Free Republic

It's time to release the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran. Speculation is running rampant about what's in it, and leaks from the administration are making Trump's allies very nervous because they all seem to suggest that Iran's propaganda about what's in it is largely accurate. Vice President Vance is spinning like a top that it's really a great deal, and all the great benefits Iran claims it will get depend on performance, but unless we know what is in the MOU, we don't know what "performance" really means. (snip) One thing we do know is that...

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is speaking on Tuesday about alleged religious discrimination in professional sports, this time directing his attention toward Major League Baseball following reports involving San Francisco Giants pitchers. In a post on X, Uthmeier questioned the league directly, writing: "Do you practice religious discrimination in Florida, @MLB? You’ll be hearing from my office soon.” The remark came after Sports Illustrated reported that three Giants pitchers were warned by MLB after wearing Bible verses on their caps during a recent Pride Night game. The warning, while not fully detailed by the league, has sparked a broader debate...

Give at least a couple of cheers for coercive diplomacy, which is to say diplomacy through bombing. As the Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz told us a couple hundred years ago, “war is the continuation of politics,” or diplomacy, “by other means.” Last week’s bombing may well have finally pushed Iran and all their internal factions to at least signing a memo of understanding that represents at least the beginning of the end of the war. President Trump is a master at coercive diplomacy. He’s also a master of psychological warfare diplomacy with his threats to destroy Iran’s infrastructure,...

SpaceX (SPCX) traded 256 million shares yesterday. The entire public float is 556 million. So in one day, almost half of every tradable share changed hands. Bought and sold, over and over, in a few hours. Here's why that number is absurd. SpaceX sold 555.6 million shares at $135 to raise $75 billion. That float is barely 4% of the company. Musk and insiders hold the other 96%, locked up and unable to sell. Tiny supply. Enormous demand. Index funds that have to own it, retail that wants to, traders chasing the move. The result is a $2 trillion company...

Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Donald Trump to hand over the blueprints for Patriot missiles so that Ukraine can produce them domestically to boost its air defences. Diplomatic sources told The Telegraph that the Ukrainian president suggested a licensing agreement during several meetings with his US counterpart at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, and that Mr Trump had indicated that technical discussions should begin. During face-to-face talks, Mr Zelensky showed Mr Trump images of the damage caused by a Russian strike on Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery, as he argued for help strengthening his air defences. Mr Trump later...

Police in Poland are investigating the murder of a Russian artist and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin. Polish prosecutors said Robert K, known as the artist Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot dead on Monday morning in the Polish town of Biała Podlaska, about 40km (25 miles) from the Belarusian border. The 44-year-old was shot five times in the head, chest and back in a car park in the town, located about 600m (2,000ft) from the Belarusian consulate. Semyon Skrepetsky was the pseudonym used by Robert Kuzovkov. He was known for his caricatures of politicians, including Putin, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko...

The statistics about what happened over the past FIVE decades to the once stalwart and steadfast American black family, the backbone of the black community, are shocking and distressing. In an unflinching account that tries to understand why this disintegration started and why it continues, CBS News gives life to the statistics through intimate portraits of young black adults facing the emotional and financial difficulties of single parenthood. With its candor and openness, "The Vanishing Family" may very well be the most important documentary in recent memory.

I have been searching for quotes on how ineffective full auto fire is in the hands of untrained people. Grok4.1 gives these, but the links do not work or do not show the actual quotes. They may be correct but only in books or videos. If anyone can find an actual link which shows any of the following quotes, I would appreciate it. 1. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (U.S. Army Ranger, author of On Combat and On Killing) “Full automatic fire is almost useless in the hands of anyone who is not well trained. The tendency is to spray and...

BREAKING: SpaceX has overtaken Microsoft and Amazon to become the fourth biggest company in the world.

SAN FRANCISCO - Major League Baseball has reportedly issued a warning to several San Francisco Giants pitchers who wrote Bible verses on their specialized hats during the team's Pride Night celebration.

Explanation: While cruising around Saturn, be on the lookout for picturesque arrangements of moons, rings, and shadows. One such striking sight occurred in 2005 and was captured by the then Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft. In the featured image, moons Mimas (left) and Tethys (right) are visible on either side of Saturn's thin rings, which are seen nearly edge-on. Across the top of Saturn are dark shadows of the wide rings, exhibiting their impressive complexity. The violet-light image brings up the texture of the backdrop: Saturn's clouds. Cassini orbited Saturn from 2004 until mid-2017, when the robotic spacecraft was directed to dive...

