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arianas %riety:~ Micronesia's Leading Newspaper Since 1972 . . ~f\VS

'Proceed cautiously on power plant project' By Haidee V. Eugenio Variety News Staff

TIIECHAIRofthe House Com­mittee on Public Utilities Trans­portation yesterday told the Com­monwealth Utilities Corp. to be "careful" with the controversial $120 million Saipan power plant project.

Rep. David Apatang (R-Saipan) said CUC needs to ensure it will be able to sustain the project, con­sidering the amount of funding it

entails and the length of time needed to finish it.

"We don't want them to start the project and then find out later on they cannot pay for all the expenses. We want CUC to be cautious on this. We want to sit down with the board to know the status of the project, to know what's going on," Apatang said in an interview.

The legislator said he would be meeting with the CUC Board of

'Thairrific'

Directors anytime this week or next week to have a detailed dis­cussion on the current status of the planned 80 megawatt power plant.

CUC legal counsel William J. Ohle, in a separate interview, said the board is willing to meet with Apatang anytime to infonn him of the steps taken by the board regarding the project.

During its recent meeting, the board officially approved an ex-

A Thai lady dressed in traditional costume showcases Thai products as well as photos of her country during the Thai Festival. Photo by Marian A. Maraya

New FCC rule to require

telecom firms to open lines

By Haidee V. Eugenio Variety News Staff

CNMI consumers will soon see local internet access and other data services having in­creased availability, lowered cost and higher capabilities as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted last week rules to. promote competition for advanced ser­vices.

Called the "Advanced Ser­vices Third Report and Or­der," FCC directs local tele­phone companies to share their telephone lines with providers of high-speed internet access and other data services.

Bob Webb, the CNMI governor's special assistant for

Continued on page 26

Car crash kills Navy man By Jay Pascua Variety News Staff

HAGATNA-An early morning car crash yesterday claimed the life of a 20-year-old Navy man.

Police said the crash took place at around 6: 30 a. m. along Route 5 in Apra Heights.

Traffic investigators said speed was a factor in the fatal crash and will continue to investigate whether other factors played a role.

Highway Patrol Officers said the Navy man was driving a 1997 Toyota Tercel west toward Route two. The road was wet at the time and apparently the man lost con­trol of the car and ran off the roadway. The Tercel hit a con­crete utility pole.

The damage to the car was ex­tensive enough to have the Guam Fire Department use the jaws-of­life to remove the four victims

Continued on page 26

The Toyota Tercel that crashed into a utility pole on Guam. Photo by Eduardo C. Siguenza

PAC NE:V'l~TAPER srr.c1<s

panded study by its independent consultants-Burns & McDonnel-to evaluate the cur­rent and future power supply needs on Saipan, and the economic fea­sibility of the 80 megawatt power plant project in light of the current CNMI economic conditions.

"We would be happy tositdown with him for that matter," said Ohle.

The draft results of the new Continued on page 26 Rep. David Apatang

Federal Court denies request to rehire workers

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

THE U.S. District Court has de­nied the National Labor Rela­tions Board's efforts to compel Dai-Ichi Hotel to rehire some of its tenninated nonresident work­ers.

Federal Court Judge Alex R. Munson, however, granted NLRB's request to reinstate Loreta Rangamar, a local worker, to her former position.

Munson said that with respect to the alleged discriminatory nonrenewal of the 35 nonresi­dent workers and the construc­tive discharge of one alien worker, the court finds that NLRB is not likely to prevail on its claims.

Douglas W. Hall, one of Dai­ichi Hotel 'scounsels, stated that they are extremely pleased with the court's ruling.

