Free Republic

Before France dominated European coin production under Charlemagne, the richest members of the continent's Middle Age societies were likely melting down valuable Byzantine artefacts for legal tender....a collection of ancient coins used throughout north-western Europe at least 1,200 years ago was found to be made of recycled Byzantine silver. It's a finding they say shines a light on 7th-century trade and geopolitics.The origin of the metal stocks was achieved through a lead isotope analysis of the coins from England, the Netherlands and parts of France. Coins minted using silver from Melle, north of Bordeaux, have previously been evaluated, but the...

The research found evidence of the "incaprettamento" method of murder at 14 Neolithic sites in Europe.The murder of sacrificial victims by "incaprettamento" — tying their neck to their legs bent behind their back, so that they effectively strangled themselves — seems to have been a tradition across much of Neolithic Europe, with a new study identifying more than a dozen such murders over more than 2,000 years.The study comes after a reassessment of an ancient tomb that was discovered more than 20 years ago at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux near Avignon, in southern France. The tomb mimics a silo, or pit where grain...

Findings from researchers show high blood levels of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) predict future risk of developing chronic kidney disease over time. The findings build on more than a decade of research related to the gut microbiome's role in cardiovascular health and disease, including the adverse effects of TMAO, a byproduct formed by the gut bacteria from nutrients abundant in red meat, eggs and other animal source foods. The large-scale study measured blood levels of TMAO over time in two large NIH populations and followed the kidney function of more than 10,000 U.S. adults with normal kidney function at baseline over...

I read this on a "Spring Valley" vitamin bottle at Walmart the other day... Sobriety Check Update lets play the song... Does that song make you angry or did it make you angry when you first heard it... Getting back to "DEI" I didn't say it wasn't a problem or isn't a problem I would be denying my own experience. I worked in television news and right before I was drummed out as a drunk in 1990 I could see corporate efforts to bring in "Minority" hires. Marxist-Leninist thinking was in the heart of one of those hires she did...

President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister that nothing of “value” was hit in Iran’s airborne attack Saturday and asserted American forces will not be participating in any offensive against Iran, according to a report. The president called Israel’s defense during the attacks a win — telling Netanyahu Israel’s ability to intercept nearly all of the hundreds of missiles and drones showed its military superiority, a US official told CNN. Biden also made it very clear that the US would not be engaging in any military offensive against the Islamic Republic, the senior official told the channel Israeli Defense Forces said...

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says 99% of the 300 or so projectiles fired by Iran at Israel overnight were intercepted by air defenses. He says Iran launched 170 drones at Israel, and not one entered Israeli airspace. They were all downed outside of the country’s borders by Israel and its allies. Another 30 cruise missiles were launched, and not a single one entered Israeli airspace, he says. According to Hagari, 25 of them were downed by the Israeli Air Force. In addition, Hagari says Iran fired 120 ballistic missiles at Israel. Some of the missiles managed to bypass...

There have been multiple polls in recent months that show Trump leading Joe Biden in the swing states and those polls are making Democrats very nervous, but another new poll has some Democrats much more worried. This poll has to do with voter identification. Democrats have had a strong advantage on this for years but that has changed. The split between Americans who identify as Democrat vs. Republican is now almost perfectly even. Nick Arama reports at RedState: Fascinating Poll Shows Another Major Voter Shift That Brings Good News for GOP Since the 90s, when Republicans last had a lead...

The 2024 Steal is About Phantom Votes, Produced and Directed by the DOJ Recently, Obiden’s AG, Merrick Garland, scurried to Selma AL to make a speech. In a church, of course. Followers of Lucifer only go to houses of worship to make a point - or score points. It was pretty much as you might expect, but even more bold. They’re desperate. Garland openly stated that the DOJ was going to interfere with states’ rights in the 2024 voting. He is getting the DOJ involved in those "discriminatory, unnecessary and burdensome restrictions to the ballot.” that exist in the states....

Sorry for another post but I'm praying that Tehran has made its point and that is it for now. They have bombarded Israel but have failed to really hurt or harm them. The BBC even show bars are open in Jerusalem. Do not be alarmed. Do not panic on here. I'm hoping that this does not escalate despite the unprecedented nature of the attack. How do Freepers see this playing out?

Scientists have successfully grown 'mini kidneys' in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for polycystic kidney disease. "Mini kidneys," or kidney organoids, are kidney-like structures grown in the lab using stem cells. In the study, researchers grew the organoids using skin cells derived from patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). People with PKD often progress to end-stage kidney disease between their 50s and 60s, with the standard treatment options available being dialysis or a kidney transplant. One other option is the drug Tolvaptan, which is very costly...

