Free Republic

If you read the New York Times or watch the foreign policy establishment’s “best and brightest,” you will be told, with imperious certainty, that America is losing the war in Iran and was stupid to begin it. The conspiratorial wing on both the right and left add that it is all the Jews’ fault, although they usually remember to mutter they mean “Israel” instead of all Jews, a gossamer cloak over what they really mean. If, on the other hand, you watch Fox News or read blogs by conservatives or military analysts, you will be told with equal certainty that...

It's Friday! That means it is time to post silly things!

Air Canada will suspend service to New York’s JFK International airport over the summer as the war in Iran creates jet fuel shortages that have sent prices soaring. Canada’s flag carrier said Friday that service from Toronto and Montreal to JFK will cease June 1 and resume Oct. 25. Service to the New York metropolitan area’s two other airports — LaGuardia and Newark — will continue. Air Canada says it will reach out to customers who are impacted by the suspension with alternate travel options. “As jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict and some...

Donald Trump’s three appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court have already helped engineer a constitutional counterrevolution. But he’s clearly frustrated that “his” justices aren’t always blindly loyal to his interests. As we draw closer to a midterm election in which Democrats are likely to flip at least one chamber of Congress, Trump is dropping some strong hints that he’d like to make more lifetime appointments to the Court while he still can. In an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, Trump hinted pretty strongly that he wants more Supreme Court openings right now: President Donald Trump said he is “prepared”...

Edmund Fitton-Brown @EFittonBrown Oh dear. Iskandar323 picked the wrong jurisdiction in which to become one of the world’s leading pro-Hamas propagandists. The #UAE takes a dim view of foreigners who abuse their hospitality by supporting terrorist groups. It would be a pity if the Emiratis learned his identity. Quote WikiBias @WikiBias · Mar 23 Investigations have revealed that Iskandar323, the recently banned editor, who worked to rewrite Jewish history and whitewash the Iranian regime and Hamas, is an English journalist based in the United Arab Emirates. Our eyes are wide open for all others. More to come.

The deaths or disappearances of 11 top US scientists and researchers is a matter of urgent national importance, a member of the House Oversight Committee insisted Friday. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said his office had already been eyeing some of the “too coincidental” disappearances a year before President Trump told reporters Thursday that he had ordered an investigation. The lawmaker argued the fate of the scientists is almost “certainly” linked to the access some had to classified aerospace, defense and UFO information — and may involve bad actors from China, Russia or Iran.

Explanation: Messier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive stars, the burst of star formation in M82 is driving a prodigious outflow. Evidence for the superwind from the galaxy's central regions is clear in the sharp telescopic portrait. The composite image includes 33 hours of narrowband data, highlighting emission from long outflow filaments of atomic hydrogen gas in reddish hues. Some of the gas in the superwind, enriched in heavy elements forged in the massive stars, will eventually escape into intergalactic space. Triggered by a close encounter with nearby...

Multiple people in Glendale have been sentenced in a bizarre felony insurance fraud case involving a bear costume and luxury cars.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, is facing a wave of backlash after declaring that the way to fight government waste is to remove President Donald Trump and his team from power. In video of her remarks that circulated online this week, Watson Coleman said: “If we wanted to eliminate abuse and fraud, we’d eliminate the president of the United States from the office right now, and the rest of the sycophants in his administration.” The comment spread quickly across social media and conservative outlets, with critics accusing the congresswoman of stoking dangerous political rhetoric under the guise...

France and Britain said Friday they will lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the force was being set up as they co-chaired international talks in Paris focused on ensuring free-flowing trade through the critical shipping corridor. The conference, held mainly by video link, brought together a total of 49 countries from Europe and Asia, which were represented at various levels including dozens...

Mike Steger@stegerMGWe’re watching the world reset in real time.This isn’t chaos.It’s strategy.Iran. China. India. The Middle East.All moving at once.Most people can’t see it yet. ransomnote: Below are a few of my notes and some images from the video.At the start of the video, Steger said that Trump's vision exceeds that of others and his strategies work because people can't even imagine what he intends so they can't fight its implementation. Trump thinks bigger than anyone else dares, he outflanks any effort to sabotage the deal. They can't sabotage a deal they can't even imagine exists.I found the entire video...

