Free Republic

Maoist leaders believe that childbirth and subsequent childcare will be a hurdle for the movement. They fear that the couples might return to their villages to raise the children. So if any of the cadres get married, vasectomy is compulsory. Kamlu Vetti, recruited by Maoists at the age of 12, had to get a vasectomy a decade later when he got married. For Maoist cadres, this is compulsory, he said. The perception is that childcare will prove a distraction and the movement will suffer. After surrendering last year, he availed the government offer of free reverse vasectomy operation and the...

They don't look worried about the winter ahead without Russian gas.

Economy of Francesco Covenant: ‘Building an economy of the Gospel’Young economists and Pope Francis endorse a Covenant to improve the global economic system to better the lives of all people, as the result of the 3-day Economy of Francesco event in Assisi.As the Economy of Francesco entered its final day on Saturday, Pope Francis joined thousands of young people from around the world to undersign a Covenant, represented by a young woman from Thailand, Lily Ralyn Satidtanasarn.The declaration marks the culmination of the work of the 3-day event, and fulfills the Pope’s invitation to young economists, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to...

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was established in 1975 as a reaction to the 1973 oil embargo, is now at its lowest level since December 1984.Ultimately, the SPR is not as important today as it was in the past, in large part that is because the U.S. is no longer heavily reliant on oil imports.Historically the SPR tends to grow during Republican administrations and fall during Democratic administrations, although it did fall by 10% under Trump.What is the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)? What are the implications of depleting the SPR, which the U.S. has been doing now since 2016?...

The increased proliferation of sex change operations in the United States, including for children, can be linked directly to provisions in the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark legislative achievement.Just 3,256 gender transition procedures were performed in the United States in 2016, the year that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began forcing health insurance providers to cover such procedures in their plans. The next year, the number surged by more than 150%, and in 2020 surpassed 16,000, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.In 2014, the Obama administration overturned a rule which...

The FBI responded Tuesday after alleged bureau whistleblowers came forward and accused it of moving agents from child abuse cases to “domestic violent extremist” cases.The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington on July 21, 2022. (Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times)On Monday evening, House Judiciary Republicans wrote on Twitter that an unnamed whistleblower came forward and told them that the FBI is moving agents from child sexual abuse cases to pursue investigations relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.The whistleblower, according to Republicans and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), “told that child sexual abuse material investigations were no longer an FBI...

The Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, continues to withhold his medical records after multiple calls from local and national media to release them. Fetterman suffered a serious stroke in May, days before winning the Democrat primary, and has struggled with his words during public appearances since. [cut] The day after the Post-Gazzette’s article, Oz received a physical from Dr. Rebecca J. Kurth M.D., ,P.C., and released the results Friday in a letter. [cut] After Oz made the records public Friday, Fetterman chimed in to attack him rather than releasing his own records as the...

That it’s a ridiculous suit doesn’t mean McDonald’s won’t lose, though, because it’s caught between a woke rock and a social justice hard place. One of Michelle Obama’s crusades was to save Black communities from being food deserts by banishing unhealthy food purveyors and replacing them with stores and restaurants that carried quality fresh food. In keeping with this line of thinking, as little as a year ago, fast food providers were being castigated for advertising targeting Blacks. Things sure have changed today. McDonald’s is facing a $10 billion lawsuit for failing to advertise on Black-owned media channels. In the...

Rod Serling: You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future, not a future that will be but one that might be. This is not a new world, it is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super-states that preceded it, it...

Wisconsin’s incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson slightly leads his radical opponent, Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, for United States Senator in the most recent Trafalgar Group poll, less than two months before the November election. The poll found that Johnson was leading by just over two percent. Johnson claims 48.7 percent of the likely general election voters respondent. In comparison, 46.5 percent said they would vote to elect Barnes, who’s been marked as a defund the police candidate, with no law-enforcement endorsements.

Late last month, the California legislature voted to pass a bill that would allow the State to take custody of out-of-state minors seeking gender transition surgeries and cross-sex hormones – even if these actions go against the wishes of the child’s parents.The measure, SB 107, which was introduced in July by Democrat state Senator Scott Wiener as part of efforts to turn California into a “sanctuary state” for trans mutilation of children (aka. gender-affirming care), passed both the house and the senate on August 31st with “overwhelming Democratic support.”The sickening legislation now sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, awaiting his...

