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In recent years, as Wall Street boomed, Americans often dismissed Europe as a place for languorous meals and vacations, not economic innovation. London remained a financial hub, of course, but it was often treated dismissively — as a flashy aberration pumped up by petrodollars from Russia and the Gulf, an exception to the otherwise somnolent Continent.

A hug has landed an Iowa City man in hot water. An Iowa City man who thought a police officer just "needed a hug" faces several charges including assault on a peace officer and public intoxication. Police say 21-year-old Luke Schreder was arrested on Saturday. According to police records, Schreder ran up to the officer and stuck out his arms. The officer told him to "get away," but Schreder didn't take the hint and embraced the officer. When the officer told Schreder to put his hands behind his head, he refused. He was then handcuffed.

Well, at least they didn't kiss. I was bracing myself for the lip lock Wednesday when John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama. Don't look at me. David "Mudcat" Saunders, Edwards's former rural adviser, came up with the idea, saying Obama should kiss Edwards on the lips "to kill this 41-point loss," referring to Hillary Clinton's landslide victory in the West Virginia primary. Instead, the two men exchanged a manly air-hug to commemorate the moment when Edwards threw Clinton under the upholstered sofa on his grandmama's front porch. As Edwards gave what amounted to a stump speech highlighting his favorite subject --...

Sweet smoking Judas, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Mesa Public Schools has instituted a No Hugging Policy? A group of Shepherd Junior High School students in east Mesa protested a new school policy banning student hugs with a giant group hug on Friday. Students waited until school was dismissed before gathering across the street from the campus to begin hugging each other and then chanting, "We want hugs." Some kids sat on the shoulders of their friends during the display. The public display of affection and chanting came at 3:45 p.m. and lasted about 20 minutes. Neither principal Eileen Cahoon...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 15, 2008) -- Families and friends gathered at Goettge Field House, here, to celebrate the return of their Marines and Sailors. The 2nd Marine Logistics Group returned from a successful deployment to the Al Anbar Province. MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (February 15, 2008) – Families and friends gathered at Goettge Field House, here, to celebrate the return of their Marines and Sailors. The 2nd Marine Logistics Group returned from a successful deployment to the Al Anbar Province. MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (February 15, 2008) – Families and friends gathered...

Study: Shy Swedes are habitual huggers Thu Nov 29, 5:09 PM ET STOCKHOLM, Sweden - While Swedes have a reputation of being reserved, a new study shows they'll hug just about anyone except their boss. Nine out of 10 Swedes embrace somebody at least once a week, with women aged 30-44 being the most active huggers, according to the study presented Thursday by the Swedish Red Cross. About 70 percent of the 1,036 people interviewed between Nov. 5-8 said they had hugged their partner or spouse that week, while 59 percent said they had hugged a friend or acquaintance. One-quarter...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 -- Milk cartons stuffed with goodies and fashioned into presents, snowmen, elves and reindeer will be sent to Iraq to deliver troops a dose of holiday cheer from Hero Hugs. Bailey Reese, (far right) president of Hero Hugs, and her cheerleading squad, the Emerald City Jewels, show off holiday cards cheerleaders made at the Worldwide Spirit Association’s "Christmas at the Beach" cheerleading competition in Destin, Fla., on Dec. 3. The cheerleaders made several hundred cards for servicemembers. Courtesy photo  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Hero Hugs is a member of America Supports You, a...

Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal. As this symbol of human hope spread across the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.

Chinese appear not to have warmed to a "free hugs" campaign aimed at cheering up strangers by hugging them on the street, with some huggers even being hauled away by police for questioning, media said on Monday. The campaign hit the streets of Beijing, Changsha and Xian this weekend, with participants opening their arms to embrace passers-by and brandishing cards saying "free hugs", "care from strangers", "refuse to be apathetic", the Beijing News said. In the capital, police moved in and took away four huggers briefly for questioning, baffled by their wacky, Western activities on a busy city-centre shopping street....

AUSTIN — Two gubernatorial candidates received rare embraces from leaders of an organization that prides itself on its fierce nonpartisanship and rigid rules for politicians. Democrat Chris Bell got a warm embrace Saturday morning after pledging support for education and healthcare spending, training for livable wage jobs and comprehensive immigration reform all of which make up the "working families agenda" for the Texas Industrial Areas Foundation. Texas comptroller and independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn got a big hug on Friday from the Rev. John Bowie of True Light Baptist Church in Houston after Strayhorn offered passionate support for most...

