Free Republic

Played by humans, chess is a game of strategic thinking, calm concentration and patient intellectual endeavour. Violence does not usually come into it. The same, it seems, cannot always be said of machines. Last week, according to Russian media outlets, a chess-playing robot, apparently unsettled by the quick responses of a seven-year-old boy, unceremoniously grabbed and broke his finger during a match at the Moscow Open. “The robot broke the child’s finger,” Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation, told the TASS news agency after the incident, adding that the machine had played many previous exhibitions without upset. “This...

Photo: ekaterinburg-eparhia.ru The Ekaterinburg Diocese’s annual Royal Days celebrations in honor of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, who were brutally slain on the night of July 17, 1918, continue to be among the most popular pilgrimages for the Orthodox faithful both in Russia and from abroad. This year’s pilgrimage gathered tens of thousands, with services celebrated by 9 hierarchs. The main events began on Saturday, July 16, with a Divine Liturgy in the “Royal Room”—a chapel in the basement of the Church on the Blood, built over the exact room where the Royal Family and their loyal servants were...

"Highly credible" whistleblowers have come forward to a senior Senate Republican alleging a widespread effort within the FBI to downplay or discredit negative information about President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, according to letters reviewed by CBS News. "The information provided to my office involves concerns about the FBI's receipt and use of derogatory information relating to Hunter Biden, and the FBI's false portrayal of acquired evidence as disinformation," GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland on July 25. "The volume and consistency of these allegations substantiate their credibility and necessitate this letter."...

'We are the people of Mother Earth, hi, hi,' the master of ceremonies said during the dance.MASKWACIS, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) – During the first full day of his visit with Canada’s Indigenous communities, Pope Francis attended a “healing dance” that appeared to direct worship to “Mother Earth.” Prior the ritual, which took place in Maskwacis, Alberta this morning, the Master of Ceremonies for the event explained that a “healing dance” was about to occur, while outlining that the drum involved is “the heartbeat of Mother Earth, the drum is life.” Gathered in a circle around a large tree branch, Indigenous people...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State Board of Education member Kirsten Hill is challenging state Sen. Nathan Manning for his seat in a contest where voters must choose between a pragmatic, moderate incumbent willing to work with lawmakers of all stripes to get bills passed and a conservative who will stand by the ideals of the most conservative flank of her party. Manning and Hill want to represent the newly drawn Ohio Senate District 13, which includes Lorain and parts of Erie and Huron counties. Cities in the district include Amherst, Elyria, Huron, Lorain, North Ridgeville, LaGrange, Norwalk, Oberlin and Wellington....

After 38 years working in the Information Technology / Information Security fields, I've had enough.It's not that I hate my job (I don't) and it's not that I don't like the people I work with (I do. I think of them as family.) I just cannot stand the thought of my hard earned tax dollars going to support the most corrupt, crooked, tyrannical, incompetent, inept and damn' it, STUPID and STOLEN Presidency there ever has been, and ever will be, the Biden Crime Family.I've informed my employer, a global financial services organization that I'm pulling the plug on August 31st.I...

RENO, Nev. — Thirteen Nevada Republicans announced a new coalition on Monday to endorse Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in his reelection bid against their party’s nominee, Sigal Chattah, a right-wing candidate who bested a more moderate Republican primary contender. The announcement of “Republicans for Ford,” first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, signals a major shift in party support as the group is headlined by a former rival of Ford’s — former state Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, along with former GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian. “Now, more than ever, it is time to put duty to the state and...

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Tinker Air Force Base, OklahomaTinker Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, originally known as the Midwest Air Depot, is named in honor of Oklahoma native Major General Clarence L. Tinker, the first Native American major general.Tinker is the headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command's (AFMC) Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC), which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft,...

Microbes are the smallest known living organisms on Earth and can be found just about everywhere, even in the cold, Mars-like conditions of lava caves. On the island of Hawai'i, scientists recently found a marvelous assortment of novel microbes thriving in geothermal caves, lava tubes, and volcanic vents. These underground structures were formed 65 and 800 years ago and receive little to no sunlight. They can also harbor toxic minerals and gases. Yet microbial mats are a common feature of Hawai'ian lava caves. Samples of these mats, taken between 2006 and 2009 and then again between 2017 and 2019, reveal...

