Free Republic

As families chased from their homes by the Burma Army return to their villages, hidden mines still threaten homes, churches, and fields. The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) are working with local volunteer deminers under civilian authority to train communities, improve detection, and get the gear needed to make the land safe again. Since the 2021 military coup, landmines have become one of the deadliest threats facing civilians in Burma. In Karenni and southern Shan state alone, there have been 205 recorded landmine incidents since that time, with actual numbers likely far greater due to underreporting. Burma now has one of...

Winsome Earl-Sears is surging back into viability in the Virginia Governor's race. Yes, she's still down seven, compared to the margin of error of 4.4 points, but she was down seventeen in the same poll. Roanoke College conducted the poll between August 11th and 15th and issued a press release today, August 19th. The previous poll was done between May 12 and May 19th. I never believed she was down 17 points. Incredibly, it is even mathematically possible for her not to have improved at all; a margin of error means the percentage for *each* candidate could be off by...

No one has ever heard of Western flotillas headed to Nigeria, Congo, or Syria, where Christians and Druze are slaughtered like chickens.

Russian reporters are whining about having to sleep on cots and being served old tuna for breakfast while covering the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska — but their own country may actually be to blame. The Kremlin journalists griped that they’ve had to rough it on portable beds with no sheets set up at the Alaska Airlines Center sports arena in Anchorage, where they were hardly able to make phone calls. They — gasp — even had to get by without bottled water. “After being assigned for [Thursday] night to what appeared to be a disaster evacuation zone, Russian journalists were...

While President Trump deserves credit for pursuing diplomacy to end the Ukraine war—a step his predecessor avoided—his strategy contains a grave risk to U.S. interests. In his pursuit of a historic peace deal, Trump has proposed offering Ukraine an “Article 5-like” security guarantee. This commitment, made outside of NATO, could obligate the U.S. military to defend Ukraine and create a direct tripwire for conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia.

Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles against Ukraine on August 19, in a kinetic response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's White House talks with US President Donald Trump and key European allies. Ukrainian regional officials said that over 24 hours Russian shelling across the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions had claimed the lives of 15 people and injured at least 76 more. It was reported that the Poltava region was hit particularly hard, leaving over 1,500 residents without electricity. In Chernihiv, drones damaged infrastructure and disrupted power supplies. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha condemned Russia's attacks, calling them...

Dancers prepare for the grand enterance at the Gathering of Nations in April 2017 in Albuquerque, N.M. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios The Gathering of Nations, a celebration of Indigenous dancing, music and art from around the world in what has become North America's largest powwow, will end next year, organizers announced. Why it matters: The ending closes a chapter in Native American history that has been mentioned in movies and novels and brought hundreds of thousands to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for more than 40 years. Driving the news: Organizers announced on Saturday that the cultural event will conclude in 2026, marking...

For those who can’t understand why Donald Trump was twice elected president, including the Republicans and conservatives who continue to impugn him, we have the answer: Trump is the response to three (yes, three) terms of Barack Obama. This country has never had a president like Trump. He doesn’t hold back, he can sometimes be crude, he sees no benefit in playing nice with people who want to destroy him (who also happen to overlap with Americans who want to take down their own country a notch or two because, in their perverted thinking, America was never great to begin...

Artist representation of CAPERS-LRD-z9, home to the earliest confirmed black hole. The supermassive black hole at its center is believed to be surrounded by a thick cloud of gas, giving the galaxy a distinctive red color. Credit: Erik Zumalt, The University of Texas at Austin ================================================================== Astronomers have discovered the most distant confirmed black hole, hidden inside a rare galaxy known as a “Little Red Dot.” Its enormous size and early existence challenge current theories about how galaxies and black holes formed in the young universe. A global team of astronomers, led by The University of Texas at Austin’s Cosmic...

Drag racing is a sport built on connection. From pit area handshakes to social media shoutouts, NHRA drivers have long embraced fan engagement as part of their identity. But in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, that connection has turned dangerous. Top drivers in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series say they are increasingly being impersonated online, targeted by spammers, stalkers, and con artists who deceive fans into fake relationships, VIP club memberships, and worse. The problem, they say, is out of control—and in some cases, even life-threatening. Brittany Force. Erica Enders. Alexis DeJoria. Ida Zetterström. Jeg Coughlin Jr. Larry...

