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To: MNI who wrote (14073)	8/19/1999 11:14:00 AM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 17770

Everything written above is pure phantasy with the request for advice from somebody who seems to have followed Russian politics more constantly than I have.>>> No MNI I did not follow "Russian Politics" a bit...My opinions are carved in stone...and stone was made in the USSR..I can't imagine how "centrists", "reformists' or any other Moscow Opportunists can possibly make a difference in the country like Russia that was ruled with iron fist for so many centuries....Any government equipped with only words of Wisdom and "western style" economic values would fail even with the best intentions....Russia is spiralling-out toward some sort of dictatorship, if not in this cycle of power-struggle, than in the next looming in next decade....

To: MNI who wrote (14073)	8/22/1999 4:48:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 17770

In Germany, we have ways of making you laugh By Louise Potterton in Wiesbaden GERMANS are being persuaded to acquire a sense of humour with the establishment of a nationwide network of "laughter clubs". In an effort to rid the nation of its dour, humourless image, they are being encouraged to meet once a week to practise laughter exercises and tell jokes. The objective is to train them to erupt into a hearty laugh at the merest whiff of a jest. Research conducted at Berkeley University, California, has shown that Germans laugh only for an average of six minutes a day; Britons laugh for 15 minutes, while the French, well-known for their joie de vivre, laugh for a hearty 18 minutes. Michael Berger, the founder of the laughter clubs, said: "Germans have no sense of humour. The German is a very serious person, and he likes to moan a lot." When Mr Berger set up the first club he pointed to scientific studies done by the European laughter league leaders, the Italians, who spend 19 minutes a day enjoying a good laugh. He said: "Germans don't laugh enough because they simply don't have enough time. They always think that 'time is money' and everything has become so fast. Because of this Germans have lost the art of laughter." He also said that in the Fifties they laughed three times more than they do today. Since the first club opened last December in Wiesbaden the laughter sessions have become more and more popular. There are now 22 clubs and 350 members learning how to chortle, chuckle and split their sides. The Wiesbaden club, which meets in a disused church, has 35 members, ranging in age from 10 to 80. Mr Berger said the clubs' laughter techniques are not based on the traditional methods of using aides such as silly noses and corny joke routines. Instead, members spend 20 minutes following 11 step-by-step well ordered regulations. At the beginning of the sessions the participants form a circle, clap their hands and chant "Ho-ho-ha-ha-ha" as loudly as they can. Later, laughter students are taught to pounce on each other like lions. Mr Berger, who always wears a bell on his shoe (just for laughs), explained: "At first the laughter is of course restrained, but when the participants allow the laughter to take over they become more and more relaxed. We need to know how to take full advantage of this free and easy facility to laugh. Everyone has a sense of humour when they are born. One of the first things a baby does is smile at its mother. But this has been lost and we need to learn it again." Manfred Leitner, 55, a member of the Regensburg club, said he enjoyed the "lion laugh" in particular, which he demonstrated by opening his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out and raising his hands to imitate a lion's paws - followed shortly afterwards by a hearty laugh. He said: "I think the lion laugh looks so funny that I have to laugh so much and can no longer speak. Of course, it is strange to meet complete strangers in order to laugh with them." Mr Leitner has scientific evidence on his side when he claims that laughter is good for you. Michael Titze, a psychologist, said: "Laughing strengthens the immune defence system and the heart, and it improves the breathing. Laughter peps you up, so even depressed people feel better." And it is often said that laughter is infectious. At the first meeting of the club in Preunschen bei Amorbach firemen meeting nearby came along, looked in at he windows, and joined in with the gales of laughter. "We had a whale of a time," said one member. telegraph.co.uk

To: MNI who wrote (14073)	8/22/1999 5:02:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Luzkhov Lashes Out At Yeltsin As Anti-Kremlin Bloc Shapes Up MOSCOW, Aug 22, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Moscow Mayor Yury Luzkhov lashed out at President Boris Yeltsin as a weak leader Saturday as he lined up a list of well-known politicians, entertainers and military leaders to run in the December parliamentary elections. "The country is being robbed in a way which is unprecedented in its cynicism and permissiveness," Luzkhov said in an address to his Fatherland (Otechestvo) movement. "Russia's weak authority is the only reason behind this," he said, according to the Interfax news agency. Russia's leadership "has turned into a regime which people are unable to understand and which poses a threat to the country," Luzkhov was quoted as saying. He spoke as some 400 members of the All Russia grouping of regional leaders met in the Urals city of Ufa and elected the governor of the Saint-Petersburg region, Vladimir Yakovlev, as their leader. Fatherland and All Russia have joined forces in a centrist coalition to challenge Yeltsin supporters in the December 19 elections to the Russian State Duma, the Lower House of parliament. Former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, who enjoys the highest approval rating among Russian politicians, on Tuesday announced that he would lead the list of candidates of the All Russia-Fatherland bloc. Luzkhov is to hold the number two spot followed by Yakovlev. "We need to establish a government which will answer to the country and to its people," Luzkhov said. "The founders of the broad centrist coalition have succeeded in uniting healthy forces which rule out extremism and extremes and are capable of resolving tasks," he added. In Moscow, delegates pieced together a list of 350 candidates topped by Primakov, Luzkhov and Yakovlev, who will seek election in the 450-seat Duma, which is currently dominated by communists and their allies. The list includes former ministers Rmazan Abdulatipov, Georgy Boos and Tatyana Dmitriyeva as well as film-maker Stanislav Govorukhin, General Boris Gromov, who led Soviet forces out of Afghanistan, actors Alexander Kalyagin and Oleg Tabakov, and the coach of the national football team Oleg Romantsev. A final list of candidates is due to be approved at the founding congress of the All Russia-Fatherland bloc on August 28, ITAR-TASS said. ((c) 1999 Agence France Presse)