Free Republic

The Indian Air Force has advised its three women trainees, who are in line to become India’s first female fighter pilots, to put off motherhood for at least four years after they get commissioned into the IAF in June. IAF vice chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa told HT on Thursday that an advisory to avoid pregnancy was issued to the women training at an IAF facility near Hyderabad so that their training schedule was not disrupted. The women are preparing to head for the last leg of their combat training in June, a watershed in the IAF’s 83-year history. “Undisturbed...

But while multiple countries have now suspended the bloc's beloved Schengen in an effort to "stop the madness," as it were, it's too late to stop the chaos. As we've documented extensively, Europe was remarkably resilient in the wake of the Paris attacks, but after New Year's Eve, when (rightly or wrongly) adult male Mid-East asylum seekers garnered a reputation for sexual assault, sentiment soured. Markedly. Since then, the entirety of the EU has been on high alert. Not for terrorists, but for sexual predators of "foreign origin." One particularly divisive issue is the extent to which officials have tended...

(CNSNews.com) - In a speech marking Women’s History Month, which was delivered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated the decision taken by her husband’s administration to put young women in all combat roles in the U.S. military. “Thanks to brilliant, fearless women like General Vaught, today, more than 200,000 women are serving our country in just about every role and rank,” said Mrs. Obama. “They’re flying fighter jets, training new recruits; they’re graduating Army Ranger School--and I met those graduates. They are awesome. Fierce! And as you’ve already heard, they will soon be welcome in...

As a fishing spouse, you’ll find yourself putting up with things the average spouse could never relate to. While it in no way reflects how much your spouse loves you, when it comes to fishing, you often take a backseat. Before the honeymoon phase is over, you'll find yourself making a whole host of unique concessions on behalf of your spouse’s favorite hobby. Here are 10 surefire signs you're married to a fisherman (or woman): 1. There are always fish to be caught. Unlike hunting seasons that have distinct start dates and end dates, there is generally always some type...

Courtesy of reader BK, a link to an economic analysis of woman-coddling divorce laws.

In this time of forced austerity on the United States Military, special operations are being effected by financial cutbacks placed on training. The community has to contend with "training challenges" which are impacting its ability to successfully perform missions. Training is a vital element to an effective combat unit. Obama's transformative cutback of the nation’s defense will dull the razor's edge-the Special Force community. In addition to diminished training time, Special Operations Forces (SOF) are dealing with heavy rotation schedules in the war on terror. SOF has been in country in Afghanistan since shortly after the 9-11 attacks. They have...

Key evangelical leaders are staunchly opposing a proposal to register women for the military draft, saying it would weaken America's military readiness and is at odds with traditional male-female relationships. "A nation relying on female combatants is a nation that has been brought to its knees by political correctness," said Andrew Walker of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Recently in Congress, Army and Marine Corps leaders testified in favor of registering women for the Selective Service. "Not only Evangelicals, but also Catholics and Christian pacifists should speak out," Chelsen Vicari of the Institute on Religion and...

The hugs from John Kasich and even Hillary Clinton offered a small bit of authentic humanity to relentlessly packaged presidential campaigns. However, this grab at ersatz identity in the middle of the MSNBC townhall last night by Bernie Sanders exposes the more mundane lack of authenticity seen on the trail. When asked by a woman how “a white male” like Sanders could understand the “intersectional identities” faced by minorities, Sanders responded that he’s actually an honorary woman. Ohhhhhhhhhhh-kay:"Gloria Steinem once made me an honorary woman many...Transcript included for full context: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening. Thank you, Senator Bernie Sanders. My...

Is 162 centimetres metres (five feet three inches) too short for an aircraft pilot? Lufthansa regulations say that their crew must be at least 165 centimetres tall - but one applicant has now dragged them to Germany's highest labour court for discrimination.The young woman got through the first few rounds of the extremely tough application process for a coveted pilot position at Europe's biggest airline. Candidates must speak fluent English and German, be physically fit and mentally dependable. No standard minimum height And - one more thing - pilots must be between 165 and 198 centimetres tall. "That's to ensure...

A national women's group is urging companies that sponsor Peyton Manning to cut ties with the Broncos quarterback. UltraViolet, a group made up of over 700,000 people, specifically called out Papa John's and Nationwide Insurance as two companies that should suspend ties with Manning immediately. The group would also like the NFL to investigate the 1996 incident at the University of Tennessee that took place between Manning and former Volunteers trainer Jamie Naughright.

