Free Republic

An angry tourist smashed two ancient sculptures at the Vatican after being denied a chance to meet with the pope. It's just the latest in a series of instances of visitors behaving badly in Rome. Read on to find out what happened, what authorities said about the man, and how long it will take for the ancient works to be repaired. The incident happened around lunchtime in the Museo Chiaramonti, which is part of the Vatican Museums. It holds about 1,000 works of ancient statuary and Roman portraits. The man demanded to see the pope, the newspaper Il Messaggero reported....

  NY Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) announced that he will oppose Barack Obama's capitulation to Iran. “I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy. It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power,” Schumer wrote in a lengthy statement issued Thursday night detailing his decision. “Better to keep U.S. sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce secondary sanctions on other...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- President Barack Obama told Kenyans on Sunday that their country is at a crossroads and urged them to "choose the path to progress" by continuing to root out corruption, confront terrorism and be more inclusive of women and girls. Closing out a historic visit to the land of his father's birth, Obama said Kenya has come so far in just his lifetime, but can go even further. "You can choose the path to progress, but it requires making some important choices," he said in a speech to several thousand Kenyans packed into an indoor arena here in...

A bill introduced June 12 by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), would establish a special envoy at the State Department to coordinate America’s “global response” on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues and allow LGBT individuals “who have a well-founded fear of persecution...to seek protection in the United States.” The International Human Rights Defense Act of 2014 would reinforce the Obama administration’s already established foreign policy position on LGBT rights, including the public funding of overseas LGBT groups. In addition, the bill would require annual congressional briefings on “the status of the human rights of LGBT people internationally” and institute...

Barack Obama has integrated promotions of homosexuality and other alternative lifestyle choices into his policy and practice since his election, successfully promoting the “gay” lifestyle in the U.S. military and forbidding the enforcement of the federal law called the Defense of Marriage Act that supported traditional marriage. The extent of the reach of his actions perhaps was epitomized by last week’s announcement that the U.S. Embassy in Israel was flying a rainbow flag – representing homosexual activism – along with Old Glory. But now a coalition in Congress, made up exclusively of Democrats, wants to take the effort further and...

Leonardo DiCaprio to Speak at State Department’s ‘Our Ocean’ Conference by Andrea Seikaly Leonardo DiCaprio is set to speak at the State Department’s “Our Ocean” conference Tuesday morning. Secretary of State John Kerry will introduce DiCaprio, who will speak immediately after a video appearance by President Obama. “I’m pleased that Leo DiCaprio is lending his powerful voice to our call to action to work together to protect the world’s ocean,” said Secretary Kerry. Kerry invited the “Wolf of Wall Street” star to the conference because of the dedication that he and his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation have demonstrated in efforts to...

The Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright involved in a verbal altercation with pro-Serb activistsFormer US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called protesters "disgusting Serbs" when they confronted her at a book signing in Prague. Two videos showing Albright in a verbal altercation with a group of activists contesting her role in the Yugoslav Wars were posted on YouTube. Prague-born Albright was at a bookstore in the Czech capital to sign copies of her memoir 'Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948.' The videos show Albright being approached by members of the group Friends of Serbs...

August 9, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dozens of pro-family leaders have signed a petition to condemn the participation of the U.S. embassy in the Czech Republic in this year’s “gay pride” parade to be held in Prague later this month. The signatories “vigorously protest the participation of the United States Embassy in the Czech Republic in a so-called gay-pride parade which will take place on August 18,” lamenting that “at the directive of the president of the United States, Washington is aggressively promoting the ‘gay’’ agenda internationally, including same-sex ‘marriage’ and the stigmatization and marginalization of any who object to the...

Linky Here Foreigner on Korean bus verbally abuses elderly couple--all over a misunderstanding Description from here: http://www.rjkoehler.com/2011/08/29/to-foreigners-in-korea-please-learn-a-little-korean/ "A video is circulating on the Korean Internet of a black gentleman yelling at and threatening an elderly Korean couple.His violent behavior was the result of him misunderstanding the elderly man’s comment to him. The elderly man reportedly said “니가 여기 앉아” (a sign of consideration) ("You can sit here" = Niga Yuh gi anja"), but not knowing Korean, the man in question interpreted “니가” as the N-word which led to his violent outburst. [...] Apparently our culprit learned “개새끼야” but couldn’t...

