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Topic: Powell Offers Aid To Palestinians

topic by Richard Marvel 7/15/2002 (18:28)

reply top Powell Seeks Mideast Aid Approval By BARRY SCHWEID .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell expects to win broad approval from Arab, European, Russian and U.N. leaders Tuesday on an ``action plan'' to help the Palestinian people over the next three years. The plan would set up a schedule for direct assistance to humanitarian and economic programs that would skirt the Palestinian Authority, which the Bush administration charges is corrupt. The United States already channels about $142 million a year in aid through the United Nations and the Red Cross and other private groups. In April, Powell pledged an additional $30 million. The Europeans provide about $9 million a year in assistance. Unlike U.S. aid, it goes directly to the Palestinian Authority. Powell hopes future European contributions can be made directly to the people or at least in ways that provide controls against skimming. He expects approval of his plan, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Monday. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns has set up an international task force on reform with U.N., Russian and European Union officials. A deputy, Elizabeth Cheney, followed up last week in London, talking with officials from Norway, Japan, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Powell hoped to persuade the other members of the so-called Quartet - the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia - to work around the Authority, but did not intend to level demands. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States provides $62 million in aid for health care, water system repairs and emergency food. Another $80 million is contributed annually to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. Powell and the other leaders are approaching the talks in New York with conflicting agendas. Like the Arabs and Europeans, Powell is calling on Israel to ease up on the Palestinians, but otherwise the Bush administration's strategy is to defer a resumption of peace talks until there is broad reform within the Palestinian Authority. This conflict puts the Bush administration at odds with virtually all of its partners in Mideast peacemaking but solidly in support of Israel as it struggles to end terror attacks and hold Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accountable. Powell is due to meet at a midtown hotel with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, European Union diplomat Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. He will then meet separately with Foreign Ministers Ahmed Maher of Egypt and Marwan Muasher of Jordan. Afterward, all the ministers will join in an evening meeting at Annan's posh East Side residence. Powell will likely meet on Thursday in Washington with Maher, Muasher and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud al-Faisal. Later in July, King Abdullah II of Jordan is expected to come to Washington to meet with President Bush. Three weeks after Bush set out his strategy for peace in the Middle East, envisioning a Palestinian state after the ouster of Arafat and curbs on terror and corruption, the Arabs and Europeans are mobilizing to change that approach. They want a Palestinian state established quickly and Israel pushed off the West Bank, Gaza and out of east Jerusalem to make way for it. Arab and European leaders couch their approach in terms of a need for political action in response to violence - not to be withheld until attacks on Israel are ended. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday that the focus of the meetings ``is to advance the president's vision of two states living side-by-side within secure and recognized borders and continuing to assist the Palestinian people in their efforts to implement reform.''

reply by hmmm 7/15/2002 (18:49)

