Free Republic

Germany has made no secret of its desire to see its new law copied by the rest of the EU. When employees of social media companies are appointed as the state's private thought police and given the power to shape the form of current political and cultural discourse by deciding who shall be allowed to speak and what to say, and who shall be shut down, free speech becomes nothing more than a fairy tale. Or is that perhaps the point? Perhaps fighting "Islamophobia" is now a higher priority than fighting terrorism? A new German law introducing state censorship...

French president Emmanuel ignored controversy and criticism surrounding France’s new draconian anti-terror bill and urged police forces around the country to “fully utilize” their new powers. The French parliament on Wednesday adopted a controversial anti-terror bill that gives the authorities permanent new powers to search homes, shut places of worship and restrict freedom of movement. The new law, which will replace the state of emergency imposed after the 2015 Paris attacks, was approved by the Senate on its second reading, despite campaigners warning of a threat to civil liberties. […] Under the bill, the authorities will have the power to...

French citizens are among the biggest contingent of overseas fighters who have joined IS, with around 1,000 nationals estimated by counterterror officials to have traveled to Iraq and Syria. France doesn’t want them back. France’s attitude to the killing of its citizens in Syria fighting for the Islamic State group has rarely been as frankly stated as it was in the lead up to the fall of Raqa. “We are committed, along with our allies, to the destruction of DAESH (Islamic State), and we’re doing everything to that end,” Defense Minister Florence Parly told reporters at the weekend. “What we...

Among the many things the Irish (especially in the U.S.) are NOT infamous for is their dim-wittedness party-poopery and cowardice. (Full disclosure: my wife is Irish-American, and we’re celebrating our 40th anniversary. Consequently, my three grown offspring are half Irish. Hence my expertise on this matter.)But forget my family for a second. Let’s do the old “what’s the first word that pops into your mind” game. “Audie Murphy” (certainly NOT cowardice!) Jimmy Fallon (certainly NOT dim-wittedness!) Bill Murray (certainly NOT party-poopery!)(Please stifle the sermons, because I just love stereotyping, a.k.a known as “profiling.”)But seriously folks, Ireland celebrated the 50th anniversary of...

Sweden’s Migration Agency expects to hand over around 50,000 deportation orders to the police in the coming years, but authorities are already struggling to deport those who have been told to leave. When a person receives a negative reply to their asylum application, they are in the first instance asked to leave the country voluntarily. In the next instance, the case gets handed over to the police. Police have so far this year deported more than 3,000 unsuccessful asylum seekers in this way, but they are currently working with around 17,000 cases; and of those, 12,000 have gone underground.The remaining...

The Danish government announced on Thursday that it was extending controls at its border with Germany. In a letter to the EU, Copenhagen cited the security risk posed by people fleeing deportation orders south of the border. “The large number of illegal migrants and rejected asylum seekers who are awaiting deportation in Germany are a real security threat,” the Danish government wrote in a letter to the EU justifying the decision to extend border controls. There is “a risk that terror groups will take advantage of their precarious situation,” the letter stated. The Danish government implemented border controls in January...

France on Saturday urged the US Congress not to rip up the Iran nuclear deal, after President Donald Trump decertified Iran’s compliance with the 2015 agreement. “We strongly hope that Congress, which is now responsible for a possible rupture, does not jeopardize the deal,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in an interview with AFP. “If we denounce a deal that has been respected, it will set a dangerous precedent,” particularly in the context of negotiations with North Korea, Le Drian said, echoing other signatories of the Iran deal Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia. On Friday, Trump ignored...

The number of atheists in Ireland has shot up by nearly three quarters whilst the number of Catholics has dived, according to the latest census figures. In 2011, a total of 277,237 ticked the ‘no religion’ box on the census form, but five years later, 481,388 did so. That means that atheism is now the second largest belief system in the Irish Republic, accounting for 10.1% of the population. The news was welcomed by the pressure group Atheist Ireland, which said, “We are increasingly optimistic that a secular Ireland is inevitable, free of religious privilege and religious discrimination against any...

Anyone who has accidently sent a text message to the wrong person might have some sympathy with a member of the French intelligent services who landed himself in trouble with his bosses this week. The man, who works for the central territorial intelligence services (SCRT) had been keeping tabs on a suspected Islamist extremist. He wanted to send a text containing important intelligence on his target to a colleague. But the spy got all his phone numbers mixed up and accidentally sent it to the very suspect he had been closely monitoring. The “target” was reportedly quick to respond to...

