Free Republic

<p>February 18, 2003 -- The European Union yesterday issued a "last chance" warning to Saddam Hussein - and French President Jacques Chirac promptly threw a temper tantrum, threatening to blackball nations that back President Bush.</p> <p>The EU - which has been divided over Iraq - came together on a compromise statement calling on Iraq to disarm peacefully or else. It set no timetable and didn't say "time is running out," as urged by Britain, although it did praise the U.S. role.</p>

French astronaut says Columbia should no longer have been used PARIS (AFP) Feb 01, 2003 A French astronaut who took part in an earlier US shuttle mission and has criticised current space programmes said Saturday the shuttle Columbia which disintegrated should have been out of use long ago. Patrick Baudry said on French television he was "up in arms" over the disaster. "I think the shuttle should have been taken out of use long ago," Baudry said: "It's a magnificent machine that the Americans developed. But extremely dangerous." The Frenchman charged that the Columbia was limited in its capacity, and...