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European Union: U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron startled Europe by calling for a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU. It was a bid to sweeten Britain's EU terms, but may open a genie bottle. Promising that if he is re-elected in 2015, a referendum on Britain's membership with the EU will follow, Cameron's gambit is in part a bid to pull the fast-growing United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) back into the conservative fold. But it's also seen as leverage against Brussels to lighten Britain's membership terms so that Cameron can get elected on a better economy for...

Britain could be on course for its third recession in four years after the economy shrank 0.3% in the last three months of 2012. The figures were worse than expected and could put pressure on the government to consider a "plan B" that would stimulate demand. A fall in manufacturing output dragged down the economy, countering a small rise in construction between October and December, according to the Office for National Statistics. The economy achieved zero growth for the year as a whole.

The writers of the legendary lawman Judge Dredd have caused a stir among fans by suggesting he might be gay. The latest edition of the comic 2000 AD is titled Closet and deals with the issue of a teenager coming out. The first page has been released on the internet and apparently shows Dredd - a judge/policeman from the future - kissing the youth in a gay club. Reaction to the teaser, which was released online last month, has been mixed, with some fans so hostile to the idea they have threatened to burn the comic.

For a number of years, I visited the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The show, which is held in a hideous rambling building originally intended to handle livestock, is a genuine monster. For a solid week, people in the tens of thousands come from near and far to grope sporting goods, book hunting and fishing trips, attend demonstrations, and generally see what is what. ESS, as it will hereinafter be referred to, is put on by Reed Exhibitions. Reed is the world’s largest organizer of trade shows and the like; the firm handles 500 events in 39...

'Traditional Scottish haggis is banned in the United States. With Burns Night looming, how do fans satisfy their taste for oatmeal and offal? For aficionados, it is the "great chieftain o' the pudding-race". To sceptics, however, it is a gruesome mush of sheep's innards - and for decades American authorities have agreed. Authentic Scottish haggis has been banned in the United States since 1971, when the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) first took a dim view of one of its key ingredients - sheep's lung. While millions of people around the world will enjoy, or endure, a Burns Night helping...

Britain's bailed-out banks need billions of pounds more capital to shore up their balance sheets and support the economy, senior Bank of England officials have warned. UK regulators have given Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group until March to begin dealing with a black hole that Brooks Newmark, a Tory member of the Treasury Select Committee, suggested could be as large as £30bn. Bank officials refused to quantify the capital shortfall in evidence to the TSC yesterday, but they confirmed it was substantial. Michael Cohrs, a member of the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee, said it was “a big...

The British Prime Minister’s speech on January 23 on the future of relations between his country and the EU has made the front pages of most European newspapers. The idea of a UK exit provokes reactions ranging from outrage to—more frequently—understanding. There are also many newspapers that, like much of the British press, recognize that Cameron has raised legitimate questions that deserve answers at both the national and European levels. …

A massive boycott sparked by the NRA and other gun-rights groups outraged that the nation's largest outdoors show banned the exhibition of assault weapons has caused the show's organizers to abruptly cancel the week-long event in Harrisburg, Pa. The successful boycott was the biggest demonstration of support by the outdoors industry yet against gun control efforts being pushed in Washington and in several states. "Reed Exhibitions has decided to postpone, for now, the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show given the controversy surrounding its decision to limit the sale or display of modern sporting rifles (also called ARs) at the event....

<p>A HIGH-powered alliance of top Australians has unveiled a new national sporting flag and plans to use it to gatecrash major sporting events.</p> <p>Ausflag will push for sporting bodies and fans to embrace the green, gold, blue and white flag - still featuring the Southern Cross - and even want it to be raised as the official flag in Olympic Games medal ceremonies.</p>

'Vandalism in the UK is falling at a quicker rate than almost any other type of crime, according to official figures. What are the possible reasons behind this?'

London - Veteran TV and radio broadcaster Stuart Hall has been charged with rape and 14 counts of indecent assault. The 83-year-old BBC presenter is accused of raping a 22-year-old woman in 1976. He is also charged with 14 offences of indecent assault against 10 girls aged nine to 16 between 1967 and 1986, The Sun reported. The charges are related to new alleged victims but not linked to his previous court appearance on sex abuse charges, which he has denied. Hall was arrested on Tuesday morning after attending a police station by appointment. He was bailed to face Preston...

