Free Republic

These days, it's difficult for a gentleman to know whether holding a door for a lady is a polite gesture...or a real insult.

Ryanair on Friday claimed Sweden's Trade Ethical Council against Sexism in Advertising (ERK) was out of touch with the "Britney Spears generation" after the agency accused the discount airline of running a sexist ad campaign. In defending the advertisement, Ryanair questioned whether the ERK accurately reflected the views of most Swedes. “We are sure that the anti-funsters at the ERK do not speak for the majority of the famously liberal and easy going Swedes,” the company said in a statement. “The ad simply reflects the way a lot of young girls like to dress. We hope the old farts at...

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign disavowed an introduction here yesterday that included Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. William Platt, chairman of the Lehigh County Republican Party, twice referred to "Barack Hussein Obama," which other supporters of McCain and running mate Sarah Palin have used to link the Democratic candidate with Muslims. Obama is not a Muslim. McCain has disavowed the tactic, most recently when it was employed earlier this week. "We do not condone this inappropriate rhetoric which distracts from the real questions of judgment, character and experience that voters will base their decisions...

Not talkin' financial crash. Something much worse...a crash of FR servers.

Iraqi 'Abd Al-Khaliq Hussein: America Did Not Occupy Iraq, It Liberated It December 21, 2007 One of the Iraqi liberals who took umbrage at Ibrahim's characterization of the situation in Iraq was Dr. 'Abd Al-Khaliq Hussein in an article published on the liberal Arab website Aafaq on November 7, 2007. He expressed particular disappointment in the fact that Ibrahim, a respected and outspoken democrat and former political prisoner, would express such views. Following are excerpts: "I would not be giving away any secrets if I say that I regularly read the writings of Dr. Sa'ad Eddin Ibrahim... but, and I...

Excerpt - After dumping its $10 million contract with Jerry Seinfeld after just three ads (only two of which even aired) Microsoft has created new ad copy where regular people and a few celebrities say, “I’m a PC!” One problem with the campaign’s credibility: the ad work was created using Macs. Flickr user LuisDS found that metadata on the creative copy of the “stereotyped PC user” and other photos appearing on Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” website revealed that they were produced using Macs running Adobe Creative Suite 3. One might expect that Microsoft would use Windows PCs running its own...

The Clinton administration has turned the Community Reinvestment Act, a once-obscure and lightly enforced banking regulation law, into one of the most powerful mandates shaping American cities—and, as Senate Banking Committee chairman Phil Gramm memorably put it, a vast extortion scheme against the nation's banks. Under its provisions, U.S. banks have committed nearly $1 trillion for inner-city and low-income mortgages and real estate development projects, most of it funneled through a nationwide network of left-wing community groups, intent, in some cases, on teaching their low-income clients that the financial system is their enemy and, implicitly, that government, rather than their...

When I was a kid, rumor had it that “antidisestablishmentarianism” was the longest word in the English language. I actually looked it up once, and discovered it had something to do with the status of the Church of England — which sort of took the fun out of the word. But in college, I decided I liked the idea of defending the establishment against those who sought to disestablish it. Well, I’m older now, and have consorted a bit with various establishments. To know them is not to love them. I’m now a disestablishmentarian. I’ve come to believe that, to...

MSA's slogan 'FASCISM, NOT TRUTH!' MSA = HATREDA. Writes: I was first introduced to MSA ‘Muslim Student Association’ by an apparent advocate for them, an Arab poster (posing as “Italian”) on AOL message boards [under multiple screen names 'sock-puppets' including "LetsReadAll", "CryToHvn" and more] on 2001 who claimed to be a 'Holocaust denier' but liked to brag about Nazis killing Jews, liked to post against certain AOL users that were openly Jewish a thread like: "paging Dr. Mengele", ) that posted again & again a video propaganda “little ones”, a collection of graphic content like bloody pictures of dead kids, on Arab “Palestinians”...

