Free Republic

The illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown we cannot take risks with our defence capabilities especially when Russia is involved. Putin invaded Ukraine because he thought the West is militarily and politically weak, and he was right. All talk in Westminster and Whitehall has been about cutting soldiers and tank numbers for the past few years – cyber and space technologies are the answer apparently. But mass armour and soldiers have a quality all of their own, as the Ukraine war is showing. You still need boots on the ground to take and hold ground – no amount of cyber...

Putin’s reluctance to take risks directly related to his conventional war in Ukraine indicates that he remains highly unlikely to pursue nuclear escalation or war with NATO. ISW previously assessed that Russian conventional war threats against NATO do not correspond with Russia’s capabilities and that Russia uses nuclear threats primarily to intimidate the West.[23] Putin evidently values his domestic status quo and seeks to avoid risky and controversial policies to support his own aims. Putin also continues to demonstrate that he remains a calculated individual who places considerable emphasis on eliminating risks—even while his perception of the situation he faces...

Famed NASCAR driver Kyle Busch has been sentenced to three-and-half-years in prison for gun possession without a license in Mexico, authorities there said late last week. It is not clear how, or if, that sentence will be assessed. **SNIP** According to Mexican authorities, Busch placed his luggage on the platform and x-rays took note of “a pistol-type firearm caliber. 380 with charger supplied with six hollow point cartridges” inside. “When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina,” Busch’s statement continued. “Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the...

Jesuits Misbehaving Yet AgainA well-known Jesuit's public rejection of transubstantiation raises a number of serious concerns about both the state of the Church and the validity of his Masses.If there’s one thing that’s true of today’s Catholic Church, it’s that Jesuits gonna Jesuit. Fr. Thomas Reese, S.J., America’s second-worst Jesuit, has a history of undermining Church teaching while maintaining plausible deniability. It’s the modern Jesuit way. So while he typically won’t outright deny Catholic teaching on the pelvic issues the Catholic Left is so obsessed with—contraception, abortion, homosexuality—he will call it into question at every opportunity. But recently, like Fr....

Synod rehearsals in the name of “forbidden to forbid”Overcoming divisions and oppositions in the Church by creating a space where everyone can find their place. This is the approach that is being insistently proposed in preparation for the Synod, as demonstrated by the recent conference in Bologna by Father Timothy Radcliffe, the pro-LGBT Dominican called to preach the opening spiritual exercises. But it is also the position closest to the portrait of the Antichrist sketched by Vladimir Solov'ev.The choice of Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe as preacher of the short course of preparatory Spiritual Exercises to the October Synod was not...

WASHINGTON — President Biden’s State of the Union promised a call for unity but his repeated pokes at Republicans — and at least one glaring falsehood — saw the speech devolve into a near-shouting match Tuesday night. Republican members of Congress vocally disputed several of his claims about them — but especially when Biden said the GOP was plotting Social Security cuts. And in the 70-minute speech — which also drew jeers blaming the president for the rise in fentanyl deaths — Biden barely mentioned China, just days after a spy balloon from the communist aggressor traversed the US last...

Chinese scientists said they have successfully cloned three "super cow" calves that, once fully grown, are capable of producing 50% more milk than the average American cow. The cloning experiment began last year at Northwest University of Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology in Shaanxi, China. Scientists sampled tissue from cows across China and used what's called the somatic cell nuclear transfer method to create embryos which were then placed inside surrogate cows. The calves were born healthy last month in Lingwu City, according to the Global Times. The first calf born weighed 120 pounds and stood 2' 6" feet...

Now Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave the Republican rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union. Take a moment to listen, maybe even a second time. It is phenomenal, best rebuttal I've ever heard. Right on point, polite and deadly on point.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine will pass the one-year mark in the coming weeks with no end in sight to what is already the largest European conflict since World War II. Vladimir Putin initially envisaged a small, victorious war that would extinguish Ukrainian independence and force the country back into the Kremlin orbit. Instead, his armies have suffered a series of disastrous defeats that have shattered Russia’s reputation as a military superpower. Despite the difficulties encountered in Ukraine, Putin has little choice but to continue with his invasion. The Russian dictator knows that unless he is able to rescue the...

