-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- The Fourth Estate Fox Censors Drudge No human biology, please. NEW YORK �� Matt Drudge refused to appear on his Fox News Channel program after the network said he could not show a picture of a fetus undergoing surgery. Fox executives did not want the Internet gossip columnist and broadcaster to use the photo Saturday to support his anti-abortion views. Drudge, reached by phone this morning in Los Angeles, disputed Fox's account and accused the network of censorship. "This notion that I was going to misrepresent this as an abortion is junk," Drudge said. The photograph, printed in the National Enquirer, shows a 21-week-old fetus with a tiny hand reaching out from the womb as it undergoes surgery for spina bifida, a spinal birth defect. "He was using this photo from the National Enquirer as a jumping-off point to talk about partial-birth abortion," said Fox spokesman Brian Lewis. "It was a picture of an emergency operation for spina bifida. We thought it was a blatant misrepresentation. It was a straight editorial decision." "Partial-birth abortion" is a term used by critics for a type of late-term abortion. Drudge said he "was going to show it and bill it as an operation for spina bifida, and just say, 'What does it say about life? Look at this hand coming out.'" He added: "If I was going to show a picture of an ostrich egg with a foot popping out, it would be fine. It happens to be a picture of a human. People get upset about that." Drudge has a regular Saturday slot on Fox. He described the show as a "one-man outlook" that combines breaking news and commentary. Asserting that "the abortion issue is red-hot this election," Drudge added: "I'm not trying to censor what (Fox owner Rupert) Murdoch says; I don't know why he's trying to censor what I say." Drudge also contended he told Fox in advance about the picture so that permission could be obtained from the Enquirer. Lewis said Fox expects Drudge to show up for his program Saturday. Drudge said that when he does, he will try again to show the photo. Asked about his long-term future with Fox, Drudge said: "There are grave creative differences." On Druge's Web page today is a headline proclaiming, "I WILL NOT BE CENSORED!" Associated Press, November 16, 1999 World Trade Organization US-China Agree to China's Entry into WTO One big happy family. China and the US yesterday signed an historic agreement paving the way for Beijing to join the World Trade Organisation - a move that would provide unprecedented access for foreign companies in the world's largest potential market. The deal, the fruits of 13 years of talks, came after both sides made concessions during six days of gruelling negotiations between Charlene Barshefsky, the US trade representative, and Shi Guangsheng, the Chinese trade minister. President Bill Clinton hailed the agreement as a landmark step in US-China relations that would bolster Beijing's economic reform programme and increase prosperity on both sides. "The China-WTO agreement is good for the United States, it's good for China, it's good for the world economy," he said. Full details of the accord had not been published by late yesterday, but key features read out by Ms Barshefsky suggested a deal of roughly the same strength as a Chinese offer rejected by the US in April. China's booming telecoms services and internet markets are to be opened on accession to equity participation by foreign companies in joint ventures of up to 49 per cent. After two years of WTO membership, foreign companies will be allowed to take a 50 per cent stake in such ventures, Ms Barshefsky said. Foreign banks in China will be allowed to do business with Chinese companies two years after entry. Gradually limits on bank business will also be lifted, and provisions were also made for foreign fund management and brokerage firms. Import tariffs are to fall from an overall 22.1 per cent to an average 17 per cent, while duties for agricultural produce are scheduled to fall to an average 14.5 per cent following admission into the world trade club. For China, WTO entry represents an unprecedented opportunity to influence the rules of global trade and investment, and to oppose restrictions foreign countries sometimes impose on Chinese exports and outward investment. It also raises hopes that foreign investment into China will grow significantly. Initial reactions to the deal within China and from US business groups was positive. Shen Jiru, an economist at Beijing's top government think-tank, said that WTO accession ranks as China's most important economic event since the country embarked on an "open door" policy in 1978. But others focused on the difficulties ahead. Hu Angang, a Chinese expert on employment issues, said job losses would surge as China began to push through painful reforms to inefficient state-owned enterprises employing 60 per cent of the urban workforce. US labour union leaders dismissed the deal as a "grave mistake" and pledged to wage a strong campaign to oppose it. John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the main US labour federation said: "By continuing to persecute dissenters, to imprison labour leaders and worker activists and to export goods produced by slave labour, China shows no interest in playing even by the most basic rules of the world economy." His words appeared to foreshadow a struggle in Congress over approval for the deal, though Congressional officials said the chances of getting approval early next year were good. The Financial Times, November 16, 1999 Cuba Will Havana Summit Give Castro Extra Prestige? Latin leaders meet with Cuban dissidents. WASHINGTON - Latin American leaders, in Havana on Monday for the opening of an Ibero-American summit meeting, held high-profile meetings with Cuban dissidents, making plain their distaste for the Communist government even as its leader, President Fidel Castro, sought to extract prestige from their presence. With the brightest spotlight on his country since the January 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II, Mr. Castro personally greeted foreign leaders as they arrived at Havana airport. Television images showed him warmly welcoming King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain as they descended from their plane. It was the first visit to the island by a Spanish monarch. But Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain warned shortly before leaving Honduras for Havana that the king's visit should not be taken as a sign of a political warming. Spanish differences with Cuba had not