Free Republic

In the wake of Tucker Carlson's much-publicized interview with Vladimir Putin and his subsequent display of what can only be described as “clueless man babbles one-dimensional nonsense in admiration for Russia in a supermarket,” we find ourselves confronted with an important issue: Either Carlson is a master in controlled opposition, skillfully playing his part in a grand geopolitical chess game, or he is just masterfully milking the easily-misled for clicks, views, attention and money. Even the most astute among us can fall victim to a well-crafted deception, and I fear that this is precisely what is happening to Carlson and...

All she wanted was a burger and some nuggets from McDonald's. But imagine this woman's shock when her GrabFood order from the fast food restaurant's Yishun outlet came up to an excess of $1,203. "Laugh my a** out. What?" TikTok user Cowsmoker said in a video shared on Friday (Nov 4), while showing that her small order fee for her order was around $1,185. A small order fee applies to orders less than the minimum order value set by the restaurant, according to Grab. Fortunately, Cowsmoker chose to see the funnier side to this incident. "They think I what? Elon...

Severe cases of Covid-19 have been known to lead to a mysterious condition whereby the body's immune system goes haywire and starts attacking healthy cells, rather than just those that are infected. This prolonged state of self-sabotage is known as a 'cytokine storm' and can be fatal, but researchers have struggled to understand how it works and how to treat it. Now new research has looked at the progression of a coronavirus infection in mice and found the cytokine storm is a vicious cycle, which leads to the overproduction of two signalling proteins called tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon...

As Washington and Beijing trade barbs over the coronavirus pandemic, a longer-term struggle between the two Pacific powers is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China... Now, having shed the constraints of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, the Trump administration is planning to deploy long-range, ground-launched cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. The Pentagon intends to arm its Marines with versions of the Tomahawk cruise missile... The Pentagon also intends to dial back China's lead in what strategists refer to as...

The United States withdrew from the INF Treaty this month, accusing Moscow of having broken the agreement by developing its nuclear-capable SSC-8 missiles – with an estimated range of 2,600km – and placing some in western Russia. Washington is also believed to be preparing for another test in November of an intermediate-range ballistic missile that it wants to deploy in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Reuters on Tuesday. This could signal an escalation of tension in the coming months. Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper expressed a wish to station intermediate-range missiles in the Pacific region within months....

This story was updated on Aug. 19 at 1:23 p.m. EST to include video of the test. The Defense Department on Aug. 18 conducted a test of an intermediate-range, ground-based cruise missile, about two weeks after the withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. A mobile launcher fired the conventionally configured cruise missile at San Nicolas Island, Calif., and it accurately “impacted its target” more than 500 kilometers away, according to a Pentagon statement. “Data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense’s development of future intermediate-range capabilities,” the statement reads. The statement alludes to...

The U.S. military has conducted a flight test of a type of missile banned for more than 30 years by a treaty that both the United States and Russia abandoned this month, the Pentagon said... The Pentagon said it tested a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile, which was launched from San Nicolas Island and accurately struck its target after flying more than 500 kilometers (310 miles). The missile was armed with a conventional, not nuclear, warhead. Defense officials had said last March that this missile likely would have a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles)...

The US has formally withdrawn from a key nuclear treaty with Russia, raising fears of a new arms race. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. It banned missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (310-3,400 miles). But earlier this year the US and Nato accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile, which Moscow has denied. The Americans said they had evidence that Russia had deployed a number of 9M729 missiles - known to Nato as SSC-8. This accusation...

Responding to questions about how he would avoid a nuclear arms race following the INF treaty's demise, Mr Trump said his administration had been speaking to Russia "about a pact for nuclear, so that they get rid of some, we get rid of some". "We'd certainly have to include China at some point," he added. Mr Trump said such a treaty would be "a great thing for the world" and that he believed it would happen. The US has accused Russia of violating the deal by deploying a number of 9M729 missiles - known to Nato as SSC-8. This accusation...

A historic arms-control treaty signed three decades ago by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was scrapped after President Trump decided to withdraw Friday. The move to scrap the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty comes amid the administration’s assessment that Russia was in “material breach of the treaty” and made no effort to “come back into compliance” with the agreement, a senior White House official said. Russia was given a six-month period, in accordance with the treaty, as a “final opportunity to come back into compliance” with the agreement, but the government headed by President Vladimir Putin “has...

