Free Republic

The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT

A Chinese woman has been arrested and charged over the theft of gold from the Natural History Museum in Paris, in one of several recent high-profile break-ins targeting French cultural institutions, a prosecutor said Tuesday. The theft — by what the museum's director at the time said was an "extremely professional team" — took place on Sept. 16, a little over a month before an audacious jewelry heist at the world-famous Louvre museum on Sunday. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested in Barcelona on Sept. 30 over the Natural History Museum break-in and theft of gold worth more than $1...

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are due to meet in South Korea next week. However, it is uncertain whether they actually will. Such is the shocking state of the world’s most important relationship. For weeks, America and China have been lashing out at each other. America has tightened tech-export restrictions and threatened higher tariffs; China has wielded sanctions and restrictions on rare earths. The two sides communicate poorly. In the White House there is a belief that America has the upper hand in this test of nerves and pain-tolerance. Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, says China is “weak”. But the...

Oil prices jumped and energy companies helped the FTSE 100 to a record high after Donald Trump announced new sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil producers.Brent crude increased by 5.2% to $65.83 a barrel – a two-week high – after the news of the fresh restrictions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as the US president ramps up pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.The jump in oil price also boosted shares in the energy companies Shell and BP by about 3%, which in turn helped to drive the FTSE 100 to a record high of 9,594.82.

In recent weeks, the world has witnessed a defining moment in the Xi Jinping era—a moment when the full weight of China’s political and military machinery has turned inward. From sweeping purges within the People’s Liberation Army to the Communist Party’s latest five-year planning session, it is clear that Xi is tightening the reins of control across every lever of state and society. Xi Jinping is not merely the head of state; he is the state. As General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, President of the People’s Republic, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, he holds the...

DONALD Trump has just blown a hole in Vladimir Putin’s warchest – and the shockwaves are already rippling through Moscow, Beijing and New Dehli. In a move branded by the Kremlin as “an act of war”, the US President slapped sweeping sanctions on Russia’s oil titans Rosneft and Lukoil – and within hours, the pain began to bite. Global oil prices surged nearly five per cent overnight, China’s state oil giants froze Russian purchases and India – Moscow’s biggest remaining lifeline — is preparing to slash imports. For Putin, the timing couldn’t be worse. His forces are still pounding Ukraine,...

Four major state-owned Chinese oil companies have suspended their purchases of seaborne Russian oil in response to the new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on Rosneft and Lukoil, according to a Reuters report, citing anonymous trade sources. The suspension, if confirmed, would put Russia under major economic pressure to end its war on Ukraine. China is a key strategic partner of Russia. Beijing's large-scale oil purchases have aided Moscow through punishing Western sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine. The four oil firms involved are PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, and Zhenhua Oil, per Reuters.

Is national security just getting in the way of business? A conservative consumer watchdog group has launched a campaign against one of the largest insurance companies in the US. Consumers’ Research has skillfully pointed out how Chubb Limited and its CEO Evan Greenberg only seem to be committed to “values” when promoting radical woke programs in America. Where are those values, though, when it’s time for lucrative business with China?Two new websites have been created, ChinaChubb.com and WokeChubb.com, detailing the Consumers’ Research accusations. Greenberg’s tight connections to China date back to his father, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the former CEO...

Put this in the ‘beyond ridiculous’ file that explains the current situation of a contracting European economy; specifically, in the auto sector.Europe has fines associated with the production of gasoline powered engines if the auto company doesn’t hit targets for sales of electric vehicles. The fines triggered this year. In order to avoid paying the European fines the auto makers are forming alliances with Chinese EV makers to purchase carbon credit offsets.In essence, EU car companies buy Chinese car company carbon credits, to avoid the EU fines. The Chinese car companies can then use the carbon credit revenue to subsidize...

The Chinese semiconductor industry faces a critical barrier in scaling up chip production, primarily due to the lack of lithography equipment in fabs. This limitation has confined firms like SMIC to a specific production volume and prevented them from scaling up significantly for several years now. Apart from developing in-house alternatives, it seems like Chinese engineers were actually keen to 'reverse engineer' ASML's DUV equipment, according to a report from The National Interest. Now, in the process of opening up the equipment, the individuals broke down the DUV machinery. This is actually interesting and hilarious at the same time. While...

Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to America, who trash talked Trump in the past found himself getting some payback in the Oval Office duding the US/Australia meeting. Not a great idea to get into fights with Trump, Chuckle.

