Free Republic

President Trump has just ousted Sergio Gor, the man many believe to be the Hatchet Man behind the sabotage of the Trump/Musk relationship. Sergio Gor previously served as director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, controlling hiring and firing across the administration — a role that carries significant power. But Gor is now out, being moved to be the Ambassador to India. You gotta love President Trump’s sense of humor…he finds out Gor has been (allegedly) stabbing him in the back and sabotaging his most important relationships to President Trump sends him to go live in that shithole named India...

The actor-comedian details his experience at the event: "Definitely one of the top three experiences I've ever had ... I think it's going to lead to a lot of positive things."Bill Burr took to his podcast to give a detailed rundown of his experience last week in the Middle East, where he performed at the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival. The actor-comedian described rather nervously warming up for the event with a set in Bahrain to get a feel for what an audience in the region would find funny (and acceptable) and then performing at the Saudi Arabia festival’s opening night...

The NYPD had suspected New Jersey’s Masjid Omar Mosque, where jihadist Sayfullo Saipov reportedly worshipped, of having radical ties for over 10 years, allegedly keeping all its worshippers under watch. Moreover, the FBI, which claims it had nothing to do with monitoring the mosque, interviewed Saipov as a potential Islamic terrorist in 2015, but ultimately let him go. On Tuesday, Uzbek national Saipov killed eight people and injured at least 11 in a vehicle attack on the West Side of Manhattan on Tuesday. “The New York Police Department has secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorist organizations, a designation that allows...

Responsibility for the attack? Sayfullo Saipov, the 29-year-old Uzbekistan-born ISIS operative who killed eight people after driving a truck down a crowded bicycle path in New York City, worshipped at a mosque around the corner from his and his family’s Paterson, New Jersey residence, Masjid Omar bin al-Khattab. The mosque has been associated with a website that advocates committing violence against others. Because of this fact, the mosque itself should be considered a party to Saipov’s horrific crime. On October 31st, Halloween, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, an Uber driver with known residences in Tampa, Florida and Paterson, New Jersey, drove a...

Sayfullo Saipov’s neighbors and acquaintances have been coming forward to paint a portrait of the suspected New York City terrorist. One Tampa neighbor casually dropped a remarkable detail deep in a Washington Post story on Wednesday: a group of “about 30 men, young and old, gathered at Saipov’s house to pray” on “most weekends.”

The sister of truck-driving terrorist Sayfullo Saipov says her brother was “brainwashed” and should be spared death. Umida Saipova said her Uber driver brother had a normal phone conversation with their mother the day before the attack — telling her that he was eating her favorite pastry while driving to the airport to pick up a client. “He was in a good mood. It was a usual, good conversation,” Saipova told Radio Free Europe from her home in Uzbekistan. “We don’t know who has brainwashed him.” Saipova admitted that the family grew concerned when they noticed that Sayfullo Saipov, 29,...

A worshipper who knew terror truck driver Sayfullo Saipov and attended the same mosque says he 'totally gets what he did'. Abu Mohammad, who stopped to talk to DailyMail.com after leaving afternoon prayer service at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, New Jersey, on Wednesday, said he last saw the suspect at the mosque about two months ago and first set eyes on him there two years back. 'I didn't know him by name, but I would see him there every two to three months,' the 46-year-old Pakistani national, said. A cement mixer by trade and living in the U.S. now...

As I write this, a few facts are starting to trickle out about Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, the man who committed the terrorist attack in Manhattan using a rented Home Depot truck on October 31, killing eight and injuring nearly a dozen more innocent people. (See, for instance, here and here.) First, we are told that he is Uzbek, having arrived in the United States from Uzbekistan "legally" in 2010. Second, some outlets have suggested that he may be married with two children, but I haven't seen any multiple verifications of that. Third, he appears to have been a Uber driver...

While the development of agriculture is often associated with the Fertile Crescent, past research has shown that farming actually developed independently at different times and places around the world, including Africa, the Americas, and eastern Asia. New evidence from a cave in southern Uzbekistan continues to show that the advent and spread of agricultural technology is more complicated than originally thought, according to a statement released by the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Recent archaeological work in Toda Cave uncovered evidence that the region's inhabitants were already engaging in sophisticated harvesting practices 9,200 years ago. Wear patterns on stone tools...

The move to develop the Amu Darya field aligns with the Taliban’s goal of self-sufficiency, but can the cash-strapped regime go it alone?In late July, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government decided to pursue unilateral development of the Amu Darya oil field, at least for the time being. It seems unlikely the cash-strapped regime will be able to maximize the potential of the oil field without foreign investment, but it will still be able to collect millions of dollars in revenue by going it alone. The move aligns with the Taliban’s oft stated goal of self-sufficiency. However, international investors may be troubled by...

