Free Republic

Ever since World War Two, America’s aircraft carrier fleets have served as imposing instruments of imperial power, roaming the oceans to cow recalcitrant nations into obedience. Favored by the Trump administration for this purpose, current experience indicates their day is done thanks to the proliferation of anti-ship missiles and the increasing ubiquity of drones. In America’s last Middle Eastern war but two, against the Yemeni Houthis in 2025, the carrier USS Harry S.Truman, complete with its attendant escorts, was driven into retreat, leaving antagonists in control of the Red Sea. On one occasion, the carrier’s desperate maneuver to avoid a...

Friends; this Good Fight Ministries video is bold, gracious, objective, Biblical; liberating; and hits the heart of this global slave trade and its masters; this 30 minute is powerful; Encourage all to watch and be biblically objective; it could help many who are ensalved by this world; male and female; Matt. 11:28-30, John 8:34-36 ☝️👍

Iran’s state broadcaster has adopted a noticeably harsher tone toward dissent, increasingly framing domestic protests as part of a war waged by “enemies.” One of the clearest examples came on March 10, when Police Commander Ahmad-Reza Radan addressed the possibility of protests during the conflict. Speaking on state television, he warned that anyone who took to the streets “at the will of the enemy” would no longer be treated as a protester but as an “enemy combatant.” The wording marked a significant escalation. By invoking the language of combat, the state effectively framed domestic dissent as participation in the war...

Reports that relatives of the Chinese Communist Party’s billionaire tool Neville “Roy” Singham are playing a key role in far-left political circles in New York are only the latest evidence of their nefarious influence in politics across the country. As Will Bredderman reported in the Jewish Insider this week, members of the Shanghai-based tech mogul’s family are operating “inside the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preferred candidates for Congress and playing significant roles in shaping and advancing key elements of his agenda.” But Singham’s network of anti-American activists has not only...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to tax his way out of the Big Apple’s self-imposed fiscal crisis is facing a fresh and little-discussed threat, according to well-placed financiers – and it’s coming from artificial intelligence. As I reported earlier this week, investors lately have begun to shun city debt – either selling it in the secondary market or balking at buying its newly issued bonds – over concerns that Mamdani’s numbers aren’t adding up. The worry is that his $127 billion budget still faces a $5.4 billion deficit and that his solutions – like raising taxes on anyone who works –...

A probe into what city councilors on Wednesday called a “public safety and public health emergency” within the Boston Police Department is moving forward, as the policymakers warned a yearslong surge in retirements, resignations and forced overtime has pushed force ranks to a breaking point. The warnings come as Boston police officers remain among the city’s highest‑paid employees. City payroll data showed the 54 top-paid city workers in 2025 were all members of the Boston Police Department, many of whom earned tens of thousands of dollars in overtime and detail pay alone, some more than $200,000. ... Halfway through the...

The French president said that the objective is not to be the vassals of two hegemonic powersPARIS, April 3. /TASS/. During his visit to South Korea, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the formation of a "coalition of independence" to counter the unpredictability of the US and the alleged hegemony of China. "I think our objective is not to be the vassals of two hegemonic powers. None of these hegemonic powers, I would say. And we don’t want to depend on the dominance of, let’s say, China, nor do we want to be too much exposed to the unpredictability of...

I use AVG (which is the same as Avast) on my desktop PC but, it's interfering with one of my favorite Bible software programs. Delays it opening because AVG has tagged it as suspicious. It gives me the option to define PC Study Bible as safe which, I've repeatedly done. AVG is still messing the Bible starting up regardless. I run Win 11. Is there another free anti virus besides the above? Thanks.

American officials confirmed that an American fighter jet was shot down in Iran, the New York Times reported today (Friday). Since this morning, Arab and Iranian media outlets have reported heavy traffic of helicopters and low-altitude refueling planes in the Khuzestan province area in southwestern Iran, claiming that they are trying to locate a pilot or two pilots of an F-15 plane, which was allegedly shot down this morning in central Iran. According to an Israeli source, one of the American crew members who was shot down in Iran was rescued alive. The plane that was shot down is an...

