Free Republic

European companies have almost doubled their shipments of Russian oil since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, despite desperate efforts by EU leaders to squeeze the Kremlin war machine by blocking Russia’s exports from global markets. Campaigners said EU-based shipping firms had made a “mockery” of plans to sanction Russia, and warned that a partial oil embargo announced this week would do little to hurt Mr Putin or shorten the war. Russian oil will continue to flow into Europe via a pipeline through Hungary, and after lobbying from shipping interests in Greece, Malta and Cyprus, EU-registered boats and...

Physicists are building neural networks out of vibrations, voltages and lasers, arguing that the future of computing lies in exploiting the universe’s complex physical behaviors.Inside a soundproofed crate sits one of the world’s worst neural networks. After being presented with an image of the number 6, it pauses for a moment before identifying the digit: zero. Peter McMahon, the physicist-engineer at Cornell University who led the development of the network, defends it with a sheepish smile, pointing out that the handwritten number looks sloppy. Logan Wright, a postdoc visiting McMahon’s lab from NTT Research, assures me that the device...

The Jan. 6 committee has reportedly tapped a former top boss at ABC News as a “secret adviser” to craft its upcoming primetime hearing on the Capitol riot for a television audience. James Goldston, who served as president of ABC News from 2014 until early 2021, has been working as an adviser to the House select committee and quietly producing the hearing. Goldston previously helmed “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.” The committee tapped Goldston to help convert a cache of documents, depositions, recorded footage and other materials related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot into compelling television for those...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) bested former President Trump for the second year in a row in a 2024 presidential election straw poll conducted Saturday. The poll was taken at the Western Conservative Summit in Aurora, Colo …

arly this month China’s president Xi Jinping encouraged the country’s youth to establish “great ideals” and incorporate their personal goals into the “bigger picture” of the Chinese nation and people. “‘China’s hope lies in youth,” he said in a major speech. But on China’s internet, some young people say their “ideals” simply cannot be achieved and many of them have given up on trying. Frustrated by the mounting uncertainties and lack of economic opportunities, they are resorting to a new buzzword – bai lan (摆烂, or let it rot in English) – to capture their attitude towards life. The phrase,...

Join together with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Author-ity in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced the undocumented man acquitted of murder in the 2015 shooting death of a woman on a San Francisco pier to the seven years he's already spent in jail -- bringing to a legal close the case that ignited a national firestorm over immigration, crime and sanctuary cities.

A Twitter pal compared this to FDR visiting American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge. Jonathan Last calls it literally Churchillian, since Churchill also made a point of visiting the front repeatedly to remind his men that their leaders hadn’t forgotten them or their sacrifice.That’s important at this stage of the war, now that Kiev and Kharkiv have been liberated while Ukrainian troops in the Donbas are going through hell. Eighty percent of the country, including the capital, is facing nothing more than occasional airstrikes. Businesses are open, embassies are operating, life has regained a semblance of normalcy. The...

Catherine Keane, 31, from Rathmines in Dublin, was found by her housemates after she failed to come down for breakfast. The cause of her death was put down to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS)... A fit and healthy young woman died in her sleep without warning. Catherine Keane's housemates didn't think much of it when she failed to come down for breakfast ... Catherine had passed away in the night. It was later determined she'd died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS). SADS is a condition where someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, but the cause of...

Tucker takes a look at the illegal arrest of Peter Navarro by the corrupt FBI and compares it to when Eric Holder was found in contempt of Congress for supplying guns to Mexican drug cartels in an operation called “Fast and Furious”. The Mexican drug cartels then used the same weapons to murder a US Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry. Eric Holder lied about that to the congress and refused to hand over requested documents. Congress with a bipartisan vote held Holder in criminal contempt. Up till today, the FBI is yet to arrest Holder. But then they arrest Peter...

In a new book and interview, Pastor Greg Laurie shares how Beatle John Lennon turned to God — and why 'prayer is heard'

Vladimir Putin is dying from blood cancer. Or thyroid cancer. Or maybe abdominal cancer. No, it is Parkinson’s. He has dementia. He is losing his sight. His limbs are “shaking uncontrollably”. On any given day, depending which news outlets you believe, the Russian president is terminally ill with any number of different diseases. Or perhaps, as several British tabloids have suggested recently, he is already dead. Citing an unnamed intelligence source at the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service MI6, the Daily Star reported on 28 May that Putin was “very ill”, possibly “already dead”, with the Kremlin using lookalikes to conceal...

