Yes, But, However! » France

Nov. 7, 1905: Remote Control Wows Public

Wired — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:30:54 +0000

1905: Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres-Quevedo uses a radio remote controller to operate a boat more than a mile away in the Bilbao estuary. The crowd is amazed. Guglielmo Marconi’s famous wireless demonstration at London’s Toynbee Hall in 1896 used a fixed telegraph-key transmitter to ring a bell attached to a receiver that a colleague carried around [...]

Sept. 22, 1792: Day One of Revolutionary Calendar

Wired — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:20:06 +0000

1792: It’s 1 Vendémiaire of An I in the French Revolutionary Calendar, the first day of fall and the first day of the first month of the first year of the First Republic of France. It’s the day the National Convention proclaimed France a republic, but no one would know about the new system of marking time for another year, when the calendar was imposed retroactively.

Sept. 1, 1939: Wehrmacht Puts the Blitz in Krieg

Wired — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:30:27 +0000

1939: Germany invades Poland, starting the second European war in a generation and introducing the world to a new kind of warfare: blitzkrieg.

Aug. 29, 1965: Long-Distance Calling … Very Long Distance

Wired — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:30:58 +0000

1965: An astronaut in space holds a conversation with an aquanaut underwater, marking another milestone in human communication. Astronaut Gordon Cooper, orbiting the Earth with Pete Conrad in Gemini 5, hooked up by radiotelephone with an old pal, astronaut-turned-aquanaut Scott Carpenter, who was living and working 205 feet beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean near [...]

RIP – MATHILDE AUSSANT

Mitch Mitchell — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:40:25 +0000

EXPIRED: 07/23/11 – Mathilde Aussant, 113, was a twice widowed, former nanny, French supercentenarian who was at the time of her death the oldest verified person in France and the 10th oldest person ever in recorded history. Her only daughter died in 2007, and a year later she was awarded the Medal of the city [...]

Calls For France – Ireland Soccer Rematch Grow

John Romano — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:43:33 +0000

PARIS (LinkParis.com) – If you think American politicians can be stubborn you’ve never met soccer’s world governing body, FIFA. The stodgy, old-school organization has rejected calls for a rematch between France and Ireland after France superstar striker Thierry Henry “stole” a World Cup spot from the Irish on Wednesday night.

Swedish referee Martin Hansson denies the Irish a World Cup berth.

Mr. Henry, by all accounts an honorable player who was once the FIFA player of the year, had this to say about the encounter:

I have said at the time and I will say again that yes I handled the ball, I am not a cheat and never have been. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area. I have never denied that the ball was controlled with my hand. I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game. Naturally, I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalizing goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish.

The Football Association of Ireland made a request for a rematch that was roundly rejected by FIFA. The organization should reconsider. It’s good for soccer, FIFA, France and maybe Ireland. If somehow a rematch does take place we predict a 2-1 win for France.