Free Republic

Do you remember Armand Hammer? If you're over 50, you may. Hammer was a business tycoon who died in 1990. He was most famous for his deal-making with the Soviet Union. Hammer would cut business deals directly with the Kremlin. This was unusual; most U.S. businesses had very few dealings with America's greatest adversary. Today, by contrast, many American multinational businesses see their growth as much or more tied to China, our new primary adversary, as they do to America. I began my career as a young lawyer on a special congressional committee set up to investigate the transfer of...

Explanation: There's a new rover on Mars. In mid-May, China's Tianwen-1 mission delivered the Zhurong rover onto the red planet. As Mars means Planet of Fire in Chinese, the Zhurong rover's name means, roughly, God of Fire in Chinese mythology. Zhurong landed in northern Utopia Planitia, the largest known impact basin in the Solar System, and an area reported to have much underground ice. Among many other scientific instruments, Zhurong carries ground-penetrating radar that can detect ice buried even 100-meters deep. Car-sized Zhurong is pictured here next to its landing base. The image was snapped by a remote camera deployed...

There are now only two nations in the history of humanity that have successfully landed rovers on the surface of the Red Planet: The United States and the People’s Republic of China. You can expect this to be the dominant headline in all matters related to space for many years to come. After all, humanity is due for another round of great state competition and it seems that the two major contenders in this strategic competition will be the United States and China. For too long Western observers have downplayed China’s rapidly growing space technology industry. The Chinese Martian rover,...

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine told lawmakers Wednesday it was crucial for the US to maintain a presence in Earth's orbit after the International Space Station is decommissioned so that China does not gain a strategic advantage. The first parts of the ISS were launched in 1998 and it has been continuously lived in since 2000. The station, which serves as a space science lab and is a partnership between the US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada, is currently expected to be operated until 2030. "I'll tell you one thing that has me very concerned—and that is that a day is...

An ability to get on contract quickly and a price far lower that other companies were key factors in NASA’s decision to award a contract to Maxar Technologies for the first element of the lunar Gateway, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). A source selection statement released by NASA May 23 outlined the agency’s assessment of proposals for the PPE submitted by Maxar and four other companies: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The document shows that Maxar, identified in the document as Space Systems Loral (SSL), the former name of its satellite manufacturing...

Just a few days after announcing the British transgender DJ and activist Munroe Bergdorf as one of the faces of a new campaign championing diversity, today, September 1, L’Oréal have ended their partnership with her. The announcement follows the U.K. right-wing media's unearthing of a social media post from Bergdorf in which she called out racism and white supremacy. L’Oréal's campaign launched on August 27, when the beauty corporation uploaded a glossy YouTube video advertisement for True Match, a range of foundation that promises to match 98% of U.K. skin tones. True Match is the conglomerate’s marquee fall campaign in...

This morning, L’Oréal Paris ended its relationship with Munroe Bergdorf, the brand’s first trans model, after she made controversial remarks about racism among whites. Bergdorf stated that the "success" of white people "is built on the backs, blood and death of people of color." “Honestly I don’t have energy to talk about the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people,” Bergdorf, 30, reportedly wrote in a Facebook post that has since been removed. “Because most of ya’ll don’t even realize or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on...

As the Roosevelt Administration had put Americans in danger by selling the Soviet Communists nuclear weapon materials in the 1940s, Bill Clinton endangered all Americans by allowing the sale of dangerous military grade missile technology to the Communist Chinese. In spite of a strong recommendation to NOT do so, Clinton approved the sale of technology to China which would eventually help our enemies to develop more reliable intercontinental missiles – the kind that can reach America’s cities and by now probably hit specific blocks. In 1996, Democrat contributor Bernard Schwartz was the C.O.O. of Loral Space and Communications Corporation when...

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is responding to the PGA moving the 2017 World Golf Championship to Mexico instead of holding it at Trump Doral in Miami. “They move the World Golf Championships from Miami to Mexico City,” Trump commented. “They moved the PGA Tour, moved the World Golf Championships from Miami, where they’re furious to Mexico City.” “If I become your president, this stuff is all going to stop,” Trump added. He went on to criticize the U.S. economy for being taken advantage of by Mexico.

(5th LD) N. Korea tells U.N. agencies it will launch satellite between Feb. 8-25 2016/02/03 04:49   (ATTN: ADDS U.S. reaction) By Chang Jae-soon WASHINGTON/TOKYO/SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea notified a U.N. maritime agency Tuesday that it will launch a satellite later this month, confirming widespread concern the communist nation is readying for a banned long-range rocket launch just weeks after its fourth nuclear test. The North said in a letter to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that an "earth observation satellite" will be launched between Feb. 8-25. It also provided coordinates for three maritime areas where rocket...

