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A marvelous painting of a gourmand at his table hangs in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris — a portly, pink-faced figure happily gorging on a regal casserole, with a bottle of wine at one elbow and a luscious-looking soufflé at the other. It is traditionally believed to be a portrait of Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent Grimod de la Reynière, an aristocrat notorious in Napoleonic France for gratifying his palate with the same abandon as his contemporary the Marquis de Sade showed in indulging carnal desires. Whether or not the painting is actually Grimod’s likeness, it captures the eccentric, omnivorous spirit that made him...

Napoleon famously crowned himself Emperor of France and its conquered European empire, which he was trying to spread to Russia, Britain and Egypt, in its brief moment of grandeur. I'm wondering if Obama also crowned himself Nobel Laureate right after the US election. That would fit his vainglorious persona and his famished ego, always hungry for more and more applause. Just wait till we see his Nobel PC Address being televised around the world. America is too little for Zero. Obama obviously thinks of himself as a Man of Destiny, like Napoleon and quite a few other Saviors on Horseback....

It's hard work looking like an imposing statesman when you're only 5ft 5in. Nicolas Sarkozy has resorted to standing on a box and even rising on to his tiptoes to disguise his height - or rather the lack of it. But for a televised speech at a major industrial plant, the French President and his aides were taking no chances. They found 20 of the site's shortest workers to stand behind Mr Sarkozy as he delivered the keynote address. They were bussed in from all over the Faurecia motor technology plant near Caen in Normandy after aides made sure none...

Bombing exercise 'caused fires' Dozens of homes destroyed Authorities angry at military MILITARY bombing practice has caused one of France's worst fires for three years which continues to rage on the eastern outskirts of Marseille. The fire has burnt dozens of homes but claimed no victims. The wildfire was caused by military practice shelling which hit the eastern Trois-Ponts suburb of the southern city forcing the evacuation of scores of residents. "There are a few dozen houses burnt in the Trois-Ponts district but there are no victims," fire brigade spokesman Samuel Champon said. "There are more homes threatened than vehicles...

Born on the French island colony of Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte admired the American Revolution and wrote of George Washington: "His cause is that of humanity." But he modeled his reign after the Roman emperors', appropriating their imagery, pursuing European domination, and sponsoring great public works projects, a new legal code and a classical renaissance in the arts. Drawn from the extraordinary collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, the exhibition "Napoléon" is rich in objects denoting Napoleon's imperial ambitions and stature: the gilded bronze sword used, in 1804, to proclaim him emperor; a red velvet coronation foot cushion embroidered with bees, his favorite...

> Even as the Russians retreated before him in disarray, Napoleon found his army disappearing, his frantic doctors powerless to explain what had struck down a hundred thousand soldiers. The emperor’s vaunted military brilliance suddenly seemed useless, and when the Russians put their own occupied capital to the torch, the campaign became a desperate race through the frozen landscape as troops continued to die by the thousands. Through it all, with tragic heroism, Napoleon’s disease-ravaged, freezing, starving men somehow rallied, again and again, to cries of “Vive l’Empereur!” >

According to an article in the New York Daily News of April 11, Mayor Mike Bloomberg has now secured the support of the county chair of the Bronx Borough Republican Party. New York election laws permit an independent (or a member of another party) to run in a party primary for Mayor of New York City, if that candidate gets permission to run from 3 of the 5 boroughs of the city. Bloomberg had already been endorsed for re-election this year by the leaders of the Brooklyn and Staten Island Republican Parties. Bloomberg has been a registered independent since late...

I fear that the French are wasting their time. The problem is that every time they look at Waterloo they say that Napoleon won on points. Napoleon’s army was the best he had commanded since he advanced into Russia – an army of veterans, 200,000 strong. Wellington referred to his force as “an infamous army”. My predecessor, David Chandler, who wrote the definitive account of Napoleon’s campaigns, said that the Emperor’s idea had been to get between the Prussians and the British. “I will defeat the British and the Prussians, then the Austrians, then the Russians, and Europe will be...

