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Forum: General/Chat

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  • Friday Silliness Thread

    09/18/2026 4:17:35 AM PDT · by Nateman · 5 replies
    Free Republic ^ | Friday, September 18, 2026 | Nateman
    Today's topic: M.C. Escher
  • Columbia University remains locked down like a war zone after anti-Israel protests — and students feel punished

    09/18/2026 2:54:23 AM PDT · by Libloather · 5 replies
    NY Post ^ | 9/17/26 | Rikki Schlott
    Columbia University was crippled almost three years ago by anti-Israrel protesters, who shut down campus with an illegal encampment. And still, all this time later, the campus gates remain closed to the public. “There was a complete time and place where [closing the gates] was justified and was necessary,” Nicholas Baum, a 21-year-old senior studying economics, told The Post. “But now it’s a constant and, frankly, outdated reminder [of the protests]. We’re in a completely different environment.” Current seniors are the only undergraduates on campus who remember a time before their school was sent into chaos by the October 7th...
  • Today's Cryptogram

    09/18/2026 2:41:49 AM PDT · by FroggyTheGremlim · 4 replies
    Quote = "Hiya kids! Hiya, Hiya!" Good Morning Crypto-FReepers.I see some of the same old faces out there.But that's OK - I like you anyway.Today's quote is an easy one - happens to us all.I can't wait to see the clues you come up with.Hope it makes you smile.Ha Ha Ha!I'll be good - I will, (like heck) I will. Ha ha ha.Today's quote is: YFG NOQGT U XGY, YFG HGYYGT U VRGQ YN HG - OGG YTGJUZN
  • Today's Toons 9/18/26

    09/18/2026 1:25:01 AM PDT · by pookie18 · 7 replies
    The Right Reasons ^ | 9/18/26 | pookie18
    lick on link
  • "Hungarian Blues" - original jazz, by Yours Truly

    09/17/2026 11:45:01 PM PDT · by Slings and Arrows · 4 replies
    Me, via Rumble ^ | 9/18/26 | me, as "Hopalong Ginsberg"
    My latest song. Getting Hungary yet?
  • The AI danger that matters most? Falling behind China.

    09/17/2026 9:18:15 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 12 replies
    The Washington Post ^ | September 17, 2026 1:19 p.m. EDT | Marc A. Thiessen
    A nuclear-style freeze on AI development would just hand the advantage to Beijing. Here is the real AI threat to humanity: the danger that Americans panic, hit the brakes on AI development and lose the AI arms race to Communist China. No one knows yet what the fast-moving field of AI will bring, but this much should be clear by now to everyone: Today’s AI arms race is as consequential as the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union was during the Cold War — but the danger of falling behind is far more severe. “We have to be as...
  • UPDATE: Spencer Pratt has just stunned America by announcing that the water reservoir drained ahead of the LA fires is STILL EMPTY NEARLY 2 YEARS LATER under Mayor Karen Bass | The reason: "Torn tarp"

    09/17/2026 8:47:10 PM PDT · by ransomnote · 17 replies
    x.com ^ | September 17, 2026 | JohnTitor17 @JTitor17
    JohnTitor17@JTitor17·1hUPDATE: Spencer Pratt has just stunned America by announcing that the water reservoir drained ahead of the LA fires is STILL EMPTY NEARLY 2 YEARS LATER under Mayor Karen BassThe reason: "Torn tarp"PRATT: "You cannot be allowed to maintain any position in public office if you do this. Not sure if I've ever seen such egregious incompetence in all my life."Join @SGTnewsNetworkX (Twitter)Truth SocialSeptember 17, 2026
  • FEMA and the @FCC will test the Emergency Alert System nationwide Tues., Nov. 17, 2026, around 2:20 p.m. ET. Radio and TV may pause for about 1 minute. Cell phones will not get this test. No action is needed.