reply top your post s funnier than this article.. -------- The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week By George Mannes Senior Writer 07/12/2002 07:08 AM EDT 1. Don't Bush Your Luck The grateful thanks of the Five Dumbest Things Research Lab go out this week to President Bush for answering some questions that have been troubling the lab's staff for some time now. What would happen to the markets, we wondered, if the president were to deliver a speech in which he came out against corporate wrongdoing? You know, taking a position just as controversial and unpopular as, say, those politicians who climb out on a limb to praise the flag or denounce child abuse? Furthermore, we pondered, what might happen if the president were to deliver that speech in front of wallpaper on which the words 'Corporate Responsibility' were printed in a prominent and repetitive fashion? How would that affect the markets once his audience had incontrovertible proof that George Bush is indeed in favor of corporate responsibility? Well, now we know: Apparently what happens is the S&P and the Dow each drop 5.1% in three days. Apparently, it takes more than a few stern words and a customized backdrop to restore faith in the financial markets. Surprise, surprise. Which brings us to our next item... 2. Raiders of the Lost Harken Tell you what. We at the research lab will go out on our own little limb and guess that maybe the reason that a pep talk from President Bush isn't putting America's mind at ease is that maybe, just maybe, Americans see Bush as part of the problem. Crazy, huh? Where would they get that idea? Well, maybe it's from this whole Harken Energy (HEC:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) affair stretching back a few years. So, here are a few factoids we've picked up about Bush from various different press outlets. First there's the part about how Bush, a director at Harken Energy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, received about $180,000 in low interest rate loans to buy Harken stock options. To us, that sounds vaguely reminiscent of the more than $400 million that WorldCom (WCOME:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) lent then-CEO Bernie Ebbers so he could hold onto his WorldCom stock, though Bush's loan is a few zeroes short of Borrowin' Bernie's. Then there's the part about how Bush sold $849,000 in Harken stock in 1990. That was only two months, apparently, before the company's stock tanked on a restatement of earnings -- and Bush was eight months late in reporting the transaction to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Again, this is a few zeroes shy of another familiar story -- in 2001, Enron (ENRNQ:OTC BB - news - commentary - research - analysis) Chairman Ken Lay sold $70 million worth of shares in the company as it slid toward bankruptcy. Then, of course, there's the weirdness of the financial transaction at the heart of the Harken matter: The sale of 80% of a Harken subsidiary to a bunch of Harken insiders who completed the transaction with the help of a loan from -- you guessed it -- Harken. The deal took millions of dollars in debt off the company's balance sheet and cut losses by at least $8 million. Until, that is, the SEC made Harken restate the transaction, a process that led to the stock's tanking in 1990. Damned if the whole thing doesn't remind us of Enron again and its penchant for constructing related-party transactions designed to wipe losses off its financials. Now there are a few candidates for the Dumbest part of this whole affair, most of them stemming from Bush's staunch refusal to admit that he bears a greater resemblance to the alleged robbers than to the alleged cops, corporatewise. Is it Bush's challenge, in Tuesday's corporate responsibility speech, for companies 'to put an end to all company loans to corporate officers'? Is it the request by Bush -- a member of Harken's audit committee way back when -- for 'board members to check the quality of their company's financial statements, to ask tough questions about accounting methods'? No, it's Bush's comment at a Monday press conference when a pesky reporter ask him if he had favored, or been involved in, the subsidiary sale of which the SEC had expressed its disapproval. 'All I can tell you,' replied Bush, 'is that in the corporate world sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures.' That's true, of course. But given Harken's multiple similarities to companies currently in the news, Bush instructing companies about accounting and governance is kind of like Bill Clinton lecturing the youth of America on the value of sexual abstinence. 3. Money Makes the WorldCom Go Around Our sympathies go out to WorldCom and its employees as they struggle to save the telco's remaining business and stave off bankruptcy. But despite our concern, we can't help but shake our heads at how desperate the struggle has become. Yes, in a WorldCom internal email we received Thursday, the company notes that checks payable to WorldCom 'are being received at various locations and held because people do not know where to send them.' Effective immediately, advises the email, please send all checks 'or other remittances' directly to the company treasurer in Washington, D.C. Makes you wonder: What was the policy in the years before this urgent email was sent? Have all the people who knew what to do with these checks just been laid off? Or was there so much money rolling around that getting checks to the bank just wasn't an issue? We assume that the next company email will cover collection policies for loose change that has rolled underneath the vending machines. We'll let you know. 4. We Report. You Decide if We're Idiots. Speaking of WorldCom, we were shocked to read an article this week indicating that al Qaeda operatives had infiltrated the telco and other U.S. corporate titans in a conspiracy to undermine the U.S. economy. Yes, in a July 2 dispatch out of Washington, FoxNews.com highlights an 'unexpected twist' in the WorldCom saga: a United Press International report, citing emails decoded by the National Security Agency, that al Qaeda claimed its 'Operation WorldCon' had demolished WorldCom and 'had seriously crippled the entire American military machine that is heavily dependent on the telecom giant.' Furthermore, reported FoxNews.com, UPI was saying that al Qaeda 'sleeper cells' had managed to wreak havoc via financial scandals at other recent corporate casualties, including Enron, Arthur Andersen, Global Crossing (GBXLQ:OTC BB - news - commentary - research - analysis), Xerox (XRX:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) and ImClone (IMCL:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis). Wow, we thought. Someone deserves a Pulitzer for this one. So we tracked down the original UPI wire service report to see who the lucky recipient would be. Well, in the words of President Bush, all we can tell you is that in the newsgathering world, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white. It turns out that the UPI article was actually a commentary by editor-at-large Arnaud de Borchgrave, one that later ran in The Washington Times. After de Borchgrave tells his fantastical story -- one that also alleges al Qaeda infiltration of Adelphia Communications (ADELQ:OTC BB - news - commentary - research - analysis), Qwest (Q:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) and Dynegy (DYN:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) -- he confesses that this scenario is 'a flight of fancy.' In other words, it appears that someone at Fox News didn't realize that de Borchgrave's scoop was a joke. Didn't read all the way through the UPI bulletin. Didn't figure out how de Borchgrave was making some point about corporate executives being as destructive as violent terrorists. Didn't stop to wonder out why al Qaeda members in the Tora Bora caves would care about Adelphia, or why they ever would have heard of it. We couldn't reach Fox News in time for comment. Nor WorldCom. Nor al Qaeda. 5. Sorry, Wrong Numbers As a follow-up to last week's report about a curious correction from mining company Century Laboratories (CYLI:OTC BB - news - commentary - research - analysis), we've located another one, this time from wearable-computer company Xybernaut (XYBR:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis). In a July 1 press release, the company reiterated guidance for the second quarter ended one day earlier, and CEO Edward G. Newman proudly announced, 'We begin the third quarter with the largest backlog in the company's history.' Two days later, however, the company had a different story. In a press release issued while we at the research lab all were heading out to the beach for a long July Fourth weekend, Xybernaut said in fact that revenue for the second quarter looked to be about 30% below Monday's so-called guidance, because 'significant orders outside the U.S. did not occur as anticipated.' Not only that, but Newman had misspoken Monday when talking about Xybernaut's record backlog -- a term usually applied to orders on hand but not fulfilled. It wasn't the backlog that was at record levels, said Xybernaut; it was the company's 'current pipeline of potential orders.' Oops. Well, we have a message for all the shareholders who bought after Monday's reiteration -- the stock jumped as high as 53%, to 84 cents -- but before Wednesday's retraction, after which shares fell back to 60 cents. In the world of wearable computers, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white.