After the Prime Minister's announcement that the UK will have an in/out referendum on Europe if the Conservatives win the next general election, UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "There is absolutely no reason to carry this on past the general election, and perhaps the biggest issue which will emerge over time is the issue of trust".

Did you have plans for attending the grand-daddy of sports and outdoor shows, the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show held in Harrisburg, PA in February? You might want to reconsider. The show’s promoters have banned all references to America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15 and those like it. This is the announcement from their website (you can Google it, but we’re not putting any links, hot or not, to the ESOS website): As a hunting-focused event, we welcome exhibitors who wish to showcase products and firearms that serve the traditional needs of the sport. Clearly, we strongly support the 2nd Amendment....

A second inflammatory video featuring Islamic vigilantes emerged today, which appeared to show members of the group hurling homophobic abuse at a man and telling him to leave their "Muslim area". The footage, from a group calling themselves Muslim Patrol, shows the gang abusing the unnamed man who was walking by himself in Whitechapel, East London. Today Scotland Yard said they were investigating the video, which was posted on YouTube. Muslim leaders also condemned the thugs' behaviour. It comes after the gang uploaded another video called "The Truth About Saturday Night", in which white women were called "naked animals with...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Bye-Bye LondonPosted By Caroline Glick On January 23, 2013 @ 12:33 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 21 Comments In an interview with Haaretz in November 2010, British novelist Martin Amis said the following about discussions of Israel in his motherland: I live in a mildly anti-Semitic country, and Europe is mildly anti-Semitic, and they hold Israel to a higher moral standard than its neighbors. If you bring up Israel in a public meeting in England, the whole atmosphere changes. The standard left-wing person never feels more comfortable than when attacking Israel. Because they are...

Leveson: EU wants power to sack journalists A European Union report has urged tight press regulation and demanded that Brussels officials are given control of national media supervisors with new powers to enforce fines or the sacking of journalists. The “high level” recommendations that will be used to draft future EU legislation also attack David Cameron for failing to automatically implement proposals by the Lord Justice Leveson inquiry for a state regulation of British press. A "high level" EU panel, that includes Latvia’s former president and a former German justice minister, was ordered by Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice-president, last...

Prince Harry's remarks that his job as a co-pilot in an Apache attack helicopter required him to "take a life to save a life" may have disconcerted some squeamish westerners. But it was Captain Wales's somewhat blasé attitude to fighting the hardline rebels that has most riled the Taliban. An indignant Taliban spokesman said the young prince was a coward who ran away from fighting the mujahideen, or "holy warriors", as the militants like to call themselves. "I don't believe that he participated in the fighting," said Zabiullah Mujahid. "Maybe he has seen the mujahideen in a movie, but that's...

Compare and contrast one Prince Harry with another. This week, our own Captain Wales, in the PlayStation language of modern warfare, spoke of the ugly, deadly reality of service in Afghanistan. "Take a life to save a life, that's what we revolve around. If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game." As a soldier, what mattered most was the safety of his mates. "I'm not here on a free pass … Our job out here is to make sure the guys are safe on the ground and if that...

Due to Reed Exhibitions' refusal to reconsider their decision to ban Modern Sporting Rifles from the February 2-10 Eastern Sports Show in Harrisburg, PA, the National Rifle Association has decided to withdraw from the show. We had called on Reed Exhibitions to reconsider their decision; unfortunately they have steadfastly refused to do so. As a result, the NRA will not be participating in the upcoming show in Harrisburg or in any other shows hosted by Reed Exhibitions that maintain this policy. We are disappointed that Reed Exhibitions has ignored the concerns expressed by attendees, the outdoor industry and the NRA...

Due to Reed Exhibitions' refusal to reconsider their decision to ban Modern Sporting Rifles from the February 2-10 Eastern Sports Show in Harrisburg, PA, the National Rifle Association has decided to withdraw from the show. We had called on Reed Exhibitions to reconsider their decision; unfortunately they have steadfastly refused to do so. As a result, the NRA will not be participating in the upcoming show in Harrisburg or in any other shows hosted by Reed Exhibitions that maintain this policy. We are disappointed that Reed Exhibitions has ignored the concerns expressed by attendees, the outdoor industry and the NRA...