Free Republic

NEW YORK-Lauren Bacall tells TIME Tom Cruise is not a great actor. "When you talk about a great actor, you're not thinking about Tom Cruise," Bacall says."His whole behavior is so shocking. It's inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially, but I think it's a kind of sickness."

Some of us in the news media have been hounding President Bush for his shameful passivity in the face of genocide in Darfur. More than two years have passed since the beginning of what Mr. Bush acknowledges is the first genocide of the 21st century, yet Mr. Bush barely manages to get the word "Darfur" out of his mouth. Still, it seems hypocritical of me to rage about Mr. Bush's negligence, when my own beloved institution - the American media - has been at least as passive as Mr. Bush. Condi Rice finally showed up in Darfur a few days...

Paris city hall will not honour Scientologist Cruise Tue Jul 12, 7:42 AM ET The Paris city hall has pledged not to make US actor Tom Cruise an honorary citizen because of his membership of the Church of Scientology. In a debate late Monday, the Socialist-controlled municipal assembly approved a resolution "never to welcome the actor Tom Cruise, spokesman for Scientology and self-declared militant for this organisation." Last month on a promotional tour for his film "War of the Worlds," the 43-year-old star chose the Eiffel Tower to propose to girlfriend Katie Holmes. He was also made an honorary citizen...