If the UK joined the US as the 51st state. We would be the poorest state in the entire union. Mississippi which is portrayed at swamp dwelling hillbillies in majority of international media is above us. I don’t think people grasp how far we’ve fallen in real terms when it comes to GDP per capita. We’ve seen no growth for almost an entire generations. We’ve seen our productivity decrease and our tax increases. The average person on the UK, on £50,000 is less well off than your average Mississippi swamp dweller. Polymarket Apr 15 JUST IN: New analysis reveals Brits...

Spain's Pedro Sanchez and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will spearhead gatherings of the global left in Barcelona on Friday and Saturday, in a bid to defend multilateralism and mobilise left-wing movements against the far right. The meetings, organised by Spain and left-wing political networks, come as U.S. President Donald Trump's swift cuts to humanitarian aid, military interventions and threats to abandon NATO have shaken the status quo of international relations and prompted a rethink of global allegiances. Borne out of a wake-up call for European socialists after the far-right surge in EU elections in 2024, the aim of...

All ships can sail through the Strait of Hormuz but this needs to be coordinated ‌with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that unfreezing Iranian funds was part of the deal. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that the strait was open after a ceasefire accord was agreed in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come "soon", although the timing remains unclear. The Iranian official said transits would be restricted to lanes that Iran deemed safe, ⁠adding that military vessels were...

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday gave preliminary approval to President Donald Trump's plan for a massive new triumphal arch monument in the nation's capital, according to the New York Times. The outlet reported that the body holds an advisory role regarding the project's design, but does not wield enforcement authority. The Associated Press reported that the commission approved the concept for several projects, including the arch. The federal agency next will review updated designs for all three projects at a future meeting before taking any final votes. The proposed monument features a giant arch topped with a...

I met with two guys from Paris last week. They suggested in the Loop across the street from the James R. Thompson Center. I hadn’t been in the Loop for a couple of years but followed @CWBChicago on X for the latest on shootings, street takeovers, and general mayhem. I emailed back that no one meets in the Loop anymore by choice. Let’s meet at the Firehouse Grill in Evanston. Due to previous commitments they couldn’t switch. Not wanting to screw around with parking I took an Uber. Twenty minutes early, with time to kill, oops, an unfortunate choice of...

Screens run new cars now. Whether we like it or not, every dashboard has a giant tablet in the middle and another screen where the gauges used to be. Some of them blend into the dash like they belong. Others stick out like someone glued an iPad to the top. Either way, they run almost everything in the cabin. It wasn’t always like this. But like most tech trends, the shift happened eventually, and for reasons no one really asked for. Suddenly your radio, your AC, and even simple stuff like the headlight switch lives somewhere inside a maze of...

The state of Florida has passed a new law that will require all non-U.S. citizens applying for or renewing their driver's licenses to have a special designation indicating their citizenship status starting on January 1, 2027. Why it matters The new law is part of a broader push by Florida to tighten immigration policies and crack down on undocumented residents. Critics argue the measure unfairly singles out non-citizens and could lead to increased discrimination, while supporters say it's a necessary step to verify legal status. The details Under the new law, any Florida driver's license or ID card issued to...

As a genre, Greek tragedy was highly valued in 1st-century society, with the plays of 5th and 4th century BC Athens being continuously performed in theatres and studied in Graeco-Roman education as an essential area of knowledge. Herod the Great made a particular effort to introduce Graeco-Roman theatre in Jerusalem... The Gospel of Mark, in particular, has a structure that closely resembles that of a Greek tragic play. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, the structure of the plot is vital when classifying a work as tragic drama, even more so than characterization. The structure of the plot in a Greek tragedy...

Oil prices have plummeted after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be "completely open" to commercial ships for the remainder of the ceasefire. The cost of a barrel of Brent crude fell to $88 dollars a barrel, having been above $98 earlier on Friday. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water linking the Gulf to the Arabian sea, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquified natural gas is typically transported. US President Donald Trump welcomed Iran's statement, but maritime groups are still verifying the Iranian announcement. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: "The...