Free Republic

Language changes. This cannot be denied. Due to one person's brave words we have a new change to our lexicon. Sheryl Crow, the 'one square wonder' has single handedly wiped the way clear the future of our communication. For instance; when things are getting shakey at work you should state that if everyone doesn't work together the "Crow's really gonna hit the fan." When someone startles you, tell them you nearly "Crowed your pants." Suppose you are playing poker. Your friend fails to disguise his glee at the hand you dealt to him. While holding your chips closer than your...

Paris is less attractive for international financial companies than London partly because of French attitudes to business, according to a leading US investment banker. “London made it very attractive for people to come there and work there, and I think in France, quite frankly, attitudes exist that cause people to shy away from that part of the world in terms of being a financial centre,” ... Mr Perella pointed to concerns about “raids” on international companies by the French tax authorities. “There have been a lot of stories ...of raids into people’s homes and offices to seize their computers to...

Members of the Greater Baltimore Junior College Anarchists Club preempt counter protesters by throwing themselves in the trash. (AP photo) Singer/activist Jackson Browne, left, holds up a self portrait to protest the war while Santa Claus, right, asks an AP reporter for some smokes. The Reverend Jesse Jackson keeps a watchful eye out for activist Cindy Sheehan, explaining that he was "mauled" by her at the last anti-war rally and would rather not have it happen again. Putting on his angriest face, Georgetown senior Matt LeDeuce declares that if the outlaw Jesse James were alive today, he would be...

But we Americans seem to have short memories. What else could explain the fact that we, generally speaking, so-often lambaste the French, calling them “cowards” for not allying themselves fully with us in every instance? We constantly throw in their faces the fact that we came to their rescue in World Wars I and II. And we’ve all heard the jokes: “Surplus French military rifles for sale. Never fired. Dropped once.”

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered government and cultural bodies to use modified Persian words to replace foreign words that have crept into the language, such as "pizzas" which will now be known as "elastic loaves," state media reported Saturday. The presidential decree, issued earlier this week, orders all governmental agencies, newspapers and publications to use words deemed more appropriate by the official language watchdog, the Farhangestan Zaban e Farsi, or Persian Academy, the Irna official news agency reported. The academy has introduced more than 2,000 words as alternatives for some of the foreign words that have...

When I was growing up in Bellflower, Ca., I never, as a child with a good imagination, could have ever imagined that my life would take the peculiar turn that it has. I could not have foreseen giving birth to a child that would eventually be wrongfully and devastatingly killed in war or that I would be meeting with world leaders or be nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. Along with the Vice President of Spain, Foreign Minister of Ireland, Attorney General of Australia and countless parliamentarians from all over the globe, one of the world leaders that I have...

IRAN: TEXT MESSAGE TELLS PRESIDENT HE SHOULD WASH MORE Tehran, 14 April (AKI) - Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has apparently been incensed by an anonymous text message suggesting he does not wash enough. Ahmadinejad has taken legal action over the offending text, has fired the president of a phone company and has had four people arrested and accused of colluding with the Israeli foreign intelligence service, Mossad, the anti-government website Rooz Online reports. Poking fun at the president, the regime's senior figures and its policies, has reportedly become a national pastime in Iran. The Iranian authorities are paying particular...

As part of Fidel and Raúl Castro's inner circle, Delfín Fernández learned titillating secrets -- everything from why the Cuban leader incinerates his dirty underwear to his cravings for pricey Spanish ham. Oh, Fidel's former gofer confirms, too, the heftier ''secrets'' that Cuba experts have talked about for years: how the brothers assemble dossiers on foreign businessmen who want to invest in Cuba, for instance. It's Fernández's knowledge about Fidel Castro's dirty laundry, though -- literally and figuratively -- that has made him a cause célbre in South Florida. No detail about the Castro brothers seems too small for sharing...

