Free Republic

The United States and our allies have a waning opportunity to preserve peace through strength. But we must be willing to do something that was just some years ago unthinkable: combat the true engine of our enemies’ power, the Chinese economy. Chinese Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping has undertaken "the largest military buildup since World War II," in the words of former Indo-Pacific Command head Adm. John Aquilino. Xi has also fortified the Chinese economy against international sanctions and told his generals to prepare for war. Simultaneous with a robust policy of military deterrence, America and our allies must...

In November 2023 we we visited Çatalhöyük as part of the Göbekli Tepe to Stonehenge project (https://buymeacoffee.com/prehistoryguys). We were not there for long, but as you can imagine, we were left with a lasting impression.Here we present an introduction to and an overview of the site - coupled with our own personal observations and reflections. We hope you find it valuable and enlightening. For too long, it has lived in the shadow of the other Turkish mega-site some 500 miles to the east! Çatalhöyük: "it's about the people" - 7,000 BC mega-site revealed. | 35:20The Prehistory Guys | 84K subscribers...

The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE), in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), is currently investigating a human case of plague based on preliminary test results. The plague bacterium, known as Yersinia pestis, can be transmitted by fleas and wild rodents, such as prairie dogs, squirrels, rats, and rabbits. According to the CDC, “Humans usually become infected through the bite of an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal. Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but these must be given promptly to prevent serious illness or death.” Symptoms of plague...

The U.S. trade deficit widened for a second straight month in May amid a decline in exports, indicating that trade likely remained a drag on economic growth in the second quarter. The trade deficit increased 0.8 per cent to $75.1 billion, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Wednesday. Data for April was revised slightly to show the trade gap rising to $74.5 billion instead of $74.6 billion as previously reported.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have conducted dozens of attacks on commercial ships transiting the Red Sea, endangering civilian crews and threatening freedom of navigation through a critical global transportation route. The Houthis are non-state actors in Yemen who have used Iran’s support to gradually expand their military capabilities since at least 2015.In early December 2023, the Houthis threatened to attack any ships that they believed were heading to Israeli ports, though many of their attacks both before and since have been against civilian ships with either tenuous or no known Israeli affiliations or port calls. Since mid-December 2023, the...

Southern California appeared to be under siege from a blockade. More than 50 enormous vessels bobbed in the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean, marooned off the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. As days stretched into weeks, they waited their turn to pull up to the docks and disgorge their cargo. Rubberneckers flocked to the water’s edge with binoculars, trying to count the ships that stretched to the inky horizon. This was no act of war. This was what it looked like when the global economy came shuddering to a halt. ...Given the scale of container...

This month, rumors about the petrodollar have spread like wildfire all over the Internet. Some of what is being said is true, and some of what is being said is false. When other sources were reporting on “the death of the petrodollar”, I was asked why I was not writing about it. Well, the truth is that I was not writing about it because the petrodollar is not dead. It is certainly in trouble, but it is not dead. Today, most oil continues to be sold in U.S. dollars, and most global trade continues to be conducted in U.S. dollars....

One of the defining features of former President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was his – at least at the time – unorthodox opinions on trade. With the notable exception of Bernie Sanders, the other candidates parroted the longstanding bipartisan consensus on free trade. Trump promoted protectionist policies and tariffs.“We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country, and that’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world,” Trump said at a 2016 campaign rally in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In his remarks on the campaign trail, you could hear echoes of his interviews from the...

The war in Ukraine has exposed the fabled prowess of Russian weaponry as a myth and scared off its leading overseas client. India — the world’s biggest arms importer — is drastically reducing dependence on Russian weapons, and is unlikely to make any new purchases from Russia. Earmarking $100 billion for future procurement, this now leaves a potential opening for Western arms manufacturers. Over the last 20yrs, India spent $60 billion on weapons from Russia, but the imports have been steadily declining, going from 76% 2009–2013 to just 36% in the last five years And according to Indian defense experts,...

CHANCAY, Peru—In this serene town on South America’s Pacific coast, China is building a megaport that could challenge U.S. influence in a resource-rich region that Washington has long considered its backyard.... ...The U.S. worries that China’s control over what could become South America’s first true global commercial hub will allow Beijing to further strengthen its grip over the region’s resources, deepen its influence among America’s closest neighbors and eventually plant its military nearby.... Peru’s Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea said...“The United States is present almost everywhere in the world with a lot of initiatives, but not so much in Latin America,”...

