[CTRL] Rupert Murdoch and his son genuflect before Chinese communists.
-Caveat Lector- CITIZEN OF THE WORLD Bad Company Rupert Murdoch and his son genuflect before Chinese communists. BY TUNKU VARADARAJAN Monday, March 26, 2001 12:01 a.m. EST Rupert Murdoch, a master practitioner of the corporate kowtow, has instructed his son James perfectly in the craft of craven submission to the communist regime in China. The young Murdoch--a college dropout, now chairman and CEO of his father's Hong Kong-based Star TV company--gave an impressive, almost balletic, performance of the genuflectory arts last week in an address to the Milken Institute in Beverly Hills. In words that astonished those gathered for the institute's annual business conference, James Murdoch, all of 28 years, lit into the Falun Gong religious resistance movement in China, describing it as a "dangerous" and "apocalyptic cult," which "clearly does not have the success of China at heart." He criticized the Western media and the Hong Kong press for their negative coverage of human-rights issues in China, concluding with the lament that "these destabilizing forces today are very, very dangerous for the Chinese government." Young Mr. Murdoch, who described himself as "apolitical," counseled Hong Kong's beleaguered democracy advocates to resign themselves to the reality of life under an "absolutist" government. The youthful CEO made no mention of the 150 Falun Gong members who have died in Chinese police custody, nor of the approximately 10,000 who languish in prison. Nor did he mention threats to Taiwan, slave labor, Tibet, arbitrary executions or the removal for sale of organs from the bodies of those executed. But let us not go there. The Murdochs have obviously had considerable success in China with their lapdog approach, and they must see no reason why this approach need change. This is far from the first time a News Corp. executive has brown-nosed Beijing since a gung-ho little speech, made by Rupert Murdoch in 1993. In that speech Mr. Murdoch said satellite television was "an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere." A month later the Chinese government clamped down on the installation of satellite dishes, much to the chagrin of Mr. Murdoch, who had purchased Star TV in the hope of capturing the satellite market in China. The media magnate had never run up against real totalitarians before, and was rather startled. In a bid to undo the commercial damage caused by his speech, Mr. Murdoch abased himself immediately, dropping the BBC's World Service Television from the China beam of Star TV's satellite. This he did shamelessly, telling all the world that he'd always believed that the folks at the BBC were pesky liberals who were out to portray China in the worst possible light. No wonder that Christopher Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, called Mr. Murdoch's decision to pull the BBC from Star's menu "the most seedy of betrayals." In an interview with Ken Auletta for a New Yorker profile, Mr. Murdoch said: "The BBC was driving them"--the Chinese regime--"nuts. It wasn't worth it." Mr. Patten was later the victim of another seedy betrayal. His book, "East and West," which was to be published by the Murdoch-owned HaperCollins, was dumped after Mr. Murdoch decided it was too critical of Beijing. In a pre-emptive smear, designed to ward off accusations that Mr. Murdoch was prostrating himself before the Chinese communists, flacks at HarperCollins put out the word that the Patten book was dropped for being "too boring." This lie was nailed by the editor who commissioned the book, who lauded it as "probably the best written and most compelling book I have read by a politician since I came into publishing." Mr. Murdoch, let us remember, suffered a huge moral defeat when he was compelled to apologize "unreservedly" to Mr. Patten, as well as to pay him an undisclosed out-of-court settlement. There are other examples, some boorish, some insidious, of Mr. Murdoch's willingness to sing Beijing's tune. He has described the Dalai Lama as "a very political old monk shuffling around in Gucci shoes," and has spoken of pre-1950 Tibet, before the illegal Chinese occupation, as being "a pretty terrible old autocratic society out of the Middle Ages. . . . Maybe I'm falling for propaganda, but it was an authoritarian medieval society without any basic services." As Jonathan Mirsky, a peerless authority on China, responded in the New Statesman of London, "Murdoch is not falling for Chinese propaganda. He's repeating it word for word." Mr. Mirsky has firsthand experience of how Murdoch-owned media have drawn in their horns on the subject of China. In the last year of his five-year stint as the East Asia editor of the London Times, Mr. Mirsky found that much of his copy--invariably critical of the Beijing regime--failed to make it into the paper. He felt compelled to resign. He had harsh things to say about Mr. Murdoch then, and he has harsh things to say about him now. In an e-mail to me over the
[CTRL] Rules for Oklahoma Bomber's Last Meal
-Caveat Lector- Monday March 26 7:46 AM ET Rules for Oklahoma Bomber's Last Meal TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Reuters) - Federal prison officials in Indiana have told an animal protection group they cannot compel condemned Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to have a vegetarian dinner for his last meal. McVeigh is scheduled to be executed May 16 at the federal prison in Terre Haute for killing 168 men, women and children in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. He will be able to choose anything he wants ``within reason'' meatless or not, for his final meal, Harley Lappin, warden of the prison, told People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in a letter released by the group on Friday. The group had sent a letter to the warden earlier in the week asking that McVeigh not be allowed to ``take even one more life'' and be required to eat a meatless meal as his last one. Whether McVeigh has made any last meal request was not known. ``Nonviolence begins at the table,'' said the group. Lappin's reply said the Federal Bureau of Prisons was ''sensitive to animal rights and the issues you raised have been carefully considered. The Bureau of Prisons provides inmates with alternative food options as their last meal prior to execution. ``Inmates are allowed to select, within reason, the food that is prepared provided it does not contain alcohol, tobacco or illegal substances,'' he added. ``However, if they so chose, inmates may select meat...'' The federal government has not carried out an execution since 1963, when Victor Feuger, convicted of a kidnap-murder, was hanged in Iowa. For his last meal Feuger chose an olive, with a pit, reportedly saying he hoped the tree that symbolizes peace would sprout from his grave. -- Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html"Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/"ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Supreme Court Plans to Review Arbitration, Death-Penalty Cases
