Free Republic

A cursory examination of history reveals that the United States is mired in the same process that precipitated the collapse of the great empires of the past. The foibles and failures of human nature and their impact on the rise and fall of empires is amazingly consistent and the end result always inevitable. Can this nation avoid a similar fate? Empires are defined as great military and economic powers encompassing large occupied or controlled land areas. Although they vary greatly, they average around 250 years in duration. The United States will be celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2026. In 1976,...

A new poll asked Americans about changes in the U.S. political climate, including whether divisions have worsened and what they expect for the future. Here were their responses:66% believe political divisions have gotten worse since the beginning of 2021.62% expect political divisions to get even worse in the future.66% say political violence has increased since the start of 2021.60% expect such violence to increase in the next few years.Here’s the most sobering part of the report: a plurality (43%) believes a civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next decade. Only 35% say it is not likely; 22%...

Gates Foundation donated at least $319 million to fund media projects at hundreds of organizations including CNN, NBC, NPR, PBS and The Atlantic, raising questions about those news outlets’ ability to report objectively on Gates and his work. Up until his recent messy divorce, Bill Gates enjoyed something of a free pass in corporate media. Generally presented as a kindly nerd who wants to save the world, the Microsoft co-founder was even unironically christened “Saint Bill” by The Guardian. While other billionaires’ media empires are relatively well known, the extent to which Gates’s cash underwrites the modern media landscape is...

Niall Ferguson: Empires Fall Abruptly, And The American Empire Is On The Brink Gregory White Jul. 29, 2010, 10:11 AM Niall Ferguson, writing in The Australian, believes that the American Empire could be on the brink of extinction. His theory, based on a historical critique of how empires fracture and fall, notes the fiscal instability of the Hapsburg Spanish, Bourbon French, and British Empire prior to their falls. Ferguson then notes that the American Empire could be next, not just because of the size of its debt, but because of the size of payments needed to service that debt. He...

CHICAGO (Reuters) – An analysis of rings on a stalagmite from a cave near Jerusalem reveals a drier climate in the region at a time in history when the Roman and Byzantine empires were in decline, scientists reported on Thursday. University of Wisconsin geologists analyzed the chemical composition of individual rings as small as one-hundredth of a millimeter across that formed the stalagmite growing up from the floor of the Soreq Cave near Jerusalem between 200 B.C. and 1100 A.D.. Geologists John Valley and Ian Orland concluded the climate was drier in the eastern Mediterranean between 100 A.D. and 700...

The U.S. is betting that a rich PRC will be democratic. Beijing disagrees. Two bets are on the table. One has been placed by the Washington establishment, the other by the Chinese Communist Party. Analyzing China’s prospects in terms of fashionable globalist ideology, Washington is betting that a rich China will be a free one. The theory is that the only way China can continue to grow is by embracing Western democracy and capitalism. Moreover, the very process of China’s enrichment is supposedly undermining the Beijing government’s authoritarianism. More wealth means more freedom means more wealth. Here is how President...

Who has controlled the Middle East over the course of history? Pretty much everyone. Egyptians, Turks, Jews, Romans, Arabs, Greeks, Persians, Europeans...the list goes on. Who will control the Middle East today? That is a much bigger question.

An Empire's Epidemic Scientists Use DNA in Search for Answers to 6th Century Plague By THOMAS H. MAUGH II, Times Staff Writer By the middle of the 6th century, the Emperor Justinian had spread his Byzantine Empire around the rim of the Mediterranean and throughout Europe, laying the groundwork for what he hoped would be a long-lived dynasty. His dreams were shattered when disease-bearing mice from lower Egypt reached the harbor town of Pelusium in AD 540. From there, the devastating disease spread to Alexandria and, by ship, to Constantinople, Justinian's capital, before surging throughout his empire. By the time...

MOSCOW, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a senior Chinese official on Wednesday, hailing the development of bilateral ties and calling for further joint efforts in defending world peace and stability. Russian-Chinese strategic partnership has witnessedcomprehensive development at all levels in recent years, Putintold visiting Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, saying thatRussia gives priority to the development of cooperation with China. He noted that being permanent members of the United NationsSecurity Council, Russia and China should intensify theirconsultations in dealing with world affairs to tackle all kinds ofthreats and challenges, in an aim to protect world peace...