To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (11/25/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 09:04:08 -0500

From: "Moza" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

Former European colonies meet amid fears of globalization

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP

Thu Nov 25,1999 -- Fighting to preserve privileged access to
European markets, leaders from 71 former European colonies
gathered Thursday to develop ways to protect themselves against
the globalization of free trade. The leaders, representing nations
with a combined population of 600 million people, also focused
their discussion on government corruption. The summit of
developing nations from Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific, known
as ACP, took place as the Europe Union reevaluates the
preferential system of trade quotas and tariffs it grants former
colonies. It also comes with President Clinton preparing to
accelerate free trade talks at a World Trade Organization meeting
next week in Seattle. Most threatened by the globalization of free
trade are small island nations with meager resources that send
most of their exports to Europe under the Lome Convention.
"Europe must not be intimidated by the United States and the
World Trade Organization into abandoning the preferences" said
Trinidad leader Basdeo Panday. President Didier Ratsiraka of
Madagascar won resounding applause when he compared the U.S.
push for free trade to a dictatorship. "By over-liberalizing, we will
end up destroying democracy and freedom," he stormed. "We will
end up by going back to trading people."

Britain and France urge EU to set up defense force

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP

Thu Nov 25,1999 -- Britain and France, in a decisive step toward
lessening Europe's military dependence on the United States, on
Thursday urged the setting up of a new 50,000-60,000-strong
European Union force capable of full deployment within 60 days. At
a joint news conference, French President Jacques Chirac and
British Prime Minister Tony Blair denied their initiative was a rebuff
to the United States. They said in a statement that the U.S. led-
NATO alliance "remains the foundation of our collective defense."
Britain's opposition Conservative Party, however, denounced the
proposed EU rapid reaction force as a dangerous move that could
lead to the breakup of NATO, and accused Blair of being led by
France into an anti-American stance. Chirac and Blair will press
the other leaders of the 15-nation EU at a meeting in Helsinki,
Finland, next month to agree to provide troops, warships and
aircraft for the new force. "In no way are we impinging on the
strength of NATO," said Blair, sitting alongside Chirac and French
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin after a day of meetings. "This is
designed to give us a capability in circumstances where NATO
does not want to be involved in the traditional way." Britain and
France, the most important military powers in the EU, first put
forward their plan a year ago _ and say the huge role the United
States played in NATO's bombing campaign in Kosovo this year
gave it fresh urgency. They hope to form the force within a year.
"We learned in Kosovo of the inability of European nations to get
sufficient forces into the field sufficiently quickly," British Defense
Secretary Geoffrey Hoon said. "Notwithstanding an enormous
paper strength, the reality was only 2 percent of the combined
armed forces of Europe were actually available." Hoon and French
Defense Secretary Alain Richard met separately and signed a
logistics agreement which includes provisions for sharing fuel, food
for the military, and transport. In Copenhagen, Denmark, on
Thursday, NATO's new secretary-general, Lord George Robertson,
dismissed U.S. concerns that closer European military cooperation
would undermine the alliance. "Those in America who are
becoming nervous about some of the developments that are taking
place are wrong," Robertson said. Washington has warned the
European Union not to undermine the primacy of the alliance. "I
seek every opportunity to reassure them: a stronger Europe does
not mean a weaker United States," Robertson said after talks with
the government in Denmark, a NATO member. In Brussels,
Belgium, meanwhile, the EU's chief of foreign and security policy,
Javier Solana, was sworn in as head of the Western European
Union, a long-dormant grouping the EU wants to develop as its
defense arm.

King Abdullah: Jerusalem should hold two capitals

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Thu Nov 25,1999 -- King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday announced
that Jerusalem should be the capital of both Israel and the future
Palestinian state. The king, speaking yesterday at the opening
session of a five-day religious meeting in Amman organized by the
World Conference on Religion and Peace, said that, "Jerusalem is
too sacred and too symbolic for it to belong exclusively to one
party. It can accommodate two capitals, one Palestinian and one
Israeli, and belong, as it should, to the entire world at the same
time." King Abdullah criticized Israel, saying, "I am afraid that
Israel, our peace partner, perpetuates exclusion by its persistence
that Jerusalem ... is its capital alone. This is a manifestation of
discrimination and contrary to the (Palestinian) right to self
determination." The young monarch called Jerusalem "the biggest
obstacle" on the path to peace and said it should be resolved
"through peaceful means". The king turned the conference's
attention to the plight of the Palestinian refugees saying that the
problem, "is a distillation of the evils that one human group
perpetuates against another. The refugees must exercise the right
of return and they should receive adequate compensation," he
continued. Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf Rawabdeh said
on Wednesday that Jordan will never allow Hamas to have a
military presence. Hamas had published a statement that day
calling on, "all state and popular bodies in Jordan, Palestine, Arab
and Islamic states to use all available methods to pressure Jordan,
so that it will take back its cruel decision to expel our fighter
brothers.

