Free Republic

J.K. Rowling won a significant victory over Scotland’s new speech restrictions after daring the police to arrest her over comments criticising transgender ideology, as Police Scotland said they would not take criminal actions against the Harry Potter author after activists reported her statements to law enforcement. Successfully calling the bluff of the leftist government of First Minister Humza Yousaf, J.K. Rowling struck a stinging blow against the oppressive Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, after she goaded the police to arrest her as the bill came into law on Monday for insisting that transgender “women” are in reality still...

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — In the run-up to the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, host Britain announced one of its goals of the conference was to consign coal to history. TThat turned out to be easier said that done. Even saying it — in writing — became quite a challenge. Government negotiators in Glasgow wrote and rewrote a paragraph that spells out that fighting climate change requires the world to end coal power, along with fossil fuel subsidies. The wording on coal was weakened one last time just before the gavel came down after coal-dependent India insisted on replacing the...

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has finally moved to drop the controversial murder charge filed against bodega worker Jose Alba, his office confirmed Monday. The DA’s office said it had filed a motion in Manhattan Criminal Court to dismiss the case against the 61-year-old bodega worker after a investigation found they couldn’t prove the “defendant was not justified in his use of deadly physical force.” Bragg and his office had faced widespread backlash after Alba was swiftly charged with fatally stabbing 35-year-old violent ex-con, Austin Simon, who had attacked him inside the bodega on July 1. The decision to drop...

An Italian restaurateur, dubbed the 'father of tiramisu', has died aged 93. Ado Campeol, the original owner of Le Beccherie restaurant in Treviso in northeastern Italy, died at his home on Saturday. Although disputed, Mr Campeol and his wife, Alba, are considered to be the inventors of the famous dessert. The dish, now a staple of Italian cuisine, was never patented by the family, but appeared on the restaurant menu in 1972. Le Beccherie, one of the oldest restaurants in Treviso, was opened by the Campeol family in 1939. But it wasn't until Mrs Campeol was pregnant in 1955 that...

The grandson of Spain's wealthiest woman tied the knot with his glamorous fiancée on Saturday in a high society wedding that was the picture of pared-back elegance. Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Solís, the Count of Osorno, wed his fiancée Belén Corsini at Liria Palace in Madrid, an 18th century estate that has been in Carlos' family for centuries, bringing together two of Spain's wealthiest families, the Albas and the Corsinis. Official photographs released yesterday give the first glimpse inside the intimate ceremony, from the service to the first dance.

Gaining international recognition is the first step in securing global reparations for the descendants of African slaves. Venezuela is joining the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in the fight for global slavery reparations, discussing appropriate compensation for centuries of injustice. During a speech entitled 'Reparations of Resistance to Action,' Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza urged Latin America and colonizing countries to assume responsibility for past wrongs which affected Africans and their ancestors around the world. The Venezuelan government is working to guarantee that the social rights of residents of African descent are respected, and officials have opened the floor to dialogue for...

If you wanted to clear a room full of nervous mothers of small children you could to it by yelling one word: “Chemicals!” Jessica Alba — famous for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Little Fockers” — knows this, and has built a booming business around modern, hand-wringing parents who worry about the prevalence of chemicals in everything, from toys to food. The company she co-founded, called The Honest Co., launched in 2012 selling personal care and home products for little ones like diapers, bath products, laundry detergent and more — all made with nontoxic ingredients. The company now touts...

'Who needs Westeros? We’ve got Wester Ross.'

U.S. government officials joined health experts from throughout the Americas at an Ebola conference in Cuba on Wednesday, the latest show of cooperation between the historic adversaries on fighting the disease. The meeting organized by ALBA, a bloc of leftist-governed countries, aims to coordinate a regional strategy on the prevention and control of Ebola, which has killed about 5,000 people in West Africa but in the Americas has only reached the United States. U.S. military personnel and Cuban medical specialists are already posted in West Africa and prepared to work side by side if needed, officials have said, and Washington...

In light of the recent "Child" immigration show brought on by Obama, it is interesting to look at what has been happening in Latin America under Obama's watch. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are over their heads with gangs and cartels in the drug trafficking trade that Obama helped install --------------------------------- 2010-Resurgent Communism in Latin America Many Cuban refugees risked everything to escape the murderous regime of Fidel Castro. Oftentimes they made treacherous voyages aboard rickety rafts, hoping only to reach the free shores of Florida with their lives. Many died along the way. But communist rule was vicious and...

SNIPPET: "ALBA is the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América, an alliance of Latin American countries started by Cuba and Venezuela, who share a combination of hostility towards the United States and willingness to do business with Iran." SNIPPET: "Soheil Assad is not with the IRI Foreign Ministry - he's an IRGC operative. And there he is, accompanying ALBA ambassadors & their staff on a visit to Qom."

