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Slade's E-mail Newsletter - http://www.senate.gov/~gorton AN OPEN LETTER TO SEATTLE'S FINEST December 3, 1999 Washington's Law Enforcement Officers c/o Mike Patrick, Executive Director, WACOPS 200 Union Ave SE Olympia, WA  98501 Dear Friends: This is my opportunity to thank you for your hard work in downtown Seattle this week.  Washington's citizens can be proud of your dedication in protecting both people and property during the WTO ministerial. It is unfortunate for both our downtown businesses and the men and women on the front lines that the city did not give you the support you needed early enough, or consistently ...

December 8, 1999 Seattle Police Chief Resigns in Aftermath of Protests By SAM HOWE VERHOVEK SEATTLE -- Amid continuing criticism over the police department's handling of the protests here last week that eclipsed the World Trade Organization meeting, the city's police chief announced Tuesday that he would resign. The chief, Norm Stamper, said he wished to "de-politicize" the investigations that are under way into police preparations for the global trade talks, which drew 35,000 protesters downtown. The demonstrations quickly turned into a tumultuous affair, televised worldwide, in which the police sprayed tear gas and rubber pellets at many peaceful protesters ...

The coke question: Why Bush, not Clinton? "You have to answer the question. It won't go away." -- Reverend Jesse Jackson By Larry Elder The subject? George W. Bush. The "question (that) won't go away"? Bush's alleged cocaine use. Meet Reverend Jesse "Zero-Tolerance" Jackson, born-again Drug Czar. Jackson feels that Bush should come clean and directly respond to rumors about cocaine use. At first, Bush refused to answer any such questions. But, after prodding, he essentially denied using drugs within the last 25 years. Does Reverend Jackson recall the mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry, caught on videotape, smoking ...

December 8, 1999 New Arms Inspection Plan Could End Sanctions Against Iraq By BARBARA CROSSETTE UNITED NATIONS -- A new arms inspection plan that could lead to the suspension of nine years of sanctions against Iraq sometime next year may go to the Security Council for debate on Wednesday, Western diplomats said Tuesday. British and American envoys, augmented by State Department officials, spent Tuesday trying to build a consensus that would avoid a Russian veto. Diplomats said that on Wednesday the foreign ministers of key Security Council countries, including Secretary Of State Madeleine Albright and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of ...

December 8, 1999 I.M.F. Wants Reform Laws in Russia By THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund explained on Tuesday that it was continuing to delay a $640-million loan payment to Russia, because Moscow had failed to meet the necessary economic benchmarks. The managing director of the fund, Michel Camdessus, cited five reform goals the Russians had not met, including the parliament's failure to adopt certain bankruptcy laws or to increase the rate of cash collection for electricity, heating, natural gas and rail-freight services. Senior Clinton administration officials said although the delay was justified on economic grounds, ...

December 8, 1999 Russia Reacts Angrily Over Western Criticism on Chechnya By CELESTINE BOHLEN MOSCOW -- Russian officials on Tuesday reacted angrily to Western condemnation of Moscow's military tactics in Chechnya, warning that threats to impose sanctions or interrupt aid are unacceptable. Several officials insisted that Russia is already feeling the effects of the West's criticism through the International Monetary Fund's decision in the past week to once again postpone delivery of a $640-million credit. "It is clear that in this case, political considerations were crucial in the decision-making," said First Deputy Prime Minister Victor Khristenko. "The IMF's status as ...

December 8, 1999 Justices Weigh States' Rights vs. Treaty Rules By LINDA GREENHOUSE WASHINGTON -- Adding a foreign policy component to its exploration of federal-state relations, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on whether states can set safety and environmental standards for ships entering their harbors that are stricter than federal regulations or international agreements the United States has signed. The justices appeared torn between their solicitude for state sovereignty -- "Why shouldn't the state have something to say about that?" Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist demanded at one point with reference to staffing and operational requirements set by ...

EXETER, N.H.—On his campaign bus, where he chats up reporters for hours on end, John McCain was asked the other day how his presidential candidacy is faring. "We're going to take some setbacks, particularly with my proclivity to put my foot in my mouth fairly frequently," he replied. No one gave him an argument. In an age when candidates offer carefully rehearsed sound bites in an effort to micromanage their message, McCain is running for president by running his mouth. During his now-famous rolling press conferences, the Arizona senator rambles on about politics, the military, taxes, visiting Vietnam, his wife's ...

The Clinton administration plans for the first time to intervene in litigation against the gun industry, a move to pressure manufacturers to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and to reduce accidental shootings, officials said yesterday. The decision could dramatically strengthen the hand of numerous cities that have sued or threatened to sue firearms manufacturers, seeking redress for the public costs of gun violence. Federal officials will begin pressing the manufacturers to settle those lawsuits by making a variety of concessions, such as preventing "straw purchasers" from buying large quantities of firearms--a popular method for convicted felons ...