reply by just facts 7/15/2002 (18:59)

reply top What a concept. We supply money for water systems, medical apparati etc., and a few weeks later the Israelis move in with their bulldozers, ripping the whole infrastructure to pieces once again. Colin Powell has allowed himself to become so marginalized in this administration, that any of his statements at this point are pretty much meaningless, empty utterances of a foolish loyalist. How this proud man let himself be used and abused by the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz gang is beyond comprehension. Had he resigned when his hands were effectively being tied by the above mentioned cabal, he could have walked out with his integrity intact. Now I'm afraid it's too late.

reply by Lynette 7/15/2002 (22:41)

reply top One gets the feeling that Powell is the 'token black' in this sad administration.......does anyone think that Condelessa Rice is taken seriously? She looks more and more like King George's 'token black' handbag,huh? The white's run the REAL show and the black politicans are told to tow the political line or else their careers may take a sudden nosedive. POWELL is a decent man, he means well and WANTS to do the right thing........but the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz gang will always have the poor sod on a short leash,huh?

reply by just facts 7/15/2002 (23:51)

reply top I think Condoleeza Rice has a lot of input in this administration, seriously! Unfortunately she's ill equipped to deal with the present issues, especially in the ME. Her specialty was the former Soviet Union. Not much left of that place now. She's stuck with an obsolete skill :) But Bush apparently does listen to her more than to Powell. Rice and Powell are on very different wavelengths on just about every issue. They're both African Americans, but that's where the similarities end.

reply by Lynette 7/16/2002 (7:46)

reply top JUST FACTS WRITES.... Rice and Powell are on very different wavelengths on just about every issue. They're both African Americans, but that's where the similarities end. ME: Do you think it may be the fact that Powell is an ex-military man and that Rice isn't that shapes their thinking on global affairs?

reply by SAMSON 7/16/2002 (8:38)

reply top To R.Marvel, You said that; ''The United States already channels about $142 million a year in aid through the United Nations and the Red Cross and other private groups. In April, Powell pledged an additional $30 million.'' ---------- *Last time a Jew 'Zolovisky' was given $7.1BN for his losses in the WTC incident. *The zionist entity is given $3.6BN/year AS US HELP. *Many individual jews carry under their arms monies in the order of ~10power12. ******AND YOU CALL THE SILLY $142MN GIVEN TO 4 MILION DISTRESSED ARAB SOULS ''HELP'', WHILE THE ZIONISTS DESTROY EVERY DECENT DOLLAR OWNED BY ANY ARAB IN PALESTINE. TO HELP THE PALESTINIANS, STOP THE EXTRAVAGENT HELP TO (ISRAHELL)!! ### RM, Israhell is building Nuclear Bombs and transcontinental missiles, with what you call THE US HELP.

reply by just facts 7/17/2002 (2:52)

reply top 'Do you think it may be the fact that Powell is an ex-military man and that Rice isn't that shapes their thinking on global affairs?' I think Powell is the only military man in this entire administration. But they do talk a good game when it comes to others having to put their ass on the line. Look at all the warmongers in this cabinet: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Bolton et al. Here's a list of 'Chickenhawks' (People who talk tough but had other priorities when it was their turn to serve): http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks.html To answer your question, though: I think it's simply a difference of political philosophy. Condoleeza Rice is a very cold-war type of thinker and seems to prefer confrontation to diplomacy.