DAILY STATISTICS HERE

Happy Independence Day to all my US friends

📍 Did you know? 🇺🇸 : By an extraordinary coincidence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the only two signatories of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as presidents of the United States, both died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, another Founding Father who was elected as president, also died on July 4, 1831, making him the third President who died on the anniversary of independence. The only U.S. president to have been born on Independence Day was Calvin Coolidge, who was born on July 4, 1872.

📍 And on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

For all the fact that the congressmen got around the sticky problem of Black and Indigenous enslavement by defining “men” as “white men,” and for all that it never crossed their minds that women might also have rights, the Declaration of Independence was an astonishingly radical document. In a world that had been dominated by a small class of rich men for so long that most people simply accepted that they should be forever tied to their status at birth, a group of upstart legislators clinging to the edge of a continent declared that no man was born better than any other. America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal.

© Heather Cox Richardson

▫️ NEWSDESK

📖 3006 CASES IN 24 HOURS: 6th DAY OF CONTINUING INCREASE

While the number of patients hospitalised for Covid continues to fall, the number of new cases is again on the rise in France. And the trend is now clear. This is the sixth consecutive day of increased cases compared to the previous week. Compared to last Saturday, the number of new cases has even increased by 41%.

📖 NARBONNE: fire in the Massif de la Clape, 250 hectares burnt and a campsite evacuated

The flames spread further south from the initial focus, on the hill above Narbonne-Plage, towards Gruissan. “Three estates were evacuated, including Rouquette and Pech Rouge and the Soleil d’Oc campsite, with a total of 150 people evacuated by the gendarmerie. The difficulty lies in the fact that the wind is constantly changing” explains Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Felten of the SDIS.
The aerial means are also important: 6 canadairs, 3 dash, a water bomber helicopter carried out 90 drops, in addition to the command helicopter.

▫️ LOTTERY

It is not often that I praise what’s happening in the US, maybe because today is their National Day (Independence Day) I shall make an exception.

I came across this article in the local Otsego (Michigan) headlines which I tend to read on-line on a regular basis which reports that in order to entice people to receive the anti-Covid vaccine they have created a lottery called the Michigan Shot to Win. Apparently it is quite a success (see below):

I think it might even work in France

▫️ FOOD AND DRINKS

Went to “Les Halles” late yesterday afternoon. Best time of the day, hardly anybody around and the shelves are fully loaded. Excellent place for vegetables and fruits.

Found what I was really looking for

▫️ TRAVEL NEWS

I have decided to keep the Posting as short as possible to create a Page within the Blog where all the travel news will be posted. I have already copied and pasted the existing information. The link to the page can be found in the Blog’s heading as shown below.

▫️   MUSIC

Meanwhile in Germany, my friend Carlos celebrated yesterday his 12 years as manager of my favorite pub with a typical German band.

▫️   SATIRE

▫️ NEWS FROM ACROSS THE POND 🇺🇸

▫️  ADDITIONAL READS FOR TODAY

✏️ AirCar prototype completes its first inter-city flight