Free Republic

"...It is not he himself who has changed, but rather the benchmark used to evaluate him. For a president, the unit of measurement is real life. A leader is seen by citizens through the prism of their lives -- their job, their household budget, where they live and suffer. And, in the case of the war on terror, where they sometimes die. Political dreams and yearnings for the future belong elsewhere. That was where the political charmer Obama was able to successfully capture the imaginations of millions of voters. It is a place where campaigners -- particularly those with a...

WESTPHALIA, Germany, December 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At least eight Russo-German families in Salzkotten, Germany, have suffered heavy fines and now their fathers have been sentenced to prison, because they have refused to send their elementary school-age children to mandatory sexual education classes. The International Human Rights Group, a Christian legal defense organization that defends religious liberty and the right to homeschool in Europe, reports that in addition to refusing to allow their children to attend sex-ed classes, the families also resisted having their children enlisted in a theatre production of "Mein Körper gehört mir" or "My Body Belongs to...

Nearly three quarters of Germans fear the spread of Islam, according to a survey released on Friday. A poll by Infratest dimap for public broadcaster ARD showed a third of those asked expressed great concern that Islam was growing too quickly in Germany. Thirty-nine percent were still worried about Islam’s impact on society, but to a lesser degree. Only 22 percent said they had no problem with the religion. Snip... Both surveys polled 1,000 people each.

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- The remains of Adolf Hitler were burned in 1970 by Soviet KGB agents and thrown into a river in Germany on direct orders from the spy agency's chief, a top Russian security official said this week.

Canada’s Macleans news site recently published an article titled “Darwin movie too evolved for U.S. audiences”. The article refers to the decision of US film distributors to “pass” on the film “Creation”—the dramatized story of Charles Darwin’s struggle while writing the Origin of Species. The refusal to distribute a film premiered and acclaimed at the Toronto Film Festival seems to have again roused the Canadian media’s scorn of the “backward Americans” of which—according to Gallup—only 39% believe Darwin and his evolutionary theory. It is interesting how very differently the Canadian and world media treated America during WW II when far...

The current treatment of young-age creationists in the scientific community and society at large is unfair and unwise. Scientists and philosophers of science, including old-age creationists and naturalists, should respect youngage creationists as legitimate contributors to science. Young-age creationists offer to the current origins science establishment a competing rational viewpoint that will augment fruitful scientific investigation through increased accountability for scientists, introduction of original hypotheses and general epistemic improvement...

Volkswagen staged the world premiere of the Up! Lite concept at the LA Auto Show. The new concept, based on Volkswagen’s New Small Family (the Up! models), incorporates a variation on the two-cylinder TDI hybrid powertrain from the L1 concept unveiled earlier this year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. (Earlier post.) The door, five-seat concept offers combined EPA cycle fuel consumption of 2.44 L/100km (96 mpg US), with 70 mpg highway. The poewrtrain comprises an 800cc, 2-cylinder TDI (turbo-diesel), electric motor and 7-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG). Combined with aerodynamics of Cd 0.237, the concept has reduced CO2 emissions to...

Germany's environment minister said the Copenhagen climate summit would fail if nations did not agree to a maximum two-degree rise in Earth's temperature, in an interview published on Sunday. "An agreement that global warming must not surpass 2.0 degrees (Celsius, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit average over pre-industrial times) must be the goal for Copenhagen," Norbert Röttgen told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper ahead of the conference's start on Monday. "If in the end the two-degree limit is not part of the accords, Copenhagen will not be a success," he told the paper, warning that the stakes could not be higher. "If...

Bill reported earlier about a Global Warming/Hitler video which was released (10/3/2009) before the climategate scandal broke out: More Global Warming Fraud HumorA new improved video has been released to incorporate the climategate scandal. Version 2, is much better, imho.Hitler was behind global warming-climategateAlso, FoxNews reports:Comedy Central Scoops Network News on Climate-Gate Scandal Comedy Central Scoops Network News on Climate-Gate ScandalABC didn’t cover it. CBS didn’t either. And NBC apparently wouldn’t go near it.The network news broadcasts have ignored a growing scandal over evidence of a potential climate cover-up — and now they’ve even been scooped by the fake news...

Dec 3, 2009 — In the previous entry, Darwin inspired some geologists, even though he was wrong. Here are some news stories showing nature inspiring engineers with wonders right under their noses...

