Free Republic

Vladimir Putin has approved a 31-page "humanitarian policy" which says Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World". The foreign policy concept of a "Russian World" is a notion that hardliners have used to justify intervening abroad to support Russian speakers, such as in parts of Ukraine. It means that the idea is now enshrined in official policy, though it was presented as a soft power strategy. The new policy stated that Moscow should further deepen its ties with the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic - two breakaway entities in...

It was supposed to be the bright spot in a grim day. Of a dozen unclaimed bodies set for burial recently at Bucha City Cemetery, one had just been identified. The dead man’s family was present and would be able to bury him with full ceremony. His grave would be marked with his name instead of just a number. But there was a hitch. No one could find the body. (snip)When Russian troops retreated at the end of March from the region around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, they left behind a trail of more than 1,200 bodies. At least 458 dead...

Russia is reportedly buying millions of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea to shore up its arsenal in its ongoing war with Ukraine. The New York Times reported on Monday, citing newly declassified U.S. intelligence, which lacked detail on the type of North Korean weaponry being sent to Russia, as well as the scale and timing of their shipment. The Times quoted a Washington official as saying that Moscow was expected to seek additional purchases of military equipment from Pyongyang in the future. Other global media outlets also issued similar reports, with the Associated Press citing a U.S. official...

“Here Comes the Sun” is one of the Beatles’ great hits from their Abbey Road album, written by George Harrison at the country house of his friend Eric Clapton. Those were down days for George, and one of the song lines, “Little darlin', it's been a long, cold, lonely winter” might apply as much to George’s life in 1969 England as it will collectively to the upcoming winter in Europe. The sun is shining these days as it is still summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but not for long. News stories abound for those paying attention. From Euronews, “European governments...

Elite medical schools are deliberately recruiting woke activists, jeopardizing their mission of training physicians. That’s what our organization found in a review of the application process for America’s top 50 medical schools. Nearly three-quarters of these institutions — and 80% of the top 10 — ask applicants about their views on diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism and other politicized concepts. The clear goal is to find the students who will best advance divisive ideology, not provide the best care to patients. We based our review on the 2023 “Best Medical Schools” rankings by US News and World Report. We then looked...

A woman attempting to purchase food for a homeless man from a Popeyes store in Atlanta had the police called on her. Jo Ortega, a student at Georgia State University, said she was picking up an order for DoorDash at the Popeyes location last month when she saw a man who seemed hungry.She decided to order the man some chicken, but claims employees at the store near Ponce de Leon Ave would not allow the transaction. Ortega posted a video of the interaction on TikTok and it quickly went viral."No ma’am, you can’t do it," one employee told her in...

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It took seven months for the Matt Damon-endorsed Crypto.com to realize that it accidentally sent AU$10.5 million dollars (about USD$7.1 million at todays exchange rate) to a woman in Australia, instead of the 100 Australian dollar refund she requested...Court documents show that in May 2021 an employee for the Singapore-based trading platform mistakenly entered an account number into the payment amount field.

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority 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 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring...

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner recognized the Hunter Biden scandal in a Twitter thread on Sunday, arguing that investigating Biden’s business dealings "shouldn’t be a partisan issue." The reporter stated that "legitimate questions" about President Joe Biden’s son, and the FBI’s investigation into him, "should be asked" even though the younger Biden is not an elected official. The mere fact that Sidner mentioned the Hunter Biden scandal saga enraged many liberals on Twitter, who slammed her post and wondered if this was yet another sign that CNN had gone off the rails ever since new management proposed turning the network away...

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It’s been eventful. Tuesday is Boris Johnson’s final day as prime minister of the U.K. — for now anyway — as Liz Truss takes over the top job in British politics. And for a man who was seemingly always destined (even if only in his own head) to become prime minister, not everything went according to plan during the just over three years Johnson was PM. Here are some of the key missteps from the Johnson years (whittled down from a long list of several dozen).

“Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy” (Proverbs 6:15 KJV).

Feminism has made increasing numbers of young and middle-aged women ashamed of their capacity for motherhood. In those circles, it is an insult to be considered "only a mother". But it is what happens between mothers and fathers that sustains most of what is good in us, our culture and our nations. Lest We Forget. God Bless All Mums. Let us pray for them.

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Berlin (AFP) – Germany said Monday it would keep two nuclear plants on standby beyond the end of the year in a policy U-turn, as the shut-off of Russian gas supplies sends Europe scrambling for energy sources.Following a new network stress test, two of the three remaining power plants would "remain available until mid-April 2023 in case needed", Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.The move partly delays a nuclear exit planned under former chancellor Angela Merkel.The plants would be kept in reserve to potentially "make a further contribution to the electricity grid in southern Germany", where the development...

The Kremlin has issued its sharpest comments about cutting off Russia's natural-gas flow to Europe via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Monday, saying supplies wwould not resume until the "collective West" lifts sanctions against Moscow. "Problems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a conference call, Reuters reported on Monday. "We see incessant attempts to shift responsibility and blame onto us. We categorically reject this and insist that the collective West – in this case, the EU, Canada, the UK...

Staring at the possibility of Labor Day blackouts, managers of California’s power grid issued an extended Flex Alert for Monday afternoon and evening but warned that voluntary conservation might not be enough to keep the lights on. The Independent System Operator, which runs the grid, also issued a Stage 1 energy emergency alert Monday morning, a signal that supplies will be very tight. The grid “is forecasting an energy deficiency, with all available resources in use or forecasted to be in use,” the ISO said. A Stage 1 alert is a call to generators and transmitters to make as much...

A former U.S. general has forecast the surrender of Russian forces in Kherson, a strategic city in Ukraine. The Kherson region has been almost entirely controlled by Russian troops since March, when it became the first major city to fall during Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive to take back the critical port city. Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling commented Monday on a Ukrainian soldier's video from the frontlines showing destroyed Russian positions in Kherson. According to Hertling's analysis on Twitter, the footage indicated "extremely poor soldier discipline" and "horrible fieldcraft/training"...

According to new polling, even after some setbacks the last few weeks, it appears that there is still a ‘Red Wave’ likely to unfold in the 2022 midterm elections in November, and that idea is absolutely chilling to the administrative state because of the ramifications of the shifting agendas. “New Florida poll puts DeSantis up 20 points among Hispanics,” Ed Morrissey reported for Hot Air. “The midterm red wave may have crested elsewhere, but it doesn’t appear to have tapped out in Florida — at least not in the latest University of North Florida survey,” one posted wrote on Twitter...