Battle for the £4 million sea fortress By Richard Savill Last Updated: 1:36am GMT 07/03/2008 With armour-plated walls rising defiantly from the sea, No Man's Land Fort has held out against invaders since it was built to repel Napoleon III 150 years ago. Now, however, the Solent fortress is under siege for the first time and could be facing its most determined enemy yet - estate agents. The fort, which has been converted into a hotel, has been put on the market by administrators. However, Harmesh Pooni, 42, who claims he is the rightful owner of the Grade II-listed building,...

The biggest political story recently in the Spanish-speaking world has been a confrontation in Chile between the king of Spain and President Hugo Chavez, a democratically-elected Venezuelan demagogue who will soon try to circumvent his country's constitution to become dictator for life. Mr. Chavez also has become the mouthpiece of a small axis of Latin American leaders...who advocate Marxist socialism and virulent anti-Americanism... ...Chavez kept on with his harangue until a man seated next to Mr. Zapatero leaned forward, pointed his finger at Mr. Chavez, and said "Why don't you shut up?" This man was the Spanish head of state,...

{Karl Rove: Bush's Napoleon} {Like the French emperor in Russia, Rove's villainy is caused mostly by his failure to quit after his high note in 2004.} There's an old maxim that if Napoleon had been struck by a cannon ball on his way toward Moscow, he would be remembered as an unrivaled military genius and liberator. But Napoleon overstayed history's welcome and was treated harshly for it, first by the Russians and Mother Nature, then by his own people and, ultimately, by the historians. In this and other respects, Karl Rove strikes me as a Napoleonic figure. He won an...

FONTAINEBLEAU, France --A gold-encrusted sword Napoleon wore into battle in Italy 200 years ago was sold Sunday for more than $6.4 million, an auction house said. The last of Napoleon's swords in private hands, it has an estimated value of far less -- about $1.6 million, according to the Osenat auction house managing the sale. Applause rang out in a packed auction hall across the street from one of Napoleon's imperial castles in Fontainebleau, a town southeast of Paris, when the sword was sold. Osenat did not identify the buyer, but said the sword will remain in Napoleon's family, which...

FONTAINEBLEAU, France - After more than 200 years in the family, the gold-encrusted sword Napoleon carried into battle in Italy will be auctioned off Sunday, across the street from one of his imperial castles. The intricately decorated blade is 32 inches long and curves gently — an inspiration Napoleon drew from his Egyptian campaign, auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat said. "He noticed that the Arab swords, which were curved, were very effective in cutting off French heads" and ordered an imitation made upon his return, Osenat explained. The last of Napoleon's swords in private hands, it has an estimated value of at...

A new Napoleonic campaign is under way in France - but this time the great-great-grandnephew of Napoleon Bonaparte is trying to get elected. Charles Napoleon, 57, is running for the Democratic Movement party. It was founded by centrist Francois Bayrou, who ran in the presidential race. "I have a life beyond my name and inheritance," he insists. Two centuries ago the emperor Napoleon led French armies into battle. Charles hopes for a seat in parliament. "I stand behind my name, but I'm also careful never to hide my own values," he says. The parliamentary election will take place in two...

One filing cabinet held 500 years of history By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent Last Updated: 2:09am BST 04/06/2007 One of the greatest collections of historical letters ever amassed has been found in a laundry room. A Winston Churchill letter is valued at £10,000 Susannah Morris was called in to examine the hoard after the death of the secretive collector and was astonished to be led not into a library or a safe room but to the basement. In the laundry room, wedged between a washing machine and a tumble dryer, was a plain metal filing cabinet. Miss Morris, who works...