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (11/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 09:09:43 -0500

From: "Moza" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

TEL AVIV ARAB OFFICIAL TELLS JEWS TO GET OUT
Yet another mosque is drawing objections - this time from Jews.
Moslems in Jaffa wish to re-open an old mosque located in the
middle of the artists' quarter, prompting an outpouring of objections
from Jewish residents there. The latter have submitted a petition to
the Supreme Court, in which they claim that opening the mosque
will endanger their security and detract from their "quality of life."
The artist-residents ask why Moslems must come and pray
exactly in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood. Ahmed Balha, a
member of the Tel Aviv municipal council, accused the
complainants of racism, and said, "Whoever doesn't want to see a
mosque next to his home - should get out."

HITLER IN FAR-EAST
The wall of apathy regarding Adolf Hitler in the far East may finally
be breaking down. A Taiwanese company, facing a barrage of
complaints from Israelis, Germans, and others, recently agreed to
call off an advertising campaign using Hitler's image in ads for
German-made electric space heaters. The ads showed a smiling
Hitler, his arm raised high in a salute, and above him a space
heater and the slogan, "Declare war on the cold front!"

Victor Fic, a Canadian freelance journalist with CBS News Radio
and the Australia Broadcasting Corporation, reports from Taiwan
that this incident points to a larger reality: "East Asians often
either know nothing about Hitler, or they admire him... I first
encountered this fact in Nanjing, China, in 1988. My Chinese
conversation partner smilingly told me that Hitler was great
because he built a new Germany. The millions he killed was the
price of progress... In 1991, I was in Tokyo. A beer hall tried to use
Nazi symbols as decoration... After foreigners in Japan protested,
the owners relented. They explained that they did not admire
Hitler; they just wanted to have fun. Then, in the mid-1990's, it was
revealed that senior leaders in Japan's ruling conservative party
were passing around -- and trying to learn from -- a book on Hitler's
political strategy. Strangely, there was no outcry that time." AP
similarly reports that German officials in Taiwan claim they often
encounter taxi drivers who praise Hitler. Fic concludes,
"Fortunately, there are many East Asians who are cosmopolitan
and knowledgeable about history... Few Asians are actively pro-
Hitler the way German neo-Nazis are; there is no ground for
alarm... [but] Westerners must have a frank and educational
dialogue with our East Asian friends who evince dangerous views
on the Nazis. Whether in real life, or in cartoon form, Hitler must be
defeated."

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Friday, November 26, 1999 / Kislev 17, 5760

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (11/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 09:21:37 -0500

From: "Moza" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

*** Judge rules on DUI, premature baby case

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - In a case hinging on the legal definition
of life, a judge ruled Wednesday that a drunk driver was innocent of
the vehicular manslaughter of a baby who was delivered
prematurely after a crash and declared dead after hours on life
support. San Bernardino County Judge Mary Fuller said Olivia
Taylor Garcia did not meet the definition of a viable human being
when she was delivered in the eighth month by emergency
Caesarean section. Therefore, Fuller ruled Antonio Ortiz was
innocent of vehicular manslaughter. He was convicted of multiple
counts of drunken driving resulting in injury and great bodily injury
to the baby's mother. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562247137-12e

*** Gay students sue school district

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - Two gay high school students filed a
federal lawsuit Wednesday, accusing a school district of violating
their right to free speech by refusing to let their Gay-Straight
Alliance Club meet on campus. The suit also claims the Orange
Unified School District violated the federal Equal Access Act, which
requires schools to treat non-curricular student groups the same regardless
of race, gender or sexual orientation. Students Anthony Colin, 15,
and Heather Zetin, 16, proposed the club in September as a place
for all students at El Modena High School in Orange to discuss
issues related to sexual orientation. The school district initially
refused to allow the club to meet on campus, but the school board
voted 7-0 last week to publicly consider the matter Dec. 7. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562249713-e36

