Free Republic

MICHAEL FREUND Ten years ago this week, on June 23, 1992, Yitzhak Rabin was elected prime minister of Israel, thanks in part to his promise to "take Gaza out of Tel Aviv." Still reeling from the brutal terrorist murder of 15-year-old Helena Rapp of Bat Yam on May 24 of that year, the Israeli public voted for the ex-general, confident that he would restore their sense of personal security and bring about an end to Palestinian violence. The rest, of course, is history, as Rabin went on to sign the Oslo Accords, handing over large parts of Judea, Samaria and...

State's losses get scrutiny TALLAHASSEE - Before Enron's collapse cost the state pension fund $334 million late last year, few Floridians had ever heard of Frank Savage. Now Savage, who simultaneously sat on the boards of Enron and Alliance Capital Management, the firm largely blamed for Florida's losses, has become the lightning rod for speculation that insiders benefited at Florida's expense. Tuesday, during congressional hearings, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., invoked Savage's name as he asked Enron executives if they had any evidence of investment firms pushing Enron stock in an effort to shore up the now-collapsed energy giant's...

One might think that a speech by the president of the United States conditioning support for Palestinian statehood on the removal of the current Palestinian leadership would spark unmitigated joy from across the Israeli political spectrum. After all, does not the main disagreement over what to do about Yasser Arafat stem from differing assessments over how the world will react, rather than any illusions about Arafat's role? Actually, the Bush speech serves as a fascinating Rorschach test. It reveals that the prospect of a post-Arafat era causes significant chunks of the Israeli political spectrum from mainstream analysts to most Labor...

Bernard Lewis on Understanding Islam Richard John Neuhaus The mention of his name is usually accompanied by descriptives such as “the distinguished,” “the eminent,” or “the renowned.” Frequently he is simply called “the doyen of Middle Eastern studies.” All such honorifics are amply deserved. Going back many years, Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern studies at Princeton, has been a personal friend and, more than anyone else, my guru on matters Islamic. His new book is What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response (Oxford University Press). It is a mix of lectures and essays from the 1990s,...

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said last night that Bush is very concerned over Israel's future, and that he feels that Israel will not be able to survive unless a Palestinian state is established alongside it. This sentiment, of course, flies in the face of the considered opinions of many top analysts. A paper prepared by the Foundation For Constitutional Democracy writes, "An Islamic Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria dooms Israel. Consider the enormous quantity and types of weapons the Palestinian Authority accumulated! There will be no way of limiting the number and type of weapons acquired and developed...

NEW YORK (AP) _ The Cyclone, perhaps the world's best-known roller coaster, turns 75-years-old today. The Coney Island landmark first opened to thrill seekers on June 26, 1927, and still offers a 60 mph ride on 1.6 miles of track, including 12 drops. When it first opened, a ride on the Cyclone was 25 cents. These days the same ride will cost you $5 _ except for today, between noon and 5:00 p.m., when rides will sell for 75 cents to celebrate the Brooklyn coaster's silver anniversary. There will also be Ragtime music, a 1920s swimsuit contest and a...

A five-year-old Italian boy destroyed £1,000 after his grandfather told him money wasn't important.The unnamed boy, from Mirabella Imbaccari, Sicily, took the money from his father's wallet and ripped it up.He completely shredded the banknotes and threw the pieces out of the window, Il Nuovo website reports.The boy claimed to have got the inspiration from his grandfather who told him: "Money is not very important in life, loving each other is much more important."

Europe sees WorldCom scandal as "American disease"By Mark Bendeich and Camila Reed LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - European stock market traders and investors voiced shock and disgust on Wednesday at a $4 billion accounting scandal at U.S. telecoms group WorldCom Inc, but they doubted the same could happen in their home markets. "If you can't trust the accountants or the companies then the whole thing falls down like a pack of cards," said Henk Potts, an investment analyst with Britain's Barclays Private Clients, which manages money for wealthy clients. European stock markets took a dive on the revelations from WorldCom...

The term "correlation of forces" is a useful concept of military strategy. Widely used by the former Soviet Union, it is applied as a measure of armed forces, from the subunit level to major formations. Additionally, it has been used to compare resources and capabilities on both the levels of military strategy and of so-called "grand strategy." This meaning is closely related to the concept of "force ratios" used in the West. Today, with the winds of war blowing again in the Middle East - winds hastened by a probable Palestinian state - Israel must undertake productive assessments of enemy...

Body found tied to signMan had been at party; official speaks of prank gone awry GOLDSBORO - Out in the country, where they were from, folks might say that Tony Wayne Smith's friends and family were old enough to know better than to tie him to a signpost after a night of partying. Smith died over the weekend after a prank that went bad, investigators say. They are awaiting results of an autopsy to determine whether charges will be filed. Lt. George L. Raecher of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said Smith's body was found by a motorist driving north...

