Free Republic

Capita list: North Korea approves 28 model socialist hairstyles It's not just nuclear weapons proliferating on the Korean peninsula these days. In a move that for once is not considered a threat to regional and global security, the North Korean government has recommended a relatively generous range of 28 hairstyles for its citizens, claiming that they are "the most comfortable" styles and capable of warding off the corrupting effects of capitalism, according to ifeng.com, a news website run by Hong Kong's Phoenix TV network. Pictures can be seen on the walls of hair salons around the country showing the approved...

Take a big gulp, New York: Hizzoner is about to give you a pop. Nanny Bloomberg unleashes his ban on large sodas on March 12 — and there are some nasty surprises lurking for hardworking families. Say goodbye to that 2-liter bottle of Coke with your pizza delivery, pitchers of soft drinks at your kid’s birthday party and some bottle-service mixers at your favorite nightclub. -snip- Typically, a pizzeria charges $3 for a 2-liter bottle of Coke. But under the ban, customers would have to buy six 12-ounce cans at a total cost of $7.50 to get an equivalent amount...

A New York strip club can’t claim a tax exemption on entrance and performance fees on the grounds that it presents “musical arts performances,” the state’s highest court ruled. The New York Court of Appeals in Albany upheld Tuesday a lower court’s ruling that Nite Moves, an adult “juice bar” in Latham, N.Y., didn’t prove to tax authorities that its stage and couch dances merited the exemption granted to artistic performances. “It is not irrational for the tax tribunal to decline to extend a tax exemption to every act that declares itself a ‘dance performance,’” the Court of Appeals said...

For more than a century, Norland College in Bath, England, has trained young women to be elite caregivers to the world's wealthiest children. This year, though, the famous nanny school is taking on something new: a male student. Michael Kenny, 18, is the first young man to enroll in the elite school's Bachelors of Arts program in Early Childhood Studies, which they offer in association with the University of Gloucestershire.

Cops shot a knife-wielding maniac dead on a packed Midtown street yesterday after several officers drew their weapons and chased him at gunpoint through Times Square. “Shoot me! Shoot me!” the armed madman shouted at a crowd of more than 20 cops, who had followed him for several blocks and blasted him with pepper spray before cornering him on Seventh Avenue near West 38th Street, according to witness Robert James. The furious 51-year-old finally lunged at the officers with his 11-inch butcher knife, leading two cops to blast him in the torso, groin and arms at about 3 p.m., police...

The nanny state is going after moms. Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hospitals to hide their baby formula behind locked doors so more new mothers will breast-feed. Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use — the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation. Under the city Health Department’s voluntary Latch On NYC initiative, 27 of the city’s 40 hospitals have also agreed to give up swag bags sporting formula-company logos, toss out formula-branded tchotchkes like lanyards and mugs, and document a medical reason for every bottle that a newborn...

New York City plans to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in the most ambitious effort yet by the Bloomberg administration to combat rising obesity. The proposed ban would affect virtually the entire menu of popular sugary drinks found in delis, fast-food franchises and even sports arenas, from energy drinks to pre-sweetened iced teas. The sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces — about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle —...

When it comes to Nanny Statism there's no greater proponent than New York City's Mayor, Michael Nanny Bloomberg. As a liberal know-it-all, he believes he has the personal right to tell you what you should be eating, smoking, inhaling, and probably thinking as well. His campaigns against smoking, salt, fast food, and trans fats, just to name a few, are the stuff of legends. Nanny Bloomberg commands a vast legion of pointy-headed petty bureaucrats who are ready, at the drop of a hat, to enforce his will. Witness the latest episode where the mayor has personally banned private food contributions...

Mayor Bloomberg blasted Virginia’s repeal of a 20-year-old law restricting handgun buyers to one pistol a month, saying Wednesday that it’s “only going to make matters worse” in New York. Bloomberg, one of the country’s top advocates for tough gun laws, said dismantling the law will enhance Virginia’s reputation as the gun-running capital of the East Coast. “Virginia is the No. 1 out-of-state source of crime guns in New York, and one of the top suppliers of crime guns nationally,” Bloomberg said. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed the law repealing the gun limit on Tuesday, a day after the nation’s...

Mayor's plan to limit booze sales Campaign to limit booze sales By CARL CAMPANILE Party pooper! First, Mayor Bloomberg went after smoking in public places. Then trans-fats, salt and sugary drinks. Now Bloomberg — known for sipping fine wine and downing a cold beer from time to time — wants to crack down on alcohol sales to curb excessive drinking, according to a provocative planning document obtained by The Post. The city Health Department’s far-reaching Partnership for a Healthier New York City initiatives proposes to slash the number of establishments in the city that sell booze. Community “transformation” grants provided...