"We have been saying all

Judge Alex R. Munson

along that the Dai-Ichi did not target union supporters fof dis­criminatory treatment, and that the only reason that nonresi­dents did not have their· con­tracts renewed was either be­cause of the economy or the requirements of CNMI law. It is gratifying that both Judge Munson and the Administrative Law Judge agree with us," said

Continued on page 26 r,.,,,:,:;==================:1 In tourism

1 Governor calls for more

Ii private sector participation :i

By Jojo Dass nity)tojoin(MVA)sothatthere i'I Variety News Staff will be more participation from

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· GOVERNORPedroP. Tenorio theprivatesector;·saidTenorio. · yesterday called forstrongerpri- There currently are efforts to vate sector participation in ef- organize the Marianas Tourism forts to give the Northern Council (MTC) which will Marianas a needed facelift to mainly come up with plans to further boost tourist arrivals. maintain the islands as prime

"My understanding is that the destinations for tourists. . Marianas Visitors Authority According to MV A Board (MV A) only have 70 member- Chair David Sablan, MTC will ship whereas in the past, there also be tasked to .. clean the en-were so many organizations tire island so that we can re-wanting to be members," the ceive our guests properly:· governor told reporters. It will be recalled that the

Tenorio said MV A should Chair of the House Committee r likewise exert more efforts to on Commerce and Tourism has t attract local businesses, adding revealed that efforts are under- t that there are still other groups way to give the Northern [ that can also be tapped to boost Marianas a badly-needed , membership. facelift to attract more tourists.I 1

.. I encourage them (members Rep. Oscar M. Babauta (R- ,

of the local busi~e~s :~"'~==~~tinued o~.e!~~ 2-6 ;1

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2-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999

Okinawa mayor to urge relocation of US base TOKYO (Reuters) - The gover­nor of Japan's southernmost pre­fecture of Okinawa is likely to un­veil a plan on Monday to relocate part of a U.S. military base to the citythatwill hostnextyear'sGroup of Eight summit, a local govern­ment official said.

Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine is expected to tell a news conference that helicopter facili­ties at a U.S. Marine base in Futenma, on the island of Okinawa, will be moved to N ago city, the site of the G8 summit, the official said.

Earlieron Monday, Inamine dis­cussed the plan with top officials of the Okinawa prefectural govern­ment, the official said.

The plan follows a 1996 agree­ment between] apan and the United States to close or scale down 11

U.S. facilities occupying more than 20 percent of Okinawa's land.

The two countries struck the his­toric pact to defuse local resent­ment toward the heavy concentra­tion of America's military pres­ence in Okinawa. That resentment was fanned by the rape of a Japa­nese school girl in 1995 by three · U.S. servicemen.

The centerpiece of the 1996 deal was the planned closure ofFutenma Air Station, located in a densely populated urban area, within five to seven years.

The agreement also stipulated, however, that Futenma's helicop­ter facilities be relocated to a site within Okinawa.

After Monday's news confer­ence, Inamine was expected to ask the Nago mayor to accept the plan.

Residents ofNago in 1997 voted overwhelming! y against a proposal for a floating heliport off its coast, after environmentalists and local fishing cooperatives in Nago op­posed the idea out of concern over damage to fishing grounds, coral and the habitatfornumerous aquatic species.

Groups in Nago opposed to the U.S. bases also staged a rally in August, demanding that the Japa­nese government not use the sum­mit as a reason to rush into resolv­ing the relocation issue.

President Clinton has said he wants outstanding issues concern­ing the bases tidied up before he arrives for the G8 summit in July, and Japanese officials worry the longer the problem is unsolved the tougher it will become.

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.. News Briefs India, Pakistan call halt to border firip.g

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) . Commanders of the border forces of India and Pakistan agreed Sunday to immediately stop firing a<;ross their common border but the rare peace move between the two m>als appeared to exclude Kashmir. . . . . . .

The decision was taken after a four-day meeting m the Pakistam city of Lahore between the commanders of the Pakistani Rangers and the Indian Border Security Force, the state media said.

"The meeting decided to stop firing immediately on the borders to avoid killings of innocent citizens on both sides," the radio said without elaborating.