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Dec. 3, 2009 – For Army Spc. Andrey West, the Lord has worked in mysterious ways. Army Spc. Andrey West assembles a drum set for the praise and worship team at Patrick Henry Village Chapel in Heidelberg, Germany. U.S. Army photo by Ina Stiewitz  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. At the age of 40, he found himself enlisting in the Army, something he previously had no intention of doing. And after serving two years as a motor transport operator, he now is on the path to becoming an Army chaplain. When West returned from a 15-month deployment...

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — In this nation that embraced one of the world’s most aggressive campaigns against global warming, the Pokropp family can almost hear the cha-ching when switching off their lights. A kilowatt of electricity costs three times as much here as it does in the United States, supercharged with high taxes to discourage use and to help fund renewable energy development. Meanwhile, a 50 percent “eco-tax” has sent the price of gasoline to $8 a gallon. To manage costs, the family of three unplugs all their appliances but the refrigerator at night, avoids driving and limits steam baths —...

Germany is still paying off £50 million in 'reparations' demanded from it after the end of World War One over 90 years ago. The German Finance Agency, the country’s authority on debt management, said tens of millions of euros are still being transferred to private individuals holding debenture bonds as agreed under the treaty of Versailles signed on June 28 1919. Those bonds were issued at the time to investors hoping to make money out of Germany’s financial quagmire.

Searching in Vain for the Obama Magic Gabor Steingart President Barack Obama's Tuesday speech left a bad taste in many mouths. Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric -- and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught. One can hardly blame the West Point leadership. The academy commanders did their best to ensure that Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama's speech would be well-received. Just minutes before the president took the stage inside Eisenhower Hall, the gathered cadets...

FRANKFURT -- German car maker Daimler AG said Wednesday it will shift production of its best-selling Mercedes-Benz C-Class model from its core plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, to its Bremen and U.S. facilities, as part of a wider move to bring production closer to main sales regions and reduce exposure to currency fluctuation. "This step is essential for strategic and operational reasons, so that Mercedes-Benz remains competitive and can fully utilize future growth opportunities," said Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche. The move underscores a trend among auto makers to ramp up local production to reduce exposure to currency fluctuations and benefit from...

CHIÈVRES, Belgium, Dec. 1, 2009 – Sixty-five years after World War II's landmark Battle of the Bulge, U.S. and Belgian troops will again march side by side in Bastogne on Dec. 12 and 13. Veterans and servicemembers from both nations are scheduled to join thousands of well-wishers, including town officials, dignitaries and local residents, in commemorating the Allied forces' victory in the famous World War II battle. "The traditional carnival-like atmosphere in Bastogne over the weekend celebrates the historic grit and determination of our two nations' veterans 65 years ago, and the solemn ceremony at the Mardasson Memorial overlooking the...

What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books. I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote. I’ve never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force. In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank...

'When millions would have done anything to get out, one remarkable British soldier smuggled himself into Auschwitz to witness the horror so he could tell others the truth.'

McDonald's logo is going green to promote a more eco-friendly image in Europe. It is swapping its traditional red backdrop for a deep green. The company says about 100 German McDonald's will make the change by the end of the year. Some franchises in Great Britain and France already have started using the new color scheme. And our last word in business today: emerald arches.

World powers united in condemnation of Iran's nuclear activities yesterday in a rare show of international consensus on the threat posed by Tehran's continued nuclear defiance. China and Russia joined the United States, Britain, France and Germany in backing an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution censuring Iran and ordering it to halt construction of a secret uranium enrichment plant. The resolution, the first since February 2006, passed with 25 votes and six abstentions. Only Malaysia, Venezuela and Cuba supported Iran. ...China, which has shared Moscow's reluctance to take a hard line with Tehran, was reportedly persuaded to support the resolution...

SIXTY-FIVE years ago, in November 1944, the war in Europe was at a stalemate. A resurgent Wehrmacht had halted the Allied armies along Germany’s borders after its headlong retreat across northern France following D-Day. From Holland to France, the front was static — yet thousands of Allied soldiers continued to die in futile battles to reach the Rhine River. One Allied army, however, was still on the move. The Sixth Army Group reached the Rhine at Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 24, and its commander, Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, looked across its muddy waters into Germany. His force, made up...

A German couple who tried to teach their children Christian values at home has been fined by a Kassel court for refusing to send them to school. The couple from the Hessian village of Archfeld bei Herleshausen has seven children between the ages of two and 17, who they told the court they had hoped to “give the Bible their unlimited trust” through lessons at home. Rosemarie (43) and Jürgen D. (48) were sentenced on Wednesday to pay a daily €1 fine for 60 days for defying the country's compulsory school attendance. The ruling was a lenient judgement compared to...

