Free Republic

While Americans fret over modern parenthood, the French are raising happy, well-behaved children without all the anxiety. Pamela Druckerman on the Gallic secrets for avoiding tantrums, teaching patience and saying 'non' with authority.

Under shadow of rockets and mortars, young women soldiers direct IDF warships to destroy enemy targets in Lebanon. Girls know it's scary, but important Hagai Einav In recent days, Israel's Navy has intensified its operations to eliminate the threat of rocket attacks on Nahariya, Haifa and the Krayot area. On Sunday, a Ynet crew had the unique opportunity to visit the naval operations room, where young women soldiers direct INF missile boats in their mission to destroy terrorist rocket launchers. A group of female soldiers, who constitute 80 percent of the personnel in the outpost, have been laboring around the...

Israel Army Girls! Israel Army Girls! 537 views 420 views 493 views     302 views 1 comment314 views 270 views 285 views 486 views MORE ----   http://my.opera.com/magic_mania/albums/show.dml?id=53530   

France, Germany and Italy paid about $45 million to obtain the release of hostages kidnapped in Iraq, despite denying it in public, a British newspaper reports. Britain has not handed out any money to kidnap gangs, the paper said on Monday, basing its report on "documents seen by The Times". The list of payments has also been seen by Western diplomats, who are angered at the behaviour of the three governments. France, Italy and Germany have all publicly denied paying any ransom money. "But according to the documents, held by security officials in Baghdad who have played a crucial role...

Dear Viewer, Thank you for your correspondence regarding the "South Park" episodes entitled "Cartoon Wars." We appreciate your concerns about censorship and the destructive influence of outside groups on the media, entertainment industry and particularly Comedy Central. To reiterate, as satirists, we believe that it is our First Amendment right to poke fun at any and all people, groups, organizations and religions and we will continue to defend that right. Our goal is to make people laugh and perhaps, if we're lucky, even make them think in the process. Comedy Central's belief in the First Amendment has not wavered, despite...

PARIS - The French Riviera cities of Nice and Cannes, best known for glitz and film festivals that attract Hollywood stars, were among areas that imposed curfews for minors Wednesday even as rioting abated. The government toughened its stance against those involved in France's worst civil unrest since its 1968 student riots. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said local officials have been told to deport the 120 foreigners convicted so far for their roles in the violence. Although rioting persisted in some places for a 13th night, car burnings fell by nearly half and reports of violence dropped. Nonetheless, looters and...

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - The southern French city of Marseille called off a three-week hunt for a black panther on Tuesday after the animal sighted by several residents turned out to be a large house cat. "The 'panther' is just a black house cat -- a very big one though," said a spokeswoman for the local prefecture, adding the animal was about 24 inches long and weighed some 22 pounds. Police deployed dozens of searchers this month after reports that a blank panther was roaming around the nearby Calanques area, popular with tourists for its creeks, rocks and beaches. Searchers...

Photographers caught French President Jacques Chirac in an unusual pose during a press conference with Egypt's Hosni Mubarak

Did anyone catch this?

Prisoners of War Await Uncertain Fate in Iraq Mon March 24, 2003 01:16 PM ET By David Fox UMM QASR, Iraq (Reuters) - Who wants to be an Iraqi prisoner of war? Plenty of people in southern Iraq it seems, as it is about the only way to get a square meal in this swathe of territory now controlled by U.S. and British forces. With over 3,000 prisoners of war held in an enclosure on the outskirts of Umm Qasr, civilians in the battle-scarred port town are trying to "surrender" as a means of getting food and water. "I...

They have brought it up twice, even mentioned the number of the divisions. Sorry for not catching the #'s I'll keep posting if they bring it up a third time.

<p>KUWAIT CITY  — Fifteen Iraqis surrendered to American forces at the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border on Wednesday, a U.S. Army officer said.</p> <p>Capt. Darren Theriault of the headquarters company of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division told journalists with the unit that the Iraqis had been turned over to Kuwaiti custody.</p>

Masses of Iraqi soldiers are deserting and senior members of President Saddam Hussein's ruling family circle are defecting as the countdown to a British and US invasion reaches its final hours. In northern Iraq, on the border with Kurdistan, up to three-quarters of some Iraqi regiments have already fled. In the mainly Shia Muslim south, Kuwaiti border guards are having to turn Iraqi soldiers back - telling them that they must wait until an attack begins before they can surrender. And in a highly significant development in Baghdad a half-brother of President Saddam, who is regarded as the dictator's closest...

March 20, 2003 FIFTEEN Iraqi soldiers have crossed the border into Kuwait and surrendered to US troops, a US officer said. The 15 were handed over to Kuwaiti police after laying down their arms and giving up, said Captain Darrin Theriault, headquarters company commander of the First Brigade of the US Army's Third Infantry Division. The surrenders came amid the 48-hour ultimatum given by President George W. Bush to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to leave his country or face a massive attack. Bahrain reportedly offered sanctuary to Saddam today in a last-ditch bid to avert a US-led war.

For some Americans, hating the French was a full-time occupation long before Jacques Chirac and his merry men began shooting poison-tipped arrows at George W. Bush's best laid plans for Iraq. Our tourist trade has long enjoyed characterizing French people as rude and snobby--and, of course, mocking them for idolizing the Nutty Professor. But these days, you don't need to belong to that club to take pot shots at the "weasels," as one of New York's dailies calls our sort-of allies (who form an "axis of weasel" with the less-fun-to-insult Germans). Americans are fighting mad at the French for not...

Dissenters in Europe become the first victims - of a war of words Gary Younge in New York and Jon Henley in Paris Tuesday February 11, 2003The Guardian The "petulant prima donna of realpolitik" is leading the "axis of weasels", in "a chorus of cowards". It is an unholy alliance of "wimps" and ingrates which includes one country that is little more than a "mini-me minion", another that is in league with Cuba and Libya, with a bunch of "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" at the helm. Welcome to Europe, as viewed through the eyes of American commentators and newspapers yesterday, as...

The French: celebrating 60 years of cowardice!

PARIS (Reuters) - It's the diplomatic equivalent of water rolling off a duck's back. Bashing the French does not beat them down -- au contraire, it only makes them more convinced they must be right. The air has been thick with insult these days, both over the Atlantic and across the Channel, as the United States and Britain pile pressure and scorn on their reluctant ally to support an attack against Iraq. "Cheese-eating surrender monkeys," "the rat that roared," "the petulant prima donna of realpolitik" -- the epithets flung at France by the U.S. and British media can easily...

"Le journal de dimanche" says, that 77% of the French oppose a war against Iraq under any circumstances. 81% are not convinced that Iraq hides WMD.

“THE game is over,” President Bush told Iraq on Thursday. “It’s not a game, and it’s not over,” Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the French Prime Minister, shot back yesterday. Thus the war of words between dovish France and hawkish America grew more rancorous. There are three men in the world who would be wise for reasons of personal safety not to show their faces in America: Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and M Raffarin’s boss, President Chirac. Middle America, egged on by hostile television networks and editorial writers, has been whipped into a rage against what is perceived as betrayal by the...