-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Der Fuhrer Invades Yugoslavia NATO Admits Chinese Embassy Was Deliberately Targeted "We thought it was an arms depot. Mistakes were made. Now... Bombs away!" PRESIDENT CLINTON and Tony Blair last night attempted to rally Nato behind the continuing air campign against Yugoslavia after the mistaken attack on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade provoked some of the strongest criticism of the war. China protested at the United Nations that the "barbaric" Nato attack in which four people died and at least 20 were injured was a "war crime". Russia and other non-Nato countries joined the criticism. Speaking at the end of a week in which Nato has made a series of errors, killing dozens of Serb civilians, Mr Clinton said the attack on the embassy was a "tragic mistake" and offered his "sincere regret and condolences to both the leaders and the people of China." But he said, even as a diplomatic effort to end the war continues, "It's important that Nato stay the course". Mr Blair, who sent a personal letter of apology to the Chinese premier, Zhu Rongji, echoed Mr Clinton's words last night, saying: "Mistakes will happen from time to time. Some commentators are suggesting that now is the time for a bombing pause. They could not be more wrong. It would send exactly the wrong message to Slobodan Milosevic. Nato will prevail. The butchers of Belgrade will be defeated." In Beijing, China summoned the US ambassador to lodge "the strongest protest" and thousands of chanting protesters gathered near the US embassy to denounce the bombing. The Chinese authorities have also warned that they may cut diplomatic relations with the Nato countries responsible for the attack. Stones were thrown, smashing windows, and cars were damaged in the capital and the US consulate in Chengdu city was set on fire by an angry mob who stormed the building, as protests erupted across the country. Beijing's angry reaction came as Nato struggled to explain how it had apparently targeted the wrong building during intensive bombing raids on Friday night. "This was a terrible accident," said Jamie Shea, the Nato spokesman. Nato launched an urgent inquiry into how its targeting could have gone so badly wrong. Alliance chiefs admitted that it had deliberately targeted the embassy in the mistaken belief that it was a Yugoslav ordnance depot. "We are reviewing the targeting process," said Major-General Walter Jertz, the alliance's military spokesman. Mr Shea admitted: "Everything is overshadowed by this very, very bad mistake. Sometimes even our best intentions are not enough to avoid civilian casualties." After summoning an emergency meeting of the Security Council, which sat for more than four hours from midnight in New York, Chinese diplomats in the US made clear that the attack was a setback to efforts to encourage Beijing to drop its hostility to the deployment of a multi-national force in Kosovo. The prospect for a mandatory UN Security Council resolution authorising the imposition of a political settlement in Kosovo, and backed by an international armed force - the formula being worked on between Nato and Russia for most of last week - suddenly became much more remote. China's UN representative, Qin Huasun, said: "Nato's barbarian act is a violation of the UN Charter." China failed to secure a UN Security Council declaration condemning the attack, and the US expressed satisfaction with the wording of a statement expressing merely "shock and concern" and extending condolences to China. But the allies were left to listen uncomfortably during a follow-on, open UN session as they were denounced in ringing terms by countries such as Cuba and Iraq. Peter Burleigh, the acting US ambassador to the UN, insisted that while Nato was "deeply sorry" for the tragedy, "one man alone", Milosevic, was responsible. Russia's ambassador, Sergei Laavrov, responded: "How many people must be killed, how many must be left homeless, how many countries must be destabilised to punish that one single person?" Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, said the attack was "not going to make matters easy" in the search for a UN-backed peace formula. Ken Bacon, a Pentagon spokesman, appeared to be seeking to distance the US from the mistake, refusing to discuss whether US planes were involved. The London Telegraph, May 9, 1999 Der Fuhrer Invades Yugoslavia Students Break Into U.S. Embassy in Beijing "Mistakes were made. Bombs away!" BEIJING (Reuters) - Students broke into the U.S. embassy compound in Beijing Sunday and tried to tear down the Stars and Stripes from its flagpole on the second day of furious nationwide protests at NATO's missile strike on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Chunks of concrete rained down on the Beijing embassy's consular section, thudding against walls and splintering glass as thousands of students massed for a second day of protests. State media fanned the flames, with the People's Daily saying NATO had deliberately ``spilled Chinese blood.'' Buses packed with students were rolling out of campuses across the capital Sunday. Anti-NATO protests were also under way in a dozen or more cities from Shanghai on the eastern seaboard to Lanzhou in the far west. College students chanting and singing marched past the U.S. and British embassies in Beijing along an approved demonstration route signposted by authorities. They ripped up paving stones and hurled them at the U.S. diplomatic mission, raising loud cheers as the glass shattered. As they passed the entrance to the residence of U.S. ambassador James Sasser, students yelled ``down with American