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While President Clinton circled the nation on his so-called Poverty Tour, popping into a patch of Appalachia here, a swatch of Indian reservation there, Hillary Rodham Clinton all but announced her New York Senate campaign yesterday, declaring herself embarked on an odyssey of her own -- a "Listening Tour" of the Empire State. Mark her words. As she tells it, this race of hers first began with listening -- to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, when he announced his retirement. "And the more I listened," Mrs. Clinton bubbled to a crowd of more than 200 reporters ...

Iowa Straw Poll Could Break Some GOP Backs By Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, July 8, 1999; Page A6 AMES, Iowa – In six weeks, voters from across Iowa will gather in this sleepy town to gorge on barbecue catered by Mustard's or Hickory Hill and listen to the country-and-western sounds of Crystal Gayle, Tracy Byrd and Linda Davis, all for free, including the $25 ticket. With transportation provided from the farthest reaches of the state, some 10,000-plus people will get a chance to shake the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger, H. Norman Schwarzkopf and maybe even ...

Press here for main article On Thursday, July 1, 1999 I posted an article concerning a response being prepared by the Inter- Agency Group [IAG] of the National Vaccine Program of the Centers For Disease Control for release sometime late Friday afternoon. That report, as you recall, was going to "spin" a white paper on Thimerosal issued by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. It was the intent of the CDC, like all other government agencies that when you need to release negative information, release it on Friday since most Americans ignore the news on the weekends. ...

A year or two back, you may recall, our government was running tourist ads in the American press confidently asserting that "The world needs more Canada." This summer, the message has subtly evolved: Canada needs more Canada. Apparently, our fragile identity is at risk from the forces of "integrationism" and "continentalism": the border is gradually dissolving, Wal-Mart and Dunkin' Donuts mean more to the average Canuck consumer than Eaton's or Canadian Tire, the Yanks have seized Laura Secord . . . Of course, even with everything else gone, we still have what Southam News columnist Lawrence Martin calls "the ...

I heard it this morning on NPR's BBC newscast. Finally, the Sierra Leone rebels agreed to a truce that brings them in as co-equal governing partners of the democratically-elected government they fought until now. According to the report, the rebels won their government seats by terrorizing their opponents, mainly through killings and amputations. The BBC reporter was inteviewing a victim whose right arm was cut by the rebels, even though he offered them his left hand - apparently the Sierra Leone national ID identifies the subjects as righties or lefties and the rebels insisted to cut his 'dominant' upper limb. ...

4 **************************************************************** 4) From: Zombie Cow <waste@zor.hut.fi> Subject: Bill extends arm of law on Net records http://www.mercurycenter.com/business/top/010857.htm The California State Senate -- declaring that cyberspace knows no boundaries -- unanimously approved legislation Monday to make it easier for local law enforcement officials to obtain electronic communications records from Internet service and e-mail providers around the nation. Bill sponsors, including the Santa Clara County District Attorneys office, said the measure could provide a model for legal authorities nationwide to speed criminal investigations. Opponents, however, fear it gives judicial authorities too much latitude. The legislation, authored by State Sen. Liz Figueroa, ...

Albanian mafia moving into Kosovo on NATO's heels KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia, July 8 (AFP) - The feared Albanian mafia has moved into Kosovo on the heels of the deployment of NATO troops and is already running lucrative operations smuggling drugs, cars, petrol and cigarettes, local people say.On the lonely road between Pec in northwest Kosovo and Kosovska Mitrovica in the north, the mobsters' are easy to spot in their glossy black Mercedes with tinted windows and no number-plates, and in the flashy four-wheeled drives registered in Vlora, southern Albania.A short distance from the market in Kosovska Mitrovica in a ...

NEW YORK, July 7 (Itar-Tass) - Leaders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) deny full recognition of legal rights to the United Nations civilian administration in Kosovo and even threaten to take up arms again if the United Nations opposes the territory's striving for independence. Such is the gist of statements of militants' leaders expressing KLA's reaction to the appointment of Bernard Kouchner as chief of the UN mission in Kosovo last Saturday. His purpose is to restore civilian rule in Kosovo, the Wall Street Journal whites. KLA political leader Hashim Thaqi who proclaims himself head of the Kosovo ...

Lawler flexes his celebrity muscle in mayoral race By Kriste Goad The Commercial Appeal 7/8/99 Jerry Lawler got the 25 signatures he needs to become a mayoral candidate without even leaving the Election Commission offices Wednesday. Voters flocked to see Lawler and sign his qualifying petition, and many said they'd consider voting for the pro wrestler who says he wants to become mayor of Memphis. Lawler, who showed up with a sheaf of pictures and signed as many autographs as he received, didn't actually file his qualifying petition Wednesday. He said he'll do that next week. The qualifying period ends ...

3 3) From: SpyKing@con2.com Subject: US crypto law cover for industrial spookery A clandestine alliance of spooks in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand has been using moves to bring European encryption regulations into line with US crypto law to steal industrial secrets from companies based in the European Union. That's the shocking conclusion of a draft report from the European Parliament's Scientific and Technological Options Assessment committee, released last week. The report alleges Microsoft, Lotus and Netscape were persuaded by the US National Security Agency to modify their software to make versions shipped overseas better able ...

