Free Republic

Here are the four takeaways. 1. Fish trumps it all For those outside Iceland, it was tempting to analyse the referendum through a geopolitical lens: Russia's war on Ukraine, China's unfair competition and, of course, Donald Trump and his punitive tariffs and threats to annex Greenland. But the key driver of the vote was none other than fish. The country jealously protects its fishing rights. Between 1958 and 1976, Iceland and the United Kingdom were engaged in a series of confrontations dubbed the "Cod Wars", concluding with Reykjavík's victory over London. 2. A stark urban-rural divide The urban-rural divide in...

Chevron Corp. (CVX) and other U.S. energy companies are reportedly moving closer to deals that could bring billions of dollars of investment into Venezuela's oil fields. While Chevron is nearing an agreement to expand its operations in the country, Halliburton Co. (HAL) is reportedly in talks to provide equipment to Venezuelan oil producers, as the Trump administration pushes U.S. companies to help build the nation's oil industry. Chevron, Halliburton Eye Venezuela Opportunities Chevron could add two heavy-oil fields to its Venezuelan portfolio under the potential agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The oil major...

U.S. forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, carrying out the first publicly known American strikes inside Iran since late July, Reuters reported. A U.S. official said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel appeared to be preparing the launchers to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The official said U.S. forces targeted both launchers before they could be used. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several military personnel and civilians, according to state media. Tehran threatened retaliation. The semi-official Tasnim news agency described the operation as a U.S. drone strike. For...

The Trump administration has proposed a fee of more than $100,000 for most H-1B visas. The usual suspects have come out with the usual reactions. Doug Brand, a senior immigration official in the Biden administration, called the move “catastrophic,” and the libertarian Cato Institute has warned of “devastating” consequences. In lieu of abolishing the program altogether – my preference, but something only Congress can do – such a fee is long overdue. It’s chump change compared to the added value a truly exceptional foreign worker could generate, and at the same time would make the program less attractive as a...

One nation continues to surge, to the dismay of PM Anthony Albanese Globalist forces. The Australian populists and anti-Globalists from the One Nation party are experiencing pretty much the same as similar political forces in Europe: to begin with, they are smeared by the whole of the MSM as ‘far-right’ – and besides, they are surging, having become the most popular party in the country. Today, the One Nation party has turned its high poll numbers into an electoral victory, securing its first lower-house seat in the state parliament of Western Australia. [embedded tweet] Reuters reported: “Gym owner Luke Herdegen...

Iran attacked US forces in Jordan, a US source familiar with the situation told Fox News on Monday. The source added that nearly all missiles had been intercepted by US air defenses. Explosions were heard near the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba following launches from Iran, local media reported. Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported that Iran had launched missiles at US ships in the Strait of Hormuz early on Monday morning.

The US military on Sunday struck Iran’s Larak Island, where forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with mines into the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official, marking the first US strikes in over a month. US forces struck two Iranian launchers on the island, the official said. Residents reported hearing an explosion near Larak Island on Sunday, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Larak Island is near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that has remained at the center of regional tensions and diplomatic efforts. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed retaliation...

On September 13, 1985, Saudi oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani announced that his country would stop propping up the price of crude. Prices collapsed, and the Soviet Union lost roughly $20 billion a year in hard currency—“money without which the country simply could not survive,” in the estimate of Yegor Gaidar, later Russia’s acting prime minister. Gaidar dated the collapse of the Soviet Union to that announcement. Tehran is now in a weaker position than Moscow was in that autumn. The Islamic Republic is exporting almost no oil, its currency has lost nearly a third of its value since March,...

A police union spokesman in Ceuta, the Spanish territory in North Africa that Moroccan and other Muslim men have completely overrun, says that reported crimes have spiked by a mind-blowingly high number since the invasion began. There are countless reports of rape, property damage, and assault out of Ceuta. Moroccan authorities not only sent intelligence plants into Ceuta; the indication is that they deliberately sent numerous criminals, including literal murderers and convicted terrorists.

