-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Hustler Carville Republicans Urge DOJ to Investigate Flynt's "Sleaze Hunt" AMERICA'S Justice Department was urged yesterday to investigate pornographer Larry Flynt's pursuit of Republicans for details of their sex lives, amid suspicion that the White House or friends of Bill Clinton are behind his "scalp-hunting". Department officials confirmed they were reviewing a request from the Landmark Legal Foundation, a Washington-based conservative organisation, to examine if Mr Flynt, 55, was violating a federal law that prohibits outsiders from influencing any Capitol Hill investigation. Offenders face up to five years imprisonment for "corruptly" interfering with an inquiry. Jim Nicholson, the Republican National Chairman, said that the sole purpose of Mr Flynt's effort was "to intimidate and to silence members of Congress investigating the President". Republicans point to James "the rajin' Cajun" Carville as a prime suspect in helping Mr Flynt, the publisher of Hustler. Mr Carville handled Mr Clinton's "war room" tactics in 1992. The London Telegraph, Jan. 18, 1999 Impeached POTUS Clinton to Propose More Government Involvement in Schools New Not-Sex Classes will Feature Instruction in Fellatio WASHINGTON -- President Clinton will propose in his State of the Union message on Tuesday the most aggressive nationwide effort ever to bring greater accountability to state and local school systems, potentially affecting the allocation of billions of dollars in federal education aid, White House officials said Sunday. Clinton plans to devote the bulk of his speech to the challenges of educating the largest school-age population in American history and insuring the welfare of aging citizens, officials said in interviews over the weekend. Clinton will propose a set of rewards for school districts that set high standards for teachers, enforce guidelines for student promotions and closely monitor school performance. The president had no plans to address his impeachment trial in the Senate or the actions which occasioned it, aides said, even though he will be speaking to the nation after his lawyers complete their first day of arguments in rebuttal to the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Advisers said Clinton is painfully aware of the awkward timing of the speech, but chose to press ahead to demonstrate to the American people that he is determined to carry out the business of the nation even as Congress weighs the ultimate constitutional sanction against him. The speech takes on a greater significance than usual because Clinton will not, as in years past, be simply laying out a policy wish list for the coming year. He will be making a plea to the American people, and to history, to judge him on the nation's progress and his performance in office rather than on his evident personal failings. Clinton will devote roughly a quarter of the address to foreign policy and military matters, aides said. He will propose a major initiative to help local governments prepare for a biological weapons attack, providing federal money for early detection systems and to begin stockpiling vaccines to combat biological warfare agents, a senior administration official said. He will also propose an expanded effort to safeguard nuclear weapons in Russia and other former Soviet states, going well beyond existing programs to find new jobs for Russian weapons scientists and to help convert Russian military complexes to civilian uses, officials said. But the bulk of the speech will address domestic issues, chief among them education, Social Security and other programs for the elderly. Aides said Clinton would likely spell out broad principles for strengthening Social Security but would not yet propose a specific plan to address the looming deficits in the retirement program. The Republican leaders of the Senate and House, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., wrote to Clinton Sunday demanding to see a detailed Social Security plan "as soon as possible," and telling him that the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee would hold a joint session on March 1 to receive his proposal. White House officials said, however, that Clinton was not yet ready to advance a Social Security solution that goes far beyond repeating last year's pledge to reserve the federal budget surplus until a means is found to shore up the retirement system. But on education, Clinton is prepared to propose major revisions to the way the $20 billion in federal education spending is apportioned, rewarding school districts that adhere to guidelines on training teachers, enforcing classroom discipline, ending promotion of unqualified students and reporting school performance to parents. School districts that do not meet these standards risk losing some or all of their federal assistance, officials said. "The president's plan marks a sea change in national education policy, for the first time holding states and school districts accountable for progress and rewarding them for results," said Bruce Reed, the president's chief domestic policy adviser, paraphrasing a passage from the State of the Union speech. "The national government invests over $20 billion a year in public schools. President Clinton believes we must change the way we invest that money, to support what works and stop supporting what doesn't." There is relatively little new money in the budget Clinton will propose for the coming fiscal year to support these programs. He will ask Congress for $400 million in new aid to school districts that end social promotion, the practice of promoting students from grade to grade regardless of their educational achievement. The money would be used for after-school and summer programs to assist these students, as well as to provide a safe environment for students whose parents are not home during after-school hours. The new budget proposal also contains $200 million in aid for school systems that identify failing schools and take aggressive steps to reform them, from firing poor teachers and administrators to closing underperforming schools. Clinton also plans to renew his call for $4 billion in federal spending over five years to build schools and classrooms to relieve overcrowding and reduce class size in early grades, aides said. He will also ask