Free Republic

Photo: Unknown Did you know that America once had an emperor? As ridiculous as this sounds, few heads of state have received burials as regal and solemn as that which took place in San Francisco, on January 10th, 1880. 30,000 people lined the streets, while businesses closed for the day and flags flew at half-mast. Many had shed bitter tears on reading, ‘Le Roi est mort’ – the King is dead. This ‘king’ left an estate worth only $6 when he died – a tramp of madcap appearance, who collapsed on a rain-swept street two days before his funeral,...

If Barack Obama loses next November, we'll look back on Sunday -- July 31, 2011 -- as the day he became a one-termer. He demonstrated the one key quality common to all unsuccessful leaders: Haplessness. In the most confrontational partisan moment of his presidency, Obama ended up looking remarkably powerless. He didn't get his way. To put it mildly. The deal he endorsed on the debt ceiling will long be an object of debate for both right and left. There's so much for everyone to dislike in it that people are lining up to rage against it, even though it...

A small colony of emperor penguins on an island off the West Antarctic Peninsula is gone, and the most likely culprit is loss of sea ice caused by warming. Although it has been predicted that penguins could suffer greatly because of global warming, this is the first time the disappearance of a colony has been documented. The researchers, however, caution that their study is hampered by a lack of long-term information on emperor penguins, both at this site and in general, and their environment. Emperor penguins are regal, if bulky, birds that stand as high as 4 feet (1.2 meters)...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama insisted Thursday he was "furious" about the US oil disaster but that "yelling" would be pointless, as aides rejected claims he had shown insufficient emotion over the crisis. The White House also disputed a media narrative that political trauma over America's worst environmental catastrophe would crimp Obama's agenda, even as doubts grew over his pending trip to Asia this month.

TOKYO — The drizzly weather didn’t dampen the excitement at the annual spring imperial party last month as the royal family strolled along Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace grounds. Mao Asada, the Olympic figure skating silver medalist, was so overwhelmed when Emperor Akihito spoke to her that she managed only to repeatedly reply “yes,” and “thank you very much.” It was a typical reaction that shows the magnetic hold the emperor and empress have over the Japanese people. Missing as usual from the festivities was Crown Princess Masako who suffers from a stress-related disorder that causes anxiety and distress and only occasionally...

Rarely are currency exchange rates as good for the American dollar as that of Asian countries. In Asia, the American dollar carries a lot of clout and with the recent devaluation of the USD; it is a good thing that these countries offer an excellent trip for so little cost to Americans.

By now you have most likely heard the news of President Barack Obama breaking protocol and bowing before the Japanese Emperor Akihito. This is something that U.S. Presidents do not do. It is something that Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Kings of other countries do not do. So why he did it remains a mystery. White house aides say Obama was simply following protocol; however, this is not protocol. It was not a simple bow to show respect, which would require a very slight tilt of the upper body. Instead, Barack Obama who stands 6' 2" practically bowed parallel to the...

President Obama, who nearly prostrated himself before the king of Saudi Arabia last April, has once again bowed low to a monarch — this time, to the emperor of Japan. What to make of this obsequious body language? After the presidential frame went perpendicular before the Saudi royal, the White House at first denied that the president had bowed. He was merely leaning over, Robert Gibbs explained, because the president was “taller than the king.” That might make sense — to anyone who had not seen the video. President Obama bent so far over that he was at eye level...

For some reason, Barack Hussein Obama, 44th President of the United States, bowed to Akihito the Emperor of Japan. And the internet is abuzz! Even some people in the U.K. have dubbed him "Groveller-in-Chief." Why? Because we're not talking about one of those nice polite little 10 degree bows which you've seen Japenese people do on TV. This was a "let me show you how low I can go" type of bow. "Let me show you the back of my head" type of bow. "Let me defer to you because you are superior to me" type of bow. Some may...

Politico: A senior administration official said President Barack Obama was simply observing protocol when he bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko upon arriving at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday.

Surprise, Surprise, none of the major US dailies carry the embarrassing pic of an American President bending in half and stooping so low to a foreign potentate.

