Free Republic

Britain Has Gone From God-Fearing to God-Jeering The Church of England is on course to disappear from these isles within three generations, unless there’s a miracle. By Allison Pearson15 Feb 2012 Last September, in the final weeks of his life, the New Labour strategist Philip Gould gave a moving interview to The Guardian. Dying of throat cancer at the age of 61, Lord Gould had done a lot of thinking about the meaning of life in a short time. The interviewer mentioned, in passing, that his subject had found religion, lost it briefly when he had witnessed terrible pain in...

'Irish actor David Kelly, who played Grandpa Joe Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has died, aged 82. The dapper dresser passed away after a short illness following a career on stage and screen spanning 50 years. He became a familiar face on British television during the 1970s with a long running role as the one-armed dishwasher Albert Riddle in Robin's Nest. Despite his longevity, Kelly reckoned a nine-minute part as a feckless builder on Fawlty Towers gave him more fame worldwide than all his years acting. Kelly also remarked he finally made it as a sex symbol after...

Iran and al Qaeda's core leadership under Ayman al Zawahiri have established an "operational relationship" amid fears the terror group is planning a spectacular attack against the West. There are concerns such an attack, possibly targeting Europe, would be in revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US last year. Sky News' intelligence sources have said Iran has been supplying al Qaeda with training in the use of advanced explosives, "some funding and a safe haven" as part of a deal first worked out in 2009 which has now led to "operational capacity".

Hollywood actor Sean Penn has criticised Prince William's deployment to the Falklands in a second attack on Britain in two days. Madonna's ex-husband was condemned as 'moronic' by Tory MP and former Army officer Patrick Mercer yesterday for claiming Britain's continuing hold on the Falklands was 'colonialist, ludicrous and archaic'. But the left-leaning actor showed he cannot keep his mouth shut over the islands by accusing the UK of 'insensitivity' for posting William to the disputed South Atlantic territory and labelling Britain a colonial dinosaur for the second day running.

Remember when Barack Obama promised to restore our standing with America’s allies and exercise “smart power� in diplomacy? Good times, good times. In the latest dispute over the Falkland Islands, Obama has failed to support our closest ally on the world stage even after their military and diplomatic support for our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in what the Telegraph’s Nile Gardiner called another knife in the back: First, military weakness is provocative. Argentina ramped up its aggressive rhetoric and diplomatic efforts to reclaim the Falklands only after P.M. Cameron announced massive cuts to the Royal Navy and British ground...

This is a message I’ve delivered on these pages before. But today I will be taking the argument one step further. I will be arguing for Europe to become more confident and more comfortable in its Christianity. The point is this: the societies we live in, the cultures we have created, the values we hold and the things we fight for all stem from centuries of discussion, dissent and belief in Christianity. These values shine through our politics, our public life, our culture, our economics, our language and our architecture. And, as I will say today, you cannot and should...

Muslim Girl 'Attacked By Siblings For Kiss' Muslim teenager Shamima Akhtar was kidnapped, imprisoned and had her hair cut off after her family saw her kiss a white man on her 18th birthday, a court has heard. [Pics in URL] Kayum Mohammed-Abdul, left to right, Nadiya and Nazira bundled their sister into a car Photo: PA Shamima was bundled into a car by sisters Nadiya, 25, Nazira, 29, and brother Kayum Mohammed-Abdul, 24, outside a Basingstoke restaurant when they saw her kissing work colleague Gary Pain on April 1 last year. The jury heard how an "extremely aggressive and threatening"...

Meet Britain's luckiest soldier Denis Larubi, who escaped death twice in two days after being shot by a Taliban sniper, thanks to his bullet-proof body armour. The Lance Corporal's first lucky escape came when the sniper's round missed him by mere inches when the shots struck a bullet-proof glass just in front of his face in a sentry tower. The next day, Lance Corporal Larubi, 30, defied the odds again when a bullet fired by the same marksman clipped his rifle, sending it speeding into his left shoulder - but was stopped by his £2,000 Osprey Mk4 Kevlar vest. The...

And who wants Global Warming when you can face avalanches, deep snow, and record cold?How much fun can you have with 2 meters of snow on your house, and none of that evil coal powered electricity?What’s happening in Europe and Russia over the last two weeks is not just your average cold-snap. Temperatures reached -28C in Moscow. One point in Russia hit -52.8C (-68F) on Monday. MOSCOW — Some 215 Russians have died this year in a prolonged period of abnormally cold winter weather, the health ministry said Monday as the overall death toll for Europe rose to well over...

