Free Republic

While the fake news media are trying to convince you that Trump investigating the obvious and blatant corruption of the Biden family in Ukraine is a crime, one of their witnesses declared that Obama danced to Putin's tune. ... Hill testified that Obama refused to provide lethal aid to Ukraine so as to not upset Putin. That's pretty clear evidence that Obama, not Trump, was in Putin's pocket. Hill's testimony also creates problems for the Democrats' impeachment narrative. After all, the elite policy wonks said the U.S. should arm Ukraine to help defeat Russia's invasion, but Obama said he wouldn't...

WALLACE: ...in October of 2002 in which you authorized the use of force, you went further than the president ever did. Let's watch:(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)ROCKEFELLER: I do believe that Iraq poses an imminent threat, but I also believe that after September 11th that question is increasingly outdated.(END VIDEO CLIP)WALLACE: Now, the president never said that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat. As you saw, you did say that. If anyone hyped the intelligence, isn't it Jay Rockefeller?ROCKEFELLER: No. I mean, this question is asked a thousand times and I'll be happy to answer it a thousand times. I took a...

The decline of American mining and production of critical minerals in recent decades is a self-inflicted wound that could imperil our economy and national security. Data from the latest federal geological survey showed the United States has become 99% dependent on imports for at least 20 critical and strategic minerals, not including each of the rare earth minerals, even though we were No.1 in mining output across the world as recently as 1990. Uranium is a perfect case in point. In Western states such as Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska and Texas, the United States has massive domestic...

The Washington Post "Fact Checker" column gave former CIA operative and current Democratic New Mexico congressional candidate Valerie Plame three "Pinocchios" for her claim that former George W. Bush administration official I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby leaked her identity. Plame blamed Libby for the leak in a campaign ad released Monday, but according to the Post's fact-check, there is no evidence he disclosed her role to columnist Robert Novak. Novak wrote the piece that reported that Plame, identified as a CIA operative, suggested sending her husband, Joe Wilson, to Niger to look into a report that Saddam Hussein had sought uranium...

There seems to be a similarity between international trade disputes and Texas Hold’em. There is always a certain amount of bluff that is part of the negotiations. The question is, how much is a bluff and how much is not. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has just revealed that they are going to use their stake in rare earth minerals production as their show card. Make no mistake -- the communist government is not bluffing. However, one good card does not make a winning hand. To understand the problem, we first must understand where rare earth mineral deposits are...

It was recently reported that US President Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland, but what would he actually be getting for his money? Umar Ali takes a look at Greenland’s mineral resources, whether they are worth mining, and why the US could want them. The Kvanefjeld project Greenland currently only has one major mining project, the Kvanefjeld rare earth project launched in 2007. The project is centred on the Ilimaussaq alkaline complex in southwest Greenland, measuring approximately 8km x 15km, it is being developed by Australian company Greenland Minerals. The Kvanefjeld project is thought to be one of the world’s...

SNIP The first includes the national security assessments that the U.S. intelligence community conducted under President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concerning the Russia nuclear giant Rosatom’s effort to acquire uranium business in the United States. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) — made up of Secretary Clinton and eight other senior federal officials — approved Rosatom’s purchase of mining company Uranium One’s U.S. assets in fall 2010, even as the FBI was gathering evidence that the Russian company’s American arm was engaged in bribery, kickbacks and extortion. SNIP A second body of documents...

"U.S. utilities rely on foreign sources for 98 percent of the uranium they use to fuel the nuclear power plants that provide 20 percent of our country’s electricity. Uranium also fuels our nuclear Navy. But instead of buying from the domestic uranium mining companies that once thrived in the West, utilities are enriching adversarial countries like Russia and China. Following their carefully orchestrated geopolitical plan, Russia and its allies flood the global market with uranium from state-owned companies, making it impossible for America and other free-market economies to compete. Meanwhile, quietly and gradually, China has been buying up previously free-market...

Police in Guthrie, Oklahoma say they found a rattlesnake, a canister of radioactive powdered uranium and an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey during a traffic stop of a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The traffic stop happened June 26 in Guthrie, about 30 miles (45 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City. Guthrie police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs told Oklahoma City TV station KFOR that police don't know why the uranium was in the vehicle or how it was obtained, though uranium ore can be bought on Amazon. Gibbs says police also found a gun in the console and a terrarium...

GUTHRIE, Okla. - Two people were arrested after a traffic stop of a stolen car revealed the two had a rattlesnake, radioactive uranium, and an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe. Stephen Jennings is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, transporting an open container of liquor, operating a vehicle with a suspended license, and failure to carry security verification form. Rachael Rivera is charged with possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction. The traffic stop was made at 11 a.m. in a Guthrie neighborhood because the tag was expired. Jennings was in the driver's seat, Rivera in the...

