Free Republic

This month reveals how deeply we have descended into an anti-human kind of Dante's Hell.  From Newsweek, which told us a month ago that "We Are All Socialists Now," last week's cover story was: The Case for Pulling the Plug on Granny. , written by Evan Thomas, the grandson of famous socialist  Norman Thomas, a six-time Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. But now that we're all socialists, Evan Thomas can confess that he's just a Democrat. The fundamental delusion of Socialism is that there's a free lunch, plus free health care, free national defense (by decimating the...

* U.S. accused of 'riding roughshod' over UK as Guantanamo detainees are sent to Bermuda in secret deal * But Washington insists deal was kept from London in an effort to protect UK's relationship with China * Bermudian opposition tables no confidence motion in Prime Minister as deal ignites political firestorm on the island * PM admits he may not have agreed to take detainees in had he known the controversy it would cause * EU agrees to take in detainees They look like ordinary tourists as they stroll along the seafront on the British territory of Bermuda, but these...

[Evan Thomas:] "...he [Obama] has a very different job from Reagan was all about America and you [Chris Matthews] talked about it. Obama is 'we are above all that now.' We're not just parochial. We stand for something. I mean in a way, Obama's standing above the country, above the world, he's sort of God."

TRENTON, NJ - Things could get hairy in New Jersey this summer for women who sport revealing bikinis or a little bit less. The painful Brazilian wax and its intimate derivatives are in danger of being stripped from salon and spa menus if a recent proposal to ban genital waxing is passed by the state's Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling. Cherry Hill salon owner Linda Orsuto said that women would "go ballistic" if the proposal passed. She said that some women would resort to waxing themselves, visiting unlicensed salons or traveling to other states, including Pennsylvania, in a quest to...

WASHINGTON —Is it a case of congressional Democrats saying one thing then doing another? Legislators scolded financial executives for holding corporate retreats at posh hotels and now, the House Democratic Caucus is holding a legislative retreat this weekend in Williamsburg, Va. at a luxury spa and golf resort. We wanted to know who’s picking up the tab—so NBC 4‘s Patrick Preston investigated to find out. The Congressional Democrats are meeting at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa, where members will pay between $119 and $400 each night for their rooms. But taxpayers pick up the rest of the cost. Taxpayer dollars...

THESE are the generations of cosmetic medicine: First came the “medical spa,” or medi spa, offering dermatology services in a retail setting. The medi spa begat the dental spa, bringing tooth bleaching to storefronts nationwide. The dental spa begat the podiatry spa. And now comes the first medi spa in Manhattan wholly dedicated to strengthening and grooming a woman’s genital area. Phit — short for pelvic health integrated techniques — is to open this month on East 58th Street.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Forget avocado, evening primrose oil or other exotic ingredients, the latest facial to hit New York is a mask made with bird excrement. The Geisha Facial, available at Shizuka New York for $180, about $100 more than the shop's other facials, contains nightingale excrement. The Japanese powder, also known as uguisu no fun, is rich in the amino acid guanine, said to brighten and cleanse skin. In the 18th century geishas and kabuki actors used the powder to clean heavy white makeup off their faces. "I'm always trying to bring Japanese culture and tradition to...

The Japanese love their noodles so much that some of them are literally ready to dive in to their bowl of ramen. A Japanese spa on Saturday opened special baths meant to resemble ramen, complete with bath salt shaped like the dangling delicacy, a giant pair of chopsticks overhead and water the aroma of pepper. "The aroma of pepper is said to have the effects of refreshing your mind, warming your burned-out heart and inflaming your passion," explained a statement by spa complex Hakone Kowakien Yunessun in Hakone, one of Japan's most popular hot spring resorts. Ramen lovers in bathing...

TALMEY EL'AZAR, Israel, Jan 25 (Reuters Life!) - Hold the Dead Sea salts and tea-tree oil. An Israeli health and beauty spa has introduced a new treatment to its menu -- snake massage. For 300 shekels ($70), clients at Ada Barak's spa in northern Israel can add a wild twist to their treatment by having six non-venomous but very lively serpents slither and hiss a path across their aching muscles and stiff joints. "I'm actually afraid of snakes, but the therapeutic effects are really good," customer Liz Cohen told Reuters Television as Barak let the snakes loose on her body....

See for example this thread first. There is a spa over in Czech that will be worth making the trek From all that I hear it revolves around BEER Finally, men have a spa, too, by HECK!

A family brewery in the Czech Republic has opened the world’s first beer health centre in its cellar. The Chodovar Family brewery in Chodova Plana offers beer baths, beer massages and beer cosmetics. The cellar has seven huge Victorian style baths where visitors can swim in beer while enjoying a pint poured at a bathside bar. "Beer can treat a range of conditions, particularly skin conditions, and the health centre should appeal to men who are put off by 'posh' traditional spas. I have heard of some places in other countries where people can swim in beer but it's just...

Puzzle of the vanished 'parliament' By Aidan Foster-Carter Another day, another Pyongyang puzzle. Last Friday, North Korea abruptly canceled the regular annual session of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), its nominal parliament, just five days before it was scheduled to open on March 9, this Wednesday. According to the SPA Presidium - a standing committee that does the SPA's job when the full parliament is not in session, ie 99% of the time - the third session of the 11th SPA was postponed "at the requests made by deputies to the SPA in all domains of the socialist construction". But...

BADEN-BADEN, Germany — Who was the man hanging around the roulette table in the casino in this historic hot-springs resort? He had a black shirt, tie and jacket over black jeans and a two-day stubble, like some of his companions. He looked like a member of the Russian mafia. Or, he might have been a Russian pediatrician escaping his family for a few days, or one of Moscow's new tycoons, or a tycoon's bodyguard. Anyway, he was speaking Russian with his friends, and therefore exemplified a new trend in Baden-Baden, whose image seems inconsistent with anything new. After the better...

For millions of Floridians, it's life's happy ending: Retire, buy a condo and spend afternoons by the pool with a burger, fries and a cold one. But residents at Turnberry Isle condominium's North Tower are angry because their golden sunset has a cloud. Snacks are now forbidden by the pool, and the clubhouse restaurant's menu has been wiped clean of parmesan chicken and pasta and replaced with eggplant salad and brown rice. The reason: the Pritikin Longevity Center -- a wellness spa -- moved in and needed the restaurant to serve a health-oriented cuisine for its guests. The poolside snack...

The Pro-America Campus MovementBy Jacqui GarofanoFrontPageMagazine.com | March 6, 2003 In light of the pending conflict with Iraq and the continued war on terror,  there has been a phenomenon sweeping across college campuses of the nation.  Since September 11, 2001, and also more recently, college students have been  speaking up, even going so far as to form organizations, to support their  country.  Harvard Law, Brandeis, Princeton, Yale and Columbia University are among the schools where such activism is taking place.  What the following groups have in common is a feeling of patriotism and seemingly a sense that it is their...