-Caveat Lector- Supreme Court Plans to Review Arbitration, Death-Penalty Cases By ROBERT S. GREENBERGER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON -- A week after deciding that most workers may be required to resolve job disputes through arbitration, the Supreme Court said it will review whether federal agencies may sue companies for additional awards on behalf of aggrieved employees. In other actions, the high court agreed to look again at whether a federal affirmative-action program to aid disadvantaged businesses unlawfully discriminates against whites. The court may use the case to underscore its displeasure with the way lower courts -- and the Clinton administration -- failed to follow closely one of its earlier rulings on the issue. And the justices will review whether the Constitution bars execution of mentally retarded people as cruel and unusual punishment. The arbitration case involves the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed an action against Waffle House Inc., on behalf of a worker, Eric Scott Baker. In 1994, Mr. Baker applied for a job at a Waffle House in Columbia, S.C., filling out an employment contract that included a binding-arbitration agreement. Mr. Baker wasn't offered a job but found work at another Waffle House, in West Columbia. Less than a month after he was hired, Mr. Baker, who had a seizure disorder, suffered a seizure at work. He was fired shortly thereafter. Mr. Baker filed a charge with the EEOC, which brought an action on his behalf, saying the termination violated a provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company filed a petition with a local magistrate to compel arbitration to resolve the dispute, and the judge agreed. The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina reversed that ruling, finding there had been no agreement to arbitrate disputes because Mr. Baker signed the employment contract at the first Waffle House. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., disagreed. First, it said that Mr. Baker was covered by the binding-arbitration clause. Second, it ruled Mr. Baker's obligation to submit to arbitration precluded the EEOC from suing on his behalf for damages such as back pay, reinstatement or damages. The EEOC asked the high court to review the case, saying the appeals court's ruling "threatens serious harm to the EEOC's enforcement role under federal antidiscrimination statutes." The high court is expected to decided the case during its next term, which begins in October. (EEOC v. Waffle House) The affirmative-action case was brought more than a decade ago by Adarand Constructors Inc., of Colorado Springs, Colo. The firm sued the Department of Transportation, challenging a federal program under which highway construction projects were awarded, based on race, to businesses owned by "socially and economically disadvantaged" individuals. Adarand argued that the program discriminated against the firm based on race. In 1995, the Supreme Court sharply curtailed such programs, saying that the government must meet a strict standard by showing it has compelling interest in using race in such programs, and the use of race must be tailored narrowly to promote such interests. The test is difficult for many affirmative-action programs to meet. Following the ruling, changes were made in the DOT program. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, upheld the new program last September. But Adarand, in its petition to the high court for further review, complains that the circuit court is "applying a far more lenient standard to acts of Congress than [it] applies to the actions of state and local governments." Several people familiar with the case say the Supreme Court may have decided to take another look at the case to underscore its displeasure that its instructions aren't being closely followed. In its filing with the court, Adarand claims that with the single exception of dropping a provision that gave cash bonuses to contractors if at least 10% of their subcontracts went to "disadvantaged" minority firms, the old program remains intact. The Clinton administration's Solicitor General, however, filed a brief in January saying that Adarand "mostly ignores the numerous ways" in which the program has been altered. The Bush administration, which will argue the case before the high court, is critical of many affirmative-action programs. (Adarand v. Slater, Secretary of Transportation) The court also agreed to review an appeal by Ernest McCarver, a North Carolina death-row inmate whose execution the court halted earlier this month hours before his scheduled execution. In what could be a major ruling, the Justices will revisit whether imposing the death penalty on mentally retarded people is "cruel and unusual" punishment. The justices decided in 1989 that there was no constitutional bar against execution of mentally retarded killers. Mr. McCarver's lawyers say Americans'
Re: [CTRL] Second-graders face charges for paper gun (fwd)
-Caveat Lector- IRVINGTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Two second-graders playing cops and robbers with a paper gun were charged with making terrorist threats. Oh, good the Nazis of America are out in full force... :-( A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html"Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/"ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] How Military Pain Beams Will Work