This article, “The Powerhouse of Perception” by Ben-Dror Yemini, argues that military strength alone does not determine geopolitical outcomes; public opinion, narratives, and information influence are also forms of power. (ynet) Main points The author notes the huge military gap between the United States and Iran, but argues that weaker actors can still wield significant influence through determination, public support, asymmetric capabilities, and control over strategic chokepoints. He warns against assuming that a short military campaign could easily force Iran to capitulate. (ynet) A central theme is that Israel and the U.S. are losing the battle for international public opinion....

Catholic aid workers warn that entire communities risk disappearing from the Middle East. Father Jan Zelazny, director of the Polish section of Aid to the Church in Need, met Christian communities as he traveled through Lebanon and Syria at the end of May. “In some places, only small Christian towns remain,” he said. “The Muslims left those areas. There are tunnels where Hezbollah fighters hide. The Christians stay and live in a kind of constant siege.” Many refuse to leave, fearing that departure would mean permanent exile. “They say that if they leave, they will never return,” Father Zelazny told...

Al Arabiya English has obtained a copy of the 14-point agreement expected to be signed on Friday between Washington and Tehran. 1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article...

French President Emmanuel Macron revealed Tuesday that he had a “difficult” meeting with President Trump the previous evening as the closely watched G7 summit got underway. “Yesterday we had a difficult discussion with President Trump,” Macron told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a group session about Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. The tension is reflective of the strained relationship between Trump and Macron as well as other European leaders, who remain frustrated with the American president over his war with Iran, threats to annex Greenland, and his critiques of Zelensky and Ukraine. “Trump is being his usual self,” a...

Newly revealed details of the secretive US-Iran MOU lay out that it would extend the cease-fire to Lebanon, allow Iran to manage the Strait of Hormuz, temporarily waive Iranian oil sanctions and establish a pathway toward a comprehensive peace agreement, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Tuesday. The framework, which would serve as the basis for broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran, outlines commitments on nuclear issues, sanctions relief, maritime security and the eventual withdrawal of American forces from the region. The following 12 points were first revealed by Axios reporter Barak Ravid, who also works for the Israeli channel. The document...

O’KEEFE INFILTRATES NJ ANTIFA: Inside “NJ BURN” — Rutgers University Director, T-Mobile AI Leaders, OpenAI /ChatGPT Engineer, Reverend From Princeton Theological Seminary, and ACLU Board Member Discuss Port Newark–Elizabeth Blockade Riot, Road Spikes, Tire-Slashing of New Jersey nian-Style” Protest Tactics, and Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s Murder. NJ ANTIFA INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFIED: • Alexyss P. - New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault Community Council Member @NJ_CASA • Jim Keady @JWKeady - Former New Jersey Democratic Candidate • Woojin Ko - OpenAI Research Engineer @OpenAI • Beleckecom Moffouk - T-Mobile AI Automation Expert @TMobile • Zainab Tanvir - Imaging Director at Rutgers University @RutgersU...

Former president Mary McAleese has criticized the use of the Irish flag to intimidate and compared it with the experiences of some Irish people who emigrated to the US and the UK. Mrs. McAleese was interviewed by human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC at an event at Trinity College Dublin marking fifty years of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). She was asked about incidents of racism in Ireland, and said that while Ireland was “fortunate” with its political leadership, racism was being “promoted by people in serious leadership positions” in the world. […] Mrs. McAleese compared people who...

It is believed a Russian Frigate fired at a passing yacht in British waters in the English Channel on Tuesday, prompting the Ministry of Defence to launch an investigation. The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed they are investigating an incident in the English Channel after a British-flagged yacht reported the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich had fired warning shots at it on Tuesday morning. The incident, if proven, would be the most direct confrontation by a foreign warship off the coast of Britain in many years. Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Mersey (foreground) escorts Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich and attending Russian...

Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul supports President Donald Trump's peace negotiations with Iran, noting the deal could benefit American consumers and farmers. Paul believes opening the Strait of Hormuz and verifiable removal of enriched uranium are crucial. He emphasizes that diplomacy is key and the removal of uranium is easily verifiable, potentially through direct assistance from the U.S.