Free Republic

PRAGUE (AFP) – Take a tram instead of a taxi and don't change your towel every day -- such are the rules at a two-day "carbon-free" congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES), which started in Prague on Monday. "The idea is simple: we want our congress to have absolutely no impact on the amount of carbon in the environment," said the organisers, who have made climate change one of the top items on the agenda. Hundreds of men in ties and women in sharp outfits arrived at the congress venue clutching tram tickets, distributed for free by the...

After the Wall Geoff Lewis, November 13, 2009 Twenty years ago the Berlin wall that divided Germany from freedom and communism came down. At a recent event at the Heritage Foundation, panelists reviewed the “pulse” of Europe twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. “Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, publics of former Iron Curtain countries generally look back approvingly at the collapse of communism,” according to “The Pulse of Europe 2009,” a study released by the Pew Global Attitudes Project in 2009. “Majorities of people in most former Soviet republics and Eastern European...

An interesting paradox. Last year America elected a president who, in attitudes and policies, is closer to the elites of Western Europe than any of his predecessors. Yet in the nine months that he has been in office ordinary Americans have been moving away from those attitudes and policies and have increasingly embraced positions that over the years have made Americans distinctive from those in other advanced Western democracies.

Obama promised to neuter America before the election in one of his campaign ads to supporters: That was one promise he decided to keep. As promised, Barack Obama will go ahead with his plan to weaken America's stand in the world. The Guardian reported today that Obama is pushing a radical plan to eliminate not hundreds but thousands of the nation's strategic warheads, via Free Republic. Barack Obama has demanded the Pentagon conduct a radical review of US nuclear weapons doctrine to prepare the way for deep cuts in the country's arsenal, the Guardian can reveal. Obama has rejected the...

Is Germany’s Charlemagne About to Appear? August 25, 2009 | From theTrumpet.com Germany and a great church are working to restore the tradition of Charlemagne. By Gerald Flurry [CORRECTION: A reference in this article to a document by President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill to “destroy German militarism and Nazism” said it was signed after the Allies defeated Germany in World War ii. In fact, they signed that document in February 1945 at the Yalta Conference. The error has been corrected.] As I write this article, Germany is just weeks from electing a new chancellor. That election and...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Thursday shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defense plan that has been a major irritant in relations with Russia. He said a redesigned defensive system would be cheaper and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles. "Our new missile defense architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter and swifter defenses of American forces and America's allies," Obama said in an announcement from the White House. "It is more comprehensive than the previous program, it deploys capabilities that are proven and cost effective, and it sustains and builds upon our commitment...

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The World Trade Organisation has judged European subsidies paid to Airbus illegal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a source "familiar with the matter". But European sources who declined to be named told AFP that the interim ruling released by the WTO indicated that the US complaint was only partially upheld. The Journal reported from Brussels that the WTO concluded that every launch-aid package given to Airbus for the development of its A380 double-decker long-range airliner was an illegal subsidy. The conclusion was contained in a report of around 1,000 pages, with hard copies only...

We Can Stop the European Bank Bailout. Barack Obama wants to bail out European banks. No, it is no joke. He really wants to. He is going to send the International Monetary Fund billions of dollars that will then be used to do in Europe what Obama has done here.We can stop it. House Republicans are going to vote in a block to oppose this, which means around thirty Democrats are needed. The Blue Dog Democrats are logical targets. Those Democrats who represent districts that tilt Republican can be pressured. And among them, the freshman Blue Dogs can really be...

A Dutch MP banned from Britain for his anti-Islamic views has won more than 15 per cent of the vote in Holland's European Parliament elections, exit polls have shown. Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party are to take four of the 25 Dutch seats in the European assembly as right-wing and fringe parties were set to gain all over Europe. The results are giving credence to the theory that the economic downturn, cynicism over the union's eastward expansion and worries about relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are fuelling a voter backlash against mainstream politicians. Wilders was barred from entering Britain...

(IsraelNN.com) Despite the EU Parliament's vote Wednesday to legalize “shechita,” the Jewish method of humane animal slaughter is still very much in danger. It was reported on Thursday that the European Jewish Community “hailed” the European Parliament’s vote to legalize the traditional Jewish method of slaughter into European law. However, it was later clarified that in fact, the Parliament only has consultative status in this case, and that the European Union’s Council of Agricultural Ministers will have the final say when it convenes next month. "During the original debate on this issue in Norway, one of the parliamentarians said straight...

