World Trade Organization
Wow! Seattle is reeling from the civil unrest associated with the World
Trade Organization (WTO) talks. The initial controversy is over the
format of the WTO talks. The WTO is primarily a free trade body composed
of trade ministers trying to gain the best deal for their country.
Seems the labor unions, human rights and environmental groups dislike being
locked out of the negotiations and desire a more democratic process.
So 50,000 demonstrators organized themselves through the Internet and made
their feelings known. Property damage was extensive. Some 500 were
arrested and 46 blocks of Seattle were closed. The Washington state
police and National Guard were in full body armor as they used pepper spray,
tear gas, and rubber bullets to calm the protesters, err subdue …. Thankfully
no one was killed.
Bill (Globalism) Clinton is looking for the WTO to become the basis
of the new world government and has suggested that if the member countries
do not tow the line they will have sanctions imposed on them. This
upsets potential member countries like China that are being denied membership
over human rights and labor practice concerns. The aggrieved citizen
groups hope to turn the WTO into a political machine to further their own
causes. In this respect President Clinton and some of the aggrieved
groups are in agreement. So – the left has stood up to global capitalism
and recognized the potential for change. The right has kept a fairly
low profile but is fearful of the loss of sovereignty.
As the millennium draws to a close we need to watch emerging global
organizations that may gain the power to substantially affect the way our
industry conducts its business in the US and internationally.
Y2K
There will be no monthly meeting in December as the Christmas holidays
are looming. Not to mention New Years eve is coming up soon.
24 days to Y2K! I am not a Y2K expert but for those of you not ready
for the millennium bug, files containing claim location or other dates
entered as two digit numbers will probably role back to 1900. Most
of my bugs were associated with spreadsheets. Lately, I have been
entering dates with all 4 digits to alleviate the problem.
NLA Officer Nominations
-
The nomination committee has a full slate of officers ready for .
MALRI 2000
-
MALRI “2000” is well on its way, check out the webpage connected to the
NLA website.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
-
It has been a very interesting year. Have a Happy Hanukah, a Merry
Christmas and a Great New Year. See you in the new millennium!!!!
DECEMBER 6, 1999
CLICK
FOR 1999-2000 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
** VOTE
**
VOTE
**
VOTE
** 