Thomas de Maizière, the federal interior minister, suggested on Monday that parts of Germany with large Muslim populations could get public holidays during Muslim festivals. “I’m prepared to talk about whether we would also introduce Muslim public holidays,” de Maizière said. He pointed out that there are several Catholic holidays, such as All Saints day, which are only celebrated in Catholic-dominated parts of the country. “Why shouldn’t we think about a Muslim public holiday in parts of the country where many Muslim live?” he asked. The Christian Democratic (CDU) politician added though, that public holidays in Germany are influenced by...

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire called Thursday for the European Union to become a cohesive whole, as unified and ambitious as the United States, adding that it was time for Britain to face the consequences of Brexit. The remarks come as the EU emerges from a rocky period of rising nationalism and challenges to its unity. Talks between the EU and Britain, which voted last year to secede, deadlocked in Brussels on Thursday, leaving future trade relations in doubt. “I think what we need within the Eurozone is more unity and more ambition,” Le Maire said during an event...

The German government has warned the US against withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. US President Donald Trump is expected to decertify Tehran’s compliance with the 2015 deal in a White House speech at 12:45 p.m. (16:45 UTC) on Friday. “We believe this agreement is an important instrument to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday. “If … an important country like the United States comes to a different conclusion as appears to be the case, we will work even harder with other partners to maintain this cohesion,” he said. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel...

<p>The European Union is losing a major player in the United Kingdom, but there’s other potential cracks in the alliance showing up and additional wrinkles to resolve. While it’s still far from a sure thing, Catalonia may split off from Spain, leaving a question mark over their future. And some of the established EU members have been making noises about not being terribly happy with the way Brussels runs the operation.</p>

Bosnia’s war crimes court on Monday acquitted the wartime commander of Srebrenica, who was accused of committing atrocities against Serbs during the 1992-95 Balkan conflict. The acquittal of Naser Oric immediately prompted anger from Serbian leaders, with Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin saying the court ruling “threatens security, trust and reconciliation in the whole of the Balkans.” Oric was accused of war crimes against three Serb prisoners of war who were slain in villages around the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in the early days of the conflict. A panel of judges presiding over the trial ruled Monday the prosecution did...

Britons who supported Brexit in last year's referendum on European Union (EU) membership "voted against modern Britain," Hillary Clinton said in an interview published Sunday. The former U.S. secretary of state told The Sunday Times: "They voted against modern Britain and the EU, believing that somehow this would be good for their small village. It made no sense… The same thing played out in my race, but I didn't think we were so vulnerable. But it turned out we were wrong — in part because the Russians played a much bigger role." American intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on Saturday she would start talks with liberals and Greens to try to form a new coalition government after last month's election.Merkel won a fourth term in the September 24th vote but the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) poached one million votes from her conservative bloc, leaving her without an obvious coalition to lead Europe's largest economy. She has already said she would seek exploratory talks on forming an alliance between her CDU/CSU bloc and two smaller parties, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the ecologist Greens. Merkel said in a speech in the eastern...

A Frenchwoman nicknamed “Mama Jihad”, who traveled to Syria three times to support her jihadist son was handed a 10-year jail sentence on Friday in the latest case against parents of ISIS fighters. Christine Rivière, 51, was convicted of being part of a terrorist organization. She was given the maximum sentence for her “unfailing commitment” to jihad and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria as part of her attempts to find a bride for her son Tyler Vilus, with whom she was described as having an “inseparable relationship”. Vilus traveled to Syria to fight alongside the...

The Irish Government plans to engage with the United States to secure a deal for Irish immigration following Donald Trump’s announcement in September that the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program would be dismantled. A new immigration legislation bill is expected to be presented by US Congress by March 2018. President Donald Trump’s controversial move to dismantle DACA, the “dreamers” law protecting the undocumented migrants who were brought to the United States as children, could mean an opportunity for the Irish to secure inclusion into the new legislation. It is planned that the issue of the undocumented will feature...

Gardaí (Irish police) in Galway are investigating an Islamist terror cell in the west of Ireland. The Irish Independent reports that eight men are being monitored in a number of rural locations where local gardaí are keeping a careful eye on them. “The belief is that members of this network are deeply committed to the Islamic State and they are organized,” a Garda source told the paper. The men’s use of Ireland’s mail service, An Post, is being tracked as they’re thought to be using it to send packages on “dummy runs” to fellow Islamists in the Middle East. They’re...

French lawmakers will vote on Tuesday on a tough new counter-terrorism law designed to end the country’s two-year state of emergency, though critics say it will expand police powers at a cost to civil liberties. […] The lower house will vote Tuesday on the bill, which would give authorities the power to place people under house arrest, order house searches and ban public gatherings without the prior approval of a judge.The state of emergency was meant to be temporary but has been extended six times in order to protect major sporting and cultural events, as well as this year’s presidential...