Tel Aviv synagogue manager nearly stabbed after commenting on smell of visitor's socks A manager of a Tel Aviv synagogue was nearly stabbed over the weekend after commenting on a person's smelly socks, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday. Police received a telephone call Thursday night from a synagogue which serves evening meals to homeless and needy people every evening. The police officers who were dispatched to the scene were told by the synagogue's manager that a person had arrived at the synagogue wearing stinking socks. "I told him he is always welcome to come and eat with us...

President Bush has run for President three times. In 2000 he ran for President. He won. In 2002, he bet his Presidency on a GOP return to control of the Senate. He won. In 2004, he fought his critics and he won again. Liberals are making a huge mistake if they think President Bush will be the death of the GOP in 2006. In 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005 many conservatives pondered at the weak response from the Bush team. We were angered at the inability of the Bush team to get their act together and fight their critics head...

FINALLY it’s official. The French DO smell. After generations of jibes about hygiene over the Channel, a study yesterday revealed nine out of ten French people do NOT wash regularly. That means that out of a population of 60.5million, more than 54million risk being whiffy. Shockingly, 2.5million NEVER shower or bath while 1.8million NEVER brush their teeth. The French do spend between 48 and 56 minutes in the bathroom each day — but much of that is applying cosmetics. Nine out of ten French women and half of the men regularly apply perfume and cosmetics. A third spend time in...

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate Bastille Day

Gay Men Respond Differently to Pheromones By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Gay men's brains respond differently from those of heterosexual males when exposed to a sexual stimulus, researchers have found. The homosexual men's brains responded more like those of women when the men sniffed a chemical from the male hormone testosterone. "It is one more piece of evidence ... that is showing that sexual orientation is not all learned," said Sandra Witelson, an expert on brain anatomy and sexual orientation at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Witelson, who...

<p>A man who went to the sheriff's department in Greensburg to pay bond for his brother-in-law wound up in jail when police noticed the money he handed them reeked of marijuana.</p> <p>Timothy Richards,45, of Columbus, Indiana, went to the Decatur County Sheriff's Department in Greensburg Tuesday to pay the $400 get his brother-in-law out of jail.</p>

MIDI - A WHITE SPORTCOAT A mountain goat or a Code Pink commie...this choice may fill you with dread If at gunpoint you're forced into choosing...which one of those would you bed? One smells awful as can be...and will lie in its own pee And the other is kept penned...it is a 4-legged friend A mountain goat or a Code Pink commie...the thought should make you sick A mountain goat or a Code Pink commie...each one has gross facial hair A terrorist would make his choice quickly...Medea he could not bear One smells awful as can be...and will lie...

Chris Whittle, who edits Sunday Morning Shootout ... has a fascinating, wide ranging post on his site Eject! Eject! Eject!, which hits many of my political-entertainment industry buttons. The amn knows whereof he speaks, and has a lot of worthwhile thoughts. >>There are only eight conservative actors in the history of Hollywood, and five of them have been elected to high office. (The sixth was elected president of the National Rifle Association, the seventh was elected Mayor of Carmel, California on a pro-business platform, and John Wayne had the class to never run for – or from – anything.) If,...

The three residents of a St. Croix Falls, Wis., home where nearly 400 cats were removed by authorities last month have each been charged with three misdemeanors. Dorothy Weinhardt, 86, her daughter, Jean Bloomquist, 47, and son-in-law, Wayne Bloomquist, 52, were charged Thursday with mistreating animals and providing inadequate sanitary conditions and ventilation at their house at 209 S. River St. According to the criminal complaint, the animal mistreatment count stems from the discovery by health and public safety investigators of a live adult cat and kitten that were placed on the second floor of the house in a small...

PARIS -- U.S. diplomats here respond to Jacques Chirac's continued Yankee-bashing following George W. Bush's re-election by saying the French president is out of step with his people, who are not nearly that anti-American. But thoughtful Frenchmen believe President Chirac is mining a deep vein of sentiment among fellow citizens that transcends President Bush. During a week in Paris, I encountered none of the rudeness I had been warned to expect because of my nationality. However, the question goes beyond amenities to visitors. One French intellectual described anti-Americanism to me as ''a cancer that is sweeping across the country.'' It...