The great myth of the last few decades is that people can establish sustainable savings by investing in other people’s debt. That is how relatively astute and candid writers, such as Jeremy Warner for the Telegraph, can claim that “Britain is still a hugely wealthy nation� and actually mean it. In his latest blog post, Warner tries to convince us that aggregate private debt in Britain is not so bad when we factor in “assets� as well.From his piece:Believe it or not, Britain is still a hugely wealthy nationLast week I drew attention to a report by Royal Bank of...

Sean Penn has branded Britain 'colonialist' for its refusal to hand over the Falkland Islands to Argentina. The notoriously left-wing actor said that the UK was being 'ludicrous and archaic’ by believing it could hold on to what he called ‘the Malvinas Islands of Argentina’. Penn, who has no personal connection with the islands at all, added that diplomacy was needed to resolve the issue but that he was firmly on the side of the Argentinians. His comments will incense Britons, Falkland Islanders and the families of those who died in the war in the South Atlantic almost 30 years...

LONDON (Reuters)—A radical cleric once described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe" was freed from a British prison to live under virtual house arrest on Monday after a court ruled that his detention without trial was unlawful. The Jordanian preacher known as Abu Qatada must wear an electronic tag to allow the police to keep track of him, spend 22 hours a day at his family home and is banned from using the Internet and mobile phones. Twice convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement in terrorist plots, Britain says he is still a national security risk...

Sean Penn has accused Britain of colonialism and urged the government to open negotiations with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. At a meeting with Argentine president Cristina Kirchner, the Left-wing Hollywood actor referred to the islands "the Malvinas Islands of Argentina" and said Britain should entered into a UN-sponsored dialogue over their sovereignty. "The world today is not going to tolerate any ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology," he said during the meeting in Buenos Aires.

Anjem Choudary, a British Islamist who described himself as "in the camp" of Osama bin Laden, has founded Shariah4Hind (India). Choudary has headed several radical Islamist organizations in Britain, including Islam4UK. All of these organizations were proscribed by the UK Government in 2010. However, despite swearing allegiance to Osama bin Laden on CNN, he has been able to continue his propaganda activities with virtual impunity. Choudary's new website comes in the wake of a failed coup in Bangladesh, one of India's neighbors, by members of the radical pan-Islamic party Hizb ut Tahrir, as well as a successful coup in the...

Al-Zawahiri, chief of al-Qaeda, has pledged his terrorist organisation’s support for the rebels in Syria. How reassuring to see therefore, that our very own Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and al-Qaeda are on the same side. Quite a triumph for foreign policy that: discovering that we share one of the main aims of the international jihadist gang we have been trying to exterminate for the last decade. Naturally, the bien pensants, the neocons and the obsessive democrats in the West – notably in the BBC and whole sections of the press – are all on the side of the Syrian rebels....

The Troika went to bail out Europe's banks (for the nth time) and all we got was this postcard of night time Athens...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Historic cinemas, cafes and shops went up in flames in central Athens on Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the public rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity deal. As parliament prepared to vote on a new 130 billion euro bailout to save Greece from a messy bankruptcy, a Reuters photographer saw the buildings engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke rose in the night sky. The air over Syntagma Square outside parliament was thick with tear gas as riot police fought running battles with youths...

Legislation will allow country to cut debt; protesters set fire to 34 buildings; deputies expelled for opposing vote The Greek parliament approved on Monday a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund and avoid a messy default. The vote occurred after 100,000 demonstrators marched to the parliament and buildings were burned down in central Athens. Following the vote, black-masked protesters created a wall of fire with petrol bombs and set fire to cinemas, cafes, shops and banks. Fifty police officers and at least 55 protesters were hospitalized. Forty-five suspected rioters...

This diary was written during the Falklands Crisis on assorted scraps of paper and in an old Government-issue exercise book. I remember I wanted to leave an account of my unvarnished thoughts as they occurred, before the mice of hindsight and discretion got to work. ..... I was 28 when I started writing, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and the Flight Observer in the destroyer HMS Antrim. ..... Wednesday, April 21: This morning, we heard the World Service saying units of the Task Force could be in position to attack South Georgia tomorrow. Thanks very much for alerting the...

Athens, Greece (CNN) -- Police turned tear gas and stun grenades on protesters outside Greece's parliament Sunday as lawmakers inside debated another round of austerity measures. Riot police dispersed many of the demonstrators, who were protesting plans for new cuts in government spending, wages and pensions in return for a new eurozone bailout of the debt-stricken country. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has urged approval of the deal, warning in a speech to the Cabinet Saturday evening of "social explosion, chaos" if it fails. "The state will not be able to pay salaries and pensions or import basic goods" such as...