Israel seeks discount on two German warships * German Meko preferred over U.S. rival vessel * Israel looks for discounted deal by end of year * Netanyahu, Barak due in Berlin next week By Dan Williams TEL AVIV, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Israel plans to buy two warships from Germany rather than rival U.S.-made vessels and is negotiating with Berlin in the hope of clinching a discounted deal by year's end, Israeli officials said on Wednesday. They said the Meko corvettes' purchase would be pursued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak when they visit the...

Disillusionment with Woodrow Wilson changed the American Left forever. In 1916, German saboteurs destroyed Black Tom Island in New York Harbor.Click for Bettmann/Corbis pic. Today’s state-oriented liberalism, we are often told, was the inevitable extension of the pre–World War I tradition of progressivism. The progressives, led by President Woodrow Wilson, placed their faith in reason and the better nature of the American people. Expanded government would serve as an engine of popular goodwill to soften the harsh rigors of industrial capitalism. Describing the condition of his fellow intellectuals prior to World War I, Lewis Mumford exclaimed that “there was scarcely...

This KSM trial will all be about the USA,former President Bush,former Vice President Cheney and the world on global terror. So, you thought Erik Holder was being truthful when he stated he was very confident the terrorists brought to New York would be convicted and given the death penalty? Maybe he does have evidence we don’t know about, but Germany – who provided evidence – will be watching in person. Hat tip to Michelle Malkin who directs us to a Deutsche Welle (DW-World) article.

BERLIN (Dow Jones)--General Motors Co. has repaid a bridge loan for its Adam Opel GmbH unit to the German government, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday, adding the aid had been crucial to keep the German car maker afloat. "The last aid from General Motors for Opel is repaid," Merkel told attendees of a business conference in Berlin, before adding, "I expect... an extensive 'thank you' letter from GM." Merkel defended her government's decision to offer GM the bridge financing, but added,"I would have preferred that the bridge ended differently, that's no secret."

Adolf Hitler's Mercedes Bought by Russian For £5M [Pic in URL] Adolf Hitler's Mercedes has been bought by a Russian oligarch for an estimated five million pounds. By Allan Hall in Berlin 23 Nov 2009 Adolf Hitler standing in a convertible Mercedes reviews SA and SS troops in 1937 Photo: AFP/GETTY The car was once part of a fleet used by the Nazi leader in his travels across Europe during the Second World War. The midnight blue 770 K model car was locked away in a collector's garage in Bielefeld along with seven other vehicles used by Nazi leaders. Michael...

Israel, Germany to discuss missile ships By YAAKOV KATZ A German defense delegation will arrive in Israel next month for high-level talks to focus on an Israeli request to purchase two Meko-class missile ships. The delegation will be led by senior officials from the German Defense Ministry and the German Navy. Talks on the Israeli side will be led by Defense Ministry director-general Pinhas Buchris and Navy commander Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom. While the Navy has yet to finalize its order, it is working on a concept under which the 2,000-ton ship would be designed by the German company Blohm...

Germans don't want KSM or the other turds to die.

UK troops could be withdrawn from Germany if the Tories win power, the shadow defence secretary has said. Liam Fox said maintaining the current presence of more than 20,000 was "no longer necessary". Other Nato member states should take up the UK's responsibilities in Germany, allowing British troops to deploy elsewhere, he told the Daily Telegraph. The Ministry of Defence says the number of forces personnel in Germany has fallen and is under constant review. "Following the Cold War, we've drawn down our troops in Germany to reflect the changed strategic context. The UK always looks to share responsibility proportionally...

David Beckham has apparently agreed to spend four days with the US Army over Thanksgiving. The football star, who plays for LA Galaxy, has arranged to visit the American troops at their barracks in Germany with his teammates next week.

Ah, so nationalized healthcare doesn’t work, they’re essentially saying. And to make up for the gap, people will have to buy private insurance. Hmmm . . . isn’t private insurance allegedly “discriminating” against the poor and those with pre-conditions the thing ObamaCare is supposed to solve? It’s very clear it doesn’t solve that. Germany, with this move, is moving away from government healthcare toward private providers because government can’t afford it. And yet the ObamaCare proponents are citing Germany as an example of how government healthcare works better than private insurance? Someone’s not paying attention. And it isn’t the opponents...