FRANCE PROCLAIMS B.O. A NATIONAL TREASURE By JACQUES BARDOT It's offical: The French government has officially declared Gallic body odor a "national treasure." "We're as excited as skunks in an outhouse," says French historian Jean- Pierre Lefevre. "We are proud of our offensive odor. It's way overdue that along with the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral French body aroma is taking its rightful place as one of our country's most important assets." Luc Beauchamp, 59, has lived in Paris all his life. "France is the most beautiful country in the world," he says. "I stroll along the Champs Elysees...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. MOUNTAINTOP, Pa. - A Luzerne County perfume factory is closing at the end of the year, leaving 200 people out of work. New Dana Perfumes Inc., the maker of fragrances including Tabu, English Leather and Love's Baby Soft, will close its plant in Wright Township, said Peter Schreiber of Dimeling, Schreiber & Park, the Philadelphia investment firm that bought the perfume-manufacturing operation in July 1999 Dana Classic Fragrances Inc., which holds the trademark to the names and formulas and markets and sells the perfumes, will continue to operate - but officials...

THE French Government will make public classified documents relating to the 1965 disappearance of the Moroccan opposition leader, Mehdi Ben Barka, which caused a major political scandal. Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie had agreed to follow the recommendations of a national defence committee and release the 73 documents on the case which had not yet been made public, defence ministry officials said today. The committee's decision came after a magistrate investigating Mr Ben Barka's disappearance asked to see the documents. Previous secret documents on the affair, which caused political uproar, were made public in 2001. Mr Ben Barka, an outspoken opponent...

Scientists have taken action to save France's feathered national emblem, le coq gaulois, by cryogenically preserving the endangered cockerel's sperm. Panic set in when it was disclosed that only 200 individuals remained, mostly owned by amateur breeders. The brightly coloured cockerel, one of France's oldest native animal species, is synonymous with French fighting spirit – at times arrogance – and is famously unleashed on to the football pitch before games involving the national side. Due to a semantic crossover, the Latin word gallus means both cockerel and Gaul and it has come to stand as a symbol of France's distant...

Jacques Chirac, the French president, yesterday threatened to reopen transatlantic rifts between the EU and the US over the war in Iraq by ignoring Tony Blair's plea for Europeans to "face up to the reality" of George Bush's resounding re-election as American president. Mr Chirac compounded his opposition to appeals for closer cooperation between the US and Europe in Mr Bush's second term by snubbing an EU summit lunch for Ayad Allawi, Iraq's interim prime minister, and urging Europe to act as a counterweight to American hegemony "in a world that's more multi-polar than ever".

MIDI - RAG DOLL Lar-ar-ar-ard *ss...he is disgusting human slimeLar-ar-ar-ard *ss...George Bush will win it one more time Sitting in two seats he had flashed a silly "L" Get him deodorant, he really smells like hell He's a Lard *ss...real Lard *ss A true DemocRAT...just imagine that Lar-ar-ar-ard *ss...he is disgusting human slime He made a film that told some really vicious lies He helped the enemy...that's something we despise He's a Lard *ss...real Lard *ss A true DemocRAT...just imagine that Lar-ar-ar-ard *ss...he is disgusting human slimeLar-ar-ar-ard *ss...George Bush will win it one more time With Soros they thought...

All the Nudes That's Fit to Print Radicals planning to cause mayhem at the GOP convention should accept this sad fact: Murdoch’s minions are waiting.The last time a major party held its nominating convention in New York City, I was among the tribe of protesters clamoring outside. I had hitchhiked from Oakland to Manhattan and, after adventures with a guy in Barstow who claimed he was jumping parole and barked, "I swear by my white skin!" after each beer, or the gentleman in southern Missouri who loaded the shotgun in his rifle rack and declared his intention to shoot the...

