-Caveat Lector-
RadTimes # 59 - October, 2000
An informally produced compendium of vital irregularities.
"We're living in rad times!"
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Contents:
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--Tribunal on corporate control over seeds
--U.S. Spy Agency NSA Offers Rare Glimpse Inside
--Surveillance and Repression: Remedies not Rumors
--Do Violent Media Really Cause Actual Violence?
--Clinton Announces Steps to Block Illegal Gun Sales
--AFRL studying automatic voice processing for prison applications
--McDonald's to open McCafe coffee shops in US
Linked stories:
*LAPD version of DNC protests
*Israeli guns meet Gaza protesters
*Principal embraces no-hug policy
*12-year-old homeschooler starts college in California
*Gun owners resist the law
*Crime rises amid LAPD scandal
*Senator presses bill to combat terrorism
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Begin stories:
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Tribunal on corporate control over seeds
<http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep25/bots.htm>
Crop failures made them sell their kidneys
DH News Service, BANGALORE, Sept 24
The plight of these three farmers is just an example of what is happening to
a large number of farmers in our country. The three farmers suffered
successive crop failures due to spurious seeds and incurred heavy debts. The
only way they could keep moneylenders at bay was by selling their kidneys
for Rs 40,000 each.
The tragic tale of D P Venkata Reddy, P Krishna Reddy and Poli Reddy of
Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, who are the three unfortunate farmers
with only one kindney each, came to light today when they narrated their
woes at a first-ever public hearing by a Seed Tribunal on the impact of
corporate control over seeds here today.
What is even more tragic is the revelation that more than 10 farmers from
their village have sold their kidneys to repay loans and protect their
family honour.
''We did not want to commit suicide like other farmers in the village. We
thought it would be better to live and take care of our families, who would
be orphaned if we die. So we sold our kidneys,`` one of the poor and humble
farmers told the Tribunal to the shock of participants from various
countries.
Venkata Reddy, who has no land, used to cultivate lands taken on lease. He
accumulated losses to the tune of to Rs 50,000 owing to successive crop
failures caused by spurious seeds. It was an intimidating sum for a poor man
like him and he did not know where to hide from the moneylenders.
Ultimately, he met a kidney broker, who makes frequent visits to the
village. The broker promised to get him some money.
Along with other such unfortunate farmers, he went to Delhi with the broker
and allowed the doctors to remove his kidney illegally. He does not even
know the name of the hospital or the doctor who removed his kidney. But one
gathers from his evidence that he was operated in a tent somewhere on the
Delhi-Haryana border.
''I do not regret selling the kidney because that was the best thing I could
do in the circumstances,`` he says. He is only worried that he is yet to
clear all his loans. But what has shocked the the three farmers after
selling kidneys is the harsh reality that they have become weak and unfit
for any hard work in the fields and have been forced to give up farming.
''Sir, my health has deteriorated and I cannot work. I am depending solely
on the earnings of my wife who is now working as a labourer,``he says. The
other two are in a similar situation.
What makes it pathetic is that the government has not helped them even after
learning about their plight. ''Various political parties and organisations
came to them and promised help but so far they have not received anything,
they say.
Well these are only a few samples of more than 20 testimonials of sad tales
which were presented by farmers of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West
Bengal, Punjab and Bihar at the opening session of the two-day Seed
Tribunal, organised by several organisations, at Gandhi Bhavan here today.
Deposing before the Tribunal, Savithramma recalled how her husband died on
the day when he was supposed to repay the loans which he had barrowed due to
continuous crop losses. After the death of her husband, she has been working
as a labourer to support her family.
Surjeet Singh of Punjab sought to disprove the belief that Punjab farmers
are rich and free from problems. His brother, who tried a hybrid variety of
cotton, suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3.5 lakh. He committed suicide on
the day bank officials refused to extend the deadline for repayment of
loans.
''Why are we being punished like this? Give us justice,`` the farmers
pleaded before the Tribunal which comprised jurors like Prof Utsa Patnaik of
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mr Kishen B Choudhary of the All India Kisan
Sabha, theatre personality Prasanna, KRRS leader Sunanda and Mr E P Menon
among others. The tribunal will pronounce its verdict tomorrow.
Speaking on the occasion, KRRS leader K S Puttannaiah called for restoring
the seed sovereignty and seed freedom while environmentalist Vandana Shiva
regretted that farmers` suicides were being reported from ''progressive and
performing`` states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh also.