The UK government has dropped its demands to create a backdoor into Apple's encryption, according to the US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard. In a post on X in the early hours of Tuesday, Ms Gabbard said the UK had withdrawn its demand to access global Apple users' data if required. She wrote: "The UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a 'back door' that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties." The US spy chief said it was the result of months of working closely...

3:00 VIDEO AT LINK.............. EEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!....................

By splitting a single photon, scientists confirmed that angular momentum is always conserved — a billion-to-one experiment that reinforces the foundations of quantum physics. Credit: SciTechDaily.com ===================================================================== Physicists have, for the first time, shown that even a single photon obeys one of nature’s strictest rules: conservation of angular momentum. Achieved only once in a billion attempts, this needle-in-a-haystack success not only proves a cornerstone law of physics at the smallest scale but also opens a pathway to advanced quantum technologies, from entangled states to secure communication. Quantum-Level Confirmation of Angular Momentum Conservation Researchers at Tampere University, working with colleagues in...

The Webb Space Telescope has spotted a new tiny moon orbiting Uranus. The new member of the lunar gang, announced Tuesday by NASA, appears to be just six miles (10 kilometers) wide. It was spotted by the telescope’s near-infrared camera during observations in February. Scientists think it hid for so long — even eluding the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its flyby about 40 years ago — because of its faintness and small size. Uranus has 28 known moons that are named after characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. About half are smaller and orbit the planet at closer range. This...

Ukraine Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said in an interview with Scripps News, "Russia continues on a daily basis mass deportation of our children."Since the start of the war in Ukraine, nearly 20,000 children have been forcibly taken to Russia or Belarus, according to the organization Bring Kids Back. Only about 1,400 of those children have been returned to their families. Now, with talks of a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, officials in Ukraine are demanding that all of the kidnapped children be returned before any conditions are made. "This is a human tragedy," said Ukraine Deputy Foreign...

Ukraine’s Defense Forces have blown up a Russian fuel train in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to local activist Petro Andriushchenko. The incident occurred in the temporarily occupied territory between Urozhayne and Tokmak. Drone images shared by Andriushchenko show burning fuel tankers and the derailed train. “The train derailed and is now being finished off with everything that can fly. It’s burning beautifully. The Ukrainian Defense Forces in Zaporizhzhia are once again reducing Russian logistics to zero,” he wrote, News.Az reports, citing foreign media. While the exact method has not been officially confirmed, strike drones are believed to have targeted the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force’s top uniformed officer is set to retire early in the most recent shake-up of military leadership during President Donald Trump’s second term.Gen. David Allvin will continue serving as the service’s chief of staff until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate, the Air Force announced Monday. He expects to retire around Nov. 1, two years into his four-year term, it said in a statement.Allvin joins other top military officials who have stepped down or been fired by Trump’s Republican administration during a broader leadership upheaval, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to slash the...

Summary Trump: will gauge Putin's actions over next two weeks Trump: Putin faces 'rough situation' if no deal on Ukraine Zelenskiy hails summit with Trump as a step towards peace Russia launches largest attack this month amid peace talks Uncertainty over U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine WASHINGTON/LONDON/KYIV, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped Russia's Vladimir Putin would move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but conceded that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a "rough situation" for Putin.In an interview with the...

The Department of Education (ED) announced on Tuesday that it is ending the taxpayer funding of political activism jobs on college campuses. The department is rescinding the Biden-era guidance that allowed the Federal Work Study (FWS) program, which provides college students with part-time jobs to help fund their education, to be used for jobs at political rallies, voter hotlines, poll workers and other political activism jobs. Institutions should instead “focus FWS funds on jobs that provide real-world work experience instead of political activities.” “Federal Work Study is meant to provide students opportunities to gain real-world experience that prepares them to...

The opening of this portion of Romans is the foundational message of forgiveness and God's assurance to a true follower of Christ and His sovereign grace. The truth of forgiving others creates a new atmosphere setting us free and places us in a favored position, bringing us back to life in an assured hope-filled stance with access to peace. Choose to forgive and be set free. 1:02:26 long.