First and foremost, I think it is inappropriate that detractors of Hillary Clinton's should make fun of her personal appearance and/or afflictions (though they are many). More attention should be paid to the issues surrounding Hillary and her personal agenda rather than her appearance...bovine at best. Currently Hillary has earned the dubious award of the "Yellow Streak". This is awarded only to cowards. I have seen all the postings that might possibly explain her silence. I would like to interject my own. I believe Hillary could not speak and express her views on local, state and national events simply because...

MIDI - OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNINGIn our office the smell of fresh flowers...will be wonderful for many hours But in comes Bilewsky and we become ill...in his coffee we should slip a cyanide pill Oh what a beautiful morning...until he shows up at work Oh what a beautiful morning...that guy is one smelly jerk He's got bad breath, his armpits cause gagging...of his gas passing he has been bragging He'll belch like a fog horn and take off his shoes...if he got a brain tumor, we'd welcome the news Oh what a beautiful morning...until he shows up at...

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- City officials say one smelly employee is responsible for a new policy that requires all city employees to smell nice when reporting for work. The Murfreesboro City Council adopted the good hygiene policy Thursday: "No employee shall have an odor generally offensive to others when reporting to work. An offensive body odor may result from a lack of good hygiene, from an excessive application of a fragrant aftershave or cologne or from other cause." City attorney Susan McGannon said the problem had never come up in the 11 years she has worked for the city. But...

SEATTLE – People in South King County are wondering why their drinking water smells. Out of the tap, drinking water in Kent, Tukwila, SeaTac and Highline has a fishy smell and a metallic taste. Scientists at the Seattle Public Utilities water quality lab have discovered the cause. The warm, dry summer has created an algae bloom in the Chester Morse Reservoir and it has moved through the Cedar River water supply system. The algae is not considered a health hazard, but the utility is adding chlorine, which causes the metallic taste. "We are bypassing water around Lake Youngs in order...

Dennis Prager just returned from a cruise, and one of his stops was Paris. He was at the eye-full tower and noticed that he saw very few Americans. He asked an official if he was right in his assessment that Americans are staying away. The official told Dennis that a year ago in June, there were 140% more Americans here viewing the eye-full tower. For you RATS who are lurking and need help, that means for every 100 Americans there now, a year ago there would have been 240 Americans. Too bad. Take that, you stinking ungrateful weasel frogs. Here's...

Thu May 29, 4:57 PM ET Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson insists he never sexually assaulted the woman he was jailed for raping in 1991, but talking about her makes him so angry he wants to rape her now. In a Fox News interview to be broadcast May 29, 2003, Tyson calls former beauty queen Desiree Washington 'a lying, monstrous young lady' and says, 'I just hate her guts.' Tyson is shown at a news conference at the Grand Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, in this February 20, 2003 file photo. Photo by Peter Jones/Reuters

It's not what we thought we were gonna be doing, a lot of the people's civil rights have been compromised, and we don't know what's going on. If I keep speaking my mind, will I be deported?

<p>PARIS, France --Flights are expected to be severely disrupted Tuesday in France as air traffic controllers walk off the job to protest government plans to reform the country's pension system.</p> <p>Air France, the country's national carrier, said it would cancel 65 percent of short- and medium-haul flights during the one-day strike, which comes after a series of transport strikes earlier this month that brought much of France to a standstill.</p>

France's Teachers Go On Strike Over Minister's Conservatism [Minister Bashes Leftists, Wants Local Control of Schools] By Hugh Schofield in Paris French teachers have embarked on their fourth national strike since the start of the school year in an atmosphere of increasingly bitter recrimination against the country's centre-right government. Teaching unions warn of mounting exasperation To the grievances over funding and jobs that kick-started the movement last autumn are now added anxiety over pensions and opposition to the government's programme of decentralisation. More generally, many in the educational establishment - a body closely aligned with the political left - are...