-Caveat Lector- A prototype of the U.S. military's pain beam looks like a satellite dish. Eventually, a smaller system could be mounted to Humvees, planes and ships. Um, they say that it emits a Electromagnetic energy in a narrow beam. Isn't cancer brought on by over exposure of EM energy? And how long are the periods of exposure? Also, how long do you think until they have hand held versions that look like the size of Uzi's? A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html"Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/"ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Chinese Scholar Based in U.S. Is Held for 5 Weeks by Beijing
-Caveat Lector- Wednesday March 21 01:33 PM EST Chinese Scholar Based in U.S. Is Held for 5 Weeks by Beijing By ERIK ECKHOLM The New York Times A Chinese scholar based in the United States has been held in Beijing in isolation for more than five weeks on suspicion of "activities damaging state security," the authorities acknowledged. BEIJING, March 21 A Chinese scholar based in the United States has been held here in isolation for more than five weeks because of "activities damaging state security," the authorities acknowledged today. Her husband and 5-year-old son were held separately for 26 days, unable to see each other, before they were freed on March 8 and returned to the United States. The boy is an American citizen but the American Embassy here was not notified of his detention, in violation of an agreement between the two countries. Gao Zhan, a sociologist with a temporary appointment at American University in Washington, D.C., was detained by state security officers with her husband, Xue Donghua, and son, Andrew Xue, at the Beijing airport on Feb. 11. The family was returning home from a three-week visit, according to Mr. Xue. "From 11 February until now I have never seen my wife, and I have no idea what has happened to her," Mr. Xue said in a statement distributed today by Human Rights in China, a private group based in New York. The agreement between the United States and China requires that the embassy be told within four days when an American citizen is held. Ms. Gao and her husband are permanent residents of the United States, in line to become citizens. A spokesman for the United States Embassy here said that Mr. Xue's statement "is consistent with our understanding of the events," and that the embassy takes seriously any violations of the notification agreement. But he declined to comment further on the case because of American privacy laws. News of the detentions coincides with a visit to New York and Washington of a top Chinese foreign policy official, Deputy Prime Minister Qian Qichen, seeking to smooth Chinese-American relations. Along with Mr. Xue's statement today, the group Human Rights in China also released a copy of a letter it has sent to President Bush asking him to raise the case of Ms. Gao in his meeting with Mr. Qian, scheduled for Thursday. Mr. Xue, a computer systems analyst with Electronic Database System, an American company, said he was kept for 26 days in a single room, with no reading materials or television, and that his requests to make telephone calls and see a lawyer were refused. He said he had immediately informed his captors that their child was an American citizen. Told that the boy was held in a Government nursery, Mr. Xue "demanded that they allow my son to stay with one of us, or at least that he be sent to my parents or in-laws" in China, he said. But the officials refused and "they told me that the only way I could see my son was if I told them more unfavorable stories about my wife," he said. "I have never believed that my wife could do anything wrong to oppose the Chinese Government," he said. "I am totally convinced of my wife's innocence." "She remains detained for no reason and with no legal procedures," he said, The circumstances of her detention, and those of Mr. Xue he was not allowed to contact his family or employer or to consult a lawyer appear to violate Chinese law as well as internationally accepted legal norms. Ms. Gao received a doctorate in sociology from Syracuse University in 1997, writing her dissertation on marital problems among Chinese students in the United States. Last fall she received a one-year unpaid appointment as a faculty research fellow at American University's School of International Service, according to Todd Sedmak, the university spokesman. Mr. Xue said that in the initial days of his detention he was questioned about his wife's research and about visits she made to Taiwan in 1995 and 1999. Ms. Gao is treasurer of the Association of Chinese Political Studies, a professional group of mainly Chinese-born scholars working abroad, and she was part of an academic delegation from that group that visited Taiwan in 1999 to discuss issues in relations between the mainland and Taiwan. Pressed by reporters today, China's foreign ministry issued a brief statement: "Chinese citizen Gao Zhan was involved in activities damaging state security and relevant authorities are investigating her according to China's criminal law." It gave no information about her alleged violations but, as is common in cases involving state security here, the official statement essentially declared her guilty before she has been indicted or tried. Her detention is the third recent incident in which Chinese scholars permanently living in the United States, and nearing a change in citizenship, have been held here on security charges. Song Yongyi, a librarian at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, was detained for more than five months and
[CTRL] Spy Case Prompts Polygraphs for 500 in FBI
