Free Republic

[13 Dec 1999] L/2938 : AS CRIMINAL COURT’S PREPARATORY COMMISSION CONTINUES WORK ON KEY TEXTS, AGREEMENTS REACHED ON SOME PROCEDURAL RULES 13 December 1999 Press Release L/2938 AS CRIMINAL COURT’S PREPARATORY COMMISSION CONTINUES WORK ON KEY TEXTS, AGREEMENTS REACHED ON SOME PROCEDURAL RULES 19991213 Varying Approaches to Crime of Aggression Gathered into Working Paper Preliminary work on rules in the Statute of the International Criminal Court related to penalties, and on those governing international cooperation and judicial assistance, has been concluded, the Preparatory Commission for the Court was informed this morning as it heard progress reports by the coordinators ...

The deadly voyage: How it happened: 18-month drama began with hope, ended in tragedy BY ELAINE DE VALLE edevalle@herald.com The international incident that has pitted Miami exiles against Cuban leader Fidel Castro in a custody battle over 6-year-old rafter Elian Gonzalez began on a beach east of Havana during Thanksgiving week. That was when 14 people waded through shallow waters off Cardenas, pushing a 17- to 20-foot boat far enough from homes so they couldn't be seen or heard. Destination: Miami. Only three people made it, including Elian, who was rescued off Fort Lauderdale by two cousins who were fishing. ...

Driven from Kosovo Interview with Cedda Prlincevic, Chief Archivist of Kosovo and leader of Pristina's Jewish Community. [ The website, http://www.emperors-clothes.com, encourages everyone to reproduce the following interview by email, on websites, or in print, wherever possible, but please don't leave anything out, including this note. Thanks. ] The interview is divided in two parts, conducted at different times. Jared Isael is the interviewer in Part One. Note that KFOR essentially means NATO. Jared: So you are the President of the Jewish Community in Pristina [the capital of Kosovo]? Cedda: It was a small community. We have all left. Jared: ...

Panama Canal blues President Clinton had long hoped foreign travel to anywhere, except Panama, would be scheduled for today, Dec. 14. It would have provided a handy excuse for missing a long-planned ceremony in Panama honoring the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal. Early this month, Mr. Clinton said: “I may have to take another foreign trip [to Belfast] at about the same time, which is why I have not committed to make the [Panama] trip.” That Belfast trip never materialized, however, leaving Mr. Clinton bereft of political cover. That was unfortunate for Mr. Clinton, since Panama’s President Mireya ...

Warden among hostages held by Cuban detainees at Louisiana jail ST. MARTINVILLE, La. -- (AP) -- Five Cuban detainees at a jail took the warden and three deputies hostage Monday. One of the deputies was released after six hours of negotiations. The hostages were taken in an ``uprising'' at the St. Martin Parish Jail that began shortly after 4 p.m. as the detainees left a rooftop exercise area and grabbed the guards, Sheriff Charles Fuselier said. The detainees were armed with a homemade knife, but no injuries were reported. ``They have always tried to escape,'' Fuselier said. ``Their big demand ...

Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new persona. She’s no longer the most abused little wife in America, for whom we all had a Judeo-Muslim-Buddhist-(and maybe even voodoo)-Christian duty to feel pity. Now she’s our coal-mine canary. When the coal mine runs low on oxygen, the canary sings. When we want to know what her husband thinks, we must listen to Hillary. When we want to know what government policies with far-reaching consequences are about to be formulated, we look to see what Hillary’s Senate campaign needs this morning. When Hillary speaks, repudiating Bill’s policy du jour, we can expect ...

He’s the One: U.S. Officials See Father of 6-Year-Old Boy ABCNEWS.com H A V A N A, Dec. 13 — U.S. immigration officials have concluded that the father of Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy who has become the subject of an international custody battle, is indeed what he claims to be and therefore eligible to receive the boy. Cuba has demanded the boy’s return, but relatives and activists in the United States have been insisting that Elian remain here. State Department and immigration officials had said that if Juan Miguel Gonzalez of Havana turned out to be the child’s ...

Poll: Send Him Home: Plurality Favors Cuban Boy’s Return Analysis By Gary Langer ABCNEWS.com N E W Y O R K, Dec. 13 — A plurality of Americans say Elian Gonzalez should go home to his father. In an ABCNEWS.com poll, 46 percent say the 6-year-old boy should be returned to his father in Cuba, while 33 percent say he should remain with relatives in the United States. About one in six are undecided about the controversial case. Elian clung to an inner tube in the Florida Straits for two days after a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Cuba sank ...

A Little Boy in the Middle Elian Gonzalez's father wants him back in Cuba. His relatives in Florida say he'd be happier with them. By Joseph Contreras and Russell Watson Newsweek, December 20, 1999 Would a child be better off growing up in Miami or Havana? Elian Gonzalez is only 6 years old, and he doesn't seem to have a firm opinion. Talking by phone to his father back in Cuba, he said he wanted to go home to "Poppy," according to relatives there. But when his kinfolk in Florida brought him to a press conference, he shyly told reporters: ...

