Free Republic

The price of oil rose sharply Monday, after Iranian government-aligned media reported that the country was cutting off talks with the United States to end the ongoing war. Conflicting comments from President Donald Trump hours later did little to dent oil’s jump, although prices ended the day somewhat lower than the highs of the morning. U.S. crude oil closed higher by 5.5% at $92.16 per barrel. International Brent crude closed higher by 4.5% at $94.98 per barrel. Heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel, also rose 4%, while wholesale gas prices rose 2%. As a result of of the most...

British monarchs deliver their political messages in code — and the reference we just heard Charles make to 9/11 is worth unpacking. “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time … we answered the call together, as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder,” the king said. Make no mistake — this is a carefully targeted rebuff to Trump and his allies in Congress that, contrary to the president’s repeated claims over recent weeks, NATO was in fact there to help in America’s hour of need. Charles...

In the view of many contemporary Russian leaders, the United States occupies a space on the world stage that rightly belongs to Russia—based on its possession of nuclear weapons, its history and culture, having the largest national territory, and other factors. Yet Russia’s apparent inability to compete with the United States on the world stage has resulted, for some leaders in Moscow, in mixed feelings of resentment, envy, and admiration. Speaking earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that his country and the West are headed towards a “new Cold War.” He criticized...