Together with Tim Rice, Lord Lloyd-Webber began his theatre career with two shows that drew on Christian tradition - Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Now theatreland's most successful composer, who is currently planning a new BBC talent search to find a Dorothy for a West End production of The Wizard of Oz, has spoken of his fears that political correctness is stifling creativity. In an interview looking back on his triumphs, Lord Lloyd-Webber said: "I'm lucky to have had such a successful career. I'm actually lucky enough to have always done as I want. "I...

Excerpt - Dell Inc. is trying to sell its computer factories around the world, a move to sharply overhaul a production model that was long a hallmark of the PC giant's strategy but is no longer competitive. In recent months, according to people familiar with the matter, Dell has approached contract computer manufacturers with offers to sell the plants. One person briefed on the plan said he expects the company to sell most -- and possibly all -- of its factories "within the next 18 months." Other factories could close, this person said. Dell would enter into agreements with the...

I think you will enjoy this gentleman's take on the encroaching Islamofascism and Islamification of Europe, especially the United Kingdom. Click the video to watch.

The seventies were witness to the Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes, the Yom Kippur War, the oil embargo, the PLO terrorist attacks on international airlines and airports, and finally the appearance of gun-toting Yasser Arafat before the General Assembly of the United Nations. Bat Yeor studied this decade and set out her thesis of what was going on in Europe vis a vis the Arabs in her ground-breaking book Eurabia. Prof Paul Eidelberg summarized what it meant for Israel. 1) European policy would be independent from, and opposed to that of the United States; 2) recognition by Europe of...

There has been a news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere, becaue coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Moslem Arabs. Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enough to throttle back the engines from their max power setting, so the $80 million brand-new aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totaling it.

According to a Government briefing document one of the aims of the switch is to "put immigration, the Commonwealth and the legacy of the Empire into a clear historical context...This can help pupils prepare for life in a diverse and multi-ethnic society".Kevin Brennan, the children's minister, said: "Although we may be ashamed to admit it, the slave trade is an integral part of British history. It is inextricably linked to trade, colonisation, industrialisation and the British Empire.

Peggy Noonan made a serious point about MSNBC's slanted coverage, and I suppose seriousness compels me to mention it first. But please do yourself a favor and stay tuned for the description of Peggy's un-PC laugh line that could be the best guilty pleasure of the campaign season. Joe Scarborough opened today's Morning Joe with an ode to the wonderfulness that was Obama last night. He was entirely in tune with Olbermann's claim that the speech was beyond criticism. All the adoration apparently annoyed Peggy, and she made a point of providing a counterweight when she appeared later in the...

What 'culture war'? At the conventions, they'll try to stir up red-blue divisions. But most Americans hold un-partisan views. By Dick Meyer August 27, 2008 As the nation's attention reluctantly turns to the political parties' conventions, with their scripted suspense and stage-managed sentiment, it is important to keep in mind that these are phony representations of American political life. But the slick video profiles, the teary appearance of a beloved party elder -- these are not what is most phony about the conventions. This gathering of America's civic tribes -- and the reporters who love them -- in separate cities...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)—Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player— too good, it turns out. The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said. Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered...

A new congressional study has found that more than 20 Muslim nations deny entry to American and other foreign religious workers, WND has learned, even as the U.S. State Department grants entry to hundreds of clerics from their countries each year. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and most other Middle Eastern countries still refuse to offer religious visas, they and deny entry to U.S. clergy as official policy, according to a report by the Law Library of Congress, the foreign legal research arm of the U.S. Congress. In a shocker, U.S. allies Afghanistan and Iraq also made the...

UK officials: Christian Bale will not face charges Aug. 14, 2008, 2:12 PM EST LONDON (AP) --Batman star Christian Bale will not face charges relating to an alleged assault on his mother and sister at the Dorchester Hotel on July 20, British prosecutors said Thursday. The country's Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement that there was insufficient evidence to afford a "realistic prospect of conviction" and ordered the police not to take any further action in the case.

