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Democratic Party operatives, worried by Texas Gov. George W. Bush's smooth start and high standing in the polls, are hoping that GOP rivals "will slash up Bush for them -- that millionaire Steve Forbes will buy tons of attack ads to trash Bush, just as Forbes trashed, and burned, Bob Dole in 1996," writes the New York Post's Deborah Orin. "A key date to watch: June 30, when the next fund-raising reports are due. Rumor says Bush will report raising a record $20 million and may top Gore. Republican rivals may feel it's now or never to go after ...

The Chinese government has rejected the claims by the United States that the bombing of their embassy in Yugoslavia was a mistake. Do you believe the bombing was just an accident? Vote

Clinton Outraged At 'Dead Of Night' Gun Vote By Steve Holland COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - President Clinton Friday damned the House of Representatives' passage of watered-down gun control legislation a ``great victory'' for the National Rifle Association lobby and a defeat for the American people. The Republican-controlled House voted 218-211 early Friday in Washington for a plan to require only 24 hours for background checks of buyers at gun shows. Forty-five Democrats and 47 Republicans crossed party lines in their votes. Clinton had backed a plan to require three days for background checks, which the Senate had approved 51-50 in ...

ROME, June 18 (UPI) - The Italian Parliament, looking for ways to speed up justice in the courts, has declared offenses such as bouncing a check, fighting a duel and stealing farm animals are no longer crimes. The Rome daily, Il Messaggero, reports (Friday) the action by the Parliament (Thursday) even includes removal from the category of crime the use of insults to describe public officials. not for commercial use

COLOGNE, Germany, June 18 (UPI) - President Clinton said Japan's slowly improving economy is "very good news...it's good for the world." Before a private meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, Clinton told reporters, he said, "I am thrilled at their economic progress in the last quarter and I hope they will be able to keep going. " The two leaders met prior to the weekend's G-7 economic summit in Cologne, Germany. not for commercial use

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Is a "good" Journalist today Required to Report Bill Clinton is a GOOD leader? "Many burial sites have been found," the fresh faced young spokesman with a British accent for one of the military groups said at the press conference. "But, bear in mind, there has been a war going on here." And, so we have people like Christiane Amanpour announcing what has taken place as an ethnic Albanian returns to the remains of his home, finding, he says, that 26 of his cousins have been killed and the home destroyed. ...

They're both out of the box, with no surprises. Not a bad week. Both men set out to establish clearly who they were not. Establishing who they are comes later. There's plenty of time. George W. Bush -- ol' "Dubya" to his Texas friends -- looked at ease with himself, friendly and flirtatious, even, in a harmless way. Albert Gore -- ol' "Al" to his Washington friends and "young Albert" to Tennessee old-timers -- looked at ease, sort of; friendly and eager to please. Very lifelike, you might say. "Dubya" wanted to reassure the party pros who are staking ...

(CNS) – As of Tuesday, June 22, 1999, the average American will have earned enough money for the year to pay their individual share of the cost of government plus the cost of its bureaucratic regulations, according to the government watchdog group Americans for Tax Reform. In the past three years, the federal government alone has invented nearly 13,000 rules and regulations, the costs of which are incurred by American taxpayers. "The U.S. General Accounting Office has reported that between April 1, 1996 and March 31, 1999, the federal government issued more than 12,925 new regulatory rules. Of these, 188 ...

Here they are folks, those who have been "honored" after appearing on last Sunday's news shows PROFESSIONALS' MONTHLYBe sure to check out the "THINKING MAN" cartoon at the bottom of the page. Thanks.

YU CUN, China (AP) - Up stone steps from the river bank, down a flagstone path through a village with no roads is the one-room shop President Clinton visited on his China trip last year. Eleven color photos of Clinton's tour hang on the walls, near a wooden abacus Clinton tried out. Next door at the house of the shop owner's brother, another photo of Clinton with villagers hangs on a wooden wall decorated with a poster of revolutionary Mao Tse-tung. Any leftover enthusiasm for Clinton's visit one year ago is a bit startling in China after a month ...

