If you want on or off me Israel/MidEast/Islamic Jihad ping list please let me know. Via Freepmail is best way.............
Posted on 04/21/2002 6:14:01 AM PDT by dennisw
If you want on or off me Israel/MidEast/Islamic Jihad ping list please let me know. Via Freepmail is best way.............
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ISSN 0804-709X
www.norwaves.com
THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Oslo Press Division NORWAY DAILY No. 43-47/97 OeW/kj DATE: 3 March 1997 LABOUR AND CENTRE CLOSE ON HOMEOWNER TAX (Aftenposten) Labour and the Centre Party have spent the weekend working out the basics of the assessment system for the new homeowner tax, and all the details are expected to be in place by 4 pm tomorrow afternoon. The Centre Party has been working on a modified proposal that Labour will take a stand on today. New factors that are likely to decide the final outcome concern the establishment of a "normal" lot size. At this point in the discussions, there are indications that an additional tax may be levied on lots over 1.3 decare, or approximately 1/3 acre. TAPS TO CLOSE AT 3 AM (Arbeiderbladet) The Government's proposal to prohibit the all serving of alcoholic beverages after 3 am is expected to pass the Storting. "We are on the same wavelength as the Government," says Ola D. Gloetvold (Centre), sponsor for the new alcohol bill. The Centre Party also supports a proposal to open 50 new retail outlets around Norway for the state-owned wine and spirits monopoly. POOR SHOWING PREDICTED FOR LABOUR AND CENTRE (Aftenposten) Labour and the Centre Party seem to be headed for a rough ride in the upcoming general election to be held this fall. An analysis performed by IBM based on six polls held in February indicates that Labour will lose nine of the 67 seats it now holds in the Storting. The Centre can expect to lose 10 of its 32 seats, while the Socialist Left loses 3 seats, ending up with 10 seats in the Storting. The analysis forecasts that the Christian Democrats will keep their 13 seats, that the Conservatives will gain 5 seats for a total of 33 seats, and that the Liberals will go up from one to 9 seats. STOLTENBERG FORCED TO CRACK DOWN (Dagbladet-Saturday edition) The Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions (LO) and a Storting majority have been putting pressure on the Government to deal with the tendency of professionals in the finance industry to line their own pockets, and the Government has now responded. Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg yesterday issued new regulations regulating the private trading activities of employees in all types of finance institutions. CLOSER WATCH ON RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS (Aftenposten-Sunday edition) The Directorate for Public Management proposes that religious denominations receiving state funding should be required to submit approved accounts containing full lists of their members, including personal ID numbers. Religious denominations and humanistic organizations, representing around 300,000 registered members, receive approximately NOK 50 million in public funding, but these organizations have few reporting requirements. SCHENGEN PROCESS KEPT UNDER WRAPS (Dagens Naeringsliv) The Government signed an agreement in December bringing Norway into the Schengen Convention, which involves extensive police cooperation and coordination of refugee procedures. For two months, however, Dagens Naeringsliv has been trying to obtain information about the efforts taking place in the Ministry of Justice as it deals with Schengen issues. Dagens Naeringsliv has applied to examine 104 documents since 2 January and received 81 refusals. "This is entirely unacceptable. We must ask what the Government is hiding," says Centre Party chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein, who indicates that her party intends to pursue the matter in the Storting. WORTH NOTING - A 19-year old youth from Karmoey confessed on Saturday to the rape and murder of his cousin in May 1995. (Vaart Land) - Nearly 10 per cent of the population suffers from social anxiety. A nationwide study will be conducted to determine the causes. (Aftenposten) - Norway is taking steps to reduce and modify its foreign aid to Zambia. State Secretary Frode Forfang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Norwegian development assistance programmes will place greater emphasis on human rights, democracy and the development of civilian social conditions and institutions. (Dagens Naeringsliv) - Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg will be hosting a meeting of Nordic, Baltic and German finance ministers today. The main topic of discussion is likely to be how the Baltic countries and Poland may accomplish what Norway has declined to do, namely, to join the EU. (Dagens Naeringsliv) - 62 vessels were added to Norway's international merchant fleet in 1996, bringing the total number to 1,447. Two out of three of these ships sail under Norwegian flags. (Aftenposten) - "We have organized the best Nordic World Ski Championships