Source: University of Haifa Released: Mon 05-Mar-2007, 08:45 ET Ship Excavation Sheds Light on Napoleon's Attack on the Holy Land A ship that sunk off the coast of Acre during the battles between Napoleon and the British Royal navy is still shrouded in mystery. Marine archaeologists from the University of Haifa are analyzing the hull and the finds in an effort to solve the mystery. Steve Breitstein Marine archaeology excavations off the coast of Acre Newswise — Which navy commissioned the boat that sunk off the coast of Acre 200 years ago, which battles was it involved in and how...

NEW YORK - Napoleon Bonaparte died a more prosaic death than some people would like to think, succumbing to stomach cancer rather than arsenic poisoning, according to new research into what killed the French emperor. Theories that Napoleon was poisoned with arsenic have abounded since 1961, when an analysis of his hair showed elevated levels of the toxic element. But the latest review of the 1821 autopsy report just after he died concludes the official cause of death — stomach cancer — is correct. The autopsy describes a tumor in his stomach that was 4 inches long. Comparing that description...

UT Southwestern Medical Center Date: January 16, 2007 Napoleon's Mysterious Death Unmasked Science Daily — A new investigation into Napoleon Bonaparte's cause of death might finally put to rest nearly 200 years of lingering mysteries about the illness that killed the French emperor during his island exile, a UT Southwestern Medical Center scientist reports. Dr. Robert Genta, professor of pathology and internal medicine, helped investigate the cause of Napoleon Bonaparte's death nearly 200 years ago by applying modern pathological and tumor-staging methods to historical accounts. (Image courtesy of UT Southwestern Medical Center) American, Swiss and Canadian researchers applied modern pathological...

Flight Lands In Newark After Dynamite Found In Luggage POSTED: 2:41 pm EDT August 25, 2006 UPDATED: 3:05 pm EDT August 25, 2006 HOUSTON -- A college student's checked luggage on a Continental Airlines flight to Houston from Argentina on Friday contained dynamite, and federal authorities are investigating why he had it and what he intended to do with it, an FBI spokeswoman said. "Certainly we are doing a thorough investigation and trying to find out what this individual's intention was in trying to bring dynamite here," FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said Friday. The dynamite was found during a luggage...

But we Americans seem to have short memories. What else could explain the fact that we, generally speaking, so-often lambaste the French, calling them “cowards” for not allying themselves fully with us in every instance? We constantly throw in their faces the fact that we came to their rescue in World Wars I and II. And we’ve all heard the jokes: “Surplus French military rifles for sale. Never fired. Dropped once.”

VADUZ, Liechtenstein - Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein can see almost his entire realm from the castle — mountain ridge to mountain ridge and down to the capital below. In a Europe of nations coming together in a vast continental superstate, Liechtenstein is a quirk of history that harks back to an older world — of separateness, neutrality and sharp survival instincts. Created by Napoleon in 1806, it has managed to avoid the upheaval of the past century to celebrate its bicentennial, starting Wednesday, in peace and prosperity. This wedge of central Europe is no fairy tale kingdom, however,...

This Day In History | General Interest NAPOLEON DEFEATED AT WATERLOO: June 18, 1815 At Waterloo in Belgium, Napoleon Bonaparte suffers defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history. Beginning in 1812, Napoleon began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War, and enduring total defeat against an allied force by 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean, he escaped to France in early 1815 and...

The sound and smell of the brutal cannon barrages at the Battle of Fredericksburg must have been overwhelming. The deep, rich booming of the 12-pound, smoothbore Napoleons. The high-pitched "crack, crack" of Parrott rifles. And the acrid, sulfuric stench of black powder at each explosion. "A chicken could not live on that field when we open on it," said a Confederate cannoneer atop Marye's Heights to Lt. Gen. James Longstreet as they looked down upon advancing wave after wave of blue-coated Union soldiers. Soon, visitors to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park will get a taste of what it...

Decatur is best known for his 1816 toast to the nation at a dinner party in his honor. Raising his glass, he said, “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country right or wrong.” ... Then there are those like Hollywood film star George Clooney and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy who today have their own takes on Decatur’s words.

