http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/europe/ en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:11:45 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414305/posts A deep freeze in the United Kingdom and Europe has led to about 90 deaths and is continuing to cause travel chaos. In Scotland, a Ryanair flight from Dublin skidded off the runway Wednesday morning at Prestwick Airport outside Glasgow. The Boeing 737-800 slipped on to the grass while taxiing to the terminal after landing. No injuries were reported, and the airport later reopened. Dozens of flights were reported to be delayed or cancelled across England and Scotland. Two female passengers were killed in the Cornwall area late Tuesday when the bus they were aboard crashed on an icy road.... CBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414305/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:11:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413700/posts To bring some diverse experience into the discussion on health care reform here in the USA, I've asked my friends in Europe to share how health care works in their lives. In this final of four entries, here are comments from my friends in Switzerland and Belgium (and Italy Part 3): From Fritz in Switzerland: In Switzerland, everyone has health insurance provided either through an employer (by payroll deduction) or by paying privately to a health insurance company. A family with two children has an annual premium of about 8,000 CHF (about $7,300). For every doctor's bill, the insured person... RickSteves' Europe Through The Back Door http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413700/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:21:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413622/posts Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But he only comes for kids -- not for governments that have bragged, borrowed and spent their way into bankruptcy. Two Thousand Ten is going to belong to the Grinch. For spendthrift governments around the world, the new year's going to bring massive defaults. The new globalization may be the globalization of a second wave of financial crises. The world economy is not convalescing. It's just been pumped full of unaffordable medicines. Borrowing madly, countries as diverse as Greece and Dubai have been buying time, not fiscal health. NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413622/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:32:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412786/posts The Swiss minaret ban and the leaked climate e-mails are really the same story — or, more precisely, are symptoms of the same disease. In the Times of London, Oliver Kamm deplored the results of Switzerland’s referendum, consigned it to the garbage can of right-wing populism, and for good measure dismissed my analysis of Euro-demographics (“This is nonsense,” he pronounced magisterially). Instead, Mr. Kamm called for a “secularist and liberal defense of the principles of a pluralist society.” That’s not the solution to the problem, but one of the causes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for liberalism and pluralism... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412786/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:38:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412400/posts Dozens of people have died across Europe as days of snow storms and sub-zero temperatures swept the continent, causing traffic chaos for millions. At least 29 people froze to death in Poland as temperatures fell far below freezing, while in southern Germany a figure of -33C (-27F) was recorded. Moscow said it was deploying 9,000 snow ploughs to clear the city's streets. Air, rail and road transport links were disrupted across northern Europe where more snow was expected in coming days. Eurostar services between the UK and the continent were suspended on Monday for a third day, as the company... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412400/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:20:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412194/posts Are you familiar with the word "dhimmi?" You should be; it means an infidel (non-Muslim) living under the heel of an Islamic theocracy. The plural is "dimam," and Europe has increasingly become a Balkanized checkerboard of nationalistic strongholds, and Islamic dimam regions. Family Security Matters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412194/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:26:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2411543/posts Note: The following text is a quote: INTERPOL media release 16 December 2009 Europol and INTERPOL agree to enhance co-operation for the benefit of their member states THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – The Secretary General of INTERPOL, Ronald K. Noble, visited Europol today to discuss the enhanced co-operation between the two organizations. The meeting focused on the development of new ideas for future joint actions which will make use of the complementary strengths of both organizations. Both organizations are ideally placed to join forces for a global police response to serious crime and terrorism. Mr. Noble and Rob Wainwright, the... INTERPOL - Media Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2411543/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:17:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409693/posts PARIS (AFP) – Early winter snows forced French authorities to close the Eiffel Tower on Thursday and disrupted transport as northwest Europe shuddered under a pre-Christmas cold snap. The French capital and much of the north of the country awoke to find a seven-centimetre (three inch) blanket of snow, which delayed flights from Charles de Gaulle airport by up to two hours. The iconic Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors, and train and bus services were delayed in many areas, as daytime temperatures dropped below zero for the first time in the year and black ice coated northern roads. Snow... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409693/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:24:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409337/posts I have long maintained that the EU Zone is an absolute train wreck - that their banks have less transparency and more leverage than ours, and have recognized less of their total losses. As such they are literally dancing with jugs of nitroglycerine. Well, now Bloomberg pipes up with this: Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank officials are moving closer to forcing banks to provide more information about the collateral they give the ECB in return for loans. What? You mean the ECB doesn't have full information about the paper they took in as collateral for loans? What could... The Market Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409337/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:48:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2408901/posts When thinking about the mass extermination camps of a holocaust think.. The key to freedom is to be able to have the ability to defend yourself &, if you dont have the tools to do that, then youre... Youtube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2408901/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:47:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408241/posts Has The Stock Market Finally Woken Up To The European Crackup And The Surging Dollar? Joe WeisenthalDec. 15, 2009, 4:33 PM Stocks weren't down by that much today -- the Dow was just down 50 -- so there's no reason to get too freaked out yet. But we wonder if just possibly the market is waking up to the new world that's emerged in the last couple of weeks. Gold is at a 4-week low. Oil is below $70. The dollar is surging. Unemployment in the US is tapering. The Euro appears to be breaking up (it's not yet, but... The Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408241/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:17:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406942/posts (IsraelNN.com) A Muslim man attacked a Chabad rabbi Saturday night as he was conducting the annual ceremony to light the public Chanukah menorah in Stefenfaltz Square in the city of Vienna, Austria. The attacker hurled himself at Rabbi Dov Gruzman, principal of the city’s Jewish school run by the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement, and began punching him, a local resident told Arutz Sheva. As the rabbi tried to hold off his attacker, the Muslim suddenly bit his victim, severing part of his finger in the process. The Muslim was caught and arrested by police, and was held for questioning. The rabbi... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406942/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:21:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406954/posts Average Russian Is 8 Times Poorer Than Average European Economics / Russia Dec 13, 2009 - 10:54 AM By: Pravda The latest research indicated that the size of the average European’s savings account is seven times greater than that of the average Russian. It would seem that the reasons are obvious – Russians are seven times poorer than residents of the European Union. However, it’s only a part of the picture. Sociologists say that 70% of Russians do not have bank deposits and 50% of them have no savings at all. Therefore, the average Russian is 8 times poorer than... Pravda http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406954/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:46:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463383/posts THE land of Goethe and Schiller has become the nation of "yeah but, no but" as purists complain that the Germans have forgotten how to speak their own language correctly. Already irked by the influx of English words into their vernacular, defenders of the EU's most widely spoken first language are finding themselves driven to despair by the inability of their fellow citizens to master even basic German grammar. The world of Vorsprung durch Technik is already in turmoil over a controversial spelling reform which has been boycotted by many publishers and two German regions. To add insult to injury,... Scotland on Sunday http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463383/posts#comment Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:37:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406223/posts Here is an update to the Swiss Anti-Islam Vote Draws Protests From Jews and Christians story. At least they were peaceful about it….for now. The problem is that they will never stop pushing, and as their numbers rise so will their power. It is time for all non-Islamic countries to end all Muslim immigration. It is not worth the trouble. Swiss Muslims protest minaret ban Logan's Warning http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406223/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:44:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406112/posts Europe's cap-and-trade program which is designed to reduce CO2 emissions is rife with fraud thanks to organized crime's alleged involvement in the market as reported by the European Police Office (EUROPOL): The European Union (EU) Emission Trading System (ETS) has been the victim of fraudulent traders in the past 18 months. This resulted in losses of approximately 5 billion euros for several national tax revenues. It is estimated that in some countries, up to 90% of the whole market volume was caused by fraudulent activities. In France prosecutors have "opened a criminal investigation of four men allegedly involved in a... Friends of Ours http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406112/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:23:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405982/posts