A former top aide to Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state arranged for crucial access to Chinese officials so a top aide to former President Bill Clinton could promote his private car dealership business to China, a new report says. Cheryl Mills, Clinton's chief of staff at the State Department, arranged the visit between a Chinese delegation and Thomas 'Mack' McLarty, who was chief of staff in her husband's White House, at a dinner at the State Department. McLarty had asked for an invitation to the dinner, which occurred in the spring of 2011, because of 'our substantial...

US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has accused China of stealing commercial secrets and government information. She accused China of "trying to hack into everything that doesn't move in America", and urged vigilance. US officials had named China as the chief suspect in the massive hack of the records of a US government agency earlier this year. China had denied any involvement, and called US claims "irresponsible".

~snip~ And here’s what we learned went into the Clinton Foundation’s “Little Tin Box” 1.) Millions from a Russian named Pinchuk,who trades with Iran:Victor Pinchuk is a businessman active in Ukraine who owns the EastOne Group investing company and the Interpipe Group, Ukraine's biggest pipe manufacturer. He is the second richest man in Ukraine and is heavily involved in politics as a former member of parliament who is also married to the daughter of a former Ukrainian president. He is also the largest individual donor to the Clinton Foundation. And not just the Foundation, but also the spinoff Clinton Global...

  In 2014 China made a round trip to the moon with robotic explorers. The Chinese intend to launch a mission to the moon that will return samples back to Earth. They have outlined their ambitious plans for outer space here. IEEE/Spectrum calls China the "Next Space Superpower."“The Chinese have said repeatedly that they are not going to go into space, land on the moon, look around, say, Been there, done that,’ and consider themselves done,” says Johnson-Freese. “They’re going to do stepping-stone infrastructure, and in those terms their space station makes sense.” Where else might Chinese astronauts go? Their...

Defense: China has just tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile that can deliver up to 10 independently targeted nuclear warheads, using technology given to them on President Clinton's watch to launch communications satellites. The Dec. 13 test of the DF-41 was the third for the new weapon. But it marked the first test of a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle, or MIRV, technology and raises by an order of magnitude the nuclear threat to the U.S. as China continues its massive arms buildup. And disturbingly, the threat is in large part of our own making. "The DF-4, which could be...

The amount of money political candidates in the state of California can collect for campaigns is tightly governed, but for legal defense funds, donors are permitted to donate much more, according to KPCC. In March, the state senate, voted to suspend three members who were charged or who were convicted of felonies. The legal bills for senators Ron Calderon and Rod Wright are being paid for by a mix of politicians, political action committees and even corporations. Senator Leland Yee has a committee to college legal defense donations working for him as well. None of the legal defense funds setup...

A Chinese general who once threatened to use nuclear weapons against hundreds of U.S. cities will visit the Pentagon this week as part of a U.S.-China military exchange program. Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, who is head of China’s National Defense University, will take part in a “familiarization exchange,” Maj. Catherine Wilkinson, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told the Free Beacon. “The delegation will visit Hawaii and D.C.,” she said. “A military delegation from the U.S. Pacific Command will visit China later this year for a reciprocal exchange.” Zhu will lead a group of 10 senior colonels from all branches of the Chinese...

CHINA used a top-secret SC-19 anti-satellite (ASAT) missile in a test last year against a target missile as part of a missile-defense system that remains shrouded in secrecy. The ASAT missile was fired against a new medium-range missile and details were disclosed in a State Department cable made public recently by WikiLeaks that included an outline of a diplomatic protest note to Beijing about both Chinese weapons programs. The cable provides the first detailed U.S. assessment of what defense officials say is a major strategic advancement in China’s military buildup. It reveals that China’s anti-satellite system was developed for use...

Frankly, I did not think of Chris Matthews as an episodic apologist until I watched his MSNBC documentary this week, "President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon." The episodic apologists are a familiar fixture of the Clinton administration, much as the court historians are a fixture of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Whereas the court historians always could be relied upon to spin history FDR's heroic way, the episodic apologists always end up slobbering all over the Clintons -- albeit with a twist. The court historians were always pretty straightforward. They adored FDR from the beginning to the...

The Obama adminstration must react responsibly to China’s declaration that military operations in space are inevitable, a top China expert says. “How will the US react to Chinese diplomatic efforts in light of the PLA’s blunt statements on space warfare? This is something the Obama administration has to take into account,” said Dean Cheng, China specialist at Washington’s Heritage Foundation. “Are we going to see outrage, any meaningful reactions to the Chinese statements or again that it was someone speaking out of school and we just aren’t sure.” Cheng was referring to what appears to mark a major shift...