The French Air Force announced on Tuesday that it had conducted the test launch of a nuclear-capable missile from a Rafale fighter. An ASMPA cruise missile, which is the French military's main nuclear strike weapon for aircraft, was reportedly used by the Rafale. According to the French Air Force, the nuclear strike mission lasted 11 hours and included aerial refuelling of the Rafale. "These real strikes are scheduled in the life of the weapon's system," French Air Force spokesman Colonel Cyrille Duvivier said. "They are carried out at fairly regular intervals, but remain rare because the real missile, without its...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States would suspend its obligations under a decades-old nuclear arms pact in 60 days if Russia does not come back into full compliance with the treaty. Pompeo made the announcement following meetings with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, describing Russia’s violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty as part of a broader pattern of “lawlessness” by Moscow on the global stage. President Trump signaled earlier this fall that he planned to unilaterally withdraw the United States from the INF Treaty, citing Russian violations of the agreement. U.S. officials...

Donald Trump says the U.S. plans to withdraw from the 1987 INF nuclear arms-control treaty that everyone agrees Russia has been violating for a decade. Yet somehow this is said to be reckless behavior by—Donald Trump? Welcome to the high church of arms control in which treaties are sacrosanct no matter the violation. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty bans ground-fired ballistic and cruise missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers and is an artifact of the late Cold War. Ronald Reagan and NATO deployed mid-range missiles in Europe in the early 1980s to counter Soviet deployments. After years...

Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said Russia had "violated" the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. The US would not let Russia "go out and do weapons while we're not allowed to", Mr Trump said. "I don't know why President Obama didn't negotiate or pull out," the president said after a campaign rally in Nevada. "They've been violating it for many years." National Security Adviser John Bolton is expected to tell the Russians of the withdrawal during talks in Moscow later this week.

The Russians continue to deny they are in violation of the INF Treaty, but if they’re indeed upgrading Tu-22s with in-flight refueling, this is another way they’re doing it in addition to building and deploying intermediate-range nukes on Russian soil. As part of the original treaty, the U.S. insisted that Russia remove the in-flight refueling capability from Tu-22s, making them less of a strategic asset. Adding it again means that they will have to be counted as such, under the INF and the New START Treaty, which expires in 2021. On many fronts, the U.S. and Russia are increasingly at...

President Trump has indicated that he will withdraw the United States from a 1987 treaty signed with the former Soviet Union aimed at limiting intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Urged on by National Security Adviser John Bolton and others, the president believes that Russia has been cheating on the agreement, while the bulk of China’s strategic missile arsenal falls within the range specified by the treaty (500 to 5,500 kilometers/310 to 3,417 miles).

It does not bode well that an Obama administration that assures us that the nuclear deal with Iran will not be violated by the mullahs is clearly looking the other way as Iran’s ally Russia blatantly violates the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed with the former Soviet Union. The Obama White House is sitting on a Pentagon risk assessment report completed last month that states “that the breach involved a new missile that violates the limits set by the treaty. The treaty bans holding, producing, or flight-testing ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges of between 310 miles...

National Security: It won't generate the buzz that torture allegations do, but a provision in the defense spending bill requires the White House to explain why Russia developed a cruise missile in breach of a 1987 treaty. President Ronald Reagan coined the phrase "trust but verify" regarding dealing with the Russians for good reason. American security was to be guaranteed through the strength of our will and the genius of our technology, not through pieces of parchment, handshakes, clinking glasses at conferences, or reset buttons. Enter President Obama and the age of flexibility, back-stabbing our allies on things like missile...

By differentiating between bacterial and viral fevers, a new test may help doctors decide whether to prescribe antibiotics. Fevers are a common symptom of many infectious diseases, but it can be difficult to tell whether viruses or bacteria are the cause. By measuring gene activity in the blood of 22 sick children, Gregory Storch, a pediatrician and infectious disease researcher at Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues were able to distinguish bacteria-sparked fevers from ones kindled by viruses. The activity of hundreds of genes changed as the children’s immune systems responded to the pathogens, but the team found that...

Weaponry: As the commander in chief calls for a one-third reduction in our nuclear arsenal, Russia builds new midrange missile banned under a 1987 arms treaty. How's that "reset" button working out, Mr. President? Trust but verify, said the president who won the Cold War. Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" philosophy has been replaced with the "peace through parchment" strategy of Barack Obama. It emphasizes flexibility, not resolve, and relies on pacts such as the New Start Treaty and the pressing of imaginary reset buttons. Russia's playing host to Edward Snowden, arguably a traitor with secrets to share with Moscow...