-Caveat Lector- Saturday March 24 9:05 PM ET Spy Case Prompts Polygraphs for 500 in FBI WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some 500 FBI employees with access to intelligence information will be given lie detector tests beginning next week in the first security reform stemming from the arrest of alleged spy Robert Hanssen, the FBI said on Saturday. FBI spokesman John Collingwood said the polygraph tests would be given to systems administrators, people with access to special FBI file rooms and databases, and some 150 senior executives over the next two months. ``In the wake of the Hanssen arrest, we began a top-to-bottom review of our internal security and this is one of the first things we have identified that we can do to enhance security,'' Collingwood said. ``This is intended to be part of our general program of heightened internal security. This is not in response to specific information that there is continuing espionage within the FBI,'' he added. The Washington Post first reported the scheduled tests in its Saturday editions, saying they would also be given to special agents in charge of regional offices and any others with access to sensitive intelligence material. FBI Director Louis Freeh had also ordered reviews of all ''sensitive investigations'' to determine if other agents had accessed information outside their normal duties, the Post said, citing a memo sent to FBI employees last week. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) announced on March 1 that the FBI would expand the use of polygraph tests and would more closely audit access to computers and other information. Ashcroft said that he and Freeh agreed on the interim measures after the February arrest of Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran and counter-intelligence expert. Hanssen has been accused of spying for Moscow since 1985 in exchange for $1.4 million in money and diamonds. He allegedly gave Moscow secrets that included names of double agents, and U.S. electronic surveillance methods, revelations that severely damaged national security, U.S. officials said. The FBI in the mid-1990s started giving polygraphs to new hires and agents working on highly sensitive cases. But Hanssen and other longtime agents were never tested. Collingwood said the results of regular investigations of FBI employees with access to classified information, which are carried out every five years, would also be scrutinized more carefully by FBI analysts to find discrepancies and tip-offs about possible spying activities. He said FBI employees were responding positively to the enhanced security measures. ``Most employees realize in the aftermath of the Hanssen arrest that substantial security enhancements are necessary,'' he said. ``We've actually had this under consideration for some time.'' Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html"Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/"ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL]
[CTRL] Bay of Pigs Foes Walk Battlefield Beaches Together
-Caveat Lector- Saturday March 24 8:33 PM ET Bay of Pigs Foes Walk Battlefield Beaches Together By Andrew Cawthorne BAY OF PIGS, Cuba (Reuters) - Former adversaries from the 1961 U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba strolled together on Saturday along Caribbean beaches and swamp that were once one of the most emblematic Cold War battlefields. ``It was very sad because lives were lost, but I think we can lay it to rest now and build on new friendships in the interest of peace and reconciliation,'' Jean Kennedy Smith, the younger sister of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, said as she walked along Playa Larga, the beach where most of the fighting took place. She was part of a large U.S. delegation, including former Kennedy aides and relatives, ex-CIA (news - web sites) agents and veterans from the ill-fated 2506 Brigade of invaders, who joined Cuban counterparts for a rare act of reconciliation between the two still-estranged nations. The trip to Playa Larga, and the nearby Playa Giron where fighting also took place, in the Bay of Pigs on Cuba's southern coast, was the culmination of an academic conference to reassess the conflict 40 years after it occurred. Emotions ran high as Cuban exile veterans, who formed the CIA-financed brigade, reached the beaches where more than 120 of their comrades died, in just 72 hours of fighting, at the hands of Cuban President Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s defending troops. ``It is very intense to be standing here,'' said Alfredo Duran, a past president of the Miami-based Association of Brigade Veterans. Duran survived the battle, and was on the run for 10 days in inhospitable swampland, before he was captured and taken prisoner along with more than 1,000 other exiles. Castro's troops lost more than 150 men. The Cuban victory was an embarrassing debacle for Kennedy -- who authorized the invasion, but then crucially held back on giving direct U.S. military support -- and consolidated Castro's grip on power two years after his 1959 revolution. ``It is obvious that the invasion was a flawed plan. It looked great on paper, but the commitments didn't come through,'' Duran reflected as he stared out to sea where U.S. ships had not come in farther to help the exiles. As well as the nonappearance of direct U.S. air or sea support, the invaders were surprised by the unity and strength of Castro's soldiers, whom they had expected to find demoralized and ready to desert quickly or swap sides. Cia On Failed Battlefield The presence of Duran and five other veterans in Cuba has brought criticism from hard-liners in Cuban American circles in Florida, where, he said, ``there is still a hate they cannot overcome'' toward Castro. Just as remarkable perhaps as the presence of ex-invaders on the beaches, alongside senior communist leaders and veterans from the Cuban military, was the participation of CIA agents who had helped plan the operation. Robert Reynolds, a former CIA station chief in Miami, said he was a great admirer of Castro at the start of the Cuban revolution -- even though he went on to help recruit exiles for the Bay of Pigs invasion. ``We were all Fidelistas to start with. I always admired him personally,'' he told reporters outside a museum at Playa Giron. ``So it was a great experience, thrilling to meet him,'' Reynolds said of Castro's attendance at the two previous days of the academic conference, ``Giron: Forty Years After.'' Castro did not attend Saturday's event, perhaps saving his appearance at the Bay of Pigs for next month's actual anniversary of the April 17 to 19 conflict. His vice president, Jose Ramon Fernandez, who helped command troops at the Bay of Pigs, led the Cuban side, along with retired soldiers, scholars and other senior officials such as Ricardo Alarcon, Cuba's National Assembly president. ``Washington has learned nothing from the great defeat it suffered 40 years ago,'' Alarcon said, arguing that the new administration of President George W. Bush (news - web sites) was bent on the same mistaken aim against Cuba of crushing its independence. Most of the U.S. delegation for the Bay of Pigs conference have moderate views on Cuba, opposing Washington's long-running economic embargo, and favoring dialogue with Castro. ``My advice to the government today would be: lift the embargo,'' said Arthur Schlesinger, a former senior Kennedy aide and well-known historian. Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the
