Free Republic

Iranians have adopted a new sport in the past few years: knocking the turban from a passing cleric’s head. There are points for technique and for how high and how far you can get their headgear to go. These are small acts of revenge against a hated religious elite who came to power on a wave of arrests and torture and who, as recently as January, ordered thousands of peaceful protesters to be shot in the streets. It’s also a symptom of something larger. Political Islam is in retreat across the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. “The strange...

Last week, I was invited to join a program hosted by an independent Iranian media platform called Azad, which specializes in facilitating debates between policy experts in Iran and further abroad. My debate was with Majid Shakeri, who gained prominence as a foreign policy advisor to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (the current speaker of the country’s parliament) during Ghalibaf’s most recent presidential campaign. Shakeri was also part of the negotiating team that went to Islamabad earlier this year to hammer out the (now-moribund) MOU with the United States. These days, when you listen to Shakeri’s interviews, you will hear him insist...

Colorado citizens legalized assisted suicide by approving Proposition 106 in 2016 which came into effect in 2017. In 2024, Colorado passed assisted suicide Bill SB 068 expanding their assisted suicide law by: permitting non-physicians to prescribe the assisted suicide poison, reducing the waiting period from 15 days to 48 hours and allowing the 48 hour waiting period to be waived if the presciber believes that the person is imminently dying. The 2025 Colorado assisted suicide report states that: In 2025, 580 patients received prescriptions for aid-in-dying medications under the provisions of the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act. This represents a 12.4%...

Explanation: What's happening to this meteor? This bright meteor streak appeared and disappeared quickly during a long exposure of the Great Lacerta Nebula, seen faintly in red toward the center of the image. The meteoroid, likely a small pebble, creates its glow partly by heating and exciting surrounding air in Earth's atmosphere, but itself vaporizes and leaves wind-blown gas and dust with colors that give clues to its composition. The featured image was captured last month from Death Valley Observatories in Nevada, USA. This month, though, is particularly good for seeing meteors. Presently there are three meteor showers ongoing, although...

President Trump on Monday blasted Iran’s leadership as “unbelievably duplicitous,” accusing Tehran of privately pursuing peace talks with the US while publicly denying any negotiations were taking place days after he called off a massive military campaign planned for the weekend.In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed Iranian officials had sought a meeting with the US before turning around and insisting they were only in talks with Oman over plans for the Strait of Hormuz. “They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that...

The revelation that the State of New Jersey registered 6,600 admitted non-citizens to vote prompted Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) to blame it on a "software glitch." IDEMIA software is what the state uses to handle driver's licenses, vehicle titles & registrations. In the process of doing these tasks the customer is first asked whether he or she is a citizen. If the answer is yes, he or she is also offered the opportunity to register to vote. If the answer is no, he or she isn't supposed to be allowed to register to vote. A spokesperson for IDEMIA insists that...

Behind the scenes, Gulf governments have grown increasingly concerned about what they view as an unclear U.S. strategy as the conflict continues and Iranian attacks threaten the region, the Journal reported.

If you want to purchase food from one of communist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s government-run supermarkets, you must… present some form of ID. And not just any ID… government ID. But-but-but how will married women eat? Here’s the video and transcript: VIDEO AT LINK.............. “So, our RFP [Request for Proposals] makes very clear that this is a program for New Yorkers to be able to put food on the table, not a program for people to be able to make a quick buck through reselling,” explains Mamdani. “I’m going [to] pass it over to our EDC head, Jeanny Pak, to add...

Romania blew up a rock outcrop on Aug 3 to help redirect vital cooling water from the drought-hit Danube river to its sole working nuclear reactor, an unprecedented measure underlining the scale of an energy crunch across the region. In neighbouring Hungary, authorities said they might be able to eke out two more days of power from their only atomic plant, which has been hit by falling levels in the Danube that it also relies on as a coolant. Heat and drought have lowered river levels across large parts of Europe, raising concerns about water supplies, river transport and power...

Summary Russian officials say at least seven people, including three children, have been killed by a Ukrainian drone on a beach in south-west Russia - BBC Verify examines footage It's not clear if the drone was intercepted before landing on the beach. It has been reported it may have been targeting a Russian naval base about 25 miles (40 km) away - Ukraine has not commented The area has long been a favourite of Russian holidaymakers, says our Europe reporter Earlier, an apparent Ukrainian drone strike hit a warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, around 112 miles east...

