Free Republic

Google is everywhere, including places one might least suspect. Photographer Aaron Hobson has created a series of breathtaking panoramas highlighting some of the most remote places documented by Google Street View. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he discusses his virtual journeys. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Hobson, you didn't photograph your latest series of photos yourself -- they came from Google's Street View service. How did that come about? Hobson: I began working on a film I was asked to direct by a producer in Los Angeles. I am unfamiliar with Los Angeles. Since that is where we are going to...

In the suburban street in Lisbon that is home to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, the crisis has come knocking. Expresso reports on the manner in which austerity measures imposed by their high-profile neighbour have affected the lives of middle-class Portuguese who live in the area. Pedro Passos Coelho were to leave his building by the main entrance (and not via the discreet garage exit to the rear, which he has been using since he became Prime Minister), he would see the real impact of the crisis in the street where he lives in Massamá. The country is angry. So...

Six beautiful photos with captions of the show. Fruits and vegetables planted in Canada are displayed during the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair at Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on Nov. 4, 2011. The ten-day 2011 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair that opened here on Friday is one of the largest combined indoor agricultural fair in the world.(Xinhua/Zou Zheng)

JEDDAH: Saudi tweeters have created a hashtag called IsmOmi (Arabic for “my mother’s name”) in an attempt to break a longstanding taboo that prevents Saudi men from mentioning the name of their mothers. The hashtag enables them to say their mother’s name and allows them to bypass a critical society. Hashtags are created by adding # to a “tweet” on Twitter. They are terms invented to add to tweets on a given subject and build a community of tweets or build toward a “trending topic.” Saudi tweeters see this as a way to express their love and gratitude for their...

Children born in the summer in England are at an academic disadvantage throughout school, says a report from the IFS. The study says that among seven-year-olds, August-born children are more than three times as likely to be "below average" as September-born children. August children are also 20% less likely to attend a top university. The IFS says the economic consequences facing summer babies will last "throughout their working lives". The report from the independent financial researchers shows the sharp difference in outcomes between the youngest children in a year group - those born in August - and the oldest, born...

Some nice wedding dresses for the ladies to consider if you like red.

President Obama and liberal Democrats are almost orgasmic at the thought they have finally found a movement to counter the Tea Party in the Occupy Wall Street astroturf. While the President, liberal Democrats, union leaders and some in the media have tried to convince Americans that this is a grassroots movement that is raging against corporate greed on Wall Street and is being led by disenfranchised Americans, the truth of the matter is that this is the usual bunch of suspects on the far left such as International ANSWER, Code Pink, the Communist Party USA, and the Workers World Party,...

A history professor once postulated that the most pivotal battle shaping America’s destiny was not Yorktown or Gettysburg, but Quebec in 1759. There General Wolfe demolished French claims to Canada, which confirmed that America would develop decisively within the Anglo-protestant mold. The latest Economic Freedom of the World rankings (for 2009) highlight the good fortune that resulted from Wolfe’s win. Many commentators will rightly deplore America’s precipitous descent over the past decade – down to tenth, yet another startling detail leaps from the page. Eight of the ten freest lands were once owned by Britain. The nations enjoying limited government,...

While hanging front row for the Samantha Black Runway Show at this years New York Fashion Week, Darryl 'DMC' Mc Daniels shared his deep love for President Obama in this video with 'Celebrity Magnet' Tom Murro.

I saw a clever political commercial/ad played like a drug commercial. Where a mother is talking about a new 'drug' out of Washington called 'Speditall'. But I can't find a link. Anyone know where it can be found?

Freedom wasn’t perfect here, but unlike the preponderance of world history, freedom abounded. America has seemingly forgotten what made her a beacon to the world. We downplay this bold experiment in favor of overblown tales of oppression. In the revision, America wasn’t unique because of its unprecedented liberty and resultant prosperity. According to cultural elitists, America was singularly vile for exploiting workers, enslaving blacks, robbing Indians and oppressing women. This reflects blatant cultural Marxism. Historically, few Americans found class antagonisms convincing. The Left substituted race, sex and other factors for the class conflict of orthodox Marxism. Under the guise of...

Economics essentially studies the transformation of scarce resources through time and space into the products that best meet the unlimited wants and needs of market participants. Broadly speaking, a robust economy requires respect for property and the profit motive, impartial application of the law, a people of substance and sound money. Thus free, the market unveils a natural canvas allowing its participants to create masterpieces enriching and beautifying life. Ludwig von Mises highlighted property as the cornerstone of sound economics. Property, the accumulated capital of those who produce, represents the basis for a functioning market. Surely producers should enjoy the...

