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Politics : Clinton -- doomed & wagging, Japan collapses, Y2K bug, etc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 9:31:00 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

Dear alan, I suspect, since a successful move would put things in hyper-gear, they may fail once more, but who knows!

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 9:31:00 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

Wall Street Journal - 10/06/98 An INTERACTIVE JOURNAL News Roundup Sharp declines in spending on new homes and factories forced the Japanese government to reverse an earlier forecast and predict that the country's economy would contract for a second straight year. The revision comes as Tokyo struggles to meet international demands that it do more to resuscitate its recession-hit economy and ease the Asian financial crisis. Also Tuesday, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi ordered his cabinet to look into measures -- which may include new income-tax cuts -- to supplement an earlier $126 billion economic stimulus package, according to a government spokesman. The premier wants Parliament to pass a $52 billion tax cut and approve $74 billion in new public spending by the end of this year, the spokesman said. "The world economy is facing a crisis that can't be ignored," Mr. Obuchi said Tuesday in Parliament, where lawmakers debated bills to clean up Japan's troubled banking system. "Reviving the economy is our biggest task," the prime minister said. Japan's Economic Planning Agency said it now believes the world's second-largest economy will shrink by 1.8% this year, revising a previous forecast of 1.9% growth. The contraction would mark the first time the economy has declined two years in a row since 1955, when the government started calculating the gross domestic product -- the sum of all goods and services produced within the country. The rate of contraction also would be much steeper than last year's drop of 0.7%, suggesting Japan's economic slide may only be gathering speed. The government's report offered little optimism that Japan's economy would return to growth in the near future. The agency said some of the factors that are impeding growth include: Faltering domestic demand for new goods and services, which is expected to drop by 2.4% in the fiscal year ending March 1999. A decline in demand for new housing. Spending on new housing is seen tumbling 11.6%, compared with the previous estimate of a 4.9% increase. Less investment by businesses in new factories and equipment. Such spending is down 10.1% this year to its lowest level in five years. The Economic Planning Agency also predicted that the shrinking economy will cause more bankruptcies and corporate belt-tightening, driving the unemployment rate to 4.2% for the year, up from 3.3% last year. The 4.2% rate would be the highest on record. The revision also showed that the slowdown in spending threatens to push the economy into a deflationary spiral -- where the bottom falls out on wages and prices. The agency said it expects wholesale prices to slide 1.7% this year. The one bright spot was exports, the agency said. Overseas demand for Japanese products is expected to rise 0.6%, driving up the country's current account surplus -- the broadest measure of trade -- to $122 billion from an earlier forecast of $92 billion.

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 9:33:00 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

The Telegraph - London - 10/06/1998 By Hugo Gurdon Bitterness as Congress wrangles over Clinton THE White House chief of staff, Erskine Bowles, has handed in his resignation and will leave the beleaguered President when Congress adjourns before the November election, it was revealed yesterday. His departure is a blow to Mr Clinton, but not an unexpected one. Mr Bowles has been manoeuvring towards the exit for several months, with his eye on a bid for election as governor of his home state, North Carolina, in 2000. Nevertheless, his desire to distance himself from Mr Clinton has sharpened since the President's admission that he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Mr Bowles was one of those to whom the President lied personally and directly in January. Mr Bowles said at the weekend: "I am angry with him. It hurts that he lied to me and he lied to the American people."

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 9:34:00 AM
From: SOROS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1151

BBC - London - 10/06/1998 The Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has said he is giving Syria a final warning, as tensions between the two countries rise following Turkish accusations that Syria is supporting Kurdish separatist rebels. "We are warning Syria for the last time. We want them to stop their support for separatist terrorism and stop their policies of enmity. We are waiting for a reply from Syria," he said. Earlier Mr Yilmaz demanded that Syria hand over Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdish separatist PKK, who is believed to be in Damascus. The Turkish prime minister described Syria as "the headquarters of terrorism in the Middle East". Diplomatic efforts President Mubarak of Egypt is meeting the Turkish President, Suleyman Demirel, in Ankara, in an effort to defuse the crisis. On Sunday Mr Mubarak was in Damascus for talks with Syria's President Hafez al Assad. Following that meeting, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Amr Moussa, expressed some optimism, saying: "It is not too difficult for a diplomatic solution and does not need escalation or military action." Iran has also offered to diffuse the tension. The Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, said that Turkey should "maintain self-restraint because military threats will not solve anything." US concerned but 'understanding' The United States has expressed its concern over the situation. The State Department spokesman James Rubin said the US had been in touch with both Turkey and Syria and had been "urging restraint". He said: "Clearly the fact that the PKK has an ability to operate from some of these areas inside Syria and other places is a major problem." He said the US had in the past expressed understanding for Turkey's position on the matter, but added: "Let me be clear: we very much don't want this to go to the next step because in this case ... it would be a grave risk of a much larger conflict." Arab countries support Syria Many Arab nations have expressed their support for Syria, but have also called on both counties to resolve their row peacefully. Among the Arab countries reported to side with Syria are Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman. The Arab League has accused Israel of being behind the crisis. General Ahmed Bin Hilli, Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, said: "Israel ... benefits from such a tense atmosphere in implementing its aggressive policies in Arab land and stalling peace." A recent agreement of military co-operation between Turkey and Israel has angered many Arab states that feel threatened despite Turkish assurances. Turkish-Syrian relations have never been easy, but in the past week Ankara raised the stakes. Syria has repeatedly denied helping the PKK or providing a refuge for its leader.