*** Israel to confiscate land for road

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel will confiscate Arab land and destroy
Arab homes built without permits so that it can build a road linking
Jerusalem to the West Bank, Palestinian and Israeli officials said
Thursday. The Palestinians accused Israel of trying to expand
Jerusalem's municipal boundaries in an effort to cement its claim
on the contested city. "It is a unilateral act that will explode the
peace process," said Faisal Husseini, the PLO official in charge of
Jerusalem. The road, approved Wednesday by an Israeli ministerial
committee, will link the southern and northern parts of the West
Bank by building three tunnels through parts of Arab east
Jerusalem and the West Bank. It will connect outlying Jewish
settlements to west Jerusalem, Palestinian settlement expert
Khalil Tufakji said. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562263224-cb6
*** Also: Talks fail on Israeli withdrawal, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562246466-c61

*** Palestinians protest price hikes

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hundreds of Palestinians protested
against rising fuel and food prices Thursday and cast much of the
blame on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's top economic adviser.
The Palestinian Authority has a monopoly on the import of several
key goods, including fuel, cement and grain. It has also allowed
monopolies in the private sector, including in telecommunications.
Arafat's economic adviser, Khaled Salam, is seen as the driving
force behind the monopolies. Thursday's protest was organized by
supporters of Arafat's Fatah movement in the town of Rafah on the
border with Egypt. Hundreds of marchers walked along the main
street and asked merchants to close their shops for two hours.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562257761-
55e

*** Ukraine to restart Chernobyl reactor

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Thirteen years after the world's worst nuclear
accident, the Chernobyl power plant is reemerging as a focus of
environmental fears and a subject of negotiations over aid to cash-
strapped Ukraine. The reopening of the plant's only functioning
reactor, scheduled for Friday following five months of repairs,
comes after the U.S. State Department recently said Ukraine
"appears to be unprepared" to confront the Y2K bug. The
department warned of "a risk of potential disruption in all key
sectors, especially the energy and electric services." Under a 1995
agreement between Ukraine and the Group of Seven leading
industrialized nations, Chernobyl was supposed to be closed once
and for all before the year 2000. But the former Soviet republic says
it has not received the money it was promised to complete two new
nuclear reactors, and therefore will keep Chernobyl running until an
unspecified date next year. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562259698-616

*** Judge rejects fortune telling ban

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - After a 17-year ban, fortune tellers may be
back in business in New Iberia. A federal judge struck down New
Iberia's 1982 ban on palm reading and fortune telling Tuesday,
saying the southern Louisiana town of 31,800 went too far to
protect its residents and had created a threat to their First
Amendment rights. Lawyers for New Iberia had argued that the ban
protected against fraud and unfair trade practices. The ruling was
"an awesome victory for free speech and definitely brings New
Iberia up to the times," said Melissa Long, a fortune teller who
along with psychic reader Ray Trimble, two others and the ACLU
had sued New Iberia after Trimble's shop was closed. New Iberia's
lawyer, Fred Davis, said he hadn't seen Judge Tucker L.
Melancon's ruling and couldn't say whether it would
be appealed. ###

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - US Forces fighting for whom?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 12:33:52 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

About.com Forum Board

From: Rod Powers -- U.S. Military Guide (RODPOWERS1) Nov-13
10:26 am
To: ALL

Although I have not been able to verify this by an independent
source, I have received several emails from veterans claiming that
the American remains received recently from North Korea, and
flown to the U.S., were draped in U.N. Flags.

A news commentater, reportably noted that the reason for this was
that the U.N. Flag was the "Flag they fought under."

*If* this report is true, and if this protocol was approved by officials
of the U.S. Government, it is a travesty, and a slap in the face of all
Veterans, and all of those who have died in defense and support of
our Country.

American service people take a sacred oath to support and defend
the Constitution of the United States of America -- not the U.N.
Charter. That our Government could forget this basic premise within
the same week of the special day we pay tribute and honor to our
Veterans is not only heart-breaking, but is sickening.

I am a Veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States of
America. I dedicated a significant portion of my life to being willing
and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of my country,
and the principles of freedom and democracy. I now find it
necessary to change my will to ensure that when I die, my coffin is
draped in the colors of my country, and not the symbol of an
organization, most of who's members would not know freedom and
democracy if it slapped them in the face.

 Rod
 Rod Powers
 About.com U.S. Military Guide

http://about.delphi.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=378%2E1

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