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U.S. Spy Agency NSA Offers Rare Glimpse Inside
<http://live.altavista.com/e?efi=949&ei=2213491&ern=y&r404=1>
Tabassum Zakaria, 09/23/00
FORT MEADE, Md. (Reuters) -
The super-secret National Security Agency (NSA),
which eavesdrops on communications worldwide as part of U.S. spying
operations, opened its doors on Saturday to offer outsiders a rare glimpse
of facilities that test antennas and print nuclear code books.
About 16,500 employees and their families were expected at the first
``Family Day'' since 1996 held at NSA headquarters, about 25 miles outside
Washington, as the spy agency makes a greater effort to inform Americans
about its mission.
``American people need an image of this agency so its identity is not a
vacuum,'' NSA Director Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden told reporters.
There was the ``anechoic chamber,'' which looked like a science-fiction
movie set, with blue foam spikes of different sizes poking out from the
floor, walls and ceiling of the 42-foot-(13-meter)-high room.
It is echo-free and one of five at NSA for testing antennas used to collect
information. The antenna revolves on a high pedestal at one end, while
information is transmitted to it from the other end of the room.
The Air Force has a similar room that is big enough to test an entire
airplane, an NSA official said.
``Each cone is sized to absorb a different frequency,'' said the official
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Areas opened to visitors were sanitized to ensure no classified material was
lying around.
A 66,000-square-foot (6,100-square-meter) printing plant produces code
books -- 160 million pages a year -- used in U.S. military operations.
Nuclear code books for use in the event the United States orders a nuclear
strike are produced about four times a month at the moment, compared with
nearly every day during the 1991 Gulf War.
The book is enclosed inside a sealed plastic pouch that has a unique pattern
of pink splotches and is puffy because of air inside.
If there is any change in the package such as the amount of air inside or
the design of the splotches, which is videotaped before being sent out, the
codes are considered compromised.
``We'll go back and see if the splatter diagram is the same. We've got a
video of the package,'' said Dan Shirko, chief of publishing.
The nuclear code books are in the hands of nearly 1,000 people, mostly
military officers such as pilots and sailors on submarines and battleships.
The printing plant also produces ``one-time pads,'' code books for military
personnel in the field who are told to go to a specific page that has
numbered lines of what to the untrained eye look like alphabet gibberish for
that day's operation. That page is not reused.
TELEPHONE SECURITY
The NSA cracks codes of foreign communications, and designs products to make
classified U.S. communication secure.
One new piece of equipment, which took six to seven years to develop, is a
digital secure telephone that encrypts the user's voice and high-speed data
almost instantly.
``By the time it takes to lift the handset and put it to your ear, it's
secure,'' said Michael Jacobs, deputy director for information systems
security.
The telephone, called an STE for Secure Telephone Equipment, will over time
replace the STU-3, for Secure Telephone Unit, which has been used since the
mid-1980s -- the first one given to then-Secretary of State George Shultz.
There are now 300,000 to 400,000 STU-3 units in use worldwide. They require
a key that, when turned, makes the telephone secure, although the sound
quality has been described as similar to talking underwater.
Also displayed were security equipment that identifies a user by the iris of
the eye, face, fingerprint and voice that NSA produced with private industry
partners.
Once the computer recognizes the user by one of those methods, it allows
access.
``The face system actually distinguishes between twins,'' said Dave Murley,
technical director of identification and authentication research.
The iris recognition, which scans the front of the eyeball, was the most
accurate of the four methods, and voice recognition the least accurate, he
said.
Reminders of the need for security were all around. In the cafeteria, one
sign read, ``Don't spill the beans pardner, the steaks are too high. No
classified talk.''
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Surveillance and Repression: Remedies not Rumors
Re: Frank Morales, Report on Federal Anti-Activist Intelligence, in
Covertaction Quarterly (June 2000), online at URL:
<http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/Sustainable_Development/Fins-SD2-02.txt>
Repression against political activists is a serious topic, but the article
circulated on the internet as a "Report on Federal Anti-Activist
Intelligence Network" is neither informative nor constructive. This article
is primarily a rewrite of a speculative newsletter article based on an
unnamed source. In short, it is rumor. Furthermore, it leaves the impression
that the US government has a vast domestic intelligence operation that is
able to spy on every activist, which is false and could scare people away
from activism.
There is government and private surveillance of activists, and there is
political repression; but the point of anti-repression research is to help
activists understand how to overcome it and move forward, as have all
previous political and social movements. None of this is new, none of it
should intimidate people from being activists. Scary stories, especially
ones without proper documentation, damage our ability to build strong
movements for social and economic fairness.