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen continues to dominate the field of prospective presidential candidates to replace Emmanuel Macron in next year’s critical election, which is set to define French and European politics for years to come. With just eight months left before voters in France head to the polls to select their next president, a survey conducted by Elabe has found that three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is on course for a historic victory, besting all current opponents in both rounds of voting. Depending on the composition of the first round, the pollster predicted that the National Rally...

The US Central Command shared a video in which Admiral Brad Cooper, the combatant command's Commander, shared recent " milestones" the US military has reached during its war on Iran. Among these, he mentioned extensively the US military operations which cleared sea mines from shipping lanes and more broadly spoke of the claimed effectiveness of the naval blockade the US re-imposed in mid-July on Iran.

The U.S. military, in conjunction with Ecuadorian officials, boarded and later sank a vessel on Friday allegedly used as a refueling station for drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Southern Command. The vessel, which was in international waters near Ecuador, was allegedly used as a floating ship-to-ship refueling station for drug boats belonging to the Los Choneros organization. The ship was boarded by Marines and sailors from the USS San Antonio and cleared without incident, SOCOM said. The people taken off the boat were then taken to Ecuador, and the U.S. sank the boat with an...

Imagine for a moment that you are a terrorist, and you had a large number of rockets, guns, rifles, ammo, explosive devices, and grenades on hand, and more coming in all the time. Where would you store it all? Hamas recently came up with an answer to this question that would confuse and distress its leftist American supporters who have swallowed all the nonsense the establishment media propaganda outlets have inundated us with over the last quarter-century, about how Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and Muslims only resort to violence when they’re fighting back against oppression. That’s...

FBI agents also didn't tell the Al Qaeda leader he could call a lawyer. Using the Article III system to try Al Qaeda terrorists was a reasonable solution, the trouble is that military tribunal personnel in this century look nothing like the guys who took a smoke break and sentenced Nazi saboteurs to death during WWII. Their ideal is A Few Good Men, they’re liberals if not outright leftists, and they’re far more likely to be on the side of the terrorists than to be on our side. The few Islamic terrorists whom Obama and Biden didn’t free from Gitmo...

More than 113,000 Russians crossed into Georgia via the Upper Lars checkpoint last week amid growing fears the Kremlin is preparing to announce a new mobilization wave, Politico reported on Aug. 28. The spike in border crossings comes as the Kremlin undertakes increasingly aggressive recruitment measures, expands data collection on military reservists, and broadens the mandate for the National Guard, all of which have fueled speculation of an imminent call-up. Earlier, Ukraine's Presidential Office issued a warning on Aug. 27, saying that Russia plans to mobilize 600,000 recruits over 2026 and 2027, with 300,000 to be called up this year...

On Friday, August 7, 2026, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed a defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, referred to by many as a “(Sunni) Muslim NATO.” U.S. president Donald Trump praised the agreement without considering the consequences for America or its ally Israel, as well as how Greece and India would react to this deal. In a post shared on social media, Trump said he was “very happy” that the three countries had signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, adding that it showed the Middle East was “coming together” and would allow countries to defend themselves “in a more...

China has removed two top generals from its highest military command body and expelled two other senior commanders from a Communist Party-controlled legislature, as turbulence continues within the upper echelon of the country's armed forces.Once China's No. 1 general, Zhang Youxia, has been removed from the national Central Military Commission (CMC), according to a brief statement issued by the National People's Congress Standing Committee via state media Xinhua on Aug. 28.The statement didn't offer any reason for the swift dismissal of Zhang, who had served as vice chair of the national CMC since 2018.Zhang, also a member of the Chinese...

I reported on Thursday that there was a massive deal in the offing to acquire an interest in Venezuela's oil fields that could help guarantee our energy security. Now, both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have weighed in, saying they pulled it off and the deal is official. Trump said in a Truth Social post that they'd secured "majority control" over 65 billion barrels; it "more than doubles" our reserves and will "substantially lower gas prices." 🚨 BREAKING NEWS pic.twitter.com/vkRV9oOetV— Department of State (@StateDept) August 28, 2026BREAKING NEWS: The United States of America has just entered...

The U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack. The U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. In the...

President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. has entered an agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American country’s oil reserves. Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. “The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” Trump wrote.