Free Republic

In an unusually strong protectionist action, President Reagan today ordered a tenfold increase in tariffs for imported heavyweight motorycles. The impact of Mr. Reagan's action, which followed the unanimous recommendation of his trade advisers, is effectively limited to Japanese manufacturers, which dominate every sector of the American motorycycle market. The action was exceptional for protecting a single American company, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company of Milwaukee, the sole surviving American maker of motorcycles. The only comparable trade action by this Administration, the President's decision last May to impose quotas on sugar imports for the first time since 1974, was aimed at...

The National Motorcycle Profiling Survey that began October 1st is beginning to show some strong early trends confirming that motorcycle profiling is a prevalent and widespread problem. The survey is intended to provide a clearer picture of motorcycle profiling from a national perspective through a thorough and comprehensive series of specific and detailed questions. Although there have only been approximately 1,400 surveyed in the first couple of days, some trends are so strong that they are worth talking about now. 84.52% of motorcyclists report riding a motorcycle places them under a higher level of scrutiny from law enforcement and business...

Some of what we saw today at the Hollister CA Motorcycle Rally

If Angela Merkel is truly interested in protecting her country from Islamic terrorism, she should quit with allowing the media and police their full-throttle Tea Party smearing of citizens Note to Chancellor Angela Merkel: If Germany is really serious about fighting terrorism, why are you allowing your media and police to label football fan citizens willing to get out and protest against Sharia law, ‘filled with hate for each other’ ‘“hooligans?” Merkel’s German government seems to be taking a page from the American Democrats in labeling any resistance to the status quo with names with which the politically correct mainstream...

THE HAGUE: The Dutch public prosecutor said Tuesday that motorbike gang members who have reportedly joined Kurds battling ISIS in Iraq are not necessarily committing any crime. "Joining a foreign armed force was previously punishable, now it's no longer forbidden," public prosecutor spokesman Wim de Bruin told AFP. "You just can't join a fight against the Netherlands," he told AFP after reports emerged that Dutch bikers from the No Surrender gang were fighting ISIS insurgents alongside Kurds in northern Iraq. The head of No Surrender, Klaas Otto, told state broadcaster NOS that three members who travelled to near Mosul in...

<p>Last week Attorney General Eric Holder met with Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson in Ferguson. nd the highway was clearly already shut down at this point.</p>

Published on American ThinkerBy Enza Ferreri Apparently, many young people, especially those with an antisocial disposition, dislike classical music so much that Bach, Beethoven and Mozart can even be played to discourage young hooligans from intimidating, harassing and robbing store customers. This experiment has been tried and has succeeded over many years in several locations. The earliest occurrence I could find goes back to the mid 1980s, when Canadian outlets of the 7-Eleven convenience store franchise began to play easy listening and classical music to drive away teenagers who were loitering outside their stores. Following the success of this...

BMW Motorrad and Dainese have announced they will cooperate in joint development of innovative motorcycle safety clothing for BMW Motorrad. Taking the Dainese D-Air® Protect System as its starting point, the partners will be developing motorcycle rider equipment with fully integrated inflatable protectors for BMW Motorrad. The first product to emerge from their cooperation will be the DoubleR RaceAir one-piece leather suit with D-Air® racing protectors, designed exclusively for use on racetracks. The racing suit is scheduled to be presented at the international EICMA motorcycle show in Milan this November, once BMW Motorrad has completed all the required testing in...

So I guess going to a New York McDonald’s isn’t a good idea right now. Videographer and conservative blogger Adam Sharp of SharpElbows.net attended one such demonstration and interviewed an SEIU member, easily identifiable as such by his purple shirt. When asked whether the union member supported the $15 per hour wage increase the McDonald’s workers were demanding, he admitted, “I’m not sure.” He also said he was there to show his support for the workers rather than the company and expressed a fear that, “if they’re [the McDonald’s employees] pissed off, they could be doing something to that food.”...

-snip- In the past, Harley’s image was directly correlated to the devoted, young, hard-core, rebels that lived to ride. But the rebels of yesterday have aged, changing Harley’s base demographic. In 1987 half of Harley riders were under the age of 35. Today, the average Harley customer is a white, upper-class, 47-year-old man that rides as a hobby. Problematic? Not really. According to Harley’s 2011, 2012, and 2013 10-Q financial statements, since Q3 2011 Harley averaged quarterly motorcycle sales growth of 6.44%, an EBITDA growth rate of 17.65% and a net income growth rate of 14.72%. And, at a stock...