With moribund seriousness, the J6 Committee proceedings will be broadcast this week by the usual suspects: CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and the rest of the legacy media that cares. Trust me, the majority of the American people don’t. This clown show is one last opportunity for Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, soon-to-be-ousted Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin to posture, bloviate, and make it appear as though they are fighting against the evils of Donald Trump and for American Democracy… whatever that means.Cheney took to the Sunday shows to promote the “importance” of these proceedings. With somberness and...

One of the largest migrant caravans is headed towards the US. According to a Fox News report, a caravan organizer said Mexican authorities let a group of nearly 10,000 depart from Tapachula, Mexico on Monday. The migrants are making the dangerous trek in anticipation of the Biden administration ending the Trump era public health order Title 42 at the border. “We consider we are around 9,500,” said caravan organizer Luis Villagran. “People keep on joining. In the first police check there were approximately 100-150 national guard, INM, state police and they let us through freely.” One Migrant said Biden “promised...

At best, the political messaging behind Biden’s ‘plan’ would do little to solve Americans’ pain. More likely, it would make the problem worse.In an op-ed in last week’s Wall Street Journal, President Biden’s ghostwriters outlined what the title of his column called a “plan for fighting inflation.” After reading the article, five simple words come to mind: “Hold on to your wallet.”At best, the political messaging behind Biden’s “plan” would do little to solve Americans’ pain. More likely, it would make the problem worse. Here are the major components of his agenda.Step 1: Change the SubjectThe column began with a...

After bending over backwards to appease and please LGBT activists, Amazon is still beset by complaints it’s not doing everything they want.On the first day of June, Amazon headquarters in Seattle hosted its annual LGBTQ Pride celebration, only to be interrupted by transgender employees protesting the company’s “transphobic” policies. If that takes a moment to process, you’re not alone. Amazon was one of the first major companies to include transgender medical services in its health plan. Currently, the company covers full transition services and a wide range of elective and cosmetic surgery coverage for transgender employees, including rhinoplasty, liposuction, multiple...

Bipartisan investigations are a rarity in Washington, D.C. The constituencies likely to be affected or to suffer collateral damage are usually enough to derail them from gaining momentum. Affix the term "disinformation" to the claim in need of investigation, and the chances of a genuine inquiry plummet from hardly ever to "forget about it." Such is the current trajectory of the need to explore the origin of COVID-19. We now know that intelligence officials and top diplomats studied the issue in the spring of 2020 and concluded that the virus "most likely" came from a lab. In keeping with their...

China’s top disciplinary watchdog announced on May 31 that it has removed a former top official in eastern Jiangsu Province from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the regime’s public office.Zhang Jinghua, former deputy CCP chief of Jiangsu, was accused of “faking economic figures for personal promotion and meddling in market activities in violation of relevant rules,” among other charges of corruption, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) in a notice on May 31. It did not provide any specifics for the accusation.Zhang is one of the most recent CCP members of the 19th central committee—the CCP’s...

Vladimir Putin and his allies have taken to Russian media to blast NATO nations for continuing their support for Ukraine, warning “armed conflict will be drawn out” if the US and European countries continue to send arms to Kyiv. US President Joe Biden last month pledged a massive supply of short range missiles to Ukraine as the war-torn nation continues to skirmish with Russian troops in key locations in the east and major capital cities. And UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has since vowed to send long-range missiles to Ukraine. As the seesaw battle raged on for the strategically important...

A Republican lawmaker from Texas is determined to file legislation to ban drag shows in the presence of minors just days after video surfaced online showing children attending a show in Dallas over the weekend. Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Mineola, tweeted on Monday that he plans to introduce legislation aimed at 'protecting kids from drag shows and other inappropriate displays.' The announcement came after videos surfaced online showing children attending a drag show at a pride month event in Dallas over the past weekend. The event in Dallas, titled 'Drag The Kids To Pride,' invited parents to bring their kids...