Yes 53% (278 votes) No 46% (238 votes) Not sure 1% (4 votes) Total Votes: 520

Archaeologists said Thursday they had unearthed the ruins of a villa believed to be the birthplace of a Roman Emperor who reigned almost 2,000 years ago. Professor Filippo Coarelli, who is leading the dig, said "numerous clues" pointed to the site as the house of Emperor Vespasian, who ruled the Roman Empire from 69 AD to 79 AD. The location of the villa, in the ancient city of Falacrine, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of Rome, was a strong indicator that the site was where the ruler was born, Coarelli added. Vespasian was born in the city, which was lost...

Archeologists say that they have found the underground passage in which the Emperor Caligula was murdered by his own Praetorian Guard to put an end to his deranged reign of terror. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (AD12–AD41), known by his nickname Caligula (Little Boots), was the third emperor of the Roman Empire after Augustus and Tiberius, and like them a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. His assassination was the result of a conspiracy by members of the Senate who hoped to restore the Roman Republic. However the Praetorian Guard declared Caligula’s uncle Claudius emperor instead, thus preserving the monarchy. Maria...

Gold coins of rebel British Emperor uncovered Two rare gold coins of the rebel Roman emperor Carausius have been discovered on a construction site in the Midlands. Gold coins of Carausius are extremely rare. Only 23 are known, and the last was found as long ago as 1975 in Hampshire. Carausius was a Menapian (an ancient Belgian) who commanded the British Fleet (Classis Britannica) operating in the English Channel and the North Sea in the AD 280s. Carausius fell out with reigning emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Hostile sources have it that he was lining his own pocket with plunder recovered...

DALLAS (AP) - The founder of a prestigious institute on media and politics added his voice Saturday to the chorus of complaint over perceived press bias in favor of Democrat Barack Obama...

Gold coins show ‘Emperor of Britain’January 24, 2008 Dalya Alberge Two “extremely important” gold coins that shed light on a little-known rebel Roman emperor from the 3rd century AD have been unearthed by a farmer in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire area. They relate to the Roman commander Carausius, who declared himself Emperor of Britain around 286 or 287 after the Emperor in Rome ordered his execution. He was overthrown in a coup d’état by his finance minister, Allectus, in 293. The coins were handed in to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and moved to the British Museum. The scheme is facing...

Rome, 11 Dec. (AKI) - After decades of restorations, a series of well preserved frescoed rooms dating to the year 30 BC in the Roman Emperor Augustus's house are set to go on display next year in the Italian capital. The rooms are on Rome's Palatine hill, which is one of Rome's original seven hills and from which the word 'palace' is derived. Legend has it that the twin brothers Romulus and Remus founded Rome on the Palatine and its where many Roman emperors had their palaces built. Augustus's rooms were discovered in the late 1970s and were painted in...

French seeking emperor's corpse Last Updated: 1:23am GMT 09/12/2007 He was the last emperor and the first president of France but for 120 years the Emperor Napoleon III's remains have lain in England. Exiled: Napoleon III of France and the Empress Eugénie Now the French want them back. Tomorrow Christian Estrosi, the secretary of state for overseas territories, will arrive in Britain to request the return of the remains of the exiled emperor and his wife, Empress Eugénie, which lie in a crypt in St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire. Mr Estrosi said: "This trip will be for me an...

5 guesses on Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb Qin Shihuang holds a central place in Chinese history for being the first emperor who united the country. He is also well known for his part in the construction of the spectacular Great Wall and his splendid terracotta army. To ensure his rule in the afterlife, this emperor commanded more than 700,000 conscripts from all parts of the country to build him a grand mausoleum as luxurious as any of the palaces he had in mortal life. Legend says that numerous treasures were placed in the tomb. As time passed, no one knew...

From The Times (UK)August 22, 2007 Inside the Emperor’s underground palace Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent It covers an area the size of Cambridge but so far only a tiny proportion of the site of the First Emperor of China’s underground palace for the afterlife has been excavated. Now Chinese archaeologists have used computerised imagery to complete a 3-D reconstruction of the giant tomb that lies 30 metres beneath a mound, with the Qinling mountains in the background. The dramatic imagery has been made available to The Times by the historian John Man, before he publishes pictures and a detailed description...

