Free Republic

From the moment the Sun King arose from his sumptuous gold bed, aligned with the rising sun at the centerpiece of his beloved Versailles, the château was alive with activity. The life of every courtier, minister, lovely lady, doctor, and cook was finely tuned to the rituals of the King, his dressing, shaving, dining, meetings, and evening comedie, dancing or appartement when the halls were flooded with light and the courtiers played billiards, gambled, and ate sweets. Living under a pretense of usefulness to Louis XIV and the government of France, the courtiers were largely a source of amusement...

MADRID, Spain (3 Apr 2007) -- In February 1694, British admiral Francis Wheeler set sail from the Bay of Gibraltar with an important mission. He was to bring a large sum of money to the Duke of Savoy in order to buy his loyalty and to ensure victory in Britain's ongoing war against France's Sun King Louis XIV. But when the HMS Sussex arrived in the Strait of Gibraltar, it was hit by a violent storm, and Wheeler struggled in vain to save it. The 50-metre warship went down with more than 500 men, 80 cannons and an estimated 10...

Flush with success in passing his economic bill in the House of Representatives, Barack Obama postures a parallel to FDR during the Depression. More striking is Obama’s parallel to France’s Louis XIV (1638-1715). (snip) ....... A mercantilist who believed in government, not entrepreneurship, Louis gave special treatment to select industries to decrease dependence on foreign goods. Lobbying and palace intrigue became the primary means to special favors.

NKorean army to take over if Kim dies without heir: report Tue Dec 19, 2:23 AM ET North Korea's powerful army is likely to seize power should leader Kim Jong-Il die without having a successor firmly in place, according to a report commissioned by South Korea's parliament. The research paper, seen Tuesday, said that even though the army could step in after his death, Kim is not likely to face a coup during his lifetime. "If Kim Jong-Il dies, the highest possibility is that the military may take power," said the 100-page report commissioned by the parliament's intelligence committee. Under...