Free Republic

Tom Murro shares his celebrity inspired gift giving ideas for the holiday's on FOX CT. You too can own artwork owned by Snooki and the watches worn by notables like Buzz Aldrin, Gov Chris Christie, David Paterson, Angelina Jolie, 1st Lady Michelle Obama and even President Obama.

The commute to and from school can be a harrowing experience in many parts of China. As rush hour begins, children are piled into makeshift buses with complete disregard for safety regulations. The controversy began in Macedonia’s capital Skopje on Friday, November 25 after China’s ambassador gifted the country a fleet of 23 sleek, double-decker school buses. Built by the Chinese manufacturer Yutong, the buses hold 35 and are fitted with automatic doors, fire extinguishers and seatbelts. They will be used primarily for transporting students in Macedonia’s rural areas. The gesture might have been favourably viewed were it not for...

Marriage isn't a joking matter. Before a man proposes in China, he must carefully choose his words In China, much of the older generation still recalls arranged marriage; there isn't a long tradition of creative marriage proposals like there is in the West. Traditions vary from region to region and family to family, but often the process involves a formal meeting between the boy (and, if possible, his family) and the girl's family. Depending on how traditional the families are, and the local expectations, dowry payments may be arranged and an official wedding date will be agreed upon, generally no...

An elderly widow has died after muggers stole her handbag containing her husband's ashes - which she had carried for 17 years. Nellie Geraghty, 79, suffered fatal head injuries as she desperately tried to cling onto the bag during the robbery in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Police have launched a murder inquiry after she died in Royal Oldham Hospital at around midnight on Friday. Two youths, aged 14 and 17, have been arrested on suspicion of robbery. Mrs Geraghty was found collapsed in an alleyway near her home in Shaw just before noon on Thursday. Inside her handbag was a blue...

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The phrase "violence against women" calls for comment. It names the victims but not the perpetrators. The fact that men are mainly responsible for violent and health-harming behaviours, not only against women and children but also against each other, is so taken for granted that it slips beneath the radar of commentators and policymakers. Take the riots of August this year. As the suspects were charged, considerable detail was published by the Ministry of Justice. The press focused on the age, ethnicity, neighbourhood and employment status of offenders....

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....