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/europe-hell-bent-forcing-us-companies-woke-has-new-law-just In May, officials in the European Union finalized a sweeping new law that will radically change business activities around the world and, by extension, the societies they operate in. The law, formally titled the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), will not only apply to companies that are based in the European Union, but also to businesses headquartered in other countries that provide products and services in the EU.

This photo shows BYD electric cars awaiting to be loaded onto a ship at the international container terminal of Taicang Port at Suzhou Port, eastern Jiangsu Province, China, Sept. 11, 2023. (AFP Photo) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Biden administration is reportedly set to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plan. Tariffs on electric vehicles, in particular, could quadruple from the existing 25% to 100%. The people described the plan on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide...

“Trade Compliance” is a subset of regulatory compliance, focused primarily on export controls and the Customs rules concerning importing and duty assessment. Outside of the occasional discovery of illegal Chinese copies of branded gym shoes, or the even rarer news story about a company caught selling technology to the Iranians or North Koreans, this specialty rarely makes the mainstream news. An exception occurred as April, 2024 came to an end: the Federal Trade Commission announced a record fine against an American retail chain, Williams-Sonoma, and its subsidiaries (including Rejuvenation, Goldtouch, and the Pottery Barn family), for violations of the FTC’s...

The Biden Administration has become quickly and justly infamous for damaging American industry in every way possible. If there’s a way to make it difficult or impossible for Americans to make lawful products or provide lawful services, if there’s a way for them to force American manufacturing out of America and into the waiting arms of our enemies, they’ve discovered and implemented it. This is nowhere as true as in the energy and firearm sectors. Graphic: Lake City Army Ammunition Plant Pallet.This morning [04-25-24], a briefing will be held by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)...

President Joe Biden's planned $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects has been slammed as a giveaway to China, which is flooding America with low-cost clean energy panels. Biden was set to unveil the grants in Virginia on Monday, part of the annual Earth Day celebrations. They will help some 900,000 low- and middle-income households install solar arrays on homes and community gardens.

The president made the announcement in an address to union workers in Pennsylvania.President Joe Biden called for tripling tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum Wednesday when he spoke to union members in battleground Pennsylvania. In remarks at the headquarters of the United Steel Workers, Biden said that China was "cheating" in its steel trade practices and that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative — the federal agency charged with developing U.S. trade policy — is investigating the Chinese government's practices tied to the trade of steel and aluminum. "If that investigation confirms these anti-competitive trade practices, then I’m calling...

President Biden argued that it never occurred to former President Trump to take a competitive stance against China, while rolling out a slew of actions Wednesday intended to protect the U.S. steel industry from Chinese exports. Biden was in Pittsburgh at the United Steelworkers headquarters touting the new actions, which involves him calling on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to consider tripling the existing 7.5 percent tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum imports. The president also said to boost competition with China, he has revitalized partnerships in the Pacific with countries like India, Australia, South Korea, the...

Hamas has told negotiators it does not have 40 Israeli hostages that it can release as part of a temporary cease-fire deal with Israel, a source familiar with the talks confirmed to The Hill. The admission raises questions over how many of the remaining hostages kidnapped Oct. 7 are alive and who is holding them. Israel says 129 hostages out of more than 240 abducted that day — mostly Israelis and dual nationals — have yet to be released. The Biden administration is pushing a plan to have Israel and Hamas agree to a six to eight week cease-fire that...

Greece would “of course” be interested in purchasing Canada’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) if the resource could be made available to the Mediterranean country, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says. Mitsotakis sat down with CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in Montreal for an exclusive interview airing Sunday, during the prime minister’s visit to Canada over the weekend. Canada has eight LNG projects “in various stages of development,” according to Natural Resources Canada. The first export facility is slated to begin operations next year with shipments destined for some Asian countries. But whether Canada can and should plan to also...

Amos Miller, an Amish farmer in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, will be allowed to sell his raw milk products out-of-state following a ruling this week by Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle. Attorney and podcast host Robert Barnes, who represents Miller in the case, labeled the decision a “major win” for the farmer. “Court agreed to modify injunction so that it only applies within the state of Pennsylvania removing the ban on sales to customers outside state,” he wrote, thanking Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for their support. ...........