[img]http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030606/i/1054903548.3959734399.jpg[/img]

A French soldier patrols past an armed Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) rebel soldier near the United Nations  compound in the eastern town of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo, June 6, 2003. An advance party of French troops arrived to cheers from residents in the first deployment of a 1,400-strong rapid reaction force to stop bloodletting among rival militias. The United Nations says 500 civilians have been massacred in inter-ethnic fighting in and around the northeastern town in the past month and 50,000 have been killed since 1999. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna


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Models wear fashion by Hripsime Afsar during the Antwerp Show 2003 in Antwerp, Belgium, Thursday June 5, 2003. The annual show highlights designs by students from the Antwerp Fashion Academy, many of whom go on after graduation to become international designers with their own label. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)



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Sakeena (L), suffering from burns to 70 percent of her body from when her husband threw acid on her, sits with her sister 15-year old Shaheena (R), hit in the face and blinded by the overthrow, sit in their home in Ahmedpure Sharqia, 330 miles south of Islamabad May 22, 2003. Rights activists say acid attacks are among the worst of the huge numbers of crimes against women committed in Pakistan, a male-dominated Islamic state where the human rights commission estimates a woman is raped every two hours. Picture taken May 22, 2003. (Mian Khursheed/Reuters)



[img]http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030606/capt.1054936093.canada_johnny_rotten_cptf102.jpg[/img]

John Lydon, AKA Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, answers a question during a keynote address to participants at the North-by-Northeast (NXNE) music conference in Toronto, Canada Friday, June 6, 2003. The conference, which is Canada's largest, features musicians and industry people from around the world. (AP Photo/CP, Kevin Frayer)



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Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin listens to Friday prayers at a mosque in Gaza, June 6, 2003. Yassin's militant Islamic group said on Friday it was breaking off talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas on ending its attacks on Israelis in a strong challenge to peace pledges he made at a U.S.-led summit. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)



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Foam chunks (R) break apart after being shot from a cannon and hitting a space shuttle wing replica during testing at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, June 6, 2003. According to investigators, the foam chunk cracked the wing replica (skid marks visible on lower portion) offering the most powerful evidence yet to support the theory that foam cracked the wing on the Space Shuttle Columbia that broke apart over Texas, Feb. 1. (Pool via Reuters)



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Iraqi men build a house near a surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile (SAM) June 6, 2003 in Baghdad. Unexploded missiles, mines, shells and other ordinance, mostly abandoned as Iraqi forces fled their positions, litter the country in the wake of the war. (Radu Sigheti/Reuters)



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WWII veteran Dalmain Estes from Pontiac, Il., who landed on Omaha Beach with the 1st Infantry Division on June 7, 1944, salutes as the American anthem is played during D-Day commemoration ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial of Colleville-sur-Mer, Friday, June 6, 2003. U.S., Canadian and British troops fought their way ashore 59 years ago to liberate France from Nazi occupation. The U.S. flag waves behind. (AP Photo/Franck Prevel)

[img]http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030606/capt.1054934583.france_d_day_commemorations_csm101.jpg[/img]

That is what a hero looks like!

SALUTE!

[img]http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030606/i/1054903548.3959734399.jpg[/img]

Even the Congo Rebel soldiers are ripping on the French!

This one is saying, "yo Frenchie don't point your gun at me or I'll have this little boy kick your ass"!  [ROFL2]

By the look on Frenchie's face, I think he took the threat seriously.

What kind of a rifle is that French soldier carrying?  It looks like an M4.

Uhmmm, I don't see anyone cheering; and that french guy looks like he is about to shit his pants.

[img]http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20030606/mdf293505.jpg[/img]

OMG! thats Saruman from Lord of the Rings!

[img]http://www.geocities.com/pippinsplayground/Sarumanstaff.jpg[/img]

Thanks. I was trying to remember where I had seen that guy before.

Dalmain looks like he could still kick some ass if he had too.

Many French soldiers are carrying M4s now. The FAMAS is being phased out of service. They have been dropped so many times during surrender training and when French troops on deployments have surrendered to small children, nuns, trees and the occasional mean-looking animal, that they are no longer reliable. Also, the "almost-woodland" BDUs, K-pot style helmets and M4s together might fool the French's opponents into thinking that they are dealing with AMERICAN troops, so there is a psychological factor involved.

No photos of [b]Funny Cide[/b]??


Aviator

My local paper used a different shot from this series, He's carrying an A2 with an M4 barrel with a C-more sight on the forward Colt Scout rail.

Alright.  Here ya go.

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Empire Maker, foreground, with jockey Jerry Bailey up, crosses the finish line to win the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, Saturday, June 7, 2003, in Elmont, N.Y. Ten Most Wanted, with Pat Day up finished second, and Funny Cide, right, with Jose Santos up, finished third. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)