ever. Trondheim should now consider applying to host the Winter Olympics," says Trondheim's mayor, Marvin Wiseth. (Dagbladet) TODAY'S COMMENT Things have gone too far. The Government had no choice but to crack down on stock brokers and funds managers trading in securities on the side. This is a textbook case showing how the conduct of business professionals makes it necessary for the government set up further controls. Stock brokers have abused the confidence shown them by the political authorities. Less than a year ago, Labour Government legislation supported by the Conservatives and the Progress Party provided a more liberal framework for trade in securities. Unfortunately, it is difficult to formulate legislation in such a way that it successfully prevents abuse in an area so full of potential for manipulation and evasive action, but this is no reason not to try. It is obvious that the Government is making an effort to let trade in securities and the stock market play a major role in the Norwegian economy. Even more important, then, that steps are taken to ensure that trading activities can bear the light of day. By their own deeds, the stock brokers have asked for tougher measures. We think they should get them. (Nationen) DATE: 4 March 1997 A DISASTER FOR NORWAY (Arbeiderbladet) A binding international agreement to reduce CO2 emissions would have a dramatic impact on Norway if it does not incorporate Norway's principles and preconditions. As an oil- producing nation, if we are not allowed higher domestic CO2 emissions in return for the Norwegian contribution towards reductions in emissions in other parts of the world, our oil boom will no longer be of much value. Gas-fired power plants will have to shut down, cars will be immobilized, and our output of North Sea oil will have to be curtailed. DECISION ON ROED-LARSEN MUST COME TODAY (Aftenposten) The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Oekokrim) is working under enormous pressure to complete the tax case against Terje Roed- Larsen. No matter which way things go, the further course of the matter will be settled by the end of the day. Tomorrow - the 5th of March - the statutory period of limitation will expire. In order to prosecute, Chief Public Prosecutor Hans Petter Jahre must file formal charges today. VALLA WOULD LIKE TO BE VICE-PRESIDENT OF LABOUR FEDERATION (Arbeiderbladet) Minister of Justice Gerd-Liv Valla aspires to the office of vice-president of the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions (LO), despite the fact that she has recently been appointed Minister of Justice. Within the unions and within the Federation, opinions on Ms. Valla's candidacy are divided. Some say she is a controversial figure, politically speaking, and that she would not have a unifying effect on the Federation. The view is also widely held that she did her candidacy no good by accepting a ministerial appointment. There is nothing wrong with taking a leave of absence from the Federation vice-presidency to serve as Minister of Justice, however. NEW ANTI-EU NETWORK (Nationen/Aftenposten) EU opponents from all over Europe formed a new cooperative organization yesterday called The European Anti-Maastricht Movement (TEAM). The objective of the new organization is chiefly to gather all types of information on the EU and make it available on the Internet. TEAM will probably open offices in Copenhagen as well as in Brussels. Kristen Nygaard, head of "No to the EU" in Norway, will not carry on as international standard-bearer against the EU, having resigned as coordinator for this European alliance at its inaugural meeting. NORWAY EXAMINING EUROPEAN CURRENCY (Aftenposten) "We will find out what significance the euro will have for us. This does not mean we will tie the krone to the euro, but there is a broad political consensus to maintain a stable exchange rate. What happens in the EU has an impact on Norway," said Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the opening of the meeting of Nordic and Baltic finance ministers in Bergen yesterday. He also said that the revised national budget will include a thorough analysis and assessment of Norway's relationship to the European Monetary Union, which is scheduled to go into effect on 1 January 1999. POLICE DO NOT APOLOGIZE (Dagbladet) Just a few days after Birgitte Teng was found murdered in May 1995, the investigation management team discussed whether her cousin should be checked more closely. One year and ten months went by before he was charged, however. "I do not feel we had sufficient grounds to arrest him before the 8th of February," says inspector Gro Rossehaug. WORTH NOTING - CO2 emissions from the Norwegian gas and petroleum industry will increase to nearly 11.5 million tons in 1999 - 20 per cent more than previous Government estimates. (Dagens Naeringsliv) - The operation to clean up the site of the Russian air crash on Svalbard last August will get started in April. Most of the wreckage is still up on the mountain, but it must be cleared away by the end of summer. (Aftenposten) - Doctors won last year's wage