Free Republic

In a new study published in PLOS Biology, researchers have discovered that human tears possess the remarkable ability to reduce aggression in men. This finding not only challenges the long-held belief that tears are merely for eye protection but also suggests that they play a significant role in human social interaction.The study was motivated by the long-standing mystery surrounding the purpose of human emotional tears. While Charles Darwin once thought weeping to be an incidental result of evolution, more recent research has indicated that tears could serve as a form of social chemosignaling – a way of conveying chemical signals...

MOSCOW/VILNIUS, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russian police have put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuania's culture minister, and members of the previous Latvian parliament on a wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments, according to the Russian interior ministry's database. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kallas was wanted for the "desecration of historical memory". Russian state agency TASS said the Baltic officials were accused of "destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers", acts that are punishable by a five-year prison term under the Russian criminal code. *snip* The Baltic governments regard the monuments as propaganda tools constructed by their former imperial overlords. "The...

Estonia’s domestic security agency said on Tuesday that it had apprehended 10 people suspected of sabotage and of spreading fear and creating tension within the Baltic country in a coordinated "hybrid operation" by Russia’s special services. Among the suspects — detained between December and February — are individuals believed to have broken the car windows of Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets and a local journalist in December, the Estonian Internal Security Service said. "The information currently collected in criminal proceedings indicate that the Russian special service had coordinated a hybrid operation against the security of the Republic of Estonia, involving the...

The truth is that China’s maritime provocations in the South China Sea will continue until war ensues.As America, and much of the world, remains focused on conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to ramp up its bellicose actions in the South China Sea and in the waters and airspace around Taiwan.The PRC’s use of water cannons — capable of inflicting fatal injuries — against Philippine resupply vessels seeking to reach a Philippine outpost in Philippine waters; engaging in dangerous maneuvers at sea and in the air; and aggressively employing “gray-zone” tactics with...

President Biden on Tuesday called on United Nation members to stand up to “naked aggression” against Ukraine by Russia, arguing that if Ukraine was not protected, no nation would feel protected. “Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected if we allow Ukraine to be carved up? Is the independence of any nation secure?” he said. “The answer is no. We must stand...

RANCHO DEL CIELO, Calif. — Arriving at the Reagan Ranch in California’s Santa Ynez mountains is like stepping back in time to the 1980s. The 40th president’s Western White House is privately owned by the Young America’s Foundation, which invites high school and college students to visit and learn about the Reagan legacy. There are no exhibits or velvet ropes. Everything remains as it was when the Reagans lived here, from Nancy’s handwritten instructions for operating the TV remote to the jar of “Brim” freeze-dried coffee in the kitchen.

It was in this month, one hundred and fifty-seven years ago, that the Civil War ended. I have seen afficionados of both sides lament what happened, while they might argue over who was right, and what was lost. I am not an aficionado of the Lost Cause Theory. While some defenders of Dixie claim the issue was states’ rights, the chief underlying cause of the war was slavery. In his "Cornerstone Speech" of March 21, 1861, Confederate VP Alexander H. Stephens' stated bluntly that slavery was the very foundation of Southern society. Four states: Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina,...

President Biden was photographed biking at Gordons Pond State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Sunday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of a potential "third world war." Biden has faced criticism before for retreating to his home in Delaware as geopolitical tensions continue to rise amid the Russian onslaught against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a "military operation" in Ukraine's Donbas region He urges Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine to lay down weapons and return to their homes Putin warns that Moscow's response will be "instant" if anyone tries to take on Russia Ukraine's foreign minister accuses Russia of starting a full-scale war, and urges the UN "to do everything possible" to stop it BBC Kyiv correspondent James Waterhouse says a Ukrainian government official has given an indication of the breadth of the Russian military action so far. The official says there have been cruise missile strikes launched this morning...

Russian forces will carry out 'special military operation' in Ukraine, says Putin Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia will carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Reuters reports. In an address to the Russian people under way now and coinciding with the United nations security council meeting, the Russian president also said: Clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces are “inevitable” and “only a question of time”. Further nato expansion and its use of Ukraine’s territory are unacceptable The Russian military operation aims to “protect people” Circumstances “demand decisive action from Russia”

Monday on FNC’s “Your World,” former CIA Director and White House chief of staff Leon Panetta proposed the United States should retaliate against Russian aggression by using cyber warfare. Cavuto asked Panetta that given Russia was one of the most sanctioned countries in the world, if there was anything else the United States could do.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday, delivered three strong signals that he intends to invade Ukraine. Addressing military commanders and intelligence chiefs at the Defense Ministry, Putin offered a preemptive casus belli to justify invading Ukraine in order to address an existential threat to Russia. The Russian leader warned that the United States "will supply Ukraine with hypersonic weapons," which would reduce the nuclear strike launch-to-target time against Moscow to "five minutes." This, Putin insisted, would pose "the most serious threat" to Russia's security. One that means "we simply have nowhere to retreat further." Note the explicitly existential nature of...