[CTRL] Defense Secretary Outlines Military Overhaul
-Caveat Lector- Friday March 23 3:55 PM ET Defense Secretary Outlines Military Overhaul By Charles Aldinger WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has signaled to President George W. Bush (news - web sites) his intention to press dramatic changes in U.S. military strategy with increased emphasis toward Asia, senior defense and administration officials said on Friday. The officials, who asked not to be identified, confirmed a Washington Post report that Rumsfeld outlined broad shifts away from Cold War planning for a major war in Europe during a White House meeting on Wednesday. But the officials stressed in interviews with Reuters that Rumsfeld had made no decisions yet on pending U.S. weapons programs and had not made any arms recommendations to Bush at a meeting attended by representatives of the Defense and State Departments and the National Security Council. The president, they said, agreed with the thrust of Rumsfeld's emphasis on China's growing military and economic importance and on all of Asia. ``He (Rumsfeld) did not make any recommendations or discuss weapons in detail. But the secretary made clear that China and Asia -- and the distances involved there -- are looming ever larger on our radar. That will obviously make (arms) changes necessary,'' one of the administration officials told Reuters. SMALLER AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, BOMBERS? The Post, quoting senior government officials, said a sweeping defense review being conducted by Rumsfeld on orders from Bush was likely to lead to a recommendation to build smaller Navy aircraft carriers that might be less vulnerable to new missiles and to put more emphasis on radar-avoiding, long-range bombers such as the batwing B-2 for power projection in Asia. ``The secretary has not received any detailed briefings on specific weapons programs yet,'' one senior defense official told Reuters in response to questions. ``His reasoning is 'First-things-first -- and first comes strategy -- followed by the weapons to carry it out,''' the official said. The top-to-bottom review of strategy and arms is aimed at moving the cumbersome Cold War U.S. military away from a decades-long thrust toward all-out war with the former Soviet Union toward threats posed by high-tech arms proliferation in the 21st century. The Post quoted officials close to the defense study as saying that it will lead to a shift away from the current Pentagon (news - web sites) strategy of being prepared to fight two major wars -- perhaps in Korea and the Gulf -- virtually simultaneously. The newspaper said the review also could lead to buying a smaller number of planned F-22 fighter jets for the Air Force. Dueling Fighter Programs The service is currently planning to buy 340 of the F-22 air-superiority jets from Lockheed Martin Corp at a cost of more than $60 billion. But critics say the short-range jet would not be effective in Asia, where distances are great and the United States has few bases. Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. are also vying for a contract to build up to 3,000 or more planned Joint Strike Fighters for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and Britain's Royal Navy. Britain has committed $2 billion to the JSF program, which is also under review by the new administration, and Italy and other allied countries are interested in the fighter. Rumsfeld refused on Wednesday to predict whether or not the JSF might go ahead despite a ringing endorsement of the fighter from visiting British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon. Bush has proposed a $310.5 billion military budget for 2002 but has said he would decide whether to increase defense spending after Rumsfeld's Pentagon review. Sources cited by the Washington Post said the Pentagon review was likely to push the Air Force toward spending more on long-range bombers such as the B-2, built by Northrop Grumman Corp . The Air Force currently has a fleet of 21 of the bombers, which flew round trip nonstop from the United States to bomb Serbia during NATO (news - web sites)'s air war against Belgrade two years ago. Some members of Congress have been pressing the Pentagon to buy more of the stealthy bombers. Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the
[CTRL] Californians warned power bills could soar
-Caveat Lector- Saturday March 24, 4:27 pm Eastern Time Californians warned power bills could soar By Andrew Quinn SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Reuters) - Californians were warned on Saturday that their power bills could skyrocket by anywhere from 50 to 100 percent as the state scrambles to find ways to keep the electricity flowing until its cash-strapped utilities get back on their feet. The prospect of higher power bills was floated late on Friday by senior aides to Gov. Gray Davis, who has repeatedly vowed to fix California's energy mess without passing along sharply higher power bills to consumers. Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said on Saturday the governor ``is still hoping and has the expectation'' that the fix can be accomplished within the existing rate structure. ``Any numbers put out now are still wildly speculative,'' Maviglio said, adding that the Friday briefing involved a number of different scenarios. Davis aides delivered the bleak assessment of California's power outlook in a briefing with Democratic lawmakers, saying the state may need to issue $23 billion in bonds over the next two years to cover energy purchases, more than double Davis' original estimate. To cope with the soaring expense, California rate-payers could be stuck with increases of anywhere from 20 to 50 percent, with a worst-case scenario involving rate hikes of as much as 100 percent, according to some estimates. Maviglio stressed that the numbers were part of a broad discussion of potential outcomes for California's energy crisis, saying that factors such as the state's negotiations over a rescue package for the utilities and possible federally-ordered refunds from power generators could radically alter the landscape. ``They were tossing around all kinds of possibilities,'' Maviglio said. UTILITIES NEARLY BANKRUPT Any rate increases would apply to customers of PGE Corp's (NYSE:PCG - news) Pacific Gas Electric and Edison International's (NYSE:EIX - news) Southern California Edison, which together serve about two-thirds of California's 34 million residents. The two utilities, which together are more than $13 billion in debt, have been pushed close to bankruptcy by soaring wholesale power costs, which under the terms of California's 1996 power deregulation law they have been unable to pass along to consumers. The credit crunch, combined with extremely tight power supplies across the U.S. West Coast, has forced California power grid operators to impose rolling blackouts across the state four times this year. Industry analysts warn the cuts are likely to become more frequent this summer as higher temperatures push up demand for air conditioning power. Davis in January launched California on an emergency power buying program of its own, dishing out a total of $3 billion in taxpayer money so far to keep the lights on. That total is rising by some $50 million per day. Davis also set the proposed $10 billion bond issue, expected in the next several months, to cover long-term energy contracts being negotiated by the state Department of Water Resources. He said the money would gradually be recouped through a portion of consumer energy bills once California's power situation stabilizes. That assessment appeared less likely in the near term on Saturday after the prediction by Davis' aides, who said the state's power purchases this year could top $16 billion with another $7 billion required next year. Such a dramatic increase in financial outlay would almost certainly mean higher consumer rates, which have already been raised nine percent and are slated to increase automatically by another 10 percent by March 2002. Consumer activists, sharply critical of Davis for what they say is a massive bail-out of the energy industry, reacted with outrage to the prospect of greater consumer rate hikes -- saying power generators have reaped billions from California's energy crisis. ``The idea that the consumers should be paying for this disaster counters any kind of appropriate response to the energy industry's abuse of our deregulation system,'' said Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer Consumer Rights. ``The idea of any rate increases should be entirely off the table,'' Heller said. ``Davis is choosing to punish the victim instead of the criminals, and that is the weakest way out of our crisis.'' Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use
[CTRL] Bush says budget reflects American values
-Caveat Lector- Saturday March 24, 3:29 pm Eastern Time Bush says budget reflects American values (UPDATE: adds Card comments, details, paras 7-9, 12-13) By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Saturday urged Congress to approve his federal budget plan, which includes $1.6 trillion in tax cuts, saying it was a ``compassionate'' budget that reflected American values. As the House of Representatives prepared to vote on Bush's budget blueprint, approved by the House Budget Committee along party lines on Wednesday, the president spelled out what he said were the benefits of the plan for 2002. In his weekly radio address, Bush appeared to try to answer some of the main questions the Democrats have about the plan, which they say favors the wealthy in the tax cut and does not set aside enough for Social Security and Medicare. ``My budget is compassionate,'' Bush said. ``It dedicates $238 billion to Medicare next year alone, enough to fund all current programs and to begin a new prescription drug benefit for low- income seniors. It protects all $2.6 trillion of the Social Security surplus for Social Security and Social Security alone.'' Bush called his budget responsible, as it pays down the debt, sets up a contingency fund for unexpected needs and increases discretionary spending by a ``reasonable'' 4 percent. After than, the surplus can be used for a tax cut, he said. The Bush administration has been saying the economy was faltering, and the government needed to slow spending. It said the tax cut would help give life to the sputtering economy. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card echoed the sentiment on Saturday, but denied the administration was trying to talk down the economy to get its measures passed. ``We know the economy is fragile, and we're not talking it down, in fact we want to talk it up,'' he said in a speech. ``And the way to talk it up is through action, not through rhetoric.'' ``We want the loudest voice of doing things right actually to come from Congress,'' he said. ``When they meet the responsibility of passing the budget that doesn't grow us into a problem. Four percent growth is plenty.'' TOUGH VOTE AHEAD Although the budget blueprint, very similar to Bush's fiscal plan, was expected to be approved by the Republican-led House in what will likely be another partisan vote next week, it faces a tougher challenge in the 50-50 split Senate. Senate Republicans admit they still lack votes to pass the measure as several moderate Republicans have joined Democrats in saying they fear the $1.6 trillion tax cut in Bush's plan over 10 years may be too large, and could bring back deficits. Bush has launched a campaign to convince senators to approve his budget and tax cut, traveling to about a dozen states to urge voters to use their influence with lawmakers. On Monday he leaves for a two-day trip to Montana, Missouri and Michigan to work on selling