Free Republic

Violence is accelerating under Syria’s new Islamist government, as is the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities. This tragedy was entirely predictable. As far back as Barack Obama’s first term, critics warned that Washington’s flirtation with and assistance to Sunni Arab radicals would turn out badly. Nevertheless, Joe Biden’s administration persisted in that approach in an effort to overthrow the secular government of Bashar al-Assad. From the standpoint of US policymakers, Assad had committed two unpardonable sins. He transformed his country into Iran’s closest regional ally, and he forged closer ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Indeed, Russian air power played...

The Secret Service has launched an investigation into an incident over the weekend in which an agent tried to smuggle his wife onto a USSS carplane accompanying President Trump’s visit to Scotland, first reported here for @RCPolitics . The agent in question is a Phase 1 agent (new trainee in first years on the job) who was written up multiple times for misconduct at the Rowley Training Center where agents go through their preliminary training to become agents and can wash out if held to proper standards, according to two sources in the Secret Service community. Here’s the official Secret...

PELHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Federal investigators are charging two Chinese citizens with possessing counterfeit devices after they say they found altered gift cards in the pair’s SUV amidst boxes containing more than 5,000 gift cards. The investigation began on June 20, when the manager at CVS location in Hoover says he saw Jiadong Cao and Xuejun Zheng enter the store and swap out about 25 gift cards from a kiosk with cards they had brought into the store. Among the brands allegedly swapped: Nike, Macy’s and Best Buy. The store manager saw the pair leaving in a gray Lexus SUV...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Approves Latin Mass in Texas DioceseFrom the feast of the Apparition of St. Michael (pre-55), when Pope Leo XIV was elected, the worldwide traditionalist community has looked to him and wondered what he will do with the ancient Roman Rite, the apostolic liturgy of the city of Rome. Notably, Pope Leo XIV chants and celebrates his own Mass (both things Pope Francis never or rarely did) and the Holy Father’s Latin is superb. Rumours circulated that Cardinal Prevost himself celebrated the Latin Mass, but I have not seen these rumours ever confirmed (please send me a...

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, Israeli researchers have unearthed a 5,500-year-old flint blade workshop near Kiryat Gat, southern Israel—the first of its kind ever found in the region. Announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Early Bronze Age site sheds new light on the technological ingenuity and social complexity of ancient Canaanite civilization.The excavation, carried out at the Naḥal Qomem site—also referred to as Gat-Govrin or Zeita—revealed a full-scale production center where highly skilled craftsmen manufactured long, razor-sharp flint blades. This prehistoric workshop marks a major milestone in understanding the early development of urban society and professional specialization in...

Elon Musk joined the outpouring of outrage after a man and woman were beaten to a pulp by an unruly mob after an Ohio jazz festival. The victims were brutally attacked Friday night in downtown Cincinnati after being swarmed by the violent crowd, video of the horrific attack showed. A man in a white t-shirt is apparently shoved to ground by two men and repeatedly beaten as other members of the crowd jeer and join in. The gang batters the man for nearly a minute as he lay in the middle of the street, seemingly stepping on his head multiple...

President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing concerns of famine in Gaza on Monday, breaking from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Sunday comments in which he said, “There is no starvation in Gaza.” Trump was asked about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Turnberry, Scotland. “It’s going to be working where the United States will be helping with the food. You know, we have a lot of access to food; we got a lot of food ourselves, and we’re going to bring it over there. We’re also going to make sure that they...

Deion Sanders was flanked by his medical team during the first press conference of Colorado’s 2025 fall camp. The Buffaloes’ head football coach has recently been dealing with an undisclosed health issue and he cleared the air on Monday: Coach Prime had his bladder removed after a cancerous tumor was found in it. The bladder removal cured the cancer and that word "cure" is not something Sanders’ doctor, Janet Kukreja (director of urologic oncology,) uses lightly. Kukreja is able to declare Sanders cured of bladder cancer because the tumor was caught early enough. As a result, Coach Prime is back...

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that a framework trade agreement struck between the European Union and the United States was “anti-Russian” likening it to a de facto ban on buying Russian oil and gas. The U.S. struck the deal with the EU on Sunday, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a statement afterwards that the agreement would help the bloc fully phase out Russian fossil fuels in favour of American alternatives. “Purchases of U.S. energy products will diversify our sources of supply and...

Police say they apprehended suspect after what authorities described as an officer-involved shootingPolice say multiple people were shot at a casino in Reno, Nevada, on Monday morning, and they have taken a suspect into custody. The local news outlet KRNV reported that Reno police responded to a report of an active shooter at the Grand Sierra Resort at about 7.25am. Within four or five minutes, officers found the suspect, who was then taken to a hospital after what police described as an officer-involved shooting. In the US, the phrase “active shooter” frequently refers to someone firing at multiple victims at...

