Free Republic

Since the Venezuelan authorities announced they had retaken control of the centre of operations of the Tren de Aragua, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Latin America, the group has taken centre stage. Journalist Ronna Rísquez, who has followed its trail for years, reflects on the past, present and future of the mega gang. =============================================================== From crime group to mega-gang. The Tren de Aragua, the most powerful criminal organization in Venezuela, was born nearly a decade ago in the Aragua Penitentiary Centre, better known as Tocorón prison. Several inmates who met there took the opportunity to recruit their...

New numbers for the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) are out, and they show that Canada is the first major province of the Anglican Communion to have collapsed. https://livingchurch.org/covenant/the-collapse-of-the-anglican-church-of-canada/#_ftn1 Here are the data for average Sunday attendance: 2001 162,000 2019 87,000 2022 65,000 These are truly remarkable numbers. A church already in steep decline saw that decline speed up during COVID. Attendance in 2022 was 40 percent of attendance in 2001. And between 2019 and 2022, the ACoC lost a quarter of its Sunday attendance. The church is not only smaller, but is also much, much older. Here is the...

(DCNF)—CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten expressed surprise Monday at the degree to which “young black men” are abandoning the Democratic Party Former President Barack Obama on Thursday urged black men to support Vice President Kamala Harris while speaking at a Pittsburgh-area campaign office, asserting he believes a reason for their reluctance to back her is that they “aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president.” Enten, on “CNN News Central,” said Obama was likely mistaken in his criticism as “young black men” have increasingly been leaving the Democratic Party over multiple elections against former President Donald Trump....

Daily Readings from the USCCB“This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Luke 11:29–30Do you ever find yourself looking for signs from God? Often when we go through life, navigating through the ups and downs we all experience, we can easily find ourselves looking for signs from God about what we should do about this or that. And though God certainly communicates to us at times through...

Wind and solar energy generated more electricity than coal in the USA during the first seven months of the year. In the USA, almost twice as much solar energy will be added compared to last year. Wind and solar energy generated more electricity than coal in the USA during the first seven months of the year. In the USA, 36.4 gigawatts of solar energy capacity will be added in 2024, almost double the previous year. Renewable energy has helped stabilize the power grid during extreme weather conditions. Wind energy has shown remarkable growth and surpassed coal power in electricity production...

Here are my thoughts: I agree in principle that an anti-war movie is incongruous with promoting the idea of a tough non-woke US military and thus war itself - however - these are very dangerous and strange times and thus using this footage is doubtless pure expedience. Because I’m sure the irony of using FMJ footage is not lost on Trump or his team - Trump is always seeking to end wars and use peaceful methods. However, that’s primarily what FMJ is about, the shocking and complicated paradoxes of human nature.

Last week, the phrase “Democrats panic” surged into corporate media headlines, despite the polling showing Harris up a couple points at that time. But yesterday, Democrat panic reached even higher levels of awkwardness when the New York Times published liberal stalwart Ezra Klein’s latest op-ed with this astonishing title: Ignore the polls? One detects a marked lack of confidence on the Democrat side. But why? What’s really going on? The answer might be found in less partisan foreign headlines, like yesterday’s from Al Jazeera: If the polls show your candidate losing, then the polls don’t mean anything. Democrats’ current problem...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Müller Is Back: Not a Synod but a SymposiumCardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller took part in the ex-synod for the first time on 14 October. He had been unable to attend the first two weeks of the meeting for hernia problems.Nd.nl learnt that Müller immediately took the floor to make it clear that the symposium was "not a real synod".He criticised the fact that priests, deacons, religious and lay people were also allowed to vote alongside the bishops.In an earlier statement, Cardinal Müller had said that it was not a synod, "but a symposium".Müller was dressed as a...

Gazan civilians told the IDF that Hamas is actively preventing Gazan civilians from heeding the IDF’s calls to move away from the combat zone in Jabaliya.

NASA is set to launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft to explore Europa, an ocean moon orbiting Jupiter. Europa Clipper’s launch is targeted for no earlier than Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 at 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 UTC). The spacecraft, the largest NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Europa is one of the most promising places in our solar system to find an environment suitable for life beyond Earth. Evidence suggests that the ocean beneath Europa’s icy surface could contain the...

