Free Republic

1910 circa - Rosendaal bij Arnhem - Kettingbrug - historical zombie A vintage photo (postcard) from 1910 of a purported "zombie" shambling across a bridge in Arnhem, Netherlands.

Institutions Worthy of Our Parties: Should the U.S. Switch to a Parliamentary System? Efforts to curb legislative partisanship have weak track records, so maybe we should consider changing the other side of the equation in order to establish a government that can actually get things done. Rick Hasen has a really interesting paper up discussing partisan polarization and the possibility of changing the Constitution to deal with it. (And you should really read Jonathan Bernstein’s response, too.) Hasen starts off by asking whether we should be considering moving toward a more parliamentary style of government. It’s a fair question. We...

Marilyn Manson is the latest musician tapped by mega fashion brand Saint Laurent to star in their newest ad. Creative Director Hedi Slimane chose Manson to star in the brand’s newest menswear campaign. Slimane seems to have an obsession with selecting edgy singers from the ‘90s to front his ads... The eerie ad is comprised of a close-up shot of Manson featuring the singer in thick eyeliner, black lipstick and a shiny leather jacket. Goth-grunge is hot right now... Although a bit surprising seeing Manson star in a fashion ad, his sinister look perfectly accentuates the French fashion line’s dark...

One in 29 French people don't take a shower even once a WEEK - while 13% do not wash their hands after using the toilet One in 29 people in France only take a shower once a week, according to a new survey. The study into French washing habits also found that one in five do not shower every day. On the other end of the scale, 11.5 per cent of French men and women shower several times daily. Hand washing, too, is ‘not always a priority for the French,’ said pollster BVA, which was commissioned to carry out the...

Mass killer's Norwegian prison cell has treadmill, computer access Accused mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik's Norwegian prison cell is more spacious than most New York City apartments. The confessed killer, who will receive his sentence Friday for killing 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage at a youth camp, was transported Wednesday to Norway's Ila Prison, just outside Oslo. The high-security prison offers Breivik not one, but three 86-square-foot cells. One cell functions as a bedroom, another as an exercise room, complete with treadmill, and the third is a study, where Breivik can use a laptop computer. Officials at...

PARIS — The call to Vincent Grandil’s Paris law firm began like many others that have rolled in recently. On the line was the well-paid chief executive of one of France’s most profitable companies, and he was feeling nervous. President François Hollande is vowing to impose a 75 percent tax on the portion of anyone’s income above a million euros ($1.24 million) a year. “Should I be preparing to leave the country?” the executive asked Mr. Grandil. The lawyer’s counsel: Wait and see. For now, at least. “We’re getting a lot of calls from high earners who are asking whether...

French admit they are 'rude, stroppy, and slothful' The French have admitted they are "rude, stroppy, and slothful" in a new survey about what they think of their own behaviour. The poll revealed 97 per cent of Paris public transport users believed fellow travellers were "ill-mannered" and lacked civility. The biggest gripe was people forcing their way onto trains before other passengers had got off. Other irritations were passengers talking too loudly on mobile phones, and people sprawling over two seats in packed carriages. Also included in the list of annoyances were queue-jumping at ticket counters, leaping over barriers without...

Welcome To The World's Nicest Prison BASTOY, Norway (CNN) -- Jan Petter Vala, who is serving a prison sentence for murder, has hands the size of dinner plates and shoulders like those of an ox. In an alcoholic rage, he used his brutish strength to strangle his girlfriend to death a few years ago. On a recent Thursday, however, at this summer-camp-like island prison in southern Norway, where convicts hold keys to their rooms and there are no armed guards or fences, Vala used those same enormous hands to help bring life into the world. The 42-year-old murderer stood watch...

The couple chose an idyllic resort in the Maldives as the perfect place to renew their marriage vows and pledge everlasting love. But their happiness has turned to humiliation after the wedding video was posted on YouTube and subtitles disclosed that their "Islamic blessing", which was conducted by a hotel employee in the native Dhivehi language, was in fact a stream of insults. "You are swine. The children that you bear from this marriage will all be bastard swine. Your marriage is not a valid one," he intoned as the couple held up their hands in prayer, blissfully unaware of...