The Republican candidates lead the Democrats on the generic congressional ballot by two points, according to Rasmussen Reports’ weekly poll released Friday. The poll was released on Friday, 46 days before the election, as the Republicans look to retake control of Congress. The Rasmussen Reports survey showed that the generic GOP candidates are only two points ahead, which is only one point better than last week, when the Democrats were only behind by one point.

China uses 54 overseas police stations, including in New York City, to hunt down citizensChina has opened up its latest secret "overseas police service centers" in Chinese restaurants and shops throughout the United Kingdom, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. The Chinese Communist Party runs 54 police centers outside of China, 36 in Europe alone. One of the two in London claims to be a real estate company, while one in Glasgow operates in a Chinese restaurant. The expansion of these overseas police stations comes as human rights activists warn that China is harassing political dissidents on foreign soil. Some political...

The celebrated Paul Volcker (1927-2019) became Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board 43 years ago on August 6, 1979. The 20th-century Great Inflation, stoked by the Federal Reserve and the other central banks of the day, was in full gallop in the U.S and around the world. In the month he started as Chairman, U.S. inflation continued its double-digit run—that August suffered a year-over-year inflation rate of 11.8%. On August 15, the Federal Reserve raised its fed funds mid-target range to 11%, but that was less than the inflation rate, so a nominal 11% was still a negative real interest...

“The process of developing SARS-COV2 was also described in detail in the proposal submitted to, and ultimately funded by, the National Institutes of Health (HHS NIH), The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), by EcoHealth Alliance with the WIV and [University of North Carolina] listed as collaborators,” according to the sworn declaration of Andrew Huff, who is represented by the attorney Thomas Renz. “Anthony Fauci funded the creation of SARS-COV2 and lied to Congress about funding Gain-of-Function work,” Renz wrote in the summary – a claim also recently made by former CDC Director Robert Redfield. “Anthony Fauci and...

China has ostensibly waged a long-running campaign to plant and recruit Chinese researchers from the USA’s leading national security research facilities, according to the latest reports. These researchers have then assisted China in making significant strides in military technology, whether hypersonic missiles, submarines, or drones, reported NBC News, citing a private intelligence report. The report highlighted the government of the PRC’s attempts to nurture its young and talented scientists at US national laboratories and lure the brightest minds back to the country to boost its military projects. The government of China has allegedly made a concerted effort to send Chinese...

The Russian front is falling apart. Ukrainian troops are confidently pushing the invaders from the Oskil River, which became possible after the liberation of the Izyum direction. Lyman is expected to be retaken soon. War correspondent Bogdan Miroshnikov announced this on his Telegram blog. "The situation on the Lyman-Oskol front for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is becoming more and more favorable," the journalist said. He clarified that there are already three Ukrainian bridgeheads on the left bank of the Oskil, from where the counteroffensive is coming. One of them is in the area of liberated Kupyansk. Miroshnikov also announces...

King Charles III will surprise us. The man whose family has served as the physical symbols of colonialism has spent his life trying to free his mind from the calcified prejudices of empire. Britain’s new head of state is a loud admirer of Islam, a critic of Western interventionism and a champion of multiculturalism who will win his country new friends — and some populist enemies — across the world. The new king has for decades sought to free himself from what he calls “Western materialism” by immersing himself in the world’s second-largest faith. As the Prince of Wales, he...

The midterm numbers look bad for Democrats, good for Republicans, and exceedingly strong for former President Donald Trump's potential 2024 presidential campaign, according to the latest McLaughlin & Associates poll released Friday. Trump not only leads the Republican 2024 primary, but he also leads both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in separate hypothetical matchups. Among likely 2024 Republican primary voters, 71% want Trump to run again, and if he did run again, 86% of Republicans would support him. That includes a majority of 64% who said they would strongly support him if he ran. "Thank you!" Trump...

Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 9:43b–45 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus predicts his being handed over to men—that is, his crucifixion. Here is the point I want to make: we are meant to see on that cross our own ugliness. What brings Jesus to the cross? Stupidity, anger, mistrust, institutional injustice, betrayal, denial, unspeakable cruelty, fear. St. Peter puts it with disquieting laconicism: the Author of life came and you killed him. In the light of the cross, all of the vermin are revealed. This is why we speak of the cross as God’s judgment on the world. So...