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Rome - but that was a joke of sorts. It was after an important game of footie. To the rest of your question ... I've lived in Mexico, Canada, America, Morroco, Italy, France.

Oddly enough, I was attacked in Rome by a band of gypsy children. It is common for them to surround someone and then start trying to steal your wallet, watch, handbag, etc, and then scatter with the loot. They hang out at trains stations, bus stations, etc. all over Europe employing the same technique. I have lived in Italy, Germany, Greece, Poland, and Finland. Except for Finland, there are varying numbers of gypsies, most of whom are involved in crime of one sort or another. They are coming mainly from Eastern Europe.

The east bloc's five million Roma received generous state subsidies under communism; however the transition to democracy that began in the late 1980s has not been kind to them. As the work force has lost its guaranteed employment, they have been among the first fired. For example, in Hungary, where Roma make up an estimated 8 to 10 percent of the population, their unemployment now tops 80 percent; the national unemployment average is 7.7 percent.

In the Czech Republic the picture is similar: the country's 300,000 Roma, about 2.5 percent of the country's population, have a 70 percent unemployment rate. They also have significantly higher crime rates than the non-Roma population, and few finish high school.

Buying a ticket to see a pop performer is not like buying a ticket to the opera or symphony with a registered program of what will be performed and what will be said. "You takes your chances" as the saying goes. Pop performances are about the performer as much as the music. If you don't want the extras you should stick to CDs.

And so do the performers. I saw the video and Madonna was pissed that the audience booed her. LOL. So it works both ways. She shouldn't be surprised by the reaction. I walked out of a Duran Duran performance, along with some others after they started their antiwar tirade against Bush and our involvement in Iraq. I won't ever go to one of their performances again.

In the Czech Republic the picture is similar: the country's 300,000 Roma, about 2.5 percent of the country's population, have a 70 percent unemployment rate.

in Hungary, where Roma make up an estimated 8 to 10 percent of the population, their unemployment now tops 80 percent; the national unemployment average is 7.7 percent.

And this is why I think it's vital to avoid statements like some that I see in here. No distinction is made between a few criminals and the overwhelming majority of the Roma population. I believe that this is shameful and dangerous. Especially given that the rhetoric against them in some countries is approaching that used by the Nazi's before they started killing them.