Free Republic

Elon Musk said Sunday he planned to upgrade his security after a left-wing German magazine labeled him an enemy of the people. Musk held a town hall discussion in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sunday in support of former President Donald Trump’s candidacy. While talking to the crowd, Musk commented on the heightened political atmosphere as the nation approached the November presidential election. He noted he was recently on the cover of Der Spiegel, which labeled him “Public Enemy No. 2” — the first being Trump. “I’m like, enemy number 2 of what? Uh, democracy? I mean I’m pro-democracy. I’m literally trying...

We recently saw how certain Western nations — first Denmark, then Sweden — have gone from being bastions of free speech and expression to banning any “hate” speech or expression against Islam (for example, burning the Koran). At one point, I wrote, “rather than ban the burning of the Koran, it seems that Scandinavia might have served itself better had it banned the Koran altogether.” Such an assertion is not as whimsical as it might seem.

The new Italian law restricting overseas travel for surrogacy services goes further than other countries, but same-sex couples face family planning hurdles across Europe. A new law that bans Italians from travelling abroad for surrogate pregnancies is expected to make it harder for LGBTQ people to become parents – but Italy is far from the only country where family planning is a challenge for same-sex couples. Italy’s restrictive approach to surrogacy isn’t new – or unique. Many European countries ban surrogacy outright, while others have strict rules about citizenship, payment, and relationship status. Those rules have prompted some couples to...

The wife of a Conservative councillor has been jailed for 31 months after pleading guilty to publishing written material to stir up racial hatred after the Southport stabbings. Former childminder Lucy Connolly published a post on her X account, which she later deleted, that called for "mass deportation now", and for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire, adding: "If that makes me racist, so be it." Her comments were viewed 310,000 times and reposted by 940 other X users. She wrote the post on the day three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a...

European leaders will discuss new approaches to migration when they meet later this week, including the controversial prospect of setting up hubs outside the EU to process asylum claims. The idea has been talked about in a growing number of European nations as a solution to the complex question of immigration. It would involve establishing bases in so-called third countries to house people who are trying to claim asylum in Europe until their applications have been decided. Italy is presently funding the building of this sort of centre in Albania to process some of the migrants trying to get into...

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland has said it is appalled by remarks made by a Fine Gael councillor at a meeting of Dublin City Council last night. Councillor Punam Rane has apologized for the remarks she made at last night’s local authority meeting during a motion on the Occupied Territories Bill. Rane, who represents the Kimmage Rathmines Ward, said during the debate that the “USA should have taken a stance but how many of you know that the entire US economy is ruled by the Jews, is ruled by Israel. They will never be able to take a stance”....

Austria’s Freedom Party has secured the first far-right national parliamentary election victory since the Second World War, beating conservatives in power. Political analysts say the far-right achieved this electoral victory by tapping into voters’ concerns over immigration, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. It must be said, however, that the Freedom Party’s chances of governing are unclear at this stage. Preliminary election results show that the Freedom Party finished first in the election with 29.2 percent of the vote, while the ruling Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative Austrian People’s Party came in second with 26.5 percent of the vote. The center-left in...

* The European Union on Friday voted to adopt definitive tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs). * "Today, the European Commission's proposal to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China has obtained the necessary support from EU Member States for the adoption of tariffs," the EU said in a statement. * The EU added that it was still working in China to look for "an alternative solution" even as the tariffs are adopted.The European Union on Friday voted to adopt definitive tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs). "Today, the European Commission's proposal...

<p>A station platform has been cordoned off at Hamburg central station in northern Germany amid fears that a train passenger may have arrived carrying a dangerous virus.</p><p>A fire department spokesman told the Bild tabloid that the man and his girlfriend had developed flu-like symptoms on a high-speed train from Frankfurt.</p>

Democrats have been ramping up the rhetoric, not just about eliminating Donald Trump and MAGA, but about getting rid of the Constitution itself. The first two Amendments of the Constitution are constantly attacked by the left, followed closely by the Electoral College. Your right to speak, to defend yourself, and for people outside New York, California, and deep Blue urban areas to be represented are all under attack. The latest example of this fact is John Kerry, Special Envoy for the President for the Climate (yes, John Kerry is the Earth's representative according to the Biden/Harris administration), bemoaning the fact...