“If we [every man and woman living in America today] don’t understand the enemy we are fighting and the actual nature of this conflict, we have little likelihood of surviving this war, let alone prevailing in it,” he writes. But Gaffney and his contributors don’t just make sweeping if-then statements. They boil down the complexities of our enemy in a fashion that can be quickly and easily digested by all of us who need to know.

Vilnius, venerable capital of Lithuania, is sometimes called 'the city built on human bones'. It stands in the main Berlin to Moscow corridor, which for over 200 years has been the battlefields of the armies of Napoleon, the Tsars of Russia, Hitler and Stalin, as well as Poles and Prussians - hence its sinister description. 'Thousands of skeletons were discovered there, laid out neatly in layers.' Early in 2002, while bulldozing some ugly Soviet barracks on the outskirts of Vilnius, municipal workers uncovered a mass grave. Thousands of skeletons were discovered there, laid out neatly in layers. Where did these...

THE history books say that after reaching Moscow in 1812, Napoleon's army was laid low by the Russian winter and then finished off by hunger, battle wounds and low morale as it straggled back to France. The truth, say scientists, is more intriguing but rather less poetic: the biggest destroyer of the Grande Armee was Pediculus humanus -- the human louse. A team led by Didier Raoult of France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) examined the remains of Napoleon's soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, 800km west of Moscow. Samples of...

On August 26, 1805, a post chaise left the town of Mainz and rolled east toward the Rhine River. Inside the carriage sat a man, 6 English feet in height, with black corkscrew curls tumbling over his suit collar, dark flashing eyes and a black mustache. He had a handsome face, marred only by a scar on his lower jaw, the result of a bullet wound. In his hands he held a book by Marshal Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, comte de Belle-Isle, describing the French campaign in Bohemia in 1742. On the man's passports was the name Colonel de Beaumont....

<p>Niall Ferguson: Ghost of Napoleon haunts Tony Blair The divergence of Britain from the Continent can be traced to Bonaparte's greatest victory 200 years ago -- and his enduring legacy.</p> <p>IT IS IN Book III of "War and Peace" that Tolstoy memorably describes the Battle of Austerlitz — "the battle of the three emperors" — the 200th anniversary of which fell on Friday. This was the greatest victory of Napoleon Bonaparte's career. At the time, it seemed far more important than his navy's defeat at Trafalgar two months before. Its consequences are still with us.</p>

 The divergence of Britain from the Continent can be traced to Bonaparte's greatest victory 200 years ago -- and his enduring legacy.IT IS IN Book III of "War and Peace" that Tolstoy memorably describes the Battle of Austerlitz — "the battle of the three emperors" — the 200th anniversary of which fell on Friday. This was the greatest victory of Napoleon Bonaparte's career. At the time, it seemed far more important than his navy's defeat at Trafalgar two months before. Its consequences are still with us. By routing the combined armies of Austria and Russia, Austerlitz enabled Napoleon literally to...

France's president and prime minister were absent from ceremonies in Paris on Friday marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz. In 1805, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte crushed a Russian-Austrian army on land that is now the Czech Republic. Officials are quoted as saying that President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin had never planned to attend. The controversy follows recent violence in France's suburban ethnic ghettos. It also coincides with a wider debate about the country's identity and role in Europe and the world. Groups representing the inhabitants of several French overseas territories have strongly criticised what...

Napoleon Bonaparte's tooth, which was troublesome and pulled out in 1817, is up for auction, and it is probably set to fetch much more than what a tusk goes for. According to the Sun, Napoleon's 'boney part' could fetch a price as high as 8000 pounds. The tooth, extracted during his exile after defeat at Waterloo, is being sold at Swindon, Wilts, next week, said the paper. Napoleon was held on St Helena, in the South Atlantic, after Waterloo.