Elizabeth II to make 1st visit to Ireland

DUBLIN (Reuters)- Britain's Queen Elizabeth is expected to make her first state visit to Ireland within months, Ireland's Sunday Tribune reported.

The newspaper said an upcoming five day official visit to Britain by Irish President Mary McA!eese, which includes a lunch with the Queen, has strengthened the belief that the British monarch would visit Ireland.

"There has been a marked increase in communications between government officials and Buckingham Palace recently, with both sides keen to settle a date for a visit to mark the millennium," the newspaper quoted a government source as saying.

But the visit is still subject to implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, the paper said.

Power outage affects SOOK Tokyo households

TOKYO (Reuters) - A power outage in Tokyo on Monday left a wide swathe of the city, including part of the city center, without electricity.

Jiji news agency reported that a military jet had crashed and severed a high-voltage transmission line. An official at Tokyo Electric Power Co Ltd (TEPCO) said some 800,000 houses in central and western Tokyo were affected.

Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trade in bond futures and options due to the outage.

Tokyo Electric A TEPCO spokesman later confirmed that the· outage had been caused by a plane hitting a transmission line.

Land mine blast kills 2 Serbian cops

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP)- Yugoslav authorities are blaming "Albanian terrorists" for planting a land mine that killed two Serb police officers and injured six others near the boundary between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia.

Police said the officers were rushing Sunday morning to help a police patrol, which was reportedly attacked by ethnic Albanians three hours earlier, when their vehicle detonated the mine six miles north of the provincial boundary. .

A statement from the regional police headquarters said the vehicle had run over the mine "planted by ethnic Albanian terrorists," a phrase referring to the former rebels of the officially disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army,

FBI investigating EgyptAir crash NEW YORK (AP) - Regardless of what cause is finally pin­pointed, EgyptAir Flight 990 already has earned a place in aviation history with one of the most bizarre ends to a seemingly routine flight.

An apparent prayer uttered just before the plane's fatal plunge from 33,000 feet is being closely scrutinized by the National Trans­portation Safety Board, the FBI and the Egyptian government. The tape from the cockpit voice recorder is receivino nearly the same intensity once given to the videotape of the assassi;ation of President Kennedy.

The central question: Why would a wide-bodied jet with 217 people ~board suddenly crash into the ocean when nothing appeared

.mechamcally wrong and no distress call was made?

Canada jet makes emergency landing

NORTH BAY: Ontario (AP) - A Canadian jet en route from Calga~ to Hahf~x was forced to make an emergency landing in Ontario after an irate passenger entered the cockpit and had to be restrained, city police said.

The man was arr~sted ~nd ta,k~n to the North Bay General Hospital to be assessed, police said. His identity was not released. . Canadi_an Airlines Flight 550 left Calgary Sunday morning. Dur­mg _the flight, the first-class passenger began shouting and creating a disturbance,. and he then entered the cockpit, police and other passengers said. He had to be restrained by three crew members and passengers.

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LOCAL TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-3

Planned lawsuit vs feds gets support FCC rules on line-sharing

By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

GOVERNORPedroP. Tenorio yesterday said he supports ef­forts by Tanapag residents to seek legal representation on a planned class action suit against federal government agencies over the contamina­tion caused by toxic chemical waste-including the cancer­causing polychlorinated biphe­nyl-abandoned by the U.S. military.

Tenorio's inove came fol­lowing an announcement made over the weekend by House Minority Leader Dino M. Jones (D-Saipan), who said a U.S. mainland-based law firm with

an experience on the kind of litigation to be involved has expressed interest on the case.

"I agree that we cannot just continue to wait and continue to (see) the health of the com­munity deteriorate. We have to do something," the gover­nor told reporters in an inter­view.

Jones on Sunday lamented that not much action has been done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lead agency on clean-up activities, since he raised the issue to its officials four years ago.