for more than $1 billion to help pay for the hiring of 100,000 new teachers, a program approved last October in the final negotiations over the current budget. But the chief incentive in the president's education proposal is the withholding of existing money from schools that fail to meet federal standards. "For the first time, we're insisting that states and school districts take steps, such as providing qualified teachers, ending social promotion and turning around failing schools," Reed said. "We think schools will do these things," he added. "But if they don't, their money will be at risk." Reed emphasized that federal sanctions would be designed not to hurt students by withholding money for books, teacher salaries or new facilities, but rather would be aimed at school administrators who fail to ensure quality. "The biggest impact will be that states and school districts will no longer be able to make excuses for their worst schools," Reed said. "They have to turn them around or shut them down." Many of Clinton's proposals have a familiar ring, having been offered as federal legislation or enacted at the local level over the last several years. Chicago, for example, has extensive after-school programs for lagging students, and Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, a Republican, has pushed many of the same measures through the Legislature in his state. Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton advocated several of the ideas in the mid-1980s as part of an effort to improve education in Arkansas. Republicans, too, have made education one of their chief issues in recent years, but they have policy differences with Clinton. Last year, Republicans rejected a school construction proposal, and they have been resistant to programs that give the federal government a say in how school dollars should be spent by localities. The most controversial piece of Clinton's plan is a requirement that all new teachers be tested for competence and certified to teach the subjects to which they are assigned. In many rural and inner-city districts, less than half of the math and science teachers have certificates to teach those subjects, the Education Department says. Teacher unions have balked at subjecting teachers to standardized testing, arguing that such examinations do not adequately measure a teacher's competence. In a concession to the unions, the president's proposal does not require testing for existing teachers, only for new teachers entering the profession. David Hornbeck, superintendent of schools in Philadelphia, applauded Clinton's proposals. Hornbeck said his 215,000-student district has adopted many of the same policies in the last few years, but welcomed the federal emphasis on programs that appear to be bringing results. "We appreciate the funds that come along with it," Hornbeck said in an interview Sunday, "but I think one of the biggest contributions is to give publicity to these things, to use the bully pulpit and say this is important." The foreign policy passages of the speech will highlight administration progress toward bringing peace to troubled parts of the world, from Northern Ireland to the Middle East to the Balkans, a senior administration aide said. Clinton will urge the Senate to quickly ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, an agreement signed by 151 nations but not yet ratified by the United States, the official said. Clinton will make the case that the United States will lack the moral authority to press India and Pakistan to restrain from testing nuclear weapons until the Senate approves the test-ban treaty, the official said. The president will propose spending $4.2 billion over the next five years for converting Russia's defense industries and safeguarding its nuclear stockpile, a 70 percent increase over current spending levels. The official would not divulge the amount of new money to be devoted to combatting biological weapons, although the figure will be released as part of Clinton's budget submission to Congress on Feb. 1, he said. The New York Times, Jan. 18, 1999 Crisis in Brazil Brazil Attempts to Limit Side Effects from Real Float Larry Summers to the rescue. Again. Brazil is today expected to announce a widely awaited decision on exchange rate policy, after senior officials held a weekend of meetings in Washington designed to limit the fallout from last week's devaluation. Pedro Malan, Brazil's finance minister, and Francisco Lopes, central bank president, spent most of the weekend at the International Monetary Fund, discussing how to adjust the $41.5bn IMF-led programme agreed in November. Ministers in Bras�lia hinted that the government would maintain the floating regime it introduced on Friday, at least for the next few days until the currency finds a new level. "There is nothing to indicate that it will be any different," said Pimenta da Veiga, communications minister, following a meeting with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Brazil abandoned its currency peg against the dollar on Wednesday under pressure from financial markets and on Friday "temporarily" floated the exchange rate. The Brazilian officials were due to meet Larry Summers, US deputy treasury secretary. Mr Lopes was expected to leave later for Brazil, with Mr Malan staying on in Washington for further talks. The initial reaction from Brazilian investors to Friday's decision to float was ecstatic, sending shares in S�o Paulo up 33.4 per cent and the price of the C-Bond, the most liquid Brazilian Brady bond, 15.3 per cent up. The Real, which initially fell to R$1.58 against the dollar, closed at R$1.43, a 16 per cent devaluation on the week. As well as relief that the government had not depleted reserves defending the currency, some economists said the floating exchange rate would allow a sharp fall in interest rates, which are around 30 per cent. However, the issue of interest rates was one possible source of contention with the Fund. Fund staff remain convinced that high interest rates are needed to protect a devalued currency from a further spiral of depreciation. Brazilian officials have also indicated they would like the second $4.5bn tranche of the IMF loan brought forward. Although bringing forward this disbursement - due at the end of February - was contemplated under the November agreement, it