With the sun setting over this faded port city, Queen Elizabeth II lit a beacon Friday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Britain's Royal Navy defeated the French and Spanish fleets and cemented its naval supremacy for the next century. Bells tolled aboard British vessels around the world and wreaths were laid at the site of the decisive battle just off Cape Trafalgar in southwestern Spain. In the nearby port of Cadiz, descendants of sailors who fought in the battle joined military leaders to pay homage to the 7,000 who died in the fighting....

Who wrote the following lines of hope about Egypt's future: "What could be made of that beautiful country in 50 years of prosperity and good government!" If you guessed Gamal Abdel Nasser or Hosni Mubarak, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, or any contemporary figure for that matter, you would be wrong. It was Napoleon Bonaparte almost two centuries ago. The time span designated by Bonaparte has come and gone four times, yet Egypt's potential remains unfulfilled. Even more shockingly, the process has still not even begun. That does not mean nothing has changed or can change, but it certainly...

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Italian archaeologist has discovered the remains of 30 British troops dating as far back as a decisive naval battle in 1798 between France and Britain off Egypt's north coast, the British Embassy said on Wednesday. Archaeologist Paolo Gallo discovered the bodies on an island in Abu Qir bay, east of Alexandria, where British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's French fleet in the Battle of the Nile. Gallo had been excavating the island for Greek-Roman artefacts when he discovered the remains of the 30 British sailors and soldiers, some dating to the 1798 battle and others...

      PRESTON, Idaho — Talk to a Preston resident for any length of time and you're likely to hear the town's new mantra:       "There's a little bit of Napoleon in all of us," says lifelong resident Thedora Petterborg. "Who hasn't felt like that once in a while?"       It's been several months since Napoleon Dynamite became America's favorite nerd. The movie, written and directed by freshman filmmaker Jared Hess and based in Preston, was a surprise success, grossing $44.5 million in the United States and gaining near cult status with December's release on...

It is now disturbingly clear that French President Jacques Chirac's low opinion of America and American foreign policy is due not to any philosophical disagreement or even an inherent Gallic moodiness, but is essentially a gutless response to bullying and intimidation by his country’s Muslim minority and their allies of the intellectual left. Just last month the French president told the BBC that he was "not at all sure" the world has become safer after the removal of Saddam Hussein. No other European leader could possibly spout such gibberish and expect to be taken seriously. The world not safer after...

KRAKOW, Poland, Nov 28 (AFP) - Few people, apart from the French of course, have taken Napoleon Bonaparte as much to to their hearts as the Poles. He promised them their independence at a time when the country was partitioned among Austria, Prussia and Russia, and even though he never properly kept his word, the Poles flocked to his side. In 1812, no fewer than 100,000 Poles fought in Napoleon's Grand Army of half a million men -- the largest national contingent after the French. A new exhibition here coinciding with the bicentenary of Napoleon's first empire and entitled "Napoleon...

PARIS, Nov 25, 2004 (AFP) - France approaches the bicentennial of Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation next week with both embarrassment and fascination for a legend that weighs heavy, especially with its European partners.         "The republic (of France) is still embarrassed by Napoleon. It owes him so much that it dares not speak about. It's too proud and too weak at the same time to do so," Steven Englund, a US historian living in France, told AFP.     Indeed, events for December 2 to mark the coronation of the diminutive emperor will barely leave the confines of the museums.     An exception is...

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. --In history-challenged America, the French and Indian War is that brief grade school lesson between the pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock and the Shot Heard `Round the World. To get a grasp on the nation's birth, however, Americans must first realize how the war triggered the events leading to the American Revolution, said Fred Anderson, professor of history at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "If you start thinking about American history with the Revolution, you lose the fact that that's really the midpoint of American history," he said. "If you lose what comes before that, then you...

