Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2026 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $6,846
8%  
Woo hoo!! 2nd qtr 2026 FReepathon is now underway!!

Forum: General/Chat

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Report: LIV Golf on verge of losing funding from Saudi investment fund, putting the tour's future in doubt

    04/15/2026 12:16:44 PM PDT · by BlueStateRightist · 2 replies
    Yahoo Sports ^ | April 15, 2026 | Jay Hart and Jay Busbee
    Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund is on the verge of cutting funding for LIV Golf, according to the Financial Times, a blow that would potentially — if not certainly — put an end to the breakaway tour. A formal announcement could come as early as Thursday, according to the report.
  • Reddit User Uncovers Who Is Behind Meta’s $2B Lobbying for Invasive Age Verification Tech

    04/15/2026 12:12:43 PM PDT · by ProgressingAmerica
    Gadget Review ^ | Mar 16, 2026 | C. da Costa
    A Reddit researcher just exposed how Meta funneled over $2 billion through shadowy nonprofits to push age verification laws that would force Apple and Google to build surveillance infrastructure into every device—while conveniently exempting Meta’s own platforms from the same requirements. Following the Money Trail Through Dark Networks Meta’s lobbying operation spans 45 states using nonprofit shells to avoid transparency requirements.
  • If AI Isn’t Ready to Replace Workers, Why Are Companies Cutting Jobs Anyway?

    04/15/2026 12:02:31 PM PDT · by fireman15 · 13 replies
    Inc. Magazine ^ | April 14, 2026 | AI, Computers, Windows, ChatGPT
    A growing number of experts argue that many companies blaming artificial intelligence for job cuts are masking more familiar financial and strategic pressures. The good news for employees worried about the countless predictions of a looming job apocalypse from artificial intelligence (AI) taking work away from humans has not been borne out—at least not yet. However, that hasn’t prevented an increasing number of companies from citing productivity gains made by using those task automating apps as the reason for thousands of recent layoffs they’ve made. But now, a growing chorus of critics have begun denouncing most of those staff reductions...
  • Magyar To Hand Over Polish Officials Sheltered by Orbán

    04/15/2026 11:39:06 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 7 replies
    The European Conservative ^ | 14 Apr, 2026 | Michael Curzon
    Warsaw officials are gloating that so-called “bandits, criminals, and thieves” will soon be tried in Poland. Donald Tusk on X. Péter Magyar’s incoming Tisza government is set to extradite two senior figures from Poland’s former conservative Law and Justice (PiS) administration who sought refuge in Hungary from leftist PM Donald Tusk’s pursuit of his rivals. It is no wonder that Tusk, a fellow member of the centrist-liberal European People’s Party, is so happy with Magyar’s victory. Orbán’s Defeat Sparks Gloating Across Europe’s EstablishmentJubilant reactions from EU figures reveal how pivotal Hungary had become in opposing further centralisation—but Patriots for Europe...
  • The ‘Disease’ That Drives The Democrats

    04/15/2026 11:03:22 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 15 replies
    Issues & Insights ^ | 15 Apr, 2026 | I & I Editorial Board
    Argentina President Javier Milei recently had some sharp words for the political left. But his observation is backed by more than his experience. Research makes it clear that the various strains of leftism, from today’s American Democratic Party to Democratic Socialists to green radicals to the tens of millions of voters who are attracted to progressive candidates and policies, are fueled by an emotional crisis. We beg our brothers and sisters on the left to consider why they do what they do. Milei, a defender of laissez-faire economic policy, said he once “thought being on the left was a...
  • S&P 500 reaches all-time high as investors stay optimistic about Middle East developments

    04/15/2026 10:51:05 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 7 replies
    Seeking Alpha ^ | 04/15/2026 | Monica L. Correa
    Wall Street's major averages advanced on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 (SP500) achieving a record high as investors awaited good news on the U.S.-Iran conflict front while parsing more bank and financial earnings. The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) made new intraday highs and was last +0.5%. The heavy-tech Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) was last +1.1%, aided by Broadcom (AVGO), +3%, as it entered into a three-year partnership with Meta Platforms (META) to develop its AI chips and deploy them into data centers. Nonetheless, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was -0.3%. Over in the bond market, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield...
  • New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia LOSES IT on Democrats passing illegal immigration laws "What don't a room full of lawyers understand?"

