Free Republic

Of all post-war decades, the 1970s has undoubtedly had the worst press, but the truth is that most ordinary families in 1970s Britain were better off than ever, writes historian Dominic Sandbrook. The 1950s are symbolised by the television and the washing machine, which transformed the lives of so many families. We misremember the 1960s as the decade of the Mini, which was actually invented in 1959, the mini-skirt, which surprisingly few women actually wore, and the Pill, which most women never took. We remember the 1980s as the decade of gigantic hair, shoulder-pads, the Filofax and the home...

Since Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and the resulting Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, tensions and hostilities across the Middle East have reached fever pitch. And with such a complex regional crisis playing out, it should not come as a surprise that the Biden administration is reconsidering its military priorities in the region.It should be cause for significant concern, however, that this could involve a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. While no definitive decision has been made to leave, four sources within the Defense and State departments said the White House is no...

The Associated Press’s latest foreign donor wants to transform journalists into "community activists on climate change." The AP doesn’t seem interested in publicizing that. It’s the latest left-wing charity to fund the Associated Press, which says it is read by four billion people each day. Philanthropies that support packing the Supreme Court, defunding the police, and other left-wing initiatives have contributed millions of dollars to the AP in recent years, the Free Beacon reported. While the AP says it maintains editorial independence from its deep-pocketed donors, its climate reporting reflects many of the KR Foundation’s core beliefs. A recent AP...

No one ever lost money betting on the ability of the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder to construct a “coalition of the willing” whenever faced with a geopolitical quandary. In every case, duly covered by the reigning “rules-based international order”, “willing” applies to vassals seduced by carrots or sticks to follow to the letter the Empire’s whims. Cue to the latest chapter: Coalition Genocide Prosperity, whose official – heroic – denomination, a trademark of the Pentagon’s P.R. wizards, is “Operation Prosperity Guardian”, allegedly engaged in “ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.” Translation: this is Washington all but...

Huge volumes of US oil production, as well as output from Brazil and Guyana, have eaten away at the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies' command of global crude flows, with the energy cartel's market share dropping to its lowest mark in nearly a decade, according to the International Energy Agency. In its oil report covering data up to December 2023, the IEA said OPEC+'s market share had fallen to 51% in 2023. It hasn't been that low since the group expanded to include additional allies in 2016, the Paris-based firm said. "Record-breaking supply from the United States,...

Iran International An oil refinery inside Iran went up in flames over the weekend, triggering several massive explosions. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA, said that all 18 reservoirs at the refinery in eastern Iran’s Birjand special economic zone caught fire. “The initial stages of the fire consumed 1.5 million litres of fuel,” Iranian officials said. The Jerusalem Post reported that Iranian officials were leaning toward letting the fire burn itself out because it was too dangerous for firefighters to get close enough to attempt to extinguish it. There was no indication of what caused the fire or...

A few years ago when there was some trouble with Venezuela and Colombia I remember reading that Brazil would have huge trouble moving their army there because the Amazon rainforest is nearly impassable.Is this true?What are they able to do now if Venezuela invades Guyana?

Tensions between neighbors Venezuela and Guyana have ratcheted up in recent weeks over a long-running territorial dispute. At issue is a 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) border territory around the Esequibo river, which is mostly jungle, and an offshore area where massive discoveries of oil and gas have been made.

French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said Saturday she was "stunned" after the oil cartel OPEC urged its members to thwart any deal targeting fossil fuels at the COP28 conference. ADVERTISING "I am stunned by these statements from OPEC+. And I am angry," she said from the climate conference in Dubai, adding that "OPEC+'s position endangers the most vulnerable countries and the poorest populations who are the first victims of this situation". The minister said she was "counting on the presidency of the COP not to be influenced by these declarations, and to reach an agreement which affirms a clear objective...

The sell-off in the oil market accelerated Wednesday, with US crude prices sinking below $70 a barrel for the first time since July. The latest wave of selling bodes well for consumers, suggesting gas prices could fall even closer towards $3 a gallon nationally. Gas prices bottomed out at $3.10 a gallon in late December last year just before Christmas. The national average hasn’t been below $3 since May 2021. US crude tumbled to as low as $69.11 a barrel on Wednesday, the lowest intraday level since June 29. Oil closed at $69.38 a barrel, down 4.1% on the day....