Ahead of a planned summit of European Union leaders, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has put all 17 Euro nations on review for a credit downgrade, which means France and Germany could lose the pristine AAA ratings they presently enjoy, Bloomberg News is reporting. The euro area’s six AAA rated countries are among the nations to be placed on a negative outlook pending the result of a summit of European Union leaders on Dec. 9, the people said today on condition of anonymity because the decision has yet to be announced. The euro reversed its gains and U.S. Treasuries rose...

Vice President Joe Biden, now best known for being the man who relies primarily on Jon Corzine for financial advice, continued his recent roll of epic linguistic blunders this morning. As Reuters reports, the VP, "joked during a visit to debt-choked Athens on Monday about bringing money to help Greece out of its deepest financial crisis in decades. Introducing a member of his delegation during a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, Biden said: "This man represents the Treasury department. He's brought hundreds of millions of dollars." His comments drew laughs from both the Greek and U.S. delegations." It...

The Irish and German governments became entangled in a spat on Thursday after details of the Irish budget were given to the German Bundestag, before being presented to the Irish parliament, the Dáil. The sensitive plans, including a two-percent increase in the top value added tax (VAT) and a €100 household tax, were sent by the German finance ministry—along with a letter of intent from the Irish Finance Minister—to the Bundestag budgetary committee. This provoked outrage in Ireland, and denials from Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny that he had given the information to the Germans. Irish opposition parties said if...

Did you know that the EU has ensured that there has been no war between its members for last 60 years?

Saw this article today from a link a friend sent me. He thought it was cool. Apparently, the University of Stuttgart has designed a house that generates enough power that you can charge your electric vehicle without plugging into the power grid.

Report reveals all bar one of party's 48 mid-term election candidates are sceptical about climate changeAll but one of the 48 Republican hopefuls for the Senate mid-term elections in November deny the existence of climate change or oppose action on global warming, according to a report released today.The strong Republican front against established science includes entrenched Senate leaders as well as the new wave of radical conservatives endorsed by the Tea Party activists, says a report by the Centre for American Progress.

Do you miss those days in Little League when everyone received a trophy no matter how poorly you played? Now glory can be yours, for the Nobel Peace Prize is within reach of even the most incompetent fools. Just open a box of Cracker Jack.

President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize ABC NEws

The court ruled that employees had the right to ask for statutory leave to be "reallocated" when it was spoilt by sickness. Under the terms of the judgement, employees would even be allowed to carry any annual leave ruined by illness over into the next holiday year. The ruling is effectively a new interpretation of the European Working Time Directive on workers' hours, which applies in Britain across the entire private and public sector. Leading employment lawyers warned it would be costly for businesses and that it left "the door open for abuse" by unscrupulous employees seeking to bolster their...

It’s been a privilege, says the BBC’s North America editor Justin Webb, returning to London from DC after nearly eight years. And quite a privilege for America too, eh, Justin? Now, don’t get me wrong: this is not a man who despises ordinary American folks. On the contrary, he appreciates their curious ways: In more than seven years of life in America, I have come to value - to love, actually - the stolid, sunny, unchallenging, simple virtuousness of the American suburban psyche … Indeed, he forgives all manner of faults: And yet for all the ugliness, the deadening tawdriness...

Note: this is the Google automatic translation. The original is in Italian (at the link)     June 9 2009 - It is the proposal of Nobel Peace Prize in 1980, the Argentinean Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who through the 'International Academy of Environmental Sciences (IAES), which he chairs, has launched in recent days in Rome, the international campaign to collect signatures "Justice for Planet ", an initiative to support the creation of a European criminal court and international environmental havoc against the environmental equivalent to crimes against humanity (to participate in the petition, click here). The IAES, to which belong...