Drunks injured in booze-fueled brawls should be charged for their NHS treatment, Nick Clegg said today. The Deputy Prime Minister revealed he backed the idea of imposing levies on people who get “completely blind drunk and get themselves into a scrap”. An estimated two million visits are made to A&E every year for alcohol-related illnesses and injuries. Experts say the cost of alcohol to the NHS exceeds £3 billion ($4.6 billion) per year. … Clegg admitted some town and city centers have become “no-go areas” in on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. He said it was unacceptable for the taxpayer...

Tensions were raised ahead of the European Championship match at the National Stadium as thousands of Russian fans marched to mark their national day. Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon were used to disperse fans at the end of the march. Riot police were also seen dragging people off as Polish fans chanted: ‘Russia whores, Russia whores’ and ‘Hit the red trash with a hammer, with a sickle’.

A woman accused of leaving the scene of a traffic accident last month where an investigating Houston police officer was later killed has been charged with two felonies and is believed to have fled again — this time, to Mexico. Houston police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Francisca Cortez, 28. Authorities said they believe she is the driver who struck two motorcyclists on Interstate 610 near Yale on May 29. While investigating that wreck, Officer Kevin Will was fatally struck by a suspected drunken driver. In a probable cause affidavit filed Friday in Harris County, police revealed...

Filmmaker Michael Moore and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin were among those who pumped up a pro-union crowd of more than 12,000 at the Capitol on Saturday to protest Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill. The crowd was substantially smaller than those on the past two Saturdays. Capitol police estimated 12,000 people gathered for the outdoor rally and that 7,385 people entered the Capitol building itself throughout the day. Moore praised the 14 Democratic senators who left the state to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in the history of labor in America.

LONDON – In Britain's worst political violence in years, furious student protesters rained sticks and rocks on riot police, vandalized government buildings and attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, after lawmakers approved a controversial hike in university tuition fees.

Going 96 mph on a 65-mph highway is enough to land a speeder in serious legal trouble. That’s 31 mph over the speed limit, and it’s the threshold between a regular speeding violation and the more egregious offense of “excessive speeding,” which earns violators a meeting with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that they’ll likely walk out of with a suspended license. On Wednesday night, state police stopped a motorcyclist they said was clocked at 147 mph. That’s 82 mph over the limit. “That is probably the highest speed I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been at PennDOT nine years now,”...

Speeding motorcyclist taunts state trooper trapped in crashed car A state trooper rolled his car multiple times while chasing two reckless motorcyclists, one of whom returned to taunt the injured trooper trooper, officials said. The incident happened on the northbound ramp from Interstate 5 to State Route 599 at approximately 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. Washington State Patrol Trooper Cliff Pratt said the trooper was chasing a group of at least nine members of a south King County motorcycle group who were speeding dangerously and getting too close to cars. As the trooper tried to close in on the fastest biker, he...

OAKLAND — Nearly 1,000 people filled the street in front of Oakland City Hall on Thursday evening. They gathered to vent, pray, and ask how a Los Angeles jury could find Johannes Mehserle, a white former BART police officer, guilty of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting Oscar Grant III, an unarmed, 22-year-old black man from Hayward, in the back.At first, the crowd was electric, but not volatile. To respond with violence would dishonor Grant's memory, they said. Hundreds of Oakland police officers watched and endured taunts, spits and rocks from a small group that tried, but failed, to incite other...

A lone German supporter finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as he is surrounded by England fans bitter at their team's colossal loss. The man, who was bare-chested in London's Leicester Square, is jostled and elbowed as he tries to find an escape route. This was one of a few isolated incidents of football violence to flare around the world after England were sent crashing out of the World Cup after being beaten 4-1 by Germany.

TORONTO — Police raided a university building and rounded up more protesters Sunday in an effort to quell further violence at the global economic summit after black-clad youths rampaged through the city, smashing windows and torching police cruisers. Police said they have arrested more than 500 demonstrators, many of whom were hauled away in plastic handcuffs and taken to a temporary holding center constructed for the summit.....