    04/15/2026 10:36:31 AM PDT · by ransomnote · 12 replies
    x.com ^ | 4/15/2026
    ransomnote: I made minimal corrections (inserted words) to the transcript of her remarks to match the video.Wall Street Apes@WallStreetApes·14hNew Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia LOSES IT on Democrats passing illegal immigration laws“For the love of God and all that is good. Can you differentiate between the fact that we don't make laws that control the federal government? My God, what are we doing here? I'm not a lawyer. I was an English teacher and I comprehend that my fifth grade middle school English students would understand it.I am coming to you not from a point of ideology because I know in...
  • Ship ‘Spoofing’ in Strait of Hormuz May Compound Confusion

    04/15/2026 9:26:04 AM PDT · by Miami Rebel · 18 replies
    New York Times ^ | April 15, 2026 | Ephrat Livni
    Maritime intelligence experts say that more ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz seem to be adopting tactics to avoid detection since the U.S. blockade on vessels coming in and out of Iranian ports went into effect on Monday. “Now, we are starting to see vessels going dark or using ‘zombie’ or random identification,” Ami Daniel, the chief executive of Windward, a maritime intelligence data provider, said in an interview on Tuesday. In the weeks after the American-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, Iranian exports went “uninterrupted” and had “almost no need to go off radar,” Mr. Daniel...
  • Uber Goes All-In On Robotaxis

    04/15/2026 9:22:37 AM PDT · by Miami Rebel · 37 replies
    Jalopnik ^ | April 15, 2026 | Amber Dasilva
    Uber has done its best to kill taxis, and now it's turning on drivers — starting with the drivers on its own app. The company is putting $10 billion into buying either robotaxi fleets or stakes in robotaxi companies, in hopes of cutting those pesky drivers out of its profit margins. From Reuters: Uber has committed more than $10 ​billion to buying thousands of autonomous vehicles ‌and taking stakes in their developers, breaking from its asset-light "gig economy" business model to avoid disruption from robotaxis, ​the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Reuters could ​not immediately verify the report. Uber did...
  • DHS employee murdered while walking dog by criminal immigrant who was naturalized under Biden: feds

    04/15/2026 8:58:27 AM PDT · by Libloather · 37 replies
    NY Post ^ | 4/15/26 | Emily Crane
    A Department of Homeland Security employee was murdered by a convicted felon immigrant who was naturalized under the Biden administration during a bloody killing spree in Georgia early this week, officials said Wednesday. Lauren Bullis, who worked as an auditor at the federal agency, was shot and stabbed in Atlanta when 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon-Abel allegedly went on his deadly rampage on Monday morning. Bullis, a 40-year-old auditor for the DHS, had taken her dog out for a stroll when she was targeted as part of three random attacks allegedly carried out by the madman across the city. Adon-Abel’s alleged rampage...
  • Tamica Brown, has been arrested in Florida after she reportedly stole more than $120,000 in SNAP benefits from over 200 victims.

    04/15/2026 8:29:53 AM PDT · by SmokingJoe · 21 replies
    X ^ | 04/14/2026 | Libs Of Tik Tok
    Tamica Brown, has been arrested in Florida after she reportedly stole more than $120,000 in SNAP benefits from over 200 victims. Brown allegedly drained people's accounts using stolen EBT card numbers. She then bought various store products and would resell them on street corners. But Democrats told me there’s no fraud?!
  • Strait of Hormuz Traffic Down As U.S. Blockade Appears to Deter Some Ships

    04/15/2026 7:58:00 AM PDT · by Retain Mike · 12 replies
    U.S. Naval Institute ^ | APRIL 14, 2026 5:38 PM - UPDATED: APRIL 14, 2026 8:46 PM | HEATHER MONGILIO
    According to a U.S. Central Command social media post, six merchant vessels turned around in compliance with the U.S. blockade once it went into effect Monday morning. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins declined to provide USNI News with the names of the six ships.The Strait of Hormuz continues to be a point of contention in the ongoing war between Iran and the U.S. Iran wants control of the waterway as part of the agreement between the two countries. International maritime law treats the Strait of Hormuz as an international passage open to all, while Iran argues it is made up...
  • Why Didn’t America Join the War Sooner?

    04/15/2026 7:55:52 AM PDT · by CondoleezzaProtege · 67 replies
    It often seems that modern day American leaders and many of the American people are eager to intervene in conflicts…Over 75 years ago, the exact opposite could be said. With Europe locked in battle, President Franklin D. Roosevelt supported the idea of America going to war, giving Great Britain the backing it needed, but FDR faced his own struggles. The United States didn’t want to intervene. During an emergency cabinet meeting called by Roosevelt immediately after the war erupted in Europe, it was agreed that the United States would remain an outside influence unless directly threatened or attacked… The United...
  • Bogus websites, staged protests and pretend atheists: Inside the fake (UK) Asylum industry

