Free Republic

At our current rate of spending, the U.S. will be unable to confront major problems in the future because we’ve already stretched ourselves too thin.America’s debt and deficits usually are spoken of in terms of economics, but they have huge implications for national security. To see why, start with the economics angle. Famed investor Michael Burry — who foresaw the housing market bust and was played by Christian Bale in the hit film “The Big Short” — has just issued a warning. In a series of tweets, Burry said that the stock market could crash because of too much debt....

Modernists are trying to reverse trends in cultural-heritage preservation by subtle interventions in several key conservation standards of the European Union. Writing from Norway, Audun Engh of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU) warned me today that the modernists plan to “introduce recommendations that modernism (‘contemporary design’) should be a required style for new construction at EU-funded cultural-heritage sites.”

Why Hitler wished he were a Muslim (WSJ)From The Wall Street Journal, a book review of two new books on Nazi Germany, ATATÜRK IN THE NAZI IMAGINATION by Stefan Ihrig and ISLAM AND NAZI GERMANY’S WAR by David Motadel. : ‘It’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion,” Hitler complained to his pet architect Albert Speer. “Why did it have to be Christianity, with its meekness and flabbiness?” Islam was a Männerreligion—a “religion of men”—and hygienic too. The “soldiers of Islam” received a warrior’s heaven, “a real earthly paradise” with “houris” and “wine flowing.” This, Hitler argued, was...

Berlin-Tempelhof, Hitler’s favourite airport, could yet be rescued by one of the world’s most influential Jewish philanthropists. Cosmetics billionaire, New York socialite and art collector Ronald Lauder – son of the celebrated Estée Lauder - is behind a €350m (£235m) project to turn the Third Reich architectural relic into a luxury fly-in health clinic for Europe’s super rich. Berlin's cash-strapped city fathers earlier this year finally cleared the way to develop the proposed new Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI) on the site of the present Schönefeld airport to the south east of the city, handling an annual 22 million passengers. Inner...

Germany faces up to shame of sex slavery in concentration camps Date: January 16 2007 FURSTENBERG: Breaking a long-time taboo in the world of Nazi horrors, Germany has unveiled an exhibition on the "comfort women" exploited by male concentration-camp inmates. Between 300 and 400 women were forced to provide sexual services to queues of slave labourers from the Nazi armaments factories. "These brothels were provided as a 'performance incentive' so that the male prisoners would increase their output," said Horst Seferens of the Brandenburg Monuments Foundation, which funded the exhibition at the Ravensbrueck Concentration Camp Memorial. Most male prisoners never...

Adolf Hitler was a fan of Mickey Mouse, according to the son of the Fuehrer's architect Albert Speer. Albert Speer junior said he spent time in the dictator's Obersalzberg residence watching his collection of Mickey Mouse films while his dad worked on projects such as the Nuremburg Rally and the failed Nazi master-city Germania with Hitler. "Hitler had his own cinema and we would go there and watch his Mickey Mouse films. As kids, we were fascinated by them," Speer said in an interview with German magazine Galore. He added: "I'd be lying if I said Hitler watched them with...

The daughter of Albert Speer, Hitler's friend, architect and munitions minister, has been honoured for her work in supporting tolerance and forgiveness among Berlin's Jews. But the award provoked controversy when the Jewish community banned Hilde Schramm, 68, from receiving the award at a synagogue. The fight has forced Mrs Schramm to face her family's past, having spent her adult life fending off questions about her father and working instead as a Green politician and setting up funds and foundations to help disadvantaged Jewish woman and former slave workers. The Berlin city senate had planned to present the £6,700 prize...

HEADLINE: HITLER'S DREAM CITY COMES ALIVE IN EAST BYLINE: Allan Hall In Berlin THE SON of a Nazi father - the man designated by his Fuehrer to rebuild Berlin as the greatest city in the world - has the same designs on modern Beijing. Albert Speer jnr, who was born a year after Hitler came to power, is among three contenders for a multi-billion pound contract hailed as the architectural Holy Grail of the new millennium. More than 60 years ago it was his father who dreamed of such glory. Hitler bestowed upon him the honour of rebuilding the Reich...