Free Republic

Australia could become a supplier of weapons and munitions for the United States under a new radical proposal designed to better equip the world’s largest military to deal with any threat in the Indo-Pacific.The Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, developed in partnership with the United States, is geared towards building local production facilities for missiles and munitions in Australia.Launched in 2021, the project is backed by a government commitment of $16–21 billion over the next decade.Despite some progress—including the release of the Australian government’s GWEO Plan in late 2024—the project still faces obstacles.As a result, its growth has...

The world's oldest boomerang is older than previously thought, casting new light on the ingenuity of humans living at the time.The tool, which was found in a cave in Poland in 1985, is now thought to be 40,000 years old.Archaeologists say it was fashioned from a mammoth's tusk with an astonishing level of skill.Researchers worked out from its shape that it would have flown when thrown, but would not have come back to the thrower.It was probably used in hunting, though it might have had cultural or artistic value, perhaps being used in some kind of ritual....new, more reliable radiocarbon...

Another Cook County jail detainee who was freed during a mass release of prisoners as the COVID-19 outbreak began in March is now charged with committing a new felony. He is at least the fourth benefactor of the COVID release program to be charged with a new felony in recent days. Zyan Damper, age 19, was initially arrested on August 21 last year after he and another man allegedly got out of a stolen car and committed a robbery near the Magnificent Mile, ... then got arrested again in October on charges of felony theft. He posted bail again and...

Research at Schengen demonstrates that already 300,000 years ago Homo heidelbergensis used a combination of throwing sticks, spears and thrusting lances. Prof. Nicholas Conard and Dr. Jordi Serangeli, who lead the research team, attribute the exceptional discovery to the outstanding preservation of wooden artifacts in the water saturated lakeside sediments in Schengen. The throwing stick was recovered in layer 13 II-4, which in the 1990s yielded examples of throwing spears, a thrusting lance and additional wooden tools of unknown function. Like almost all of these finds, the new artifact was carefully carved from spruce wood. The throwing stick is 64.5...

Jun 21, 2016 Harry_Dent We all know the situation in the markets is dire. Like, really, everyone knows. There’s an old phrase from Margaret Thatcher’s day (and mine, I suppose) that has recently come back into use: There is no alternative. There’s even an acronym: TINA. There is no alternative example of a campaign advertising material of the CDU for the 1994 election for the Landtag of Thuringia. That’s quaint, and all, but this meatily numbered piece shows the heart of what that phrase means. There is no alternative, the markets will correct. They have to, regardless of how hard...

The Obama White House is making no secret of its distaste for Fox News. In a round of Sunday talk show appearances, the administration escalated its war against the network that likes to call itself "fair and balanced" but that happens to feature quite a few conservative voices... But some are wondering if this is smart politics. Given that Fox News boasts a far larger audience than cable competitors CNN and MSNBC, and given that most elections are decided by independents who might occasionally watch FNC, the strategy could backfire. “It's a very risky strategy,” perennial presidential advisor David Gergen...