Free Republic

Chinese police will help patrol tourist destinations in Paris this summer after a rise in muggings and attacks on Chinese tourists, a source in France's interior ministry said on Tuesday. The China.org site, reported that French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve had said that the government invited the Chinese police officers who will patrol tourist spots and serve as interpreters for Chinese tourists. The site quoted Nouvelles d'Europe, another Chinese-run news group, as saying that at least 10 Chinese officers would be coming to Paris, adding that France’s interior ministry declined to confirm that figure. Around 1.5 million Chinese tourists visited...

TORONTO (CP) - Tell these feisty chicks to "shut up and sing" and they'll make a movie. The Dixie Chicks have rebounded from death threats, stinging political attacks and radio station battles with "Shut Up and Sing," a moving documentary that debuted this week at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was three years ago that front woman Natalie Maines told a London audience that the Texas band was embarrassed U.S. President George W. Bush was from their home state. Since then, the trio has weathered a firestorm of controversy to create a new album, discover new fans, have a...

SARASOTA, Fla. - A retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq (news - web sites) to serve as a "human shield" against the U.S. invasion is facing thousands of dollars in U.S. government fines, which she is refusing to pay. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq." She and others from 30 countries spread out...

U.K. Citizen/Human Shield/High Rantress Ms. Uzma Bashir AKA "Baghdad Betty" Title: "A Lady With Real Attitude" By Paul Belden BAGHDAD - On the first night of bombing in Baghdad, I recall having written about a much-loved young peace activist named Uzma Bashir who had gone to Iraq to serve as a human shield, and whose many friends had gathered in an Amman hotel to hear the latest news from Iraq. They were all very frightened for her safety, I wrote.They needn't have bothered. As it turned out, the bombing campaign didn't hurt Uzma one bit. It did, however, really...

This running commentary is really funny

Sheryl Crow wore a white T-shirt emblazoned with "War Is Not the Answer" when she accepted her American Music Award in January. Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst was received with cheers when he said, "This war has got to go away as soon as possible" during the Grammy telecast. But when Natalie Maines of the country music trio the Dixie Chicks said from a London stage that she was "ashamed" that President Bush was from Texas, the result was quite different. Angry fans flooded radio stations in San Diego, Nashville and Dallas with calls demanding that the Dixie Chicks' music...

Caveat: this has been composed without the benefit of the MIDI because my %$#^&%$ sound crashed. I hope it tracks okay. (note: if the below hot link gets killed, you can cut and paste http://www.midihaven.addr.com/midi/debackley2.html) MIDI - BLAME IT ON THE BOSSA NOVA They were on the stage…ready to peform When the porky one…went out of the norm She stepped in it big…it is evident She was ashamed of our great president Now they blame the evil FReepers…it is all their fault Now they blame the evil FReepers…they're under assault No one made her utter those now famous words In...

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Two influential U.S. senators who met Afghan leader Hamid Karzai warned Monday the ousted Taliban could return if the United States and other nations did not stay the course and help rebuild Afghanistan. The pair said Afghans were confident they could restore their war-battered land but feared the international community might go back on its vow not to desert Afghanistan now the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda had been defeated in the country. In the latest in a series of visits by key U.S. congress members, Sen. Robert Torricelli and Sen. Jon Corzine --...