the plan. Democrats have said Republicans were focusing so much on passing a tax cut they were missing a chance to use surpluses to help prepare Social Security and Medicare for retiring baby boomers and meet other pressing needs. But Bush, who focused in his radio address on his plans to cut discretionary spending to 4 percent from 8 percent last year, insists that tax relief is what is needed. ``My budget plan doesn't slam the brake on spending, it slows the growth of spending,'' he said. ``It makes our increases in spending more realistic and reasonable. All in all, my budget will provide the government with $100 billion more to spend in 2002.'' ``Even by Washington standards, this is a lot of additional money, and it is enough,'' he said. ``This debate illustrates a point I've been making for a while -- when money is left in Washington, there is a tremendous temptation for the government to use it. The point is simple: if you send it, they will spend it.'' Instead, he said, it is important to have a balanced approach of moderate spending growth, debt reduction and ``meaningful'' tax relief. Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the
[CTRL] Bar Groups Consider Letting Attorneys Practice in States Where Unlicensed
-Caveat Lector- Friday March 23, 10:13 am Eastern Time Bar Groups Consider Letting Attorneys Practice in States Where Unlicensed Adam Miller (Miami Daily Business Review) -- Barry Blum, chief counsel for Miami-based Burger King, recently traveled to several cities in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to conduct negotiations for his company's repurchase of 60 restaurants from a major franchisee. Blum is licensed to practice law only in Florida and Pennsylvania, but that didn't stop him from handling the deals in those other states. He says he felt sufficiently familiar with the legal issues involved to handle the acquisitions without the help of a local attorney. An official of the Alabama State Bar says that while his organization doesn't encourage this, clients aren't complaining. "If you're dealing with a simple transaction that doesn't require any real specialized knowledge," Blum says, "I don't believe it's always necessary to pay a local attorney to handle your matter." Some attorneys disagree. The American Bar Association and the Florida Bar recently have established commissions that may recommend limits on the ability of lawyers to handle transactions in states where they are not licensed to practice. The impetus was a recent California Supreme Court ruling holding that New York lawyers who handled an arbitration matter in California were practicing without a license. ABA President Martha Barnett, a partner in the Tallahassee, Fla., office of Holland Knight, says that decision created national shock waves. "It scared a lot of lawyers," she says. "They were worried about what could happen to their own fees." Of course, attorneys around the country routinely handle matters across state lines. These activities, known as multijurisdictional practice, are increasing as the economy becomes more global and new communications technologies make it easier for lawyers to handle complex matters remotely. While such work theoretically could be considered the unlicensed practice of law, state bar groups generally have taken no action to stop it. Indeed, many clients want their attorney or law firm to handle everything that's involved in a matter, no matter where this takes them geographically. That's partly because they trust that attorney or firm, and partly because they don't want to shell out to hire an additional attorney in each jurisdiction. But the ABA is under growing pressure from many state bars and small law firms to set boundaries. State bars fear that the growth of multijurisdictional practice could erode their regulatory and disciplinary authority. Local law firms fear that they could lose work to national firms. On the other hand, corporations and corporate counsel are pressing the ABA and state bars to allow attorneys to more easily practice law in states where they have not been admitted to the bar. Having their staff lawyers or their primary outside law firms handle matters in other states is often cheaper than hiring local counsel. In 1998, the California Supreme Court decided a case, Birbrower Montalbano Condon Frank v. Superior Court, involving a New York law firm that had signed an agreement to represent a California company in an arbitration to be conducted in California and governed by California law. The company was a subsidiary of a New York-based client of Birbrower Montalbano's. Three of Birbrower's attorneys, who were not members of the California Bar, traveled to California to advise the client, negotiate with the opposing party and interview possible arbitrators. But, after the dispute was settled, Birbrower and the client had a falling-out and the client sued for malpractice. The California Supreme Court held that Birbrower was not entitled to payment for work its lawyers did while physically present in California because it constituted the unlicensed practice of law. In response to the ruling, California lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow out-of-state lawyers in good standing in their home states to practice law in California under the state Bar's regulatory purview. Barnett's response was to appoint a 12-member ABA commission on multijurisdictional practice late last year to examine the legal and ethical issues. In August 2002, the commission is slated to issue recommendations on what steps, if any, state bars should take. The issue originally was scheduled for discussion at the ABA annual meeting this June, but ABA and state bar officials asked for more time to study the issue. The ABA commission will examine how common it is for lawyers to handle depositions in states where they aren't licensed, to travel out of state to advise clients' subsidiaries, and to call out of state to negotiate on behalf of clients. It's possible -- though unlikely -- that the panel will recommend establishing a uniform national licensing system, Barnett says. Alternatively, the panel could urge each state to establish a system for registering out-of-state
Re: [CTRL] Vatican Art goes to Britain, not U.S.
