Free Republic

LANDERNEAU, France - A small town in western France has set a world record for the greatest number of smurf-costumed people gathered in the same place, according to organisers, who counted over 3,000 this weekend. Landerneau, population 16,000, on the far western tip of France’s Britanny region, had tried twice before to wrest the record from Lauchringen, a town in Germany that managed to gather together a seemingly unassailable 2,762 smurfs in 2019. But on May 17, the French challengers finally pulverised that record, assembling 3,076 people clad and face-painted in blue, wearing white hats and singing smurfy songs. “We...

Shares in Disney have dropped by nearly 5% in response to a disappointing debut for its highly anticipated "Avatar" sequel "The Way of Water." Why it matters: Investors are looking to see whether Disney can increase profitability in its traditional businesses, like theaters and parks, as its streaming losses continue to mount. "Avatar: The Way of Water" needs to bring in at least $2 billion globally over its lifetime to reach profitability. * Its performance will determine whether the famous James Cameron movie franchise lives on past its second installation. Details: The sci-fi sequel brought in $134 million in its...

To get the inside view from the only people in the world who know what it’s like to run in a primary field so large- and do so in the shadow of Donald Trump - the strategists for four of the top GOP primary campaigns of 2016 came together for a talk. Which Democratic candidate has the most raw political talent? What weaknesses of Donald Trump's would they exploit in 2020?... Audio link

Sarah Boushey, the vodka-chugging, Smurf-hating mother, was sentenced to 69 days in San Mateo county jail after the Smurfs movie drove her to drink and drive with her 4-year-old daughter in the car. According to the San Mateo County DA, mom, who pleaded no contest to driving drunk with a minor in the car, has already served 47 days behind bars. Boushey will also have to install an anti-DUI device in her car and use it for the three years she is on probation. Readers probably recall the incident last August where 42-year-old Boushey took her young daughter to see...

Pop quiz. Who uttered the famous maxim, 'From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs?' A) Karl Marx B) Papa Smurf C) Both A and B The correct answer is “C” ...More evidence: The Smurfs replace everyday nouns and verbs with [a]...thought-controlling Newspeak lexicon to rival that of the totalitarian state in George Orwell’s “1984.” Papa Smurf wears red...

If you are old enough to remember a world where computers didn't exist, then you probably remember the Smurfs, a lovable bunch of blue creatures who lived in mushrooms and dabbled in magic. Well the guy who helped bring the Smurfs to U.S. audiences lives in Aventura and he's been feeling the blues lately. Stuart R. Ross pleaded guilty in August to attempted grand larceny, admitting he tried to extort $11 million from his son-in-law by threatening to destroy his son-in-law's professional reputation and offering to give up access to Ross' grandchildren. But now Ross is having a change of...

Yahoo: A Demonstrator dressed as a figure of the movie ‘Avatar’, shouts slogans against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah, Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. More here. Associated Press: JERUSALEM (AP) – Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel’s separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film “Avatar.” The demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin. They equated their struggle to the intergalactic one portrayed in the film.

The futuristic 3-D adventure, directed by James Cameron, has received scathing reviews from Vatican Radio as well as the Holy See's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.The epic movie, which will be released in Italy this week, has received generally favourable reviews in the United States and Britain, amazing critics and cinemagoers with its technical mastery and blend of real-life actors and animation. It takes place in 2154 on the planet Pandora, light years away from Earth, where humans have established an environmentally-destructive mining colony.But the record budget had failed to impress the Catholic Church hierarchy in Rome."It has a great deal...

It started with a news report in January of 1983 of 40 teenagers and 7 adults, who were members of a gang called The Smurfs. They committed petty crimes. Hysteria spreaded throughout middle and high schools in Houston. At the peak, many students stayed home out of fear that the Smurfs might attack them. Anyone from the Houston area living at the time might remember it. Snopes Message Board-Texan schools attacked by Smurfs?Google Book Scan From Rough Guide of Unexplained PhenemenonHouston Press-The Year The Smurfs Attacked

THE HAGUE, 28/02/08 - Almost all swimming pools in the Netherlands accept women wearing the 'burkini'. In a poll held by TV programme Netwerk, only 4 of the 36 baths questioned said they would refuse this variation on the burqa. Twenty-six of the 36 swimming pools said that women in burkinis were welcome, while six were undecided. The other four said they would not accept the Islamic swimwear that covers the entire body. Until now, six of the 36 pools have been faced with women wishing to swim in burkini. A swimming pool in Zwolle refused a woman in a...