President Trump tore into a foreign ambassador on Monday who badmouthed him in the past after signing a multibillion-dollar, rare-earth and critical minerals deal with visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “Did an ambassador say something bad about me?” Trump asked Albanese when a journalist mentioned Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd’s prior remarks vilifying the 45th and 47th president. “Where is he? Is he still working for you?” Albanese informed Trump that Rudd, a former prime minister and Australia’s top diplomat in Washington since 2023, was sitting across the table, prompting Trump to ask, “You said bad? “Before I took this...

The U.S. doesn’t produce the minerals and metals needed for renewable energy, microchips or military technology. Authorities want to change that as quickly as possible.Major oil companies are drilling in East Texas again, but not for oil. This time, they're after lithium for batteries and other rare elements.Chevron and Halliburton announced East Texas projects this summer. Exxon has acreage across the border in Arkansas. Smackover Lithium, a joint venture of a Norwegian oil giant and a Canadian miner, announced in late September the discovery of the most lithium-rich fluids ever reported in North America, measured deep beneath its Texas claims...

Why Washington Must Accelerate the U.A.E. Chip PartnershipThe United States and China are locked in a technology cold war. Beijing’s latest move—restricting exports of rare earth minerals critical to advanced manufacturing of everything from semiconductors to defense systems—shows that China is willing to weaponize every advantage it has. But the trade war is only part of the story. China’s quest to become a hegemonic power runs through the Gulf, where it seeks to establish a military presence to secure energy and shipping routes vital to its economy. For years, Beijing has courted the region’s energy and capital-rich states through the...

Amoxicillin might strike you as a pretty standard and easy-to-obtain antibiotic—and it is, because of China. An analysis published Wednesday revealed that nearly 700 US medicines contain at least one chemical sourced exclusively from China. The New York Times explains that drug production is a multistep process that begins with the creation of foundational chemicals (Key Starting Materials, or KSMs, per the study), which are then used to make active ingredients, which are then combined to make the ultimate drug. The study, conducted by the nonprofit US Pharmacopeia, explains that the KSM part is the China-heavy one. The chemicals in...

"We're going to be signing an agreement that's been negotiated over a period of four or five months."WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump on Monday signed a critical minerals and rare earths deal with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling the leader a trusted friend and steadfast ally.Under the deal, the U.S. and Australian governments will invest more than $3 billion in critical mineral projects over the next six months, “with recoverable resources in the projects estimated to be worth $53 billion,” according to the White House. The Department of War will also invest in constructing a “100 metric ton-per-year advanced gallium...

Nvidia, the American semiconductor giant, has seen its dominance in China’s advanced chip market vanish, with its market share dropping from 95% to Zero due to stringent US export controls, according to CEO Jensen Huang. Speaking at a Citadel Securities event in New York earlier this month, Huang revealed that Nvidia is completely barred from selling its high-performance AI chips, including the A100, H100, and H200 models, to Chinese companies since restrictions began in 2022. A video of the interview was released recently. Huang expressed hope for a policy shift, stating, “We will continue to explain and inform and hold...

China has purged the number two general in the People’s Liberation Army and eight other senior commanders, in a big shake-up by President Xi Jinping as he intensifies his anti-corruption drive within the military.Xi formally fired General He Weidong, the junior of two vice-chairs of the six-member Central Military Commission. The removal was the first time in six decades that such a high-ranking general has been purged while in office.He Weidong was third in command of the PLA, which is led by Xi in his capacity as chair of the CMC. He was also a member of the Communist party’s...

On October 17, China's Ministry of National Defense announced that the Communist Party's Central Committee and Central Military Commission had, after investigations, removed nine senior officers from their posts in the People's Liberation Army.Pictured: General He attends the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 4, 2025.The stunning announcement occurred on the eve of the long-delayed Fourth Plenum of the Party's 20th Central Committee, scheduled to start tomorrow, October 20, and continue for four days. On the agenda are crucial economic matters, including the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, which covers the rest of the...

China is the target. Venezuela is the stage. That is the core claim in OAN‘s Chanel Rion’s latest report about President Trump’s strategy in the Western Hemisphere. If you’re wondering why a drug war narrative is front and center, Rion says it is a cover for a proxy war against China. In her telling, this is Trump’s third straight strike on Beijing’s energy and influence network. If you want to understand the troop movements, the CIA authorities, and all the noise, you have to follow the oil money and the dual-use projects that tie Venezuela to Beijing.Rion frames the past...