Free Republic

President Joe Biden welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Thursday, as part of an official state visit. But when it came time to shake Macron’s hand, the president awkwardly gripped it and held it firmly for 42 seconds as the French leader stood awkwardly near the podium. “The temperature may be a little chilly on this December night – day, but our hearts are warm as we welcome such close friends to the White House,” Biden said during the arrival ceremony outdoors at the White House.

Some GI wanted to keep his sweetheart picture close at hand.  I have seen pictures enclosed in Lucite grips before. The uniform appears to be an Army officer's winter service uniform from early in the war.  The Sam Browne belt and shoulder strap were replaced early in 1942.   Of course, existing uniforms were often used for quite some time after they were superseded. If you look closely at the frame, just below the slide, you can make out the UNITED STATES PROPERTY stamp. Large numbers of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines kept their .45 service pistols after the war,...

Just wondering who knows about S&W revolver stocks. I went to 4 gun shops looking for faux ivory grips for a 44mag S&W today. No luck. I have an N-frame 44mag roundbutt and I took a set of old style(really old) S&W factory wood grips off a squarebutt K-frame S&W model 10 and put them on the N-frame 44mag just to see how far off they are. Except for being squarebutt instead of roundbutt...appears to me the stocks are a match. So now I am wondering why S&W revolver stocks are sold as being either for K/L frame or for...

ATHENS—Greece's fiscal crisis took a new turn to violence Wednesday when three people died in a firebomb attack amid a paralyzing national strike, while governments from Spain to the U.S. took steps to prevent the widening financial damage from hitting their own economies. U.S. Treasury officials have been quietly urging their European and International Monetary Fund counterparts to put together a Greek rescue plan more quickly to contain the damage, it emerged Wednesday, as U.S. policy makers worry the continent's problems could undermine a U.S. recovery much as U.S. housing woes hammered Europe in 2008. In Spain, rival political leaders...

Mystery of the severed skulls grips China By Richard Spencer (Filed: 06/04/2006) The grisly discovery of 121 human skulls, many with their tops sawn off, has puzzled Chinese police and caused a frenzy of speculation. The skulls were found by a farmer in a forested ravine in a part of the poor north-western province of Gansu, which is inhabited by ethnic Tibetans. The skulls' discovery has led to theories of cannibalism Police have confirmed that the skulls are human and are of "recent origin", as suggested by the fact that some had skin and hair still attached. But officials have...

Hundreds of thousands of people - mostly students - have taken to the streets in France for a second week of protests against the controversial new employment contracts. Caroline Wyatt has been considering whether they might be the symptom of a greater malaise in French society. "To the barricades!" is the cry heard again on the streets of France, as they ring to the sound of student chants. The crisp early springtime air on the Left Bank is filled once more with the heady scent of revolution, black coffee and Gauloises.

WARSAW (AFP) - Europeans braced for a shivery New Year celebration as temperatures plunged to new lows, while a cold snap claimed the lives of new victims and snow, ice and floods snarled traffic. Poland reported 22 deaths from hypothermia in recent days, bringing the total to 85 since the onset of winter in October. "Nearly half the victims were homeless people, more and more of whom die of the cold every year in Poland," police spokeswoman Graznya Puchalska told AFP on Friday, adding that most were men between the ages of 35 and 50 and under the influence of...

Starvation disaster grips Malawi By David Blair, Africa Correspondent (Filed: 17/10/2005) A national disaster has been declared in Malawi where five million people - almost half of the population - are threatened by starvation. Poor rains have produced the worst harvest in more than a decade. President Bingu wa Mutharika broadcast to the country saying: "We are facing a national disaster affecting the lives of our people." He added that the "food crisis has escalated and we need more assistance". The crisis is exacerbated by the Aids epidemic. About 16 per cent of adult Malawians are infected with HIV or...

Tuesday, 26 November, 2002, 22:38 GMTStrike chaos grips France The Paris march was dominated by railway-workersA public sector strike has forced the cancellation of thousands of flights across France in the biggest labour challenge to the centre-right government since its election in June. Air traffic controllers joined postal workers, bus, metro and train drivers, hospital workers and electricity and telephone utility staff in marches through major cities. The government is hearing what is being said but the government is intent on reform Herve Mariton French MP Only one in five flights has been leaving Paris airports with action due to...