can have unintended consequences on others.
"We are concerned about communications that can be interpreted in a manner perhaps not intended by the artist, and the potential peripheral impact that such lyrics can have on other individuals," he said. The Secret Service made preliminary inquiries because of lyrics in Eminem's song, We As Americans which read "F**k money, I don't rap for dead presidents, I'd rather see the president dead."
■ United States
State Dept gets funky
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has named James Brown, the so-called "Godfather of Soul," to a new and unusual, but apparently fictitious, senior diplomatic position, the State Department said on Monday. Spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed that Powell had indeed appointed Brown to be the first US "secretary of soul and foreign minister of funk" but said the job description for the post had not yet been drawn up. Powell made Brown's appointment public on Saturday while hosting a dinner for winners of the Kennedy Center Honors -- awarded to US artists and performers for outstanding work -- of which Brown was one this year.
■ United States
Commission cancels trip
A federal commission that supports religious freedom said on Monday it had postponed a scheduled trip to China because of what it called unacceptable conditions imposed by the Chinese government. It was the second time this year that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom had canceled a visit because of a dispute over access to Hong Kong. In July the Chinese government insisted that the commission drop Hong Kong from its itinerary, the panel said in a statement. This time, the Chinese agreed to allow a stopover in Hong Kong
but insisted no meetings be held.
■ Portugal
Cheating wife fakes kidnap
A Portuguese woman who sneaked away from her husband during a movie so she could visit a lover faces a possible year's jail after she justified her disappearance with a claim she had been kidnapped. The 21-year-old wife told her husband she was going to pop into a nearby shop on Saturday night during intermission, but she never returned, a TV report said on Monday. The next morning the woman called her husband, saying two men from eastern Europe had taken her by force from the shopping center where the movie was showing.
■ France
Marianne gets makeover
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin launched a nationwide contest on Monday to make over the symbol of France as she appears on national postage stamps. Marianne has been France's leading lady for centuries, an anonymous image of beauty and virtue who came to symbolize the republic in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The postage stamp was last given a new Marianne face in 1997. For the first redesign of the 21st century, amateur artists will have a chance to take a crack. The original Marianne is believed to have been modeled after a poor country girl.
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