He said there were merely "meetings after meetings" and "studies after studies."

Pedro P. Tenorio

"If that (lawsuit) will be the decision that have to be met by the people," said the governor, then so be it.

Tenorio, at the same time, said

efforts are being undertaken to have all government agencies concerned - local and federal - get their acts together and address the mounting concerns brought about by the contami­nation.

"We are trying to do our best," said the governor, "so do that all these agencies can work together."

"So that they can immedi­ately try to resolve the prob­lem."

Aside from the Corps, other offices involved include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the CNMI Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

By Haldee V. Eugenio Variety News Staff

CNMI consumers will soon see local internet access and other data services having increased availability, lowered cost an"d higher capabilities as the Fed­eral Communications Commis­sion (FCC) adopted last week rules to promote competition for advanced services.

Called the "Advanced Ser­vices Third Report and Order," FCC directs local telephone companies to share their tele­phone lines with providers of high-speed internet access and other data services.

Tipping fee up for public comments Bob Webb, the CNMI

governor's special assistant for telecommunications, yesterday said the FCC rule will force existing CNMI telecommuni­cations firm to open up their lines to other internet access providers, thereby impacting on the cost and efficiency of these services.

By Rene P. Acosta Variety News Staff

IT IS NOW only a matter of time before the tipping fee pro­posed by the government for trash haulers becomes a regula­tion.

John Harder, the project man­ager of the Division of Solid Waste Management of the De­partment of Public Works (DPW) said the $10 tipping fee is now publicized in the Com­monwealth Register for publis; comments.

It was recorded last Nov. 15 and will expire one month after.

According to Harder, the gov­ernment has decided to stick to the amount as it has originally

proposed, despite earlier oppo­sition from trash haulers.

The group of business haulers which bind themselves under the Refused Collectors Asso­ciation earlier said the amount set by the government was too excessive, claiming that most of their members will be forced to shut down should it push through.

The government, however, said it needed the fee if it hopes to maintain the future landfill in Marpi. The amount will be used to partially cover the operation and cost of the future waste dis­posal site, the government added.

The dump site located in

Teno hopeful on results of Manila aviation meet By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday said he is hopeful the Manila meeting between CNMI, Republic of Palau and Air Nauru officials this week yields a flight route that would boost arrivals in the commonwealth,

"We cannot just sit here and wait until they (airlines) come. Somebody has to go and look for it," said the governor.

"I think the meeting will be productive," he added. "If we can bring direct flights from Manila, better."

A contingent of the governor's aviation task force will seek to finalize the re­opening of the Saipan-Palau­Manila route with Air Nauru representatives during the meeting.

If the plan pushes through, the new route, which was abandoned two years back, will reopen a market of con­tract workers, businessmen and tourists traveling from the Northern Marianas and Palau to Manila and vice-versa.

The route will also address problems caused by Continen­tal Air Micronesia's flight re­ductions in the region, which was done supposedly to main-

tain the giant airline's opera­tions.

"We don't know what will be the end result. It is always necessary that... talks can be started to find out whether it is feasible. I like to see more airlines making direct flight to CNMI," said Tenorio,

In a related development, the governor said Continental Air­line officials should just tell him on the face that they don't want to do business with the Northern Marianas anymore.

The governor was irked by the airline's move pulling out Saipan from the list of desti­nations it is promoting to tour­ists.

"I want the Continental (of­ficials) to come out and say, 'We don't want to provide ser­vice to the CNMI,' if that is tile way they want it," said Tenorio.

He nevertheless said he still wants to have a good working relationship with the giant air­line, which has been servicing the Northern Marianas for de­cades.

At least 11 island destina­tions are listed under the airline's newsletter, OnePass Update, which are being rec­ommended as vacation sites. Saipan is not listed.

Puerto Rico is currently operat­ing on an allocation provided by the government on a yearly ba­sis.

