Free Republic

On July 14th, in The pier to nowhere is going away, I wrote: When what’s left of the pier is finally removed and probably, scrapped, we can be certain, just as with the withdrawal debacle in Afghanistan, the MMPA will declare it a brilliant success and an example of the military acumen and inspired leadership of Joe Biden. Interestingly, at his recent NATO conference, Biden sort of allowed the pier wasn't as successful as it could have been. And like that disaster, we’ll never know the true financial and human cost. The horror of it is Israel has ports that...

A Killer Hurricane Our Country Will Never Forget Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) became a large and extremely powerful hurricane that caused enormous destruction and significant loss of life. It is the costliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, surpassing the record previously held by Hurricane Andrew from 1992. In addition, Katrina is one of the five deadliest hurricanes to ever strike the United States. In all, Hurricane Katrina was responsible for 1,833 fatalities and approximately $108 billion in damage (un-adjusted 2005 dollars). On August 23rd, a tropical depression formed over the southeastern Bahamas, becoming Tropical Storm Katrina on August...

I investigate reports of civilians being targeted and killed by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of Russia. I found a man who says his pregnant wife was killed by a Ukrainian soldier while she was trying to protect her 1 year old son. The son was also injured. He asks the USA to make Ukraine give a Humanitarian cooradoor so he can retrieve his wife and unborn childs bodies and so other civilians can get to safety. He says Ukraine is comiting genocide of Russians in the kursk region. I show you what eyewitnesses say.

Conspiracy theories. What to some is a sign of critical thinking is, to others, a sign of dangerous insubordination. I was taught by my father that a good argument can stand up to criticism and that finding someone who disagreed was a fine way to test your theory. I’ve never been too bothered when folks disagree with me. In fact, I’m eager to know why. I want to learn whether or not I’m missing something. But these days, it seems that I’m in the minority. The “danger” of conspiracy theories The term has long been used in a derogatory fashion...

Newly developed battery-powered electric bandages could help wounds heal more quickly, a new study reports. In animal testing, wounds treated with electric bandages healed 30% faster than wounds treated with conventional bandages, researchers reported Aug. 7 in the journal Science Advances. The bandages could be a game-changer in treating slow-healing wounds caused by diabetes and other chronic illnesses, researchers say. Those sorts of wounds significantly increase a person’s risk of amputation and death. “Our goal here was to develop a far less expensive technology that accelerates healing in patients with chronic wounds,” said researcher Amay Bandodkar, an assistant professor of...

Many prosthetic feet use blades. Here’s why adding toes could help. The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Yet, most prosthetic feet on the market a consist of a single blade. A new concept from the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa offers an intriguing alternative. SoftFoot Pro is a flexible prosthetic prototype that was inspired by the anatomical structure of the human foot. It is made up of five durable plastic chains, each composed of various interlocking elements to reflect individual bones, and arranged in parallel to mimic the skeletal structure...

Oxford Police Dept @OxfordPolice Jefferson Ave between North Lamar and North 9th Street is closed due to an 18 wheeler losing part of its load. Please use another route. And no, you cannot come help “clean up.” =================================================================== Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Police in Mississippi warned drivers to avoid an area Wednesday when a truck lost its load of beer into the roadway. The Oxford Police Department said on social media that Jefferson Avenue was closed Wednesday between North Lamar and North 9th Street after the 18-wheeler dumped part of its load into the roadway. Photos from the scene show...

Dear Mr. Kennedy: I have heard rumors you might be suspending your campaign. You should not suspend your campaign; but instead file federal and/or state lawsuits challenging Kamala Harris’ constitutional eligibility for the office of President (POTUS) and Commander in Chief (CinC). As a candidate for the same office as Harris, you have legal standing (to which many others have not been granted) to legally challenge Kamala Harris in the federal and state courts; and thus force SCOTUS to take up the issue once and for all on the merits; and decide who is a “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) of...

Four bodies brought to shore from boat wreckage published at 17:00 British Summer Time 17:00 BST Breaking Four bodies have now been brought to shore from the sunken yacht, the BBC has confirmed. The search continues for the two remaining passengers who are still unaccounted for. Italian authorities have not confirmed the identities of those recovered this afternoon. Search and rescue team return with another body bag published at 16:57 British Summer Time 16:57 BST Images are coming through of another body bag being brought to shore at the harbour in Porticello, Sicily where the search and rescue operation is...

Ford previously pushed back the project only to cancel it amid stiff price competition as electric vehicle manufacturers struggle to move their product ================================================================= Ford Motor announced Wedneday it has scrapped plans for a large electric SUV. The reversal will reportedly result in $1.9 billion in write-downs and special charges. Ford's course change comes amid lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reported. This spring, Ford, a major U.S. automaker, delayed plans for the electric SUV to 2027. Ford blamed the cancellation on pricing pressuring as other automakers use aggressive discounts to move electric vehicles. Ford has another...