The Taoiseach has told President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas that he will continue to speak out for Palestine in the EU and other international forums, and urge other countries to recognize the state of Palestine. “There is an absolute right to a Palestinian state, a state that can live in peace and security alongside the State of Israel,” Simon Harris said. The two leaders met on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Palestinian leader thanked Ireland for giving formal diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine earlier this year. […] The Taoiseach said...

Irish President Michael Higgins accuses Israel of leaking the full text of a letter he sent to Iran’s new president as he was sworn in in July, an allegation rejected and denounced by the Israeli embassy. The July 11 letter congratulating Masoud Pezeshkian — whose existence was made public on July 26 by Ireland’s Foreign Ministry but whose full text was then published online on July 29 — drew backlash for its friendly nature; its claim that Iran will play a “crucial role” in achieving Middle East stability, cooperation and “peaceful resolving of disputes”; and its omission of Tehran’s major...

The Irish government has abandoned plans to implement controversial new hate speech laws following widespread backlash from free speech advocates. Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Saturday that Dublin will drop new hate speech provisions in the proposed Criminal Justice Bill, admitting that the “incitement to hatred” section of the legislation did “not have a consensus,” the Irish Times reports. Critics of the speech restrictions have noted that the government failed to actually define what constitutes “hate” and therefore the law would have given broad powers to the state to crush dissent. The scope of the draconian powers would have...

Budapest will soon be deprived of a share of its EU funds for refusing to pay the fine imposed by the European Court of Justice. The European Commission has triggered a special procedure to deduct the €200 million fine that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has imposed on Hungary over the country's long-standing restrictions on the right to asylum. The fine has to be paid as a lump sum to the European Commission. Budapest missed the first deadline in late August, prompting the executive to send a second payment request with a deadline of 17 September. Since this second...

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said she wants legislation in place as soon as possible to ban the wearing of masks and balaclavas during protests. The concealment of identities is instilling fear and intimidation and is making the job of the gardaí more difficult, Ms. McEntee said. The proposal comes in response to a rise in violent protests over the past year where some attendees covered their faces with balaclavas and masks. The minister said she is working closely with the Attorney General and the Garda Commissioner to draft legislation. “My priority now is to make sure that the...

A few months ago, anxious American liberals told themselves a cautionary tale about politics in Europe: A seemingly inevitable rightward surge in this summer’s elections there was a dark portent of the political future, for Europeans and for Americans.As it turned out, that surge didn’t really happen. In June voting for theEuropean Parliament, the far right gained only modestly, and the centrist governing coalition held pretty firm. In early July, Britain’s Labour won the second-largest parliamentary majority since World War II, humiliating the center-right Tories and sidelining the farther-right Reform. And a few days later in France, a combination of...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called off his visit to Germany, planned for later this week, as relations between the two countries worsen. Tusk was due to travel to Potsdam to receive the M100 Media Award, which is given to “personalities who are committed to strengthening democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of the press as well as to European understanding,” according to the German M100 Sanssouci Colloquium organisation. But Tusk cancelled his trip at the last moment, citing domestic commitments, and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar will now travel in his place. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, due to deliver a laudation...

Ireland needs to do more to adapt to climate change, according to the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) which says investment is urgently needed to avoid the worst damage and higher costs that it can bring in future years. The council published its annual progress report on how Ireland is preparing for the impacts of climate change. It said coastal erosion and flooding are the biggest risks. The report suggests part of the budget every year should be ring-fenced for adaptation measures, including making road and electricity networks more resilient to climate change. It predicts coastal flooding will cost €2...

Apple has been ordered to pay Ireland €13bn (£11bn; $14bn) in unpaid taxes by Europe’s top court, putting an end to an eight-year row. The European Commission accused Ireland of giving Apple illegal tax advantages in 2016, but Ireland has consistently argued against the need for the tax to be paid. The Irish government said it would respect the ruling. […] A separate European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on Tuesday also brought a long-running case with Google to a close, with the company ordered to pay a €2.4bn (£2bn) fine for market dominance abuse. […] Apple said in a...

Axe-wielding Algerian was recently arrested and the entrance of a synagogue was set ablaze, adding to tension in the countrySuppressed identity politics has burst into the open in France, a country that hosts Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim population, as attacks against French Jews increase in number and violence. “Words like Jewish, Zionism and anti-Semitism are being used by different people with different intentions,” said Jewish human rights lawyer Arie Alimi. “There isn't enough education about what those words mean.” France's social model, in which citizens are expected to be moulded by Republican values and keep religious beliefs private, is...