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I. ON PREDESTINATION The first and most important article in religion on which I have to offer my views, and which for many years past has engaged my attention, is the Predestination of God, that is, the Election of men to salvation, and the Reprobation of them to destruction. Commencing with this article, I will first explain what is taught concerning it, both in discourses and writings, by certain persons in our Churches, and in the University of Leyden. I will afterwards declare my own views and thoughts on the same subject, while I shew my opinion on what they...

Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 99 June 27, 2002 No.99 The Damascus Blood Libel (1840) as Told by Syria's Minister of Defense, Mustafa Tlass Background Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad recently extended the term of Defense Minister Field Marshal Mustafa Tlass for another two years beyond mandatory retirement age, in appreciation of his service and his close connection with his father, former president Hafez Al-Assad. Tlass is one of the founding fathers of Syria's current Ba'ath regime and has been a key figure in Syria for the past 30 years. Hafez Assad himself had already postponed Tlass's retirement once.[1]Tlaas...

Portugal is to face austerity measures imposed by Brussels under threat of punitive sanctions, making it the first country to lose control over tax and spending policy as a result of joining the euro. The European Commission said yesterday that it was legally obliged to take action against Portugal after it emerged that the country's budget deficit was far above the 3pc of GDP limit established by the EU's Growth and Stability Pact. The shock figures were announced by the new centre-right prime minister, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, who accused the outgoing socialist government of "reckless mismanagement" and concealing the...

Engler, key lawmakers reach budget pactFriday, June 28, 2002By Peter LukeLansing Bureau LANSING -- Scheduled cuts in the Michigan's Single Business Tax would be stalled and cigarette taxes would jump 50 cents a pack under a bipartisan budget agreement reached by Gov. John Engler and legislative leaders. The pact, agreed upon in Engler's Capitol office late Thursday, could be voted on in the House as early as Tuesday, and in the Senate the week after. If the tax package passes, proposed reductions in aid to cities, local fire departments and arts organizations would be avoided. The state budget is an...

Russell Yates Files Lawsuit To Prevent Release Of Crime Scene Video The husband of convicted child killer Andrea Yates wants to block the release of a police video showing the bodies of the couple's five children. Russell Yates of Houston is suing the Texas Attorney General's office. Yates' lawsuit says the images couldn't be more personal or intimate to him. Andrea Yates last June summoned police to the family's home and admitted drowning her four sons and infant daughter. Jurors in Houston saw the police crime scene video. They rejected Andrea Yates' insanity plea. She's now serving life in prison....

"The Coming Attack" by J. R. Nyquist On May 18 the New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence had intercepted a “troubling series of communications among Al Qaeda operatives” about an intensive effort “to carry out an operation as big as or bigger than the Sept. 11 attacks….” According to the Times, the details of al Qaeda’s plans are yet unknown. “There’s just a lot of chatter in the system again,” one official told the Times. This “chatter” is alarming because it contains references to attacks that would cause “vast numbers of American casualties.” What kinds of attacks are indicated?...

(New York-AP) -- Radiation detectors like a pair just installed outside Police Headquarters will soon be deployed to other city buildings. That's the word today from Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.Kelly would not say where or when the high-tech detectors would be installed, but said City Hall would ``probably'' get a pair.The black, seven-foot towers cost just under 11-thousand dollars each.Kelly says the decision to install the detectors at the Police Department's lower Manhattan headquarters was not prompted by any particular threat.The N-Y-P-D has also ordered 200 portable radiation detectors, which will be distributed to every precinct and many specialized units.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Judge Alfred "Ted" Goodwin has a reputation for plain talk and carefully crafted opinions. Now the former cowboy has shaken up the country with a ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. In a telephone interview Friday from his summer home in Sisters, the federal appeals court judge defended his decision: "It's not as far out as a lot of headline writers seem to think." Goodwin wrote the decision for a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled 2-1 Wednesday that the phrase "under God" in the pledge violates the...

Sculpture Marking U.S.-Mexico Friendship Unveiled Email story to a friend A 65 ft. tall steel sculpture to commemorate the relationship between the United States and Mexico was unveiled Thursday in downtown San Antonio. The flaming red "Torch of Friendship" was presented to Mayor Ed Garza by Mexico's foreign minister, Jorge Castenada. Castenada was standing in for Mexican president Vicente Fox, who in late May canceled a visit to San Antonio that had been scheduled for this week. The sculpture was the work of prominent Mexican artist Sebastian, who is known for his public-art creations around the world. "I am...

  Goodbye, Good Journalism?Commentary & Opinion National Catholic Register June 30-July 6, 2002by DAVID PEARSONIf I had a family member serving in the military right now, there’s only one thing I’d dread more than a knock on the door in the middle of the night: Word that my loved one had lost his life at the hands of his own comrades. “Friendly fire,” they call it. Such a congenial term for so bitter a pill — one that no mother, father, son, daughter, sister or brother should ever have to choke down. The way I see it, when one...

