Free Republic

Today, the word colonialism is treated almost like a curse word. Mention it in a classroom, on social media, or in many political circles, and you’ll immediately hear words like exploitation, racism, oppression, genocide, and theft. For many people—especially younger generations—colonialism has become history’s ultimate villain, the so-called “original sin” from which nearly every modern problem supposedly springs. As a conservative, I’ve always thought this view was far too simplistic. Now, before anyone starts sharpening their pitchforks, let me be clear: colonial powers absolutely committed injustices. Wars were fought. Peoples were conquered. Resources were taken. Some populations were devastated. These...

A string of west African countries have outlawed same-sex relations in recent months, further eroding LGBTQ rights on a continent where they were already under attack. Of Africa's 54 countries, only about 20 do not currently criminalise same-sex relations. Here is a look at the wave of anti-LGBTQ sentiment sweeping the continent and some of the forces driving it, from politicians playing to their homophobic base to the geopolitics of rejecting supposedly "Western values". - What are the laws? - Uganda set the tone in 2023, adopting one of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for "aggravated...

[snip] To begin CNN This Morning's discussion of the anti-ICE riots, host Audie Cornish called on Karen Attiah, the creator and leader of the Resistance Summer School. As per its website, the school is: A "structure for radical learning . . . Students will explore how colonial legacies and racial hierarchies shape global politics, diplomacy, conflict, and coverage —and how media systems often reinforce (or resist) these power structures." Take a look below at the school's insignia featuring a clenched fist, a traditional socialist symbol. And it adopts as its motto, "A Luta Continua" [The Struggle Continues.] That was the...

An edit of the Rhodesian Bush War, which took place in what is now Zimbabwe. I hope you enjoy

Gunshots have been heard in the Philippine Senate building, Senate authorities said on Wednesday, where a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court has been holed up to resist arrest. [SNIP] Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos insisted the incident was not carried out by government personnel, but rather an apparent shootout between an unidentified armed group and Senate security personnel. Marcos said no government forces attempted to enter the Senate to arrest Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a longtime ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who evaded arrest by local investigative unit officers earlier this week. Senator Dela Rosa was filmed...

For months, critics on the left have accused Jeff Bezos of nudging the Washington Post in a more conservative direction — citing the paper’s decision not to endorse Kamala Harris and Bezos’ remarks about emphasizing free-market principles on the opinion page. If so, someone forgot to tell the advice desk. This week, the Post made the editorial decision to republish a 2024 “Ask Sahaj” column in which a young South Asian woman wrote that she feels hurt not being seen as beautiful by white people, particularly white men. The letter-writer, who notes she wears a hijab, describes feeling invisible in...

It is a conspiracy theory that the left has opened its borders to change the political landscape within Western countries. If you believe that, you are a nutter who has gone down the rabbit hole. A crazy. A Far-Right fascist Nazi who needs to be silenced for spreading "misinformation."In fact, it is SO SO VERY IMPORTANT that you be proven wrong and put in your place that, according to the ruling Socialists in Spain, the government is going to "regularize" and give legal work permits, one-year renewable residency permits, and the right to travel unhindered through the Schengen Zone (the...

The land I reside on, where I sit as I write these words, has a long history of human habitation, going back to the most recent major glaciation. Before Europeans came to Alaska, this general area, the Susitna Valley, was occupied by one subgroup or another of the Dena'ina linguistic grouping of the Athabascan people. The area started being settled by people of European descent in the late 19th century, when gold was discovered in the area (gold is a really powerful draw, it turns out). At some point, the land on which I reside was taken up under the...

In September 2025. France's government collapses. Prime ministers ousted one after another. Protests engulf Paris. Debt spiraling past 110% of GDP. Energy prices up 40% since 2022. The headlines blame political chaos, budget cuts and Macron's failures. But that's not the real story.

COPENHAGEN-Denmark's Prime Minister apologised in person on Wednesday (Sept24) to women who were victims of a decades-long involuntary birth control campaign, which has left islanders with deep scars and strained relations with their former colonial power. Thousands of women and girls as young as 12 were fitted with intrauterine devices without their knowledge or consent between 1966 and 1991, the year Greenland was given authority over its healthcare system... An investigation this month showed that 4,070 women had been fitted with intrauterine devices by the end of 1970-roughly every second Greenlandic-born woman of childbearing age. A large number of women...