AP Exclusive: Aztec leader's tomb found By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Sat Aug 4, 3:23 AM ET He was emperor at the apogee of the Aztec civilization, the last to complete his rule before the Spanish Conquest. But Ahuizotl's tomb has never been found. No Aztec ruler's funeral chamber ever has. But Mexican archaeologists believe that has finally changed. Using ground-penetrating radar, they have detected underground chambers that could contain the remains of Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the New World. The find could provide an extraordinary window into Aztec civilization at its peak. Ahuizotl...

Did Hirohito play an active part in planning and conducting the war? Japanese emperor Hirohito expressed doubts about going to war with China in the 1930s and 40s, extracts from a diary of one of his advisers reveal. They show Hirohito was afraid the Soviet Union would intervene. The diary by Kuraji Ogura, who worked as a chamberlain to Hirohito in World War II, was found recently and parts have been published in Japan's media. The full text may help solve the debate about how much responsibility the emperor had for Japan's wartime action. South Pacific visit The document...

"Oh no! It's full of Jews!"

Emperor's treasures found Richard Owen ROME The lost treasure of Maxentius, the last preChristian Roman emperor, has been unearthed by archaeologists. Imperial standards, lances and glass spheres, right, were buried on the Palatine Hill by Maxentius before his battle with Constantine the Great in AD312. Archaeologists believe that he planned to retrieve the treasure if he won. In the event, he and his closest aides were killed, so that no one knew where it was hidden.

Hunting for Hadrian Published on 25/01/2007 HISTORIANS hope to unearth evidence that Roman emperor Hadrian once stayed in a fort along the magnificent wall bearing his name. Archaeologists will be digging along Hadrian’s Wall this summer in an attempt to confirm speculation about why and when it was built. They hope their work at Vindolanda in Northumbria will prove that the emperor once stayed there on a visit to the wall, as well as unlocking secrets about the Roman army and people’s political and social lives. The 73-mile stone barrier – stretching east to west from the River Tyne to...

ROME - Archaeologists have unearthed what they say are the only existing imperial insignia belonging to Emperor Maxentius — precious objects that were buried to preserve them and keep them from enemies when he was defeated by his rival Constantine. Excavation under Rome's Palatine Hill near the Colosseum turned up items including three lances and four javelins that experts said are striking for their completeness — digs usually turn up only fragments — and the fact that they are the only known artifacts of their kind. Clementina Panella, the archaeologist who made the discovery, said the insignia were likely hidden...

The Muslim overreaction to the pope's remarks may go to support his point about Muslim's problems with rationality. Had Pope Benedict XVI omitted the citation of Emperor Manuel II Paleologus's remarks about Prophet Muhammad bringing only what is "evil and inhuman" to the world, a quote he himself admits was "marginal" to his argument, then he would have focused attention on his real offence in that scholarly talk: his shoddy scholarship on Islam.  He would have also permitted a more healthy focus on his central argument, that modern secular rationalism needs to heed the contribution of faith to enable it...

They've laid buried for over a thousand years, their mystery concealed by the compact soil of China’s ancient hinterland. This team of six horses once pulled the two-wheeled Emperor’s cart through the streets of Luoyang in Central China's Henan Province, a city that dates back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which ruled from between 256 BC and 1046. Archaeologists recently excavated the burial and uncovered a treasure trove from a period that saw the introduction of horse back riding, iron, ox-drawn plows and crossbows. Who rode the cart and who owned the charges remains a mystery. "We are not sure...

Archaeologists find terracotta figurines older than those buried with Chinese first emperor Chinese archaeologists have discovered two terracotta figurines dating back to about 2,500 years ago, older than the famous terracotta warriors buried with first Chinese emperor Qinshihuang. The rough-hewn, 10-centimeter tall statues might be the oldest terracotta figurines produced by the Qin State at the beginning of the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC), said some experts. The two figurines were found at the ruins of Yongcheng, an ancient Qin State capital, in northwest Shaanxi Province, according to local media reports. Qin State unified China in 221 BC. Qinshihuang,...

Occupied Jerusalem - Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, the chief justice of Islamic courts in Palestine, denounced in a statement on Wednesday, the anti Islam slogans extremist Jewish settlers of Shafat neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem, scribbled on cars and shops. Tamimi considered that activity a crime that reflects hatred and hostility towards the Arab residents and a flagrant, provocative assault on all Muslims. He called on all Arabs and Muslims to adhere to their religion and defend its sanctity, holding the occupation government accountable for such criminal actions. He also asked it to restrain those extremist groups in order to put...

