Free Republic

On June 18th, 1815, 400 Hanoverian soldiers were the only thing standing between defeat and victory for the alliance against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.In 1811, Napoleon's empire and its allies had over 44 million subjects and covered most of Europe. But after being defeated in 1813 and 1814 by the Sixth Coalition, which included Austria, Prussia, Russia, Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and other German states, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and exiled to the island of Elba. The First French Empire was dissolved, and the Bourbon monarchy restored, but in February 1815 Napoleon escaped from his exile and...

...for the archaeologist of 20 years ago, might have been the stuff of science fiction. Who would have known then that scientists would resurrect in startling detail an entire ancient Roman town after only fractional excavation? And who would have known that thousands of people from nearly every corner of the world would be able to 'walk' through that town without ever physically setting foot within?  This, however, is exactly what has happened for an obscure archaeological site located in Portugal -- a relatively small ancient Roman town whose few visible remains have attracted comparatively few visitors -- at least...

End austerity: it’s cheating us all; Jobs not Trident; No cuts; Defy Tory rule; Cut war not welfare; Stop fracking; a Living Wage for mothers; and, The Pope gets it, why can’t you? With the slogans emblazoned on banners, posters and flags, anti-austerity marchers shouted slogans, sang, and beat drums, as they walked through London in what is being called the biggest protest march that the city has seen. The ‘End Austerity Now’ demonstration saw participation by an estimated crowd of between 70,000 and 250,000, all coming together to protest against cuts imposed due to austerity, the threats to the...

Just six month since Portugal’s parliament voted to recognize the Palestinian Authority as an independent “State of Palestine,” the Portuguese government is set to launch a new drive aimed at promoting “Palestine” as an independent tourism destination—despite it not being a legal state or having any defined borders. […] [Portuguese Tourism Minister Adolfo Mesquita] Nunes said he would be personally “recommending Portuguese people to visit Palestine,” including the thousands of Portuguese Christian pilgrims who visit Israel—including Christian sites in Bethlehem and elsewhere. …

Relax in The Beam of My majesty and drink deep of My Forgiveness for there is great healing here and rebuke the Harlot that drinks the blood of the Saints and the Prophets for truly there is only condemnation there for you "ARE" Forgiven, cleansed in My blood alone and I AM "Your" Salvation. Enjoy My creation for I have set it as a table of remembrance of My Glory, before you were in the womb. You will see as you rest in Me you make yourself completely available to My Voice calling to you in the wilderness(DRY PLACES), all...

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned European Union leaders that violence from Islamic extremists could escalate if the EU rejects Turkey as a member... Turkey signed the association agreement for EU membership in 1963 and it is expected that a two-day EU summit this week will finally decide to begin formal membership talks, probably in the second half of next year... Taking Turkey’s 69 million, mainly Muslim, population into the Union is widely disputed... In Germany, leader of the Christian Social Union Edmund Stoiber told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that his party in government would do what it...

https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/609341858045497344 https://twitter.com/TraderStef/status/609355146842275840 https://twitter.com/JAFF3/status/609343992803774464 https://twitter.com/russian_market/status/609341880623591424 The bank runs (and capital controls) begin. Macedonia Central Bank Governor Bogov states: *GREEK BANKS IN MACEDONIA CAN’T WITHDRAW CASH: BOGOV*MACEDONIAN BANKS PROTECTED IN CASE OF GREXIT: BOGOV How long before the rest of Europe follows suit and a bank holiday is declared Monday to "Cyprus" depositors? He further added: *MACEDONIAN CENTRAL BANK SEES MAJOR RISKS FROM POLITICAL CRISIS http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-12/macedonia-central-bank-blocks-greek-bank-withdrawals-case-grexit Macedonia Central Bank blocks Greek bank withdrawals FXStreet (Córdoba) - Macedonian Central Bank's Governor Dimitar Bogov has stated that Greek banks are not able to withdraw cash. According to Bogov, this withdrawal halt is protection against...

Brazilian substitute headmaster José Fernando Schlosser has forced all Jewish students and teachers to sign a document to identify all Jews among them. The names will be given to the Solidarity with Palestine Committee.

  Israel Bloom from Portugal’s blog AMIGO DE ISRAEL (Friend of Israel) sent me this. It’s 1938 all over again. Difficult times are here again for us.In Brazil, Mr. José Fernando Schlosser [photo above], substitute headmaster of Federal University of Santa Maria, forced all Jewish students and teachers to sign a document to identify the Jews among them.The document was inspired on President Dilma Roussef politics of condamnation of Israel «crimes» against «Palestiniana People» and the names will be delivered to a Comitee of Solidarity With «Palestine».A few articles, with pictures of the complete document: http://veja.abril.com.br/blog/reinaldo/geral/atencao-judeus-e-humanistas-de-todas-as-origens-um-ato-explicito-de-antissemitismo-na-universidade-federal-de-santa-maria-e-ai-vai-ficar-por-isso-mesmo/ http://veja.abril.com.br/blog/reinaldo/geral/atencao-judeus-e-humanistas-de-todas-as-origens-um-ato-explicito-de-antissemitismo-na-universidade-federal-de-santa-maria-e-ai-vai-ficar-por-isso-mesmo/http://veja.abril.com.br/blog/rodrigo-constantino/religiao/judeofobia-na-universidade-federal-de-santa-maria/http://veja.abril.com.br/blog/rodrigo-constantino/religiao/judeofobia-na-universidade-federal-de-santa-maria/http://amigodeisrael.blogspot.pt/2015/06/recomecou.html - See...