Summary of key points: European banks own 8 trillion US assets (treasuries, agencies, consumer loans, etc…) and they are losing access to their dollar funding. If European banks are forced to sell their US assets, it will crash the credit markets, and they will have to recognize enormous losses. Since the fed is desperate to prevent the collapse of the US financial system, it lent those European banks 600 billion dollars so that they wouldn’t be forced to sell. Meanwhile, European banks accepted this 600 billion because they don’t want to recognize losses on their toxic US securities. What is...

Last Tuesday, a Parisian appeals court overturned the convictions of five former Guantanamo inmates who had been found guilty on terrorist conspiracy charges in 2007. The development should give pause to wonder not only about the wisdom of plans to transfer Guantanamo inmates to European countries (see my earlier New Majority piece here), but more fundamentally about the very idea of treating the "disposition" of Guantanamo inmates as an issue for civilian courts, whether in the US or abroad. The five French Gitmo detainees were repatriated to France in 2004 and 2005. They were tried and convicted on charges of...

STRASBOURG (AFP) – The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the EU's climate change package, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020, lifting the last hurdle to the ambitious plan. Six texts on the package, already agreed by the 27 European Union member states, were passed by a large majority of the MEPs present. "We have sealed the climate package," said European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, after the vote. The so-called "20-20-20" climate package, which Europe hopes will serve as a model to other nations, will oblige EU nations to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent...

Ashamed to be an American? You will be if your vote is for Obama this November... Why Europeans want you NOT to vote for Obama: We the citizens of Europe beg you please to vote for the Republican candidate. Because we view Barack Hussein Obama to be a left-wing impostor and troublemaker and a frontman for the insidious immoral Anti-American postmodern collectivist anarchistic movement that the left, in alliance with the creative and entertainment mass media of artists, pop musicians, actors and press, have been working for forty years to bring to power...

Air traffic, urban transport and public services have ground to a halt in Greece, where hundreds of thousands of people have walked out on strike. =snip= A small group of protesters threw stones and clashed with riotpolice, who fired tear gas. But there were no reports of injuries and for the most part rallies in the capital passed off peacefully. Country 'at a halt' Public offices across the country were forced to close, with hundreds of thousands of people thought to have joined the nationwide strike, called by two unions representing some 2.5 million people. Nearly 200 domestic and international...

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday proposed a pan-European summit to review a proposal to create a "reliable collective" security system in Europe. Saying that the existing architecture of European security "did not pass the strength test in recent events," referring to the Georgia conflict, he told the UN General Assembly that a "pan-European summit" should take "a comprehensive look at security problems." Lavrov did not say when or where this summit would be held but said its task would be to weigh a proposal made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Berlin last June...

The first official image of a Russian-European manned spacecraft has been unveiled. It is designed to replace the Soyuz vehicle currently in use by Russia and will allow Europe to participate directly in crew transportation. The reusable ship was conceived to carry four people towards the Moon, rivalling the US Ares/Orion system. Unlike previous crewed vehicles, it will use thrusters to make a soft landing when it returns to Earth. I think the main roadmap is the agreement between the European and Russian space agencies. That is their Plan A Anatoly Zak In some respects, the capsule resembles America's next-generation...

An imam in Morocco's eastern city of Fez has said that marriages between Moroccan women and European men who are not Muslims are forbidden under Islam. Each summer in Morocco, a growing number of local women are reportedly marrying young European men. "This kind of marriage, between Moroccan women and European men, is forbidden by the Koran (the Muslim holy book) and the Sunna (the way or deeds of the Prophet Mohammed)," Sheikh Mohammed al-Tawil said in a TV interview. "A Muslim woman may not marry an unbeliever while a Muslim man may marry Christian and Jewish women," he told...

Ancient 'Out Of Africa' Migration Left Stamp On European Genetic DiversityScientists compared more than 10,000 sequenced genes from 15 African-Americans and 20 European-Americans. The results suggest that European populations have proportionately more harmful variations, though it is unclear what effects these variations actually may have on the overall health of Europeans. (Credit: iStockphoto) ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2008) — Human migration from Africa to Europe more than 30,000 years ago appears to have left a mark on the genes of Europeans today. A Cornell-led study, reported in the Feb. 21 issue of the journal Nature, compared more than 10,000 sequenced genes...

Study of Ancient Farmers DNA Challenges European Origins Thursday, November 10, 2005 WASHINGTON — A study of DNA from ancient farmers in Europe shows sharp differences from that of modern Europeans — results that are likely to add fuel to the debate over European origins. Researchers led by Wolfgang Haak of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, argue that their finding supports the belief that modern residents of central Europe descended from Stone Age hunter-gatherers who were present 40,000 years ago, and not the early farmers who arrived thousands of years later. But other anthropologists questioned that conclusion, arguing that...

