Free Republic

A purported US government contractor accused of stealing more than $46 million in crypto from the US Marshals Service was busted on the island of Saint Martin in a coordinated operation between the FBI and the French Gendarmerie, FBI Director Kash Patel announced. John Daghita’s since-deleted LinkedIn page identifies him as working for Virginia-based Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a technology firm led by his father, Dean Daghita, which held contracts with the Marshals Service for managing seized digital assets. The younger Daghita was reportedly able to access private crypto addresses — and millions of dollars in funds — through...

I have argued that the current economic environment has a lot of eerie parallels to 2007. We have extremely high asset valuations, the economy is loaded up with debt, and monetary policy has taken a similar trajectory, with easy money blowing up these bubbles. We even have characters like Larry Kudlow talking up the economy just like they did in 2007. I'm not the only one who sees these concerning parallels. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently said elevated asset prices and an increasingly competitive banking environment, pushing more credit, remind him of the pre-2008 financial crisis years. "My own...

The Manassas Mosque, sandwiched in a strip mall just 30 miles from Washington, DC, is facing its own fight for survival after commemorating 'our leader' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a day after he was killed in an airstrike in Tehran. The Daily Mail has learned that the imam of the mosque Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian, who goes by Abu Nahidian, is trapped in Tehran with his wife. 'He's okay, but he wanted us to know that if anything happens to him, we should continue what we're doing here in the mosque,' Beyah said. 'Did he say we should retaliate for what is...

Donald Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles is demanding action to bring gas prices down as the war with Iran sends oil skyrocketing, sources have revealed. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other top officials, including a council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 'are getting screamed at to find some good news', industry executives said. Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, sending prices soaring more than 10 percent in a single week, with Brent crude jumping from $72 to more than $82 a barrel. The average gas price jumped 11...

I live in Phoenix. Not much rain but gopher holes around the perimeter of my back yard. Evidently a very healthy gopher. I need Bill Murray. I did try a product called 'Gopher Scram' and everywhere I put it he did scram but problem is he scrammed to a different place in the yard. I read you have to keep reapplying the 'scram' every 30 days in areas that rain maybe? But it worked from the get go and I could just go and do that again. Considering more Gopher Scram because it did work but anyone have any input...

Job 23:10-11 (King James Version) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Listening to the Buggy Whip Press explaining the Iran attacks to the American people is like watching a monkey typing Shakespeare. Trump has such an amazing gift of exposing everyone for exactly who they are and what they are not. Nobody believes them or listens to them since they know the standard reporting will be Trump bad Iran good, so why listen...

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) told Angel Families who were present in the audience that he was “sorry,” but that Americans are more likely to be murdered by fellow Americans than illegal aliens. “For the folks that are here and your families, I’m sorry. It’s terrible what happened to your children and family members, but they are more likely, American citizens are more likely to be attacked by United States citizens who are not undocumented who came here and who were born here,” Cohen told Angel Families. “[Americans] are more likely to commit...

More than five years after the high-profile detention of two Australian bloggers, another overland journey through Iran would end in far lengthier imprisonment. British nationals Craig Foreman and Lindsay Foreman, both in their 50s, entered Iran on December 30, 2024 during a round-the-world motorcycle expedition. They crossed from Armenia with valid tourist visas, an approved travel plan, and a licensed Iranian guide. Family members said the couple intended to transit the country en route to Pakistan before continuing toward Australia. Their case followed an earlier incident that had already drawn international scrutiny. In July 2019, Australian travel bloggers Jolie King...

A failure at Cuba’s main thermoelectric plant has caused a massive blackout affecting two-thirds of the island, the Cuban government confirmed Wednesday. The partial collapse of the island’s National Electric System (SEN) — the second in a month — has left nearly 7 million of the island’s almost 10 million inhabitants without power. The outage is also affecting the capital, Havana. The government has not yet specified the reasons for the blackout, which is affecting 10 of the country’s 15 provinces, from Camagüey in the east to Pinar del Río in the west. According to state television, an “unforeseen shutdown”...

In 2008, Californians voted on what they were told would be a modern transportation system — a sleek, high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours, financed in part by private investment, delivered at a defined cost, and built within a reasonable timeframe. Eighteen years later, all that has been delivered is one of the largest eminent domain land grabs in modern history. No serious person disputes that infrastructure requires land. But the power of eminent domain is not merely an administrative tool. It is among the most formidable powers government possesses: the authority to...

