Free Republic

A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top security officials visited the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has blocked journalists, rights workers and others from witnessing a human rights crisis. At the very least, 20 migrants have died in the area's freezing forests and bogs. The Polish government characterizes the wall as part of the fight against Russia; human rights defenders see it as...

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Friday that western alliances in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are "pushing" Russia and Belarus to unite. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has thus far been able to keep Minsk’s direct involvement out of the war in Ukraine, but comments by Putin posted to the Kremlin’s website suggest this may not be the case for long. "The unprecedented political and sanctions pressure from the so-called ‘collective West’ is pushing us to speed up the unification processes," the Kremlin chief said according to Russian media outlet RIA. "After all, together it is easier to minimize...

Airlines have cancelled and delayed hundreds of flights in the U.S. sparking travel chaos during the busiest Fourth of July weekend since the pandemic, which has been dubbed 'Airmageddon.' Around 48 million people are expected to travel this weekend with AAA estimating 3.5million would take to the air. But the actual number of passengers flying may be dramatically higher as, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.4 million travelers at airports on Thursday alone - up 17 percent from the Fourth of July Friday in 2019. Many fliers will be facing disappointment, with 604 flights canceled by 2:30pm, and...

Explanation: For the northern hemisphere June 21 was the summer solstice, the Sun reaching its northernmost declination for the year. That would put it at the top of each of these three figure-8 curves, or analemmas, as it passed through the daytime sky over the village of Proboszczow, Poland. No sequence of digital exposures was used to construct the remarkable image though. Using a pinhole camera fixed to face south during the period June 26, 2021 to June 26, 2022, the image was formed directly on a single sheet of photographic paper, a technique known as solargraphy. The three analemmas...

The Charlie Daniels Band said someone glued a spouse’s military ID to the marble a few months ago and damaged the grave. Then, someone dug up a newly planted dogwood tree and took it. The CDB reported Mt. Juliet Police will be increasing patrols near his grave and video surveillance will soon be installed at the gravesite.

The Uvalde, Texas, school district police chief is resigning from his community’s city council amid criticism of the response to the shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb elementary in May. Pedro “Pete” Arredondo told the Uvalde Leader-News that he was stepping down from the city council post to which he was sworn in just seven days after the massacre, the outlet reported on Saturday. Soccer teammates of Tess Mata, who died in the shooting, cry, visit a makeshift memorial in Uvalde after the shooting. Why did they wait? Uvalde anger grows over bungled police response Read...

Bevis and Butthead do college, learn about white privilege.

he price of oil may rise to a “stratospheric” $380 per barrel if US and European sanctions lead Russia to reduce its crude supply in retaliation. This was disclosed by JPMorgan analysts endorsed by Natasha Kaneva in a note to clients seen by Bloomberg. Back story The Group of Seven (G7) leaders recently discussed a plan to cap the price of Russian oil in order to put pressure on Moscow, which is benefiting from rising energy prices, and cut off its sources of funding for the invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the note. A price exception could work through a...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Ukraine had tried to strike military facilities on Belarusian territory three days ago, but all its missiles had been intercepted, the state-run Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko, who did not provide evidence for the claim, said Belarus did not want war with Ukraine, but would fight if its own territory was invaded. The Ukrainian military did not immediately comment. "They are provoking us. I have to tell you, three days ago, maybe a bit more, an attempt to strike military facilities on Belarusian territory was made from the territory of Ukraine," Belta quoted Lukashenko as...

While U.S. intelligence has been unable in two years to determine for sure if COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, Congress has decided it no longer wants to take the risk of funding medical research at labs controlled by Beijing or other American adversaries.With little fanfare and in bipartisan fashion, House appropriators quietly amended the 2023 federal budget for health and science agencies on Thursday to ban any funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which U.S. intelligence fears may have been the origin point for the coronavirus pandemic, and other labs like it."None of the funds made available by...