The most recent news reports about government misconduct against
demonstrators at the summer Philadelphia Republican Party convention points
to state and local police obtaining a search warrant using allegations from
a private right-wing group with historic ties to the FBI. Privatization of
many surveillance and planning functions became a major factor after the
FBI's COINTELPRO operations were exposed in the media and congressional
hearings in the 1970s.
For sensible and useful information on how activists can overcome
surveillance and repression; including articles on history and theory,
visit:
<http://www.publiceye.org/liberty/Security_for_Activists.htm>
Chip Berlet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---
*response to Chip Berlet
From: Tom Burghardt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hello everyone,
Chip Berlet wrote:
> Surveillance and Repression:
> Remedies not Rumors
> Repression against political activists is a serious topic, but the
>article circulated on the internet as a "Report on Federal Anti-Activist
>Intelligence Network" is neither informative nor constructive. This
>article is primarily a rewrite of a speculative newsletter article based
>on an unnamed source. In short, it is rumor. Furthermore, it leaves the
>impression that the US government has a vast domestic intelligence
>operation that is able to spy on every activist, which is false and could
>scare people away from activism.
Though Chip is generally on the mark, in my opinion he's incorrect on
several points re: Frank Morales' article, Report on Federal Anti-Activist
Intelligence Network. First off, Morales cited a piece from the Paris-based
Intelligence Newsletter. FYI, Olivier Schmidt's Intel. News. has provided
activists with clear, well-documented information on the machinations of
various state security services; indeed, they helped break the story on the
US Army psychological operations and CNN, subsequently published in the
Dutch newspaper Trouw, before, during and after the criminal bombing of
Yugoslavia. If Chip had included Morales' statement: "Although this story
has yet to be verified, given the existence of RISS [Regional Information
Sharing System], and the paranoid proclivities of the US national security
state and its civil disturbance apparatus, we should assume the report is
accurate", rather than the snippet below, things might have been clearer. I
would direct Chip (and others) to the Federation of American Scientists
page <http://www.fas.org> where a goldmine of information re: "Garden Plot"
and assorted "operations other than war" are thoroughly documented. Hardly
a "rumor" Chip, these trends (OOTW) have accelerated since the 1992 Los
Angeles rebellion.
I don't think Morales created the impression of a "vast domestic
intelligence operation that is able to spy on every activist" -- this has
been done by the forces of state repression themselves. See: multiple news
stories on NSA's "Echelon" and the FBI's "Carnivore" e-mail programs. Chip
is also wrong when he writes that documenting and reporting on state
repression "could scare people away from activism". First off, there's a
critical need to expose and combat Cointelpro-style operations by the
state; I would direct folks to multiple news stories on repression at the
Rep. and Dem. party conventions in Phila. and LA this past summer. I would
also suggest a reading of Paul Rosenberg's "The Empire Strikes Back", from
the Independent Media Center pages: <http://www.indymedia.org>. that
thoroughly document the latest trends in repression against activist
networks as well as the NLG-Washington state chapter's assessment of police
repression in Seattle:
<http://students/washington.edu/uwnlg/wtolegal/report/contents.html>
>There is government and private surveillance of activists, and there is
>political repression; but the point of anti-repression research is to help
>activists understand how to overcome it and move forward, as have all
>previous political and social movements. None of this is new, none of it
>should intimidate people from being activists. Scary stories, especially
>ones without proper documentation, damage our ability to build strong
>movements for social and economic fairness.
None of this is new? On the surface, Chip is correct; however, as police
militarization gains critical mass I'd argue we're in for dangerous times
and anti-repression research must continue to explore and analyze how the
mechanism's of repression have changed since the sixties -- in quantitative
and qualitative terms. While I agree with Chip that the point of
anti-repression research is "to help activists understand how to overcome
it and move forward", this is impossible without a proper understanding of
the nature of the beast. Alleged "scary stories" after all haven't matched
the actual targeting of activists and activist networks in the real world
by state and "private" right-wing spy nets. I would suggest a close reading
of the article before claiming it lacks "proper documentation". Indeed, the
piece is a treasure trove of primary sources!
>The most recent news reports about government misconduct against
>demonstrators at the summer Philadelphia Republican Party convention
>points to state and local police obtaining a search warrant using
>allegations from a private right-wing group with historic ties to the FBI.
>Privatization of many surveillance and planning functions became a major
>factor after the FBI's COINTELPRO operations were exposed in the media and
>congressional hearings in the 1970s.