Fox News’ 3 AM news/comedy show Red Eye just capped it’s best quarter ever in the 18-34 demographic– celebrating its 1,000th program with its highest ratings ever, and beating CNN primetime according to Nielsen. Mediaite caught up with host Greg Gutfeld to chat about this achievement, what it means for the competition, and how to keep viewers glued to the screens (and their Twitter pages) for another 1,000 episodes. Congratulations on both your 1,000th episode and your best quarter ever in terms of ratings. How do you think the show distinguished itself after so many years on air that it’s...

A gold standard provides more than mere sound monetary policy. The Left hates the gold standard for the same reason they think our Constitution is evolving, belittle Biblical certainty and denigrate tradition. The Left despises anything true, anything defined, anything rooted upon a solid firmament which limits their sophistic meddling. Gold is a constraint on government and a protector of property rights. Fiat money affords government the power to manipulate, hence the Left hates gold. The article - Not Just Another Article Espousing The Gold Standard Tabletalk, a daily devotional my wife and I enjoy, once had a cover depicting...

The late Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman once said, “Given our monstrous, overgrown government structure, any three letters chosen at random would probably designate an agency or part of a department that could be profitably abolished.” Friedman’s comment in mind, in this column we’re going to discuss nutrition from a regulatory perspective. No, this isn’t me advocating Michelle Obama‘s Nutritional Nanny State; although, much can be gleaned from obesity as the primary dietary problem plaguing our “under-privileged.” Our poor eat plenty of cake and this Marie Antoinette would like it to stop. Gluttonous do-gooder statism spawned the electoral avalanche last November....

It's too late for Father's Day, but surely you can find a reason to give someone the Taliban chess set, from Canadian toy company Hedwig & Sergeant Major. Fight the "Good War" from the comfort of your own home! For just $250, you can choose a set, such as America vs. Taliban, or Britain vs. Iraqi insurgents and more. You're given a choice between two different kings for the American side depending on who you feel was/is a better Commander in Chief, George W. Bush or Barack Obama. The queen is the Statue of Liberty, the rook is the World...

Our Entitled Descent Began Long Before Obamacare RealClearMarkets By Bill Flax March 26, 2010 Many decry Obamacare as the death of our republic. Such esteemed thinkers as Thomas Sowell pronounced it a turning point in our dismantlement. Dr. Sowell is a hero and inspiration. With sincere respect, what turned? Surely it can't be the attitude of entitlement. It can't be wealth redistribution achieved through confiscatory taxation. It's not the overhaul of our Constitution from a protector of natural rights to an enforcer of positive rights. It wasn't the hypocrisy of mimicking the Selma March complete with apparently false accusations of...

Modern Medical Care is a Blessing Not a Right As last year’s health reform bill again permeates our public discourse many pundits have highlighted how socializing medicine will exacerbate our already precarious budget concerns. Much was also written regarding the evasion of public sentiment when Congress employed especially repugnant procedural tactics. While these aspects ridicule the hypocrisy of our elected representatives, they are secondary. Healthcare is not a right. It's a blessing. Medical treatment or more specifically how we finance it, cannot be considered an unalienable right. It’s a form of consumption. Your right to own a car does not...

Demagogues in Washington are thrilled to ply their vote-buying wiles promising to punish greedy rich villains, but the wealthy are not the evil caricatures of popular imagination. Riches are not generated by depriving others. Some actions grow the proverbial pie. Others shrink it. Those prospering society through work, innovation or investing their capital deserve to be rewarded accordingly. Greed has been prominently blamed for the current downturn and it certainly contributed, but not entirely in the manner depicted by the intelligentsia. In the Marxist conception of economics as a zero sum game, one's profits must correspond to another's losses. Businesses...

America has lost its way. My hometown was named for the Society of the Cincinnati. In ancient Rome, citizen-general Cincinnatus put down his plow to save his nation. When the battle was won, he declined a crown and returned to his farm. His self-restraint in the face of overwhelming temptation bequeathed to Rome several centuries of limited, republican government. George Washington exhibited similar virtue after our independence. He too could have been king, but his self-denial enabled the rule of law to triumph over the rule of men. Our revolution was largely fought to settle the timeless question of whether...