Free Republic

FORT KNOX EXPOSED: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GOLD INSPECTION? — NO AUDIT, NO TRANSPARENCY, AND WHY DID TRUMP BACK DOWN? Where is America’s gold? Fort Knox hasn’t been fully audited since the 1950s — and in 2025, Trump promised an inspection, then suddenly backed down. No transparency. No answers. Just silence. This investigation asks the question no one in power dares to face: What are they hiding?… ….. Trump Promised Transparency. Then Walked Away. Why? Early in 2025, President Donald J. Trump announced plans to authorize a full audit of Fort Knox — the first in over 70 years. Supporters...

The quintessential ice cream flavour is under threat, and many other dessert staples along with it, according to climate change researchers at the University of Costa Rica and Belgium's KU Leuven university. Increasing climate extremes are changing the habitats of wild vanilla species — primarily found in the tropical regions of Central America — and their mainly animal pollinators, the researchers say. This, in turn, is putting global production of vanilla at risk. In some regions, the plants may find more favourable conditions, but the insects that pollinate them may no longer find suitable habitats, according to the study published...

Former Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of PhinanceTechnologies.com has been forecasting “Danger of Deep Worldwide Recession in 2025.” It looks like his thesis is turning out correct. He predicted interest rates would be declining. They did. And inflation has been going down right along with the economy as illegal immigration was being stopped and deportations ramped up. Dowd says, “Our friend Joe Biden spent anywhere between $500 billion to $2 trillion to bring these people in and set them up. Now, that’s all going the wrong way. Trump has shut down the border crossings, and as...

The Defense Intelligence Agency has produced a 5-page preliminary report on the strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities which concludes the strikes were partially successful but failed to destroy the underground sites. That report seems to have leaked instantly to ever major news agency, starting with CNN.The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources said...Two of the people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of...

Summary Gold seen as biggest winner from dollar diversification Euro seen top currency to benefit in short term - OMFIF survey Yuan favoured by central bankers over a longer time frame Reuters' sources see euro recovering some lost ground quickly Euro share of reserves likely to rise in next few years. LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - The custodians of trillions of dollars of global central bank reserves are eyeing a move away from the greenback into gold, the euro and China's yuan as the splintering of world trade and geopolitical upheaval spark a rethink of financial flows. According to a...

This March, I reported that using advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, scientists from Italy and Scotland claim to have discovered a vast subterranean complex stretching approximately 6500 feet beneath Egypt’s Giza Plateau. Now, these scientists claim they have located a “hidden city” or “vast underground city” discovered beneath Egypt’s Great Pyramids of Giza. According to a team of researchers from Italy and Scotland (led by Corrado Malanga from the University of Pisa and Filippo Biondi from the University of Strathclyde) advanced radar technology has revealed what they describe as a massive subterranean network connecting the pyramids of Khafre, Khufu,...

Scientists have announced a new discovery of an underground city beneath the Egyptian pyramids. The announcement comes just months after the first reports of an underground city beneath Khafre’s pyramid, reports Metro. The latest finds, said to be located beneath the Pyramid of Menkaure, suggest the existence of a large underground complex that may connect all three pyramids at Giza. A team of researchers led by Italian scientist Filippo Biondi previously announced the discovery of columnar structures beneath the Pyramid of Khafre. According to Biondi, tomographic scans now reveal a similar structure beneath the Pyramid of Menkaure. Researchers suggest that...

A new round of trade negotiations between the United States and China has started in London, with both sides trying to preserve a fragile truce brokered last month. The fresh talks were announced last week after a long-anticipated phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which appeared to ease tensions that erupted over the past month following a surprise agreement in Geneva. In May, the two sides agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period. The mood was upbeat. However, sentiment soured quickly over two major sticking points:...

Today my latest book, How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle , is being released. This note is to share what it says in a nutshell. To me, what matters most is conveying understanding at this critically important moment, so I want to pass the key ideas in extreme brevity in this note, as well as comprehensively in the book, and leave it to you decide how deep you want to go. Where I'm Coming FromI have been a global macro investor for over 50 years, have bet on government debt markets for nearly as long, and have done very...

