Free Republic

From an opera concert with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera in Olavshallen, Trondheim, 11 March 2021. Conductor: James Gaffigan Valkyries: Helmwige – Sigrid Vetleseter Bøe, Gerhilde – Camilla Stenhoff Vist, Schwertleite – Siv Oda Hagerupsen, Waltraute – Åse Krystad, Ortlinde – Tonje Eero Hove, Rossweisse – Maria Nohr, Grimgerde – Nina Sætherhaug.Richard Wagner: The Valkyrie - Ride of the Valkyries

On July 15, 1870, the French Empire mobilized its armed forces, and the following day, the North German Confederation—led by Prussia—followed suit. Once the Franco-Prussian War was declared, actual combat began with startling rapidity. The Prussians won a decisive victory at Sedan at the start of September, capturing French Emperor Napoleon III. Even so, the French managed a heroic second effort that kept the war going into 1871, but the Prussians still emerged victorious. This short struggle killed some 200,000 people and involved more combatants on both sides than the recently concluded American Civil War, which had spanned four years....

The removal of the Jews from the Arab world has been all but ignored, says Tom Gross It is not surprising, given the sheer scale of the Holocaust and its sadism, that it has dominated contemporary discourse among Jews and others. But, while the extermination of European Jews has rightfully (though belatedly) generated a great deal of study and research, the removal of the Jews from the Arab world has been all but ignored. This ignorance extends to policy-makers at the highest level. Some journalists and politicians I have spoken to have expressed surprise when I even mentioned that Jews...

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (D) has said that socialist policies characteristic of countries like Sweden should be implemented in the U.S. As a Swede, I would strongly advise against this. The worldwide socialist movement praises the Scandinavian countries for their high living standards and welfare. Easy to do for someone who has never lived in Sweden or read a book on Swedish history. First off: The success of Sweden predates the welfare state. In reality, the economy began to fall behind in the 1960s when the state rapidly expanded. Moreover, Sweden enjoyed the highest growth in the industrialized world between...

The conflict between modern democracies and Islamic terrorists reminds Lee Harris of a blood feud. The idea of a blood feud in turn reminds me of "Fools Crow", a novel about the travails of the Pikunis, a small band of the native American Blackfeet tribe, in 1870. -- snip -- As Lee Harris might put it, the horse-stealing and scalping are theatrical gestures. They are attempts to humiliate the other band, not to defeat them. Going on a raid is a rite of passage for young members of the tribe. In fact, the title character in Fools Crow earns his...