Free Republic

Oil prices have lately lost their forward momentum, with both Brent and WTI crude plunging this week. A rather puzzling trend is being observed in the oil markets: there’s a big disconnect between inventory data and oil prices. Crude oil inventories have fallen below the five-year average for the first time this year. Last week, implied gasoline demand rose by 992 thousand barrels per day (kb/d) w/w to a 15-month high of 9.511mb/d, taking the month-to-date y/y increase. Despite this positive inventory data, WTI prices have declined from $83.26 per barrel on April 12 to $68.85 on May 3 while...

The Grim Reaper is a mythical personification of death in many cultures and folkloreThe Grim Reaper, the personification of death, was spotted at the coronation of King Charles III, according to people on Twitter. People who had been watching the major event rushed to Twitter to share pictures of a mysterious hooded figure with 'scythe', dubbed the 'Grim Reaper'. Joe Green shared a clip from the ceremony where a figure walked by the doors of Westminster Abbey wearing the character's iconic dark robes and an item giving a similar appearance to a scythe. Since sharing the spooky clip, Joe's video...

A team of researchers at the University of Texas has developed a noninvasive means by which human thoughts can be converted into text. Though currently somewhat clunky, the "semantic decoder" could one day be miniaturized and mobilized such that one's most private thoughts could be made apparent anywhere and endlessly.The scientists' paper, recently published in the journal Nature Neuroscience (look for the centerfold!), indicated that a "brain-computer interface that decodes continuous language from non-invasive recordings would have many scientific and practical applications."I'm sure that is the case. You can bet that tyrannical governments from China to Canada, and from Iran...

As a fan of horror films whose wife doesn't share my affection for them, I'm encouraged to watch movies when I travel on business if I ever get a free evening. Tuesday night was just such a night, and there were options. First, there was a 7:40 showing of Evil Dead Rise. I enjoy most things of the Evil Dead franchise, so I figured this would be the option. But I also noticed there was another intriguing movie playing at this particular Southern California movie theater that I'd never heard about, called Nefarious, at 7:20. I checked out the trailer....

As more drilling and mining projects are approved in Alaska, local trucking fleets are planning to hire drivers around the United States to haul equipment, chemicals and other loads — particularly on its fearsome Dalton Highway, a remote, 414-mile road that connects Fairbanks to oil fields near the Arctic Ocean. The developments, particularly ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, have been controversial as they may mar some of Earth’s most remote land. However, for the residents of the United States’ third-least-populated state, the new investments could bring an economic boom that many locals say the state needs. The construction of the Trans-Alaska...

Actress Anne Baxter, born on the 7th May, 1923, was the granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright, who was recognised as the greatest architect of all time. He designed doll houses for her in her childhood. Anne Baxter was unique in playing two different villains in the Batman television series. Politically, she was a Republican campaigning for Dewey and Ike for president. “Acting is not what I do. It’s what I am. It’s my permanent built-in cathedral.” said the great architect’s granddaughter. God Bless Family, so often the foundation of success.

Biden Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk highlighted the absurdity of the climate grift this week during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, when Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) couldn't get a straight answer out of him over the cost of going 'carbon neutral.'In a tense exchange, Kennedy repeatedly attempted to get Turk to give a straightforward answer to just how much American taxpayers will have to pay to achieve the Biden administration's goal of reaching US carbon neutrality by 2050.When Kennedy asked whether some of the "experts" Turk referred to earlier were correct in a $50 trillion estimate, Turk nodded his...

Neera Tanden epically failed to be confirmed as director of the Office of Management and Budget. She landed instead as Biden’s staff secretary, the position that controls the flow of paper into the Oval Office. Axios is reporting that now she is being named as the replacement for Susan Rice as the head of the Domestic Policy Council.One thing about Biden administration picks – they are people who fail up. Being the top domestic policy adviser is an important job. One thing that tanked Tanden in her pursuit of OMB director was her appearance as an unapologetic politician partisan. Her...

NORTHALSTED — A slew of Chicago gay bars have stopped selling Anheuser Busch InBev products after the beer giant distanced itself from transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s Bud Light marketing campaign amid anti-trans backlash. 2Bears Tavern Group, which owns four gay bars from Uptown to Rogers Park, was the first to drop Anheuser-Busch InBev, posting on Instagram Thursday that its abandonment of Mulvaney amid controversy “shows how little Anheuser-Busch cares about the LGBTQIA+ community, and in particular transgender people, who have been under unrelenting attack in this country.” Sidetrack, a 41-year-old gay bar founded by LGBTQ rights pioneers Art Johnston and...