    04/15/2026 7:44:38 AM PDT · by RandFan · 8 replies
    The BBC ^ | April 15 | Billy Kenber, Politics investigations correspondent, Phil Kemp, Politics reporter and Sajid Iqba
    From fake news websites to staged political protests and bogus medical conditions, asylum seekers and the advisers helping them are using an array of fabricated evidence to bolster their fake claims. It all amounts to a sham industry, which includes charging migrants for advice on how to pose as gay to claim asylum, as exposed by the first part of our undercover investigation into the immigration system. Other techniques include paying to write articles in atheist magazines and hiring someone to pretend to be a same-sex partner. At an office off the busy Mile End Road, in east London, on...
  • CENTCOM: US naval blockade of Iranian ports ‘fully implemented’

    04/15/2026 7:35:27 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 30 replies
    JNS ^ | 15 Apr, 2026 | Joshua Marks
    “U.S. forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East,” said Adm. Brad Cooper; Trump: the Iran war is “very close to over.” A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer is seen during a blockade mission targeting traffic to and from Iranian ports, in an undated image released by U.S. Central Command on April 15, 2026.Source: @CENTCOM/X.( Apr. 15, 2026 / JNS ) The U.S. military has fully implemented a blockade of Iranian ports, halting maritime trade in and out of the country within 36 hours, the commander of U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday. Adm. Brad Cooper said U.S. forces “maintain maritime...
  • Chuck Schumer: ‘We’re Going to Take Back the Senate’

    04/15/2026 7:33:39 AM PDT · by DIRTYSECRET · 64 replies
    But now the Democrat from New York is feeling buoyed by his party’s unity in the latest government funding fight, as well as by President Donald Trump’s worsening political standing, and he’s brimming with confidence about Democrats’ odds of retaking the Senate, seeing as many as eight seats in play in November.
  • Iran Won the Media War, Then Lost the Only War That Matters

    04/15/2026 6:47:36 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 20 replies
    AMUSE on X ^ | 14 Apr, 2026 | Alexander Muse
    For a few glorious weeks in the spring of 2026, the foreign policy establishment believed it had witnessed the impossible. Iran, a nation whose air defenses had been systematically dismantled, whose navy had been reduced to wreckage on the floor of the Persian Gulf, whose supreme leader had been killed by an American strike, had somehow emerged from 38 days of devastating combat as the victor. That, at least, was the story the drive-by media told. European leaders repeated it with undisguised satisfaction. Democrats echoed it with barely concealed glee. Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world's...
  • US internet ‘troll’ Johnny Somali sentenced to South Korea labor prison for public nuisance — months after comparing himself to Otto Warmbier

    04/15/2026 5:58:00 AM PDT · by Mr. K · 28 replies
    msn ^ | 4/15/2026 | Nicholas McEntyre
    A controversial American YouTuber was sentenced to half a year in a South Korean labor prison for his nuisance behavior, including posting a video of himself crudely dancing on a statue honoring World War II sex slaves. Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known as Johnny Somali online, was tossed into the specialized prison on Wednesday, the Korea Herald reported. Ismael, 25, had provoked citizens in South Korea by singing the North Korean national anthem, spilled noodles inside a convenience store, got into several heated arguments with strangers, and degraded the solemn “Statue of Peace,” all stunts he shared...
  • Stephen Miller: ‘Swalwell is a Scumbag,’ But ‘Real Story’ is How Democrats ‘Control Members Through Blackmail’

    04/15/2026 5:44:15 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 59 replies
    American Greatness ^ | 14 Apr, 2026 | Debra Heine
    White House deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller on Tuesday accused the Democrat party of controlling its members through blackmail. Miller told Fox News host Jesse Watters Tuesday evening that “the real” takeaway from former California Rep. Eric Swalwell’s fall from grace is the Democrats’ blackmail regime. “Swalwell is a scumbag, he’s a terrible person, the worst of the worst the lowest of the low—the most dishonest,” Miller acknowledged. “The real story here is how the Democrat Party controls its members through blackmail!” The California Democrat suspended his campaign for governor Sunday and officially resigned from Congress Tuesday...
  • Quintus Servilius Caepio, the proconsul who stole the "Aurum Tolosanum", the fabulous treasure the Gauls took from Delphi

    04/15/2026 5:44:10 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 10 replies
    La Brujula Verde ^ | January 2, 2024 | Jorge Álvarez
    ...the Aurum Tolosanum never reached Rome. At least not in its entirety, since the silver was received, but not the gold. During its transfer to Massilia (Marseille), where it was to be shipped, it was stolen by a band of bandits who also made sure not to leave witnesses by murdering the cohort in charge of its custody. The operation was flawless; so much so that speculations about the authorship soon circulated. Who knew the caravan's itinerary and had the ability to organize a group of thieves large enough to eliminate the guards and take four hundred and fifty wagons?All...