At a recent writers conference in Southern California, one of my colleagues on a screenwriters panel told the crowd of about 50 people that she hoped Barack Obama would win the presidency. A number of people applauded. When it was my turn to speak, I politely said that I disagreed with her politics and moved on to other topics. There was no applause for me, but several writers approached me afterward. Each dropped his voice to a whisper and, looking around to make sure no one would overhear, said, "Thank you for saying that." Which raises a question for all...

On Sunday, July 27, 2008 a man named Jim David Adkisson walked into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, killed two worshipers, and wounded seven before being subdued by church-goers. At first, the story seemed like another case of a disturbed individual wanting to create mayhem for no particular rhyme or reason. These types of occurrences have almost become commonplace in our society. From attacks in schools, churches, and the workplace, it is evident in today's culture that no place is safe from those who seek fame by killing their fellow man. However, the Knoxville, Tennessee shooting, from...

i've got black bars on either side of my vista image. how do i eliminate these so that vista can occupy the whole screen on my samsung 2693hm? thanks. ken

AFTER a lecture to the Marine Memorial Association last week, a reporter thrust a mike toward me and asked if I thought I should be tried for war crimes for my columns in The Post supporting our military. The reporter - who avoided revealing what outlet he was with - thought he was being wonderfully clever, but what fascinated me about the silly encounter (it was in San Francisco, after all) was how unintentionally revealing it was about the shameless hypocrisy of the left. Think about it: For expressing my views to readers like you on these pages, hardcore leftists...

Letting the facts do the talking seems to be a lost art among university bureaucrats today, at least at Georgia Tech. Honesty takes a back seat to misinformation, distortions of the truth and the assumption that those with opposing views are inherently wrong and deserving of retribution. It doesn't help when some members of the media leave this unchallenged. But now a federal judge has made note of Tech's apparent "lack of candor." In March 2006, the Alliance Defense Fund —- Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith —- filed a...

During the past year, several federal agencies – including the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the National Counter Terrorism Center – have declared a war on words. Specifically, these agencies have issued memoranda discouraging their employees from naming the enemy in the War on Terror. The prohibition included words such as “jihad,” “Islamist,” “Islamofascism,” and “caliphate,” among others

Spinners Get Politically Correct, Incorrect This Week Salute to the sensitive nature of political correctness, July 23-24  LOWELL, MA – The Lowell Spinners, Class A affiliate of the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, announced today that this week’s upcoming homestand against the State College Spikes, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, will salute both the sensitive nature of political correctness and incorrectness.   WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 – Political Correctness Night at LeLacheur Park. Returning for a second season, the Spinners will take measures to make sure nobody—including the players—leaves the ballpark offended. Players committing an error will not be identified for...

Now that politically correct language has fallen from favour, demonised and discredited, where should we go next? Can we afford to ignore the return of derogatory language directed at black, Muslim, gay, disabled or elderly people, anyone deemed different? Derogatory words make way for degrading treatment. Language is more than our basic tool of communication; it shapes perceptions and so influences behaviour. Referring to "faggots" or "wrinklies" strips people of respect, and it's just a short step to thinking them less equal. Terms such as "cripples", "spastics", "thick" and "retarded" stigmatise disabled people as less human. A recent increase in...

Imagine a society where simply speaking out of turn or saying the "wrong thing" was openly discussed as a crime against humanity, and where sceptics or deniers of the truth were publicly labelled "criminals", hauled before the press and accused of endangering humanity with their grotesque untruths. Imagine a society where even some liberals demanded severe restrictions on freedom of movement; where people campaigned for travelling overseas to be made prohibitively expensive in order to force people to stay at home; and where immigration was frowned upon as "toxic" and "destructive".

July 11, 2008, 0:00 a.m. Black-Hole SpeechThe will-to-power masquerades as tolerance. By Jonah Goldberg At a recent meeting of city officials in Dallas County, Texas, a small racial brouhaha broke out. County commissioners were hashing out difficulties with the way the central collections office handles traffic tickets. Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield found himself guilty of talking while white. He observed that the bureaucracy “has become a black hole� for lost paperwork. Fellow Commissioner John Wiley Price took great offense, shouting, “Excuse me!� That office, the black commissioner explained, has become a “white hole.� Seizing on the outrage, Judge Thomas Jones...

