Free Republic

The Truth: Most everyone agrees that after thirteen years of preaching his new religion, Muhammad did not have very much success and was forced to flee Mecca with his 150 followers. There he formed an army and returned eight years later to conquer the city that rejected him. Muslims who are not as knowledgeable about the true record left by the historians of the day believe that Mecca was a city of extreme religious persecution and evil pagans who simply had to be conquered because of the danger they posed. Muhammad then fully forgave the people and everyone lived in...

I found myself in the beginning of mailing 60 notices, and at the end of a roll of stamps. After poking around I found an unopened roll of 100 ct Forever stamps, with 2016 on the band securing the stamps, and continued to apply stamps to envelopes ... until I ran out! Again! Apparently the 100ct roll only contained 50! And the backing for the stamps was only about 4 feet long (stamps are 1" wide). So I gathered up all the contents of the seal around the coil and the entire backing, which had been split off in 4...

Wildlife like the Japanese serow... are flourishing in the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan, images from remotely-operated cameras have revealed Wildlife ecologist James Beasley of the University of Georgia, in the US, and colleagues used a network of 106 remote cameras to capture images of the wildlife in the area around the Fukushima Daiichi power plant over a four-month period. Taking more than 267,000 photos, the cameras captured images of more than 20 species — among which were foxes, Japanese hares and pheasants. 'Our results represent the first evidence that numerous species of wildlife are now...

Firefox attacks: Homeland Security urges all users to update browsers immediately in rare warning

Anti-immigrant author and activist Peter Brimelow is suing The New York Times for $5 million for dubbing him an “open white nationalist” in an article last year. Brimelow, who runs a website that has published pieces from white supremacists, is suing The Times over a January 15, 2019 article that detailed the chronology of racist comments from Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). The story briefly mentioned Brimelow and noted that he and the lawmaker had appeared on a panel together at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference. Brimelow accused The Times of performing a “stealth edit” to the initial version of...

"AmirKabir university students are chanting "We hadn't our loved ones killed to support killer #Khamenei" and also "#IRGC be ashamed & leave our country" "Special Pasdaran Unit of #Iran's Islamic Regime Police is now brutally attacking & suppressing #AmirKabir university students who are protesting against #Iran's Islamic Regime over shot-down of Flight #PS752 " "In addition to the students of #AmirKabir university, students of #Sharif university are also protesting "

On her MSNBC show today, after praising Iran for having "stepped up" and admitting it shot down the airliner, Reid then explicitly adopted Iran's Trump-blaming position on the matter. Using the identical term as the Iranian regime did, Reid put the onus for the shootdown on Trump's "adventurism." Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

The War Powers Resolution passed Thursday by the House in an effort to restrict President Trump’s ability to take military action to defend America against attack from Iran is a meaningless political document designed only to embarrass the president. The nonbinding resolution criticizes the president for not “consulting” with Congress and receiving its “authorization” before ordering the killing of Iranian general and terrorist mastermind Qassem Soleimani. The resolution also orders Trump to stop using military force against Iran until he gets congressional approval. Trump acted fully within his constitutional authority when he ordered the drone strike against Soleimani, a mass...

Climate change is often framed as a scientific or technical issue. But for many, it’s an emotional one too. **SNIP** Andrew Bryant, a therapist based in Seattle, maintains the website climateandmind.org, which provides advice on finding a clinician. It also contains detailed descriptions of scholars’ growing understanding of ecological grief, and references for books and articles about climate and mental health. Ultimately, people need to create habits that allow them to recognize and process their grief, but not be suffocated by it, said Atkinson. That could mean getting outside, making art or reading literature. Atkinson teaches a class on environmental...