lessened, he said, nor would they so long as Mr. Castro, 73, remained in power. The Ibero-American grouping comprises 21 countries. Since a first meeting in 1991, they have worked to build Latin American unity and strengthen that region's economic ties with Portugal and Spain. But controversy over Cuba has overhung every meeting, beginning with the first, when President Mario Soares of Portugal described Mr. Castro, the only leader to attend in military uniform, as a ''dinosaur.'' The leaders of five countries are boycotting the Havana meeting. The presidents of Nicaragua and Costa Rica cited concerns about the human rights record of what is the last Communist government in the hemisphere. President Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua, who is fiercely anti-Communist, said, ''To go to Cuba would be to lend support to the dictatorship.'' El Salvador has no diplomatic relations with Cuba. And the Chilean and Argentine presidents are protesting Spanish attempts to extradite their former military leaders on charges of human rights abuses. Meantime, the Cuban dissidents, regularly harassed by the Communist government, continued their extraordinary meetings with leaders or officials from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Portugal, Spain and other countries. Mr. Castro, while denouncing them as U.S.-inspired saboteurs, has not blocked the meetings. Relishing the opportunity offered them, the dissidents have issued statements and offered interviews to some of the hundreds of visiting reporters. They have demanded amnesty for political prisoners, respect for individual freedoms and implementation of other political and economic reforms. Mr. Aznar was to meet with dissidents Monday. Earlier, President Jorge Sampaio and Prime Minister Antonio Guterres of Portugal met a group of dissidents headed by Elizardo Sanchez, perhaps the island's best-known dissident. He leads a group called the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. Even Mexico, the only Latin American country not to break ties with Cuba after the Communist takeover in 1959, sent Foreign Minister Rosario Green to meet Mr. Sanchez. Mr. Castro, while sharply denouncing what he said were U.S.-inspired plans to organize a ''parallel summit'' between the visitors and the Cuban dissidents, made no effort to interfere. He evidently calculates that the glow left by summit pageantry will outshine the attention being paid to his critics. The Castro government wants to use the summit meeting to portray Cuba as a model of education, health and social services, prevented from achieving even greater success only by the U.S. economic embargo. The Ibero-American grouping has repeatedly condemned the embargo, and is expected to do so again. Yet, as with the Pope's visit, Mr. Castro appears to be taking risks. State-run television was expected to carry the speeches of the visiting heads of state, though several have used the stage provided by earlier summit meetings to lecture Mr. Castro on the need for political change. It was unclear whether the dissidents might have to pay some price after the summit is over, or whether, as some have more optimistically predicted, it might open the door to dialogue between Mr. Castro and his critics. Cuban authorities said that 15 dissidents had been detained before the meeting on suspicion of planning to sabotage it. Human rights groups say that more than 60 people have been detained. One South American diplomat told Reuters that the import of the meetings should not be exaggerated. ''Yes, it's a major step forward for the dissidents,'' the diplomat said. ''But remember we are talking about a handful of conversations behind closed doors, not a wave of street demonstrations against Fidel.'' Mr. Aznar, meanwhile, sought to ensure that Mr. Castro would not be able to score propaganda points from the Spanish king's visit. The sole reason for Juan Carlos's presence, he said, was that the summit meeting had been set in Havana, and that Cuba was part of ''the Ibero-American family.'' International Herald Tribune, November 16, 1999 Coffee Market Coffee Futures Soar on Brazil Fears Low rainfall deprives "cherries" of necessary moisture. Coffee futures have soared on fears that dry weather had seriously damaged the crop in Brazil, the world's largest producer. Premium quality arabica coffee in New York rose 5 per cent in early trading to 127 cents a pound, 40 per cent more than its price at the beginning of last month. Arabica's margin over the lower quality robusta has also doubled to more than 65 cents a pound. London-traded robusta, the beans used in instant coffee, closed up $94 or almost 7 per cent on the day at $1,446 a tonne. The coffee market has seen several weeks of volatile trading in reaction to changes in Brazil's weather. The background has been one of historically low prices for many soft commodities. Unlike crude oil and base metals, agricultural markets - such as coffee, cocoa and sugar - have failed to rebound as demand has picked up after the Asian crisis. Rising production and global surpluses have kept them bogged down. Until recently, Brazil had been on track for a record harvest of 45m 60kg bags. The crop there has a two-year cycle: a large crop tends to follow a smaller one as the trees recover. The months from September are crucial to the flowering of the trees, and the nascent "cherries" need moisture to ensure they develop properly. However, rainfall this year has been much lower than normal, especially in the region of Minas Gerais, where 60 per cent of Brazil's crop is grown. Some producers have put the harvest at only 25m bags - which could be enough to swing world supplies into deficit - although the extent of the damage will be unknown until the end of the month. Most of Brazil's coffee production is arabica, so it is New York prices on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange that have reacted most violently. At the beginning of October, the benchmark December contract stood at about 81 cents a pound, its lowest for four years. Robusta prices on the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange have also risen on worries over the Brazilian crop - up 20 per cent in the past month. The unexpectedly strong outlook for prices contrasts with original forecasts for a dip of at least 20 per cent in 2000 - the third year in a row of 20 per cent-plus falls. The Financial Times, November 16, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End 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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