A woman who recently went viral for hugging former President Donald Trump at a Chick-fil-A in Georgia and telling him not to worry about dishonest media coverage has revealed why she thinks black voters are increasingly backing the former president in the upcoming election.President Trump met with supporters at the restaurant in Atlanta earlier this week, with a video capturing the moment that Michaelah Montgomery, a political consultant and founder of Conserve the Culture, expressed her support for the former president.“I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you,” she says in the video, with President...

Let’s check in on the not exactly impressive energy and inflation results of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)...Data from the BLS, chart by MishBiden’s energy policy has been an inflationary disaster. And make no mistake, the IRA was nothing but energy policy, more precisely, climate policy.The Inflation Reduction Act Is a Climate BillBloomberg flashback, August 15, 2022: The Inflation Reduction Act Is a Climate Bill. Just Don’t Call It One.“It does seem kind of wacky and counterintuitive for the most consequential climate legislation ever to be called the ‘Inflation Reduction Act,’” says Angela Bradbery, a professor of public interest communications...

Drug shortages have reached an all-time high in the United States, pharmacists are warning.During the first three months of 2024, there were 323 active medication shortages, according to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and Utah Drug Information Service. Previously, the record high was 320 shortages in 2014.This ASHP started tracking shortages in 2001.MORE: Patients, health care providers face shortages of critical drugs, Senate report finds"All drug classes are vulnerable to shortage," Dr. Paul Abramowitz, CEO of ASHP, said in a statement. "Some of the most worrying shortages involve generic sterile injectable medications, including cancer chemotherapy drugs and emergency medications...

A new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study does not disprove a link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden deaths among young people, contrary to claims.The study, published by the CDC’s quasi-journal on April 11, analyzed death certificates from Oregon for people aged 16 to 30 who died between June 2021 and December 2022.Among people who died with evidence of vaccination, three died within 100 days of a shot, Drs. Juventila Liko and Paul Cieslak with the Oregon Health Authority found.None of those three deaths could be attributed to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination, or shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and...

The fact-checking website Snopes changed one of its ratings after pressure from President Joe Biden’s administration, newly disclosed emails show.Snopes on Jan. 10, 2023, said that there was some truth to a claim that President Biden’s administration was planning to ban gas stoves.Under a heading of “what’s true,” Snopes said that “The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal agency, is currently considering a ban on gas stoves if they can’t be made safer, due to concerns over harmful indoor pollutants that cause health and respiratory problems.”Under another heading, it said that the ban has not been put in...

Illegal immigration weighs heavily on the wallets of hardworking American taxpayers - to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars annually.Still, the Biden administration turns a blind eye to these fiscal strains, neglecting the toll on our economy, the structural integrity of our nation, and the safety of our citizens.Estimates suggest that illegal immigrants cost each household about $1,000, adding up to more than $120 billion a year.Sources such as Newsweek hint that the true cost may be even higher, possibly reaching $150 billion annually, an amount shared by both federal and state governments. In all actuality, the financial...

The U.S. Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters are now certified for delivery of B61-12 nuclear gravity bombs—and, in fact, have been since October 12, 2023. This bombshell—dropped by F-35’s Joint Program Office (JPO)—was reported by Breaking Defense Friday morning. JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere stated that the certification had actually been awarded months earlier and far ahead of schedule. This means that F-35As will now be considered “dual-capable” platforms useable in both conventional and nuclear warfare—in the latter role carrying up to two B61-12s internally and using its suite of ground-scanning sensors and datalinks to target the bomb more...

The response to the ongoing attack on Israel is underway. This is the first time that Iran has fired on Israel from its own territory proper, so that's a bad progression in the direction of more direct involvement. U.S. forces in the area have reportedly shot down "dozens" of drones targeting Israel. They've also reportedly taken out missiles, as well. US shoots down Dozens of Iranian Drones & … pic.twitter.com/2dwlOTHMmk— cagrown5 (@cagrown5) April 14, 2024The U.S. was also coordinating with Jordan and Egypt. Jordan reportedly also took out ones crossing their airspace. Fox's Jennifer Griffin suggested the first wave might...

So our FRiend Mark Levin is in Israel as its being bombarded with drones and missiles by Iran. (Please Pray for Peace)Kudos to him for being there as some of us have in the past accused him of being a chickenhawk. I'm looking forward to his reports actually if he does any. Life goes on there. I just saw on the BBC bars etc. are open. But I was wondering what Freepers thought of the dual loyalty question ? Mark could become an Israeli citizen if he so wanted and younger Jewish people often volunteer and fight in their military...

Progressive activist groups from across the country are preparing to protest outside the Democratic National Convention “with or without permits” come August. Coalition leaders have attested their right to be within “sight and sound” of the convention’s center stage at the United Center, citing First Amendment rights in a federal lawsuit filed last month. On Saturday, leaders reaffirmed their commitment to be heard outside the DNC, despite the city’s denial of protest permits closer to the convention’s site. A couple of hundred people representing 78 activist organizations gathered Saturday for a day-long “working conference” hosted by the March on the...