The Sri Lankan government has issued a gun confiscation directive requiring all people with firearms and a permit to possess them for self-defense to turn the firearms, ammunition, and permits they possess to the military authorities. The firearms must be surrendered by November 7, 2024. From dailynews.lk: The Ministry of Defense has decided to temporarily take back all firearms and ammunition issued to civilians for self defense.According to the powers vested on the Defense Secretary by Section 6 (1) and 6 (2) of the 1916 Firearms Act No. 33, these firearms and ammunition issued to civilians for self defense are...

HOUSTON — Several cars caught fire in the parking lot of a Galleria area apartment complex Monday morning. This happened on Yorktown Street north of Westheimer Road. The Houston Fire Department said crews got to the scene five minutes after they got a call about fire around 3:50 a.m. HFD said no injuries were reported. About 30 cars were impacted by the fire, 19 of them were completely burned.

Donald Trump is ramping up his rhetoric depicting his political rivals and critics as criminals, while dropping a long trail of suggestions that he favors outlawing political speech that he deems misleading or challenges his claims to power.In a speech Friday in Aurora, Colorado, the Republican presidential nominee blasted the immigration system and lobbed a rhetorical grenade at his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.“She’s a criminal. She’s a criminal,” said Trump, who was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his New York hush money trial. “She really is, if you think about it.” (snip)...

“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7). Having died with Christ, believers are no longer under sin’s control. Years ago a book with the amusing title “It Ain’t Gonna Reign No More” appeared. Though humorous, that title aptly summarizes the believer’s relationship to sin. Christians still commit sins but are no longer under sin’s dominion. When we were united with Christ in His death (Rom. 6:5), “our...

The Harris campaign announced more taxpayer-funded proposals for the black community on Monday. The proposals come after polling showed Harris has about 12-15 percent less black voter support than President Joe Biden won in 2020. The Harris campaign’s new proposals to try to reduce the defections include legalizing marijuana, a new loan program, preferred banking options for entrepreneurs, preferred apprenticeship and mentorship programs, and preferred expanded health screenings, the New York Times reported: The campaign is facing pressure to shore up support among Black men, as polls show that Ms. Harris is receiving significantly lower support from the voting bloc...

Someone tried to rob an off duty sheriff The off-duty deputy pulled out his own gun and fired several shots toward the offender. No one was hit. ...And no one can explain the burning SUV or if that was just a coincidence. There’s a plot twist to report. ... we have learned that a man with five gunshot wounds arrived at Rush Hospital in an Uber about 30 minutes after the shooting.

Hezbollah rockets being launched next to UNIFIL compounds WTFOver the past month, approximately 25 rockets and missiles have been launched at Israeli communities and IDF troops from Hezbollah’s terrorist compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon, exploiting their proximity to UN forces. One of the attacks resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers. Hezbollah uses compounds located above and below ground to carry out terrorist attacks against the State of Israel. During the IDF’s limited, localized, targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence in southern Lebanon, the troops of the 146th Division located hundreds of weapons, including firearms,...

Post-2020: Tensions escalated after the collapse of the 2018-2020 rapprochement between Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump, with their successors resuming drills and North Korea increasing missile tests.

Pennsylvania voters are no stranger to the disastrous policies of the Harris-Biden administration. Pennsylvanians are paying nearly $1,000 extra per month for the same basket of goods due to Kamala’s inflation crisis. At the same time hardworking Pennsylvanians are bringing home real wages worth less and racking up more credit card debt. Gas and diesel prices hit historic highs thanks to the Harris-Biden administration’s crackdown on American energy and Pennsylvania fracking. More broadly, Pennsylvania has been on the receiving end of America’s lopsided trade deals that have allowed foreign adversaries to hollow out our industry. Countless factories have shuttered, and...

Former President George H.W. Bush is remembered for a lot of things. One way he has been immortalized is with a Topps baseball card. It remains one of the most unusual cards ever produced. The former president, in fact, played first base when he was a student at Yale University. While he served only one term as president, as a baseball player starting in 1946 Bush played for three years and batted .224. In 1990, Topps Chairman Arthur Shorin decided to make a special edition card -- #USA1 -- and presented Bush with 100 copies of them in an Oval...