A BRITISH airport has advertised for an air traffic controller - and offered those interested an application pack in braille. The website for St Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly, off the southwest tip of England, says controllers need to be able to keep a close eye on the changeable weather as their work "is not over-dependent upon very costly and sophisticated electronic equipment". But applicants for the job could still ask for an application pack in large type, braille or audio format, newspapers said. A spokesman for the local council said the wording was included on all job...

Since 9/11, most Western nations have, for obvious reasons, became increasingly sceptical of Christian and Muslim symbiosis. In this regard, PC Norway, PC Denmark and PC Sweden are exceptions as these small Nordic countries have continued to welcome Muslim immigrants, referring to various sorts of UN policies and UN "legislature" (an apparatus Scandinavian tax payers, to a large extent, actually uphold as many other nations have lost the interest of financially supporting and being directed by this organization). Yet, there are strong evidence Scandinavian political correctness is at an all time low.. The article: "After decades of being the noisy...

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon. County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts. Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office. Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole." That prompted Judge Thomas Jones,...

Chuck Thacker is something of a hero in the world of technology yet outside of it, he remains a virtual unknown. Show people a photo of say Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and I bet quite a few people on the street will know who they are. Certainly they will have heard of them and probably have one or more of their products but Chuck Thacker is a different kettle of fish. And that's a shame given the influence he has had on so much of our lives. In short, Chuck is the man who essentially gave us the...

Cheuvront granted a motion by defense attorneys barring the use of the words rape, sexual assault, victim, assailant, and sexual assault kit from the trial of Pamir Safi—accused of raping Tory Bowen in October 2004.

Sadly enough, this is what life looks like here in grim old Thule: "State environmental protection officials plan to forbid all new development of large shopping centers located outside established retail districts within Norway's cities and towns. The goal is to discourage driving...

 Human rights complaint over comic's lesbian remarksUpdated Thu. Jun. 26 2008 11:13 PM ETCTV.ca News StaffA Toronto comedian facing a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal hearing says offensive comments he made to two Vancouver lesbians were simply an attempt to stop them from heckling him on stage."I don't hate anybody based on their sexual orientation, or whatever, but I do hate hecklers and sometimes I get a little vehement," Guy Earle says in a radio interview posted on YouTube.Earle said he was hosting a weekly open-mic night in a restaurant on March 22, 2007 when the two women moved up...

American School Books Redefine 'Jihad' to Exclude Violence -- Where is Media? By Warner Todd Huston | June 8, 2008 - 21:49 ET In yet another example of why the west could be too weak to fight the sort of global terrorism that takes the form of Islamofascism, a textbook monitoring group is charging that American textbooks have been cleansed of mentioning the violence inherent in the Islamic "Jihad." Now, our children will not be taught what "Jihad" truly means, nor that it has been used as an excuse to kill their fellow citizens because our schools have sanitized Islam...

EFiX dongle promises easy Mac OS installs on PC A developer is promising an easy, hardware-assisted means of installing Mac OS X onto PCs, accounts say. The creators of the EFiX USB dongle claim that by attaching their device to a PC, users can then simply boot from a Mac OS X disc, and continue with installation as if the system were a native Apple product. Typically, the creation of "Hackintoshes" requires a number of complex steps, as Apple does not allow the Mac OS on third-party hardware. The dongle is said to have been in development for some time,...

Thousands of primary pupils were prevented from making Father's Day cards at school for fear of embarrassing classmates who live with single mothers and lesbians. The politically correct policy was quietly adopted at schools "in the interests of sensitivity" over the growing number of lone-parent and same-sex households.

