Free Republic

America’s Brobdingnagian $1.3 trillion national security budget thrives on manufactured threats and falsely demonized foes. or crying out loud. Since the Munich Security Conference in 2007, the man (Putin) has said over and over, and then over again, that Ukraine’s ascension to NATO is an absolute red line. And anyone with their head screwed on right would have no trouble accepting that declaration by answering one simple question. To wit, how would Washington react if Russia put missiles and nukes in Mexico, or Cuba, or Nicaragua, or Granada or Venezuela or even Tierra Del Fuego? The bloated now 31-nation NATO...

The world has just gotten its first real taste of a planet that is 1.5 degrees Celsius — or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit — hotter than preindustrial times. According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, July of this year was the most scorching July on record, clocking in at somewhere between 1.5 and 1.6 Celsius hotter than the average before the widespread use of fossil fuels.

During an interview with the “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” podcast released on Monday, President Joe Biden revealed that sometimes he agrees to criticize world leaders so they can have political cover to do what they want to do. Biden stated, “I get credit for — these days, for sort of holding the international community together and I try to understand the circumstance the other world leader is facing and see if there’s a way — what needs to be done, there’s a way through that he doesn’t or she doesn’t have to make a great sacrifice to do what...

Development of 5 World Trade Center is a go, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced at a press conference Thursday, shortly after a vote by the Public Authorities Control Board. The skyscraper will add 1,200 apartments to the Financial District, with one third of the new units going to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers as well as 9/11 survivors and first responders.

Vice President Harris told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point that they are entering an “increasingly unsettled world” in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and with continued threats around the world. Harris said in her commencement address to the West Point graduates that the world has changed significantly since they began as students at the academy. She noted that the pandemic caused the deaths of millions and “upended” life for many more, the U.S. ended its longest war in Afghanistan and Russia launched the first major European ground war since World War II with its invasion...

Former President Trump on Monday mocked what he called an “emergency Round the World tour” from Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Florida Republican takes off on a multi-stop international trip amid 2024 speculation. “The ‘Consultants’ are sending DeSanctus, and demanding he go immediately, on an emergency Round the World tour of U.S representative population countries, like South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Israel, in order to up his game and see if he can remove the stain from his failing campaign,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Ninety-two-year-old James A. Baker is among America’s most distinguished statesmen. His most significant appointments were as President Reagan’s Treasury secretary and chief of staff and President George H.W. Bush’s secretary of state and closest confidante. Baker also led the legal team in the 2000 election that halted the Florida recount, awarding Bush’s son Florida’s Electoral College votes and the White House. Among our presidents, no other, including Eisenhower, had a resume comparable to George H.W. Bush. Bush had been CIA director; a member of Congress; ambassador to China and the United Nations; and one of the Navy’s youngest fighter pilots...

These guys talk about Cupid and where he c a me from.

Where exactly would the world be without Christianity, capitalism and free markets, and the idea of natural rights? Without...America? Would assembly lines and mass production have ever been thought of? Efficiencies of scale? Abundant and affordable goods of all kinds? What could have brought billions out of poverty in the past several decades? Would someone have eventually discovered electricity? Who would have invented dental floss, hearing aids, cardiac defibrillators, radiocarbon dating, traffic lights, crash test dummies, lasers, LEDs, chemotherapy, microwave ovens, video games, mobile phones, fiber optic cables, email, personal computers, skyscrapers, suspension bridges, airplanes, the phonograph, the light bulb,...

For the first time ever, New York City is the most expensive city in the world sharing the top spot with Singapore, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit annual survey. Both cities have bumped last year’s most costly city, Tel Aviv, down to third place in the survey’s top 10 most expensive cities list. The Big Apple’s new spot as the priciest place to live comes after a year of soaring rent prices in the city. Real estate firm Douglas Elliman released a report earlier this year showing the median price of Manhattan apartments shot up by 25 percent in...

