid detection," Acting Assistant Attorney General Colin...

Prosecutors said Tuesday that they will seek the death penalty for the Afghan national accused of killing one National Guard member and gravely wounding another in Washington, DC, last year. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, made a wild-eyed appearance in federal court, where he was hit with additional charges, some of which made him eligible for execution, if convicted, according to federal prosecutors. Assistant US Attorney Christopher Tortorice said that the Justice Department would be initiating a formal review process for several of the “eligible” death counts. Lakanwal wore an orange jumpsuit — and a much longer beard than previous photos of...

Explanation: Do you see that blue blob to the lower right of the image center? Astronomers think that it shows where a massive star exploded as a supernova whose light reached Earth 1,700 years ago. The image combines optical data from the PanSTARRS telescopes in Hawaii (background stars in red, green, and blue), radio from the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa (large red cloud) and X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton (shown in blue). The large cloud is a star forming region called Sagittarius C, which is approximately 50 light-years in extent and about 26,000 light-years from...

Whilst the preliminary agreement between Iran and the United States marks a significant and hugely welcome step towards ending conflict, it brings a new wave of anxiety for those inside Iran. As external pressures ease, there are concerns that the Iranian regime may refocus its efforts on strengthening internal control and domestic repression, particularly against religious minorities and Christian converts. There is also a real need to pray for individual Christians as they face some particularly pressing challenges: * Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi - Years after adopting their daughter, Lydia, an Iranian court ruled that, because Lydia is considered...

George Leef recently used National Review to highlight Adam Ellwanger’s Martin Center essay on students who treat education as an afterthought. They are describing a real problem. I share their frustration. But frustration is not the same as explanation. Ellwanger asks: “If you’re a serious student, it ought to be a priority. And if it isn’t a priority (or if you’re not a serious student), then why do it?” They do it because they have to. Many students are not seeking intellectual transformation. They are seeking a credential because the labor market told them they need one—told them brutally. That...

During a morning show interview, the vice president claimed that there are simply “some diplomatic protocols” that he can’t fully comprehend

The Trump administration is looking to reduce housing costs by removing Biden-era green energy mandates. The International Energy Conservation Code was revised in 2021 to increase building energy efficiency mandates as part of former President Joe Biden's overall climate policy. However, the regulations drove up the cost of building homes and exacerbated the housing shortage, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner told The Midwesterner. A failure to comply with the standards results in a denial of federal funding for new construction. The cost of compliance, Turner said, adds $31,000 to the cost of a home, and the Trump...

EXCLUSIVE — A Rhode Island federal judge is facing a judicial misconduct complaint accusing her of launching false and politically motivated attacks against Justice Department attorneys before referring them for possible discipline in a dispute over federal subpoenas seeking records related to transgender drugs and surgeries for children. The complaint, filed Wednesday by the conservative Center to Advance Security in America (CASA), asks the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to investigate U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy over what the group calls an improper and partisan campaign against the Trump administration's DOJ personnel who appeared before her court. “CASA...

Baby Boomers will soon reach another milestone: In 2026, the oldest members of this generation will turn 80. The Baby Boom generation refers to adults born between 01/01/1946 and 12/31/1964. The name reflects the sharp and prolonged increase in fertility that occurred in the wake of World War II.

When I showed up for Army basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, back in those long-lost days of the Cold War, one of the first things I learned, along with my fellows, was that no matter what we ended up doing in the Army, we were riflemen first and foremost. That lesson wasn't lost on us; not with the emphasis placed on basic rifle marksmanship. A few years later, I ended up teaching basic rifle marksmanship to ROTC cadets, and that was the lesson I tried to instill in them, as well. Back then, we were using the good...

In a sweeping regulatory shift, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized a rule that dramatically narrows how discrimination can be penalized across billions of dollars in federal grants. The decision strips the government of its ability to penalize funding recipients for policies that disproportionately harm minority groups—unless explicit discriminatory intent can be proven. The final rule, signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on June 22, officially eliminates “disparate-impact” liability under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It...

@atrupar JD Vance ends his press conference by turning on Israel: "What does bother me is you've seen people in Bibi's cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal and in some ways very personally attacked the president. My message to them is Donald J Trump is the only head in the state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.