Free Republic

There has been a huge 13 percent drop in the number of people in Britain identifying themselves as Christian, according to new data released from the 2011 Census. The shocking statistics reveal that the number of Christians has fallen from 37 million to 33 million since 2001. Christians now make up only 59 percent of the population, as opposed to 72 percent in 2001. Meanwhile, the number of Muslims has risen from 1.5 million to 2.7 million - or 5 percent of the population - while the number of people describing themselves as having no religion rose by 10 percent...

Making the Ultimate Sacrifice Report on Law Enforcement Officer Deaths Released Tragically, during 2011, 72 law enforcement officers from around the nation were killed in the line of duty, while another 53 officers died in accidents while performing their duties. And 54,774 officers were assaulted in the line of duty…all according to our just-released annual report Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2011Here’s a look at some of the data collected for this report: While the 72 officers killed in the line of duty came from city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal agencies, the majority (50)...

BEST FILMS: The Artist War Horse Moneyball Hugo Midnight in Paris Win Win The Descendants The Way Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 My Week with Marilyn WORST FILMS: Sucker Punch Conan the Barbarian Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I Beastly Transformers: Dark of the Moon Jack & Jill Just Go With It I Don't Know How She Does It Hard Breakers Footloose

2011 was a year of worldwide turmoil and great change. I expect -- and to a certain degree fear -- that last year was the warm-up act to 2012 which, both internationally and domestically, seems likely to be one of the most consequential years in recent history. *BREAK* On the global scene, some of 2011's most significant events pose very different short- and long-term results. For example, the Arab Spring initially appeared to be a move toward freedom in an historically repressive part of the world but is now drifting toward other forms of tyranny. The Middle East remains likely...

Unabridged Title:US Closes 2011 With Record $15.22 Trillion In Debt, Officially At 100.3% Debt/GDP, $14 Billion From Breaching Debt Ceiling While not news to Zero Hedge readers who knew about the final debt settlement of US debt about 10 days ahead of schedule, it is now official: according to the US Treasury, America has closed the books on 2011 with debt at an all time record $15,222,940,045,451.09. And, as was observed here first in all of the press, US debt to GDP is now officially over 100%, or 100.3% to be specific, a fact which the US government decided to...

President Barack Obama rang in the New Year by signing the NDAA law with its provision allowing him to indefinitely detain citizens. It was a symbolic moment to say the least. With Americans distracted with drinking and celebrating, Obama signed one of the greatest rollbacks of civil liberties in the history of our country. . . and citizens partied only blissfully into the New Year. Ironically, in addition to breaking his promise not to sign the law, Obama broke his promise on signing statements and attached a statement that he really does not want to detain citizens indefinitely. Obama insisted...

This was a banner year for guns -- 2011 is set to smash the record for gun sales. The record for a single year was set just last year, when the FBI reported that 14,409,616 background checks were requested. In 2011 that figure will top 16 million. FBI spokesman Steve Fischer said just 1.3% of background checks result in denial of a weapon. With a week left in December, the FBI said the monthly record has already been broken, and that was only set last month when 1,534,414 background checks were requested from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System...

From Charlie Sheen's #winning tweets to the debt ceiling crisis and global protests, it seems the whole world went nuts in 2011. Join us as we reminisce about the most notorious moments of the year in our 7th annual year in review... this time sung by a popsicle stick puppet choir! 2011, Buh-Bye! Lyrics Two Thousand Eleven was hairy, A year unlike any we've seen. There were Schweddy Balls from Ben & Jerry, And a warlock assassin named Sheen! Winning! Lohan! Strauss-Kahn! Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Cain- THREE 9s! Big Trials! Love Childs! Two Thousand Eleven, buh-bye! AGHAGHAGHAG!

No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent. In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints; they changed the world.

General Motors Co. may be the largest of Detroit’s Big Three, but it is the only one to not be represented on Automobile Magazine’s ‘2012 All-Stars’ list. The magazine, which ranked the 2012 Audi 7 the best vehicle of next year, feature vehicles from Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC on the top 10 list, but left GM in the dark. Ford drove onto the list with its compact Focus, which was awarded car of the year by the magazine in 2000, and the highly-acclaimed Mustang Boss 302, which the magazine dubbed “the best Mustang ever.” January 2012 issue,...