Free Republic

When Britain confirmed last September that it would recognize a Palestinian state, it was pulled in the wake of France, which had signaled a few months earlier that it planned to take the symbolically freighted step. On Tuesday, almost a year later, Britain was the one to seize the initiative. The British government announced, followed by France and Canada, that it would stop trading with Jewish settlements in the West Bank. It went so far as to accuse some settlers of engaging in the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. This diplomatic sequencing speaks partly to domestic politics in each country. Last...

Democratic lawmaker incorrectly reported assets of between $6 million and $30 million A nonpartisan entity charged with reviewing misconduct allegations has cleared Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) of wrongdoing in connection with documents she submitted to Congress that dramatically overstated her wealth.The Office of Congressional Conduct, which reviews allegations concerning House members and staff, made the determination after opening an investigation into Omar earlier this year. The findings, marked confidential, were viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The OCC’s board, in a 5-1 vote, recommended the House Ethics Committee dismiss allegations against Omar that she reported false or incomplete information...

An emergency slide deployment on the Qatari-gifted Air Force One raised questions at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday before President Donald Trump revealed it was part of a safety check. "They were checking it before, and they just wanted to make sure," Trump told reporters on the tarmac after exiting Marine One. "So they’ve, I guess, already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly." The unusual scene unfolded after Marine One rolled to a stop near the presidential aircraft, with Trump remaining aboard the helicopter, and the slide could be seen extending from the plane. The White...

Cute parody song called Lake America

In a few days, America will be marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11. The observances will be muted here, because it's too sad: we lost the war, not only in the narrow military sense (the Taliban are back in power in Kabul, etc), but in the broader defeat represented by the post-Motoon surrender on free speech, the nightly invasions by Muslim men of English and Continental ports, the ugly security procedures that now attend the bollard-encircled ancient German Christmas markets, and ultimately the reorientation of the generally useless post-9/11 surveillance state as a tool of domestic control. As I wrote...

George W. Bush was president during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and he is marking the 25th anniversary of the day that changed America forever by hosting a solemn remembrance event in his home state. The event, called “A Legacy of Service: America at the 25th Anniversary of 9/11,” will take place at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, and kicks off at 6:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday evening. It will feature a conversation between former President Bush and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who “will share their reflections on the legacy and meaning...

Trajan's Baths in Oppian Hill will host a new museum where visitors to Rome can admire the Great Mosaic and the Painted City, two massive ancient artworks buried near the Colosseum that are estimated to date from the 1st century... The "Painted City" fresco and "Great Mosaic" were discovered in an underground gallery during excavations in the 1990s of the Baths of Trajan on the Oppian Hill near the Colosseum. After being hidden underground for centuries, its blues and terracotta colors are still clear but faded... The Painted City is a ten-square-metre fresco belonging to a building that predates Trajan's...

We have uncovered new information and accusations about the cargo airline operating the Amazon Prime Air plane that crashed in Miami on Sunday, killing five people in a van inside the airport perimeter and in a Toyota Corolla outside the perimeter. This cargo airline, called 21 Air, has a documented history of hiring foreigners who can’t follow instructions from air traffic controllers, as well as a reputation for hiring incompetent pilots who can’t pass basic training at other airlines, according to industry professionals who say they have first-hand knowledge of the company’s operations. We’re going to go through the evidence...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the U.S. Congress prepared to return to work next week, one major lingering question was answered as the Senate approved a request from Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell that will allow him to work remotely from the grave. McConnell, who hasn't been present to attend to any Senate business at the Capitol since mid-June, submitted a request through his office to be able to perform his duties remotely from the comfort of his grave, which Senate leadership officially granted. "It'll be just the same as he was when he was here in person," said Senate Majority...

Vice President JD Vance is everything, everywhere, all at once, lending a hand to midterm candidates around the country, headlining MAGA Inc., fundraising dinners, and taking questions in the White House briefing room. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has been a repeat visitor to the early caucus state of Iowa, he hosts a podcast and syndicated radio show, and he has positioned himself as a different kind of Republican from Donald Trump and Vance. And what is Marco Rubio doing to lay the groundwork for a potential 2028 presidential run? Almost nothing. So while Cruz and Vance will both be appearing...

Recently, Luke Burgis, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Catholic University of America, posed a provocative question: “What is the strongest argument from the political Right AGAINST Great Books programs?” In my view, the Great Books is a fine program for lifelong learning. 15,000 people a year participate in discussion groups affiliated with the Great Books Foundation. By contrast, a parallel lifelong learning project—the daily two-pages-a-day study program of the Babylonian Talmud known as Daf Yomi—drew over 90,000 people (almost all of them men) to the official completion celebration of its seven-year cycle at MetLife Stadium, with a further 7,000 at the major...