With U.S. policymakers distracted by the situation in Honduras, Nicaragua continues to move toward authoritarianism. On October 19, a Nicaraguan Supreme Court panel overturned a constitutional provision limiting presidents to two non-consecutive terms in office. The ruling will allow incumbent Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega--the Sandinista party leader, former Soviet client, vociferous critic of the United States, and current Hugo Chávez acolyte--to run for another term in 2011. If there were any doubts that Nicaraguan democracy is slowly being extinguished, this latest development should remove them. The Nicaraguan Supreme Court is composed of 16 members. Thanks to a political deal made...

One of Spain's richest women, the Duchess of Alba, is reportedly giving away her personal fortune in order to marry a civil servant.The 85-year-old's personal wealth is estimated to be between 600m and 3.5bn euros (£524m and £3bn). The duchess's six children have until now opposed her plans to wed Alfonso Diez, who is 24 years her junior. Local media reports say she plans to get round her children by giving them their inheritance early. ''Alfonso doesn't want anything. All he wants is me,'' the duchess was quoted as saying earlier this year.

21st Century SocialismThe attempt to destroy democracy in Latin America.  The Obama administration started out on the wrong foot in world affairs. It used techniques better suited for domestic political campaigns — popularity contests — in its foreign policy. In our own hemisphere, the result was confusion for our allies and our enemies alike. The overriding objective of U.S. policy — in Latin America and elsewhere — should be to advance U.S. national interests, not to curry favor with foreign leaders. If we can be liked while advancing our interests, so much the better. But when we try to befriend...

Diario de America (note- Machine translation from Spanish) "Rigged States Organization" By Luis Marín The OAS is well aware, in any of the instances, what is the state of human rights in Venezuela, as does also on Cuba, even though that country is full member of the organization. It does not take in all the visit of any committee "in loco" for what he need to contact a group of experts who could do their job and report much better documented and more credible than the same inter-American commission, so permeated by political and ideological interests of the respective governments....

Jessica Alba may be charged in Oklahoma City vandalism Jessica Alba By Staff Reports NewsOK.com Published: 6/11/2009 7:45 AM Last Modified: 6/11/2009 10:43 AM OKLAHOMA CITY -- A total shark poster damage assessment is not available, but the amount involved will help determine if actress Jessica Alba faces criminal charges. Alba, who was in Oklahoma shooting a film, apologized Tuesday afternoon for getting involved with a group that plastered shark posters on electrical boxes, a bridge and a United Way billboard. The vandalism is under investigation, Oklahoma City Master Sgt. Gary Knight said. If police determine it to be a...

Dumb: Defacing all sorts of public property in landlocked Oklahoma City (including a United Way poster) ... to increase local awareness for great white sharks ... which don't usually dwell anywhere close to Oklahoma City. Dumber: Capturing all the stupidity on film and posting it on the Internet. People in OKC are pretty upset after these photos surfaced yesterday on TheLostOgle.com. The pics clearly show Alba tagging downtown OKC with the posters, which ironically don't even have a clear message on them ... posters that stoners probably think are just advertisements for Shark Week. The most ridiculous part is that...

Jessica Alba is now under criminal investigation after photographs hit the internet showing her defacing public property in Oklahoma. The worst part of it though, is that Jessica Alba ruined a United Way billboard, and is pictured celebrating in front of it Jessica Alba Photographed Defacing Public Property in Oklahoma like she has just won the Super Bowl. What she probably intended to be a way to promote saving the Sharks has turned into a publicity nightmare for the actress, who allowed photographs to be taken of the event, which were subsequently released to the internet. It seems that the...

Scientific evidence of an ancient invasion of Scotland from Ireland may have been uncovered by DNA techniques. Researchers from Edinburgh University said studies of Scots living on Islay, Lewis, Harris and Skye found strong links with Irish people. Early historical sources recount how the Gaels came from Ireland about 500 AD and conquered the Picts in Argyll. Scientists said the study was the first demonstration of a significant Irish genetics component in Scots' ancestry. The research, which features work by geneticist Dr Jim Wilson, a specialist in population genetics, is being featured in programmes on Gaelic television channel BBC Alba....

Bill O'Reilly who was obviously pissed at Jessica Alba, who called him a "bit of an a--hole" on monday, struck back this evening. He nominated her as his "pinhead" tonight and rolled video of her having a conversation with a reporter where Ms Alba challenged the reporter to say something nice about 0bama. The reporter claimed he had to be objective and therefore could not show any positive, or negative, bias, so Ms Alba challenged him to "be Sweden about it" .. O'Reilly ridiculed Ms Alba, calling her a pinhead, because he claimed "it's SWITZERLAND! - Not SWEDEN" that is...