Free Republic

Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut on Thursday slashed its operating profit forecast, citing falling cocoa prices, industry overcapacity and potential supply disruption linked to the Iran war. The company, which is the world’s largest chocolate maker, said it now expected earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to decrease by “mid-teens” percentage in its 2025 to 2026 fiscal year. The outlook reflects a significant downgrade from just three months earlier, when the Zurich-headquartered company said it was preparing for a return to growth. Hein Schumacher, who was appointed Barry Callebaut CEO in late January, said Thursday that the firm has an...

In an arid valley near the village of Kourtimale in southern Djibouti, a tattered chain link fence marks the boundaries of what was once Abdi Guelleh's farm. Within it, there's not a speck of greenery in sight. Broken lengths of irrigation piping lie scattered in the dust. A derelict weather station stands in a corner amid a tangle of cables. Here and there, taps that haven't seen water in years protrude from the earth. There's little to hint at the fact that this lifeless 2.5-acre plot was once meant to be one tiny brick in one of the world's most...

Iran does not need to secure the Strait of Hormuz. It only needs to make sure that no one else can, either. Despite the sorry condition of its naval forces,.. Iran still maintains selective control of the Strait of Hormuz—resulting in 80 to 90 percent of the traffic being halted. How? Not through naval dominance, but rather through asymmetric disruption, which Iran uses to make travel through the Strait too dangerous to risk. Iran Doesn’t Need to Close the Strait to Cut Off Shipping Iran’s strategy is not to implement a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, it...

The islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf hold the key to the global economy's most vital chokepoint: the Strait of Hormuz..In the current landscape of the West Asia conflict, the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb have transformed from sleepy patches of sand into what military analysts call “unsinkable aircraft carriers". While the world watches the missile exchanges between major powers, these three tiny landmasses in the Persian Gulf hold the key to the global economy’s most vital chokepoint: the Strait of Hormuz.The story of how these islands became part...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Peter Theil's Founder's Club Venture Capital Fund is investing 2 billion dollars in a New Zealand AI startup called Halter which uses collars placed on cattle to herd and geofence them and potentially removing the need for physical fencing. The collars are solar powered and allow ranchers to control the movement of cattle from their phone. The collars can be used to drive cattle to new pasture and new sources of food and water. It sounds sort of crazy to me, but I'm not a rancher and don't know how much this type of technology assuming it works will benefit...

The world spent fifty years and hundreds of billions of dollars building Strategic Petroleum Reserves so that no geopolitical rupture could fully sever modern civilization from energy. The United States alone holds just over 400 million barrels of crude oil in salt caverns beneath the Gulf Coast. On March 11, 2026, the International Energy Agency authorized a record 400-million-barrel emergency release from member-country reserves, the largest coordinated drawdown in the Agency’s history. Energy insecurity has institutions, stockpiles, and doctrine. Fertilizer insecurity does not. No country appears to maintain a fertilizer reserve system remotely comparable in scale, doctrine, or strategic importance...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

What's REALLY Behind Israel's MASSIVE Bee Release in the Desert? In one of the hottest places on Earth, Israel sent millions of bees into the Negev Desert — and the results shocked scientists, farmers, and the global agriculture industry. While bee populations are collapsing worldwide due to pesticides, disease, and climate change, Israel discovered something unexpected: desert conditions may actually protect bees. Using advanced greenhouse farming, controlled pollination, and cutting-edge bee technology, Israel turned one of the world’s harshest deserts into a food-producing powerhouse. In this documentary-style breakdown, we explore: Why bees are dying globally — and why Israel is...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

Text-FormatDiscussions MonthlyLong Lead30-& 90-Day Hawaiian More Outlooks FMA 2026 MAM 2026 AMJ 2026 MJJ 2026 JJA 2026 JAS 2026 ASO 2026 SON 2026 OND 2026 NDJ 2026 - 27 DJF 2026 - 27 JFM 2027 FMA 2027 0.5mn Feb 2026 Climatological Values (1991-2020) for FMA Tools Used (see Discussion for explanation)Tools Discussion (updated as new tools are implemented) Canonical Correlation AnalysisEnsemble Canonical Correlation AnalysisOptimal Climate NormalsClimate Forecast SystemScreening Multiple Linear Regression ToolProbability of Exceedence