All detainees had previously attempted illegal border crossings and are now awaiting deportation proceedings.. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman confirmed Tuesday that five Iranians were arrested while attempting to illegally cross the U.S. northern border with Canada. "On July 1, Border Patrol Agents from the Champlain, New York Station, responded to suspicious activity near Mooers Forks, NY," CBP's Swanton Sector said on Facebook. "Agents located a minivan occupied by five citizens of Iran and two citizens of Uzbekistan." The Champlain Station is part of the Swanton Sector. Swanton is a rural town in Vermont near Highway 89 just...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday downplayed US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Russia and its trading partners, asserting that Moscow is well equipped to withstand additional sanctions. -snip- "We would like to understand what is behind this statement after about 50 days. Earlier, there were also deadlines of 24 hours and 100 days; we’ve seen it all and really would like to understand the motivation of the US president," he said. Lavrov also said the SCO countries have reiterated their commitment to Iran’s legitimate right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "We...

The Times of Central Asia reports that archaeologists from the National Museum of Tajikistan made a number of significant discoveries at the site of Khalkajar near the village of Sarband. Among them was a unique two-handled ceramic jug dating from the time of the Kushan Empire, which was one of the most influential and powerful states of ancient Central Asia that encompassed parts of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Dating to between the first and third century a.d, the vessel contains a faint painted inscription written in the Bactrian language. Linguistic experts determined that it reads, "This water...

At least three transport planes from China reportedly flew to Iran in the three days after Israel began attacking Iran’s nuclear program and military command structure, their cargoes and missions unknown. The UK Telegraph reported on Tuesday that all three of the cargo planes “flew westward along northern China, crossing into Kazakhstan, then south into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan,” and then dropped off radar screens as they approached Iran. All three of the planes apparently filed false flight plans that showed their destination as Luxembourg, but none of them flew anywhere near Europe. Later flights from the same region did head...

- Ahmed Khalifan Ghailani, a/k/a "Foopie," is a diminutive Tanzanian with an Uzbeki wife, six children and a deep hatred of America and Western culture in general. A devout Muslim who plays a mean game of soccer but never learned to drive a car, Ghailani is also believed to be a key al Qaeda player who U.S. agents think is involved in a percolating terror plot aimed at disrupting America's upcoming elections. He had a $25 million price on his head as the FBI's No. 7 most-wanted terrorist - the same amount as the bounty for the capture of Osama...

WASHINGTON - The trafficking of human beings constitutes a ''growth industry'' in the United States, with more than 15,000 people forced into bondage each year as sex slaves or captive laborers, according to testimony before a Senate panel on Wednesday. Although federal laws enacted over the past three years have enabled prosecutors to crack major trafficking rings, two U.S. attorneys and leaders of victim advocacy groups warned that ''modern-day slavery'' is spread across the nation and appears to be growing. ''It seems like we're just touching the tip of the iceberg,'' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who presided at Wednesday's...

The spread of Chinese overseas police service stations around the world raises concerns among human rights campaigners. The Chinese government is opening illegal police posts all over the world. China claims that these posts are capable of cracking down on global and multinational crimes. These checkpoints have been opened in many countries around the world including developed countries like Canada and Ireland. According to local media reports, Fuzhou has established informal police service stations affiliated with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) across Canada. At least three of these stations are located in the Greater Toronto Area only. Chinese Police Station...

Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked his wartime minister of defence and replaced him with a trusted political ally who took part in failed peace talks last year with Russia.The dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov, who has headed Ukraine’s defence ministry since Russia invaded in February 2022, needs to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.“I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large,” Mr Zelensky said.The 57-year-old Mr Reznikov became one of the most high-profile Ukrainians of the war, representing Ukraine at Nato meetings and dozens of bilateral talks to secure...

The upcoming summit in Samarkand will bring together for the first time the leaders of the five Central Asian countries and the European Union. Following years of reform and European assistance, the five Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - are embarking on a strategic pivot towards Europe. The EU is seeking reliable partners in the current rapidly changing geopolitical reality. This is for political and also economic reasons, such as trade, investment and energy. On Thursday and Friday, the Uzbek city of Samarkand will host the first-ever high level meeting between the EU and the...

House Republicans brought the receipts to this week's "USAID Betrayal" hearing exposing the U.S. international aid agency's widespread waste and abuse of American tax dollars. Amid intense examination of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s spending spree, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), a majority member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, listed off more ways USAID has wasted taxpayer money. [snip] According to the congressional committee's findings, USAID spent: $11.75 million on measuring the effectiveness of DEI promotion efforts in Nepal (Award ID #AID367C1500001); $750,000 on Princeton University's DEI survey in the Middle East (Award ID #7200AA21C00087); $859,000 on hiring...