Free Republic

U.S. spurns Arafat U-turn on Clinton plan By Nathan Guttman WASHINGTON - The U.S. dismissed Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's comments to Ha'aretz that he now accepts the proposal of former U.S. president Bill Clinton for a permanent status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Sources in the administration said it is perfectly clear this plan is no longer on the agenda and so there is no significance to such a statement. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said that the U.S. "welcomes any remarks that tend to promote a [positive] environment and look forward to peacemaking. We welcome especially calls...

'This Is the Love of God'  How do we show that we love God? Many believe that Jesus Christ came to bring a new way to worship God. But what does the Bible say? by Duane Abler Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, sprang from humble beginnings, although He admitted He was born to be king (John 18:37). During the few short years of His ministry, He was known by many as a great teacher. But what did He teach?Did He come to do away with the laws of old? Was Jesus a rebellious son? Did He bring a...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 23 Asteroids in the Distance Credit: R. Evans & K. Stapelfeldt (JPL), WFPC2, HST, NASA Explanation: Rocks from space hit Earth every day. The larger the rock, though, the less often Earth is struck. Many kilograms of space dust pitter to Earth daily. Larger bits appear initially as a bright meteor. Baseball-sized rocks and ice-balls streak through our atmosphere daily, most evaporating quickly to nothing. Significant...

Canadians are educated on a daily basis by the media and the media walks hand in hand with Ottawa politicians. Canadians are told what to believe and they are told that government policies are supreme, therefore there is no need to debate them. Just believe.

South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic seems to be flattening out, according to figures released by the national health department. The government's much delayed annual statistical report estimates that some 24.8% of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics were infected with HIV at the end of 2001, compared with 24.5% in the previous year. Slight decreases in prevalence were shown among teenagers, from 16.1% in 2000 to 15.4% last year. The survey's authors say that the drop is not statistically significant, however, whereas they say that the substantial rise among women aged 30-39 is significant. Experts have also questioned the reliability of figures showing a drop...

(New York-AP) -- Officials say a taxi swerved onto an Upper East Side sidewalk this afternoon and injured 15 people, two critically. Police say the taxi driver lost control of his vehicle just before 5 p-m as he drove southbound on Lexington Avenue. The driver crashed into several parked cars before veering onto the sidewalk at 60th Street. Witnesses said he knocked over two street vendors' carts, injuring the vendors, and came to a halt near Bloomingdale's flagship department store.Two victims were in critical condition, one was in serious condition and two were in stable condition around 6:30 p-m. The...

Won't proclaim gay pride day Edmonton's homosexual community plans to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission because Mayor Bill Smith declined to proclaim today gay pride day. "You can't discriminate based on sexual orientation," Edmonton Pride Committee spokesman Murray Billett said yesterday. "The mayor has done this by denying the proclamation." Smith said yesterday he didn't want to comment much about denying the proclamation because of the threat of legal action. But he did give his primary reason. "I'm a Christian Catholic and it goes against my personal belief," said Smith. Today, roughly 1,000 people are expected...

According to present plans, Israel Defense Forces incursions into cities and large villages on the West Bank will continue for weeks, or perhaps months - no date has been set for the end of the operation. The IDF presence will continue "as long as it is required" operationally, and until "the terror ceases," as the prime minister declared last week. It has also been decided that Israel will help the Palestinian municipalities to function - Israel will provide food if and when it is needed, along with other forms of humanitarian assistance. The main thrust of the IDF effort will...

Preferred to stay in jail: Last chapter in nine-year legal battle to block deportation The government's nine-year fight to remove a suspected terrorist and trained assassin from Canadian soil ended this week when Mansour Ahani was taken from a Hamilton jail cell, loaded on to a plane and flown to his native Iran. Mr. Ahani, who Canadian officials say is a member of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence Security, branded a terrorist organization, preferred life behind bars in Canada over returning to Iran and threw up repeated legal challenges to his deportation. It took the government years to whittle away...