One night in August, the Taliban stormed a local police station in this once-peaceful province and shot dead the governor's younger brother. Since then, the governor has singled out a culprit: The German military, which he says refused to send a helicopter to rescue his brother as he bled to death. "I called them and they said that wasn't a mission they could do," said Gov. Mohammad Omar. "They don't like to go out at night." German officials said there was no way they could have saved his brother. They offered their condolences, and said the death is just one...

Serial rabbit killer uses Google maps to find victims German police are concerned that the person killing rabbits may go on to kill human beings Roger Boyes in Berlin The roll call of victims is growing longer by the day. They have names like Rocco, Fussel, Marianne and Fluffy — and a five-man police unit has a file on each and every one. The so-called “bunny murders” — 40 domestic rabbits killed at night in their hutches, heads and sometimes paws sliced off, their bodies drained of blood — is stunning communities across western Germany. “Nobody knows where the killer...

SNIPPET: "A 90 year old man, identified only as Adolf S., was indicted on Nazi war crimes in Germany. The former member of Hitler’s SS is charged with 58 counts of killing Jewish slave laborers in Deutsch Schuetzen, in Austria. According to prosecutors he, along with other members of the fifth SS Tank Division "Viking,” devised a plan to rob and murder the Jews. The following day they made good on their plan, taking 57 Jewish slave laborers into the woods, stealing their valuables, and firing bullets into their heads from behind. The final indictment comes from the allegation that...

11/13/2009 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- They had never met face to face, but a chance encounter between the two conjured a touching reunion six decades later at the Randolph Air Show Nov. 7. Retired Col. Gail Halvorsen, a 1st lieutenant at the time, earned his spot in in history flying C-54s and C-47s during the Berlin Airlift of World War II. He earned the nickname "The Candy Bomber" from dropping candy from his aircraft to children below while flying over the American sector of Berlin. "One day I met some kids in Berlin at the fence...

A previously unknown militant group claims to be behind a series of arson attacks on banks in Frankfurt over the past two weeks. Police are still hunting for leads to the elusive group, while commentators are drawing links with Germany's notorious terrorist group the Red Army Faction. Until two weeks ago no one had heard of the Bewegung Morgenlicht. But now, they have thrust themselves onto the police's radar with a number of attacks on banks in Frankfurt. Two Saturdays ago, militants threw a petrol-soaked cloth into a Dresdner Bank foyer, setting fire to a cash machine. Just 24 hours...

Twenty years later: Why the Berlin Wall fell S A Aiyar Sunday October 25, 2009 We are approaching the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism. This comprehensively refuted the Communist claim to represent the people. Yet, the claim continues, sometimes dazzling a new generation of youngsters with no inkling of why the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. In democratic Capitalism, said Karl Marx, the rich became richer and the poor poorer. Marxism inspired young idealists for over a century. Lenin’s revolution in Russia in 1917 was hailed as a new dawn. Stalin’s invasions brought Communism to Eastern...

www.catholicnewsagency.com German diocese creates ‘Santa-free zone’ Related articles: Santa ClausAdvent Christmas Tree BlessingHail to Thee, True BodyChristmas Tree Speyer, Germany, Nov 11, 2009 / 05:09 pm (CNA).- In an effort to encourage people to replace the commercialization of the Christmas season with a true devotion to Advent, Christmas and the “true Santa Claus,” several groups within the German Diocese of Speyer have initiated a “Santa-free campaign.” The Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) of Speyer has partnered with other organizations to champion the cause of St. Nicholas of Myra, a friend and helper of children and those in trouble....

86-year-old World War II veteran Joseph Robertson fought for the Allies at the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler’s last major offensive. Amidst fierce combat and harsh winter weather, both the Germans and the Allies suffered heavy casualties. But Mr. Robertson has never been able to forget one young soldier he killed there. In July 2005, he shared this memory with son-in-law John Fish, Jr. at a StoryCorps MobileBooth in Columbus, Ohio.

PARIS (AFP) – Former foes France and Germany held a joint World War I Armistice Day ceremony for the first time as events around the globe Wednesday honoured the millions killed in the conflict. President Barack Obama, speaking at a ceremony in the United States, hailed "the brave men and women of this young nation, generations of them, who above all else believed in and fought for a set of ideals." In London, Queen Elizabeth II led tributes to the war dead, including the growing number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan. But the last British veteran of the 1914-18 conflict...

