Free Republic

Did you know that central banks bought more gold last year than any year in the past 55 years—since 1967? Though most don’t realize it, 1967 was a significant year in financial history, mainly due to the events at the London Gold Pool. The London Gold Pool was an agreement among central banks of the United States and Western European countries to stabilize the price of gold. The goal was to maintain the price of gold at $35 per ounce by collectively buying or selling gold as needed. However, in 1967 the London Gold Pool collapsed due to a shortage...

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in the District of Columbia alleges that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security did not properly consider renewable energy in rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power grid, making the island further susceptible to future climate disasters. The complaint, filed by a coalition of 10 community and conservation groups, accuses the federal agencies of misappropriating billions in federal recovery funds by conducting an incomplete environmental analysis. **SNIP** FEMA, the lawsuit alleges, has not properly considered sources such as rooftop solar and storage in rebuilding the grid, which was knocked out last September by...

Aided by two Obama-era witnesses, congressional investigators led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan have developed the first evidence that a letter from security experts that falsely dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian disinformation during the 2020 election had ties to Joe Biden's presidential campaign. Jordan told Just the News he expects to release a report from the House panel on weaponization of government later this month that lays out out evidence and the players behind the letter, which many Republicans now say was a consequential interference in the last presidential election. "It was all done with politics,...

Seattle Public Schools could find itself mired in a federal civil rights investigation for separating students by race in multiple programs, a month after it hastily removed racial eligibility criteria from a "potluck" that implicitly excluded whites and Jews. The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism filed a complaint Tuesday with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights against the district's Pathfinder K-8 School after a year of unheeded warnings that its practices violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. It's FAIR's first OCR complaint and "the most egregious version" of racial separation it has seen in submissions to...

Republicans have the opportunity to take back the Kentucky governor’s mansion from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear – who narrowly won in 2019 – in November, and numerous GOP contenders are itching for the nomination. Beshear is running for his second term in 2023 in a state with a Republican supermajority in the legislature. Though 12 Republicans are running in the May 16 GOP primary, there are three clear frontrunners whose campaigns will largely hinge on issues such as education and crime while also targeting Beshear’s record on COVID-19, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Andy Beshear doesn’t represent Kentucky’s...

The Kennedy family is reportedly backing President Biden over their own family member in the 2024 Democrat primary, CNN reported. Multiple Kennedy family members signaled that they would not back Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his bid for the Democrat nominee for president, according to interviews with CNN. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, filed paperwork earlier this month to run in the 2024 primary and challenge Biden, who has yet to formally announce a reelection campaign. Kennedy is expected to officially launch his campaign Wednesday in Boston. “Which brother?” Chris Kennedy, who was a former candidate in...

Authorities are still searching for a suspect after a shooting in Biloxi, Mississippi, Sunday evening on Beach Blvd. left at least five victims, including one police officer, injured, according to local station WLOX. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller was at the scene shortly after 8 p.m. local time. He said officers from multiple agencies swiftly responded to the "massive shooting" that involved "four, possibly five" victims, WLOX reported. A Biloxi police officer was among the injured. The police chief also said each victim is stable though some remain in critical condition.

Basically some sickos got the boys in this dance group from Uganda to shake groins toward each other, twerk like women and touch each other's buttocks. Then when one takes his shirt of, gay looking old man judge is boiling with excitement. Effect is Ugandans and other Africans are encouraged to think this is something to be proud of. Critical comments in YouTube are shadow blocked. Only comments of people saying they are crying and watching the clip 4,000 times are shown. Kids are not even good compared to most talent from Uganda. But the crotch-grabbing and pedo/homo stuff promotion...

Hollywood star Mark Hamill, best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, ended up committing quite a blunder after he participated in a video chat with members of Ukrainian armed forces. During said chat, a fragment of which Hamill shared on Twitter, Hamill praised the Ukrainian militants who he claimed were "fighting the good fight" and compared Ukrainian forces to the rebels from Star Wars. "It was a pleasure meeting with the brave Ukrainian drone operators. We talked about the challenges they face on a daily basis, but they also wanted to talk about Wookiees...