It was 2013 and I was road tripping out in the American south west. I was lucky enough to get a car with Sirius satellite radio which meant even in the most remote locales of the country I was able to listen to pretty much whatever I wanted. So there I was, in Canyonlands National Park, far far away from the only civilization in Moab, when a hilarious comedian by the name of Amy Schumer came on the air. She was funny. She was hilarious. She made my trip all that much enjoyable. And I took a note in my...

Hillary Clinton had endorsed forcing women to register for a draft. Now the issue is taking on new urgency. Despite the left's anti-draft posturing, it has fond memories of its protests during the Vietnam War and it is the biggest supporter of bringing back the draft. Proposals to move to a draft army invariably come from Democrats in Congress and left-wing pundits who believe that a draft will create a higher barrier to any future conflict. Forcing women to register raises the barrier even higher. And anything that makes it harder for the military to function properly is also part...

Stephen Fry has been widely accused of misogyny after he described costume designer Jenny Beavan as dressing like a “bag lady” during Sunday night's Baftas award show. It's the type of comment that Twitter equality crusaders love to jump on; Fry duly quit the social network (again) after receiving a barrage of abuse. But it's not the first time he has faced the accusation of misogyny. In 2010, the broadcaster said that women don’t enjoy sex and only agree to it because it “is the price they are willing to pay for a relationship with a man”. He later admitted...

At a time when U.S. special operations are devising plans for the mission of accepting women into the male domains of SEALs, Green Berets and Army Rangers, the terrorist-fighting community is facing a looming readiness problem. The new challenge is tucked inside President Obama’s 2017 defense budget. It states that U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and its 69,000 personnel are up against “training challenges” and is seeing “minor impacts to the forces’ ability to accomplish missions” that could grow worse. Army Green Berets and Navy SEALs face some limits on training due to cutbacks in fleet and training range operations,...

ON OCTOBER 1, 2015, in a scene that has become depressingly familiar, 26-year-old Christopher Harper-Mercer walked into Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, and opened fire, killing nine people and injuring nine more. Like George Sodini, who killed three women and himself in an L.A. Fitness Center in Pennsylvania; like Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and injured 17 others at Virginia Tech; and like Elliot Rodger, who killed 6 people and injured 14 others in Isla Vista, California; a large part of Harper-Mercer’s motivation was his toxic anger at women because of his lack of success with them. Harper-Mercer...

According to Cain, the Trump phenomenon can be summed up in three words: "Leadership, fighter and winner." Cain, the former Republican presidential candidate, says the "Trump phenomenon" is so powerful that black women are leaving the Democratic Party to support Trump, a current Republican presidential candidate. Cain might not be that far off base, at least according to political consultant Frank Luntz, who told the online Politico page recently that Trump has a good chance of winning the black vote should he win the Republican nomination. "If he were the Republican nominee, he would get the highest percentage of black...

Women are buying handguns in record numbers -- especially weapons that are small enough to conceal. But they are frustrated by the lack of firearm accessories catering to them. So some are starting companies of their own to tailor products to women. "I thought to myself, 'Where's all the women's stuff?'" said Lorelei Fay of Boise, Idaho. Fay couldn't find a suitable holster when she got her own concealed carry license. Her mother had taught her to sew, so she made her own: an elastic belly band with a holster for her Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun. It also has pockets...

Like clockwork, whenever anyone at National Review — including the editors — writes in opposition to opening all combat jobs to women or (even worse) drafting women into ground combat, there is predictable hue and cry from the Left. “But Israel! You conservatives couldn’t possibly be criticizing Israel, could you?” Perhaps the worst example comes from New York magazine, where writer Eric Levitz accuses NR of “anti-Jewish propaganda” and painting Israelis as “savagely cruel primitives” because our editors had the audacity to rightly label the proposal to draft mothers and daughters into ground combat “barbaric.”

This is a no-brainer for Cruz, who came out hard against drafting women last week, but it’s interesting coming from Rubio after he declared himself in favor at the last debate. You can read his motives here as charitably or uncharitably as you like. Charitably: He’s striking a blow for legislative power at the executive’s and judiciary’s expense, a welcome corrective in an age of growing presidential power and judicial social engineering. Uncharitably: He realized belatedly that “let’s draft your daughters” isn’t a sentiment that’ll play well in a Republican primary, especially among the social conservatives he’s trying to win,...

Conservative leaders are opposiong the position taken by top military commanders that all young women be required to register with the Selective Service System, with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) summing up the mood of many on the Right: "I do not want to see my 15-year-old daughter drafted." In December, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that all combat positions without exception – including those in elite special forces units - would be open to women, and ordered all service chiefs to submit plans to implement the new policy by January 1. Last week, top military brass told the Senate Armed...