US President Barack Obama says Turkey's future is in the European Union. Not everyone agrees. Numerous politicians in Germany have gone on the attack, and even French President Sarkozy is unimpressed. Turkey's role at the NATO summit has soured the mood. During his stay in Europe, everybody seemed eager to be President Barack Obama's friend. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi threw his arm around the US leader. French President Nicolas Sarkozy seemed to be on Obama's heels wherever he went during the G-20 meeting in London, the NATO summit in Strasbourg and the EU get-together in Prague. Even Russian President...

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- If an opinion poll were to be carried out on the Internet in China to choose the most disgusting figure, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would probably be on top of the list, as she confused right with wrong on the issue of Tibet, held double standards to interfere in China's internal affairs, hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and impaired China-U.S. relations. The fact that Pelosi is detested by the Chinese people is closely connected with her recent move to clamor for "Tibet independence" and instigate "boycotting the Olympic Games".

Cameron Diaz Apologizes for Maoist Bag Jun 24 09:52 PM US/Eastern LIMA, Peru (AP) - Cameron Diaz apologized Sunday for wearing a bag with a political slogan that evoked painful memories in Peru. The voice of Princess Fiona in the animated "Shrek" films visited the Incan city of Machu Picchu in Peru's Andes on Friday wearing an olive green bag emblazoned with a red star and the words "Serve the People" printed in Chinese, perhaps Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong's most famous political slogan. The bags are marketed as fashion accessories in some world capitals, but in Peru the slogan...

BOGOTA, Colombia – A roadside bomb planted by leftist rebels killed 10 soldiers as they patrolled in southwestern Colombia on Thursday, the deadliest attack on security forces this year, authorities said. A similar attack killed nine police officers a day earlier. The new attack, which also injured 13 soldiers, occurred shortly after midnight Thursday morning, said the commander of the army's 3rd Division, Gen. Hernando Perez Molina, who blamed Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

See for example this thread first. It wasn't Ben and Jerry's plans for their new ice cream called "Black and Tan" to raise such a stink. (In Ireland, I think the name conjures dead football fans.)

Loud and brash, in gawdy garb and baseball caps, more than three million of them flock to our shores every year. Shuffling between tourist sites or preparing to negotiate a business deal, they bemoan the failings of the world outside the United States. The reputation of the "Ugly American" abroad is not, however, just some cruel stereotype, but - according to the American government itself - worryingly accurate. Now, the State Department in Washington has joined forces with American industry to plan an image make-over by issuing guides for Americans travelling overseas on how to behave. 'Ugly American' abroad: Worryingly...

From the 1958 political novel "The Ugly American": "For some reason, the people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious." From a "Study Abroad" website: "The image of the Ugly American is unchanged since 1959: someone who is ignorant of and indifferent to foreign cultures and believes the U.S. is superior to other countries. Sometimes this ignorance and arrogance is full-blown, as in...

The Talk Shows Sunday, March 12th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Mike Pence, R-Ind.; opera singer Placido Domingo.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. George Allen, R-Va., and Joseph Biden, D-Del.; retired Marine Gen. Bernard Trainor and Michael Gordon, chief military correspondent for The New York Times. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; political satirist Art Buchwald. LATE EDITION (CNN) : U.S. Ambassador to Iraq...

Hi gang! Since its Friday maybe this won't get pulled before I get a couple of tips. We're 50 and taking our two gals (17 & 14) and our guy (10). We'll be arriving Sunday 3-20 (Amtrak willing)and leaving Friday 3-25. If there are any great places to eat or relatively unknown cool places to visit you know of we'd appreciate a quick post. BTW, since I read Michener's "Chesapeake" years ago I've regularly tried crab cakes but they never have lived up to his description. Softshell crabs however, have! Yumm. Any DC FReepers - please ping the rest of...

I admire the courage of astronaut John Glenn. He has led our great nation into space and slipped the bounds of Earth's atmosphere as he sped off into the aether. Only this time, he neglected to suit up and travel on a rocket. John Glenn had this to say regarding the recent GOP convention. Former senator John Glenn (D-Ohio) took the defense a step further by comparing the Republicans' misleading statements to those of Nazi Germany. "You've just got to separate out fact from fiction. . . . Too often, too often, in this country, if you hear something repeated,...

Australian government minister brands US moviemaker an ugly American Wed Jul 21, 4:24 PM ET Add Offbeat - AFP to My Yahoo! CANBERRA (AFP) - US filmmaker Michael Moore, whose anti-war documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, has been praised and savaged by critics around the world, was described by an Australian government minister Wednesday as "the quintessential ugly American." Moore's film, which won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival (news - web sites), has attracted sell-out audiences in Australia where it has been viewed by some critics as a justified critique of US President George W. Bush (news -...