<p>Earlier this month, the Senate held hearings on an international women's rights treaty known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. For more than 20 years, the Senate has wisely resisted ratifying CEDAW. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) and Joseph Biden (D., Del.) are seeking to reverse this policy. But nothing has changed. Signing this United Nations treaty is still a very bad idea.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON—Steven Kirsch is a California high-tech executive with no family roots or business interests in Missouri.</p> <p>But Kirsch poured $300,000 into the state's Democratic Party coffers during the 2000 election cycle, making him the second largest soft-money donor to either state party.</p>

<p>White House spokesman Ari Fleischer should stop referring to grown women as children. The women in question are Amjad Radwan and Alia and Aisha Gheshayan, three American citizens in Saudi Arabia whose fate has finally become an issue for Congress.</p>

End subsidies for nostalgia: Derail AmtrakThis nonessential servive will never be able to cover its costs ROBERT SAMUELSON WASHINGTON - It is time to let Amtrak die. Actually, Congress should never have created Amtrak and, having done so, should have long ago killed it. The Amtrak problem is not mainly about transportation, because passenger trains move so few travelers. It's about politics, which is to say Washington's inability to control spending. Since its start in 1971, Amtrak has required $39 billion in federal subsidies (in "constant" 2000 dollars), says the General Accounting Office. Its annual cash needs are now running...

General RainesDavid Remnick is the best editor The New Yorker’s employed in decades. The weekly’s June 17 & June 24 "double" issue dedicated to fiction and "family histories" was an achievement unparalleled by any other magazine this year–Vanity Fair, for example, is in nosedive mode–with the lone exception of every month’s Atlantic. Jonathan Lethem’s heartbreaking "Alone at the Movies," Donald Antrim’s beautifully-written if depressing "I Bought a Bed" and Jeanette Winterson’s "Mother from Heaven" would all lift the quality of lesser publications such as New York, Esquire or GQ. But the standout in this New Yorker was actor/writer Steve Martin’s...

<p>Washington -- In the frantic final days before the 2000 presidential election, a wealthy Bay Area Internet executive not known for making big political contributions poured more than $1.2 million into Democratic party committees in key battleground states.</p> <p>Steve T. Kirsch, a founder of Infoseek and CEO of San Jose-based Propel, sent a total of $150,000 to New Mexico and Nevada on Oct. 26. The next day he spent $1.1 million to help Democrats in Arkansas, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri and Pennsylvania.</p>

The evolution of eminent domain is the story of the lasting power of Supreme Court decisions to alter the American cultural fabric For generations, the descendants of Bahamian conch fishermen and their families have lived in Riviera Beach, Florida. They would like to stay there, in part because Riviera Beach is one of the few affordable waterfront towns remaining in the state. But in all probability, they will not be able to. Over the winter, the city council approved the development of "Harbor Village" by commercial yachting, shipping and tourism companies. The project would involve razing about 1,000 homes. The...

Prayers requested during week of 6/23/02 Prayer request for those affected by fires in ArizonaContinued prayers for foster childPraise report on friend and prayers for foreverfree's mother and pastorPrayers for gwmoore and familyPrayer request for those affected by bus accident in TexasPrayer request from LeeMcCoy for resolution to two issuesUrgent prayer request for Teacup, mini teacup, and sonPrayer request for potlatch and mother Prayers requested during week of 6/16/02 Continued prayers for Lex and familyPrayers for EggsAckley's mother and familyPraise report--Update on NatureGirl's father-in-lawPrayers for VaBthang4's stepfather GaryPrayer request for JoePrayers for JohnnyGage's sister-in-law AngelaPrayer request for gwmoore's fatherPrayers for...

One can give credit to George Bush for restoring dignity to the White House. Done. One can commend George Bush for responding appropriately to the Sept. 11 Islamist attack on the United States. Check. One can even give ol' George a pat on the back for his personal decision to kick alcohol and live a clean, reverent life. Patpatpat. But one can also draw the line at eating all one's fruits and veggies just like the president says good Americans should. Bush's four-day plug for more nutritious eating habits and improved fitness for a Better America has left me wishing...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- A Westchester man was indicted Tuesday on charges that he used the Internet to offer a 5-year-old girl to a pedophile and to induce a teen-ager into an online sexual performance, the district attorney said. Ronald Fink, 40, of Tuckahoe, was arraigned in Westchester County Court on 38 charges, including sexual abuse and use of a child in a sexual performance, that could put him in prison for as long as 44 years if he is convicted. He was released on $25,000 bail. "This is not just the use of the Internet to find victims...