Free Republic

At the moment, a virtual private network (VPN) is a great way to protect your data from hackers. It offers sophisticated encryption that will keep your data hidden from third parties, including cyber criminals, government bodies, and advertisers.However, not even all the best VPNs offer protection that’s future-proofed. You may not be aware of them yet, but there are already highly sophisticated quantum computers that use quantum physics to render their computations significantly more efficient than those performed by classical computers. Because of their superior processing power, these quantum computers have the ability to break encryption methods used to protect...

[H/T bitt]In what experts are calling the largest data breach ever recorded, researchers have confirmed the exposure of a staggering 16 billion password leaks, affecting platforms including Apple, Facebook, Google, Telegram, GitHub, VPN services, and even government portals. This unprecedented breach is believed to be the result of multiple infostealer malware campaigns operating at a massive scale throughout 2025. If the recently reported 184 million credential leak was alarming, this latest development represents a full-scale cybersecurity disaster that demands immediate action.What Happened? Understanding the 16 Billion Credential LeakAccording to an ongoing investigation by cybersecurity researchers at Cybernews, led by analyst...

“Shots fired!” shouted Gen Michael Kurilla moments before charging towards the sound of gunfire to save two junior officers.Weaving through the rubble-strewn alleyways of war-torn Mosul, Iraq, the then-lieutenant colonel was pursuing a group of terrorist suspects when three more shots rang out.Taking bullets to the arm and both legs, one snapping his femur in half, he “performed a judo roll” and carried on firing his rifle, witnesses say. As the gunfire continued, he covered his troops and reeled off orders while bleeding on the concrete floor.Nearly 20 years later, Gen Kurilla, who was awarded a Bronze Star for valour...

SNIPSpeaking to the Connecticut Forum in Hartford, the former president called for institutions, law firms, universities, members of both parties and even Justice Department figures to make “uncomfortable” sacrifices to defend a democracy he argued is increasingly under fire in President Donald Trump’s second term. He suggested, without ever using Trump’s name, that the US was “dangerously close” to a more autocratic government.“What’s happening is that we now have a situation in which all of us are going to be tested in some way, and we are going to have to then decide what our commitments are,” Obama said, according...

WASHINGTON - On Thursday, the United States filed a complaint against the State of New York, challenging state policies that blocked immigration officials from arresting individuals at or near New York courthouses. Specifically, the complaint challenges a law, called the Protect Our Courts Act, that purposefully shields dangerous aliens from being lawfully detained at or on their way to or from a courthouse and imposes criminal liability for violations of the shield. This law and accompanying polices violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because they obstruct the execution of federal immigration authorities.“Lawless sanctuary city policies are the root...

Four men, including a government contracting officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and three owners and presidents of companies, have pleaded guilty for their roles in a decade-long bribery scheme involving at least 14 prime contracts worth over $550 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars.Roderick Watson, 57, of Woodstock, Maryland, who worked as a USAID contracting officer, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official;Walter Barnes, 46, of Potomac, Maryland, who was the owner and president of PM Consulting Group LLC doing business as Vistant (Vistant), a certified small business under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)...

[H/T Sobieski at Kahlenberg Mtn.] https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/1933044538903572928DataRepublican (small r)@DataRepublican🚨 JUST RELEASED: Follow the Money Behind the No Kings Rally 🚨DataRepublican has launched an interactive, open-source map showing how your tax dollars flow to organizations involved in the No Kings rally.🔍 I tracked funding from federal sources to final recipients, prioritizing direct paths (not via DAFs) whenever possible.👉 IMPORTANT: most paths still went through Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)—the black box of the nonprofit world. Unfortunately, it's a common and opaque funding structure that deserves scrutiny.💥 Explore it for yourself:Click on "Federal Grant Flow" for any NoKings organization to open any visual flowchart, tracing...

An apparent internet service outage has disrupted operations on countless major websites including Google, Spotify, and Amazon Web Services.Around midday Thursday, outage monitoring service DownDetector.com reported widespread service disruptions across commonly used platforms like SnapChat and YouTube, with many social media users reporting difficulty accessing several sites.Some notable web services experiencing disruptions include: Spotify, Discord, Google and related services like Google Maps, Amazon Web Services, Cloudflare, SnapChat, YouTube, OpenAI, CharacterAI, FuboTV, Etsy, Vimeo, UPS, Shopify, Microsoft Azure, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Google Gemini, DoorDash, Calendly, Paramount+, IKEA, Twitch andMicrosoft 365.A full list of shuttered services can be found on DownDetector.com.Cloudflare, an...

Forfeiture Action is the Latest Disruption of an Indicted North Korean Official’s Efforts to Generate Revenue for North Korea and its Weapons Program Through Illegal IT Worker Schemes and Cryptocurrency Theft The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that North Korean information technology (IT) workers obtained illegal employment and amassed millions in cryptocurrency for the benefit of the North Korean government, all as a means of evading U.S. sanctions placed on North Korea. The funds were initially restrained in connection with an April 2023 indictment against...

The Justice Department announced today that it filed a lawsuit against Fathi Abdulrahim Harara and Native Grounds LLC, the owners of the Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants discriminated against Jewish customers, in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation.“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Through...