Is it just me, or is it hypocritical to help others around the world, but refuse to help at home? Canada is doing its part militarily, financially and politically to make a better life for the people of the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. We have spent $500 million on the military operation and the tab to rebuild the province will be in the billions before it's through. We did this for several reasons: We are part of NATO and lived up to our promises, but we also answered to a higher imperative because we are a humane, moral people. ...

This is about the 10,000 refugees who were beamed up in the middle of the night in Macedonia, I believe in early April. And the 10,000 who were discovered to have been tortured and killed just a day ago. If you have links to these articles they would be appreciated. I am assuming you all know about these events.

The House Thursday night narrowly passed a measure regulating sales of weapons at gun shows — written by a rebellious faction of Democrats — that could doom a larger gun control bill set to be voted on Friday. The House voted 218-211 to support a measure sponsored by the most senior Democrat in the House, Rep. John D. Dingell of Michigan. Forty-five Democrats joined 173 Republicans in the vote. The mildest of three gun-show proposals before the House, the approved measure limits to 24 hours the maximum amount of time gun buyers must wait for background checks. The strictest ...

China doesn't accept US explanation THE US explanation of the US-led NATO attack on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade is "unconvincing," and therefore the Chinese Government and people cannot accept the conclusion that the "bombing was a mistake." The remarks were made in Beijing yesterday by Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan during his meeting with US envoy, Undersecretary of State Thomas R. Pickering. On June 16 in Beijing, Pickering presented to the Chinese Government a US Government report on the results of its investigation into the US-led NATO's attack on the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ...

DEVIC, Yugoslavia, June 18 (AFP) - Separatist Kosovo guerrillas inflicted "psychological violence" on nine nuns and a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church they held captive in a convent here for two days, the convent's Mother Superior told AFP Friday. Mother Anastasia, the head of the 15th-century Devic convent 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica, said 30 fighters from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) seized the convent on Sunday, before French troops moved into the area. Church authorities alerted the French military controlling the northern zone, who sent advance troops to the site on Wednesday ...

For education & discussion only. PARIS (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton visited one of Europe's oldest seats of learning Thursday to praise high-tech tools that help make the world a smaller place while warning that they haven't eradicated hostilities between peoples. Speaking in the Sorbonne's domed auditorium, Mrs. Clinton described how Kosovo refugees now living in the French city of Lyon soon will be able to track missing relatives via the Internet. ``These refugees will be able to find out whether family members are missing or dead,'' she told an audience that included her daughter, Chelsea, France's first lady, Bernadette ...

There are two obvious lessons to be taken from this week's shooting battle between South Korean and North Korean gunboats in which one North Korean boat was sunk. Both are sobering. · The first is that the world remains a very dangerous place, even now 10 years after the end of the Cold War. Small countries still ruled by tyrants -- whether they be Iraq, Yugoslavia or North Korea, to name but a few -- have the potential of igniting major military conflicts at any time, conflicts that could draw in larger nations, specifically the United States. · The ...

First cloned human embryo revealed Details of the first human embryo to be cloned have been released. BBC News' Glenn Thomas: Scientists calling for change in regulations so research can go aheadThe watershed achievement in biotechnology actually happened last November, but more information was revealed on Thursday. It was achieved using a cell from a man's leg and a cow's egg. The scientists who created the clone see it as a significant step forward in the search for a way of producing human stem cells. These are "master" cells which can develop into any type of cell - skin, bone, ...

Too many high federal judges depart from their constitutional duty of being only impartial arbiters of the law. Some choose to ignore what the Constitution and law actually say, issuing their own opinions with the force of law. That has prompted the Family Research Council to call attention to some of these judicial offenses by issuing annual "Court Jester Awards" at the National Press Club in Washington. This year's "Invisible Ink" award to a judge "who sees invisible words in the Constitution but who can't see the words that are really there" went to Fifth Circuit Judge Jacques Wiener, ...