Free Republic

This winter may see Europeans freezing to death, unable to heat their homes as natural gas supplies dwindle. Unemployment and bankruptcies will soar, as companies find themselves unable to cover their costs due to high energy prices. Germany’s vaunted chemical industry, heavily dependent on natural gas feedstock, is likely to wither on the vine. An economic and social disaster reminiscent of the 1930s is possible. The word “deindustrialization” is becoming real.And yet, as Bloomberg reports:Beneath the windmill-dotted marshlands of the Netherlands lies Europe’s largest natural gas reserve. The sprawling Groningen field has enough untapped capacity to replace, as soon as...

AMSTERDAM — Amsterdam police commissioner Bernard Welten has said the army should be called in to guard buildings in the city from terrorists. Welten said there were 125 locations currently under extra police surveillance in Amsterdam to prevent possible terror attacks. The capital's police spent 100,000 officer-hours on guard duty last year, compared with 41,000 in 2003. The demand for protection grew significantly following the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. He was killed apparently because of his criticism of Islam. Welten said many officers spent so much time on guard duty they could not do any other police work....

Wladyslawowo, Poland — After initially being prevented from docking in Poland, the Dutch-based abortion ship arrived in the eastern European country on Sunday and was greeted by a gathering of protesters. Dozens of people, many shouting “murderers” and waving Polish flags, met the Langenort as it pulled into the Baltic Sea port of Wladyslawowo. The Langenort, a converted tugboat, has a makeshift operating room where abortions are performed and pro-life groups say to perform abortions there is dangerous to women. Although crew members don’t intend to perform surgical abortions on this trip, they declined to say whether they intended to...