Free Republic

New Zealand’s leader voiced concern Monday over a draft security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands that, if approved, could see Beijing establish a military base in the South Pacific. In addition, Australia’s prime minister reiterated his nation’s concern about the planned agreement that was leaked online last week. The security pact would allow Beijing to set up military bases and deploy troops in the Pacific island nation, “marking the start of a much sharper military competition than anything we’ve seen in the region for decades,” said David Capie, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Victoria...

PUTIN has suffered a serious security blunder after Ukraine published the names and numbers of more than 600 Kremlin spies.The spies were thought to be "involved in the invasion" of Ukraine. The massive and embarrassing security blunder is the latest in Russia’s faltering invasion. In total, the details of 620 Russians working for the FSB spy agency “involved in criminal activities” were released by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine. Many of the spies can be traced back to their work addresses, based at the Federal Security Service’s, FSB, Lubyanka headquarters in Moscow. The mobile phone numbers and car licence...

A blind psychic who correctly predicted the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the 9/11 attacks once claimed that president Vladimir Putin is to become 'Lord of the World'. Known as the Nostradamus of the Balkans, Baba Vanga, who died 25 years ago in 1996 aged 84, predicted in a 1979 interview that Russia was to dominate the world. She also made a frightening prediction about World War Three and the potential use of nuclear weapons. During the interview with writer Valentin Sidorov, she said Putin's 'glory' will remain 'untouched'. Known as the Nostradamus of the Balkans, Baba Vanga,...

A hub for rocketry research and development in its early days, the Cape served as a test center not just for spaceflight and research but also for the US missile development programs...and along the eastern coastline, the iconic “missile row” of Atlas and Titan launch complexes dominated the skyline. Many of the Cape’s launch facilities have long since fallen silent, but with newcomers Firefly and Relativity preparing for their first launches from Cape Canaveral, the sight of rockets lifting off along the “row” is about to return. The eight launch pads that made up the core of what is unofficially...

NASA plans to delay the next phase of its Mars Sample Return campaign and split a lander mission into two separate spacecraft to reduce the overall risk of the program. At a March 21 meeting of the National Academies’ Space Studies Board, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, revealed that NASA and the European Space Agency had agreed to revise the schedule and design for upcoming missions that will return samples being cached by the Perseverance rover to Earth. Original plans called for the launch of both a NASA-led Sample Retrieval Lander and ESA-led Earth Return Orbiter in 2026....

When Simon Turner reached his lowest point back in May 2020, he never would have dreamed how his life would turn aroundWhen Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown on March 23, 2020, in an attempt to curb rising cases of coronavirus, few realised just how much would change. The past two years have seen people lose friends, family members and jobs, while for others it has marked new beginnings. As Wales prepares to lift most remaining Covid rules on Monday, March 28, most of our lives have already changed forever. When Simon Turner reached his lowest point back in May...

Astrophotographers often produce breathtaking images of distant galaxies, planets, and moons from Earth. But Dr Sebastain Voltmer captured something very different and yet equally incredible, last week. He photographed the International Space Station (ISS) while astronauts Matthias Maurer and Raja Chari were outside performing a spacewalk. This may be the first ground-based image that has captured two astronauts out on a spacewalk at the same time.

Oscar winners are almost seven times more likely to suffer from mental health and addiction issues than other people. Analysis by Paracelsus Recovery, a clinic that has treated dozens of celebrities, said ‘fame should come with a health warning’ after it emerged that two-thirds of actors who have won Academy Awards over the past 30 years experienced disorders. Of the 60 performers who won either the Best Actor or Best Actress gong since 1992, 41 have suffered from a mental health issue – with depression, anxiety and substance abuse the most common problems.

On March 22nd in the House Health Subcommittee and on March 23rd in the Senate Health Committee, two “caption bills” were snuck in under the radar with amendments added that push the HPV Vaccine. One of the bills allows minors to receive the HPV vaccine without parental knowledge or consent. A caption bill is filed as a placeholder with generic language that is filled out with amendments in committees and subcommittees. Generally, these amendments are not displayed on the General Assembly website until a bill is well on its way in the legislative process. House Bill 0946 (HB0946), sponsored by...

OTTAWA - Canada’s decade-long search for a new fighter jet to replace its aging CF-18s came full circle on Monday as the Liberal government announced negotiations with U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin to purchase the F-35. Yet even as the end to that circuitous search appeared to finally be in sight, many unanswered questions remained: how much the aircraft will cost? When they will start to arrive in Canada? And were the past 12 years of debate and delays worth it? Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi and Defence Minister Anita Anand confirmed during a news conference that Lockheed Martin’s stealth fighter...