Yours truly, FRiva Diva, has a special request to all Freepers considering or planning to attend the big FRiva Conference in August at the Treasure Island Resort/Hotel in Las Vegas. I'm hoping y'all will fill out and send your registrations in to the committee ASAP. There's still a few days to get in on the "early bird special" which is a package deal for a terrific savings! We need to move QUICKLY! This event is about 6 weeks away. We're all knowledgeable business-minded folks here on this forum. Each of us realizes that when a conference is planned by any...

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com Mounting evidence of Muslim involvement in the April, 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City suggests why it is important - and may be imperative - that the United States create a new intelligence agency. [snip]

Playground Game Becomes Popular With Adults Kickball Leagues Sprouting Up In Several States Each year more and more people are rediscovering the childhood game kickball. The rules are pretty much the same as when you were in elementary school, but you must be at least 21 years old to play kickball in one league. There are now as many as 4,000 adults, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who are members of the World Adult Kickball Association in the Washington, D.C. area alone. Now they're trying to get things going in California, Ohio, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Texas, New...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Thirty asylum seekers were at large in the Australian desert Friday after a daring escape from the nation's most notorious detention center. Thirty-five people escaped the Woomera detention center just before midnight Thursday after activists used a car to pull down a fence topped with razor wire, the government said. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said 15 asylum seekers were allegedly involved in the mass breakout. The other 20 took advantage of the confusion and fled into the desert surrounding the camp at Woomera, a former missile testing...

London - Iraqi opponents of President Saddam Hussein have formed a new opposition group in London. The group includes factions from a wide spectrum of Iraqi society. Called the Alliance of Iraqi National forces, it has vowed to work to end dictatorship in Iraq. According to a report in the London-based Arabic daily Azzaman, the group brings together about half a dozen Iraqi factions known for their opposition of Saddam's regime. The newspaper said the alliance has under its umbrella factions representing the country's ethnic and religious diversity. However, it includes none of the major opposition factions which until recently...

Have you ever thought about becoming a distributor for a multi-level marketing company in order to make a little extra money or build a business working on your own?Multi-level marketing is a system of retailing in which consumer products are sold by independent businessmen and women (distributors) usually in customers' homes. You can set your own hours and earn money based on your efforts and ability to sell consumer products or services supplied to you, the distributor, by an established multi-level marketing company. The multi-level company also will encourage you to build and manage your own sales force by recruiting,...

School Board Attacks Teacher's Jelly Punishment Fellow Students Pelt Boy With Jelly POSTED: 8:18 a.m. EDT June 28, 2002 CREIGHTON, Mo. -- A Missouri teacher calls it creative peer discipline -- but the local school board said it's humiliating. Eighth-grader Andy Johnson was pelted with jelly by his fellow students after refusing to participate in a reading exercise. He was warned that he'd face consequences for not participating, and his classmates then came up with creative forms of punishment. Andy said he doesn't find anything wrong with the punishment, and in fact thinks it's "pretty neat." His mother signed...

Gay Pride Parade underway in Tel AvivBy ITIMToday's Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv is underway, with security for several thousand reported marchers being provided by 500 police, border police, civil guards, and parade volunteers. The parade started at 1 p.m. in Kikar Rabin and is set to end at a "happening" at the Sportek at 7 p.m. Homosexual couples can now register as "married" at he city's municipality.City council member and activist Michal Eden carried out a signing ceremony for a couple during the event. The couple, Eli and Yaniv Sharon, said they hoped the step was symbolic of...

Veteran Villain Actor Deported Berkoff Appeared In 'Beverly Hills Cop,' 'Rambo' POSTED: 9:28 a.m. EDT June 28, 2002 Veteran character actor Steven Berkoff is facing a real-life drama: He's been deported. According the Ann Arbor News online, the British actor, known predominantly for playing movie villains, was sent home Tuesday after he was detained by Immigration and Naturalization Service agents at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The allegations were that he violated conditions of a 1997 work visa. Berkoff has appeared in many notable films, including "Beverly Hills Cop" (as Eddie Muphy's main nemesis), "Rambo: First Blood, Part II," "Octopussy," and...

Deer Attacks Driver At Gas Pump Deer Attacks Driver At Gas Pump Wildlife Officials Search For Explanation UPDATED: 8:32 a.m. EDT June 28, 2002 MARION, Ohio -- James Warren has played the scenario over and over in his mind, trying to come up with an explanation as to why he was attacked by a deer while pumping gasoline. "I'm not sure why it wanted me anyway," Warren said. "It was pretty scary." It was 10 p.m. when Warren, 26 (pictured, left), pulled into a BP station, he told a Columbus television station. He was planning a trip to Cedar...