Yes, they were exposed in the 1970s but they continue, indeed they've
accelerated. See: information that the state targeted the Central America
movement during the 1980s (Moonies and LaRouchians), not to mention the
Judi Bari bombing and attempts by the FBI to smear Earth First! as
"terrorist"; see also, the close collaboration between the Anti-Defamation
League of B'nai Brith, the FBI and right-wing spy nets; attempted smears by
Morris Dees' Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging that the anti-WTO
protests were partially fuelled by neo-Nazi Third Positionists; on and on.
> For sensible and useful information on how activists can overcome
>surveillance and repression; including articles on history and theory,
>visit:
> <http://www.publiceye.org/liberty/Security_for_Activists.htm>
> Chip Berlet
An excellent resource Chip, I copy and distribute much of your
documentation to activists all the time; however, counterposing PRA's
practical information to a report - taken out of context I might add, and
that fails to point readers to Morales' well-documented work on US 'Civil
Disturbance Planning' and police militarization in Covert Action Quarterly
- creates the (false) impression that Morales' work is purely speculative.
In short, Chip's criticisms, which are based on Oliver Schmidt's use of an
unnamed source, is wide of the mark. BTW, an unnamed source is not
necessarily a sign that a piece is inaccurate. One would have to first
determine whether or not the person citing an unnamed source has a history
of inaccuracy or falsification prior to relegating Morales' text to the
realm of "rumor". I've included a piece below, "CIA, FBI and Pentagon Team
to Fight Terrorism". Given the fact that the definition of "terrorism" is
stretched now to include non-violent civil disobedience, strike activity
and street demonstrations, we should remember that proposals to create a
"terrorism czar" emanate from the same institutions that sought to blame
the Oklahoma City bombing on "Middle East terrorists."
Tom Burghardt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Editor, Antifa Info-Bulletin
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Do Violent Media Really Cause Actual Violence?
<http://www.stats.org/statswork/vidgames.htm>
by Howard Fienberg, September 29, 2000
The number of grotesquely violent video games has been increasing, letting
young players slice the
limbs or decapitate the heads of the "bad guys," fill their opponents full
of bullets, or even incinerate
them with portable nuclear weapons.
Long concerned over the relationship between media violence and the real
thing, we have been
riveted by Columbine and other recent instances of youth violence. Joe
Lieberman's vice-presidential
candidacy highlights his campaign against violent media, which he feels is
a trigger for a violent
society. And Congressional hearings this week on Hollywood fare are
bringing the subject to the
front pages.
Might video games be a gateway device, driving the average teenager to turn
his or her virtual world
into actual violence? Don't make any presumptions just yet. Research has so
far failed to identify any
concrete link, and current studies 1 indicate we may never get the evidence
locked and loaded.
Several dated studies that connected virtual and real-world violence failed
to control for differences
between violent and non-violent games. Could mundane video games like Pong
inspire violence the
same as first-person shoot-em-up games like Doom? Countless other
experiments failed to control
for important factors that potentially obscure what arouses a kid when he
or she plays a violent video
game, including violence, general gore, speed, bright colors, and
difficulty level.
Better conceived than most, a 1987 study from the journal Psychology
specifically selected games
similar in dimensions of excitement, difficulty, and enjoyment, yet could
find no effect from violence.
Professors Craig Anderson and Karen Dill admit that "there is presently no
empirical evidence on
whether playing a violent video game increases accessibility of aggressive
thoughts."
So in April, Anderson and Dill published their most recent research on
violent video games in the
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. They ran two studies of
university students. The
first was a vague survey of subjects favorite video games and their
aggressive and delinquent habits.
Its conclusion that playing violent video games was linked to real world
violent behavior and
delinquency was based on correlation, there was no evidence of causation.
It links a personality type
to a pastime, so it could be that people who are violent and criminal play
violent video games.
Unfortunately, it may not be the case that those video games cause them to
be violent.
The second study was more useful. One group played the violent (but rather
outdated) Wolfenstein
3-D, while another group played the non-violent Myst. Both groups were
tested for aggression afterwards.
The first test measured the speed with which subjects could repeat
aggressive words that were
flashed on a screen in front of them. But psychologist Guy Cumberpatch,
director of The
Communications Research Group, disregards this measurement, since it is
hard to tell if the violent
video game speeded up responses, as Anderson and Dill claim, or if the
non-violent game slowed
responses.
The second test was held after a similar game play episode a week later,
and 1 checked subjects
reaction times to sound. Those that reacted fastest were then given the
opportunity to blast an
opponent (which they thought was another human, but was actually a
computer) with a loud noise
and those that were too slow were subjected to a noise themselves.