RUSSIA has warned war is 'highly likely' with Ukraine following orders to troops to remain 'combat ready' after speculation of a Ukrainian invasion. The Kremlin has said that Kiev's desire to retake Crimea is "direct threat", as the US vows to respond following growing reports of a Russian invasion. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have been escalating over recent weeks, with Moscow having massed troops within striking distance of its neighbour’s borders. Vladimir Putin has also ordered US officials to leave Russia immediately amid fears he plans to order an invasion of Ukraine, before the end of January. Ukrainian President...

Even prior to the stunning display of American failure in Afghanistan, President Biden appeared slow-witted and spineless on crucial U.S. national security matters.For example, Biden handed Russia’s Vladimir Putin gift after gift: extending the START Treaty, lifting Nord Stream 2 pipeline sanctions despite bipartisan legislation and essentially surrendering Ukraine to Russia. During the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva, Biden was tougher with an American journalist than with Putin. After Biden’s advisers and the first lady told the press how extensively he prepared for the meeting, he cut it short.Biden also responded to the several major cyberattacks traced to Russia—including the meat...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed on Friday a Border Patrol agent who was patrolling near the Rio Grande in the El Paso Sector fired upon from two individuals on the Mexican side of the border. The agent took cover and was not hit. In a statement, CBP said around 20 rounds from a rifle were used to shoot at the agent: "On August 6, 2021, at approximately 3 AM, a BPA assigned to an area east of the Jonathan Rogers Water Treatment Plant reported hearing gunshots near his location and immediately drove to cover behind an obstruction. Camera...

Biden’s official Twitter account later posted, "The rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do. The choice is yours." The tweet was quickly picked up by some influential users. Glenn Greenwald, the journalist, retweeted Biden’s comment and posted, "This is not actually a rule." The tweet also raised questions about children who don't have the approval to receive the vaccines. Dana Hull, a Bloomberg reporter, tweeted, "Really hard for parents who have kids under 12 to square this." The Biden administration has been focused on getting more Americans to sign up for COVID-19 vaccines that...

How many times did your parents make you go outside and play? You should call and thank them... A new study suggests vitamin D might also might lead to aggressive behavior in adolescents. University of Michigan researchers say they have found a link between vitamin D deficiency in young kids and aggression in adolescents. According to their study of schoolchildren in Bogotá, Columbia, almost young kids with low levels of the vitamin were nearly twice as likely to exhibit aggression as they got older. "Children who have vitamin D deficiency during their elementary school years appear to have higher scores...

After an evaluation of the country's armed forces showed that the German Army would not be ready for combat operations until 2031 at the earliest, Chancellor Angela Merkel made an impassioned plea to the global community to postpone any planned attacks on Germany until 2032 or later. "We are in worse shape than the bourgeois democracies that were crushed by the blitzkrieg Germany sprung on them in 1939," the Chancellor confessed. "It would be unsporting for others to emulate the underhanded tactics that enabled our army to overrun most of Europe in the early stages of World War II." Merkel...

The second comes from The Atlantic’s Emma Green. Detailing the findings of a survey conducted by her magazine and the Public Religion Research Institute, she notes that 61 percent of white working-class men view college as a “risky gamble.” Green’s report contained this explanation: “The enduring narrative of the American dream is that if you study and get a college education and work hard, you can get ahead,” said Robert P. Jones, the CEO of PRRI. “The survey shows that many white working-class Amer­icans, especially men, no longer see that path available to them. . . . It is this sense of economic fatalism,...

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem slammed US Special Envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt for saying that Hamas should relinquish control of Gaza. "American envoy Jason Greenblatt's attack on Hamas and its leadership, and its demand that the movement surrender its weapons, are a continuation of the American partnership with the occupation, with aggression against our people," Maariv cited Kassem as saying. "This provides coverage for its crimes, use the terms of the occupation itself, and prove his participation in the Israeli propaganda apparatus, which justifies the continuation of the cruel Israeli siege on Gaza." Kassem's words come in response...