Afiling petition to a federal judge last week raised the possibility that the FBI files case, one of the capital's great all-time mysteries, might yet be broken open--with political implications for Hillary Rodham Clinton. It requests the deposition of a former Clinton White House aide's ex-wife, who claims she observed her husband transferring FBI files into his laptop computer. The June 29 filing by the conservative Judicial Watch asked U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington to authorize the sworn testimony of Leslie Gail Kennedy, who was married until late 1994 to former White House Associate Counsel William H. Kennedy. ...

Washington, DC - Amidst familiar promises from Congressional leaders for a post-July-4th push for spending restraint and broad-based tax cuts, a study released today by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU) warned that the fiscal legacy of the 106th Congress could be quite the opposite. "Since their election to majority status in Congress in 1994, Republicans have been a little like the Chicago Cubs - continually promising better results next year and continually failing to produce those results," observed NTU Director of Congressional Relations Eric V. Schlecht. "The conservatives who supported these Republicans, on the other hand, have displayed their ...

There are many compelling reasons to oppose ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The fact is that the Chemical Weapons Convention significantly threatens the freedoms we Americans cherish, significantly diminishes America's sovereignty, and significantly increases America's vulnerability to chemical warfare. It's as though we were being asked to endorse a drug that worsens the disease it purports to cure and, in addition, has some highly dangerous side effects. To explain just how dangerous the CWC's side effects are, let me ask the distinguished members of this Committee a simple question: What is the basis of America's greatness? Why is it ...

The dinner will be held at the Marriott Crystal Gateway. We've finally worked it out where the dinner will cost $30. We will have speakers, question and answer sessions, then some fun! We'll have a DJ and a dance floor! Marriott Crystal Gateway 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, VA 22202 FOR RESERVATIONS CALL JUDICIAL WATCH: (202) 646-5172 Ask for reservations for the FreeRepublic.com/Judicial Watch dinner on July 24th! CONFIRMED speakers for the dinner include: Larry Klayman Alan Keyes Gary Aldrich Tom Fitton Christopher Hitchens Dolly Kyle Browning Blanquita Cullum Sean Hannity (emcee) There are a host of others, awaiting FINAL ...

By PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) -- Geraldine Blue Bird's lip trembled as she spoke to President Clinton on her weatherworn front porch. She told him about the 11 relatives who lived inside, and the 17 who slept in the trailer out back. But even as she looked out on her neighborhood strewn with abandoned cars, better housing wasn't foremost on her mind. Jobs were. Jobs to buy clothes and food. Jobs to get off welfare. The national unemployment rate is below 5 percent, the lowest in three decades, but it's about 75 percent on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, ...

The power blackout in the Washington Heights section of New York was a complete bust as far as the media was concerned. On Monday, when power started to go, both the local and national news services hightailed it to the effected area to cover what must surely be a rampaging riot. Helicopters patrolled the skies, reporters cruised the streets, and up-to-the-minute reports were beamed out of the area to the local news outlets. Why, you may ask? Washington Heights is a large ethnic conclave and newsies, being what they are (pimps) were certain the locals would be out lifting a ...

The right way to protect the flag By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist, 07/08/99 t will take 67 votes in the Senate to send the proposed flag-protection amendment on to the states for ratification. That is two more votes than the amendment is believed to have, and so for the fourth time since 1989, the amendment will fail. The amendment's supporters want to undo the Supreme Court's rulings in its 1989 and 1990 flag-burning cases. They are right to reject the court's holding that torching the star-spangled banner is protected by the First Amendment, but wrong to think that their only ...

The government's rejection of Conservative calls for an inquiry into Nato's 78-day air strike campaign against Yugoslavia is outrageous. There are huge national issues involved here, and vast sums of public money. The only pity is that the inquiry calls have focused on the relatively narrow matter of military effectiveness, and not the wider political dimensions of the Kosovo debacle. Still, the military dimension is worth debating. It is plain that Nato, in its craven refusal to commit ground forces to Kosovo, failed to prevent the worst atrocities committed in our continent since the 1940s. Worse, the air strikes did ...

Washington Is Out Of Touch With The Voters by Phyllis Schlafly July 7, 1999 The disconnect between the Republican establishment and its grassroots constituency is manifest in the latest fundraising survey from the Republican National Committee (RNC). In the customary hyperbolic rhetoric of mail-order fundraisers, calling it "an urgent message to all Republicans," this mailing is labelled "the single most important public opinion polling project issued by the Republican party this year." In addition to asking for contributions to "support this important polling project," the survey asks for responses to nine questions in bold type and another 14 questions ...

PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO FBI cancels leaves for Y2K Unprecedented action signals agency planning for worst © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com July 8, 1999 The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently notified all their agents that all leaves from Dec. 15 through mid-January -- even those previously approved -- are officially canceled. According to a special agent within the Department of Health and Human Services, a partner in the FBI received a memo stating all end-of-the-year leaves had been canceled for three to four weeks between the middle of December and the middle of January. Both of the agents wish to remain ...