One-third of Americans have changed their Fourth of July plans due to high gas prices, an Emerson College Poll released Friday found. The survey, taken June 28-29 among 1,271 registered voters, found that 33 percent have actively changed their travel plans this holiday weekend due to consistently high gas prices. “Regarding airfare, 18% have changed plans because of issues with plane travel,” the survey found. The results come as gas prices remain high, standing at an average of $4.842 on Friday after reaching an all-time high of $5.016 on June 14. Even so, gas prices are still well over $2.40...

"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever." "And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but...

VIDEOA year ago, in July 2021, Sleepy Joe and pals went into a state of deep braggadocio boasting how they saved the public 16 cents on their Fourth of July cookout from a year before. That's right! SIXTEEN WHOLE CENTS!!! Of course, that "savings" figure was due to some very creative accounting on their part. However, as you can see in this video, there is NO WAY Sleepy Joe wants to even mention anything at all associated with the costs of the 2022 July 4 picnic. In fact, they prefer you just think of something else altogether.

The Biden regime has blamed Vladimir Putin, oil companies, Donald Trump, Covid-19, and Vladimir Putin again for the skyrocketing gas prices. None of it stuck. The people blame the regime and rightfully so. But instead of finally coming out and acknowledging that their own failures and policies (one in the same) caused this problem, they’ve chosen a new target upon which to attempt to gaslight the nation. They decided to do it on social media, which is about as ludicrous as it sounds. People can respond, and their responses have been some of the most brutal this failed regime has...

Global warming is not a serious topic. No one cares, but the left wants us all to suffer in order to drop the Earth's temperature by less than a degree or whatever. Let's cannibalize future economic growth, curb population growth while we're at it, and declare war on burgers. These are the most miserable people on Earth. The problem is fighting back against their climate lies is hard when you have the shield of Big Tech there to flag and censor stories that shred their narrative. Before that crackdown, we used to torch the climate change crew. I'll do so...

The Supreme Court yesterday denied an appeal from the California Trucking Association about AB5, the new employment law in California governing independent-contract work. That means the law goes into effect today, and the trucking industry in the most important state for supply chains will face major upheaval. “It is going to be a radically new world in California’s trucking sector with the imposition of AB5, and it isn’t clear what parts of the industry — if any — are ready for it,” writes John Kingston at FreightWaves. The law was enjoined by a lower court on New Year’s Eve in...

SAN RAMON, California — Chevron intends to sell its vast headquarters campus in San Ramon, keep its head offices in the same East Bay city and shift jobs to Texas, a move that could deal a fresh blow to the Bay Area economy. The energy giant said it will cover relocation costs for some employees to move from San Ramon to Texas. “Chevron plans to sell our Chevron Park campus and move to new modern leased space in San Ramon,” the oil titan said in comments emailed to this news organization. ... “Chevron will remain headquartered in California, where the...

In the wake of school violence around the country, Benjamin Logan Schools is examining measures to increase school security, including an option allowed under the recently enacted House Bill 99 that enables boards of educations to choose to have an armed presence in school buildings if certain procedures and requirements are met. Board members tabled at their regular rescheduled Thursday evening meeting a resolution to consider a volunteer response team in the district. Instead, the board has called a special meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday,July 6, at the Benjamin Logan High School auditorium, inviting district residents to attend and provide...

Authorities in Norway have hatched a plan to prevent Freya the walrus from sinking more small boats as she sunbathes at a marina. See video at the link.

Nearly 50 years ago, Randy Bachman's Gretsch guitar – on which he wrote "American Woman" and other hits — was stolen from a hotel in Toronto. Decades later, the instrument has been returned to him by a Japanese musician who had bought it at a store in Tokyo, unaware of its history. Bachman, former guitarist for the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was understandably distraught when he first noticed the guitar had gone missing in 1977. It was the first expensive instrument he'd ever bought as a teenager, having worked odd jobs to save up the $400 for it. "I...