In a news conference broadcast live, senior Iranian officials said Tehran, which has denied seeking nuclear arms, would keep reducing its commitments every 60 days unless signatories of the pact moved to protect it from U.S. sanctions. “Iran has violated its solemn promise under the U.N. Security Council not to enrich uranium beyond a certain level,” he said. “I call on my friends, the heads of France, Britain and Germany — you signed this deal and you said that as soon as they take this step, severe sanctions will be imposed — that was the Security Council resolution. Where are...

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani warned European nations Wednesday that Tehran will "take the next step" in increasing its uranium enrichment closer to weapons-grade levels this coming Sunday if they do not offer a new deal by then, adding that they will increase it to "any amount that we want". Speaking at a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, Rouhani said: "In any amount that we want, any amount that is required, we will take over 3.67. Iran's nuclear deal currently bars it from enriching uranium above 3.67%, which is enough for nuclear power plants but far below the 90% needed for weapons....

"No, no message to Iran," Trump said. "They know what they're doing. They know what they're playing with. And I think the're playing with fire. So no message to Iran whatsoever." Earlier in the day, the semi-official Fars news agency in Iran cited an unnamed source as saying that U.N. inspectors had recently weighed Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium. According to the report, Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium was greater than the 660-pound limit set by the nuclear deal. While uranium enriched to 3.67 percent is usable for nuclear power plants, enrichment closer to 90 percent is needed for atomic...

Full Title: Wake County notifying thousands about possibly unsafe drinking water in private wells. Uranium, radon levels exceed limits. RALEIGH — Wake County is notifying thousands of households on private wells that their drinking water may have unhealthy levels of radiological chemicals like uranium and radon. An estimated one in five private wells in eastern Wake County may exceed safe drinking-water standards for some chemicals, officials said at a Monday news conference. They plan to notify 19,000 property owners by mail starting this week. People don't need to panic, said Evan Kane, the county's groundwater protection and wells manager. The...

A couple of months ago, I posted this write-up here which points out that Richard Bissell Jr. (CIA Director of Plans) was the first cousin (once removed) of Robert Swan Mueller III. (FYI – “removed” is the cousin of a parent. So, your father’s “first cousin” is your “first cousin - once removed.” A “second cousin” is how your child and your first cousin’s child are related.)(Original here) Robert Swan Mueller’s mother, Alice Mueller nee Truesdale, had a sister named Marie Truesdale. Marie Truesdale married Richard M. Bissell Sr. There son, Richard M. Bissell Jr. is therefore the first cousin...

Iran quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity amid tensions with the U.S. over Tehran's atomic program, nuclear officials said Monday, just after President Donald Trump and Iran's foreign minister traded threats and taunts on Twitter. Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, making it usable for a power plant but far below what's needed for an atomic weapon. But by increasing production, Iran soon will exceed the stockpile limitations set by the accord. Tehran has set a July 7 deadline for...

Enough gold, uranium and other heavy elements about equal in mass to all of Earth's oceans likely came to the solar system from the collision of two neutron stars billions of years ago, a new study finds. If the same event were to happen today, the light from the explosion would outshine the entire night sky, and potentially prove disastrous for life on Earth, according to the new study's researchers. Recent findings have suggested that much of the gold and other elements heavier than iron on the periodic table was born in the catastrophic aftermath of colliding neutron stars,...

The Trump–Russia collusion narrative is officially dead, now that special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded there is no evidence of collusion. With the cloud of the Mueller probe lifted, President Donald Trump can now go on the offensive with an attorney general who appears ready to drop the hammer on corruption in Washington. Moreover, Attorney General William Barr doesn’t appear to be intimidated by Democratic lawmakers who have already threatened him with impeachment and even incarceration.

You may vaguely recall that Iran has claimed it never had any bad intent for its uranium enrichment program. So it’s very odd that when the country is upset the threat it resorts to is enriching more uranium. From the BBC: Iran has suspended commitments under the 2015 international nuclear deal, a year after it was abandoned by the US.President Hassan Rouhani said he would keep enriched uranium stocks in the country rather than sell them abroad.He also threatened to resume production of more-highly-enriched uranium in 60 days if other signatories did not act to protect Iran from US...

The former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration’s recent escalation of tensions with Iran – saying she “can’t imagine a more dangerous situation than the one we’re in now.” Speaking at Dartmouth College, Clinton said the Trump administration’s recent sanctions against Iran and the deployment of an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf have only served to further erode relations between Washington and Tehran that started when the United States withdrew from the controversial, Obama-era nuclear deal. “Now we have an administration that doesn’t believe in agreements,” Clinton said. “The Iranians have...