Do you want to embarass a Japanese? Ask him to sing Japan's national anthem. It is indeed a real sleeper. It is old - no problem with that - but it is also outdated. Its title is Kimigayo. The words can be translated something like - "May you reign for a 1000 happy years Rule on lord/friend/lover till the pebbles by age grow and unite to great rocks with moss all over its strong sides." Doesn't that give you goose bumps? Problem is - it became somewhat of a nationalistic and militaristic anthem, and the lord came to represent the...

Ivory emperor emerges from Forum 'Unique' find probably Marcus Aurelius or Septimius Severus (ANSA) - Rome, November 16 - Italian archaeologists have unveiled the latest major find to emerge from the Roman forum - an ivory statue of an emperor, probably Marcus Aurelius or Septimius Severus . The bust is unique - there are no other examples of statues like this made in ivory . Very few ancient Roman ivory objects have survived to the present day because ivory is a biodegradable material . Those that have not withered away over the last 2,000 years are mostly tomb decorations and...

As regular readers in this column know, my reporting senior and lawful sovereign is His Imperial Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm II. When I finally report in to that great Oberste Heeresleitung in the sky, I expect to do so as the Kaiser’s last soldier. Why? Well, beyond Bestimmung, the unhappy fact is that Western civilization’s last chance of survival was probably a victory by the Central Powers in World War I. Their defeat let all the poisons of the French Revolution loose unchecked, which is the main reason that we now live in a moral and cultural cesspool.

Diet panel OK's bill to rename April 29 'Showa Day' (Kyodo) _ A House of Representatives committee on Friday approved a bill to rename April 29, which is now Greenery Day, as Showa Day to mark the birthday of Emperor Hirohito. A majority of the lower house Cabinet Committee approved the measure as lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito party, and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan voted for it. On Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda acknowledged that people with memories of World War II could have objections to the new name...

(Kyodo) - A majority of a House of Representatives panel on Japan's Constitution has drafted a final report supporting Japan's proposed participation in international cooperation and collective security activities, panel sources said Tuesday. The support is apparently aimed at Japan's participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations mainly based on U.N. resolutions. The draft report also calls for Japan to maintain the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution, the sources said. The report, which will be submitted next month to House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, showed that a majority approved the continued existence of a system that recognizes the...

Japan's Emperor Akihito expressed astonishment and bewilderment yesterday at the behaviour of his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, who has criticised the royal court for stifling his wife. In the clearest sign yet of a serious split in the imperial household, the emperor used his answers to written questions put by journalists on his 71st birthday to reprimand his son. "I was very surprised as it was the first time for me also to hear it, and I asked him to give an explanation to the people," he wrote of the prince's comments. In May, the prince attacked moves within the...

Last Saturday night brought His Imperial Highness Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh of Vietnam, Regent of the Imperial Dynasty and President of the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, to Cornell. The Prince, a member of the Vietnamese imperial family gave a lecture, entitled "Revival of Vietnamese Culture: The Nguyen Dynasty," before a crowd of about 50 people. Maria Nguyen '05, vice president of the Cornell Vietnamese Association sang the American national anthem and then played the national anthem of South Vietnam. Aided by PowerPoint slides, Prince Buu Chanh then began his lecture speaking from a podium draped with the American flag...

The Imperial Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam is politically pressuring the government of Vietnam to protect the liberty, religious rights of the Vietnamese people as well as the culture, traditions, languages of the Montagnards and Khmer Krom in Vietnam. (PRWEB) October 23, 2004 -- Today, Vietnam is experiencing a minor period of outward growth. Even the most dedicated Communists are abandoning old communist economic policies, which have proven to be ineffective and sometimes harmful. Capitalism is being introduced, with the Communist Party maintained only as a vehicle to exercise absolute control of the elite Party leaders over the common people. The...

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese officials rushed on Friday to dismiss suggestions that the emperor overstepped his authority and meddled in government affairs by voicing his opposition to Tokyo schools' policy of compulsory patriotism. Wading into the controversy over patriotism in schools, Emperor Akihito on Thursday said he hoped nobody was being forced to face the flag and sing the national anthem - both potent symbols of Japan's brutal 20th century invasion of Asia. The comments caused a stir in Japan because the post-World War II constitution strictly limits the emperor to acting as a figurehead and bars him from policy-making....