It wasn't so long ago that Barack Obama's speeches were being hailed as "extraordinary" "rhetorical magic" (Joe Klein in Time) that should be "required reading in classrooms" (Bob Herbert in The New York Times). Pity the poor grade-schoolers who have to be on the bus at 5 a.m. for a daylong slog through the 4,000-word sludge of the president's Nobel thank you. Rich Lowry, my boss at National Review, writes that Obama has become a "crashingly banal" bore. The good news is that he "is not nearly as dull as, say, Herman van Rompuy." Who? Orange Country Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405982/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:17:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405884/posts Note: The following text is a quote: December 11, 2009 286 arrested in ICE's largest ever enforcement surge targeting criminal aliens 2 convicted rapists and armed robber among those captured in 3-day California operation LOS ANGELES - Nearly 300 foreign nationals with criminal records have been removed from the United States or are facing deportation following a three-day enforcement surge in California, making it the biggest operation targeting at large criminal aliens ever carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). During the operation, which concluded late Thursday, ICE officers located and arrested a total of 280 criminal aliens... ICE.gov - News Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405884/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:11:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404912/posts Someone posted that original link broke, hence this repeat. “In a startling disclosure from an exchange at an East London mosque, Imam Abdul Makin and a leading Muslim lawyer have supported the killing and raping of non-Muslims, declaring all non-Muslims as guilty and subject to lethal abuse.” TownHall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404912/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:23:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404868/posts “In a startling disclosure from an exchange at an East London mosque, Imam Abdul Makin and a leading Muslim lawyer have supported the killing and raping of non-Muslims, declaring all non-Muslims as guilty and subject to lethal abuse.” TownHall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404868/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:25:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404559/posts London, England (CNN) -- Few American presidents have been greeted with the enthusiasm Europe demonstrated for Barack Obama on his election. In part, it was a reaction against his predecessor -- George W. was never loved in the EU -- but there was also the feeling that Obama was a genuine multilateralist. Europeans, who welcomed Obama as the candidate of change, didn't expect him to agree with them on everything, but they believed that he would at least listen to them. So now that the showroom gloss is beginning to wear off Obama at home, now that U.S. poll respondents... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404559/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:47:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404364/posts The reported capturing of a Muslim women in Reus (Tarragona) and the issuing of a stoning sentence for adultery by religious fanatics are a gauge of a phenomenon that has already appeared in Holland and France, and which is now taking root in Catalonia: the creation of Islamic "moral brigades" by fundamentalists, who claim the role of judges and police officers imposing a strict observance of Sharia, or Islamic law. The theatre of the incursions of these Islamic "moral patrols" are the rural towns where the mosques are controlled by Salafists, a fundamentalist sect of Islam, with a substantial presence... Paola Del Vecchio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404364/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:31:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404301/posts Every child, Muslim or not, KNOWS Islam hates what America stands for. As a European, I understand why many Americans wonder why we don't give more support to the US than we do. You, indeed, supported US, even in our darkest hour; at a point in history we Europeans didn't even support our own freedom. This was just some decades ago. One sort of answer to this question is that deep somewhere in the intrinsic soul of Europe, there is true resistence to evil and enslavement, but after having experienced so much of it, we are somewhat unable of expressing... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404301/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:59:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404042/posts “Either Islam will be Europeanized, or Europe will be Islamized.” In recent years this prediction has been made by many major experts, among them the American Bernard Lewis, the Syrian-born German Bassam Tibi, and the French Gilles Kepel. This is, without question, an uncomfortable and sensitive topic, but it’s one that is very pertinent now that the Swiss have put their foot down and said that they will not accept another minaret within their borders. In recent decades, Islam has exploded in Europe. You can see the changes with your own eyes from year to year – whether it’s the... Frontpage Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404042/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 22:07:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403738/posts A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled. Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave - although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet. The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate. The Daily Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403738/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 15:54:46 GMT