Researchers have discovered that over-the-counter drugs commonly used to treat heartburn could shorten the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). These drugs could also reduce the chances of the bacteria that causes TB from becoming drug resistant. The findings may mean TB can be cured with shorter treatments. TB typically takes months to treat with multiple drugs. This poses logistical challenges in completing treatment for many people. When we're infected, TB bacteria enter our tissues and invade cells that make up part of our immune system, called macrophages. When they get there, they turn on pumps in their cell membranes that pump...

Women who take extra vitamin D during their pregnancy are more likely to have a 'natural' delivery, according to research. The study analyzed results from the MAVIDOS trial, a multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy. In this trial, 965 women were randomly allocated to either take an extra 1,000 International Units (IU) per day of vitamin D during their pregnancy or a placebo. The researchers followed up the women during their pregnancy and delivery. Analysis showed that 65.6 percent of women who took extra Vitamin D had a spontaneous vaginal delivery, or 'natural' delivery, compared...

This is the most disappointing speech I have ever watched. What happened to her? I thought her job was to rebut the lies and obfuscations of Brandon. All I heard was stories about her time with The Donald.

A review of clinical trials has found that higher vitamin D intake was associated with a 15 percent decreased likelihood for developing type 2 diabetes in adults with prediabetes. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin available in or added to some foods, as a supplement, or produced by the body when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin. Vitamin D has many functions in the body, including a role in insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. Observational studies have found an association between having a low level of vitamin D in the blood and high risk for developing diabetes. Researchers conducted...

Denis Pushilin, acting governor of DPR accuses ukes of chem warfare usage No response from Kremlin so far; the idea seems to be let's figure our wtf is happening and then say/do something about it if evidence require it.

People living with a spouse seem to have a higher likelihood of being healthy in terms of maintaining lower blood sugar levels regardless of how harmonious or acrimonious their relationship is, suggests a study. Previous studies have suggested there are health benefits from marriage and/or cohabiting, particularly for older adults. There are also studies that have concluded that type 2 diabetes risk is associated with a number of social health dimensions including social isolation, loneliness, and social network size. They used biomarker data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)—a population-based sample of adults aged 50 years and older...

Here’s the real State of the Union. Over the past two years under Biden, millions and millions of illegal aliens from 160 different countries have stormed across our Southern border. Drug cartels are now raking in billions of dollars from smuggling poison to kill our people and to kill our children.

OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Officials with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said a Crestview man is in custody after being found with more than a kilogram of methamphetamine. Timothy Holt, 49, was arrested after deputies executed a search warrant at a home on Wingard Street. Before the search warrant was executed, deputies said they saw Holt pick up a package from the front porch of the home. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Agency Drug Task Force found that Holt had over one kilogram of crystal methamphetamine. Deputies said that when they told Holt he would be arrested, Holt admitted...

@mikelindell : Ron Desantis Is "Totally Disqualified" From A 2024 Presidential Run For His Attack On Free And Fair Elections

TOKYO -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump was "unconventional through and through," while Chinese President Xi Jinping was a "fierce realist." This is how former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe describes the two leaders in a posthumous memoir that goes on sale in Japan on Wednesday. Abe provided an in-depth look into his interactions with global leaders in the book, which is a collection of 18 interviews he gave after stepping down in October 2020. Abe, who was assassinated while campaigning in Nara Prefecture in July last year, is the longest-serving Japanese prime minister, with his eight years and eight...

Many Americans eagerly look forward to a time when they can stop working and officially set their status to “retired.” But when asked what age they anticipate that could be, there isn’t a consensus. The average age when people say they hope to retire is 62, according to one survey. SNIP Meanwhile, the House of Representatives last week approved a retirement bill that would push out the age for required minimum distributions on certain savings accounts to 75, up from the current age of 72. That change, if it passes the Senate, would be gradually phased in by 2032. SNIP...