Free Republic

Not much good came out of President Joe Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan exit strategy, with 13 U.S. service members murdered and scores of innocent Afghan civilians hurt or killed after suicide bombings took place there last month days after Kabul fell to the Taliban. But in the midst of all the chaos, a symbol of hope emerged, an infant girl who was literally hoisted to safety after being handed over to a Marine who proceeded to lift the baby over a barbed wire-topped wall. You may remember the viral video, but for those who haven’t seen it, watch below:A baby was...

While excess cannabis consumption by canines is not new, cases are growing as more and more states legalize the drug, and its use becomes more widespread, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The group’s poison hotline suggests that as more and more states have legalized recreational marijuana, reports of marijuana toxicity in dogs have also grown. Between 2017 and 2020, national call volume for cannabis ingestion rose from 1,436 to 3,923 cases, said Tina Wismer, a veterinarian and senior director of the New York-based ASPCA Poison Control Center. Those numbers are likely just a...

We know you're all just poor corrupt officials, but bleating excuses won't save you from the karmic payoff. The Federal Reserve can be summed up in two famous lines from the classic film Casablanca in which the corrupt police official Renault is ordered to close Rick's cafe. Renault: I'm shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here. [The croupier hands Renault a wad of cash]: Your winnings, sir. The Fed is totally, completely, fatally corrupt. Only those being handed their ill-gotten gains defend the Fed. Everyone who is isn't totally, completely, fatally corrupt wants America's financial Politburo...

Unfortunately, the truth about what is in our immediate future is becoming apparent to everyone. Global supply chains are in a state of complete and utter chaos, and this is driving up prices and causing widespread shortages all over the country. Over the past couple of weeks, I have written five articles with either “shortage” or “shortages” in the title, and some have accused me of being a little alarmist. If that is the case, then CNN is being alarmist too, because one of their top stories today openly warned of a “global transport system collapse”…In an open letter Wednesday...

A study released this month found that the rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths in rural areas have far surpassed those being observed in metropolitan communities, with rural mortality rates more than double that of urban ones.

Australian police moving in as protesters gathered at multiple locations across the country Friday morning. The protests about loss of jobs over forced vaccination. "#ReclaimTheLine" the theme for today's protests. A huge march of protesters on the border between Queensland and New South Wales. Back in Melbourne on a Facebook video one person said the police officer told them they had to: "do their job" or "lose their job" Today Prime Minister Scott Morrison talking about allowing "international students" and "skilled workers" into Australia. Hundreds at least lining a pond at Parramatta Park in the Greater Sydney Area.....

An airplane passenger was detained Wednesday evening after he opened the emergency exit door and walked out onto the wing of the plane... "We thank our team members and law enforcement for their professionalism and quick action," American Airlines, which was operating the plane, said in a statement Wednesday. It added that the Boeing 737 MAX had 171 passengers and six crew members onboard.

Authorities in California have ruled out a freak lightning strike and cyanide exposure as possible causes of death of a British Snapchat engineer and his family, but more than six weeks later they appear to be no closer to finding out what killed the young parents, their baby daughter and pet dog on a remote hiking trail. Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in an emailed statement on Thursday that many toxicology reports have been completed as part of the ongoing investigation into the August 17 deaths of Jonathan Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, daughter Muji and their family dog,...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is no longer considered the most powerful person in the country, according to the Australian Financial Review Magazine. The magazine today releases its annual Power Issue, in which a panel of experts select the Australians who wield the most power to shape our everyday lives. Traditionally the Prime Minister sits at number one on the list — and in October 2020 Mr Morrison claimed top billing thanks in part to the successful JobKeeper program. But this year the AFR Magazine panel elected to combine four state premiers in Gladys Berejiklian (NSW), Daniel Andrews (Victoria), Annastacia Palaszczuk...

A Texas woman has been arrested after allegedly stopping traffic by attempting to ride on the top of a train and refusing to leave.... ... Officers from the Brazos County Sheriff's Department were summoned to the scene after Union Pacific Railroad workers reportedly noticed the 38-year-old woman on top of the train after it made a stop in Bryan, according to The Bryan-College Station Eagle.... ...A brief video clip posted to Twitter by a reporter from local news station KBTX appears to show a woman, presumably DeLeon, riding on top of a train as it charges through an intersection...