Alex W., the man who stabbed pregnant Egyptian pharmacist Marwa al-Sherbini to death in a courtroom in Dresden in July, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday. The judge imposed the harshest possible sentence under the German system by ruling that W. will not be eligible for parole after 15 years. A court in Dresden sentenced Alex W., a German man of Russian origin, to life in prison on Wednesday for murdering Marwa al-Sherbini, a pregnant Egyptian woman, by stabbing her 16 times in a courtroom in a case that caused outrage across the Arab world. The judge, Birgit...

CNN) -- A goalkeeper for the German national soccer team apparently killed himself by stepping in front of a train, just months after he and his wife adopted a daughter, police said Wednesday. Robert Enke, 32, was captain of the German top-division soccer club Hannover 96 and had played in eight games for his national team. He was widely expected to be the German team's keeper in the 2010 World Cup. "Preliminary police investigations indicate a suicide," Hannover 96 spokesman Stefan Wittke said. Enke died about 6:25 p.m. Tuesday. His wife Teresa said he left a suicide note. She said...

Hillary Clinton Scrubs Ronald Reagan From History Nile Gardiner November 10th, 2009 It’s bad enough that President Obama could not be bothered to attend the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But Hillary Clinton’s refusal to even acknowledge the role played by Ronald Reagan in the Wall’s demise as well as the downfall of Communism was highly insulting towards one of the greatest figures of our time, and reeked of petty and partisan mean-spiritedness. The Secretary of State’s remarks yesterday in Berlin completely erased from history the huge contribution played not only by President...

Nov 10, 2009 — When the Berlin wall fell 20 years ago, Dorothee Hubner first dared to think, “Are we allowed to leave and finally be free?” Her story and that of her parents Gerhard and Gertraude, scientists trapped in East Germany, was told by Andrew Curry, a freelance writer, in Science.[1] Dorothee was 23 years old in 1989. Her parents, also biochemists, “had spent decades struggling to do research in East Germany without compromising their personal ideals with allegiance to the ruling Communist Party.” By not pledging allegiance to the ruling Communist Party, the Hubners faced a life of...

The President of leisure has a pretty slow day Monday, highlighting the point that no pressing business kept him from celebrating the fall of communism 20 years after the Berlin Wall fell. Jim Gerraghty of The Campaign Spot on National Review goes over the official schedule for our leader yesterday: Just look at the man's schedule: He had a 10 a.m. daily briefing from the intelligence community, a 10:30 a.m. economic daily briefing, an 11 a.m. meeting with senior advisers . . . and then, right after that, at 6:45 in the evening, he had to sign an executive...

11/10/2009 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) -- Ramstein Air Base Airmen delivered the base's last E-model C-130 Hercules Nov. 2 to Powidz Air Base, Poland, marking the end of 38 years of service to the U.S. Air Force but the newest addition to the Polish air force's blossoming fleet of strategic airlifters. C-130 tail No. 1299 touched down and as the aircrew exited the aircraft Polish air force Brig. Gen. Tadeusz Mikutel, the 33rd Air Base commander, and Lt. Col. Mieczyslaw Gaudyn, 14th Airlift Squadron commander, welcomed the American Airmen with warm greetings and a firm handshake. "The main...

Many believed. So many were disappointed. 9 minute video, halfway down the page. Excellent encapsulation of life in East Berlin from the '50s to the fall of the Berlin Wall, including indoctrination of children, MEDIOCRE leaders, secret police and of course the wonderful architecture of East Germany. "Thomas Hoepker's photos chronicle 40 years of strange, sad, vicious and sometimes hilarious life in East Berlin.

TODAY every news service in the world will transmit the same gratifying and facile images of the destruction of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago: a moment when -- as solemn-voiced announcers will intone in practised cadences -- not just a wall, but an entire era was ground into brick-dust. Such commemorations are easy and agreeable because they invite us to celebrate the ending of something, without requiring us to know anything about what it was that ended. What could be more pleasant than to enjoy an obscurely heart-lifting, lung-expanding sensation of liberation without having to trouble ourselves as to...

On November 9, 2009, the world will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Naturally, in Germany, there will be commemorations of the event, and the collapse of Communism in Europe. "snip" And given all of this, it is safe to say that Barack Obama will attend the 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Wall, right? Wrong. While Candidate Barack Obama was perfectly willing to go to Germany during the 2008 Presidential campaign, President Barack Obama has chosen to skip the 20th anniversary celebrations altogether. Needless to say, this has not elicited much outrage...