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Almost everything we build (houses, buildings, bridges) depends on a material that we use without thinking too much, cement, true? It is so common that it seems inevitable, but its impact is enormous, just its production generates around 8 % of the world’s CO₂ every year. Eight percent!! But, there is a new material that is stealing the show… cardboard and paper, the same ones that end up in the trash everyday. We pollute by producing cement while wasting materials that could be used to build. But, wait, Laura, how can we use paper and cardboard in construction? Okey, let’s...

ERUSALEM, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet has decided to give legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including two that were vacated 20 years ago under a pullout aimed at boosting the country's security and the economy, Israeli media reported. The Palestinian Authority on Friday condemned the move, announced late on Thursday. Some of the settlements are newly established, while others are older, Israeli media said. The move to legalise the settlements in the West Bank -- territory Palestinians seek for a future state -- was proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli Defense...

***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ FReeper Canteen Music Dedication Presents ~ Hanukkah Celebration ~ *****~ Support The Artists You Hear Throughout The Canteen ! ~ ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For The Troops This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the DJs for their time &...

~Favorite Fire or Wind Songs~ Elite Special Forces - "Somebody Like Me" href=" *Video*

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ My Daddy Is Home!! In this courtesy photo, Steve Nielsen gives his daughter Kaylee Nielsen a ride upon his shoulders while celebrating his unit’s return to Nevada from Afghanistan. Nielsen was in the heart of a combat zone for more than one year while deployed as a Chinook helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Congratulations On A Job Well...

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players — including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties — are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan — which was approved by the U.N. Security Council — lays out an ambitious vision for...

A former TSA agent speaks out about what she saw and what she calls an obvious connection to billions of dollars of fraud. A former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent, Liz Jaksa, joined Liz Collin on her podcast. She who worked at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from 2016 to 2021. She explained to Collin, “I’ve seen a lot of things, but the most shocking is exactly that. I saw suitcases filled with millions of dollars of cash, and the couriers were always Somali men traveling in pairs.” While flying with cash isn’t illegal and must be declared, it still...

~ Freeper Canteen ~--Canteen Mission Statement--Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies' military and family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. Today We Want You To Take The.....Just Mammals Quiz Click HERE to take the quiz! Have fun! Please remember that The Canteen here to support and entertain our troops and veterans and their families, and is family friendly.

At first glance, Mike Waltz’s visit to Israel this week may look like a new UN ambassador’s routine orientation tour – a series of meetings, border briefings, and handshakes meant to signal continuity. But nothing about the timing or the choreography of this particular visit suggests anything routine. Waltz’s first major foreign trip since taking office is not just a symbolic gesture. It is the operational rollout of the Trump administration’s Gaza plan, carried out under the umbrella of UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which the US drafted and pushed through. And the visit comes just days after the UN...

Israeli operatives are conducting widespread surveillance of US forces and allies stationed at a new US base in the country’s south, according to sources briefed on disputes about open and covert recordings of meetings and discussions. The scale of intelligence gathering at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) prompted the US commander of the base, Lt Gen Patrick Frank, to summon an Israeli counterpart for a meeting to tell him that “recording has to stop here”. Staff and visitors from other countries have also raised concerns about Israel recording inside the CMCC. Some have been told to avoid sharing sensitive information...

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: U. S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, MassachusettsNatick Soldier Systems Center is a military research complex and installation in Natick, Massachusetts charged by the U.S. Department of Defense with the research and development (including fielding and sustainment) of food, clothing, shelters, airdrop systems, and other servicemember support items for the U.S. military. The installation includes facilities from all the military services, not just the Army, and is so configured to allow cross-service cooperation and collaboration both within the facility and with the many academic, industrial and governmental institutions in the Greater Boston Area.The...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), Community Capital Partners (CCP), and several of their leaders, alleging that they engaged in an illegal land development scheme that violated Texas securities laws.Promotional materials allegedly described the development as the “epicenter of Islam in North America” and implied it would be reserved for Muslims, despite assurances to the contrary.According to the lawsuit, CCP—formed by EPIC as a vehicle to purchase and develop more than 400 acres in Hunt and Collin counties—engaged in fraudulent practices while soliciting investments for the EPIC City project. Promotional...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 ~ On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island, where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS...

When Ukraine set its sights on NATO and later the European Union, many expected Europe to respond with conviction and purpose. Instead, what emerged was a patchwork of shortterm fixes, hesitant commitments, and political squabbles—a portrait of a continent reacting to history rather than shaping it. Europe entered the conflict improvising, not strategizing. What was framed as solidarity has too often become a cascade of costly, shortsighted decisions that drain wealth, fracture unity, and expose the EU’s lack of direction. Today, the European Union wrestles with economic fatigue and political discord. Member states remain divided over how long support for...

THE CRACKED POT A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of full of water in his master’s house. Of...

***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ The Freeper Canteen Music Dedication Presents: ~ Beware Of Merry Christmas Music ~ *****~ Support The Artists You Hear Throughout The Canteen ! ~ ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For Our Troops This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the DJs...

President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated his decision to permit U.S. automakers to manufacture so-called "tiny cars." "I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries," Trump posted on Truth Social. "They can be propelled by gasoline, electric, or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW! Thank you to the DOJ and the Departments of Transportation and Environment." So-called "tiny cars" are popular in Japan and other...

A growing number of IT staffing firms are posting help wanted ads that say the quiet part out loud: Americans need not apply. Federal law prohibits this—duh—but in an industry reliant on an H-1B program that provides visas to more than 700,000 immigrants, the Free Beacon’s Aaron Sibarium “identified over two dozen job postings since 2024 that appear to bar applications from U.S. citizens” in favor of visa holders. Many of the companies behind them tout their commitment to DEI. Take LanceSoft, an IT staffing firm committed to “diversity, equality, and inclusivity.” In a post to an IT jobs aggregator...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, hot cocoa, conversation and music.How about some homemade eggnog? A hot toddy? Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here.Remembering Pearl HarborNo worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Pull up a chair. Grab a cup and start a conversation.You never know...

Virginia Democrats appear to be sticking to a plan to put a constitutional amendment before voters that would allow a new congressional map in 2026, despite a sweeping victory in November's general election and a fluid redistricting landscape nationwide. In October, Democrats used their slim majorities in the House of Delegates and state Senate to pass the first step in changing Virginia's constitution, recommending an amendment that would allow the Legislature to sideline the bipartisan commission that draws Virginia's political maps. Just a few days later, voters expanded House Speaker Don Scott's 51–49 majority to 64–36 and sent Governor-elect Abigail...