Karl I Beatification Causes Uproar By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria - Some think he's already a saint for seeking a peaceful end to World War I. Others think he's a scoundrel for commanding troops who used poison gas and for mounting two bloody comeback attempts. On Sunday, Pope John Paul II is to beatify Karl I, but the Vatican's decision to put Austria's last reigning emperor on the road to sainthood has triggered a spirited political and religious debate at home. Austria's government has come under fire for its plans to send a high-profile delegation to...

Aurora,IL (PRWEB) September 8, 2004 -- OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - From the Office of the Leadership of the The Imperial Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam & Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League: His Imperial Highness Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh of Vietnam, Regent of the Imperial Nguyen Dynasty and President of The Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League denounces the Communist Government on the return of United States Servicemen MIA or possible POWs’ and Human Rights Record. It has been stated by American Marines and Army Soldiers who are in Vietnam searching for MIA's, that there is corruption within the government of Vietnam. They stated that...

The History Channel is going to air a new historical series entitled DECISIVE BATTLES including some classic wars between ancient Persian armies and Roman and Greek ones. The History Channel goes on location to the actual battlefields and integrates cutting-edge videogame technology to bring history and imagination together in the new series DECISIVE BATTLES. The half-hour series DECISIVE BATTLES premieres Friday, July 23 at 9-9:30pm ET/PT. The series is hosted by Matthew Settle (Band of Brothers) on location at the ancient battlefields and features expert commentary from the world©s foremost historians. DECISIVE BATTLES is unlike any series The History Channel...

Jade Bear-Dragons Corroborate Yellow Emperor Legend For centuries Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor), legendary ruler and ancestor, lived only in the hearts and minds of the Chinese people and in the words of legends written down in antiquity. But in recent years, intriguing new clues have been emerging from the Neolithic Hongshan Culture. Over 5,000 years ago this was to be found in today's Liaoning Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Hongshan is world-famous for its many jade artifacts. Among these, it is the so-called bear-dragons unearthed in recent years that have provided the first hard archaeological evidence to add credence...

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/magazine/19KOREA.html October 19, 2003 The Last Emperor By PETER MAASS The Dear Leader is a workaholic. Kim Jong Il sleeps four hours a night, or if he works through the night, as he sometimes does, he sleeps four hours a day. His office is a hive of activity; reports cross his desk at all hours. Dressed as always in his signature khaki jumpsuit, he reads them all, issuing instructions to aides, dashing off handwritten notes or picking up the phone at 3 a.m. and telling subordinates what should lead the news broadcasts or whom to dispatch to a prison camp....

The Dear Leader is a workaholic. Kim Jong Il sleeps four hours a night, or if he works through the night, as he sometimes does, he sleeps four hours a day. His office is a hive of activity; reports cross his desk at all hours. Dressed as always in his signature khaki jumpsuit, he reads them all, issuing instructions to aides, dashing off handwritten notes or picking up the phone at 3 a.m. and telling subordinates what should lead the news broadcasts or whom to dispatch to a prison camp. His micromanaging style is less Caligula, with whom he has...

When You Run Out of Ideas... by Doc Farmer I've been racking my brain for the past hour, trying to come up with ideas for my next column. I know I'll have to create something funny, pithy, humorous, and witty because that's what my editor wants. And from what I've been able to gather, that seems to be what the readers want as well. Man, the pressure! It's hard to come up with new stuff all the time, so those of you who think that writing is an easy gig can think again. Sometimes it's really simple--something interesting (or annoying)...

China to remote sense mysterious tomb of first emperor Xinhuanet 2002-12-13 11:27:09 �@BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese scientists and archaeologists will survey the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang (259 BC-210 BC), the first emperor of China's feudal dynasties, using remote sensing and geophysical techniques in a bid to unravel the historical mystery, the China Daily reported Friday. �@�@As a key project of the National High Technology Research and Development Program, the survey is by far the most comprehensive research ever on the mausoleum and set to end by Sept. 2003, the newspaper said. �@�@"We will use aerial remote sensing and...