Meanwhile, the solid waste chief also said they have already initially selected the site of the transfer station which has been planned to rise in Lower Base.

He said the site chosen was on a lot located south of the Public School System bus marntenance shop.

The design for the transfer sta­tion will be made by the same consulting company which has been awarded the contract to cre­ate the artist sketch of the Marpi landfill, the Harding, Lawson and Associate.

As for the initially proposed convenience stations, Harder said there has been no concrete plans yet whether they would be constructed or not, or where will they be built.

The government has initially proposed to build not more than five convenience stations which will be strategically put in placed all over Saipan.

Harder said the smaller sta­tions should be located near a neighborhood since they are called "convenience" ones.

However, a public hearing needs to be held since the smaller stations may be discarded by the community due to their proxim­ity to the neighborhood.

Taitano: 'Good to be back' By Marian A. Maraya Variety News Staff

OFFICIAL Board of Elections results have confirmed that Board of Education (BOE) member Marja Lee Taitano will continue to serve in the Board representing Rota and according to Taitano, she is glad of the final turn out.

"It feels good to be back," said Taitano, after Friday night's BOE meeting.

Running for a seat in the board hasn't always been pic­nic for Taitano, according to sources.

When she ran for her first elected term four years ago, she had to contest results which claimed another candi­date the winner.

This trme around, Taitano was prepared to accept her fate and even told the Variety she will "respect the people's wish,"

But the Board of Elections has recently certified results getting Taitano back on track.

Rota's write-in candidate, Juanita N. Taisacan, report­edly has plans on protesting the final election resu Its.

"I don· t know anything about her protesting. A lot of things are said in the paper, nothing concrete ... ," said

Marja Lee Taitano

Taitano, referring to printed news reports on Taisacan's protest plans.

Initial Board of Election re­sults showed that Taisacan was winning by 12 votes over Taitano, 345 to 333.

But in the final tally, how­ever, Taisacan was able to muster only 328 votes as against Taitano's 349.

Board of Elections Execu­tive Director Gregorio C. Sablan earlier said they had to void some votes in Taisacan 's favor after review of the bal­lots revealed that poll watch­ers had counted "different names."

The electoral committee, ac­cording to Sablan, re-exam­ined the ballots upon Taitano 's request.

"This is something good for consumers of internet access and other data services. The higher the speed, the higher the capabilities, the better for us," said Webb.

While 128 K has become the standard speed in the U.S. main­land, the CNMI still makes use of 56 K, said Webb. He, how­ever, said while the 128 K is also available here, it's cost is rather too prohibitive.

"With this FCC rule, we ex­pect the cost to lower down," added Webb.

FCC adopted the rules on Nov. 18.

The Order is intended to en­sure that as many companies as possible will be able to deploy new technologies on a faster, more cost-effective basis and should accelerate the ability of residential and small business customers to access competi­tive broadband services from their choice of providers.

It also permits competitive carriers to obtain access to the high-frequency portion of the local loop from the incum­bent local exchange carriers (LECs) over which the incum­bent LEC provides voice ser­vices,

This will enable competitive carriers to provide digital sub­scriber line (DSL)-based ser­vices over the same telephone lines simultaneously used by incumbent LECs to provide basic telephone service, a tech­nique referred to as "line shar­ing.,,

Line sharing will permit con­sumers to obtain innovative ser­vices from either incumbent or competitive carriers, without having to forego the traditional voice services from their pro­vider of choice.

Since line sharing allows customers to receive both ser­vices on the same line, it elimi­nates the need for consumers to procure a second line. This allows for more efficient use of the existing telephone net­work.

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4-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999

· Manibusan taps Manibusan to preside over suit·vs Kara

By Ferdie de la Torre

Variety News Staff

THE SUPERIOR Court has appointed Associate Judge Joaquin V. E. Manibusan, Jr. of the Guam trial court to preside over the $3-miI­l ion lawsuit filed by former Senate President Juan S. Demapan against acting Attorney General Maya Kara and other per­sons.