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanon's top Shiite cleric asked Britain on Sunday to adopt the European approach to the region rather than an American one which is using Lebanon to pressure on Syria and Iran. Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah made his comments during a meeting at his office with visiting British envoy to the Middle East Michael Williams, according to a statement released by the cleric's office. "We want Britain to be European and not to be American or work on the side of America's foreign policy in the region," the black-turbaned cleric said.

Race Linked To Happiness And Recovery From Negative Events ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2007) — Are you happy? Well don't try to be happier; you might become less happy. That is the gist of a multi-cultural study published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study by University of Virginia psychology professor Shigehiro Oishi and colleagues at three other institutions found that, on average, European-Americans claim to be happy in general – more happy than Asian-Americans or Koreans or Japanese – but are more easily made less happy by negative events, and recover at a slower rate from...

At a Denver conference on intercontinental trade corridors, a Mexican mayor called for a swift move toward a European Union-style merger of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Referring to Europe, Evaristo Lenin Perez of Ciudad Acuna – a sister city of Del Rio, Texas – told the Great Plains International Conference, "It's a model we need to follow quickly."

PARIS (Reuters) - Petitions in London, protests in Cologne, a court case in Marseille and a violent clash in Berlin -- Muslims in Europe are meeting resistance to plans for mosques that befit Islam's status as the continent's second religion. Across Europe, Muslims who have long prayed in garages and old factories now face skepticism and concern for wanting to build stately mosques to give proud testimony to the faith and solidity of their Islamic communities. Some critics reject them as signs of "Islamisation." Others say minarets would scar their city's skyline. Given the role some mosques have played as...

Do you remember the European Constitution? Yes, the one rejected by the French and Dutch? That same European Constitution on which the Labour Government promised the British people a referendum before the last General Election? Well, it's back with a vengeance. Like some old Hammer horror movie, the constitution has returned from the dead, now repackaged as a 'treaty.' The so-called 'new' EU Treaty has all the same ingredients as the old constitution. In fact, it was revealed yesterday that it is 96 per cent identical to the old constitution. And so the response to this newly repackaged threat to...

BUCHAREST, Romania - Southern Europe sizzled under a heat wave Tuesday, with temperatures hitting triple digits for a seventh day in Romania, blazes forcing the evacuation of tourists in Croatia and Italy, and wildfires in Macedonia and Greece exploding shells from long-ago wars. At least 35 heat-related deaths were reported. Romanian authorities warned residents to stay indoors during the midday heat in the capital of Bucharest, one of five counties put on high alert because of the weather. At least 27 people have died in Romania since last week, with 12 deaths reported Monday, said Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu. The...

Source: American Society of Agronomy Date: May 16, 2007 Biotechnology Solves Debate Over Origin Of European Potato Science Daily — Molecular studies recently revealed new genetic information concerning the long-disputed origin of the "European potato." Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of La Laguna, and the International Potato Center used genetic markers to prove that the remnants of the earliest known landraces of the European potato are of Andean and Chilean origin. They report their findings in the May-June 2007 issue of Crop Science. Americans each eat about 140 pounds of potatoes a year in fresh and processed...

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS MEETING: European Skin Turned Pale Only Recently, Gene Suggests Ann Gibbons PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA--At the American Association of Physical Anthropologists meeting, held here from 28 to 31 March, a new report on the evolution of a gene for skin color suggested that Europeans acquired pale skin quite recently, perhaps only 6000 to 12,000 years ago

Source: University of Pennsylvania Date: April 23, 2007 Historian Discovers Evidence Documenting First European Voyage Up The Delaware Science Daily — A University of Pennsylvania scholar has pinpointed 1616 as the year of the first European voyage up the Delaware River. Jaap Jacobs, a senior fellow at Penn's McNeil Center for Early American Studies, detailed his findings in a paper, "Truffle Hunting with an Iron Hog: The First Dutch Voyage up the Delaware River," recently presented as part of the McNeil Center Seminar Series. Scholarly discoveries tend to be the outcome of a deliberate process, but serendipity played an important...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Investors are increasingly positive on euro zone equities and ever more negative on their US counterparts because of a more attractive valuation and a stronger earnings outlook, according to a survey by Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch's fund managers survey for April found that a net 18 pct of those polled think the US is the most overvalued equity market in the world, while a net 26 pct believe that the euro zone is the most undervalued. A net 38 pct of managers moreover believe the outlook for earnings is brightest in the euro zone, while 42...