-Caveat Lector- Here is the whole article... March 17, 2001 A Botticelli Wonder, Bypassing U.S. Museums By CELESTINE BOHLEN Had it not been for a lawsuit brought in California against the Vatican Library in Rome, a much-coveted exhibition of 92 drawings by the Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli illustrating Dante's "Divine Comedy," seven of which belong to the Vatican, would be ending a three-month tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But because of the Vatican's fear of exposing its drawings to legal claims the exhibition never came to New York. Instead, it went to London, where it opens today at the Royal Academy. "The arrival of this show in London is a triumph of curatorial diplomacy for which British art lovers should be grateful," trumpeted a preview in The Times of London this week. "Thank the lord," said Norman Rosenthal, exhibitions secretary at the Royal Academy, who for decades had been in pursuit of an exhibition of the Botticelli cycle, which he described as "one of the divine meetings in the history of Western culture." Not that the British are gloating, but the Americans are certainly chagrined. "As an institution, we are very disappointed," said Harold Holzer, spokesman for the Metropolitan Museum. "This was something that was extraordinary, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." The show, which originated last year at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin and moved later to Rome, unites the 92 extant drawings from Botticelli's Dante cycle for the first time in 500 years. Until 1993 the 85 drawings now at the Kupferstichkabinett were divided among museums in East and West Berlin. Because of their sensitivity to light, they are rarely exhibited, and the current tour is strictly limited. The illustrations of which four are in color and the rest are drawn in a faint golden brown ink offer "a breathtakingly intimate glimpse of Botticelli's creative process," according to a December 1998 description of the proposed show written by the Met's staff. But in the spring of 1999 lawyers for the Met were told that the Vatican was not willing to make loans to the United States for fear that the drawings could get ensnared in the lawsuit pending in Federal District Court in central California. As it turned out and as the Metropolitan said it learned only this week, the lawsuit against the Vatican Apostolic Library was resolved last August, said the library's Los Angeles lawyer, John McNicholas. "The lawsuit is over," Mr. McNicholas said. "I thought this Botticelli exhibition had long been forgotten but at this point, I can see no reason why the Vatican could not participate from a legal point of view." The lawsuit centered on a controversial contract signed by the Vatican's chief librarian and Elaine Peconi, a California businesswoman and onetime holder of a master license for the sale of reproductions from the library's collections. Among other things, the contract provided that all disputes would be resolved by courts in California, which was the point on which Mr. McNicholas said he thought the Vatican loan might be vulnerable. New York lawyers, however, argue that artworks on loan to museums in New York are protected from forfeiture under a 1968 law signed by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. But Mr. McNicholas said he was not convinced. `'I was cautious, maybe too cautious, maybe not," he said. He said his advice was not influenced by the well-publicized seizure of two paintings by Egon Schiele from the Museum of Modern Art in 1998 on a subpoena issued by Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morganthau. Those works were seized pending an investigation into claims by heirs of the works' original owners, whose art collections had been seized by the Nazis. The paintings had come to New York on a loan from the Leopold Foundation in Vienna; one, "Dead City," was returned to Vienna after the New York State Court of Appeals quashed Mr. Morganthau's subpoena in 1999. The other Schiele painting, "Portrait of Wally," is still in storage at the Museum of Modern Art, pending the outcome of a subsequent federal case brought by Mary Jo White, the United States attorney in Manhattan, who has argued that the painting is stolen property. That case was dismissed by Judge Michael B. Mukasey of Federal District Court last July, but in December he gave the federal prosecutors another chance to amend their arguments. A final decision is expected this year. The case has been closely watched by American museum officials, who worry that foreign lenders will be wary of making loans to the United States. So far, cases like the one involving the Botticelli drawings are rare. Several museums, including the Metropolitan, have filed "friend of the court" briefs in support of the Museum of Modern Art. They hold that museums are not the proper place to resolve ownership disputes. "It is critically important to reassure lenders that their art is safe in every respect in American museums," said