A thief who broke both ankles fleeing from a hotelier was greeted with little sympathy as his angry victim shouted 'Good, you thieving s***'. -snip- Darryl Philips suffered the injuries when he jumped 18 feet from a multi-storey car park in a bid to escape the vigilante hotelier as he fled with a bottle of whisky. He failed to look behind him as he vaulted over the barrier of the car park in Torquay, clutching the bottle of Jack Daniels, and as he lay on the ground he called up to hotelier Rick Johnson that he had broken his legs...

George Carey: Time To Say That Christians Have Rights Too George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned there are 'deep forces at work in Western society' that are degrading the values of Christianity after a High Court ruling banned public prayers from council meetings. This new George Carey has rather abandoned the careful diplomatic language he used as an archbishop to keep different church factions in the same pews, in favour of something more earthy and apocalyptic, reflecting his own evangelical background By Peter Stanford 11 Feb 2012 George Carey was not regarded as an outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury...

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's biggest-selling tabloid newspaper was fighting to contain the damage after five of its employees were arrested Saturday in an inquiry into the alleged payment of bribes to police and other officials, detectives and the newspaper's parent company said. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said the five employees from The Sun tabloid had been detained and that police had searched their homes and the group's London offices, potentially deepening the scandal over British tabloid wrongdoing.

'Three men have been jailed after becoming the first to be convicted of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation for handing out leaflets calling for gay people to be executed. Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed gave out the pamphlet, entitled The Death Penalty?, that showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic texts that said capital punishment was the only way to rid society of homosexuality. Ali was jailed for two years and Ahmed and Javed for 15 months each.'

The Falkland Islands newspaper the Penguin News has triggered uproar on Argentinian social networks by calling President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner a *itch. The newspaper's website uploaded a photo of Fernández briefly using the insult as a file name on Wednesday, a day after she accused Britain of militarising the south Atlantic islands. (edit mine)

A man was fatally injured after being “stalked” and blasted in the face with a shot gun, a jury heard. Gavin Clarke, 34, died four days after being allegedly shot by Afzal Arif in Savile Avenue, Chapeltown, Leeds, on August 8 last year. Leeds Crown Court heard Mr Clarke was shot after leaving nearby Savile Park where he had been doing fitness training. Arif, 23, is on trial for murder alongside Sohail Mahmood, 23, who is alleged to have helped by acting as a “scout” by identifying Mr Clarke. Three others are on trial accused of helping the pair cover...

David Halpern, a senior No.10 aide, said loneliness was a “more powerful predictor” of whether a pensioner would be alive for more than a decade than whether they smoked. He also suggested that elderly people who did not move to smaller homes were contributing to the shortage of housing in England. On an official visit to Sweden, the Prime Minister and some of his key advisers discussed radical plans on retirement with their Scandinavian counterparts. Mr Cameron said he supported plans to increase the retirement age in line with life expectancy which could see workers remaining in employment until well...

There is a great World War Two documentary, that was made in 2005, that shows the diplomatic disputes between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, as they planned their military campaigns against Hitler. The 4 part documentary is titled: Warlords. The DVD version was released in 2007, and it shows Winston Churchill as the true defender of freedom, democracy, Christianity, and Western Civilization - against three socialist dictators - Stalin, Hitler, and Roosevelt. Here is a an Amazon link to the documentary: http://www.amazon.com/Warlords-Churchill/dp/B000NVKZUG Churchill noticed the obvious - that Stalinist Russia was more oppressive than Nazism. While Nazism was brutal in its...

Prince Harry has qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot after 18 months of rigorous training in the UK and the US, the Ministry of Defence has said. The third in line to the throne was awarded a prize for best co-pilot gunner at a dinner on Wednesday at his RAF training base in Ipswich, Suffolk. He and 20 others who graduated now have limited "combat-ready status". Previously, the prince has hinted of his wish to return to Afghanistan after his first tour of duty was cut short. Last April, he suggested it would be pointless to train as a helicopter...

We already knew that Islamic polygamy is robbing the welfare system blind, and we have seen other cases of jihadists milking the system for benefits (see also: Anjem Chaudary). Here is another. An update on this story. "Terror Trial: London Plotters 'Told To Claim Benefits To Fund Jihad Training'," from the Press Association, February 7 (thanks to The Religion of Peace): An al Qaeda-inspired extremist called on British Muslims to claim benefits to raise funds for a terrorist training camp, a court has heard. Usman Khan, 20, was secretly recorded talking about plans to recruit UK radicals to attend the...