Transgenderism, decadence, sexual deviancy, and moral decay were all present in Rome when the republic became an empire. What could this mean for America, which faces similar problems right now?

Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!

From a Renaissance fresco, “Take Rome as your example if you wish to rule a thousand years; follow the common good, and not selfish ends; and give just counsel like these men.” America isn’t the first country to suffer secular effects from shunning its religious foundation. I was at first surprised to learn that a decline in Roman religious observance played a leading role in Rome’s corruption and fall. In 715 BC, the Roman senate appointed Numa to succeed Rome’s founder, Romulus. He turned to religion to tame a fierce people and bring about civilized society. Perhaps not until the...

1:36 VIDEO AT LINK.............. https://x.com/i/status/1924973995696296323 4 bullets!...............

The U.S. Federal Reserve just pulled off something stealthy — over four days last week, without fanfare, the Fed vacuumed up $43.6 billion in U.S. Treasurys. That’s $8.8 billion in long-dated 30-year bonds on May 8 alone, plus another $34.8 billion earlier in the week. Not exactly small change. Quietly returning to the quantitative-easing trough isn’t standard Fed housekeeping — it’s like a bank robber returning to the scene because he forgot his car keys. Let’s talk straight: This isn’t tightening. It’s stealth easing. It’s monetary policy on tiptoes. Some traders have begun to notice, and smart investors should too....

The U.S. Federal Reserve just pulled off something stealthy — over four days last week, without fanfare, the Fed vacuumed up $43.6 billion in U.S. Treasurys. That’s $8.8 billion in long-dated 30-year bonds on May 8 alone, plus another $34.8 billion earlier in the week. Not exactly small change…. … Commodity traders, in particular, have a nose for monetary sleight-of-hand. Gold GC00, the ultimate financial cynic’s metal, has risen sharply since early 2024. Gold doesn’t believe in politicians, central bankers or economists — even the Ivy League types who wave their hands and promise stability. It believes numbers. But this...

The U.S. Federal Reserve just pulled off something stealthy — over four days last week, without fanfare, the Fed vacuumed up $43.6 billion in U.S. Treasurys. That’s $8.8 billion in long-dated 30-year bonds on May 8 alone, plus another $34.8 billion earlier in the week. Not exactly small change. Quietly returning to the quantitative-easing trough isn’t standard Fed housekeeping — it’s like a bank robber returning to the scene because he forgot his car keys.

The world is on the brink of a climate apocalypse—one caused not by gradual greenhouse emissions but by a sudden exchange of nuclear weapons, a possibility made more salient by the current conflict between India and Pakistan. While the long-term effects of emissions are uncertain, we know that a nuclear war would result in an immediate nuclear winter. When we think about nuclear apocalypse, we tend to think of the immediate effects: thermonuclear explosions that incinerate cities and vaporize populations. But the worst consequences unfold long after the weapons have detonated. A major thermonuclear exchange would shroud the atmosphere in...

Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted on July 9, 1962 as part of a group of tests collectively known as Operation Fishbowl. While Starfish Prime was not the first high-altitude test, it was the largest nuclear test ever conducted by the United States in space. The test led to the discovery and understanding of the nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect and a mapping of seasonal mixing rates of tropical and polar air masses. Key Takeaways: Starfish Prime Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States on July 9, 1962. It was part of Operation...

This July, leaders from across the globe will converge on Rio de Janeiro for what may be the most consequential BRICS summit to date. The stakes are high and the implications global. What was once a modest economic club of emerging nations has transformed into a powerful bloc capable of redefining global power structures. And with a growing list of countries formally applying to join BRICS–and even more expressing interest–it’s clear the world is no longer content to revolve around Washington, Brussels, or London.

Ships of Britain's massive Royal Navy, the largest in the world, inflicted great damage on American ports, property, and vessels during the years of the Revolution (1775–1783). Perhaps none of those ships wreaked more havoc than HMS Phoenix, and it accomplished its devious work not with a cannon but with a printing press. The bodies from the battle on Boston's Bunker Hill were buried just days earlier when the Second Continental Congress authorized the printing of paper money (see "The Times That Tried Men's Economic Souls"). What began with a modest batch of six million in continental dollars turned into...