    09/17/2026 8:42:07 PM PDT · by ransomnote · 9 replies
    x.com ^ | Sep 17, 2026 | FCC @FCC
    FCC@FCCEmergency Alert System test infoLearn more from @FEMA September 17, 2026
  • The Air Force Brought Back Warrant Officers After 45 Years. Here’s How It's Going

    09/17/2026 7:56:37 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 10 replies
    Military.com ^ | Sep 17, 2026, 5:20 PM EDT | Brandon Wile
    About 245 Air Force members now hold a rank the service eliminated in 1980.The Air Force spent 45 years without warrant officers, the last one retiring in 1980 and the ranks disappearing from an Air Force that decided senior NCOs and commissioned officers could cover the same ground. That changed in February 2024, when then-Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall announced that the ranks were coming back.The service has about 245 warrant officers as of September 2026, in ranks ranging from Chief Warrant Officer 1 to Chief Warrant Officer 5 at multiple commands, an Air Force spokesperson told Military.com....
  • Handcuffed Suspect Slips Cuffs, Kicks Out Window In Wild Texas Police Video

    09/17/2026 7:06:31 PM PDT · by simpson96 · 12 replies
    KVOA ^ | 9/16/2026 | Staff
    The Houston County Sheriff's Office in Texas has released shocking video showing a 6-foot-7, 260-pound suspect, identified as Keon Dewayne Leonard, escaping from a moving patrol truck. Originally arrested on September 3rd on a warrant for assault of a public servant or judge, Leonard managed to slip his two sets of handcuffs from behind his back to the front while seated in the back of the vehicle. Dashcam footage captures the suspect repeatedly kicking the back window until it shatters before squeezing his massive frame through the broken glass to escape. Following his dangerous exit from the truck, Deputy Jenefer...
  • Anthropic says its chatbot Claude is taking over the work of building its own successor

    09/17/2026 6:46:04 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 19 replies
    The Washington Post ^ | September 17, 2026 7:28 p.m. EDT | Miriam Waldvogel
    The company said Claude leads 26 percent of its research and development, an indicator of progress toward AI that builds itself without human help. Artificial intelligence company Anthropic said on Thursday that more than a quarter of its research and development is now led by its chatbot Claude, a figure that jumped from zero in just months and indicates progress toward AI that builds itself without human input. Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called last weekend for leading AI companies to coordinate a slowdown in work on the technology, to allow more time to build guardrails around AI. Leaders at...
  • Local police departments celebrate national police women’s day

    09/17/2026 6:45:26 PM PDT · by simpson96 · 15 replies
    WEAU ^ | 9/14/2026 | John Franklin
    EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Police departments across the country are celebrating national police women’s day. Some Chippewa Valley women in law enforcement say they usually don’t have issues regarding their gender from within their departments. “When it comes to law enforcement, and being female, there’s certainly differences that you experience and I feel like it’s more related to the public and perception of female officers,” said Olivia Erl, the Patrol Lieutenant of the Eau Claire Police Department. “But the bottom line is I come here to do my job and serve the community like everybody else does,” said Chief...
  • TDBANK IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING CASH TO PAY MORTGAGES AND HELOCS

    09/17/2026 6:26:41 PM PDT · by Chickensoup · 42 replies
    Chickensoup ^ | 09.17.26 | Chickensoup
    TDBANK IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING CASH TO PAY MORTGAGES AND HELOCS 0 Unbelievably this is true. Happened today to me. The tellers were so embarrassed. Spoke with state authorities and left messages with federal. Can they do this with their charter?
  • NFL fans savage shocking Canadian national anthem played before Lions-Bills game in Buffalo: 'Embarrassing'

    09/17/2026 6:22:16 PM PDT · by Optimist · 41 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 9/17/2026 | RICH JONES, US DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR
    NFL fans were left furious watching Thursday Night Football as the Canadian national anthem was played by the Buffalo Bills. The Bills were hosting the first game at their new $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium, facing the Detroit Lions in the first primetime Thursday night game of the new season. Yet fans tuning in were surprised by an unusual break from tradition, as 'O Canada' was played by Toronto-based act Barenaked Ladies before actress and singer Auli'i Cravalho performed 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. The Bills decided to make the gesture to Canada despite the ongoing tensions between the two countries
  • Mamdani mourns NYC thief accused of murdering man with special needs — who he doesn’t mention

    09/17/2026 6:11:46 PM PDT · by Libloather · 8 replies
    NY Post ^ | 9/17/26 | Joe Marino, Haley Brown
    Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered condolences Thursday for an accused murderer who died in Department of Corrections custody — mentioning nothing of the victim he allegedly killed. Luis Alberto Lopez Castillo was facing murder, manslaughter, robbery and weapons charges in connection with the 2025 slaying of 26-year-old autistic man Ron Marte. Castillo was accused of robbing Marte of his cellphone during an early morning ambush in the Bronx’s Starlight Park, where Castillo’s alleged accomplice, Axel Martinez, reportedly shot Marte in the chest as he walked home from an Amazon warehouse shift. “I extend my condolences to his family,” Mamdani wrote about...
  • STUDIN: Allison Inquiry must now lead to resignations and full public inquiry [Biggest health policy mistake in Canadian history, or crime against humanity] COVID VACCINE