Tensions have been mounting in western Asia following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last month, with Tajikistan reportedly beefing up its military presence on the Tajik-Afghan border in response. The Russian foreign ministry said Thursday it has been made aware of reports that Tajik military troops have been stationed along the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan and urged a calm resolution. ... ...The Tajik government has exchanged blows with the newly instated Taliban regime in recent weeks, condemning the insurgent group’s lack of diversity in the Taliban’s interim government and expressing concerns over stability in the region. ... In exchange,...

House Democratic leaders late Thursday postponed a vote yet again on the bipartisan infrastructure bill amid threats from progressives to tank it as leverage for a separate, larger package to expand social safety net programs. After a long day of meetings between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the warring centrist and progressive factions of the caucus, as well as with White House staff, Democrats opted to delay a vote planned for Thursday rather than allow an embarrassing public failure on the House floor. A notice from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D-Md.) office issued shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday confirmed...

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will make a 'significant announcement' at 1pm today after it emerged she is being investigated by the state's corruption watchdog. She has reportedly told colleagues she will be resigning as premier. Liberal MP Peter Poulos told an Upper House inquiry: 'She's going to resign at one o'clock'. The watchdog known as ICAC is investigating whether Ms Berejiklian encouraged or allowed corrupt conduct by her secret ex-boyfriend and former MP Daryl Maguire between 2012 and 2018. It will also probe whether she breached public trust by not reporting any suspicion of corrupt conduct.

I saw an aircraft over auburn travelling at high speed with fire colored trail. Anyone see that? Wth.

But California is having the last laugh. Even as the mandates on women and people of color have become a flashpoint in the culture wars, companies across the country are embracing California’s boardroom diversity directives.

The Biden administration on Thursday released a rule for how health care providers and insurers should implement legislation prohibiting what are known as surprise medical bills. The rule outlines procedures for how disagreements between payers and providers over out-of-network rates should be resolved, provides self-paying and uninsured people a way to resolve payment disputes and provides a process for resolving payment disputes without placing patients in the middle, among other features.... ...President Trump signed the bill into law and the Biden administration has since then been working on crafting its regulations....

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select: SWBI), one of the nation's oldest firearms manufacturers, announced today that it is moving its headquarters and significant elements of its operations to Maryville, Tennessee in 2023. Smith & Wesson has been based in Springfield, Massachusetts since the company was incorporated in 1852.Mark Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, said "This has been an extremely difficult and emotional decision for us, but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel that we have been left...

Today, Intel introduced Loihi 2, its second-generation neuromorphic research chip, and Lava, an open-source software framework for developing neuro-inspired applications. Their introduction signals Intel’s ongoing progress in advancing neuromorphic technology. Why It Matters: Neuromorphic computing, which draws insights from neuroscience to create chips that function more like the biological brain, aspires to deliver orders of magnitude improvements in energy efficiency, speed of computation and efficiency of learning across a range of edge applications: from vision, voice and gesture recognition to search retrieval, robotics, and constrained optimization problems. Novel neural networks trainable by deep learning: Fully programmable neuron models and generalized...

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued new directives to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers instructing them that migrants being in the country illegally "should not alone be the basis" for apprehending and deporting them. "The overriding question is whether the noncitizen poses a current threat to public safety," Mayorkas wrote in a Thursday memo to ICE, according to the Washington Post. Mayokas says the new directive, which goes into effect on November 29th, means ICE officers should not attempt to arrest and deport farmworkers, the elderly, and illegal immigrants who speak out at public demonstrations. "Are we going...

Everywhere you look, leftist members of big investment companies like BlackRock Inc. and “woke” CEOs at companies like Delta Air Lines Inc. prattle on about “ESG,” which stands for environmental, social, and governance responsibility. Environmental, social, and governance responsibility advocates force companies to take positions in the political arena on issues that may have nothing to do with the company’s actual business activities. Typical targets include use of fossil fuels, Second Amendment rights, and welfare policy. In their self-righteous elitism, environmental, social, and governance responsibility advocates have no qualms about the use of shareholders’ assets—other people’s money—to promote their various...