Judge to rule on scope of immunity ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — A Howard County prosecutor felt “unbearable” pressure to investigate whether Linda R. Tripp broke state law by taping phone conversations that led to the impeachment of President Clinton, according to testimony yesterday from a former deputy to independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr. At a pretrial hearing that may determine whether Mrs. Tripp must stand trial on two wiretapping charges, Jackie M. Bennett testified that Marna McLendon called him Jan. 26, 1998, and told him “there was a political campaign to put pressure on” the local prosecutor’s office to ...

December 14, 1999 12:00AM THE BUSH RECOVERY BEGINS  When the debates began, George W. Bush was being held to an unfairly high standard: Nobody can dominate a debate the way the Texas governor has dominated the race outside the auditorium. Now, however, the expectations game is working in Bush’s favor. By performing so poorly in the first two debates, Bush made last night’s adequate performance seem pretty good.  Bush gave a very solid answer to Tom Brokaw’s question about missile defense, ably pointing out the absurdity of viewing its deployment as an act of aggression. He did well on ...

Cubans 1, Exiles 1, Six-Year-Old Elian, 0 In this tug-of-love, the child, as usual, is the pawn, while the big players — Castro and Cuban exiles — reap the rewards TONY KARON Most child-custody wars mean profit for some (the lawyers for both sides) and pain for others (the child and his parents). In the case of Elian Gonzalez, too, the winners are the ones pulling the strings, but in this case it is the Cuban government and the large Cuban-exile community in Florida who are reaping the benefits of a family tragedy. That situation became even more apparent Monday ...

MIDI - BOTH SIDES NOW Chinese commies everywhere…the New World Order doesn’t care As long as they are making bucks…oh man, that really sucks Our Traitor Bill will cut a deal…it’s really seeming so surreal He gives them everything they ask…yes, he’s up to the task They have both sides of our canal…and that’s just fine with Bill and Al On Chinese money each depends…the Chinese commie scum are not, our friends They are using what they stole…to dominate has been their goal And Willy gave the store away…while with cigars he’d play The Traitor should be locked in ...

I just saw the results at Vote.com Keyes-45% Bush-38% McCain-10% So who do you think won??

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Now that Hillary Clinton has offered an "almost" announcement, Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson questioned why she continues to avoid stating her position on important issues facing the Jewish community. "If Hillary was really listening to the families of New York she would know they want a leader who will tackle the tough issues that are important to them," said Nicholson. Nicholson criticized Hillary's decision to bar the press from her Tuesday appearance before about 100 members of the Orthodox Union in New York. The appearance is expected to be rough going for ...

Leading the Trail The Legend and Lore of Iowa and New Hampshire By GayleTzemach ABCNEWS.com W A S H I N G T O N — Jimmy Carter can thank Iowa for his presidency. The caucus win in the Buckeye State helped toss the little-known former Georgia governor out of obscurity and toward a New Hampshire win that led, eventually, to his party’s nomination. “That kind of made the Iowa precinct caucus as a first-in-the-nation early indicator of what is going on,” says Drake University professor Hugh Winebrenner, who has penned a book on the Iowa caucuses. Primary Pride Every ...

THIS FALN STORY JUST WON'T DIE The story of the Puerto Rican terrorists freed by Bill Clinton this summer just keeps getting better and better. Now we've learned that the activist who successfully lobbied for the terrorists' release was himself a leader in the FALN. Documents subpoenaed by Representative Dan Burton's committee turned up letters from seven high-ranking Clinton administration officials, including the then-White House Counsel and the White House Deputy Chief of Staff to Luis Nieves Falcon. Falcon also visited the White House at least once--in 1996 to meet with lawmakers and deliver letters of support for clemency. Compare ...

Bush, McCain Tussle in Iowa: Front-runner Adopts More Aggressive Tactics ABCNEWS.com D E S M O I N E S, Iowa, Dec. 13 — Just six weeks before Iowans kick off the voting in the 2000 presidential campaign, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain tussled tonight in the most aggressive and lively debate of the three yet staged. Bush came into tonight’s forum battling not just his five Republican opponents but also growing concerns over his lackluster performance in the first two debates. Under pressure to appear more aggressive, Bush challenged McCain’s signature call for tougher ...

My daughter and her friend are doing a presentation in history class on our Second Amendment right to bear arms versus government's attempt at confiscation. The class and teacher that they are presenting this to are mostly pro-gun control.

By PHILIP SHENON,in Washington As NATO peacekeeping troops enter their fifth year on patrol in the former war zone of Bosnia-Herzegovina, dozens of Bosnians accused of genocide, rape and other war crimes have not only eluded capture, but are reported to live openly with little fear of arrest. Western diplomats, human rights advocates and Balkans specialists say much of Bosnia has become a virtual safe haven for war crimes suspects, especially south-eastern Bosnia, which is under the command of French peacekeeping troops and is a stronghold of the Bosnian Serbs. Many of the most notorious suspects are known to ...