Source of hot European summers determined PALAISEAU, France, March 22 (UPI) -- French-led research suggests shortages of winter rainfall over southern Europe precede hot summers further north on the European continent. Robert Vautard of the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute in Palaiseau, France, and colleagues analyzed meteorological records of the past 58 years and determine dry conditions around the northern Mediterranean create a mass of anomalously warm, dry air that spreads northward during early summer. The researchers detected the pattern while searching for previously undiscovered weather scenarios that explain heat waves, such as the one experienced by Europe in the summer of...

!-- E IBYL --> The European Union claims it has secured peace among historical enemies, spread democracy to its neighbours and created a new model of international co-operation. But none of that was pre-ordained. The milestones of the past 50 years tell a story of bitter national rivalries, personality clashes and tortured compromises which have threatened the project's survival more than once and may do so again in the coming years. Churchill saw European unity as a means of breaking the cycle of conflict Winston Churchill, Britain's wartime leader, called postwar Europe "a rubble heap, a charnel-house, a breeding-ground...

European faces jail for insulting Thai king By A Special Correspondent in Chiang Mai Last Updated: 2:15pm GMT 12/03/2007 A Swiss man today admitted five charges of insulting Thailand's revered king by spray-painting posters of the monarch on the evening of his birthday. Oliver Jufer is facing up to 15 years in prison Oliver Jufer, 57, who has been held in prison for more than three months, appeared at Chiang Mai provincial court in shackles and a brown inmate's uniform, for a secret session. Members of the public and journalists were barred from the hearing, and earlier court officials told...

DARMSTADT, Germany - A European spacecraft was on course to zip past Mars on Sunday, a crucial maneuver in its meandering, 10-year voyage through the solar system to make the first soft landing on a comet. The Rosetta craft is to pass within just 150 miles of the Martian surface, using the planet's gravity to change course and head for similar close encounters with Earth later this year and in 2009. The momentum gained from these flybys will sling the spacecraft toward its final rendezvous with the comet 67/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta must swing around Mars on exactly the right course, and...

Special trains and buses brought in protesters from across Italy Thousands of people have been arriving in the north-eastern Italian city of Vicenza for a march against a planned extension of the US army base there.Organisers say the majority of local people are opposed to US plans. They say Prime Minister Romano Prodi has ignored strong local objections. Thousands of extra police are on duty in Vicenza for what is planned as a peaceful march. There are fears that extremist fringe groups will try to cause violence. Vicenza's mayor fears the march will be infiltrated by left-wing extremists from...

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised Europe's strong economic growth but warned of the dangers of protectionism. Rodrigo de Rato said Europe's economic upturn in recent months, led by Germany and France, was a major boost for the global economy. But he said efforts must be made to conclude a global trade treaty and to reduce levels of unemployment. He called for renewed reform efforts to deregulate eurozone labor markets. Although the eurozone was expected to see growth above 2% in 2007 and 2008, de Rato said the specter of protectionism and higher levels of unemployment...

European skull's evolving story The specimen was found along with bear remains The earliest modern humans in Europe were short of being the complete article, according to a study of a fossilised skull from Romania. The 35,000-year-old cranium discovered in Pestera cu Oase in the west of the country shows an interesting mix of features, say scientists. Whilst undeniably a Homo sapiens specimen, it has some traits normally associated with more ancient species. The skull is reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr Helene Rougier, from Washington University in St Louis, US, and colleagues say the fossil...

New far-Right group launches its mission to defend European identity By Bruno Waterfield in Strasbourg Last Updated: 2:04am GMT 16/01/2007 The first major far-Right grouping in the European parliament officially launched its mission yesterday to defend "European identity" in the face of growing numbers of immigrants. "We are in favour of upholding European identity, the identities of our individual countries. We want to uphold European tradition and yet remain modern," Bruno Gollnisch, the leader of the Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) group, told the European parliament last night. By forming an EU political grouping, ITS qualifies for up to £800,000...

Skate Diva (from France doing in-line skating through slalom courses, and even on one leg!) Video - http://www.yahoo.com/s/446703 AWESOME! --- Some other comments so far - "I am French myself and it' awesome to see a french gal take her passion to the limit...C'est vraiment trop cool cte video. J suis fiere que tu sois Frncaise! Tu m'as trop impressionnee..." "Young and Gifted What More Could You Ask For... There's A Lot More Than Just Common Know How Going On Here... I Definetly See Practice and Refinement.... Much Respect For Taking Your Talent And Exercising It To Greatness... I'm Proud...

...Using new technology to study the genomes of 270 volunteers from four corners of the world, researchers have found that while people do indeed inherit one chromosome from each parent, they do not necessarily inherit one gene from mom and another from dad. One parent can pass down to a child three or more copies of a single gene. In some cases, people can inherit as many as eight or 10 copies....