Talking about sinking to new lows… UNICEF is using this commercial to raise money. It features an air raid bombing of a Smurf village. This is nothing more than Smurf-ploitation! (Click here to see Video) Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

I yield to no one in my disdain for the United Nations and all its works, but I did find myself warming up to Unicef the other day. Last week, on Belgian television, the UN children's agency premiered the first adult movie featuring the Smurfs. By "adult", I don't mean it was a blue movie. Only the characters were blue. But it was an adult movie in the sense that the Smurfs were massacred during an air strike on their village, until, in the final scene, only Baby Smurf is left, weeping alone surrounded by wall-to-wall Smurf corpses. It's the...

Now THAT'S smurfed up! Most sane people figured this out 25 years ago, but finally the U.N. got the memo that Smurfs are up to no good and bombed their sorry blue butts: These subhuman creatures live in a patriarical society ruled by a quasi-religious dictator with a beard, they devalue the lone female in the town by forcing her to care for the children (a career-killing move for any upwardly mobile young woman), and they hate cats... and that really pissed off Laurence Simon. To top it off, they are somehow related to Belgium. Oh, wait. Now I'm getting...

UNICEF Bombs Smurfs to Highlight Plight Oct 11 4:07 PM US/Eastern Email this story By HELENA SPONGENBERG Associated Press Writer BRUSSELS, Belgium Smurfette is left for dead. Baby Smurf is left crying and orphaned as the Smurf's village is carpet bombed by warplanes _ a horrific scene and imagery not normally associated with the lovable blue-skinned cartoon characters. These are the scenes being shown as part of a new UNICEF ad-campaign on Belgian television. "It's working. We are getting a lot of reactions and people are logging on to our Web site," UNICEF Belgium spokesman Philippe Henon said Tuesday. The...

BRUSSELS -- UNICEF's first adult-only episode of "The Smurfs," in which the blue-skinned cartoon characters' village is annihilated by warplanes, has terrified young children. The short but chilling film is to be broadcast on national television this week as a campaign advertisement for a fundraising drive by the U.N. children's agency. The animation was approved by the family of the Smurfs' late creator, "Peyo." Belgian television viewers were given a preview of the 25-second film last week, when it was shown on the evening news. The reactions ranged from approval to shock and, in the case of small children who...

Here's a poser for you: you're trying to knock together a TV ad highlighting the effects of war on children. What's the plan? Well, you could go down the traditional route of earnest voice-over accompanying footage of said kids miserably awaiting a better life or, on the other hand, you could arm up a squadron of attack aircraft and go and raze a Smurf village to the ground. Let's face it, it's a toughie. Not for Unicef Belgium though, which earlier this week reduced an enchanted Smurf hamlet to smouldering rubble - much to the horror of some TV viewers...

Unicef bombs the Smurfs in fund-raising campaign for ex-child soldiersBy David Rennie in Brussels The people of Belgium have been left reeling by the first adult-only episode of the Smurfs, in which the blue-skinned cartoon characters' village is annihilated by warplanes. The short but chilling film is the work of Unicef, the United Nations Children's Fund, and is to be broadcast on national television next week as a campaign advertisement. The animation was approved by the family of the Smurfs' late creator, "Peyo". Belgian television viewers were given a preview of the 25-second film earlier this week, when it was...

BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - A giant three-tiered mushroom which measures a meter (yard) across and was found in the tropical forests of the Republic of Congo has left experts in the capital Brazzaville scratching their heads. "It's the first time we've ever seen a mushroom like this so it's difficult for us to classify. But we are going to determine what it is scientifically," Pierre Botaba, head of Congo's veterinary and zoology center, told reporters on Thursday. The giant fungi stands 18 inches high and has three tiered caps on top of a broad stem. The bottom cap measures one meter...