France's refusal to support the U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq has some New York diners in a stew, and French restaurants have been feeling the heat. Now, an effort is afoot to get New Yorkers to change their minds. NY1's Elizabeth Gerst reports. Some of the city's top chefs and restaurateurs teamed up at Le Cirque Thursday, to encourage diners to say "Oui" to French cuisine. The event, organized by NYC & Company, was an effort to bolster restaurants bruised by a backlash against France. Though some stopped short of calling it an official boycott, many acknowledged they have...

Guide to French TV channels The French think they have the best TV in the world, just like every nation does - and like everyone else, they're wrong! There's the usual over-abundance of game, talk and variety shows - but in which other country could you find a prime-time programme on culture? This is a guide to the six national terrestrial channels. TF1 This privately-run media is one of the two most popular channels (the other being state-run France 2), and fills up most of its programming with game shows (it bought the rights to Who wants to be...

French anti-Semitism reports surge Attacks on synagogues have increased since 11 September 2001 There was a dramatic rise in reported racist and anti-Semitic acts in France last year, according to the French Government's human rights watchdog. The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) said there had been more than 300 registered instances of violence, and almost 1,000 cases of abuse or threats. Two-thirds of them were anti-Semitic - six times as many as in 2001. If the increase in the number of attacks aimed at the immigrant community is significant, the quantity of attacks aimed at the Jewish...

CAPTION THE PIC -Sen. Clinton on Capitol subway a few hours ago.

By Will Seccombe It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a ladybug. In fact, it's millions of ladybugs swarming all over Ontario. "Why are we being invaded by ladybugs?" "Why are some of them biting us?" "What do they want?" This fall there have been record numbers of ladybugs in Ontario, and these are not the ladybugs people are used to. "They are not red any more," reads a comment on the Great Lakes Gardening Forum. "Their colour is orange. What's happened to our old ladybugs? These new ones are everywhere. A real invasion. Are they coming from...

Well, well, we may just be able to pull off a great insulting coup at the next anti-war demonstration in Los Angeles. One of the nitwit groups that protested the Bush/Simon breakfast will be back out at the Federal Building on Sept 14. On another thread, I suggested that we gather small toiletry samples and pass them out to the smelly idiots. Well, FReeper snippy_about_it is sending me 58 items in the mail. Come on, LA area FReepers, let's get this thing organized. Gather all those small soaps and shampoos you have collected from hotels and let us insult these...

DFU REPORT FROM L.A. From the above thread in which I described the anti-war protestors as being smelly, FReeper whoknowswhatevil had a great idea. We need to pass out hygiene products to these people. So here is the idea if anyone is up for it. On Sept. 14 at noon at the Federal Building, the smelly, naive fools are going to be demonstrating. We need to procure small samples of toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo, and soap to pass out to them. We should come dressed nicely, perhaps the men can be in ties, and work the crowd. Does anyone have...

LONDON (Reuters) - The biggest, smelliest flower in the world was putting on the sexual performance of its life on Thursday after bursting into rare crimson blossom at London's Kew Gardens. The 165-pound titan arum, the rotten-smelling giant of the plant kingdom, unfurled its single stinky flower after beginning a dramatic growth spurt last week," a Kew spokeswoman said. "Last week the yellow shoot began to swell dramatically. It has now reached a height of almost three meters," she added. "The huge phallic flower has now unfurled to reveal its blood-red interior...and the plant has begun to heat up, giving...

French FM: US Jewry more 'intransigent' than Sharon In order to pressure Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to show more flexibility, the EU should try to whittle away at American Jewry's support for the prime minister, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in a closed meeting Monday. In the world according to Vedrine, who as a result of the recent French elections is on his way out of office, Sharon is an obstacle to the peace process bolstered in his intransigence by American Jewry, which Vedrine said is essentially more Sharon than Sharon. These diplomatic insights were shared by Vedrine at...