    09/17/2026 5:40:29 PM PDT · by yesthatjallen · 5 replies
    Toronto Sun ^ | 09 17 2026 | Irvin Studin
    History notes many countries that have lost their minds in periods of emergency. And that even the sanest of societies can, under pressure and panic, preside over catastrophes once presumed unthinkable. Last week’s Allison Inquiry in Ottawa proved that our beloved Canada — once among the world’s most civilized and well-governed — is no exception. It showed, in full technicolour, that which an ever-growing number of thinking people now realize — that the COVID-19 vaccine program, deployed at the height of pandemic-period mania, injured tens of thousands of regular Canadians, and killed thousands of Canadians to boot. We can and...
  • What Does Free Republic Need to Do to Get Credit Card Donations Restored? [Question to Google AI]

    09/17/2026 4:55:34 PM PDT · by JeepersFreepers · 30 replies
    Google AI ^ | 9/17/2026
    To restore credit card donations, Free Republic LLC must address the critical vulnerability that triggered its payment processor to shut down the account. In late August 2026, malicious actors targeted the Free Republic Donation Page to perform "card testing" (using automated scripts to test batches of stolen credit card numbers). Because this behavior results in massive transaction failure rates and chargeback risks, payment gateways automatically flag and terminate the merchant account. Free Republic LLC can take the following technical and administrative steps to regain credit card capabilities: 1. Implement Security Controls to Stop Card Testing. A merchant provider will not...
  • OpenAI Model Told Itself It Was ‘Freed’ From Human Control. That Was Only One of Its Six New Disclosures

    09/17/2026 4:10:07 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 28 replies
    OpenAI has disclosed six cases in which its AI models concealed errors, bypassed restrictions, used unauthorized resources or found unexpected ways to communicate. None caused a public catastrophe. That does not make them easy to dismiss. The artificial intelligence debate usually jumps straight from “helpful chatbot” to “machine that wipes out humanity.” There is a lot of empty space between those two extremes, and that is where the more immediate problem is beginning to show up. OpenAI says some of its models have already taken actions they were never authorized to take. One searched for an exposed API key and...
  • 13 people arrested after being caught stealing $250K of chicken from semi-trailer, officials say

    09/17/2026 3:33:45 PM PDT · by crusty old prospector · 51 replies
    WMC/Gray News ^ | September 16, 2026 | Shayna Norwood and Akim Powell
    MEMPHIS (WMC/Gray News) - Authorities arrested 13 people after they were allegedly caught stealing $250k of chicken from a semi-trailer. According to a press release, Javunte Johnson, 33, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm; an arrest warrant was executed for him for aggravated robbery. Authorities found Johnson, along with 12 other people, unloading stolen pallets of chicken, valued at $250,000, from an 18-wheeler in the back parking lot of an Economy Inn. The suspects fled; however, they were all caught. Memphis Police said during the investigation, officers determined that the merchandise being unloaded had been stolen. Detectives...
  • My interview with @IngrahamAngle last night.

    09/17/2026 3:19:36 PM PDT · by SmokingJoe · 7 replies
    X ^ | 09/17/2026 | David Sacks
    It includes a ~6.5-minute video clip from his appearance on The Ingraham Angle (Fox News). Interview overview (from on-screen graphics and context) Laura Ingraham interviews David Sacks (identified as White House AI Adviser / former AI and crypto czar). Key themes and chyrons visible in the clip: “BEWARE OF THE GLOBAL ELITES” “DEMOCRACY DESTROYERS STRIKE AGAIN” “WHO WILL CONTROL AI REGULATION?” “THE DEBATE OVER AI GOVERNANCE IS JUST BEGINNING” “BERNIE BEGS TRUMP FOR AN AI TREATY WITH CHINA” Visuals include Sacks speaking, server racks, an Anthropic logo on a phone/keyboard graphic, and standard Fox News split-screen with Ingraham. Fox News...