President Biden on Tuesday cheered the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team for its win over Iran in the World Cup at an event in Michigan to promote his economic agenda. Biden, who had wrapped up his speech in Bay City and was mingling with attendees, walked back to the microphone to tell the crowd that the U.S. had won, 1-0. “USA! USA! That’s a big game, man,” Biden said. “When I spoke to the coach and the players, I said, ‘You can do this.’ They went ‘eh.’ They did it, God love ’em. Anyway, just thought you might want to...

You don't have to like soccer to maybe have a little interesting in the Tuesday match between the USA and Iran in the World Cup, in a loser leave town match. I was never a hockey fan until the USA team with a bunch of college players defeated the hated Russians in the 1980 Winter Olympics, I was throwing things at the TV when the hated Russians defeated the USA basketball team in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in an obvious case of cheating. International sports competitions are a lot more fun when the nations playing each other have a hatred...

ROME — Pope Francis railed against systemic injustice Tuesday in an address to members of the World Jewish Congress in the Vatican. “How many human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, are violated in their dignity as the result of the injustice that racks our world and represents the underlying cause of so many conflicts, the swamp that breeds wars and violence!” the pontiff exclaimed. “The One who created all things with order and harmony urges us to reclaim this swamp of injustice that engulfs fraternal coexistence in the world, even as environmental devastations compromise the health...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, Religious Freedom and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set things in order. Be encouraged. Agree with one another. Be at peace. And the God...

In its new report on the outlook for the global economy, the International Monetary Fund confirmed a slowdown for 2022 and was pessimistic about 2023. In identifying the causes of the gloomier forecast, the IMF highlighted Russia’s war in Ukraine, pandemic-related supply disruptions and high inflation expectations.Stagnation, anxiety and rising prices are a recipe for social and political instability. Concern is especially focused on the European Union and whether the bloc can remain united as it confronts these challenges. In times of crisis, the incentives for zero-sum thinking will strengthen, and weak national leaders will be tempted to name scapegoats...

More than half of adults surveyed worldwide said that climate change has already had a severe impact on their lives, a World Economic Forum-Ipsos poll released Thursday revealed. In 34 countries across six continents, 56 percent of the more than 23,500 adults polled responded that they felt such effects. More than a third said they expect to be forced from their homes by climate change within 25 years, while 71 percent agreed that climate change would have somewhat or very severe impacts on their countries within the next decade, according to the survey. “We are in a climate crisis,” Gim...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — People with disabilities in Portland, Oregon, have sued the city, saying they can’t navigate its sidewalks because of sprawling homeless encampments. The federal class action lawsuit says the city has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by allowing homeless people’s tents to block city sidewalks, making it difficult for people using wheelchairs, walkers or canes to use them. “The entire class of persons with disabilities are regularly deprived of the benefits of services of the city of Portland,” said John DiLorenzo, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in...

There’s a food crisis brewing, but you wouldn’t know it with the way the European bureaucracy is behaving. Dutch farmers – who sit as the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world and largest meat exporter in Europe – have brought the Netherlands to a standstill, protesting against Climate Change regulations. The newly elected government has set up a 55-60 per cent emissions goal by 2030, 70 per cent by 2035, and 80 per cent at 2040. To meet these arbitrary climate targets, they have created a self-inflicted disaster that will see the government drag its agricultural sector up the temple...

Countries around the world are facing recession as the Ukraine war hits economies already rocked by the Covid pandemic, the World Bank has warned. Less developed countries in Europe and east Asia face a "major recession", it said. The risk of high inflation and low growth - so-called "stagflation" - is also higher, World Bank President David Malpass said. Energy and food bills have been rising around the world. "The war in Ukraine, lockdowns in China, supply-chain disruptions, and the risk of stagflation are hammering growth. For many countries, recession will be hard to avoid," Mr Malpass said. He also...

The last two years have been tough for just about everyone. President Joe Biden sees a silver lining to that, especially for recent college graduates. Speaking at the Naval Academy’s commencement ceremony in Annapolis on Friday, Biden said that the class of 2022 is particularly well-equipped to change the world due to the graduates’ proven ability to navigate uncertainty. “You faced added challenges to maintain a sense of mission and community and purpose when a global pandemic forced ... literally everything to change,” Biden said. That adaptability has prepared graduates to make sound, informed decisions in an “uncertain world,” Biden...