Free Republic

News that the Iraqi police have ordered all journalists out of Najaf and are enforcing it, strongly suggests that an operation against the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf is imminent. The bullet that whistled through the lobby of the Sea Hotel in Najaf yesterday, embedding shards of glass into a foreign reporter's cheek before lodging itself in an air-conditioning unit, carried an unmistakeable message: "Get out." ... In Najaf journalists were summoned yesterday morning by the city's police chief, Ghalab al-Jazeera. It was said that he wanted to parade some captured members of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army, who have launched...

A WEST AUSTRALIAN couple who are brother and sister by adoption but unrelated by blood are battling a federal law preventing them from marrying. Kevin and Deborah Jefferies have been in love for at least 10 years and wish to get married, but under the Federal Marriage Act 1961 ? which prevents brothers and sisters from marrying ? their relationship is taboo. The couple became siblings on paper when their parents married and Kevin's father adopted Deborah and her sisters. "There's so many people who can get divorced so easily ? we can't even get married to start with," Kevin...

Rosie Sheds Tears As 'Taboo' Goes DarkShow Closes After Dismal Ticket Sales, Reviews POSTED: 1:24 PM EST February 9, 2004 UPDATED: 2:08 PM EST February 9, 2004 Rosie O'Donnell wiped tears away from her face minutes after the final performance of the Broadway musical "Taboo" over the weekend. The $10 million production was funded entirely by O'Donnell. It told the story of gender-bending pop star Boy George, but folded after three months of mediocre ticket sales and negative reviews. Fans shouted "Thank you, Rosie!" and held playbills and posters for her to sign. The former talk show host vowed that...

<p>The beautiful 70-foot pine tree that adorns the lawn of the Capitol, which is put up at this time every year, is covered in bright lights and decorations and has its own special lighting ceremony, is officially called (drum roll please) the "Capitol Holiday Tree."</p>

The Boy George musical Taboo, a surprise hit in London, seems set for a short run in New York if the Big Apple’s critics are right. The show opened on Broadway last night and was described as “lost and bereft as a wet cod on a fishmonger’s slab” by a New York Post critic. The newspaper’s advance publicity for the show had so upset Boy George, who co-wrote and also stars in the musical based on his life, that the pop star banned its critic Michael Riedel from the opening night. “Fine,” said Riedel, "I’ll cover the closing next week.”...

The Boy George musical Taboo, backed by the former chat show host Rosie O'Donnell, has opened to poor reviews in the US. The Broadway version, which tells the story of the pop star's life and stars George as performance artist Leigh Bowery, opened on Monday. The New York Times said the musical was "a disastrously overcrowded tableau of a show". The Washington Post and The USA Today also slated the production. The Post described it as "a production with such an acute case of meaning-deprivation that you almost forget what's happening as it's happening". The American national paper USA Today...

Actress Rosie O'Donnell has reportedly caused upset with her "insane" behavior on the set of the Broadway stage show she's producing. The former talk show queen is helming a production of popstar Boy George's 80s musical Taboo, which has already been a huge stage hit in London. However, according to the Pagesix website, O'Donnell's bizarre antics have left the crew bewildered. A source says, "They had this creative meeting at a studio on 42nd Street on Friday afternoon and it was a freakish nightmare. Rosie looked around at everyone on the creative team, pounded her fist on a table and...

Radio Talk-Show Host Names Kobe Bryant's Accuser Tue July 22, 2003 09:53 PM ET By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 19-year-old woman who accused Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant of rape was named on Tuesday by a nationally syndicated talk-show host and on the Internet, pushing her into the spotlight despite pleas for privacy from her family. Rape counselors and mental health experts were outraged by the exposure of the young Colorado woman, saying that a victim of sexual assault would be further traumatized by public scrutiny. "That's like being raped again," if her accusations against Bryant...

<p>Is the ghost of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder out for revenge? One might think so given the brouhaha over Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker's recent observation that "blacks and Latins take the heat better than most whites."</p> <p>In 1998, Snyder, a bookie turned football commentator, was asked why blacks had risen to such prominence in sports. Snyder opined that blacks could naturally "jump higher and run faster" because of their "high thighs and big size." All hell broke loose. The NAACP called for Snyder's scalp. A few days later CBS handed it over.</p>