Explanation: Is this star winking at us? The central object in today’s animation is not one but two stars. XZ Andromedae, indicated by the bold lines, is an Algol-type eclipsing binary with a nearly edge-on orbit from Earth’s perspective. The bottom light curve shows the amount of light from the system dim and brighten as the cooler star eclipses its hotter, brighter companion. Analysis of several XZ Andromedae light curves indicates there may be two other stars orbiting the system. This particular light curve was created with Citizen Astronomy, an open-source software for differential photometry. The software takes the difference...

A recent story out of North Carolina confirmed that women are self-administering the abortion pill far beyond the FDA-approved 11 weeks — and it's had devastating results. Key Takeaways: * The FDA has been relaxing safety rules on the abortion pill for over a decade, leading to a lack of oversight and a lack of care for women who take it without medical supervision. * Easier access to the abortion pill via telehealth has led to horror stories of babies found in toilets and in dumpsters. * Taking the abortion pill after the first trimester, outside FDA-approved limits, increases the...

After an Amazon cargo plane crashed at Miami International Airport, killing five people, one of the pilots reportedly told his wife over the phone that his "career was over," according to a new report. Abraham Altamar told CBS News that he had witnessed the fiery wreck on Sunday while he was working in a nearby building. He did not identify which of the two pilots he spoke with. Altamar was on FaceTime with his wife when he said the pilot approached him. "He was, like, shaking and, and a little injured in his forehead and his hand," Altamar said. "I...

Mario Nawfal@MarioNawfal·17hResearchers spent 500 hours and $70,000 and found LG TVs logging plain text transcripts in standby, mapping every device in the house, and feeding it to LG's ad armUnplug the internet and it saves the files until you plug back in.LG says its TVs don't record ambient conversations.The evidence begs to differ.216 million of these are sitting in living rooms.Where are the regulators?Writer: Danielhttps://x.com/Braiinsforge/s~~~~Grok's explanatory summary:Mario Nawfal's post summarizes a Gamers Nexus investigation showing LG smart TVs scan home networks for devices like phones and smartwatches, log voice inputs as plain-text transcripts, and send data to LG Ad Solutions....

Is the Cybercab cheaper than Waymo? Will Uber drivers lose jobs? What makes the Cybercab efficient? Summarise the video This video from Best in Tesla argues that Tesla’s upcoming Cybercab will significantly outperform competitors like Waymo and disrupt Uber’s current business model by offering a more cost-effective and efficient autonomous ride-hailing service. Key Takeaways: Cost Efficiency: The video estimates the Cybercab will cost approximately $17,500 to produce, compared to an estimated $100,000 for a Waymo robotaxi (1:23 - 2:49). This results in a massive gap in depreciation costs per mile (3:00 - 3:19). Operational Simplicity: Unlike Waymo, the Tesla Cybercab...

Kiano Vafaeian should be alive. Claire Elyse Brosseau is alive. In Canada, that difference may have less to do with a clear medical standard than with geography. The Canadian pro-euthanasia movement has spent years assuring the public that their Medical Assistance in Dying [MAiD]came with safeguards. Including: two independent assessors and that the person asking for death be facing grievous and irremediable suffering. They promised that mental illness alone was to remain excluded. The promise was simple: vulnerable people would be protected, and despair would not become a channel to death. Then came Kiano. Kiano was born March 14, 1999....

British police said Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that anti-immigration party Reform UK broke rules barring foreign donations. Last week, Channel 4 broadcast an undercover investigation in which two senior Reform UK officials appeared to discuss ways money from an American financier could be channeled through his U.K.-based son to get around the rules. U.K. electoral law says parties can only accept donations from British voters or U.K.-registered businesses .... The party suspended Dan Jukes, a longtime adviser to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and party policy chief James Orr, after the documentary was aired....

DALLAS, TX — With the pivotal midterm elections less than two months away, the nation's most prominent members of the Republican Party prepared to gather in Dallas to get advice from the Cowboys on how to blow everything in November. With President Donald Trump set to headline the party's first midterm convention, officials said they couldn't think of a better plan to formulate a losing strategy than to congregate in the city with a football team that is unparalleled in choking when it matters most. "They're the experts," said one GOP insider. "We're getting down to crunch time now, so...

Igor Chaika - newly appointed head of Russia's federal agency for foreign aid - has become an internet sensation after a press conference photo sparked a flurry of memes It was then quote-posted in a viral piece of satire on Tuesday (September 8), as users zeroed in on Chaika’s striking physique.