<p>HYDERABAD, Pakistan — Two co- defendants in the kidnap-murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl claimed Saturday they were framed by the FBI and tortured by Pakistani police into making confessions.</p> <p>"All the witnesses in this case are either policemen or their agents, and the entire case is a fabrication of the police ... working under FBI instructions," said Salman Saqil, one of four defendants in the case. "We know that justice will not be done to us."</p>

Al-Qaida: Bin Laden Still Alive Sat Jun 22,10:17 PM ET By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Osama bin Laden ( news - web sites) and his No. 2 man are both alive and well and their al-Qaida network is ready to attack new U.S. targets, bin Laden's spokesman said in audiotaped remarks aired Sunday. The message also claimed responsibility for a deadly April fire at a Jewish synagogue in Tunisia. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network, which has in the past aired videotaped messages of bin Laden and his top lieutenants, said that it received...

Eric Hoffer was a American social philosopher. He was born in 1902 and died in 1983, after writing nine books and winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic.The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchmen. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no...

Vendors on The Drag are accused of buying stolen items. More than $60,000 in cash was found when officers searched a home during an investigation of a major fencing operation involving two egg roll carts which operated on Guadalupe Street near the University of Texas. The eggroll carts on The Drag near the University of Texas have been an Austin institution since the 1970s. Police say that for at least the last three years, they've also been a front for a major fencing operation. Late Wednesday, police arrested Lieu Thi Pham, 48, Xuan Huong Dao, 24, Hug Quoc Pham, 44,...

Pentagon official to review military swaps in China 22 June, 2002 By Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pentagon official will hold talks in China next week aimed at boosting the military-to-military ties still not fully recovered from the collision of a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea, Pentagon officials said Friday. Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, will push for "transparency and consistency and reciprocity" during his talks in Beijing, Rumsfeld told a briefing for foreign correspondents. Pentagon officials said this means the United States wants more of a...

If you are interested in the Texas Rangers enjoy

Beirut, Lebanon — Osama bin Laden and his No. 2 man are both alive and well and their al-Qaida network is ready to attack new U.S. targets, Mr. bin Laden's spokesman said in audiotaped remarks aired Sunday. The message also claimed responsibility for a deadly April fire at a Jewish synagogue in Tunisia. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network, which has in the past aired videotaped messages of Mr. bin Laden and his top lieutenants, said that it received a recorded audiotaped message from Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, the Kuwaiti-born spokesman for al-Qaida's leader and the man the U.S goverment is...

THIS WEBSITE - CLICK ME This website is intended for use as a resource, so that you can continually obtain the facts as you require them. Because we don't offer any narrative, we are able to pack a lot of information into a small area. For example, our facts about China make reference to over 55 sources. This website is different from reading the paper in that conclusions and implications are not made for you. Here, you are left to connect the dots for yourself. In order to get the most from your reading, you will find it helpful to...

In the Northwest: Funnyman Ed Asner now in a serious line of work Given that he plumbed the role of WJM-TV news director for laughs ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show") and the job of newspaper city editor for drama ("Lou Grant"), it's startling to hear actor Ed Asner's reason for not watching today's TV news. "Because it has all become entertainment," said Asner, who captured five Emmy awards for the signature character of Lou Grant. Asner, 71, is a serious dude even though he was part of one of television's greatest comic ensembles. What the "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"...

Osama bin Laden is to give another televised address to the world.The al-Qaeda leader is to deliver a hate-filled video on July 4, American Independence Day.The announcement was made on the Arabic Sahab website which issues daily information on the war in Afghanistan.Bin Laden was pictured on the site, kneeling between two al-Qaeda officials.His spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith says: "America should get ready and fasten its safety belt."We will come to them from where they don't expect. Yes, we will wage attacks but at the right time, at the place we want, in the way we please."On Friday the FBI...

Delhi Police have opened criminal proceedings against Pizza Hut, the world’s largest pizzamakers, for “hurting the religious sentiments” of a vegetarian customer who was allegedly served a chicken dish at the chain’s Vasant Lok outlet. Exporter Siddharth Jain and his father S.C. Jain visited the outlet at 10.30 p.m. on Friday night and ordered vegetable spaghetti. “But the moment I began eating, I realised to my horror that the dish had pieces of chicken in it,” said Jain. “I immediately raised a stink and demanded the staff apologise. But they refused and ridiculed me instead.” Jain then went to the...