A 27-year-old man from San Dimas has been arrested after vandalizing a church in Newport Beach, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. The incident occurred Saturday morning at the United Methodist Christ Church by the Sea. Video footage from the church, built in the 1930’s, shows windows boarded up after the 27-year-old allegedly shattered stained glass windows that were given as gift to the church many years ago. Officials at Christ Church by the Sea estimate that the vandal caused $80,000-$100,000 worth of damage. So far, police have not identified the 27-year-old man or said why he wanted...

Join together 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 2:1-2Religion Forum Threads Labeled [Prayer] are Closed to Debate of Any Kind.Psalm 34:7The Angel of the LORD Encampeth round about them that Fear Him, and Delivereth them.

An elite Spanish mountaineer just emerged from a cave after nearly a year and a half alone underground, telling supporters she didn’t want to come out because “I hadn’t finished my book.” Beatriz Flamini, 50, who spent 500 days — and two birthdays — in isolation about 230 feet below the ground outside of Granada, returned to the surface Friday, unaware of the Ukraine war, the end of COVID-19 restrictions and the death of Queen Elizabeth II. “When they came to get me, I was asleep,” said Flamini, whose underground stay was planned to end on her 500th day. “I...

A startling 50% of migrants streaming into the Big Apple are not vaccinated against the contagious and potentially deadly poliovirus, city Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan recently revealed — as he urged doctors to help prevent a public health emergency, The Post has learned. Vasan also said the new migrants come from, or pass through, countries with high rates of infectious tuberculosis — and noted there’ve been outbreaks of chickenpox in shelters housing the newcomers. “More than 50,000 people have come to New York City (NYC) in the past year shortly after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. As more people arrive and...

“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” –Vladimir Lenin PORTSMOUTH, OH – Just when you think the college-educated crowd couldn’t become more insane – they do. The University of Pennsylvania’s Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program is hosting a “radical playdate” for 5-through-9-year-olds in April to explore social justice, gender ideology, and skin color, according to the institution, as reported by MSN. “Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” –Joseph Stalin Read the disturbing flyer on...

Update from Ukraine | Wagner struggles in Bakhmut | Prygozhyn wants to lose the War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIhWcZduAG8 ****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: Invasion Day 416 – Summary April 15, 2023 Jerome News The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). *** Appreciate the viewer controlled magnification tool on each Front map site!

How Doubting Thomas should Inspire us. 14 min YouTube Video link below: .Agents Of Divine Mercy

NEW YORK – China’s exports jumped 23% from the year-earlier month, breaking a five-month series of declines, China’s Customs Administration reported on April 13. Shipments to China’s neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) led growth with a 34% year-on-year gain, reaching a new monthly record of US$54 billion seasonally adjusted. China’s leadership in digital infrastructure is an import driver of the export boom in developing Asia, we reported earlier this year (“Digital infrastructure propels new SE Asian Tigers,” February 5, 2023). Exports to India rose in lockstep with shipments to Southeast Asia, reflecting China’s growing presence in...

... So we’re caught up on the furor over ChatGPT, the most widely publicized information on the subject of AI in Japan – but in the process that furor has distracted us from more significant applications across a range of industries. Examples include: Pharmaceuticals: Astellas Pharma has created a cellular drug discovery platform integrating humans, AI and robotics that it claims can shorten the time of drug candidate compounds acquisition by approximately 70% in successful cases. It is now being used in a joint research project with the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application of Kyoto University to “promote...

The number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50% between 2019 and 2021, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest annual mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 1,732 gun deaths among U.S. children and teens under the age of 18. By 2021, that figure had increased to 2,590. The gun death rate among children and teens – a measure that adjusts for changes in the nation’s population – rose from 2.4 fatalities per 100,000 minor residents in 2019...

I always loved Wings Wild Life, Mumbo was and is sexier than John Lee Hooker or Elmore James. Tomorrow - a beautiful little bit of pop. Dear Friend - an enigmatic hymn to yearning for reconciliation with John Lennon. It was recorded for Ram but I'd be guessing the intense emotions of the breakup delayed it. The Lovely Linda underpinned both albums. A marriage that lasted. Ram on. Read on ........ for more ...... please .......