Presiding Judge Edward Manibusan in his order is­sued Thursday tapped Judge Mani bus an as judge pro tern to handle Demapan 's law-

suit until the matter is dis­posed.

Presiding Judge Manibusan wrote a letter last week to CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan, requesting the appointment of .i pro tern judge.

"I respectfully request that a pro tern judge be assigned to handle this matter to ensure its timely disposition," the presiding judge told Chief Justice Demapan.

Following the request, the Chief Justice designated Pre- · siding Judge Manibusan as Justice Pro Tern "for the pur-

pose of appointing a judge pro tern to preside over the case until the matter is dis­posed."

Juan Demapan and busi­nessman Cheung Ping Yin sued Kara, Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram Jr. and other persons over an alleged illegal arrest during a raid at their "legiti­mate gambling establish­ment" in Garapan.

The plaintiffs in their com­plaint questioned among other things, Kara's alleg­edly illegal designation as acting AG.

In illegal gambling case

Demapan pleads innocent By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

FORMER Senate President Juan S. Demapan yesterday pleaded innocent to charges that he en­gaged in illegal g-ambling opera­tion in Garapan.

Demapan, through counsel Chang Yoon, waived readin!! of the in-formation and advise~ent of his constitutional rights during the arraignment.

Demapan pleaded not guilty to illegal gambling activity and ac-

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Juan S. Demapan

cessory to commit illegal gam­bling charges.

Demapan 's business partner, Ping Yin Cheung, also pleaded innocent of the same charges.

SuperiorCourtPresidingJudge Edward Manibusan set a status

conference for the two defendants on Jan. 11, 2000.

Demapan and Cheung were among nine persons arrested and charged for allegedly conducting illegal gambling at the East Ocean Restaurant last Sept. 2.

The former senator told the Variety days after his arrest that he was the operator of the "hi -low," but stressed he has a license to operate such gambling under the Demapan Gaming Manage­ment.

De ma pan and Cheung then filed a $3-million lawsuit against act­ing A ttomey General Maya Kara, Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram Jr. over alleged illegal arrest during the raid at their '·legitimate" gambling es­tablishment.

AGO charges person for bribe try, fraud

By Ferdie de la Torre

Variety News Staff

THE ATTORNEY General's Office yesterday filed crimi­nal charges against a person for allegedly trying to bribe a government official and pos­sessing fraud immigration document.

Ming Jun He, 23, was charged with attempted brib­ery and immigration fraud before the Superior Court.

According to the informa­tion, last Jan. 31 He "did un­lawfully and voluntarily at­tempt to give something of value, to wit: money, in wrongful and corrupt payment for an official act not to be

done ... " Assistant Attorney General

Nicole Forelli also stated in the information that the defendant on the same date "possessed without authorization and used a false, forged, counterfeit, al­tered or tampered-with official Commonwealth immigration or labor document permit or iden­tification card ... "

Forelli said possessed such document "knowing or clearly should have knowing that the document was false, forged, counterfeit, altered or tam­pered-with."

The defendant was sum­moned to appear and answer the charges in court on Dec. 6.

BETTER DRIVERS BUCKLE UP

LOCAL

US-born Filipino kids can be considered RP citizens By Rene P. Acosta Variety News Staff

THE PHILIPPINE Consulate yesterday said children who are U.S. citizens of Filipino descent can still be entitled to the same rights and privileges accorded to other Filipino citi­zens.

Vice Consul Ronell B. Santos said this was made pos­sible by a new Philippine im­migration law that recognizes children born abroad who have either one or both Filipino parents as Filipino citizens.

"It's just a matter of being recognized as Filipinos citi­zens due to the mere fact that they are born to parents who are-or used to be-Filipino citizens," Santos said.

There is, however, no such thing ~s "dual citizenship," which is not allowed by the Philippine Constitution, he said.