PHOENIX, Dec. 7—Texas Gov. George W. Bush said today that experience in Washington is "no advantage" in the presidential race, and insisted that his six years as the chief executive in Texas have been better preparation than any of his rivals can boast. At a news conference the morning after a televised debate in which one of them, Utah Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, suggested Bush might need seasoning in the vice president's job before he was ready to be No. 1, Bush responded that all of his opponents seemed to acknowledge that the Washington part of their resumes "wasn't very ...

Federal Reserve Orders: Be Careful On Clinton! By Sherman H. Skolnick Producer/moderator, Public Access Cable TV Program "Broadsides" Since 1963, Founder/chairman, Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts The world's largest bank, the Federal Reserve, has ordered the US Congress to be careful in dealing with President Clinton. An order from this financial dictator cannot be ignored, although dissidents in the US military vow at some point to go public with their views against their Commander-in Chief Clinton. Privately owned and operated by the Rockefeller and Rothschild families, and masquerading as America's Central Bank, the Federal Reserve does not ...

December 8, 1999 With Endorsements, Gore and Bradley Promote Plans on Economy and Health By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE with JAMES DAO With Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary and one of the architects of the current economic expansion, vouching for his fiscal wisdom and discipline, Vice President Al Gore continued on Tuesday to attack his opponents as fiscally irresponsible. Gore said the budget proposals of former Senator Bill Bradley, his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, the leading Republican, would take "unnecessary risks with our prosperity." "I believe that if the economy ...

It showed four adorable babies sitting in a row. Three were in full color, but the fourth was in faded blue, like a ghost. The caption below said "One of every four babies dies of CHOICE". This is a great message, and IMHO, far more effective than any picture of dismembered bloody baby parts. For some reason I have noticed a lot of anti-abortion bumper stickers in my area (San Diego) lately...but this one was by far the best.

DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 7—Striking an upbeat note about the prospects for a resumption of Syrian-Israeli peace talks, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said today she was "much more hopeful" following a three-hour meeting here with President Hafez Assad. U.S. officials declined to provide even the sketchiest details of Albright's conversation with the autocratic Syrian leader, saying only that he had provided "new clarifications" on Syria's conditions for resuming talks with Israel that broke off early in 1996. Still, Albright's buoyant tone appeared to signal a shift. Prior to her arrival here today, U.S. and Israeli officials had grown skeptical ...

CONCORD, N.H., Dec. 7—GOP presidential candidate John McCain, asserting that political leaders in both parties have failed the military, promised today to modernize American forces, raise military pay, cut Pentagon waste and get tough with rogue states, which he called the world's "main threat to peace and freedom." Here in New Hampshire and in New York City, the Arizona senator marked the 58th anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor by outlining the defense policy he will pursue if he becomes president. McCain's speech was the second in a series of policy addresses he hopes to give before the end ...

December 8, 1999 McCain Calls for Overhaul of National Security Policy By ALISON MITCHELL Senator John McCain called Tuesday for the United States to adjust its national security policy to the post-cold-war era by rebuilding its military to meet the new threats posed by rogue states, terrorists and ethnic conflicts. In a speech setting out his military policy, McCain, the Arizona senator who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, outlined steps that he said were necessary to meet the security challenges of the new millennium. His proposals included a pay increase for the military, deployment of a national missile defense ...

Not to miss! Here is the URL! http://208.138.42.193/forum/a384dae1e4ce7.htm

Panama will host world leaders next week--including former president Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright--to mark the year-end handover of the Panama Canal from the United States, but some Republican lawmakers say it's no time to celebrate. Pointing to a contract for a Hong Kong company to operate port facilities on both ends of the canal, a handful of Republicans in Congress and former defense officials argue that giving the canal to Panama will allow China a foothold in the Western Hemisphere and threaten America's security. "If we do nothing, I can guarantee you that within a ...

In the 1998 movie "Enemy of the State," rogue operators from the supersecret National Security Agency (NSA; sometimes known as No Such Agency) assassinate a U.S. congressman who's trying to limit the NSA's electronic spooks' ability to listen in on ordinary Americans. The film plays to the "Big Brother is watching you" paranoia of people who assume that the government can, and routinely does, eavesdrop on innocent conversations. Watching the movie one night last winter at his local cineplex, Air Force Lt. Gen. Mike Hayden, the new chief of the NSA, slunk down in his seat as the audience jeered ...

December 8, 1999 Jabs at Bush Put Focus on Question of Intellect By FRANK BRUNI PHOENIX -- Alan Keyes spoke unspecifically about candidates who seemed merely to repeat scripted lines and might not get anywhere without their family connections. Senator John McCain of Arizona offered an anecdote about former Secretary of State Dean Acheson that implicitly underscored George W. Bush's failure, after receiving a question about Acheson, to provide any similarly concrete information. And Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah relegated his commentary on Bush's abilities to a broad joke based on the presumption that Hatch would win the Republican ...