Free Republic

(Last Updated On: June 5, 2023) D-Day D-Day is June 6 on the National Day Calendar and we are honoring those who fought on the beaches of Normandy, France. This historical day is a reminder of the day troops of Allied forces staged one of the most pivotal attacks against Germany during World War II. #DDay The Battle of Normandy was executed under the codename Operation Overlord and became known as the beginning of the end of World War II. The Battle of Normandy was along a 50 mile stretch of beaches, including Utah and Omaha Beach. While many explanations...

In committee last week a key provision of legislation proposed by the National Assembly lawmakers from France's overseas territories taken out. That was the part restoring France's retirement age to 62. When the full assembly take on the legislation next week there will be an effort to put it back in... This week President Emmanuel Macron forced to clarify comments of his Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne... Next Tuesday (June 6th) will be a nationwide day of strikes and protest against President Macron's imposition of pension reform... The First Live Video From Paris Today Of Yellow Vests Protest. A protester in...

Explosions early Tuesday morning in Kiev, air raid warnings in the area of the capital city and... Two wounded tonight in Ukrainian shelling of the town of Shebinko in Russia's... The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling against two abortion laws in the state... In Washington the US House approving that deal to increase the US debt ceiling... US-Russian tensions in Syria US warplanes violating deconfliction protocol approaching Russian military planes. US pilots activating their weapons systems when getting close to Russian aircraft... The International Atomic Energy Agency will be allowed to reinstall monitoring equipment... Politics in the USA it's reported that...

On May 20, 2023, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin stated during his recent visit to the U.S.: "We have come to remind them that for Europeans, and for France, the primary risk is Sunni Islamist terrorism and that anti-terrorist collaboration between intelligence services is absolutely essential." This anodyne statement by Mr. Darmanin, whose maternal grandfather was an Algerian Muslim soldier in the French Army, has generated significant condemnation from various Islamist organizations, Islamists, and prominent figures, uniting criticism from Qatari-funded Islamists with those connected to the regime in Cairo. Their responses reflect deep concerns about...

Senior EU officials were furious on Friday after Twitter owner Elon Musk pulled the platform out of the bloc’s online censorship project. Elon Musk has pulled Twitter out of the EU’s “Code of Practice”, a pro-censorship project aimed at countering so-called “disinformation” online, prompting fury from those in Brussels. It comes after months of mixed messages from the billionaire, who had publicly stated that he wanted to support free speech on the platform while repeatedly insisting that he would support the European Union in its pro-censorship crusade. According to a report by POLITICO, it appears that the Big Tech entrepreneur...

On this date in 1431, 19 year old warrior maiden Joan of Arc was burned to death at the stake by English-dominated authorities in Rouen, Franc English Violence.

Early Monday explosions in Kiev... In Syria tonight explosions reported in the Damascus area... Russian authorities says that Ukraine tried to attack the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plans with a drone... Israel's President Issac Herzog will visit Iran's northern neighbor Azerbaijan on Tuesday... The Sultan of Oman visiting Iran... With food prices up 19 percent so far this year in the UK talk of price controls on basic food like bread and milk... French Prime Minister Attacks Left And Right Seeking To Promote "Centrist" Governance Links National Rally To Marshal Petain... Tensions in Jerusalem today at devout Jews objected to "Christian...

On June 6th a major effort at protests nationwide against President Emmanuel Macron's imposition of pension reform is planned. For now there are smaller protests like this one in Paris last Tuesday. A banner at the protests read in full when translated into English: Money for Our salaries, pensions, our allocations Not for war or repression! The protest sign a concise summary of conditions in France right now where Macron's neo-liberal capitalist agenda is in full bloom. One major move lessening long-term government spending through pension cuts has been imposed. The raising of the retirement age to 64 is a...

When most researchers looked at a puzzling group of artifacts discovered at French archaeological sites, they presumed these to be ornaments or clothing. But Justin Garnett saw something else."They resembled finger loops like those used by some North and South American spearthrowers," said Garnett, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Kansas.That observation led to his new article, "Exploring the Possible Function of Paleolithic Open Rings as Spearthrower Finger Loops." It examines open-ringed objects discovered in the late 19th century at Le Placard, Petit Cloup Barrat and Cave à Endives. His research hypothesizes that such rings (fabricated from...

