Free Republic

'Joe Shute reveals how a son’s mission to honour his father uncovered one of the most dramatic - and touching - stories of the Second World War.'

History has shown that when a government wants to solidify its power, it has to turn its subjects into taxpayers. The Roman Empire demanded high tribute payments from every tribe it had newly conquered. And the United States developed from a commonwealth to a federal state when, in the 18th century, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton achieved uniform duties and taxes for the entire union, initially on whiskey, because it was so lucrative. Politicians in the eurozone are now seeking to emulate the historic model from the early years of the United States. The unnerving bargaining over the latest Greece bailout...

Four days ago, French President François Hollande declared his in-principle commitment to the creation of a “euro government, with the addition of a specific budget and a parliament to ensure democratic control.” This is more an opening gambit in a debate about the terms of putative federalization (a term Hollande was careful to avoid), than a statement of French commitment to it at all costs. If some form of federalization comes about, it will not be because the French especially desire it, but because the logic of the Euro ultimately demands it. […] Germany is also in a better position...

"Let me explain first of all — this is Europe's problem much more than ours, OK?" Trump told CNN during a trip to Scotland. "And Europe isn't complaining as much as we are. But this is more of a Europe problem," Trump continued. "And when Europe comes to us and says, 'We want your help, we want your help,' but they're not really doing that. They're dealing with Russia, they're taking in the gas, they're taking in the oil — they're not really doing that. And you know, we're making a big deal out of it." "But why isn't Germany...

When President Obama signed a law yesterday funding federal transportation projects for the next three months, he lamented that the United States did not have a five-year federal plan for transportation—and warned Congress that “big, powerful countries” like the Peoples Republic of China did not do it the way the U.S. is doing it now. “I guarantee you this is not how China, Germany, other countries around the world—other big, powerful countries around the world—handle their infrastructure,” Obama said. …

A German federal court has ruled that the country’s spy agency is under no obligation to divulge to the media a list of names compiled from search terms provided to it by the U.S. National Security Agency. A newspaper publisher sought an injunction forcing the Germany agency, the BND, to disclose information about what German companies and citizens were on the list after the spy agency refused to answer questions. …

The man's clothes were dirty and he was clearly exhausted. He slumped back in the plastic chair and began to cry. "My wife, my family, they're all dead. All killed," he said. "That's why I left Syria." I met Saba in a makeshift reception centre for refugees, in the town of Passau. He had been waiting for hours to be "processed". Little wonder - 200 refugees arrive at this centre every day. Across town, a municipal ice rink has been hastily converted into another reception centre. Germany receives more refugees than any other European county. In the first half of...

UPDATED: French farmers said on Monday they had blocked and turned back as many as 300 trucks importing food from Germany, the latest protest against a fall in food prices.Farmers set up checkpoints on six roads between Germany and France late on Sunday night and said they would continue their action until later Monday. "We've already held back between 200 and 300 lorries transporting products that are distorting competition for us," said Franck Sander, local head of the FNSEA farming union. "For example, we made a lorry carrying Babybel (cheese) turn back. Consumers think this is French but the cheese...

A 14-year-old Palestinian girl has garnered international attention recently after being brought to tears by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who told the young girl that her family may be deported because Germany "can't manage" everyone coming from refugee camps. And now she's back in the headlines after telling German paper Die Welt her feelings on Israel: My hope is that at some time, [Israel] is no longer there, but only Palestine. This country should no longer be called Israel, but Palestine. It is reported that Reem Sahwil, quoted above, was born in a refugee camp in Lebanon but currently...

The White House did not pursue the nuclear agreement with Iran as an international treaty, because getting U.S. Senate advice and consent for a treaty has “become physically impossible,” Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers on Tuesday. At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Kerry was asked about the administration’s approach of seeking a political accord between governments rather than an international treaty. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wisc.) recalled Kerry saying earlier in the hearing that if Congress rejects the JCPOA, other countries will in the future not...