[Catholic Caucus] German bishops looking to promote gender ideology in schoolsA 20-page document says Germany's Catholic schools should respect and make more visible students who are 'non-binary' and 'non-heterosexual.' The heretical German bishops are planning to introduce guidelines for Catholic schools promoting radical gender ideology without questioning its horrendous consequences for children.The German Catholic News Agency (KNA) reports that the Catholic bishops, or more precisely, their school commission headed by Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers, are preparing a 20-page document on “sexual diversity” for Catholic schools.The paper says schools should respect and make more visible students who are “non-binary” and “non-heterosexual.” It...

[Catholic Caucus] Conclusion of Major New Economic Research Paper: "Vatican II, in 1962-1965, triggered a decline in worldwide Catholic attendance relative to that in other denominations." From the summary of a major new paper just published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), in Cambridge, Massachusetts, authored by some of the greatest names in Economic research, including the famous Dr. Barro, of Harvard University, Dr. Dewitte, of the University of Oxford, and Dr. Iannaccone, of Chapman University:Looking Backward: Long-Term Religious Service Attendance in 66 CountriesRobert J. Barro, Edgard Dewitte & Laurence IannacconeIssue Date July 2025The attendance rate at religious...

This councilman was the poster child for progressive criminal justice reform. He’s a former gang member drug dealer and became a city councilor after allegedly turning his life around. He had his criminal record ERASED by a Democrat program. He was just arrested for assault. Who could’ve possibly seen this coming ... Leon Abdullah El-Alamin ... The case of Leon El-Alamin in Flint, Michigan, underscores the pitfalls of progressive criminal justice reforms. ...

Modern reconstruction of the Houfeng Didong Yi. The Chinese Museum Calgary Alberta/Wikimedia Commons ======================================================================== Chinese scientists are exploring the possibility of recreating a modern, more sophisticated version of an ancient earthquake sensor allegedly invented nearly 2,000 years ago. The original, called the Houfeng Didong Yi, was, according to Chinese lore, invented in 132 AD by the famous Chinese polymath Zhang Heng. This is widely considered the world’s first dedicated seismoscope (earthquake detector). However, claims around the existence of this device have been questioned in recent years, with many citing that it was too advanced for the time. The Houfeng Didong...

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court gave the green light for his administration to slash nearly a third of the Department of Education’s workforce. It’s a big (and long overdue) step toward reining in decades of federal overreach that’s taken power away from parents and local communities. ...... Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, the door is open to real reform. Congress has the power to finish the job and eliminate the DOE for good. These layoffs are just the first move toward dismantling a department that has prioritized politics over education for far too long. For years, bureaucrats in...

In an interview last week with conservative influencer Benny Johnson, Flynn claimed that Pence and Ryan actively plotted to undermine Trump and, upon his removal from office, were prepared to step in to govern in his place.

Michael & Rupert review the prehistoric archaeology news in their own inimitable way and invite you to join in with your own thoughts and questions as they chat about what's been going on in the world of prehistory research. New Prehistoric Archaeology Discoveries May 15TH 2025 - Live Show | 1:51:27 The Prehistory Guys | 101K subscribers | 14,773 views | Streamed live on May 15, 2025

archive.is link of the article so you can read it. https://archive.is/60doW

Sir Keir Starmer awkwardly stepped in to defend his 'friend' Sir Sadiq Khan today after Donald Trump branded the London mayor a 'nasty person'. The Prime Minister attempted to intervene as the US President ranted about Sir Sadiq at his Trump Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, Scotland. Speaking to reporters as he and Sir Keir sat down for their meeting this afternoon, Mr Trump was asked if he would visit London during his next trip to the UK. The US President is due to return to Britain in September for an unprecedented second state visit, following his 2019 visit during...

The price of beef rose sharply, with ground beef averaging $6.11 per pound (up 11.8% year-over-year) and steak increasing by 8%. Nonalcoholic beverages, especially coffee, also saw price hikes, with coffee alone rising 2.2% in June. Fresh fruit and vegetable prices increased, notably citrus (up 2.3%). Chocolate-based products are becoming costlier due to record-high cocoa prices, prompting major manufacturers to plan double-digit price hikes. While most food categories saw inflation-driven increases, egg prices provided relief, dropping 7.5% in May after a 40% surge in 2024. However, upcoming tariffs, such as a 50% U.S. duty on Brazilian imports, may drive future...