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To: Broken_Clock who wrote (44638)	11/5/1999 11:19:00 PM
From: d:oug	Respond to of 116762

Papaya King, a big thanks for feedback on the Vote.com web site. ...vote.com e-mails..."viscious spamming."...what they think about your views. Sounds like if each of those persons actually physically went to the White House (Peoples' House I think Clinton called it), then Clinton's aids would call it "viscious people spamming." For anyone who missed what Vote.com is about, read on, but it sure would be nice if the Vote.com web site would published every day the actual vote count obtained so that the news media could inform Mr. USA President what the people are REALLY thinking. ZDNet > Tech News > Law & Politics > Ex-Clinton advisor stumps for Vote.com Ex-Clinton advisor stumps for vote.com Dick Morris converts to digital politics. Claims his new e-ballot site is a 'major shift' in the democratic process. By Lisa M. Bowman, ZDNet News, November 1, 1999 3:12 PM PT Former Clinton campaign strategist Dick Morris wants to put you in closer contact with your representatives than ever before -- provided your congressmen and senators have time to wade through thousands of e-mails. On Sunday, Morris and his wife Eileen McGann launched a new site, vote.com that holds electronic ballots on such hot-button issues as gun control, air safety and gay rights. Once voters have cast their ballots and entered their ZIP codes, the site automatically sends e-mails to their senators and representatives. The site also features "Fifth Estate," a regular column written by Morris, who resigned as President Clinton's advisor over allegations that he discussed White House affairs with a prostitute. Morris' debut column is on First Lady Hilary Clinton's "flip-flop" run for the New York Senate seat. Morris also plans to sell his new book, "Vote.com" -- a look at how the Internet is changing politics -- on the site. Morris said he paid $250,000 for the Vote.com domain. "We really see this fundamentally as a major shift in the whole democratic process," Morris said in an interview. "The idea is to force a referendum form of government through the Internet." At the end of each poll, lawmakers receive a tally of their constituents' votes on that particular issue. In addition, before an election, constituents who've used Vote.com will get an e-mail detailing how their lawmakers voted on a wide variety of issues. And if merely casting a "yes" or "no" vote isn't enough, the site also has a chat room where people can discuss the issues with each other. Morris expects to hold votes on more than 40 issues at one time. Morris expects the net result of this to be more than 4,000 daily e-mails for each representative and exponentially more for the senators. "If the congressmen ignore you, it will be at their peril," Morris said. "This elevates level of dialogue between congressmen and their constituents." Morris denies that he's creating spam, saying voters deserve contact with the people they've elected. "Anyone who thinks that e-mail from the people who sent him to Washington is spam is pork," Morris said. Right now, the site makes its money from banner ads, but in the future, said Morris, he also might do research for clients and data mining. But he won't sell the information on people's voting habits, he said -- data that many a campaign strategist would be eager to receive. Instead, he said he may forward information from groups such as gun-control advocates onto people who've submitted votes on the issue to his site. The following is where the home page is. zdnet.com Copyright (c) 1999 ZDNet. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of ZDNet is prohibited. ZDNet and the ZDNet logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Inc.

To: Broken_Clock who wrote (44638)	11/6/1999 8:43:00 AM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116762

THIEVES STEAL 66O LBS OF GOLD AND ESCAPE IN AIRPLANE <Picture> Rio de Janeiro, Nov 05, 1999 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Three heavily armed men stole 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of gold and escaped in the small plane used to transport the precious stones, Brazilian television stations reported Friday. In the heist, which took place at Carajas Airport, in the Amazonian state of Para, the thieves subdued employees of "Vale do Rio Doce" mining company who were preparing to load the gold onto a small plane and transport the shipment to Sao Paulo. Sources, quoted by "GloboNews" television station, said the robbers ordered the employees to load the gold onto the airplane and then hijacked the plane. The plane was located hours later on a landing strip on the outskirts of Sao Felix, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Carajas. The police said that, at the landing strip, the gold was loaded onto another airplane, but they could not say where it was flown. "Vale do Rio Doce" officials estimated the stolen gold to be worth some 5.8 million reais (about 2.9 million dollars). EFE ed/ss/mrm Copyright (c) 1999. Agencia EFE S.A. efe.es

To: Broken_Clock who wrote (44638)	11/6/1999 3:34:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116762

Global prices to rise on wave of US optimism By BRIAN HALE NEW YORK, FRIDAY Saturday 6 November 1999 Expectations of another upward wave in global commodity prices have gathered strength in the United States as interest-rate fears subside and economists swing back to rosier forecasts for world economic growth. Most commodity prices ticked upwards again yesterday, led by a jump in oil prices to $US23 a barrel after Venezuela's oil minister said Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC oil producers may extend their pledge to cut production beyond next March . So far, the first result of the growing optimism has been a further fall in bond prices and another strong rise in the Nasdaq Composite Index yesterday, which advanced 27 points to 3056.11 (its fifth consecutive record close), even though the key October job numbers were due to be released overnight. These could dampen the optimism, but Wall Street believes that the next US Federal Reserve interest-rate hike will be the last in the current round as there are signs that the US economy is slowing. This is likely to forestall interest-rate increases by other central banks around the world and remove potential threats to global economic recovery. There were two more rate hikes yesterday - a 25-basis-point increase by the Bank of England, taking short-term rates to 5.5 per cent, and an aggressive 50-basis-point hike by the European Central Bank, which took short rates to 3 per cent. The optimism has dropped yields on the benchmark US 30-year Treasury bond over the past week or so from 6.4 per cent to 6.09 per cent, a level not seen since the end of September. It has also narrowed the spread between short and long-term bond yields and widened the spread between Treasury bond yields and non-Treasury bond yields. Federal funds futures are also said to be now factoring in a less-than-50-per-cent chance of a rate increase this month, which is markedly down from the 75-per-cent chance the market was attaching to a rate hike less than two weeks ago. Commodity prices so far have been a little slower to react, although stronger base-metal prices pushed Australian resource stocks higher in recent days and, in the US, the Commodity Research Bureau index rose again yesterday. Conversely, the CRB raw industrial index also hit a new high during the week. Researchers at The Bank Credit Analyst yesterday said the high "underscores that a slow-moving bull market is unfolding". "The rally had been lead by base metals, which is typical of most cycles. More recently, however, the "other" raw materials component in the overall CRB raw industrials index has gained momentum and risen above its 40-week moving average, signalling that the bull market is broadening," added the BCA. The BCA analysts said the CRB raw industrials index's short-term momentum had stopped rising, but this did not herald a correction because the previous major bull market in 1994 also witnessed a prolonged period where momentum appeared to have reached a plateau, yet prices moved steadily higher. "In 1994, cyclical momentum (the 52-week measure) continued to rise, signalling that the bull market would persist. Conclusion: higher prices loom on a cyclical basis, until momentum diverges in a significant way and/or the 52-week rate of change reaches overbought levels (which is a long way off given that it is only now up to neutral levels)," said the BCA. The research group also said that the brighter outlook for world growth combined with the weaker US dollar augured further rises for commodities. "Commodities tend to climb the most rapidly when world growth is accelerating and the US dollar is weak. Such a combination occurred in 1986-88 and, to a lesser extent, in 1994-95," said the BCA. "Recently, the trade-weighted dollar has softened, underscoring that a solid rebound in industrial commodity prices should unfold, with the magnitude of the rise dependent on whether producers avoid flooding the market with supply as demand recovers." theage.com.au