depended on the passage of fiscal reforms through Congress, which have not yet taken place. One other issue was the question of debt. While some economists have argued that a restructuring of maturities of Brazilian government debt is needed to ease Brazil's fiscal problems, some officials in Washington are worried about the possible consequences. Some renegotiation of Brazil's budgetary targets will be necessary. According to Merrill Lynch, the devaluation will increase the deficit by 1 per cent of GDP by increasing the servicing costs of debt denominated in dollars. The government has some $58bn of foreign currency debt, according to Merrill Lynch, and around R$300bn of domestic debt, according to the Brazilian consultancy, MCM, but the interest payments on some R$60bn of this is linked to the dollar. Higher interest rates increase the cost of servicing domestic debt, increasing a budget deficit already running at some 8 per cent of GDP. The Financial Times, Jan. 18, 1999 War in the Balkans NATO Holds Urgent Session After Massacre in Kosovo Serbian security kills 45 ethnic Albanians BERLIN - Faced with a resurgence of civil war in Kosovo, the NATO allies struggled Sunday to devise a new strategy to prevent the volatile conflict in Serbia's southern province from spiraling out of control in the aftermath of the worst massacre since fighting erupted there 11 months ago. NATO ambassadors met Sunday in emergency session at alliance headquarters in Brussels to decide how to respond to the massacre Friday of 45 ethnic Albanians by Serbian security forces, who operate under the orders of the Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic. But with Western governments wary of approving direct military intervention that could embroil them in another Balkan war, they abstained from any substantive action that could forestall the violence. The ambassadors were expected to send NATO's chief military commander, General Wesley Clark, to Belgrade to warn Mr. Milosevic that Western governments were losing patience. But in the absence of any serious possibility of early air strikes by the Western alliance, it seemed unlikely that the American general's mission would produce any dramatic change in behavior by Serbian security forces. The massacre came after weeks of escalating military confrontations between Serbian security forces and Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas, who claim to be fighting for their independence. A U.S. envoy, Christopher Hill, has been laboring without success for the past three months to broker a deal that would grant the ethnic Albanians, who comprise 90 percent of the population of Kosovo, substantial political autonomy if the rebels abandon their armed crusade. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization suspended its threat of air strikes against Yugoslav military targets in October following an 11th-hour peace deal cut by the Richard Holbrooke, the American envoy. The so-called ''activation order'' that authorized NATO military commanders to launch bombing strikes has never been lifted, but NATO officials say any decision to proceed with bombing raids would not be made lightly. At the time, Mr. Milosevic agreed to drastically reduce the presence of Serbian security forces in the province and open serious talks on power-sharing arrangements with the Kosovar ethnic Albanian leadership. But truce violations have been mounting in recent weeks as both sides appear to be gearing up for renewed warfare. Mr. Milosevic has spurned earlier promises that were central to the ceasefire arrangements by redeploying army and special police units in Kosovo that were supposed to be withdrawn. He has also defied the Western alliance by re-equipping Serbian forces with armor and heavy weapons in order to conduct military sweeps against KLA guerrillas. NATO diplomats acknowledged Mr. Milosevic may have been emboldened by the recent preoccupation in Western capitals with the Iraq crisis and the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton. They also noted that Mr. Milosevic may have felt compelled to shore up his standing with his own military leadership by ordering a harsh response against recent KLA attacks, including the kidnapping of several Serbian soldiers, who were released from captivity just last week. The latest upheaval occurs at a distressing time for the Western military alliance, which is trying to chart the scope of its missions for the 21st century. The new strategy is supposed to be unveiled at a 50th anniversary gathering of alliance leaders in Washington this April, when Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will be formally inducted into the alliance. ''Our worst fears are coming true,'' said a senior U.S. policymaker in Washington. ''Just when we need to concentrate our energies on delicate negotiations for a future mission statement, we are being hit with a new crisis in Kosovo.'' NATO's options appear unpalatable in many respects. Since the agonizing debate last October, several European states remain reluctant to approve air strikes in the absence of explicit authority from the United Nations Security Council. That prospect appears unlikely given staunch opposition by Russia and China, two of the council's five permanent members, against any outside military intervention within Yugoslavia's borders. Until the latest massacre, some NATO governments were inclined to place much of the blame on the Kosovo Liberation Army for stirring up trouble in recent months through provocative ambushes against Serbian forces. NATO officials say those attacks have further weakened any willingness in allied capitals to launch air strikes because, as the NATO secretary-general, Javier Solana Madariaga, has declared, NATO ''is not prepared to serve as the KLA's air force.'' Some military experts question the lasting value of launching air strikes against Serbian military targets without any intervention by NATO ground forces to enforce a cease-fire and disarm the combatants. But there appears to be little desire among NATO governments to dispatch troops to another Balkan hot spot at a time when more than 30,000 NATO peacekeeping forces are still deployed in Bosnia. International Herald Tribune, Jan. 18, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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