2004 GOP Primary EndorsementsU.S. Senate - John McCain sure has a lot of sympathies for liberal and Democrat causes and office holders. He has opposed almost everything conservatives hold dear. This summer alone, he has defended Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and has sided with homosexual activists over those who would defend traditional marriage. Recommendation: NONE

Act Now in Five States! See Below! What Are You Doing to Stop Same-sex "Marriage?” Have you done all you can to stop same-sex "marriage" from entering your town? Many excellent initiatives are underway to uphold traditional marriage. You can now participate in these efforts!As part of its Traditional Marriage Crusade, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) is working to get state marriage amendments on ballots across the country. The TFP is also setting up a page on its web site that will list many of the efforts to defend traditional marriage.In addition, the...

Court upholds sentence in Jesse Dirkhising caseMan convicted in homosexual rape, murder of 13-year-old boy keeps 25-year prison term Posted: September 21, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern By Jon Dougherty© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld the 25-year sentence of a man convicted of the homosexual rape and murder of a 13-year-old boy. The state's highest court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling which said a pair of statements made to police in September 1999 by Joshua Macabe Brown shortly after his arrest should not be thrown out. Earlier, Benton County Circuit Judge David S. Clingler ruled although he had ''serious...

The state attorney general's office says those with concealed weapons permits can carry handguns into any city park in Arkansas, unless the park acts to ban them. Attorney General Mike Beebe was asked to clarify the new state law allowing permit holders to carry concealed weapons into parks and restaurants. North Little Rock city attorney Paul Suskie questioned whether Arkansas criminal code already prohibits firearms in city parks. A new law that took effect in mid-July makes concealed weapons permissible in parks and restaurants, but gives cities the ability to ban them. The attorney general's opinion says the new law's...

We have just returned to Budge's house to do the FReep report because there is a lot of information to report. In attendance were Budge, Travelgirl, The Battman, parsifal, Don Frivoinai, sweetliberty, and another FReeper who, for reasons you will come to understand shortly, needs to remain anonymous until after the election. We arrived at Budge's around noon to get everything set up for the maiden FReep of the Arkansas Hog Wild FReepers and the FReepmobile. We got to the site around quarter after 1 and finished up some signs and headed over to the convention center to await the...

All Four StanzasBy Isaac Asimov I have a weakness--I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem.The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time.I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem--all four stanzas.This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud...

One of the most overpowering masterpieces in the Musee du Louvre in Paris is "The Crowning of Napoleon." The 979-meter-wide, 621-meter-long painting almost covers one side of a gallery, and each character featured in the painting is vivid and lively. It took three years for Jacques-Louis David, one of the notable neoclassical painters of the 19th century, to reproduce the scene of the coronation of the Emperor Napoleon that was held in Notre Dame in 1804. Interestingly, the painting does not depict Napoleon receiving the crown from the pope. Instead, Napoleon, who wears a laurel wreath crown, presents his wife,...

"What couldn't be fulfilled under the rule of Napoleon I can be fulfilled by Wilhelm II," Theodor Herzl wrote in a letter to Kaiser Wilhelm II in March 1899. Herzl's statements, quoted in a new book by an Israeli scholar, appear to support the claims of those who view Napoleon Bonaparte as the harbinger of the Zionist Movement. But Napoleon's Zionist notions met an untimely death, due, in no small part, to the English and Napoleon himself. The brief romance took place during then French general's military campaign in the Middle East. In the summer of 1798, he conquered Egypt;...

America's New Agenda Paul Craig Roberts Thursday, Nov. 27, 2003 Are the consequences of the U.S. invasion of Iraq likely to be a secular, democratic Middle East and a victory over terrorism, as the Bush administration claims? Or has the Bush administration embarked on an adventure with unintended consequences beyond its imagination? Hegemonic powers are not immune from miscalculation. When Napoleon marched his Grand Army into Russia, he overlooked that defeating Russia was different from seizing its capital, and that wintering in distant Moscow would give his European enemies ample opportunity to plot against him. In his haste to return...