Free Republic

Brian Burns, a son of Joe Kennedy’s closest political advisor and a leading Irish American philanthropist, will be Donald Trump’s choice as Ambassador to Ireland, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman has tweeted. Burns’ name was first reported by IrishCentral as the likely choice earlier this month. Burns and his wife Eileen have close personal ties to Trump and were at Mar-a-lago, in Palm Beach, FL, for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. They were early supporters of the billionaire, who counts them as close friends. […] The 80-year-old Burns is a nationally regarded businessman, attorney and philanthropist. He is the chairman...

… A spokesman for the British Prime Minister issued a statement criticizing Kerry’s focus on the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem. “We do not… believe that the way to negotiate peace is by focusing on only one issue, in this case the construction of settlements, when clearly the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is so deeply complex.” The spokesman also criticized Kerry’s description of the current government in Israel as “the most right-wing government” in Israeli history. “And we do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically-elected government of an...

Britain is on course for a "decade of disruption" in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union, a report has warned. Brexit has delivered a "profound shock" to the UK's political and economic order which is likely to damage growth and living standards until 2030, according to centre-left think tank IPPR. The report said the upheaval comes at a time when Britain's rapidly ageing population threatens to put new strains on the state, with the funding gap for adult social care expected to hit £13bn by 2030-31. It said: "Brexit is the firing gun on a decade...

MASS immigration will continue at "unacceptable" levels for at least the next two decades unless Britain makes a full break with Brussels, a report predicted last night. Figures showed that annual net migration to the UK from EU countries would be unlikely to fall below 155,000 in the "medium term" if the country stays in the EU's Single Market. And the Government's ability to reduce the influx will be "extremely limited" as long as the EU's free movement rules remain in force. The disturbing forecast of near-record levels of migration for years ahead was set out in a report from...

Police have sealed off an area in central London after a man was knifed to death near Trafalgar Square on Tuesday morning. Officers and paramedics rushed to Adelaide Street at 7.30am after reports the man, believed to be in his 30s, had been stabbed. Despite medics battling to save the man’s life, he was pronounced dead around one hour later. Detectives from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command alongside Westminster CID have cordoned off the area around St Martin-in-the-Fields.

LONDON — The British government announced plans on Tuesday to crack down on voter fraud by requiring voters to show official identification at polling stations, tightening rules on absentee ballots and preventing political activists from handling absentee ballots. While some critics argued that fraud was not widespread and that the plans would hit hardest the opposition Labour Party and the poor, the government minister in charge, Chris Skidmore, said that the new measures would “protect anyone who is at risk of being bullied, undermined or tricked out of their vote, and their democratic right.” The government had commissioned a report...

Self-declared refugees continue to create chaos in France: Hundreds of refugees have returned to live in secret camps in the Calais region in the hope of travelling to the UK, The Independent can reveal, just weeks after the demolition of the 'Jungle' shantytown. There are at least six informal settlements in rural parts of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, each housing scores of refugees and migrants, with numbers growing steadily in recent weeks. Two months ago, the large refugee camp in Calais was closed by the French authorities. That camp was nicknamed 'the Jungle' because it was one big mess of immigrants...

DONALD Trump and Theresa May have vowed to make the special relationship between Britain and the US “stronger than ever”, Britain’s ambassador to Washington has revealed. The President-elect and second British female Prime Minister have agreed over a series of phone calls to build on the legacy that President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher forged. Sir Kim Darroch, praised the billionaire’s “historic and impressive” victory that was “like no other in history” and called leaders to embrace the future that lies ahead.

A Moroccan security official says that his country's intelligence service warned Germany twice about the risk posed by Anis Amri, the radical Muslim who slaughtered 12 people at a Christmas market in Berlin earlier this month. The official, who spoke to Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, says that the Germans received two written warnings, one on September 19 and the other on October 1, about Amri's radical Islamic beliefs. He explains: Correspondence from the Moroccan security agencies had a clear warning about the Tunisian man's desire to carry out a terrorist act. Earlier this month, Dutch populist Geert Wilders was criticized...