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 9:36:00 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

Ha'aretz - Tel Aviv - 10/06/98 By Yerah Tal and Nitzan Horowitz, Ha'aretz Correspondents and AP U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and special Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross are scheduled to arrive in Israel today in an attempt to bring Israel and the Palestinians closer ahead of a planned three-way summit in Washington. Albright will meet today in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then travel to Gaza to meet with Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat. She will probably meet with Netanyahu again tomorrow before returning to Washington. Her senior aides, Ross and Martin Indyk, will stay on to continue the negotiations. The final date and venue of the summit are expected to be determined over the next few days. The White House and State Department are reportedly trying to organize it within the next two weeks. It is scheduled to last several days and include, in addition to the leaders, extended teams of aides and specialists from both sides. The Palestinians have apparently ruled out the possibility of holding the summit at Camp David. Another possible venue - Wye Plantation - is problematic as it is already hosting another event. Other locations in the Washington area, including military campuses and government installations, are currently being looked into. President Bill Clinton has already made clear that his goal is to conclude a deal at the summit. American sources say that the president is eager to strike a deal before the November elections for Congress. A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office speculated yesterday that if Albright and her top aides manage to bridge most of the gaps remaining between the sides in the preliminary talks starting today, the summit will indeed lead to an agreement. However, "If Albright and her team do not resolve at least 90 percent of the issues currently under dispute between Israel and the Palestinians then there is no chance that the Washington summit will succeed," the senior official added. The official speculated that at least two key sticking points would not be resolved in the current talks and would have to be left for the summit meeting between Clinton, Netanyahu and Arafat. These issues are the Israeli demands for the scrapping of the Palestinian Covenant and the handing over of all suspected Palestinian terrorists. The senior source denied reports that Netanyahu had given into Arafat on these issues, but added that a compromise is possible. Another contentious point is Israel's demand that the Palestinian Authority disarm the extremist groups operating within its territory. The PA has informed the U.S. administration that it is willing to disarm any Palestinians not serving in the police or security forces, but has demanded that in return Israel disarm all West Bank and Gaza settlers. Netanyahu has rejected this demand. Meanwhile yesterday, top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that without Israeli concessions, Albright's latest peace efforts "won't go anywhere." "I hope Madame Albright will end this cycle - meeting and arranging other meetings, giving Netanyahu the extra miles - because this must stop and we must move to substance," he said. "We believe that without a clear-cut Netanyahu 'yes' to the American initiative and all its components, I think we won't go anywhere," Erekat said.

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 9:37:00 AM
From: SOROS	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1151

Woe to anyone that presses for Israel to give up land that God promised in a Covenant! -- USA included.

To: alan w who wrote (552)	10/6/1998 7:28:00 PM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

Are earthquakes increasing SLIGHTLY???? Earthquake Hits Tibet BEIJING -- (Agence France Presse) An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale has rocked Tibet, bringing the number of strong quakes to hit western China in the last nine days to five, the State Seismological Bureau reported Tuesday. The latest temblor struck at 6.24 p.m. Monday (1024 GMT) in the isolated Tibetan district of Xainza, north of Bhutan. A tremor greater than 5.0 is capable of causing considerable damage in built-up areas, but no there were no reports of damage from the remote area. On Sept. 27, a quake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck Cona county in Tibet. This was followed by a quake, measuring 5.5 which hit the Tibetan prefecture of Xigaze (Shigatse) on Sept. 30. On Oct. 2, an earthquake measuring 5.3 hit Yunnan province, which lies to the south of Tibet. The following day, Xinjiang -- which lies to the north of Tibet -- was hit by a quake measuring 5.2 on the Richter sale. ( (c) 1998 Agence France Presse)