It doesn't seem all that long ago the media and liberal academia were predicting economic meltdown in the aftermath of Trump's election. Liberal "economist" Paul Krugman, for example, famously predicted after Trump's election, "So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight. I suppose we could get lucky somehow. But on economics, as on everything else, a terrible thing has just happened." Well, the left has been repeatedly proven wrong about Trump and the economy, and once again, it's pure joy to point out how wrong they were. With the latest unemployment statistics in,...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

Dr. Bandy Lee is literally claiming that we are mentally ill and our views should be considered symptoms of our illness, rather than as legitimate ideas.,P. Publicly offering "professional opinions" or diagnoses in the absence of a psychiatric examination, is a violation of psychiatric ethics and the rules of the American Psychiatric Association.[snip] Her resort to diagnosis rather than dialogue is a symptom of a much larger problem that faces our divided nation -- too many Americans are refusing to engage in reasoned dialogue with people with whom they disagree. Dr. Lee is part of that problem, not its solution.

So here comes Collins admitting that she’s discussing the subject of new witnesses with a select group of colleagues. Speaking to reporters on Friday at the end of a visit to the Fruit Street School in Bangor, Collins said she had been working all week with a “fairly small group” of Republican senators and party leaders to ensure trial rules would allow House impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers to call witnesses. Collins declined to say how large the group was, but she said “we should be completely open to calling witnesses.” “I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement...

Isn’t it amazing that the people who live in terror don’t want it, but people who don’t live in it, want all of us to live under it? Our democrat party. Let's not forget that we have friends in Iran too. Today an anti-regime protest erupted in Iran. Gaining momentum as the day goes by, the protests signal that the ‎Iranian people are sick and tired of the regime. Violence erupted on and near university campuses.

All fantasy worlds draw from reality, and the Star Wars universe is no exception. As fans flock to theaters to see “The Rise of Skywalker” this holiday week, most of their minds will be on the grand visuals, enduring characters and exciting storytelling, and not on how the films reflect our culture — including its prejudices. But if we take a moment to think about it, George Lucas’s galaxy is, and has always been, far, far away from being an original or an inclusive creation. Star Wars is shot with “Orientalizing” stereotypes — patronizing tropes that represent an imagined East,...

DUBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Iran's statement on Saturday that a Ukrainian passenger plane was downed by a missile fired unintentionally followed growing pressure from abroad but also at home, and for some Iranians, the authorities' expressions of condolence were not enough. For days, Iran had denied Western accusations it was responsible for Wednesday's crash soon after take-off from Tehran, in which all 176 people aboard were killed. Authorities said on Saturday that air defences had been fired in error while on high alert following Iranian missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. Expressions of condolence over the incident from...

I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? Psalm 118:5-6 KJV How desperate do you have to be in your quest for power you need to support the most bloodthirsty killer on the planet. The same people who decry you are Hitler every ten minutes found themselves eulogizing and supporting the world’s closest embodiment to Hitler walking the planet. In addition, they even decried the killing of this monster even after they knew he...

"""Iranian Regime Releases Movie “Hard Revenge” Where US Capitol Is Blown Up and President Trump Is Killed in White House (VIDEO)""" Iranian regime officials including members of the Supreme National Security Council have vowed to take a ‘hard revenge’ on the US. Iranian operatives are using the hashtag #Hard_Revenge on Twitter to push their threat. This week Iran released a short film “Hard Revenge” where Iranian operatives blow up the US Capitol Building and kill President Trump in the White House.

“In [Christ] we have redemption” (Eph. 1:7). Slavery to sin is bondage; slavery to God is freedom. Freedom is a precious thing. People throughout history have prayed, fought, and even died for it. Our Declaration of Independence upholds it as one of our inalienable rights. But the truth is, no matter what one’s political situation might be, everyone is a slave—either to sin or to God. Jesus said that “everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). Paul added that all of creation is in slavery to corruption (Rom. 8:21). However, believers have “been freed from sin...

Iran officials acknowledged Saturday that they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 people aboard. Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division, told state TV that his unit accepts “full responsibility” for shooting the down aircraft minutes after it took off Wednesday from Tehran’s international airport. He said that when he learned about the downing of the plane, “I wished I was dead.” The aircraft, which was heading to Kiev, was shot down hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing U.S. and...