settlement. Since then, however, the Norwegian Medical Association has left the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations, thereby forfeiting its right to take part in this year's negotiations. (Aftenposten) - The Norwegian Applied Technology (NAT) affair has claimed another victim. Karl Erik Staubo, President of Sundal Collier & Co., resigned immediately after it was discovered that he and two close colleagues had bought 58,000 NAT shares in a private transaction - shares to which 40 clients were entitled. (Dagens Naeringsliv) TODAY'S COMMENT Ever since Norway's first EEA negotiations at the end of the 1980s, public access to Norway's EU affairs has been a problem. When the accession negotiations with the EU got under way in 1992, the Norwegian delegation to Brussels did not even have correspondence records available for public inspection, and the Government's basic stance was that the Norwegian negotiation demands were not public information. And all along, the Government was boasting of its openness. After the negotiations came an interim period during which Norway held a provisional membership of the EU until the referendum was held. In this interval, the Government's policy of secrecy on EU affairs was stepped up dramatically. 60 per cent of all of the Norwegian EU delegation's correspondence at the time was exempt from public disclosure. The Government promised to mend its ways, though, and former Minister of Justice Grete Faremo pledged that the Schengen negotiations would be held out in the open. But what have we got? 78 per cent of this newspaper's requests for access to Schengen documents have been turned down. What has become of your openness now, Thorbjoern Jagland? (Dagens Naeringsliv) DATE: 5 March 1997 OEKOKRIM: DELIBERATE TAX EVASION BY ROED-LARSEN (Arbeiderbladet) The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Oekokrim) levied a NOK 50,000 fine against Terje Roed- Larsen yesterday for having withheld information from the tax authorities. Due to the fact that the offence took place ten years ago and the limitation period expired yesterday, the reaction against Mr. Roed-Larsen was lighter than the gravity of the case otherwise called for. Taxation of the NOK 600,000 return on his Fideco investment as a capital gain saved Mr. Roed-Larsen NOK 386,000 in taxes. "If this took place last year, we would have prosecuted and asked the court for a jail sentence," says Chief Public Prosecutor Hans Petter Jahre. The maximum sentence for this type of offence is two years. ROED-LARSEN WRITING BOOK AND FIELDING OFFERS (Dagbladet) Terje Roed-Larsen is by no means a beaten man. At the moment, he is writing a book about the peace negotiations, the Oslo Agreement and the Middle East, and has accepted a number of assignments and board appointments at home and abroad. He declined to reveal who has engaged him or in which capacity. "I am both relieved and disappointed - relieved that Oekokrim has decided not to prosecute, but disappointed that they have given me a fine," says the former Minister of National Planning. ROED-LARSEN'S PROFIT A DILEMMA (Aftenposten) Carl I. Hagen (Progress) reacts to the fact that even taking the fine into account, Terje Roed-Larsen has still made a clear profit on his tax evasion manoeuvre. Johan J. Jakobsen (Centre) characterizes Oekokrim's conclusion as serious. Kjell Magne Bondevik (Car. Dem.) says he sees no reason to pursue the matter in the political arena now that Mr. Roed-Larsen is out of Norwegian politics. Jan Petersen (Cons.) takes the view that since Mr. Roed-Larsen resigned from the Cabinet, the tax case is a private matter. VALLE: "I AM NOT A CANDIDATE" (Arbeiderbladet) "I am Minister of Justice, and I have not been appointed for a trial period. I am not interested in running for Vice-President of the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions (LO) now," says Minister of Justice Gerd-Liv Valla. She says she appreciates declarations of support from union leaders and others who would like her to be the next Federation Vice-President, but she makes it clear that her candidacy is out of the question. She declined to speculate as to the feasibility of holding both offices at the same time. NOK 3 BILLION ROAD BUDGET OVERRUN (Aftenposten) 33 major road, tunnel and bridge projects will now end up costing NOK 3 billion more than the budgets that were approved four years ago. In many cases, objections, protests and adjustments have led to substantial cost increases. The Government will be submitting a revised national road and traffic plan in a few days. KRONE RETURNING TO NORMAL (Dagens Naeringsliv) The Norwegian krone has dropped substantially. After having remained 4 to 5 per cent above its former mean value for several months, the exchange rate was almost down to normal yesterday morning. Declining oil prices are viewed as the explanation for the loss of interest in the krone. WORTH NOTING - Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland declines to comment on the fact that his hand-picked "superminister" must now pay a NOK 50,000 fine. (Dagbladet) - Terje