Free Republic

What happened in the Russia-Ukraine war this week? Catch up with the must-read news and analysis Every week we wrap up essential coverage of the war in Ukraine, from news and features to analysis, and more. [Excerpt] ‘Music is to me the light’ For this piece Charlotte Higgins sets the scene at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, where the stakes are very high for everyone on stage. Violinist Joshua Bell and conductor Dalia Stasevska are on an intensely focused mission to get the opening bars of a concerto just right – and not just any concerto, but one by...

My pastor was inspired by the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita to advocate for immigrants from the pulpit today. Muy bueno. I was inspired myself, as follows: Dear Father _____________, I just got a genius idea --- in terms of Catholic Social Justice --- to crack down on the crime of human trafficking. It would also curb the influx of narcotraficantes and their wares (which kill 60,000+ people every year in the US alone), and keep out the organized crime groups bringing in stolen goods and tons of contraband firearms. And here it is. Are you ready? Legal immigration. Here's...

In the history of science fiction literature, few novel series have reached the upper echelon of belovedness quite the way Frank Herbert’s Dune has. The incredibly dense, richly populated space opera is considered by many to be the best science fiction novel ever written, winning all kinds of awards upon its release in 1965. There has to date been a single feature film of the work–David Lynch’s head-scratching, though undeniably visually arresting, 1984 effort–but save a Syfy miniseries in the early-2000s, Dune has remained nigh-unfilmable…until now! Deadline is reporting that Legendary Pictures has reached an agreement with the Herbert estate...

DEHRA DUN, India -- At the Doon School, near the foothills of the Himalayas, life is spartan. The 500 boys enrolled here bathe together in communal showers. In winter, they pore over textbooks in rooms with no heat. Cellphones are forbidden and parental visits are kept to a minimum. For 71 years, Doon has supplied India with business leaders and well-known writers such as Vikram Seth. Even Rajiv Gandhi, the late prime minister, suffered the school's famously bad food. Now Doon is taking its uniformed students in a new direction: up the U.S. corporate ladder. The head of Citigroup Inc.'s...