The researchers found that those that had played the violent game blasted
their opponent longer and
louder than those that had played the non-violent game. But the difference
was actually minimal. The
blasts delivered by subjects who had played violent games were longer, by
all of 2 percent, and the
average blast for all the students was about half a second, far too short
for reasonable analysis.
So Anderson and Dill's conclusion, that"playing a violent video game
increased the aggressiveness of
participants"is not very convincing. They found an association, but are
light years away from establishing causation.
If violent video games are part of the problem, they are not obviously the
discernable cause of that
problem. These games are at times more popular abroad, but youth violence
is far more prevalent
here than in other countries. While this does not preclude a link, it does
usefully highlight that the issue
is far more complex than we might expect.
A measure of "aggression" may not be a useful proxy for real-world violence
which, while troubling,
is relatively rare.
The jury has yet to conclude that violent video games create violent
offenders, and the difficulties
facing research to date show no signs of disappearing. Researchers first
needed to understand that
not all video games are alike. Now, they need to realize that not all
children are alike.
While it is quite possible that fixation on violent video games may herald
problems for a disturbed
child, the average child probably just plays his games and grows up fine.
----
Howard Fienberg is research analyst with the Statistical Assessment
Service, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C.
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Clinton Announces Steps to Block Illegal Gun Sales
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aiming to keep guns out of ``the
wrong hands,'' President Clinton unveiled on Saturday an online
system intended to block minors and criminals from using
fraudulent firearms licenses to buy guns by mail or over the
Internet.
Clinton said the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has launched the
"eZ Check'' firearm-license verification system on its Web site,
<www.atf.treas.gov>, in a bid to crack down on the use of phony
licenses to acquire guns illegally.
``By making it easier to check the validity of gun licenses,
we'll make it harder for guns to fall into the wrong hands and
give law enforcement, and the gun industry, a new tool to put a
stop to illegal sales,'' Clinton said in his weekly radio
address.
``In addition, the ATF is proposing new measures to require
gun sellers to verify licenses and report individuals who use
invalid ones,'' Clinton added.
The ``eZ Check'' system will provide a quick and easy way for
licensed gun dealers to verify the validity of a federal
firearms license presented to them for the purchase or shipment
of guns, Clinton said.
Licensed dealers are allowed to ship firearms only to other
licensed dealers, but some people have been creating fraudulent
licenses to circumvent the law.
Under current law, licensed gun dealers are required to
obtain copies of licenses from purchasers before shipping
firearms, but are not required to ensure that the licenses are
valid or to report to law enforcement people who attempt to
obtain guns using invalid licenses.
By logging onto the ``eZ Check'' system, a gun seller may
submit a federal firearms license identification number and
instantly receive information on the status and authenticity of
the license, the White House said.
Clinton said the system was aimed at preventing juveniles
and criminals from acquiring firearms by mail, over the
Internet and by other means.
INTERNET FACILITATING ILLEGAL GUN SALES
The president said that despite all its benefits, the
Internet is making it easier for guns to fall into the hands of
criminals and minors.
``There are now 4,000 firearm-sales-related sites on the
Internet, and there are 80 sites where you can actually buy a
gun at auction,'' Clinton said. ``Clearly, we must do more to
ensure that every sale over the Internet is legal and that no
one uses the anonymity of cyberspace to evade our nation's gun
laws.''
Recent ATF investigations have shown how juveniles and
illegal gun traffickers easily acquire firearms by using
fraudulent licenses.
Clinton cited the example of two juveniles in Montclair,
New Jersey, who were arrested last May after using a forged
license to order four firearms over the Internet from a Texas
gun dealer.
The students later admitted to making four additional
fraudulent licenses. All the firearms that were shipped were
recovered and the juveniles pleaded guilty to charges in state
court.
Clinton also called on the Republican-controlled Congress
to fund fully his National Gun Enforcement Initiative. It would
provide $280 million to pay for more than 1,000 federal, state
and local gun prosecutors, hire 500 new ATF firearms agents and
inspectors, expand gun-crime tracing and ballistics testing,
among other steps.
The president also called on Congress to pass gun-control
legislation that he supports.
``So I ask this Congress: Don't just talk about strong
enforcement, give us the tools to do the job,'' Clinton said.
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AFRL studying automatic voice processing for prison applications
ROME, N.Y. (AFPN) -- "Stone walls do not a prison make..." wrote Richard
Lovelace. And, the 17th-century English poet never even saw a pay phone on
the wall of a cellblock.