Saudi Arabia has terminated its contract with the Portuguese airline Hi Fly after it flew an empty jumbo jet marked with the logo of the kingdom’s national carrier, Saudia, to Ben-Gurion Airport for repairs. The announcement was reported in the Twitter feed of a Saudi news agency. The arrival of the jet with the logo to Ben-Gurion Airport overnight Tuesday generated a stir in the Israeli media on Wednesday after surprised airport workers spotted the plane. The plane in question, an Airbus A330-300 devoid of passengers, arrived from Brussels to Tel Aviv for routine maintenance work with the Bedek Aviation...

In looking over the history of the past 500 years, four nations stand out for having completely and massively altered world civilization in a way that no others have, before or after: England, Spain, France, and Portugal. No other empires even come close. The Muslim conquests were landbound except for island hopping. Chinese and Mongolian conquests were landbound. Even in ancient times, Greek, Roman, and Persian conquests were essentially land operations, except for river fording. Yes, they all had navies, but were not defined by them. What separates the English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish was that these nations had vast...

In looking over the history of the past 500 years, four nations stand out for having completely and massively altered world civilization in a way that no others have, before or after: England, Spain, France, and Portugal. No other empires even come close. The Muslim conquests were landbound except for island hopping. Chinese and Mongolian conquests were landbound. Even in ancient times, Greek, Roman, and Persian conquests were essentially land operations, except for river fording. Yes, they all had navies, but were not defined by them. What separates the English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish was that these nations had vast...

Greece is drawing up drastic plans to nationalise the country's banking system and introduce a parallel currency to pay bills unless the eurozone takes steps to defuse the simmering crisis and soften its demands. Sources close to the ruling Syriza party said the government is determined to keep public services running and pay pensions as funds run critically low. It may be forced to take the unprecedented step of missing a payment to the International Monetary Fund next week.

Greece’s finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has spelled out the negotiating strategy of the Syriza government with crystal clarity. “Exit from the euro does not even enter into our plans, quite simply because the euro is fragile. It is like a house of cards. If you pull away the Greek card, they all come down,” he said. “Do we really want Europe to break apart? Anybody who is tempted to think it possible to amputate Greece strategically from Europe should be careful. It is very dangerous. Who would be hit after us? Portugal? What would happen to Italy when it discovers...

Greece's pleas to stop the "fiscal waterboarding" of its devastated economy are substantively no different from President Obama's repeated warnings to Germany to stop bleeding the euro area economy with excessive fiscal austerity. Sadly, the president's reportedly more than a dozen phone calls to the German Chancellor Merkel in 2011 and 2012 urging supportive economic policies in the euro area fell on deaf ears. These calls were not just brushed aside; they were plainly ridiculed as Chancellor Merkel kept telling the media that "it made no sense to be adding new debt to old debt." But -- worrying about one-fifth...

In Ireland, taking the name of Israel means becoming a war criminal. A popular Dublin restaurant, The Exchequer, no longer stocks Israeli goods. In the Irish town of Kinvara, retailers, restaurants and pharmacies operate a boycott of Israeli goods. The leading Irish supermarket chain SuperValu removed the Israeli carrots from its shelves. And I have mentioned just a few examples of the new Irish anti-Semitism. It is the same everywhere in Europe: Israel is disappearing from European shelves. Practically and symbolically. The material cancellation of Israeli goods from Europe's shelves anticipates Israel's physical suppression. The French city of Lille suspended...

Portugal’s parliament on Friday adopted a resolution calling on the government to recognize the Palestinian state, following a growing number of similar votes around Europe. Parliament’s motion, filed jointly by the ruling center-right majority and the opposition Socialist party, proposed “recognizing, in coordination with the European Union, the state of Palestine as independent and sovereign,” according to AFP. However, Portugal’s Foreign Minister Rui Machete said after the vote the government “will choose the moment best suited” to recognize the Palestinian state. …

From Times OnlineOctober 26, 2007 Putin warns Europe over Iran and Kosovo at EU summit (Miguel A Lopes//EPA) Vladimir Putin at the EU-Russia Summit at Mafra Palace, near Lisbon, today Jack Malvern and agencies Tensions between Russia and the West over sanctions against Iran will be laid bare today as President Vladimir Putin attends a summit with EU leaders in Portugal. The Russian leader described supporters of tough policies as "mad people wielding razor blades" after the US imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic republic yesterday in an attempt to curb its nuclear programme. Mr Putin, who is at the...

The nation held up by the Liberal Democrats yesterday as a shining example of how to win the war on drugs is far from the unqualified success story they make out. For the number of children using drugs in Portugal has more than doubled since the country’s laws were liberalised, the latest figures show. A decade after the law was relaxed, nearly a fifth of 15 and 16-year-olds use drugs – well over twice the number in the years before decriminalisation. The controversial Home Office report commissioned by the Liberal Democrats states: ‘It is clear that there has not been...

The debate over Germany’s insistence on eurozone austerity has flared anew as an ailing France continues to demand economic stimulus. The European Central Bank may now be siding with Paris, leaving Merkel looking increasingly alone. […] Berlin is particularly alarmed by the stance taken by ECB head Mario Draghi. At the annual conference of top central bankers from around the world at Jackson Hole, Wyoming in August, Draghi surprised those present by saying “there is leeway to achieve a more growth-friendly composition of fiscal policies.” It was a comment that came close to the kind of debt-fueled growth stimulus measures...