European and Ukrainian officials call the idea ludicrous, showing the large gaps in peace negotiations.Russia’s top diplomat on Wednesday said the country would insist on being a part of any future security guarantees for Ukraine, a condition that European and Ukrainian officials widely see as absurd.It was the clearest sign yet that enormous gaps remain in the negotiations over a possible end to Russia’s invasion. And it added to the uncertainty over how a European effort to rally a “coalition of the willing” to protect a postwar Ukraine, possibly with Western soldiers stationed inside the country, would fit into President...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday she declined President Trump’s offer for US troops to crack down on the fentanyl produced by cartels in her country. The world leaders spoke recently by phone when Trump broached the topic of making American military service members available for operations inside Mexico, where traffickers concoct the deadly synthetic opioid using precursor chemicals imported primarily from China. “I told him, ‘No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,'” Sheinbaum revealed during an event. We will never accept the presence of the United States Army in...

“The invaders renamed Freedom Square in Mariupol as Lenin Square and displayed their tricolor over it,” Andriushchenko wrote in a post on the Telegram messenger on June 11. He suggested that the Russians would like to replace the Ukrainian inscription “Mariupol” on the square with the Russian version (as they did to the monument at the entrance to the city). “Stop destroying Mariupol. Just rename it Zhdanov again,” Andriushchenko wrote. Earlier, the invaders changed the Ukrainian name of the city on the marker at the entrance to Mariupol to Russian. However, it was done so clumsily that the name of...

Manifest Destiny met luxury cosmetics when makeup billionaire and Republican donor Ronald Lauder mentioned buying Greenland to the president. President Donald Trump was reportedly convinced to try annexing Greenland by cosmetics billionaire and college friend Ronald Lauder. Greenlanders, meanwhile, are not sold on the idea.Mother Jones illustration; Evan Vucci/AP; Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance/Getty The United States has been trying to annex Greenland for centuries. The massive island in the Arctic—which is home to 56,000 people and holds vast oil and mineral reserves—is currently an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward planned to...

A high-profile gay couple married in Thailand on Thursday (Jan 23) as the kingdom's same-sex marriage law went into effect, an AFP journalist saw, among the first of hundreds expected to do so. Thai actors Apiwat "Porsch" Apiwatsayree, 49 - who was in tears - and Sappanyoo "Arm" Panatkool, 38, in matching beige suits, were handed their pink-bordered marriage certificates at a registry office in Bangkok. "We fought for it for decades and today is a remarkable day that love is love," said Arm. The milestone sees Thailand become by far the biggest place in Asia to recognise equal marriage,...

Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently called for Alaska's return to Russia during a recent Russian-state media program. -snip- During the recent program, Solovyov said Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova, and Alaska should be "returned to the Russian Empire." "Do you think I'm joking when I mention Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova? Everything returned to the Russian Empire. And Alaska too, while you're at it," Solovyov said in a translated video.

Yes, yes, I know. The climate is breaking down. It’s urgent. An emergency. We’ve only got a few years left to ‘fix’ it. Indeed, we won’t fix it. Weather patterns will become increasingly unstable and unpredictable, and the effects it will soon have on how humans around the world grow food will be devastating, likely causing harvests to fail across entire continents and food prices to sky-rocket. Millions have already suffered due to the amplified instability. We’re facing imminent societal collapse (whatever that means), both around the world and in the UK. All of our lives are soon going to...

China-Africa relations have deepened over the past two decades, characterised by increased economic cooperation, investment and infrastructure development. China is now Africa’s largest trading partner, with partnerships focused on building roads, railways and energy projects. As the ninth Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) kicks off this week in Beijing, a new, green theme is shaping their relationship: the global renewable energy race. We asked Lauren Johnston, a development economist with expertise in China-Africa relations, to provide some insights into this development as it positions both regions as key players in the global shift towards green energy. How is the race...

President Xi Jinping has pledged to increase China's support to the African continent with nearly $51 billion in new funding, backing for more infrastructure initiatives and a promise to create at least 1 million jobs. Xi told delegates from more than 50 African nations on Thursday that China would carry out 30 infrastructure projects across the resource-rich continent, and offer 360 billion yuan ($50.70 billion) in financial assistance. "China is ready to deepen cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment," Xi told delegates at a major China-Africa summit in Beijing. He called for "a China-Africa network featuring...

Jonathan Elkhoury- جوناثان الخوري @Jonathan_Elk: The idea that only white people are colonizers is crazy. Arabs are one of the biggest colonizers in the world. Arab against antisemitism ✡️ @arab_leb2 Arabs are not victims of colonialism; they are part of it and have played a great role in it. Jul 8, 2024