An undercover sting operation has highlighted a Saudi Arabian government plan to artificially raise global oil demand, Channel 4 News can reveal in an investigation released just days before climate crisis talks begin in the UAE. Officials from Saudi Arabia’s Oil Sustainability Programme (OSP) have admitted the country’s state-backed plan to target Africa and Asia with petrol, oil and diesel products, under a public programme from its Ministry of Energy. The operation was conducted by the Centre for Climate Reporting, and given exclusively to Channel 4 News, with a team posing as oil investors. In a secretly recorded video call,...

It is déjà vu for major oil producers, who are again considering steeper production cuts. It took only a month after the Hamas attacks on Israel unleashed a punishing war for oil prices to fall below their pre-Oct. 7 level. The steep drop in oil prices last week, with Brent crude briefly dropping to $77 per barrel, led to speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) will decide to cut production at its next meeting. OPEC’s last-minute decision to delay the meeting, now scheduled for Nov. 30, will only add to the speculation. U.S....

Oil prices dipped early on Wednesday as a report emerged that this weekend’s meeting of the OPEC+ group could be delayed. The November 26 meeting of the ministers of the OPEC+ alliance could be postponed due to OPEC leader Saudi Arabia expressing dissatisfaction over the production levels of the other members, delegates have told Bloomberg. The meeting may be delayed for an unspecified period of time, according to the anonymous delegates who told Bloomberg that the Saudis have been in talks with the other oil producers about their output.

In an emergency Arab Islamic Summit that comes 36 days after Israel launched its war on Gaza Arab and Islamic countries unequivocally condemned Israel, yet failed to adopt any measure capable of ending Israeli aggression or mitigating the ongoing human crisis.The 31-clause resolution drawn up by national leaders at a meeting in Saudi Arabia emphasized the need for a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution. They call on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions and protect the rights of the Palestinian people.Rejecting any attempts to describe Israel's attacks as self-defence or justifiable under...

In a speech to a Seattle crowd Wednesday, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made the claim that lower oil imports improves U.S. energy security. Praising Biden’s historic green energy funding and 100% clean electricity goal by 2035, Granholm said “With all this electrification, we could slash our net crude oil imports by almost 60%, and that strengthens energy security.” Granholm, who appeared with Vice President Kamala Harris also said Harris "has been amazing inside the White House as the champion for clean energy." One of the most common critiques of Biden’s green agenda is that it has thus far achieved the...

The Biden administration has canceled an offer to buy 6 million barrels of oil to replenish America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), multiple outlets have reported. Last year, President Biden drew criticism when he sold off 180 million barrels of oil from the SPR, resulting in a near 4-decade reserve low, which he claimed helped to "stabilize crude oil markets and reduce prices at the pump." This July, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a buyback plan to replenish the reserve. One of those acquisition orders, however, has been canceled amid rising oil costs, according to Reuters. The administration previously set...

Josef Stalin of the old Soviet Union used to be called County Joe. But Biden has so many possible nicknames: Corrupt Joe, Pay-for-play Joe, Sleazy Joe, Bully Joe, etc. How about Green Joe? Green Joe (or the Nasty Green Giant?) along with his energy goon Jennifer Granholm, have drained the strategic petroleum reserve by 46% while gasoline prices have soared 60% under Bidenomics. Gasoline prices have rise over 6.5% just since 7/23/2023. Trump wants to drain the swamp, Biden/Granholm want to drain the strategic petroleum reserve so we can’t go back to fossil fuels. Biden and Granholm as Fossil Fools...

Jared Bernstein was VP Joe Biden’s former Chief Economist and is now chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers. Pretty impressive! Except that Bernstein is not really an economist. He has a PhD in social welfare from Columbia University. In other words, Bernstein is a Progressive Marxist cheerleader, not a real economist. Perfect for The Biden Adminstration where they installed a small town Mayor with no experience (Buttigieg) as Transportation Secretary. But Bernstein’s interview with Fox’s Shannon Bream on gas prices under Biden says it all about his economic acumen: Top economic advisor Jared Bernstein tries and fails...

What is Bidenomics? It isn’t what Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre thinks. She said Biden hates “trick down economics”. Instead, Biden prefers a Soviet-style command economy where The Federal Government spends trillions of dollars and directs where the money goes. We also have the Socialist Federal Reserve that relies on rate manipulation to achieve policy results. A good example of Biden’s Soviet-style “Bidenomics” is his use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Biden has now drained almost 50% of the SPR from when he was sworn in as President. And has drained the SPR for 14 straigth weeks to manipulate...

Heavyweight oil producer Saudi Arabia will extend a 1-million-barrel-per day voluntary crude oil output cut into September, in the third month of such declines, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said Thursday.