It is to laugh - the Democraps are taxing their businesses out of the state to continue The Somali Walz. 10:58 long

Animal rights activists have staged an eye-catching protest by hanging a woman from her feet outside a London KFC and pretending to slit her throat in a bid to highlight how some chickens are slaughtered for food. Several protesters from PETA were involved in the demo, which took place outside a branch of the fast-food chain on Brixton Road, Lambeth, at 12pm on Wednesday. Two female activists, nude but for a beige bodysuit, were hung upside down with shackles around their ankles to simulate the way that many chickens are slaughtered before they end up on our supermarket shelves. The...

FOX LAKE, WI — Dairy farmers across Wisconsin are celebrating new federal legislation that will bring whole milk back to school cafeterias nationwide, marking a significant shift in both nutrition policy and agricultural economics. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, supported by the Trump administration, reverses longstanding federal restrictions that have limited schools to serving only low-fat and skim milk options. The change comes as new federal dietary guidelines released this week encourage Americans to consume more whole milk, departing from recommendations that have discouraged it since 1990. Katie Schultz, who operates Tri-Fecta Farms in Fox Lake with her...

A grocery store receipt from 1997 shows just how much prices of everyday items have skyrocketed in less than three decades. TikTok user Zoe Dippel shared the shockingly low costs in a viral video after a family member found the proof of purchase in a box of mementos. “$155 for all of this!” one of Dippel’s relatives remarked after holding up the lengthy receipt from Texas chain H-E-B dated June 20, 1997. “That’s a lot of stuff,” Dipple declared, as she started to sort through the 122 items and read the prices out loud. The receipt revealed that Little Debbie...

We review the World First Ready-to-use Lawnbot with eufy V-FSD aka ‪@eufyClean‬ Robot Lawn Mower E18. This is a hands-free and worry-free smart experience robot lawn mower. No wires, no signal issues, and it’s ready to use straight out of the box—this lawn mower is smarter than your average robot. With features like Vision Full Stack Driving (V-FSD), obstacle avoidance, customizable mowing directions, and an easy setup that takes under 5 minutes, the Eufy E15 is revolutionizing lawn care. Watch as we put it through the ultimate tests on real-world terrains and see if it can handle hills, slopes, and...

RFK's new initiative is looking to take aim at all the junk: Rest in peace, food pyramid! Long live the Trump Triangle of health! And with health advice like this, long life is much more likely. The new website to promote the Trump dietary guidelines is realfood.gov! And, if you'll notice, it's essentially the inverse of the old food pyramid, pictured here 👇 Wikipedia/USDA Protein, dairy, and fat are now at the top of the graphic. Here's RFK promoting the real food campaign and attacking the ultra-processed food industry at today's dietary guideline announcement: The hard truth is that our...

State officials are preparing to take the land and legacy of a farmer for the crime of water “violations.” “The state wants people to think I’m an outlaw,” says Bob Greiff. “They don’t want people to know the true story.”(Photo by Ray Aguirre)The government is preparing to take the private land and legacy of an 85-year-old farmer for the crime of irrigation. Why? He watered his crops without regulatory approval. “I didn’t use a drop past my legal rights, but because I put it on the wrong field, I’m a criminal and the state wants to take everything I have,”...

If you want to live longer and feel better, stop chasing food fads. Every few months, a new “miracle” plan — keto, intermittent fasting, carnivore, raw — promises to fix everything. Most don’t. Even those that show modest benefits rarely deliver results worth the time, effort, and mental energy they demand. As an Harvard-trained oncologist and world leader in health policy, I’ve spent decades researching what actually improves health outcomes. The answer to a longer life is so simple: Good nutrition is about building about habits you can sustain for years, not weeks. While you should consult your physician before...

Cracker Barrel is barreling toward yet another PR disaster, this time angering customers throughout the South for ditching a tradition on New Year’s Day. In early September 2025, Cracker Barrel fully retreated from its proposed plans to modernize and remodel its restaurants to a more minimalist, corporate look and replace its old trademark logo, featuring “old timer” Uncle Herschel, with a boring, stripped-down version. They didn’t have much choice, as customers were enraged and their stock price had plummeted You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants. We’re continuing to listen....