Council bans brainstorming By Nick Allen Last Updated: 2:06PM BST 20/06/2008   A council has banned the term "brainstorming" and replaced it with "thought showers". Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent was accused of taking political correctness to extremes after instructing staff to make the change.The move came as council chiefs feared the word brainstorming might offend mentally ill people and those with epilepsy.The buzz term is often used by executives to generate ideas among their staff. But memos have been sent to staff asking them not to use it and some have been given training which encouraged them...

Societies have a way of designating certain groups of people as "problematic" and then scapegoating them - as a class of people, without regard for individual distinctions within the designated group - as the source of the major problems that society faces. Most countries have done it at one time or another in their history. We've done it here in the United States. Reading through reader responses throughout the online world of HoustonBelief.com, the larger chron.com site, and other major news sources in the country, I wonder if we aren't participating yet again in one of the oldest mechanisms in...

Where does all this stuff that you�ve heard about this morning � the victim feminism, the gay rights movement, the invented statistics, the rewritten history, the lies, the demands, all the rest of it � where does it come from? For the first time in our history, Americans have to be fearful of what they say, of what they write, and of what they think. They have to be afraid of using the wrong word, a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic. We have seen other countries, particularly in this century, where this has been...

Libs. for Islamic Terrorists inc. - The "huffingtonpost" calls Iranian-Syrian invaders Hezbollah Islamists murdering Americans in Iraq, "resistance" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/27/hezbollah-sides-with-iraq_n_103692.html Hezbollah Sides With Iraqi "Resistance" _______ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2030391/posts?page=1 IRAQ & US ACCUSE [SYRIA'S IRAN'S LEBANESE BASED] ISLAMIC HEZBOLLAH TERRORISTS OF CRIMES IN IRAQ

You might have heard about the Colorado "Restroom Chaos" law signed by Governor Bill Ritter a couple of weeks ago. It allows men who "think" they're women or "feel" like women to use the ladies restrooms and locker rooms. But apparently the law had some more bad stuff in the fine print: politically incorrect Biblical truth has been outlawed in Colorado outside the walls of the church.

Israeli on Arab TV: J'lem Was Ours When Moslems Worshipped Idols ...Israeli on Arab TV: J'lem Was Ours When Moslems Worshipped Idols ... Jerusalem is our city forever and is not an issue for you, for Al Jazeera or for anyone ...Dr. Kedar: "Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran even once. You can't rewrite the Koran on air on Al Jazeera."... http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126403

Political correctness began as a reasonable adjustment of manners, but as an ideology, it corrupts language and dulls thought.

Usually, when a journalist is censored in a Western nation, American news organizations respond with collective outrage. But as a major attack on press freedom unfolds in Canada, America’s mainstream media are silent. Neither the TV networks nor the major newspapers have reported on hearings last week at what amounts to a Stalinesque show trial in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mark Steyn, a Canadian journalist who now lives in New Hampshire and whose column appears in National Review magazine as well as several U.S. and Canadian newspapers, is facing charges before British Columbia’s Human Rights Tribunal. His crime? Spreading “hatred.” The...

Two controversies involving schools, kids and flags have made recent news in Minnesota. But the cases had radically different outcomes. The first occurred in May at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Junior High. Four eighth-graders refused to stand while the rest of their class recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. The kids got one-day, in-school suspensions. But school officials lifted the suspensions immediately after the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota fired off a letter pronouncing that the First Amendment protected the students' conduct. The ACLU's letter warned of dark consequences for school officials who had violated the eighth-graders' free-expression rights....

Dear Google comrades Sergei and Larry! The Party looks kindly at your attempts to correct and improve history by unobtrusively modifying the Google logo on notable calendar dates. For years you have zealously informed the masses about progressive and useful events like Earth Day or Earth Hour, while purposefully ignoring Memorial Day (no logo change on this reactionary American holiday). Most recently, you enlightened the unwashed about the Spanish artist Velázquez on June 6 without mentioning the Allied Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, a celebration of which would indeed be offensive to National Socialists. ~ The time is ripe for...