Description: green haired freak is brought to tears after mon says she's kicking her out."boo hoo! But you misgendered me!)

Walmart just gave all the recession mongers on Wall Street a huge adrenaline shot in the collective arm. The world's largest retailer slashed its second quarter and full-year profit outlooks late Monday owing to rampant inflation and a consumer retrenchment. Here's where Walmart stands compared to its guidance offered in mid-May: Second Quarter Net sales Growth: +7.5% (+5% previously) Second Quarter Operating Income: -13% to -14% (flat to up slightly) Second Quarter EPS: -8% to -9% (flat to up slightly) Full Year EPS: -11% to -13% (-1%) Walmart shares plunged 9% in after-hours trading. “The increasing levels of food and...

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 The union contested that Boeing "rejected all proposals to a pension," is refusing to "adequately compensate our members’ 401(k)," and rejected multiple wage progression rate proposals. Boeing offered a dollar-for-dollar match on 10% of base and incentive pay for each employee's 401(k), according to the company. The facilities that will go on strike...produce various military aircraft, including the F-15, F-18 and the MQ-25 Stingray...

DeSantis: "Gender Affirming Care" Is A Euphemism For Castration And Sterilization Video at link

Neocon and rabid anti-Trumper Bill Kristol took to Twitter on Monday to suggest Democrats recruit left-wing pop star John Legend to replace President Joe Biden in 2024, calling the “So High” singer “our version of [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelensky.” “I’ve been saying for a while that we need as our next president our version of the admirable Volodymyr Zelensky,” Kristol wrote. “Today I got another ‘personal message’ — i.e., mass e-mail — from @johnlegend on behalf of Democrats.” “Which leads me to ask: When Biden steps aside — John Legend in 2024?”

[Catholic Caucus] Francis’ Novus Ordo: Water Eucharist on An Air Mattress – A Miracle?Bare-chested and standing in the waters of the Ionian Sea, Bernasconi presided at a Eucharist for young people of San Luigi Gonzaga Parish, Milan. Saint Aloysius Gonzaga is a model of chastity for the youth.The parody took place on Alfieri beach near Crotone, Italy. Bernasconi used the heat and the lack of a shaded area as an excuse to propose the water show. His public agreed enthusiastically. A family on the beach offered an air mattress as an "altar" (CrotoneNews.com, 24 July).During the homily, Bernasconi noticed that...

WARNING! This thread contains spoilers for: Better Call Saul Breaking Bad and El Camino Proceed at your own risk.

Detectives are asking for the public's help to identify the suspect in an attempted murder from July 24 near Lake Mead and Thomas W. Ryan Blvd. Anyone who recognizes this person or has any info about this crime is urged to contact detectives at 702-828-9455.

One of the hallmarks of Marxist organizations is the use of fronts. A front is a facade. It is a company or an organization that purports to be one thing but really exists to conceal a larger purpose. A local group that advocates for workers’ rights, for instance, might in fact be a branch of the Communist Party. If you want to see how this works in practice in America today, a good, illustrative example would be the South Texas Human Rights Center (STHRC). According to its website, the STHRC is a “community based organization in Falfurrias, Texas dedicated to...

There are no coincidences. Three young and otherwise healthy doctors died last week. They were all working for the same hospital system. Their deaths came days after their hospital started injecting staff with the fourth Covid shots. Someone at the hospital has started anonymously blowing the whistle. When this story broke yesterday, we started attempting to confirm it. Conspicuously, nobody in the Mississauga hospital system is willing to confirm or deny any of it. Coverup? Truth-seeker Steve Kirsch acquired a note pertaining to these deaths: “Please share – 3 physicians at Mississauga hospitals have died this week. 1st memo Monday,...

A Fleetwood PA man could face more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Alan Byerly, 55, entered a guilty plea today in federal court to two charges: assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and assault by striking, beating and wounding. The attorney for the U.S. government once again presented evidence they said they could prove in court if the case had gone to trial. Byerly did take some issue with the details regarding the incident with a taser-like device. "The part about pointing at the officers,...