The best way to fight terror is with “openness”, European Union (EU) head Jean-Claude Juncker has said, stressing that Europe must continue to receive migrants in the wake of the deadly truck attack in Berlin. Speaking to Funke Mediengruppe on Saturday, the president of the European Commission warned that the “rhetoric of exclusion” strengthens terrorists, and called for more EU involvement in nations’ internal security. Standing firm on the idea that liberalism is the best response to repeated attacks on Europeans, the EU chief said: “Our values, our way of living together in freedom, coexistence, and openness are the best...

Let’s take our $3 billion and go. The United States pays 22% of the total UN budget. What we get for our $3 billion a year is a corrupt organization whose dysfunctional and hostile agencies are united in opposing us around the world. The United Nations does only two things consistently and effectively: waste money and bash Israel. Sometimes it manages to do both at the same time. ... The Jewish State is the UN’s scapegoat for anything and everything. The Palestinian Authority blamed Israel at the UN for Global Warming. ... Here’s what we get for our $3 billion....

Singer George Michael has died aged 53, his publicist has said. The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and later continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have "passed away peacefully at home". Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT. Police say there were no suspicious circumstances. Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100m albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. Earlier this month it was announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy was...

Kamin Mohammadi: My first Christmas in Britain was in 1979. I was nine. London was more monochrome then than it is now but, suddenly, unexpectedly, in December, it decked itself out in lights and sparkled with the magic of Christmas. People sang in the streets and smiled at strangers, a different place from the reserved city in which we had arrived only six months before, having fled the revolution in Iran....my parents decided that it would be nice for us kids to celebrate Christmas, despite not being Christian. ..The years passed, things didn’t blow over in Iran and we stayed...

"Presenting the new Sainsbury’s Christmas advert. Made in partnership with The Royal British Legion. Inspired by real events from 100 years ago." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdobquf1zms

The number of NHS patients in England who had urgent operations cancelled hit record numbers in November, soaring to almost double the level a year ago, according to government data.

While speaking on the British radio show "Thought for the Day," the future King of Britain, Prince Charles, said that Christians should be more mindful of Islam and Muhammad during the holidays. . . . Whichever religious path we follow, the destination is the same – to value and respect the other person, accepting their right to live out their peaceful response to the love of God," he said.

It is wrong to equate genuine concern about the pervasive Muslim migrant crimes that have seized Europe, the Muslim Brotherhood’s plan for destruction of the West, Muslim no-go zones in Europe, the shocking one million UK girls who were brutally sexually assaulted by Muslim rape gangs, rampant and cruel Christian persecution historically (and currently) in Islamic states and Muslim-on-Muslim killings, all in the name of Islam, with the intolerance against Jews that led to concentration camps and gas chambers during the time of Hitler, who collaborated with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Prince Charles, in reference to Muslim migrants, states:...

British actress Helen Mirren says 2016 has been a steaming mess of a year. In a recent appearance on the U.K. late-night talk show The Graham Norton Show, Mirren was asked by the host to look into the camera and deliver an “inspirational Christmas message.” Mirren happily obliged: “Hello. At this time of celebration and togetherness, we have the chance to reflect on the year gone by. And I think we can all agree that 2016 has been a big pile of sh*t,” she said. “So my advice to you is drink responsibly, and be merry. Have a very Happy...

Anti-Semitism is turning some of Britain’s top universities into no-go zones for Jewish students, according to a top peer. Baroness Ruth Deech, who once held the highest office for dealing with student complaints, said the situation stems from institutions failing to curb a perceived hatred of Jews because vice chancellors are afraid of offending potential investors from the Gulf. As a result, the peer said Jewish students are gradually getting a feeling universities such as Manchester, Exeter, SOAS and Southampton are places they should avoid, which could be perceived as anti-Semitic. …

Speaking on Thought for the Day, a short early morning slot on BBC Radio 4 dedicated to faith issues, the son of Britain’s reigning Monarch urged listeners to think of persecuted religious figures — singling out Jesus Christ and Muhammad — this Christmas. He said: Normally at Christmas we think of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder though if this year we might remember how the story of the nativity unfolds, with the fleeing of the holy family to escape violent persecution. And we might also remember that when the prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina...