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: Infectious Diseases Society of America Date: 2005-12-15 New Study Identifies Louse-borne Diseases That Ravaged Napoleon's Army Using dental pulp extracted from the teeth of soldiers who died during Napoleon’s disastrous retreat through Russia in 1812, a new study finds DNA evidence that epidemic typhus and trench fever ran rampant among the French Grand Army. The study, published in the Jan. 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, identifies the specific species of louse-borne pathogens that were a major cause of death among the remains of the retreating army. Napoleon marched into Russia in the summer...

Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, best known for his roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago died at age of 83, Egyptian media reported. “He died this afternoon of a heart attack in Cairo,” Steve Kenis told AFP, adding that the actor had been in a hospital for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Born in a Syrian family and named Michel Demitri Chalhoub in Egypt in 1932, he was brought up as a Roman catholic and earned a college degree in mathematics and physics before he joined his family’s business. Read: Hollywood film legend Omar Sharif suffering from Alzheimer’s disease Omar...

Two weeks ago, taxi drivers in Paris staged a violent protest against self-employed Uber drivers and paralyzed the French capital. Similar anti-Uber demonstrations have occurred in the United States and in other European capitals, but only in Paris did events take a violent turn, seemingly confirming Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation that “the French start a revolution when confronted with change, not a reform.” Though crude, the Parisian taxi drivers’ methods seem to have had the intended effect. French police subsequently arrested two Uber executives, charging them, according to the Wall Street Journal, with “enabling taxi-driving by nonprofessional drivers, among other...

Thousands of people gathered in northern Spain on Sunday to demand a referendum vote for the independence of the country’s Basque region. Demonstrators holding long lengths of cloth formed human chains across several Basque cities, including the capital of Vitoria, Bilbao and San Sebastian. Many of the protesters wore the colors of the Basque flag -- red, white and green. The demonstration was organized by the pro-independence Gure Esku Dago ("It's in Our Hands") group, and was backed by several separatist parties and local figures. Spain’s Basque community has long asserted that it should be independent of the country, and...

I was torn to lament over situations recently so I asked The Lord to explain His Grace to me and I share it for your consideration . . . Grace is sufficient is more than a statement it is an enactment for many in My Creation ask "Why"? When I have given them the gift to (( ( "DECLARE" ) )) ((( "GRACE" ))) ! And so it is with this enlightenment they "IN FACT" carry the KEY to their own Blessings and Grace ! For I AM GRACE ETERNAL and it is in this manner you must speak and...

As we reported yesterday, following the latest European leaders summit, Greece was given until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe's currency bloc and into economic ruin. "The stark reality is that we have only five days left ... Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week," European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference. It did that moments ago when Greece...

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to compromise on an emergency financing deal that could keep Greece in the eurozone. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the president was encouraged by assurances from both leaders in separate phone calls that “it’s in their collective and mutual interest for Greece to remain part of the eurozone.” But Mr. Obama stressed in the calls that “the only way that we’ll succeed in achieving that goal is for all of the parties to agree to a package of reforms and financing that...

March 2010, two months before the announcement of the first Greek bailout, European banks had €134 billion worth of claims on Greece. French banks, as shown in the right-hand figure above, had by far the largest exposure: €52 billion – this was 1.6 times that of Germany, eleven times that of Italy, and sixty-two times that of Spain. The €110 billion of loans provided to Greece by the IMF and Eurozone in May 2010 enabled Greece to avoid default on its obligations to these banks. In the absence of such loans, France would have been forced into a massive bailout...

ATHENS — An emergency summit of European leaders called to salvage Greece’s financial rescue broke up acrimoniously late Tuesday night, with officials saying the country now has just five days to avoid bankruptcy. Following a day’s worth of talks aimed at finding a way out of months of bitter deadlock, European leaders were scathing in their assessments of Greece’s proposals, calling them inadequate and demanding the Greek government return with a detailed plan by Thursday. The leaders of all 28 European Union members will then meet Sunday in what officials said will be the final chance to save Greece from...

Last week the Greek government imposed capital controls to prevent cash from escaping from the Greek banking system, which is on the brink of collapse. These repressive financial measures, which were invented by "Hitler's banker" Hjalmar Schacht in the 1930s, include the closing of banks, limiting cash withdrawals from ATMs to 60 euros ($67) per day, and the banning of all money transfers via credit and debit cards to accounts held in foreign countries. Despite these Draconian controls, Greek banks continue to hemorrhage cash and, after yesterday's referendum, it is probable that the daily limit on withdrawals from ATMs will...

In a desperate bid to save his political career, Greek Prime Minister Alexei Tsipras bet big on both the gullibility of the Greek electorate and the unreconstructed hate the Greek left has for capitalism. He has just won that bet, and will remain Prime Minister until the Greek people realize what they have done. In their defiant vote for “NO" Greek voters naively believed that they were voting for “democracy” and “national dignity.” Unfortunately they are about to find out they actually voted for “poverty, corruption, and a blighted future.” Every conservative intuitively understands TANSTAAFL, There Ain’t No Such Thing...

Socialism: Indebted nations of the world are applauding the "Oxi" vote against "austerity" in Greece not so much as a victory for the common man, but because they have plans to default on the billions they owe. Brace yourself. Socialism: Indebted nations of the world are applauding the "Oxi" vote against "austerity" in Greece because they no doubt have plans to default on the billions (BEG ITAL)they(END ITAL) owe. Brace yourself. What we're witnessing is the revenge of the debtors — socialist nations that believe they're striking a blow for human rights by not paying what they owe unless creditors...

So your moment has come, and frankly if you have the courage you should lead the Greek people out of the Eurozone with your head held high. Get back your democracy; get back control of your country. Give your people the leadership and the hope that they crave. Yes it will be tough in the first few months but with a devalued currency and with friends of Greece all over the world, you will recover.

Uploaded on Oct 18, 2011 Professor Varoufakis proposes a decentralized system for europe in order to transform it before the crisis of the system crashes Europe. He studies all the different possibilities of actions that can be taken and explains why his proposal is the best option. Studied mathematics at Essex University, received an MSc in mathematical statistics from the University of Birmingham and then, curiously, completed a PhD in... economics at Essex University. Between 1982 and 1988 he taught at the Universities of Essex, East Anglia and Cambridge. From 1988 to 2000 he lived in Sydney, where he lectured...

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” – Margaret Thatcher Greece is liberal economics on steroids, Detroit writ large, and a place where the "takers" outnumber the "makers." In other words, if you want to know what the end road is for the sort of economics pushed by people like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Paul Krugman, Greece is it. According to the World Bank, Greece’s labor participation rate is only 53%. It’s hard for private industry to take advantage of an underemployed populace because government regulations and powerful unions make it difficult...

There are no “good” options for now to end this Greek tragedy. It’s best for Greece to take the least bad option, which would be forced bankruptcy. Let Greece go bankrupt. And then let this once rich nation, hit the restart button to rebuild its economy. What I’m suggesting for Greece is what we might call the Detroit option. Put Greece under receivership and let these new authorities figure out how to manage the debt and decide who will take a hair cut – pensioners, bond holders, welfare recipients, government workers, the IMF. It’s tough love, but it’s the only...

Whether you like him or not, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is now a political legend. Here’s why: 1. The way he communicates With his blog and his Twitter account , he speaks directly to the people, his fans and his detractors, when he wants, how he wants it, without the media filter. Non-verbal communication is important too. The infamous video of Varoufakis ‘flipping his middle finger’ to Germany, which caused uproar in German media, may or may not have been faked by a German satirical TV show. In the end it doesn’t really matter. He may have an...

WHILE the world worries about Greece, there’s an even bigger problem closer to home: China. A stock market crash there has seen $3.2 trillion wiped from the value of Chinese shares in just three weeks, triggering an emergency response from the government and warnings of “monstrous” public disorder. • LATEST: CHINESE INVESTORS FLEE FOR SAFETY And the effects for Australia could be serious, affecting our key commodity exports and sparking the beginning of a period of recession-like conditions. “State-owned newspapers have used their strongest language yet, telling people ‘not to lose their minds’ and ‘not to bury themselves in horror...

French authorities are investigating the theft of roughly 200 detonators plus grenades and plastic explosives from a military site in southern France. The thefts at the Miramas site, which is operated by a combination of military services west of Marseille, appeared to have taken place overnight from Sunday to Monday. The break-in came with France on its highest level of alert for terrorism following deadly attacks in January and June.

Fascinating interview of Stephen Church by John Batchelor. Discussion of the political and military events which led to the Magna Carta and border divisions within the kingdoms of France.