Free Republic

‘G ‘ was born into a Maronite Christian family in southern Lebanon, part of a community that traces its roots to the ancient Phoenicians. His early childhood unfolded in a quiet Christian village just 15 kilometers from the Israeli border, surrounded by rolling hills, farmland, and deeply rooted family traditions. Like many Lebanese Christians in southern Lebanon, his family lived modestly, valuing faith, community, and inner peace in a region increasingly consumed by conflict. While Lebanon was embattled in a civil war from 1975-1990, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 to drive out the PLO had left its...

Lavrov spoke with Rubio over the phone and, according to a readout, drew Rubio’s attention to the Russian Foreign Ministry statement advising the United States and other countries with representative offices in Kyiv to “ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the capital of Ukraine.”

This is the first topic I've ever written about which probably shouldn't be written about at all. By anyone. Anywhere. Based on all indications so far, the best way to treat director Christopher Nolan's forthcoming movie, The Odyssey (starring Matt Damon as Odysseus) is simply to ignore it. Never mention it. Certainly not see it. Everyone in the entire world should simply continue living their lives as though the movie never existed at all. The reason isn't just that the trailer conveys an odd combination of overwrought and unserious. It's that the trailer, interviews, and press releases so far suggest...

Brad & Lex trying to figure out WHEN this song is relevant to.. Brad is good to get a general idea, while Lex actually looks it up. (I was 1 year off, btw..)....

A new Texas law allows companies with SAE Level 4 or higher autonomous vehicles to offer commercial driverless transportation. Tesla wasted no time in self-certifying their vehicles. On the same day the law went into effect, Tesla officially self-certified their FSD software on their robotaxi vehicles as Level 4 compliant. For years, Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD software, even in Texas, has navigated the consumer market under the constraints imposed by a Level 2 driver-assist system. And while Tesla now operates in Texas as a level-4 system, this does not change the level-2 designation for consumer vehicles. Taking Responsibility While many...

Americans long have leavened their powerful global image with goofiness, a cheerful confidence that can deflect international wonder over certain strains of ignorance into a smile. Behold, for example, the cheesehead hat. Made of sofa foam and sunny yellow defiance, the hat was created in the late 1980s in response to the taunting faced by supporters of sports teams in Wisconsin, which has long called itself America’s dairyland. “Cheeseheads!” residents of neighboring Illinois said. The insult was embraced and, yes, turned on its head — particularly in the realm of a certain football team named the Green Bay Packers. Soon,...

Brad & Lex back for another reaction video.. This time with Pink Floyd. AND, I believe with Lex's mother along for the ride. Lex gets emotional this time. Brad, as usual, is thinking things through, while Lex lets the feelings get to her.

hina buys up the bullion, the relevance of paper markets on Comex (and London) is shrinking. Liquidity and relevance of paper gold and silver relative to bullion are diminishing. This market report analyses why open interest on Comex has declined to multi-year lows and the consequences. Clearly, liquidity has been drained from western paper markets by the continual drift of bullion into firm Asian hands. We present evidence of the strains on market makers on Comex who have limited capital resources and we debate the consequences. Open interest is now at multi-year lows This week saw open interest in the...

Thank you very much. It’s an honor to be here, and I’d like to thank the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute for inviting me to join you. Of course, this year’s forum carries special significance as we celebrate 250 years of the American story. But milestones of this magnitude demand more than ceremony. They ask something of us. They invite us to reflect not just on the creation of our country, but on its condition. And as we focus today on America’s economic future, they compel us to confront—and correct—decisions that have diminished our sovereignty in recent decades. President...

An Iranian missile strike injured several Americans at a Kuwaiti air base, according to a report Saturday, the latest escalation that could further complicate efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war. Falling debris from an intercepted Iranian ballistic missile struck Ali Al Salem Air Base, causing minor injuries to several Americans and seriously damaging two MQ-9 Reaper strike drones, Bloomberg reported.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has not filled the vacant role of president of the Economic Development Corporation, deepening concern over his attention to the New York City economy.

“Deep Dive: The Quiet Coup Inside the NDAA The Responsible Statecraft piece has put its finger on something genuinely significant — and the fact that this is happening inside a must-pass $1.15 trillion defense bill, buried at Section 224, tells you everything about how the permanent national security apparatus operates when it wants to avoid a public fight. What Section 224 Actually Does This isn’t a tweak. Section 224 — titled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” — is a structural rewiring of the U.S.-Israel military relationship.” More at link.

A new UC Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll shows Democrat Xavier Becerra leading with 25%, followed by Republican Steve Hilton at 21% and billionaire progressive Tom Steyer close behind at 19%.

the bill includes the proposed Save Our Bacon Act, which is designed to override state animal welfare requirements and potentially a host of other state and local regulations. The act aims to reverse California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’s Question 3, which voters passed in 2018 and 2016, respectively, to prohibit the sale of food products derived from livestock raised in extreme confinement — that is, without enough space for animals to turn around and stretch their limbs. This hardly seems an unreasonable request for a modern, enlightened society. Besides, a majority of residents in those two states, among several others,...

Every layer of modern life depends on encryption so deeply that most people never even think about it. Until it stops working. For years, “cyber apocalypse” talk sounded like the tech version of a guy on a street corner holding a cardboard sign predicting the end times. Y2K came and went with barely a flicker. The Mayan calendar became a punchline. Even most ransomware attacks, destructive as they’ve been, still operated within recognizable rules. Servers go down. Companies panic. Bitcoin wallets light up. Insurance adjusters start chain-smoking. Q-Day is different. Not because it’s flashy. Because it’s boringly mathematical. And math...

Americans Are About to Get a Lot Richer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCd9ctg1sO4

The U.S. Space Force has awarded SpaceX a $4.16B deal to help accelerate work on what could be a game-changing space-based air moving-target indicator (AMTI) sensor network. The service says it now hopes to have an “early capability” in orbit by 2028, years ahead of the timelines officials have put forward in the past. Plans for an AMTI satellite constellation were directly tied to an attempt in the past year to axe purchases of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, something the Pentagon has now fully abandoned after Congress intervened. Though the Air Force is moving ahead again...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.ARE YOU READY? Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that...

After three days of competition, 18 total rounds and one nail-biting, rapid-fire "spell-off," the Scripps National Spelling Bee has crowned its champion: 14-year-old Shrey Parikh Over the course of two hours , the pool of nine finalists dropped to two: Parikh and 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta from Jersey City.bAfter each had nailed their eighth respective word, officials carried a sleek silver podium — with a buzzer on top — onto the stage, prompting huge gasps from the crowd. It was time for a spell-off. "I was not excited at all, because to be honest, regular spelling I feel like is a...

In A Nutshell Researchers found bacteria with probiotic potential in three British artisan cheeses. The hay-aged cheese had the biggest increase in bacterial diversity as it matured. Lactose was largely gone by maturity, which may matter for lactose-sensitive readers. The study is promising, but it does not prove these cheeses improve gut health in people. ========================================================================== For most people, cheese is a guilty pleasure: something delicious but probably not great for you. That assumption may be worth revisiting. A recent study took a close look at three traditional British artisan cheeses and tracked how their bacterial communities and chemical profiles...