Fresh on the heels of a sensible request by France to pause new green regulations comes an even stronger pushback in Germany. ... Last week it was President Macron who was rowing back on green measures. In a speech he asserted that Europe has, for now, gone far enough – if it introduces any more regulations without the rest of the world following suit then it will put investment at risk and harm the economy. This week, the European People’s Party – a centre right grouping which includes the German Christian Democrats, the party of Commission President Ursula von der...

Link post: please go to the link below to see the pictures and links, and post any comment/discussion there: Geology Picture of the Week, September 5-11, 2004: Etna Lava, Fournaise Bonus

Click the link above to go to the page with the pictures. The pictures are Javascript so I can't grab any.

Some background; in the last couple of weeks, I've been posting pictures of "Great Falls", starting with the Great Falls nearest to me, on the Potomac River. I speculated that there are several "Great Falls" around (there are). A humorous wag posted that one of them must be the "Great Falls of Bire" (rim shot, please). I replied to him that if Ireland had a great falls, this would be the "Great Falls of Eire". So I Googled to find out if Ireland had a great falls. It doesn't, but in searching, I discovered the "World Waterfall Database", which right...

Link post; to alert interested Free Republic readers to the post in the "Chat" section. PLEASE post any discussion and comment on that thread, not this one! The picture I've posted this week is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Geology Picture of the Week, August 8-14, 2004: Amazing Tropical Waterfalls

Tropical Cyclone "Batsirai" formed well east of Madagascar on January 27, 2022, at a time Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi were still assessing severe damage caused by the passage of Tropical Cyclone "Ana." Environmental conditions favor further intensification, leading to a possible catastrophic landfall in Madagascar on February 5. Up to 600 mm (24 inches) of rain is possible in some areas. Batsirai is the second named storm of the 2021/22 Southwest Indian Ocean cyclone season. At 06:00 UTC on February 2, Batsirai was an Intense Tropical Cyclone located approximately 246 km (153 miles) NNE of Port Louis, Mauritius. Its maximum...

Yes, I know I missed the last week of the year; I've been busy and still trying to catch up and dig out. Meanwhile, there were eruptions, including one of the best "curtains of fire" I've seen since Eldfell. Curtain of fire on Nyamuragira: From here: chitravini's photostream (go to page 2) Lava flow on the side of Piton de la Fournaise's main crater: From here: Paysages de la Reunion And finally, the lava pit inside Halemaumau (Kilauea, Hawaii), has been putting on a great show over the past few days: (click for full-size) Link to Webcam page

First, from Norway Vøringsfossen Click 'em for full-size. This next one's not big or great, but it shows where the hotel is. Also small, but a good view of the base of the falls. Something tells me it is NOT easy to get down there. Second, from the border of Vietnam and China: Detian/Ban Gioc. Click both for full-size.

Connect the dots: 1) Heard about a new (small) eruption of Piton de la Fournaise. 2) Piton de la Fournaise is the current "expression" of the La Reunion mantle plume. 3) Thought about what happened when the Indian subcontinent passed over the La Reunion plume = Deccan Traps volcanism. 4) Tried to find a good picture of the Deccan Traps. 5) Discovered that one of the few places to see Deccan Trap basalt layering is Lonar Crater. 6) Lonar Crater is said to be the only impact crater on volcanic basalt. 7) Found remote sensing and surface pictures of Lonar...

First of all, one might think I'm Etna-obsessed. Not true; I posted some images of the Piton de la Fournaise effusive eruption before this. But the Etna pictures continue to be interesting, so why not? This one, primarily due to the cold lava spires in the background, looked like a science-fiction movie set (shrunk for display, click to see the full-size image): And now for something completely different; here's an article I happened to read in the doctor's office. I couldn't find the image accompanying the article, so I found a different image of an epidote crystal. The article was...

Our first feature is the image of the Etna eruption. As of September 10, the eruption is continuing with a new effusive site opening. The lava flows are near the summit and aren't threatening any structures or villages. Click the picture to see it full-size. For more, click the article link at top and choose "Septembre 2004" at left. Our second feature is at the link below; six QTVR panoramas of the just-ended Piton de la Fournaise eruption. Stunning! If you have the bandwidth to handle it, look at the big ones. The aerial view is mind-boggling (though grainy in...