Free Republic

Boris Johnson’s brother-in-law claims he was blocked from using currency exchange abroad because of his political links. Ivo Dawnay, who is married to the former prime minister’s younger sister Rachel, said he was told by an official at the bureau de change in the baggage hall of Mexico City airport he could not use the service owing to his status. Writing in The Spectator, Mr Dawnay said that while attempting to exchange $200 (£160), he was asked to fill out several forms, one of which asked him if he was a “politically exposed person”, otherwise known as a PEP, after...

A parents’ organisation was reportedly prevented from opening an account with Metro Bank over opposition to allowing children to undergo life-altering transgender medical procedures, in the latest revelation of British banks banning customers for their political views. Following Brexit leader Nigel Farage revealing nine banks have refused him accounts, a slew of people, mostly holding right-wing or conservative-leaning beliefs have revealed they have faced similar Chinese communist-style debanking in Britain. According to a report from The Telegraph, the transgenderism-critical parents group Our Duty — which represents over 2,000 parents who are concerned about children being encouraged into medically transitioning their...

The landslide victory of the governing Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito alliance in Japan's upper parliamentary house on Sunday means that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has both the mandate and means to amend the constitution. The prospective changes would allow Japan to use military force in more circumstances and bolster its offensive combat capabilities. On Monday, Kishida suggested he would move to make these changes without delay. They would have to be approved by a public referendum, even if the country's parliament did give its assent. But it is clear that Japan is moving toward a more robust deterrence doctrine in the...

The Obama administration has ordered agents to begin ignoring many of the illegal immigrants they encounter in local prisons and jails, as the president begins to implement a lesser-known part of his deportation amnesty program — a move that’s not sitting well with either side in the immigration debate. The move is a nod to sanctuary cities, who had begun to refuse to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement. After having court challenges, Mr. Obama bowed to those cities, counties and states and announced the changes as part of his November 2014 amnesty policy. Agents will still troll local...

1924: Pep, “The Cat-Murdering Dog” Pep "The Cat-Murdering Dog" was a black Labrador Retriever admitted to Eastern State Penitentiary on August 12, 1924. Prison folklore tells us that Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot used his executive powers to sentence Pep to Life Without Parole for killing his wife’s cherished cat. Prison records support this story: Pep’s inmate number (C-2559) is skipped in prison intake logs and inmate records. The Governor told a different story. He said Pep had been sent to Eastern to act as a mascot for the prisoners. He and the Warden, Herbert “Hard-Boiled” Smith, were friends. Pep was...

Food and drink: two things we just can't live without. When tough economic times arrive, these two items stay in the budget while others disappear. It's a matter of priorities for most, and consumer staples almost always come out at the top of the list. In recent months, there has been increasing focus on the possibility of an impending food shortage. This would force prices upward as supply diminishes and demand continues unabated. In similar fashion to rising oil prices, most will grin and bear it. Gas retailers have been very quick to pass on any increases in costs and...

Scientists have reacted angrily to the revelation that the US military is funding development of a weapon intended to deliver an "excrutiating bout of pain" from over a mile away. The "Pulsed Energy Projectile" (PEP) device "fires a laser pulse that generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid", the New Scientist explains. If you happen to be that something solid, then you get temporarily incapacitated without suffering permanent injury. That's the theory, but pain reasearchers fear that the proposed riot control weapon could be used for torture, and further doubt a solid ethical basis for the...