I was catching up with my uncle recently, and he dropped a story that had me questioning everything. It was so wild, I thought he was pulling my leg. When he kept insisting it was true, I even wondered if Uncle Toby had a touch of dementia. But nope, Uncle Toby’s sharp as ever, and his story was 100 percent real. So, what had me so floored? We were talking about schools and sports, and Uncle Toby casually mentioned that when he was in high school back in the 1950s, all the boys had to swim nude. Uh, excuse me,...

The European Union may have just given Tesla’s future sales in the region a boost by setting tariffs on its China-made vehicles considerably below those imposed on rival electric carmakers. The high-profile decision comes two months after the EU hiked tariffs on all electric cars imported from China, citing “unfair” state subsidies that unduly benefited the country’s electric vehicle makers at the expense of European manufacturers. Tesla, which has a factory near Berlin but exports many of the cars it makes in China to Europe, had requested that the EU recalculate its rate, initially set at 20.8%. On Tuesday, the...

Harley-Davidson on Monday said it is ditching some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals, a move that comes after it faced pressure from anti-diversity critics on social media. The iconic motorcycle manufacturer follows John Deere & Co. and Tractor Supply, which both made similar decisions to scratch their diversity programs earlier this summer. In a message posted to X, Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson said it currently has no "DEI function" and has not operated such a program since April 2024. The company added that it has no hiring quotas and no longer has "supplier diversity spend goals" designed to spread...

Donald Trump’s running mate, Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio, maintains that a weaker dollar is necessary for creating more manufacturing jobs. Additionally, in April, former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other Trump advisers floated a proposal to “devalue” the dollar, arguing that a cheaper dollar would boost U.S. exports and reduce the trade deficit. A dollar devaluation would be a radical change in U.S. exchange-rate policy, which, for decades, has been to let the value “float” and be determined by market actors in foreign-exchange markets. It’s far from clear whether a new Trump administration would actually pursue devaluation...

The greed is unreal. When football fans realized that it costs a whopping $679.99 for NFL Sunday Ticket through the Apple Store, or $739.99 if you decide to bundle in NFL RedZone, a ton of them went absolutely bonkers in anger. The ridiculous prices were revealed by NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk, and understandably so, it set off a reaction of rage among the NFL‘s fanbase. And to nobody’s surprise, that $679.99 price tag (or $739.99) to watch through Apple TV, iPads, iPhones and other Apple devices is the highest price out of all streaming services. Because of course it is. It...

Recycling activities for lead-acid batteries. Credit: Dr. Chris Kinally ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New research exposes dangerous lead levels from Malawi’s informal solar battery recycling, calling for urgent waste management reforms. Researchers at The University of Manchester have identified dangerous levels of lead pollution in Malawi due to informal recycling of lead-acid batteries from off-grid solar systems. Common informal recycling activities for lead-acid batteries used in solar energy systems were recorded to release 3.5-4.7 kg of lead pollution from a typical battery, equivalent to more than 100 times the lethal oral dose of lead for an adult. These findings were recently published in...

The slaughter of the family and servants, which took place 100 years ago, was one of the seminal events of the 20th century. ============================================================== At about 1 a.m. on July 17, 1918, in a fortified mansion in the town of Ekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains, the Romanovs—ex-tsar Nicholas II, ex-tsarina Alexandra, their five children, and their four remaining servants, including the loyal family doctor, Eugene Botkin—were awoken by their Bolshevik captors and told they must dress and gather their belongings for a swift nocturnal departure. The White armies, which supported the tsar, were approaching; the prisoners could already hear the...

Right-Click on the Picture, select "Open image in new tab" then use "CTRL" & "+" keys to enlarge the magnification. This truly was a MIRACLE from GOD!....................

Sandia National Laboratories’ four-channel, silicon photonic single-sideband modulator chip, measuring 8 millimeters on each side and marked with a green Sandia thunderbird logo, sits inside packaging that incorporates optical fibers, wire bonds, and ceramic pins. Credit: Craig Fritz, Sandia National Laboratories ==================================================================== A milestone in quantum sensing is drawing closer, promising exquisitely accurate, GPS-free navigation. Peel apart a smartphone, fitness tracker or virtual reality headset, and inside you’ll find a tiny motion sensor tracking its position and movement. Bigger, more expensive versions of the same technology, about the size of a grapefruit and a thousand times more accurate, help navigate...

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed on Telegram on Saturday, “We received a Tesla cybertruck from the respected Elon Musk.” Kadyrov’s claim that he received a Cyberbeast from Elon Musk or Tesla was not independently confirmed. Given that the US State Department has sanctioned Kadyrov over numerous human rights violations, the warlord more than likely bought the vehicle off the black market or through a third party. Video uploaded on Telegram shows the warlord parading the Cyberbeast with a heavy machine gun mounted in the rear bed around Chechnya, a republic within the Russian Federation. Kadyrov said, “I express my sincere...