Free Republic

The principal weakness of Western policy has been not an excess of diplomacy or pressure, but a misunderstanding of what keeps the Islamic Republic in power. For decades, Western policy toward Iran has been shaped primarily by concerns over nuclear proliferation, missile capabilities, sanctions, and regional deterrence. These issues have dominated diplomatic engagement with Tehran. Human-rights abuses—including executions, political imprisonment, internet shutdowns, and the systematic suppression of dissent—were repeatedly condemned, particularly through United Nations resolutions. Yet they rarely became a determining factor in shaping Western strategy toward Tehran. That was not simply a moral failure. It became a strategic miscalculation,...

With shark sightings on the rise along much of the Northeast coast this summer, the New York Police Department (NYPD) is using drones to patrol city beaches, giving lifeguards an aerial view to spot sharks before they get too close to swimmers. The NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) uses drones for a wide range of public safety missions — from rescuing distressed swimmers and assisting search-and-rescue operations to monitoring crowded beaches and tracking sharks offshore. Working alongside lifeguards, officers in the specialized, high-tech unit patrol the skies above city beaches, providing a precautionary aerial line of defense against the...

Wisconsin’s former lieutenant governor dropped out of the tumultuous Democratic primary for governor Thursday as news broke that the state Democratic Party last year reviewed anonymous allegations about his sexual encounters.

A Muslim organization has bought a former Catholic seminary on Long Island with plans to establish a boys’ boarding school. Local residents have objected to the proposal as it moves through the planning process A former Catholic seminary on Long Island has been sold to a Muslim organisation that plans to reopen it as a religious boarding school for Muslim boys. The United American Muslim Association, based in Clifton, New Jersey, has purchased the three-storey, 70,000-square-foot building and its 14.6-acre grounds at 26 South Saxon Avenue in Bay Shore for $5.2 million. The property, currently zoned for residential use, sits...

An Arizona grandmother who beat cancer twice was killed after a brutal attack by a career criminal, court papers revealed. Susan Gehrke, 61, died from her injuries after being punched so hard her dentures were knocked out outside her apartment complex in Tucson last Friday. Prosecutors in the state claim Dahseir Edward Jefferson, 27, lashed out at Gehrke after Jefferson attacked a friend of hers in what authorities said was a random act.

The jihadists among us, taking a page from the successful radicals in the gay liberation movement, are no longer hiding their agenda. Most people understand a conspiracy theory to exist in a realm where disparate, unrelated facts slot into a person’s monomania to create a threat manifest only to that person. In this realm, the most persuasive evidence is the absence of evidence. The mere fact that no one has ever seen a secretive Jewish cabal nor read the cabal’s “plan” for world domination is, in itself, proof to the monomaniacal antisemite that such a plan exists. But is it...

This interview features Melania Trump discussing her relationship with Donald Trump, from their first meeting to their life together. Key Highlights: How they met: They met at a fashion party in New York City in September 1996 (0:13-0:28). Melania noted his charm and energy despite him arriving with another date. The courtship: Melania famously took the initiative, asking for his number so she could call him herself rather than the other way around (1:11-1:43). They went on their first date to a place called Mumba in downtown New York (1:46-2:00). Commitment: They dated for seven years before getting married, with...

Just wondering why more people are not noticing or pointing out the following: NAZI translates to National Socialist German Workers' Party. Seems a lot like Democrat Socialists of America.

"The Fauci diary is amazing. He monologues like a Scooby Doo villain." El Gato Malo on "X". Dr. Anthony Fauci in Covid Regalia. Remember Covid-19? Seems like long ago in a world that time forgot. Well, you get to revisit the whole sketchy business on Wednesday, July, 29, when Dr. Anthony Fauci is called to testify about it to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). Though half the USA is still psychotic and unable to process reality, the other half of the country understands that Dr. Fauci has some ‘splainin’ to do....

MAGA MomMom 1776 ?????? @magagrandmom 11h I woke up and as I had my morning coffee, I realized that everything is about to change. No matter how I vote, no matter what I say, something evil has invaded our nation, and our lives are never going to be the same. I have been confused by the hostility of family and friends. I look at people I have known all my life--so hate-filled that they agree with opinions they would never express as their own. I think that I may well have entered the Twilight Zone. You can't justify this insanity....

Back in July 2024, I had a post titled “Big Tech On The Path To Net Zero.” Here was the introductory paragraph: Among the adherents to the cult of climate change, nobody can claim a higher level of sanctimony than the Big Tech behemoths — the likes of Google, Microsoft and Meta. These new economic titans fancy themselves to be totally unlike the dirty and grubby industrial companies of the past, like the steel, automobile or oil producers with their belching smokestacks. Each of these new tech powerhouses loudly proclaims its sacred and unwavering commitment to “net zero” emissions by...

Divided panel deepens nationwide circuit split and sets up another potential Supreme Court immigration showdown. The notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit handed the Trump administration a major setback Thursday, ruling 2–1 that illegal aliens apprehended inside the United States generally cannot be subjected to mandatory detention without access to a bond hearing while they fight deportation. In Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, the divided panel affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of a class of illegal aliens detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. The majority, led by Trump-appointed Judge Daniel Bress and joined by Clinton-appointed Judge Margaret...

Todays Topic: Vlad the Impaler. If you go off point though, that's OK.

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 from a masterYour clues should be interesting.Ha Ha Ha!I'll be good - I will, (like heck) I will. Ha ha ha.This is today's quote: DEZW BWT NUFO XWRUGZW NAWM AUPW ZQBWNAETK NQ ZUM.JQQFZ NUFO XWRUGZW NAWM AUPW NQ ZUM ZQBWNAETK.- VFUNQ

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🚨 WTF?! Maine’s New Democrat Senate candidate Troy Jackson is in a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with his COUSIN, and has TWO CHILDREN with her THIS is the guy the Democrat Party swapped Graham Platner out for 🤣 Per The Main Wire’s @SteveRob, Jackson and his “partner,” Lana Pelletier, share great grandparents, making them second cousins. They then decided to pop out two children. The Democrats are having a REALLY tough time finding candidates who aren’t total freaks 😂

Kamala Harris' new $8 million Malibu mansion is located in a neighborhood with virtually no Black residents, according to a new report. The former vice president's new home sits in the exclusive Point Dume community, where Census data shows the population is roughly 94% White and 0.2% Black. Harris' choice of neighborhood is drawing attention in light of her past comments about the importance of living among other Black Americans and her longtime focus on racial equity and diversity.

My latest song. Don't let your light dim.

Archaeologists excavating in the famous prehistoric Hohle Fels cave in Germany have uncovered two bird figurines carved from mammoth ivory. ‪‪The thumbnail-size carvings add to the existing ‬‬evidence that ice age humans had a sophisticated artistic sense 40,000 years ago...When the birds were found in 2025, they were lying just 5 feet (1.5 meters) from each other in a layer dating back 40,000 years, according to the statement. The sculptures bring the total number of bird figurines from Hohle Fels up to three; a small water bird was found there in 2001. Hohle Fels was occupied by early Homo sapiens...

Earlier today, our team arrived at the office to find our Aftermath Traveling Memorial van had been broken into and vandalized. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time our van has been broken into and its windows smashed. This is the second time we’re experiencing this same vandalism — just within the last year. It’s frustrating, costly, and serves as a reminder that not everyone welcomes the life-saving message we bring to communities across Kansas. As disappointing as this incident was, it didn’t shake our resolve to continue speaking up for vulnerable women and preborn babies. We take the Aftermath Traveling...