[H/T numberonepal]PatriotJosh @Patriot_Josh11https://x.com/patriot_josh11/status/1931880839765197169?s=46🚨 Strategic Assessment: Phase One Initiated in California Theater 🚨The deployment of 500 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, confirmed by USNORTHCOM, is not a full-scale military response—it is narrative establishment. This is doctrine, not desperation.In every historical insurgency response—from Fallujah (2004) to Port-au-Prince (1994)—Phase One begins with symbolic presence, designed to shape public perception, solidify command authority, and prepare the civilian battlespace psychologically. This is Information Operations (IO) blended with Gray Zone maneuvering—no kinetic engagement yet, just a subtle but unmistakable warning: We are here. And we are escalating.📡 The current deployment is an operational placeholder, not a...

SNIPThere is a distinct connection and similarity between how 9/11/01 was used and how the January 6th DC event is being used. That similarity is not accidental. In many ways what we are seeing is a replay by the same DC elements only they are two decades apart.Barack Obama and Eric Holder did not create a weaponized DOJ and FBI; instead, what they did was take the preexisting system and retool it so the weapons only targeted one side of the political continuum. This point is where many people understandably get confused.In the era shortly after 9/11, the DC national...

SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday suggested California consider withholding tens of billions in annual federal tax dollars amid reports Donald Trump is preparing funding cuts targeting the state.Newsom’s suggestion came after CNN reported the president was considering a “full termination” of federal grant funding for California’s universities.“Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back,” the Democratic governor said in an X post Friday afternoon, referencing a recent analysis from the Rockefeller Institute that California contributed about $83 billion more in federal taxes in 2022 than...

ransomnote: At the link, there's a chart showing the proxy war in the Ukraine.Sir Keir Starmer’s flagship plan to transform the armed forces has been undermined in less than 24 hours after Nato demanded the Government spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence.On Monday, the Prime Minister unveiled his long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR), setting out the future of the British forces and how they would adapt to future battlefields, with a focus on AI, drones and cyber technology, while remaining a “Nato first” military.However, Sir Keir declined to commit to a firm timeline on when he would hit...

Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows 11 version 24H2 update is now in its final rollout phase and will soon be delivered automatically to millions of Home and Pro users around the world. As of May 2, 2025, any unmanaged device running Windows 11 versions 21H2, 22H2, or 23H2—or even Windows 10—will see the 2024 Update download in the background. After the download completes, users can choose when to install the update or postpone it by going to Settings, then Windows Update.SNIPTo avoid disruptions, Windows Update offers a four‑week postponement option. Should you need more time, you can use command‑line...

Q has reminded us repeatedly that together, we are strong. As the false "narrative" is destroyed and the divisive machinery put in place by the Deep State fails, the fact that patriotism has no skin color or political party is exposed for all to see. 3038 Mar 12, 2019 2:55:14 PM EDTQ !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 4fe510 No. 5643022>Decide for yourself (be free from outside opinion).>Decide for yourself (be objective in your conclusions).>Decide for yourself (be true in your own beliefs).>Decide for yourself (be open to following the facts).>Decide for yourself (be strong in defending your beliefs).>Decide for yourself (be resistant to...

The following is an excerpt of the book description written for The National Security Constitution in the 21st Century which Professor Harold Hongju Koh published on June 25, 2024.If re-elected, could President Trump, by a single tweet, withdraw America from the United Nations, NATO, and every treaty and international organization to which the U.S. belongs? Or if re-elected, could President Biden gradually take us to war throughout the Mideast—Gaza, Yemen, Iran, the Red Sea—by supplying weapons and ordering drone strikes, cybercommands and Special Forces without congressional approval?SNIPThis increasing imbalance of foreign affairs power has intensified across recent administrations of both...

One or more unknown people accessed White House chief of staff Susie Wiles' personal cellphone and used her contacts file to reach out to other top officials and impersonate her, sources told CBS News Thursday.Some of the recipients realized the messages were suspicious because the texts and calls came from an unknown number, sources said, and the impersonator or impersonators asked if the conversations could be continued in another platform, such as Telegram.The suspicious messages hit in-boxes over an unknown period of time, sources said.

ransomnote: There's an file image of a pitt puppy at the link for reference. It's not Bella, the puppy involved, which has been put down.SNIP“Our baby was alive when we all went to sleep. That is the last thing we know,” he said.“Our baby died of SIDS, from sudden infant death syndrome,” he said. “She also had medical issues. She had a heart murmur. The dog did eat the baby’s face. It was put down.”Authorities initially believed little Kiyanna Winfield was killed by Bella – until the city medical examiner revealed Wednesday that the baby was already dead when the...

Erik Prince, a private military contractor and prominent supporter of President Trump, is working with Haiti’s government to conduct lethal operations against gangs that are terrorizing the nation and threatening to take over its capital.Mr. Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, signed a contract to take on the criminal groups that have been killing civilians and seizing control of vast areas of territory, according to senior Haitian and American government officials and several other security experts familiar with Mr. Prince’s work in Haiti.Haiti’s government has hired American contractors, including Mr. Prince, in recent months to work on a secret task...