Free Republic

YT: Victor Davis Hanson rips away the illusion. China claims ancient superiority, but its military is nothing more than a knockoff of the West — from tanks and planes to tactics and strategy. Worse, Beijing exports its authoritarian model into our universities, silencing pro-Taiwan or pro-Israel voices while radicalizing students against America itself.

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban released another US citizen from custody on Sunday (Sep 28) after a visit by Washington’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler, the US government said. Amir Amiri, who had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024, was freed through Qatari mediation and was on his way to Doha on Sunday evening, a source told Reuters. Boehler’s trip came a week after US President Donald Trump urged the Taliban to hand back control of Bagram air base to Washington, warning that “bad things” would happen to Afghanistan if it refused. Amiri is the fifth American released by the Taliban this...

Coconut oil is the Southeast Asian nation’s top agricultural export, but prices can vary widely such as when supply dwindles during typhoons.Coconut farmers and workers in the Philippines like Alexis Rea have long struggled to reap the full economic benefits of their harvests. Five years ago, he left his job near the capital Manila and travelled about 200km to work on farms in his hometown of Atimonan in Quezon province, in order to be closer to his wife and children. While his take-home pay is higher now, he told CNA finding work would be easier if there were more coconut...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Chow denies persecution in Hong Kong, breaking with ZenCardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong has said there is no religious persecution in the territory, putting himself at odds with his predecessor Cardinal Joseph Zen, who has long warned that the Chinese Communist Party is steadily tightening its grip on the Church.Speaking in Parramatta on 15 September during a public dialogue in the “Bishop Vincent Presents” series, The Catholic Weekly reported that Cardinal Chow declared Beijing wanted to keep Hong Kong’s religious freedom “intact” and insisted: “I want to invite any one of you, everyone, to come to...

I expressed my reservations about the indictment of James Comey here. Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy takes a deep dive into the facts relevant to the indictment, and concludes that it should be thrown out of court. This is what the indictment says: On or about September 30, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia, the defendant, JAMES B. COMEY JR., did willfully and knowingly make a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement…by falsely stating to a U.S. Senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that he, JAMES B. COMEY JR., had not “authorized someone else at the FBI to...

Matthew 9:27-30 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. 28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. I want you to notice something, because often times...

Niagara Falls is at a 'breaking point' with 'thousands of asylum seekers' taking refuge in the popular tourist hotspot, the city's mayor has warned. The famous southeastern Ontario city has more migrants per capita than any other city in Canada, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati told The Telegraph. The influx has placed strain on the city's services, hospitals and schools, Diodati claimed, adding that 'our shelters are full, our transitional housing is full, the drug problem is like it's never been before'.

India beat Pakistan by five wickets in a tense final to retain the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was the third meeting between the rivals at the tournament and success for India earned them a ninth title. Both sides again refused to shake hands - as they had in the two earlier fractious encounters. The India players did not reappear for the trophy presentation and Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia later said the players refused to accept the winner's trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the...

Vladimir Putin will expand his war in Ukraine by attacking another European country, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has predicted, and accused Russia of recent drone incursions that he said were an attempt to test Nato’s defences.Speaking in Kyiv after his meeting with Donald Trump at the UN in New York, the Ukrainian president said Russia was preparing for a bigger conflict. “Putin will not wait to finish his war in Ukraine. He will open up some other direction. Nobody knows where. He wants that,” he said. Ukraine’s president said the Kremlin was deliberately checking Europe’s capacity to protect its skies, after drone...

Global debt hit a record high of $337.7 trillion at the end of the second quarter, driven by easing global financial conditions, a softer U.S. dollar and a more accommodative stance from major central banks, a quarterly report showed on Thursday. The Institute of International Finance, a financial services trade group, said that global debt rose over $21 trillion in the first half of the year to $337.7 trillion. China, France, the United States, Germany, Britain, and Japan recorded the largest increases in debt levels in U.S. dollar terms, though some of that was due to a waning dollar, the...

U.S. investors are sitting on a pile of cash. Even with rates now coming down, many are in no rush to move it. Assets in money-market funds reached a record $7.7 trillion last week, with more than $60 billion flowing into those funds during the first four days of the month, according to Crane Data, an industry researcher. The latest rush into money funds began in 2022, when the Federal Reserve started raising rates. The yields on these funds, which typically hold short-term government debt, also rose, giving investors higher returns on their cash than they have had in years....

Dana White reiterated on Logan Paul's podcast that the UFC event at the White House is "happening." The event will be part of commemorating the United States’ 250th birthday, and White said it was actually President Donald Trump’s idea. "I didn't ask — he brought it up to me," White said on "Impaulsive." "When you walk around the White House with him, he's so proud of the White House, and he loves it so much and he loves America. He believes that the White House belongs to the people of America," White continued. "He wants to do more things like...

Portland Andy streaming multiple feeds live

An ICE agent who was filmed brutally slamming a woman to the ground in front of her children has been 'relieved' of his duties, according to an official. Now-viral footage of the male officer showed him throwing her to the hard ground as he repeatedly told her 'adios'. The woman was heard pleading with the plain-clothes official at the New York City customs and immigration offices after her husband was detained and whisked away by ICE agents just moments earlier. Her young daughter cried as her mother was violently forced to the floor and witnesses rushed to surround her. Now,...

Suicide has overtaken cancer as the main cause of death among South Koreans in their forties for the first time since records began in 1983, amid growing concerns that the country is facing a mental health crisis. The country recorded 14,872 suicides last year – a 6.3 per cent rise from the previous year and the highest figure since 2011 – according to the latest “2024 Cause of Death Statistics” published by Statistics Korea on Thursday. While suicide has long been the leading cause of death among teenagers and people under 30, it became the top cause of death among...

Four churchgoers have died, with at least eight more injured and others potentially unaccounted for after a gunman set fire to a Mormon church in Michigan and began shooting at congregants. The shooter, who was killed by police at the scene, has been identified as 40-year-old Iraq War veteran Thomas Jacob Sanford. Sanford opened fire on hundreds of people, including children, who had gathered for a service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc about 10.25am on Sunday. Police confirmed in an 8pm press conference that two of the victims died from gunshot wounds, while...

Federal investigators have subpoenaed records related to travel they believe Fani Willis took around the time of last year’s election, but it was not immediately clear why.The Department of Justice has issued a subpoena for records related to the travel history of Fani T. Willis, the Georgia district attorney who charged President Trump in a sweeping election interference case, according to a federal grand jury subpoena reviewed by The New York Times. The scope of the investigation is not yet clear. Also unclear is whether Ms. Willis is the target of the inquiry and whether she will ultimately face charges....

These are career bureaucrats who don’t want accountability. The system is finally being exposed for what it is. The question is — is this a crisis or the reset America needs? Thoughts? ⬇️

Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Joseph Jacob Foss Info from here. Joseph Jacob "Joe" Foss (April 17, 1915 January 1, 2003) was the leading fighter ace of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, recognizing his role in the air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In postwar years, he achieved...

Iran used to be a very sophisticated country...and then, in 1979, the Mullahs moved in. While Tehran is still a fairly modern city, the moment you step out of it, you enter the backwaters of what almost fifty years of Islamic extremism will do to a nation. Add in the Mullah’s genocidal goals for Israel, and the fact that they’ve been fomenting terrorism worldwide for their entire existence, and you have a country that badly needs a powerful intervention. Donald Trump began that intervention when, partnering with Israel, he completely destroyed Iran’s military. The Israelis wiped out Iran’s defensive abilities,...