Italian journalist and former Iraq war hostage Giuliana Sgrena offered yesterday to meet face-to-face with Spec. Mario Lozano, the New York City National Guardsman who shot her in a friendly fire mistake on a deserted road to the Baghdad airport last year. "I think that it would be useful for him and for me to have an exchange of opinion," Sgrena said during her first visit to the United States since the shooting. The shooting, which killed Nicola Calipari, the Italian government's second-ranking intelligence officer, just minutes after Calipari had secured Sgrena's release from Iraqi guerrillas, sparked a public furor...

We were recently contacted by a Marine officer requesting 10,000 cool ties (aka "hugs") ASAP. We can get that done but we need your help. We can mail 100 for $8.10 so that gives you some idea of the postage costs involved. That's not counting any money for supplies. We need some donations if we're going to make this happen. Hugs can lower body temperatures by as much as 5 degrees. Last year, a Navy medic wrote to tell us this story - - - He said that we had overestimated the number in their unit and so they wound...

3rd MAW families welcome Marines, sailors homeSubmitted by: MCAS MiramarStory Identification #: 20053910339Story by Lance Cpl. Skye Jones MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (Mar. 7, 2005) -- Maj. Gen. Keith Stalder, commanding general, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and more than 230 3rd MAW Marines returned home to Miramar March 7 after supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, completing the unit's longest deployment in its 62-year history. "I'm so excited and relieved that he's finally back. This time hopefully it's for good," smiled Bethany Stalder, the 22-year-old daughter of the 3rd MAW commander. "I'm extremely proud of him and I'm glad...

More than 100 Army Reserve soldiers came home to the waiting arms of family members in Tucson Thursday night, thrilled to be back after a year in Iraq but sad that one colleague hadn't survived. The late Sgt. Tina S. Time's picture was posted above a sign saying "Welcome Home Soldiers from the 208th" that hung on a wall inside the assembly hall of the Army Reserve Center on the South Side. There, three busloads of reserves rolled in shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, just as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. Time, who died in a vehicle crash near...

Have you heard about the "Hugs" project yet? It's a really great group of people who are dedicated to sewing and sending evaporative cooling ties to our troops in the "sandbox". We have already sent out over 20,000 homemade "hugs", which sounds like a lot until you consider that we have over 145,000 people in the desert right now. Cooling ties are simple to make but the benefits are dramatic, they can lower body temperatures by 1 to 4 degrees. They can also be microwaved this winter to use as reusable hand warmers. We need more people making and sending...

LOS ANGELES -- A peace gathering over the weekend in the Modoc National Forest was anything but when a man ran amok, attacking others with a shovel. Harry "Hugs" O'Neill, of Whitehorn, was arrested Sunday after he used a shovel to smash the windshield of a pickup truck and then strike the vehicle's two occupants. O'Neill was jailed in Modoc County on two charges each of felony assault, felony battery with serious bodily injury, and personal infliction of serious bodily injury. One victim was taken to the Mercy Medical Center in Redding. He suffered a punctured lung, ruptured spleen and...

May 10, 2004GREENWICH VILLAGE JOURNALInviting the Public's Embrace, One by OneBy ANDREA ELLIOTT ayson Littman is not especially lonely, or religious, or in need of cash - things that strangers might assume upon meeting him. He is a financial analyst who happens to think that New Yorkers could use a hug. So it was, a month ago, that Mr. Littman began distributing hugs - free - from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village."At first I thought no one would respond," said Mr. Littman, 26, who lives in Manhattan. But on his first Sunday,...

Sandy Hanke joins a crowd of family and friends in giving a boisterous welcome home to Soldiers with the 43rd Area Support Group, 3rd Brigade, 7th Infantry Division and the 113th Medical Co., Combat Stress Control, an Army Reserve unit from Las Alamedos, Calif., as they march into the Fort Carson special events center after arriving back from a year-long deployment to Iraq. Spc. Lorie JewellAcross America, Soldiers arrive home to rousing welcomesBy Spc. Lorie JewellApril 16, 2004 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Army News Service, April 16, 2004) – In a gymnasium festooned with welcome-home signs, banners, buntings and balloons of...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Handshakes and hugs break out on Senate floor Associated Press Sept. 16, 2003, 6:12PM AUSTIN - The bitter infighting in the Texas Senate for the past six weeks gave way to handshakes and warm embraces today as Democrats and Republicans appeared together on the Senate floor for the first time in a month and a half. "Today was a wonderful showing of good faith on every senator's part," Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, said after the Senate met briefly. "All of us are professionals," said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas. "We can disagree without being disagreeable." During the last six weeks, the...