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn. There are two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun. This and another photo of Earth are the first downlinked images from the Artemis II astronauts. See and hear what the astronauts do with our 24/7 feed. SNIP

BREAKING: Iran has shot down a US fighter jet according to a source familiar with the incident, and a search and rescue effort is underway to locate two crew, per Axios. Iran is offing a "valuable reward" for anyone who can capture the downed pilots

This is not the run up to the midterm elections that Republicans wanted. A year and a half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict that many in his own party do not like. He offered little clarity to a nation eager for answers this week during a prime-time address from the White House, his first since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran more than a month ago, simultaneously suggesting that the war was ending and expanding. “Thanks to...

The Scriptures are quite clear about the nature of Judas betrayal: he was a thief and he did it for money. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. (Joh 12:4-6 NKJ) It’s fairly banal and prosaic. People do bad stuff for money all the time. The...

[...] On March 10, an EF-1 tornado (a relatively low-intensity storm) struck Wheatfield, Indiana. It directly hit the “Dunns Bridge I & II” solar projects, destroying a significant portion of the facility. According to Report 24, approximately 2.4 million solar modules were damaged or destroyed. Aerial footage showed rows of panels ripped from the ground and twisted metal frame. The facility is valued at approximately $1 billion. According to sources, manufacturer warranties often exclude tornado damage, potentially leaving the operator (NIPSCO) or customers with a massive bill for reconstruction, unless the government steps in with a bailout plan.

Who is winning the war between the US, Israel and Iran? The coverage in many Western media outlets clearly indicates that Iran is the major winner. The reality is that sections of the Western media have framed the conflict with two separate definitions of victory. For the US to be victorious, it must successfully install a new regime with a stable political system. For the Iranian regime to be the winner, it simply has to remain in power, no matter how much it is weakened. What the media does not know is what the ultimate objectives of the US’ Operation...

The weather might have been extreme this winter in Manhattan, but the snow didn’t stop deep-pocketed home buyers, according to a host of market reports released this week. In the first quarter, demand for homes across the New York City borough priced between $10 million and $20 million jumped, with transactions surging 47.4% compared to the same time last year, according to data from Compass. “Despite broader market slowdowns, the luxury market continued to outperform expectations,” the report, released Tuesday, said. Townhouses in particular had a strong start to the year, according to Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller...

Iranian state television has escalated its messaging by warning citizens not to reveal the locations of officials hiding among civilians, while increasingly portraying dissent as hostile action and labeling protesters “enemy combatants.” As the regional conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States escalates, Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has undergone a marked transformation in tone and language. Once associated with rigid but largely diplomatic messaging, IRIB now frequently adopts rhetoric that is overtly confrontational, reflecting both wartime pressures and an effort by authorities to project defiance amid mounting military strain. In a segment of a...

The Greek city of Rhodes emerged victorious from a yearlong siege by the Macedonian noble Demetrius Poliorcetes in 304 b.c. To commemorate their city's resilience, the Rhodians built a towering bronze statue of the sun god Helios, their patron deity, who also appeared on their coinage. It took the local sculptor Chares 12 years to construct the Colossus of Rhodes, the tallest sculpture in the ancient world at some 120 feet. Chares created the statue using a revolutionary process known as casting in courses, which no other ancient sculptor is known to have employed. In order to cast each course,...

(Subtitle: Pete Hegseth has dismissed two other generals, David Hodne and William Green, triggering questions about the abrupt changes amid war tensions.) The Pentagon announced on Thursday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had dismissed two other generals and the Army's top uniformed commander, but it did not provide an explanation for the departures during the US battle against Iran. The abrupt firing of senior U.S. Army officers, David Hodne and William Green Jr., has sparked widespread questions. This decision is made at a point of tension. The Middle East conflict is currently in its fifth week, and there are no...

The real Lord of the Flies: What happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months.