Free Republic

The U.S. is betting that a rich PRC will be democratic. Beijing disagrees. Two bets are on the table. One has been placed by the Washington establishment, the other by the Chinese Communist Party. Analyzing China’s prospects in terms of fashionable globalist ideology, Washington is betting that a rich China will be a free one. The theory is that the only way China can continue to grow is by embracing Western democracy and capitalism. Moreover, the very process of China’s enrichment is supposedly undermining the Beijing government’s authoritarianism. More wealth means more freedom means more wealth. Here is how President...

Who has controlled the Middle East over the course of history? Pretty much everyone. Egyptians, Turks, Jews, Romans, Arabs, Greeks, Persians, Europeans...the list goes on. Who will control the Middle East today? That is a much bigger question.

An Empire's Epidemic Scientists Use DNA in Search for Answers to 6th Century Plague By THOMAS H. MAUGH II, Times Staff Writer By the middle of the 6th century, the Emperor Justinian had spread his Byzantine Empire around the rim of the Mediterranean and throughout Europe, laying the groundwork for what he hoped would be a long-lived dynasty. His dreams were shattered when disease-bearing mice from lower Egypt reached the harbor town of Pelusium in AD 540. From there, the devastating disease spread to Alexandria and, by ship, to Constantinople, Justinian's capital, before surging throughout his empire. By the time...

MOSCOW, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a senior Chinese official on Wednesday, hailing the development of bilateral ties and calling for further joint efforts in defending world peace and stability. Russian-Chinese strategic partnership has witnessedcomprehensive development at all levels in recent years, Putintold visiting Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, saying thatRussia gives priority to the development of cooperation with China. He noted that being permanent members of the United NationsSecurity Council, Russia and China should intensify theirconsultations in dealing with world affairs to tackle all kinds ofthreats and challenges, in an aim to protect world peace...