It was enough to forget for a moment about NATO, and "difficult gas negotiations" picked up the speed. Victor Yanukovych, after one month in office, radically antagonized Ukrainian political scene. To be exact the term "antagonized" does not fit completely, as majority of parties, starting with the left, post-Communists, ending with the Blue and Orange are very suspicious one toward another. Indeed, there is a real hatred present. They act together because they have no way out. But Yanukovych breached the agreement, the so called Universal of National Unity, which was at the foundation of the coalition. In the...

Since I started posting to Serb Blog nine months ago, I have done my best to simply bring you the news relevant to Serbs in the US and overseas, and not to harrangue you with my personal opinions and ranting. But sadly, I can keep silent on this no longer. Christian Kosovo is dying, and I --as an American and a Christian --cannot simply stand by and say nothing while my country sells my Christian brothers and sisters in Kosovo down the river in the name of European & UN dirty politics. These photos represent the real Kosovo for Serbs,...

I was wondering if anybody knows of a good reputable source of pre-european native america population figures. My textbook says that there were appx. 18 million, but to me that seems a bit high. According to the text after Americas first census there were only 600,000 left they dwindled down drastically, another 50% and then recovered at the turn of the century. That would mean over 95% of Native Americans where killed by disease prior to Americas founding. With such a disperse population it seems abit unfathonable that disease had such a drastic effect on such a widespread population base.

Whereas Turkey began accession negotiations with the European Union on October 3, 2005; (Introduced in House) HRES 999 IH 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 999Urging Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarch. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 12, 2006 Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. WATSON, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. BACA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations RESOLUTIONUrging Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Whereas Turkey...

Michelle Wie on Friday missed the cut in last place at the European Masters -- 22 shots behind co-leaders Bradley Dredge, Andrew McLardy and Marcel Siem. "I am still in shock. I just couldn't get any of my shots to go," Wie said after a round of 8-over 79. "I don't know why it was. I don't even know what sport I was playing today." Having now missed the cut in nine of the 10 men's events she has played worldwide, Wie will give it another shot next week at the 84 Lumber Classic on the PGA TOUR. Friday, Wie...

Contact: Hannah Johnson hannah.johnson@bristol.ac.uk 44-117-928-8896 University of Bristol How modern were European Neanderthals? Neandertals were much more like modern humans than had been previously thought, according to a re-examination of finds from one of the most famous palaeolithic sites in Europe by Bristol University archaeologist, Professor Joao Zilhao, and his French colleagues. Professor Zilhao has been able to show that sophisticated artefacts such as decorated bone points and personal ornaments found in the Châtelperronian culture of France and Spain were genuinely associated with Neandertals around 44,000 years ago, rather than acquired from modern humans who might have been living nearby....

Origin of the Celts - Caucasian, not European The Celts are Circaesir from Circaesya, who lived on the Sea of Grass in what is now west Kazakhstan until late in the second millennium B.C. They were by their own definition a linguistic group, but now they are a culture. Contrary to popular belief, they had nothing to do with European inhabitants known to archaeologists as the 'Beaker folk' and 'Battle Axe people'. The 'Urnfield people' farther east were Circaesir, and obviously related to the Celts. Their descendants integrated with Celts in central Europe. Tradition suggests that the Celts left the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – U.S. European Command will assume command of U.S. military forces operating off the coast of Lebanon and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the organization’s commander said here today. Marine Gen. James L. Jones, speaking at a Pentagon news conference, said European Command elements will assume command of the operations in that area from U.S. Central Command Aug. 23. European Command has supported U.S. Central Command in the effort. Central Command originally received the mission because Lebanon is in that organization’s assigned area of operations. But Central Command also is responsible for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan...

A university in the US has cracked the secret codes of the European satellite system Galileo's first satellite in orbit, making it doubtful that the €3.4 billion project will pay for itself through commercial fees as promised by Brussels. "That means free access for consumers who use navigation devices," said the scientist who broke the code, Mark Psiaki, in a statement. It could cost the EU dearly as it wants to charge high-tech firms "licence fees" to access that same data, before they can make and sell compatible navigation devices to the public. But the European Commission told the Telegraph...

Banks join US curbs on Iran By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 23/05/2006) The Bush administration has persuaded four of Europe's largest banks to start breaking off contacts with Iran as Washington pushes for anti-Iranian sanctions by "the back door", it emerged yesterday. Citing anti-terrorist laws the United States Treasury and the State Department are strengthening their efforts for banks in the Middle East, America and Europe to cut their links with Iran. President Ahmadinejad's regime is being hit with ‘smart sanctions’ Banks with branches and headquarters on US soil have in the past faced huge fines for dealing with...