Abu Qatada is known as a dangerously radical preacher. So what has he actually been saying? ABU QATADA has been called the "most significant extremist preacher in the UK", "al-Qaeda's spiritual leader in Europe" and "a truly dangerous individual". News of his upcoming release from jail this week - albeit on stringent bail conditions – has caused outrage, with even his defence team suggesting he poses a "grave risk" to national security. Why is Abu Qatada being freed and can he ever be deported? So what does this radical Muslim cleric actually preach? Here are some of the things he...

There is anger in Great Britain over the impending release of Abu Qatada, a terrorism suspect and Imam who was once described as Osama bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe. The Jihadist Muslim cleric is believed to have raised funds for terrorist groups and the British government has declared him a risk to national security. Moreover, a court in his native Jordan has found Qatada guilty in his absence of involvement in two bomb plots, and a senior British judge has described him as a “truly dangerous” supporter of Muslim terrorist groups. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-08/anger-over-abu-qatada-release/3817190

Parents were furious today after discovering NHS managers have been giving their daughters contraceptive implants in school, without telling them. It is thought up to nine schools in Southampton allowed the scheme, which launched in 2009.

A woman thought to be the world's last known surviving service member of World War I has died aged 110. Florence Green, from King's Lynn, Norfolk, served as a mess steward at RAF bases in Marham and Narborough. She died in her sleep on Saturday night at Briar House care home, King's Lynn. Mrs Green had been due to celebrate her 111th birthday on 19 February. The world's last known combat veteran of World War I, Briton Claude Choules, died in Australia aged 110 in May 2011. The last three World War I veterans living in the UK - Bill...

Today, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the English writer, Charles Dickens. His best known work, is his 1843 novel, "A Christmas Carol", which featured a greedy, selfish, and heartless businessman, Ebenezer Scrooge. The businessman was visited by three ghosts, from the past, present, and future, who forced him to reconsider his selfish ways. In the 1980s, the satirical Mad Magazine featured caricatures of Republican politicians praising Scrooge as a hard working businessman who created jobs for the Victorian economy. He refused to give people time off to spend Christmas with their families, which made him a...

Gangs of brick-throwing yobs are making parts of Salford no-go areas for buses and taxis after a series of terrifying attacks. Passengers were left cowering in fear after a bus was stopped in Pendleton and pelted with bricks by up to 20 balaclava-clad youths. And taxi drivers have told how roads around Salford Precinct and Chimney Pot Park are now too dangerous to visit.

It is using extremist websites to radicalise the angels of death, says their chilling report. The Commons home affairs committee says it has heard evidence the terror group is "specifically launching and targeting women for violent acts". It is already a deadly tactic in the Middle East, where growing numbers of Palestinian women are volunteering for suicide missions against Israel. The MPs' report comes days after four Islamic extremists admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange. Woolwich Crown Court heard how the gang — who also had London mayor Boris Johnson on a hit list — had been brainwashed...

Tuesday marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens — the great 19th century English novelist who gave us stories of pathos and comedy, and colorful portraits of the people of London, from the poor in the back streets, to the rich in the parks and avenues. Lots of Dickens' phrases — like "Bah humbug" and "God bless us, every one!" — have slipped into our minds and our memories. And along with the words, the characters, too — from hungry orphan Oliver Twist to sweet and lonely little Nell to cruel Mr. Murdstone. "After Shakespeare, Dickens is...

'Florence Green, the world's last surviving First World War veteran has died, marking the end of an era in British history. Mrs Green passed away in her sleep at a care home in Norfolk just two weeks before her 111th birthday. The great-grandmother signed up to the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) 93 years ago in September 1918, when she was aged just 17. She was the last surviving person to have served in WWI following the death of British-born sailor Claude Choules in Australia last year. During the First World War she worked at Narborough Airfield and RAF Marham,...

A Muslim activist group with links to the Muslim Brotherhood has asked the British government to restrict the way the British media reports about Muslims and Islam. The effort to silence criticism of Islam comes amid an ongoing public inquiry into British press standards following a phone-hacking scandal involving the News of the World and other British newspapers. The Leveson Inquiry, established by British Prime Minister David Cameron in July 2011, is currently considering how to increase government oversight of the British media. But in a move that many worry will result in government regulation of the Internet, Lord Justice...

