Free Republic

'The artists of the country are the people you need to communicate with and make a relationship with and learn from and build upon. So I absolutely don't believe in the boycott, and here I am.' Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren said Wednesday she was a "believer" in Israel and rejected efforts to boycott it. Mirren showered Israeli artists with praise and said she opposed both the efforts by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott them and the decision of some international artists to shun Israel. "I think that art is an incredibly important way of communication," she said at a press event...

ESPN has damaged the credibility of the Arthur Ashe “ESPY” Courage Award by planning to give the award to reality show actor Bruce Jenner for what appears to be nothing more than an elaborate publicity stunt. Jenner claims he’s now a female character called “Caitlyn” but admits he hasn’t had, and doesn’t plan to have, an operation to change his body from male to female....I might let him get away with this farce if there weren’t much better qualified candidates for the award.

462 100 1 According to the Washington Times, supporters of Lauren Hill are so upset that Bruce Jenner was chosen over her for ESPN’s Arthur Ashe Award for Courage that they started selling t-shirts that have a picture of the teen with the words, “The Real MVP” and “Thank You Lauren” at the bottom. Lauren had a very deadly form of brain cancer known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which is a pediatric cancer found at the base of the brain. Unfortunately, less than 10% of DIPG children will live longer than 18 months from diagnosis. Doctors told Hill...

Lauren Hill spent her final year polishing a layup and inspiring others to live fully. She succeeded at both as she fought an inoperable brain tumor. The 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University died at a hospital Friday morning, the co-founder of her nonprofit foundation told The Associated Press. "Through Lauren's fundraising and advocacy efforts, she not only became a spotlight on the lack of funding for cancer research, but she most certainly has become a beacon guiding researchers for years to come," The Cure Starts Now co-founder Brooke Desserich said.

Doctors discovered an inoperable tumor growing at the base of Hill's brain stem last year and diagnosed her with DIPG, a rare, inoperable pediatric brain tumor that kills 90 percent of victims within 18 months. Fearful that Hill wouldn't be strong enough to fulfill her goal of playing college basketball for the first time, the Indiana native's parents asked Mount St. Joseph to petition to have its Nov. 15 season opener moved up — a request the NCAA granted in October. Ten thousand fans packed the Cintas Center at Xavier University and a national TV audience watched from home as...