Does the above headline read like a satire piece from The Babylon Bee? It should. As Chicago’s violent crime wave continues with no end in sight, the Chicago Police Department is actually advising business owners to install bulletproof glass to protect themselves. How reassuring — and insane.But, it’s no parody; it’s true:As reported by Fox Business, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) is advising business owners in Wicker Park, a neighborhood in the West Town community area of Chicago, and Humbolt Park — also on the city’s West Side — to install ArmorPlast, an “invisible shatterproof shield produced by a company...

We’re just days away from the much anticipated meeting among the four leaders of the U.S. House and Senate, and President Joe Biden at the White House over how to go about raising the debt ceiling. At one point earlier in the week, it appeared Biden had caved to Republican demands on a compromise that includes spending cuts, as we previously wrote, though that mirage quickly evaporated.But all may not be sunshine and tulips for Biden and the Democrats going into next Tuesday’s meet-up. My colleague Joe Cunningham noticed a Washington Post piece that suggested much is still up in...

Painful, stiff or swollen joints are a common complaint among older adults, and for many, may be the first sign of arthritis - but the condition shouldn’t be an inevitable part of growing older as it can be avoided.What was once an easy run may feel tougher to complete. Or perhaps a challenging game of tennis might leave your hip or ankle sore for days. Painful, stiff or swollen joints are a common complaint among older adults — and for many, they’re the first sign of what may feel like an unavoidable diagnosis: Arthritis. In a 2022 survey of more...

Some Twitter users are convinced that Meghan Markle showed up to Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III in disguise, despite her staying in California with children Archie and Lilibet. Keen observers took particular notice of one standout guest among the crowd of 2,200 at Westminster Abbey, arguing that the attendee looked like he was covering up his identity. One person even suggested it could be the Duchess of Sussex, 41, sneaking her way into the event. “[Meghan], you’re not fooling us…” they wrote on Twitter.

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.

Ex-presidential niece Mary Trump told MSNBC host Michael Steele that Republicans, White people — “even allies” — haven’t properly dealt with the “original sins” of racism and genocide. Mary Trump — host of The Mary Trump Show podcast and a strident Trump critic — was a guest on this week’s edition of the Michael Steele Podcast for an hour of psychoanalyzing America. MARY TRUMP: Right? And it’s you know, white people don’t want to hear this. And even even allies don’t like facing this stuff. And I get it. But it’s it’s time to own up to the fact that...

Sean Hannity discussed how the documents from a recent whistleblower could tie President Joe Biden to criminal activity with his son, Hunter Biden on "Hannity.'

A former Boston Public Schools (BPS) academic dean who shot a student in the head was convicted Thursday of recruiting teens into joining a gang, according to MassLive. A member of the Latin King and Queen Nation, and an ex-academic dean at BPS, 63-year-old Shaun Harrison, also known as “King Rev,” was sentenced to 218 months in prison after pleading guilty to “conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity” in August 2022, the District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced, according to MassLive. As an employee at English High School, his job was to counsel troubled...

Officials in Rockland County have declared a state of emergency in an effort to stop New York City’s plan to dump hundreds of migrants there. The declaration by Rockland County Executive Ed Davis, prohibits other municipalities from bringing and housing people in the county, according to the Rockland Report. It also bars hotels and motels from housing migrants without a license and requires municipalities that wish to house migrants or asylum seekers in Rockland County to ensure they will cover their expenses. The town board in Orangetown, NY, about 40 minutes north of Manhattan, was slated to hold a special...

May Day is a traditional day of Leftist and Labor Union protests in France. But this year the demonstrations amplified by opposition to President Emmanuel Macron's imposition of pension reform without legislative approval. 2.3 million people protesting nationwide according to the CGT labor union federation while the Ministry of the Interior says the number was less than a million. The government and the mainstream media didn't make much of the peaceful nature of the huge crowds but chose to seize upon January 6th style incidents of vandalism involving the usual suspects black uniformed anarchists. Arrests and injuries to police highlighted...

According to USA Spending, a site that tracks how and where taxpayer dollars being spent, at least $2,315 worth of grants from the Biden State Department have gone to the Nepal Federation of Sexual and Gender Minorities between April 16, 2023 and this week. Never mind, apparently, that the United States is nearly $32,000,000,000,000 in debt and we're potentially days away from Biden bumbling his way into the first default in U.S. history. Nope, the Biden administration is still throwing taxpayer dollars at woke causes around the globe. The description of how the State Department grant funds — read: taxpayer...