Britain had to plead with US to take part in Iran flotilla Britain was forced to plead with the US to take part in the flotilla challenging Iranian power in the Gulf after American commanders decided the Royal Navy had nothing to contribute to the mission. Defence sources have revealed that the Americans only relented and allowed a Royal Navy frigate to join the mission following an intervention from Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president. The revelation that US defence chiefs saw little military value in UK participation will raise new questions about Britain’s international clout after Coalition defence cuts. Amid...

Britain won't decide on F-35 fighter numbers till 2015 LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has deferred to 2015 a firm commitment on how many Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets it will buy, adding to uncertainties over the multinational program which has recently been questioned in the U.S. Congress. "We will not make final decisions on the overall number of aircraft we will order before the next planned Strategic Defence Review (in 2015)," a Ministry of Defence MoD spokeswoman said on Tuesday, adding an initial order would be placed next year. The F-35 project ranks as the most expensive...

Abu Qatada, the radical Islamic preacher once described as Osama bin Laden’s “right hand man in Europe”, will be back on the streets within days after being granted bail. A senior immigration judge said yesterday that Qatada could be released despite even his own defence team suggesting that he posed a “grave risk” to Britain’s national security. Qatada was granted bail by Mr Justice Mitting after the European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that he could not be deported to his native Jordan. The bail conditions will be similar to those set in 2008, with the cleric confined...

AS many as 3000 women in Scotland may have suffered female genital mutilation. inShare1 Custom byline text: Lucy Adams Chief Reporter Organisations working with female victims told The Herald there are now more women in Scotland from communities where the practice is widespread, and that it may even be happening in this country. Traditionally girls were mutilated before moving to the UK, or were taken abroad to undergo the practice. The revelation comes on the international day marking Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Alison Davis, manager of a mental health organisation for ethnic minority women in Edinburgh, said: "The brick wall...

The Queen today renewed her pledge to serve the country as her Diamond Jubilee celebrations started with a bang in the form of gun salutes in Edinburgh and London. The 85-year-old monarch usually spends the anniversary of her accession privately to mark the passing of her father George VI. But, today she travelled from Sandringham - which, like much of England, is blanketed with snow - to King's Lynn to meet local dignitaries and tour the town hall ahead of her visit to nearby Dersingham Infant and Nursery School.

When great-grandmother Barbara Judge was told that she needed an operation on her aortic aneurysm and her case had been referred to a special funding panel, she assumed it was a formality. But 10 days ago, the 72-year-old received a letter which said her local NHS trust would not pay for the treatment. Without the life-saving operation, Barbara fears she could die any time. A rupture in the aneurysm--a blood balloon on the aorta--could kill her in minutes. Surgeons in London are confident they can save the grandmother-of-five, but the NHS believe they cannot afford to pay

terrorist mastermind behind the July 7 London bombings is reported to have been freed from a Syrian jail by President Bashar Assad's regime. Abu Musab al-Suri had been held in Syria for six years after being captured by the CIA in 2005 and transported to the country of his birth under its controversial extraordinary rendition programme. But he is now said to have been released as a warning to the US and Britain about the consequences of turning their backs on President al-Assad’s regime as it tries to contain the uprising in the country. Al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam...

The half-century habits of Franco-German condominium die hard. It is a painful process for French elites to admit that monetary union is asphyxiating their economy and must inevitably trap France in mercantilist subordination to Germany. The Carolingian union is all that anybody in French public life can really remember. It worked marvellously for two generations, levering French power on the global stage, and the euro was of course their own creation, intended to tie down a reunited Germany with “silken cords”. How can they now face the awful truth that this elegant strategy has blown up in their faces, enthroning...

India's Finance Minister referred to the financial aid given by Britain to his country as nothing more than 'peanuts', it is claimed. It is also claimed that Pranab Mukherjee and other Indian ministers tried to reject the money - around £280million a year - from the UK in 2011, but the British Government 'begged' them to take the money. The Sunday Telegraph claims that the Indian government were disposed to reject the money in April last year, because of the 'negative publicity of Indian poverty' highlighted by the aid. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096628/British-foreign-aid-India-tells-Britain-dont-need-peanuts-offer-us.html#ixzz1lWkmhZjq

Turbulence ahead with Indian jet deal The Indians, stormed “senior government sources,” had gone for the “Asda option instead of Waitrose”. By preferring the French Rafale jet rather than the British-built Typhoon, they rejected, according to the Prime Minister, a “superb aircraft with far better capabilities”. How dare they, asked MPs, snub Britain, which had given them £1.2 billion in aid? One newspaper even blamed the decision on the Gandhi family. The truth about Britain’s “failure” to land the £6.3 billion Indian military jet deal — and the thousands of jobs it will sustain - is different. The game is...