Roed-Larsen has not yet decided whether he will accept Oekokrim's decision. He is considering taking the matter to court. (Arbeiderbladet) - The Centre Party calls for a 20 per cent raise in the minimum old-age pension within the next four years, and proposes to pay for it by raising surtaxes on high income groups. (Aftenposten) - According to the new assessment system proposal that Labour and the Centre Party are expected to submit today, only those with very large houses and properties will have to pay homeowner taxes. (Aftenposten) - A majority on the capital commission favours merging Baerum, Oppegaard and seven other suburban municipalities into the City of Oslo. The enlarged city limits would give Norway's capital a population of over one million. (Nationen) - Christian Democratic party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland recognizes that she will not succeed in gathering a sufficient majority to prohibit alcoholic beverages on domestic flights. Switching tactics, she now aims to permit wine on domestic flights. (Arbeiderbladet) - Norwegian corporations invested over NOK 30 billion abroad in 1996, twice the volume of investments in 1995. (Arbeiderbladet) TODAY'S COMMENT When Terje Roed-Larsen resigned as Minister of National Planning, he belaboured the point that Norwegian journalists should learn to examine their sources more critically. With the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Oekokrim) now fining him NOK 50,000 for having deliberately submitted false information on his 1986 tax return, there is good reason to conclude that the news media were on reasonably safe ground. One may also conclude that Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland's assessment of the situation was correct when he chose to let Mr. Roed-Larsen go. Humanly speaking, Mr. Roed-Larsen's resentment as well as his statement that he did not deserve the treatment he had received, are understandable. Nonetheless, now that Oekokrim has determined that he reduced his taxes by NOK 386,000 by submitting false information, one may call his own faculty for self- assessment into question. Nor is Mr. Roed-Larsen's position improved by the fact that in 1988, he filed serious accusations with the Directorate of Taxes against his former business associates in Bird Technology with no regard for his own misdeeds. (Aftenposten) DATE: 7 March 1997 PROPERTY TAX DROPPED FOR NORMAL-SIZED HOMES? (Arbeiderbladet) "We have at last managed to put right the current unfair and arbitrary assessment system," said Bjoernar Olsen (Labour), chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance, when the agreement between the Labour Party and the Centre Party was presented yesterday afternoon. The reform will hit wealthy people who place their money in luxury homes to avoid high wealth and property taxes. Per Olaf Lundteigen, the Centre Party spokesman, was particularly pleased that town and country would now be treated alike. STOLTENBERG DEMANDS COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY TAX CUTS (Aftenposten) "The massive cuts in property tax must be compensated for, either by means of budget reductions or by increasing other taxes and levies," said Minister of Finance, Jens Stoltenberg after the Labour Party and the Centre Party finally reached a compromise on the assessment system. The extent of state and municipal tax losses brought about by the new system is not yet clear. TAX PROFESSOR WARNS ABOUT CONSEQUENCES OF ROED-LARSEN DECISION (Dagbladet) "Anyone whose tax is reassessed will now be able to use the Roed-Larsen case as an argument against the decision," said Professor Ole Gjems-Onstad, a specialist on tax law. The former minister will avoid a large bill for unpaid tax, which would have amounted to almost half a million kroner, including ten years' interest. This has finally been made clear after the local tax officer, Ingrid Tvedt, established yesterday that the assessment case would not be re-opened. JAGLAND'S FIRST MAJOR TEST (Arbeiderbladet) The Government's long-term programme will be presented today by the Prime Minister, Thorbjoern Jagland. The programme, which will decide the course to be steered by the Government during the next four years, can in many ways be regarded as Mr. Jagland's first major political test. During the coming months, the Labour Party will have to gear its election campaign to Jagland's test piece. It is the voters who will grade the test - in the election this autumn. NORWAY AS A MAJOR INVESTOR (Aftenposten) The Government will set up a state-owned enterprise that will buy up shares in strategically important foreign companies. The goal is to strengthen the competitiveness of Norwegian companies, and ensure long-term ownership, reveals the Government's long-term programme, which is to be presented today. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Grete Knudsen, knows of no other country with a similar policy for securing development prospects within its own private sector. "Perhaps the United Arab Emirates or other rich countries," she suggested. BRUNDTLAND MISSED BY BUSINESS SECTOR (Nationen) The business community's satisfaction with the Labour Party has waned after the resignation of Gro Harlem Brundtland. "We are more concerned with the establishment of real government alternatives today than we were when Harlem Brundtland was Prime Minister says Leif Frode Onarheim, president of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry. "Too much of the Government's time has been taken up by the secret service inquiry and all the disturbance caused by changes of Minister. Mr. Jagland must now set about changing the focus to concentrate on growth of the economy," said Onarheim. WORTH NOTING: - The agreement between the Labour Party and the Centre Party has not resulted in any clarification concerning property tax, in the view of the Conservative spokesman on economic policy, Per Kristian Foss. (Nationen) - Christian Democrat Kjell Magne Bondevik says that Norway must be willing to put up with EU penalty measures to hold onto the State Wine Monopoly and the current restrictions on the sale of strong beer. (Vaart Land) - It cost NOK 12 000 per head to let 25 persons have telephone consultations with the Prime Minister, Thorbjoern Jagland last Wednesday. Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen is now demanding that the Labour Party foot this bill, and not the taxpayers. (Arbeiderbladet) - Large wage increases, low inflation and low interest rates seem to be what the future holds in store for ordinary Norwegians, who will still be able to put by considerable capital reserves for future generations - according to fresh forecasts by economists at Den norske Bank. (Dagens Naeringsliv) - A new opera house will be built - even though Prime Minister Jagland has said that single rooms in old people's homes must come first. According to the Government's long-term programme, the new opera house should be completed by the year 2005. (Verdens Gang) TODAY'S COMMENT FROM ARBEIDERBLADET: After a long tug of war and much uncertainty about the aims of a new system for assessing property tax, the Labour Party and the Centre Party have at last succeeded in reaching what looks like a satisfactory compromise. The Labour Party has salvaged major elements of the Government's proposal. In our view, the most important factor in the compromise is that town and country ill be treated alike. The Government's original proposal had a character of being purely a tax on town residences. Now that he factor of market value has been removed, this is no longer the case. On paper, the new assessment system appears fairer then the current system. It has taken the politicians 22 years to work out a new system. Let us hope that the effort has not been in vain.
The media keeps showing the same few blocks of Jenin, the same 100 houses from every angle, telling the world that all of Jenin has been flattened, which is an out and out lie. 10% was wrecked in heavy fighting, 70% is completely untouched and life is going on normally (for a war zone).
Yep. Left Norway "under a cloud" and is now under the Monkey Cloud, haha.
The lefty apparatus in Norway grew cancerous during the seventies. It has taken a severe beating politically, but as with the Clintonoids there are well-placed holdovers. One of them is a guy named Lars Gule, who was caught in Lebanon in 1977 with nearly two pounds of explosives in his rucksack. The material was intended for a PFLP action inside Israel. He got six months jailtime. Later he became associated with a think tank - Christian Michelsen's Institute - as a researcher with focus on the ME. He has also been involved with government research in this area in later years, and is probably somewhat important in the left's Palestine agenda. He is currently also the head of the main Norwegian Atheist organization.
Have you seen the aerial photos of Jenin which show less than 10% of Jenin destroyed or heavily damaged? I saw them on another trhead but lost track.
I saw them...They are IDF ariel photos...probably on IDF website
http://www.idf.il/english/news/jenin.stm
The media keeps showing the same few blocks of Jenin, the same 100 houses from every angle, telling the world that all of Jenin has been flattened, which is an out and out lie. 10% was wrecked in heavy fighting, 70% is completely untouched and life is going on normally (for a war zone).
Jenin refugee camp is just part of larger Jenin. And the most lawless part where Jihadists were spawned..
They used used bulldozers to widen narrow streets that are good for sniping. Bulldozers were also used to shovel up and detonate anti tank mines. I would like to here more about the IDF bulldozers taking out these mines
Quisling, you should be living at this hour! Come to think of it, it looks like you ARE! The spirit of Quisling marches again!
Meanwhile, God has his Tidal Wave lined up in reserve, and the patience of the angel holding it back is wearing thin.
If Israelis had then NOT detonated these, the Pallies had instructions to say that the Israelis had left the homes boody trapped.
Beats having a real job, I guess.
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