We live in a golden age that far surpasses all previous golden ages. Some call it the Industrial Revolution. Some say it is the digital revolution. This correspondent refers to it as the petroleum age.The cost of firearms and ammunition, in terms of labor, is near an all-time low. .22 Long Rifle cartridges can be had for under six cents a round, with free shipping, on the Internet. The all-time low, in constant dollars, would be about five cents per round, not including sales and seconds, from 1993 to 2006. Nominal prices are higher, but costs in labor are much...

The House on Wednesday batted down an effort from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to publicly release all reports on file with the House Ethics Committee on investigations into members of Congress regarding allegations of sexual harassment of staff or of a sexual relationship with a member of their staff.In a 357-65-1 vote, the chamber moved to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee — a move that essentially kills the effort. Thirty-eight Republicans and 27 Democrats voted against referring the resolution to the panel. *** The resolution directs the Ethics Committee to make public, within 60 days after adoption,...

Iran’s Assembly of Experts is set to hold an emergency session on Thursday to formally announce Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late Supreme Leader, as the next leader, despite opposition from some members who warn against “hereditary leadership,” Iran International has learned.The meeting comes two days after Iran International reported that the Assembly of Experts had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards.Two sources from the offices of Assembly of Experts representatives told Iran International that at least eight members will not attend the emergency session on Thursday in protest at what...

The team has endured a disastrous lead-up to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with a severe vibration plaguing its new AMR26. That has caused trouble with its Honda battery and severely limited the number of laps able to be completed in pre-season testing. Team principal Adrian Newey admitted earlier on Thursday that the issue is also having an impact on the drivers. Newey revealed Alonso feels he “can’t do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage to his hands”, while Stroll has a 15-lap threshold. The two drivers have subsequently given their perspectives of driving...

Gemini AI: Here is the latest "Kurd Update": 1. Iranian Preemptive Strikes This morning, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC confirmed they launched joint strikes against "separatist terrorist groups" in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). • The Toll: At least one member of an exiled Iranian Kurdish group was killed and several others were wounded. • Target Locations: Strikes specifically hit the headquarters of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) near Dekala and Komala party sites in the Zargwez area of Sulaymaniyah. • The Regime's Stance: Tehran claims these groups were preparing to infiltrate Iran "with the support of...

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion (originally known as Our Lady of Good Help), is the only formally approved Marian apparition site in the United States. Considering the site is near Green Bay, Wisconsin, I had at one time, in my profound ignorance, assumed that it must have something to do with the Packers various Super Bowl victories. But no. The site has nothing to do with Vince Lombardi, Brett Farve, or Aaron Rogers. It is much more closely associated with Our Lady, Star of the Sea, than Bart Starr. My general lack of knowledge about this shrine...

How Trump Derangement turned feminist icons into mullah defenders. For decades, the American Left’s loudest voices on women’s issues styled themselves as fearless guardians of peace and equality. They chained themselves to fences at nuclear bases, waved “No Nukes” signs during the Reagan years, and lectured the rest of us about the patriarchy while demanding the Equal Rights Amendment and unfettered abortion. Jane Fonda, the original celebrity activist, was at the forefront—Vietnam-era traitor turned fitness-video feminist turned Trump-hating scold. These women claimed moral high ground on nuclear proliferation and women’s rights. Then Donald Trump happened. The moment Trump descended the...

Israel’s military said it continued strikes in central Tehran, targeting infrastructure linked to Iran’s ballistic missile system. In a statement, the military said it hit storage facilities for missiles both above and below ground. One of the targets in Tehran was an underground site used by Iranian authorities to store ballistic missiles, it said. The military also said it destroyed storage centers for missiles intended to target aircraft.

Stalin Kicked The Bucket: Ray Anderson [1953] Old Joe kicked the bucket, he's long gone He won't worry us from now on He lived in a place they call Moscow His number came up and he had to go Yes, old Joe's dead and gone He stayed around too long And nobody now can save his hide 'Cause old Joe laid right down and died Old Joe won't worry us no more He killed the helpless by the score Now I hope he's satisfied Since old Joe's taken his last ride Yes, old Joe's dead and gone He stayed around...

Just an entertaining video. Enjoy