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Iran’s foreign minister says “high-level” talks will soon be launched with the European Union following a nuclear agreement reached with world powers earlier this month. Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday that the talks “in the near future” will focus on energy, environmental and human rights issues, as well as “extremism, terrorism and sectarianism” in the Middle East. …

Business confidence in Germany unexpectedly improved in July after two monthly drops as an agreement between Greece and its creditors for talks on a third bailout lifted the mood at firms in Europe's largest economy. The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to 108.0 from a revised 107.5 in June. That beat the Reuters consensus for a drop to 107.2 and sent the euro up to a two-week high against the dollar.

With the turmoil in Greece proving once and for all that in the absence of a fiscal union, the EMU simply cannot function or if it does, it will be subject to episodic crises stemming from endemic differences of opinion on fiscal policy, outsiders could be forgiven for looking upon the currency experiment as an abject failure. Indeed, the struggle to secure a bridge loan for Athens last week underscored the degree to which non-euro countries are reluctant to put their taxpayers on the hook for problems which they believe are the result of an ill-fated attempt to unite fundamentally...

Suppose we had a war and Britain didn’t come? Which is sort of what happened in Syria when President Obama, on the advice of Samantha Power, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, declared that we must go in now, this afternoon. No time to discuss. Much as we had heard before in the maelstrom which is the Middle East. Surely, our allies, by which I think we mean Europe, the Atlantic Alliance or “the West,” led of course by our trusty sidekick, Britain, will fall in line. But overnight, the British Parliament voted to just say no. And we...

Members of the Berlin faction of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) voted against gay marriage in a poll on Friday, denting hopes the Chancellor’s staunch opposition could be swayed. The Berlin faction of the CDU announced on Friday that 45 percent of its members voted against gay marriage while 35 percent voted in support in a survey, newspaper Tagesspiegel reported. The survey was conducted over the past three weeks, asking members whether they would support gay marriage in Germany. About 40 percent of the CDU's roughly 12,500 members sent in their votes. While same-sex couples in Germany...

Through all the haggling and hair-pulling in the past months over more austerity, fewer creditors getting their money, and a dreaded “Grexit”—a scenario in which Greece would leave Europe’s currency union—at least four prominent economists in three major American publications have casually and quietly suggested there may be a third way: A German exit. That is, Germany should exit the euro, and clear the way for countries in the south of Europe—notably, Greece, Italy, Spain, and probably Portugal—to reconcile their debt with a greatly depreciated currency and maybe finally get a handle on their economies. The latest thinker to suggest...

Members of the Berlin faction of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) voted against gay marriage in a poll on Friday, denting hopes the Chancellor’s staunch opposition could be swayed. The Berlin faction of the CDU announced on Friday that 45 percent of its members voted against gay marriage while 35 percent voted in support in a survey, newspaper Tagesspiegel reported. […] The recent passage of same-sex marriage in Ireland and a US Supreme Court decision in favour of gay marriage has put more pressure on Merkel and her conservative Union (CDU and Christian Social Union parties), who...

“(The EU) is part of the cornerstone of institutions built after World War Two that has made the world safer and more prosperous. “We want to make sure that the United Kingdom continues to have that influence,” Mr Obama told the BBC, reinforcing the importance Washington places on the UK remaining in the EU. He has previously acknowledged the need to try and “fix what is broken” with the EU before breaking the relationship. Mr Obama said David Cameron was an outstanding partner and praised the Government for committing earlier this month to Nato's defence spending pledge of two per...

In defiance of the international arms embargo, Iran last week placed an order with Moscow for a huge fleet of 100 Russian IL78 MKI tanker aircraft (NATO: Midas) for refueling its air force in mid-flight, thereby extending its range to 7,300 km. This is reported exclusively by DEBKAfile from its military and intelligence sources. The transaction runs contrary to the terms of the nuclear accord the six world powers and Iran signed in Vienna earlier this month. These tanker planes can simultaneously refuel six to eight warplanes. Their acquisition brings Israel, 1.200km away – as well the rest of the...