Last January, Stew Peters decided to roll out the thesis that I have personal responsibility for the morbidity and mortality associated with the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines consequent to my pioneering work in developing the ideas and reduction to practice of using synthetic mRNA as a transient “gene therapy” method, with the entry level application being for vaccine purposes. This has been echoed by many angry social media detractors seeking to find someone to blame for the lies and adverse events that have been associated with these mRNA vaccines. Mindful of those critics, this Substack essay focuses on some of the...

Our corrupt elites keep predicting at their globalist conferences that food will soon become scarce and expensive. Why is that? It seems to be an unlikely scenario in our age of modern farming and global shipping. Why would food production capacity suddenly collapse for, say, 100 million people? This is where the Russia-Ukraine war comes in. Russia and Ukraine together produce about 30% of the world’s wheat exports — as well as 15% of corn exports and 30% of barley exports. Russia alone produces 15% of the world's fertilizer. According to the corporate media, the war is causing fertilizer costs...

The unit was started by young university-educated Ukrainians who had been part of the 2014 Maidan uprising and volunteered to use their technical skills in the resistance against the first Russian invasion in Crimea and the Donbas region. Its founder, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach, was an investment banker who was killed in action in 2015 in Donbas – a reminder of the high risks involved. The Russians can latch on to the drone’s electronic signature and quickly strike with mortars, so the Aerorozvidka teams have to launch and run. Honchar is an ex-soldier turned IT marketing consultant, who returned to the army...

Women have many choices for birth control, ranging from pills to patches to intrauterine devices, and partly as a result, they bear most of the burden of preventing pregnancy. But men’s birth control options — and, therefore, responsibilities — could soon be expanding. Today, scientists report a non-hormonal male contraceptive that effectively prevents pregnancy in mice, without obvious side effects. The researchers presented their results this week at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2022 is a hybrid meeting that was held virtually and in-person March 20-24, with on-demand access available March 21-April 8. The...

Roman Abramovich, .. has shuttled between Moscow, Lviv and other venues to help negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russian .. Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Kyiv earlier this month, people familiar with the matter said. Russian .. developed symptoms that people familiar with the matter blamed on hard-liners in Moscow who they say want to sabotage peace talks Mr. Abramovich, Ukrainian lawmaker Rustem Umerov and another negotiator developed symptoms following the March 3 meeting in Kyiv that included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin...

A Johns Hopkins Children’s Center-led study in mice and lab-grown cells finds sulforaphane could help prevent and treat illnesses caused by certain coronaviruses, including COVID-19. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center report evidence from lab experiments that a chemical derived from a compound found abundantly in broccoli and other cruciferous plants may offer a potentially new and potent weapon against the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the common cold. COVID-19 has already killed more than 6 million people worldwide, and studies have shown that common colds cost an estimated economic loss of $25 billion in the U.S. alone each year....

Since 1987, America has recognized March as Women’s History Month. In this year’s proclamation, President Biden wrote that the event “provides an opportunity to honor the generations of trailblazing women and girls who have built our Nation, shaped our progress, and strengthened our character as a people.” Truly a noble effort. But in 2022, nothing can be so simple. We can’t even agree what a “woman” is, let alone “history” or “month.” The latest example occurred during the hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R–Tenn.) asked the nominee, “Can you provide a...

Explanation: The southernmost part of the Milky Way contains not only the stars of the Southern Cross, but the closest star system to our Sun -- Alpha Centauri. The Southern Cross itself is topped by the bright, yellowish star Gamma Crucis. A line from Gamma Crucis through the blue star at the bottom of the cross, Acrux, points toward the south celestial pole, located just above the small island in the featured picture -- taken in early March. That island is Madivaru of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Against faint Milky Way starlight, the dark Coal Sack Nebula lies...

The Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins died unexpectedly last Friday evening in Bogota, Colombia. The band was touring South America with a stop in Bogota for the Festival Estéreo Picnic. The cause of death has not been officially released yet but according to a statement from Bogotá’s secretary of health, he died after experiencing chest pains at a hotel in the city. A private health provider was providing treatment when an ambulance arrived on the scene. Efforts to resuscitate Hawkins were unsuccessful. He was 50 years old. The cause of death hasn’t been released but a preliminary “forensic medical study”...

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law on Monday, The Walt Disney Company issued a statement vowing to help repeal the controversial legislation. “Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” the statement reads. “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights...