Free Republic

The dramatic fight for Soledar, part of the Battle of Bakhmut, is over — although Ukraine's leadership is still reluctant to acknowledge the loss.As a result of a localized offensive operation in January, Russian forces managed to gnaw through Ukrainian defenses and, after fierce urban fighting, seize what's left of the industrial town of 10,000.Although fighting in the area continues, The Kyiv Independent sources, as well as international monitors, all fully agree Ukraine doesn’t control the town.It's the first noticeable Russian success since their forces captured Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk after fierce fighting in June and July.

The US tech scene has been shaken with allegations that authorities are monitoring US and international Internet users on Facebook, Google, YouTube and countless other services from the likes of Yahoo, Apple, Skype, AOL, Microsoft and more. The news broke via reports from the Washington Post and the Guardian, and has rightly garnered coverage across many news websites (TNW included) but the sudden rush of news has left many people unsure of all the details, or confused by the onslaught of details. Here’s our essential guide to understanding what PRISM is, why it is important and other details that you...

Q. I have long been a dedicated reader of your reviews. You were responsible for directing me toward the works of Bresson, Bunuel, Bergman, Tarkovsky and Herzog (particularly Bresson) and thus inspiring my love for the movies. I will forever be indebted to you for having changed my life in this regard. I am also a proud American who enlisted voluntarily in the United States Marines Corps. I served for one year and a half in Iraq . I saw more of the destructive impact of war on the lives of the Iraqi people and those of the men around...

BOURJ AL-MULOUK, Lebanon - Hezbollah fired its biggest and deepest volley of rockets into Israel on Wednesday as Israel pursued the guerrillas with 8,000 soldiers on the ground and heavy bombing. With fighting in its fourth week and diplomatic efforts stalled, the region braced for a bitter and long war. In eastern Lebanon, villagers wept as heavy machinery carried off the bodies of those killed in an overnight raid against a Hezbollah stronghold. Across northern Israel, forests and fields lay scorched from rocket fire that killed a Massachusetts native fleeing on his bicycle after a warning siren went off. Hopes...

Critics of the Bush Administration are divided between those who tend to view Republicans as part of an ultra-secret, ultra-capable military-industrial cabal who control the world and everything in it, and those who view the President as a moron and his advisers as ideologues who are leading us over a cliff. While I don’t presume to know for a fact which school of thought is correct, they can’t both be right. The Republicans-as-evil-geniuses point of view is exemplified by the “No Blood for Oil” argument. The Republicans-as-fools point of view is exemplified by the “quagmire” or “No End in Sight”...