devils'' and ``oppose U.S. hegemony.'' Some carried cardboard missiles. Several protesters clambered over the iron perimeter fence of the U.S. embassy and one began scrambling up the flag pole before he was pulled down by uniformed members of the People's Armed Police. Saturday night, incensed protesters swarmed over the walls of the U.S. diplomatic compound in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, and broke through the front door of the main consulate building before police chased them out. The consul-general's house was seriously damaged by fire. About 500 people were still massing outside the Chengdu consulate Sunday. It was the most violent incident against diplomats since fanatic Red Guards burned down the British embassy in Beijing during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. One banner held aloft by a student read ``NATO Nazi,'' and another bore a photograph of President Clinton with a Hitler-like mustache. Many students wore t-shirts daubed with Nazi Swastikas. Paramilitary police saturated the capital's leafy diplomatic district, not to block protesters but to keep them moving in organized batches. The U.S. embassy in Beijing has advised American residents to stay off the streets. Western diplomats said Chinese leaders were in a dilemma about how to handle the demonstrations. Authorities were loath to endorse mass street protests by students so close to the tenth anniversary on June 4 of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on student-led demonstrations. But they feared that unless they directed public fury at NATO, the anger may rebound on them. ``They fear demonstrators might turn around and say, 'what are you doing about it','' said one Asian diplomat. The People's Daily, flagship of the Chinese Communist Party, reinforced a widespread disbelief of NATO's assertions that the missile attack on China's embassy in Belgrade was a terrible mistake. Four Chinese were killed in the attack, including two journalists, and a score injured. NATO termed the strike an accident and Clinton extended his ''sincere regrets and condolences'' to China. But a People's Daily editorial called the bombing a ``savage violation of Chinese sovereignty.'' ``Now, the target has become the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia,'' it said. ``NATO's subsequent chicanery, with claims that it did 'not intentionally target the Chinese embassy', could not cover up the bloody fact. ``Three missiles blasted the embassy from different angles, which completely exposed the aggressors' evil intentions and spilled Chinese blood in an act for which they must be accountable,'' the editorial said. Reuters, May 8, 1999 Electronic Commerce European e-Trade Rules Agreed Regulation by country in which seller is located Companies selling goods online in Europe should be regulated by the country in which they are based, the European Parliament has decided. It is one of a raft of cross-border rules aimed at protecting consumers and boosting electronic commerce. The new legislation sets down some ground rules designed to spur an industry in which the European Union is lagging behind the US. Recent figures suggest that in Europe there are just 2,000 companies conducting business online in 1998, compared with nearly 7,000 in America. Spam opt-out agreed In a move welcomed by the industry, it was agreed that companies selling goods online across borders will now be regulated by the European Union country in which they are based. Uncertainty over whether the trade laws of the country of origin of e-shipments should apply elsewhere had acted as a deterrent to some companies selling outside their domestic market. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were voting on a proposal drawn up by the European Commission. Although general responsibility rested with the country of origin, under pressure from consumer groups the European Commission had proposed that disgruntled buyers should be allowed to invoke their own national consumer protection laws. But the parliament decided that exemption was too broad and proposed that it apply only if the consumer transaction was not protected by EU-wide rules. MEPs also agreed that consumers should be able to sign registers to opt out of receiving junk - or so-called spam - e-mail. But they rejected a plea from British Liberal Democrat MEP Graham Watson to ban unsolicited junk e-mails completely, saying instead that countries should be able to ban unsolicited spam even if their EU partners allow it. Libel rights disagreement They also adopted amendments expanding the responsibility of Internet Service Providers to combat illegal acts such as copyright violations or libel. However, it rejected a requirement that would have required them to "keep all information necessary for the purpose of tracing and identifying providers of illegal content". The legislation now goes to the 15 European Union governments. The text also aims to ensure that "intermediaries", such as phone companies and ISPs, are not liable for transmitting or temporarily storing illegal material, provided they did not initiate or modify the transmission. The MEPs added a few requirements, such as obliging them to accommodate "accepted industry standards used for the identification and protection of transmitted material". European Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said the EU executive opposed the new requirements on the grounds that they upset a "reasonable compromise" that had been struck between various interest groups. BBC News, May 6, 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. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