The job market has been a tough sell for many Gen Z graduates, with tariffs, economic uncertainty, and artificial intelligence reshaping hiring plans across corporate America. But according to Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang, the next wave of six-figure opportunities won't be found in a Wall Street cubicle or Silicon Valley Slack channel. Instead, high-paying careers will partially come by picking up a wrench—literally.As tech giants race to build sprawling data centers—totaling $7 trillion in global capital outlays by the end of the decade—Huang believes the world is on the cusp of what he calls the "largest infrastructure build-out in human...

Sleep under the stars as camping in Central Park starts on August 14. The NYC Parks Department has just rolled out a lottery for family camping all around New York City, where lucky winners may camp overnight with its Urban Park Rangers as their hosts and guides. From August 8 until September 18, folks can post up for some good ‘ol family-friendly camping programs. Some parks will feature Ranger-led nighttime hikes through the woods, storytelling and s’mores. The parks department will provide the tents and campers will only need to bring sleeping bags and bedding.

Rupert Lowe has been slammed with appeared to offer rival Nigel Farage an olive branch yesterday to end their bitter feud. The former Reform UK MP, who set up Restore Britain after a dramatic bust up, said millions of people "see a patriotic right hopelessly divided". Mr Lowe, the former Chairman of Southampton FC, said he was willing to put their differences aside and work with Reform UK again - if five demands were met. He called for Britain's immigration crisis to be "reversed", for "demographic security", a referendum on the death penalty, "restoring a self-sufficient Britain" and boosting faith...

Back at the start of June, Karmelo Anthony was found guilty of stabbing Austin Metcalf in the chest at a track meet. Both Anthony and Metcalf were 17 at the time. The Left was very angry about the case and the verdict; many of them believe Anthony acted in "self-defense," and that he shouldn't have faced charges at all, let alone prison time. Now that case is coming up in the Texas U.S. Senate race, with Democrat James Talarico falling squarely on the side of the leftists who think Anthony did nothing wrong. Watch as Talarico nods sycophantically as a...

US President Donald Trump criticized Iran’s leadership for being “unbelievably duplicitous” and accused them of being dishonest regarding the status of US-Iran negotiations in a post on Truth Social on Monday. “They ask for a meeting… talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about,” Trump lamented. He added that “nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a deal, or total surrender, is accomplished.” Trump also disputed Iranian claims of controlling the Strait...

MADRID — The Spanish government proudly announced that after a recent demographic change, the city of Ceuta is now the fastest-growing city on the planet. Spain stated that Ceuta has become something of an overnight sensation, with tens of thousands moving into the city over the course of mere hours. "It has become the hot destination, especially for young men," said Spanish government spokesman Alejandro Via. "There are so many people pouring into the city, we literally cannot stop them. The population growth is explosive and unprecedented, a true reflection of the amazing work the Spanish government has done in...

An Afghan man has been arrested in Athens in connection with the death of a Scottish woman whose body was found in a suitcase. Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, from Edinburgh, was discovered on July 18 stuffed inside the suitcase and hidden in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of the Greek capital. Her body was discovered by a homeless man after a "bad smell" emerged from an empty building and he saw "what looked like a human limb" coming out of a suitcase. Greek police said a 26-year-old foreign national from Afghanistan had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, robbery...

The first thing we should recognize is that the Bible frequently employs legal, sacrificial, military, familial, agricultural, and medical imagery to describe salvation. None of these images stands alone. Each illuminates one aspect of the mystery, but none is intended to become the entire explanation of the Cross.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants the Trump administration to help keep him in office and has scheduled private talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday amid growing pressure to resign over his scheme to sell off the World Cup to Josh Kushner’s private equity firm, The Post has learned. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed Infantino will hold a call with America’s top diplomat just after 9 a.m. ET. “He wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America,” said one insider briefed on the matter....

The possibility of an agreement with Hamas is reigniting the question of whether Israel is repeating past mistakes when it puts trust in a terrorist organization that some say sees deals as merely a tactical means and not a binding obligation. In an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, Middle East expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar warns that the safest way to avoid falling into a trap is to refrain from signing deals with Hamas. "They have a long history of violating agreements," he said. "As far as they're concerned, particularly when it comes to non-Muslims, deception, hiding, stalling for time,...