Researchers for the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate
here, along with a team of contractors, have successfully completed a study
for the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to develop a
plan that applies advanced voice processing technology to reducing inmate
criminal activity using telephones.
Previous studies had concluded that prisoners are using telephones on a
large scale to continue illegal activity that is both dangerous and
expensive to the public.
The AFRL study developed methods to reduce inmate crimes such as harassment,
drug solicitation and credit card fraud using existing automatic voice
processing technology. The technology has the potential to save hundreds of
millions of dollars in telephone monitoring costs over current methods used
to monitor the more than 100,000 calls made each day by inmates at federal
prisons alone.
"This was primarily a study looking at existing technology and new
applications of that technology," said Dr. Stanley Wenndt, research engineer
in the directorate's Information and Intelligence Exploitation Division.
"Some areas identified included speaker verification to ensure the right
inmate (is) using the right personal identification number -- or PIN,"
Wenndt said.
Additional voice processing technology that can be applied to monitoring
prison communications includes "whisper detection," since whispered speech
is an indicator of possible illicit activity. Existing technology can also
automatically detect the use of long lists of digits on a phone, indicating
a prisoner is using credits cards for some purpose.
A follow-on effort for the NIJ and BOP to demonstrate the use of voice
technology for automatic telephone monitoring is currently being planned.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
McDonald's to open McCafe coffee shops in US
BRUCE HOROVITZ, USA TODAY: After years of testing the leisure coffee concept
in Australia, McDonald's will begin to open McCafe coffee shops in the USA
next year, says Jack Greenberg, McDonald's CEO . . . The fallout is
potentially enormous. Starbucks owns roughly half of the nation's 7,000
gourmet coffeehouses. No one else comes close. But McDonald's has 13,500
locations in the USA. And it has another 13,500 outside the USA. If even a
quarter of these stores eventually sell gourmet coffee, it would become a
gourmet brew behemoth . . . The McCafe concept was devised in 1993 at a
McDonald's in Melbourne. By next year, McDonald's plans to double to 100 its
McCafes in Australia. Currently, there are about 300 McCafes in 15
countries, including France, Italy, Portugal and Brazil.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linked stories:
********************
LAPD version of DNC protests
<http://www.lapdonline.org/organization/ocp/osa/dnc/dnc_eval.htm>
Democratic National Convention; Preliminary Briefing Paper
Tuesday, August 22, 2000
********************
=====> Israeli guns meet Gaza protesters
<http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?f=/stories/20001002/416469.html>
The Israeli army used machine guns, helicopters and anti-tank
rockets to counter Palestinian protests, without apparent
effect. 36 people have been killed and at least 700 wounded. (10/2/00)
********************
=====> Principal embraces no-hug policy
<http://208.246.212.80/national/default-2000102214633.htm>
Students at Euless Junior High School in Texas are being punished
for violating officials' zero-tolerance policy -- against
hugging. (10/2/00)
********************
=====> 12-year-old homeschooler starts college in California
<http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/youngcollege000929.html>
Nicole Tan isn't tall enough to touch the floor when she sits back
in her chair at University of California, Davis. But that's not
stopping the 12-year-old from becoming the college's youngest
student ever. "Homeschooling was a big advantage because you can
go at your own pace," she said. (9/29/00)
********************
=====> Gun owners resist the law
<http://www.suntimes.com/output/stevens/mich01.html>
Legislators continue to target gun owners with abusive laws,
but many Americans are willing to ignore the law to exercise
their rights. (10/2/00)
********************
=====> Crime rises amid LAPD scandal
<http://www.apbnews.com:80/newscenter/breakingnews/2000/09/29/lapd0929_01.html>
With the city's police department besieged and discredited after
revelations of planted evidence, set-ups, assault and
corruption, Los Angeles' crime rate is creeping back up.(10/2/00)
********************
=====> Senator presses bill to combat terrorism
<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/A62836-2000Oct2.html>
Arizona's Sen. John Kyl is touting an "anti-terrorism" measure
that, among other things, would let the government cut off the
fundraising activities of private organizations the government
tags as terrorism fronts. (10/2/00)
********************
======================================================
"Anarchy doesn't mean out of control. It means out of 'their' control."
-Jim Dodge
======================================================
"Communications without intelligence is noise;
intelligence without communications is irrelevant."
-Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
======================================================
"It is not a sign of good health to be well adjusted to a sick society."
-J. Krishnamurti
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