But children born abroad to Filipino parents are now en­titled to the same privileges and rights that are being given to other Filipino citizens, Santos said.

He cited as an example Fili­pino-Americans who go to the

Philippines t_o study. · "Instead of securing. visas,

they wiil ·just avail of the 'rec­ognition order' [from the Phil­ippine Bureau oflmmigration] and. they will be just like any· · citizen of the Philippines," the vice consul said.

He said the Philippine Con­sulate is intensifying its in­formation campaign on the existence of the law.

Based on the consulate's fig­ures last year, 215 babies were born here to Filipino citizens.

To secure the recognition or­der, the Filipino parent or par-· ents must submit their authen­ticated birth certificates along with their child's.

They are also required to su bruit an affidavit on the ci ti­zenship of the applicant par­ent or parents, a photocopy of· the parents' Philippine pass­port, and a letter from the par­ent or parents requesting for the issuance of the recogni­tion order.

If the parent is already a U.S. citizen, he or she is also re­quired to submit a proof of being a Filipino citizen at the time or prior to the child's birth.

Labor ruling penalizes £inn for violations

By Rene P. Acosta

Variety News Staff

THE DIVISION of Labor has imposed penalties on a firm for various labor violations ranging from non-payment of wages to breach of contract.

Labor hearing officer Jerry Cody sanctioned Mirim Corp., which operates Blue Karaoke, and its two officers Yong Hak Choi and Kyung Soon Seo.

The two were ordered to pay their waitress Yuhua Jin $12,941.

Originally, there were four complainants, but two availed of the government's limited immunity program and dropped the case. The other returned to South Korea.

Based on Cody's record, the

karaoke club hired Yµhua as waitress for 11 months, be­ginning Dec. 31, 1996.

However by the end of Feb. 1997, Mirim Corp. "aban­doned" the worker, who did not receive her salary and o.vertime wages in the amount of $1,358.

Cody ruled that Yuhua should get paid for the remain­ing period of her contract and liquidated damages.

Since Mirim and its two of­ficers "snubbed" the case, breached the contract, and ig­nored the hearing office's de­mand to be furnished with company papers, they will pay an additional $1,000 fine.

They are also barred from hiring alien workers.

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LOCAL TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, i 999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-5 ·-------------------------------.....0.==..:..c.::2.e:.:__cc~=-==:_:_ Due to lack of direct _flights to CNMI

MVA eyes HK, Taiwan charter flights By Haldee V. Eugenio Variety News Staff

WITH THE termination of direct flights from Hong Kong and Tai­wan to the CNMI starting in Oc­tober, visitor arrivals from these ·two markets dipped anew, prompting the Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA) to map out al­ternatives to make up for the losses.

Taiwan arrivals went down by 63 percent, while Hong Kong experienced a 24 percent decline in October, compared to the fig­ures last year during the same period.

While the decision of Conti­nental Micronesia to terminate all direct flights to the CNMI from Hong Kong and Taiwan was the primary reason for the dec_]ine, MVA said bringing in charter flights from these two places and putting some ease on immigra­tion restrictions will help increase arrivals from these two markets. . MV A Board Chairman David Sablan, in an interview over the weekend, said Hong Kong and Taiwan are "lucrative" markets and therefore promotional efforts should continue. He also said MV A will meet with officials of

the Department of Labor and Immigration (DOLi) to work out ways on how legitimate tourists from these two places will not have difficulty visiting the CNMI.

"We may need to sit down with DOLi to have well-defined (im­migration) requirements regard­ingtheentryof citizens fromHong Kong and Taiwan because the markets are lucrative. We will continue with our promotions,'' said Sablan.

During MVA's board meeting last week, MV A Managing Direc­tor Perry Tenorio also brought up the need to discuss with DOLi the

A TASTE OF THAI. Saipan's Thai community displayed Thai crafts and products at the Thai Festival held Sunday at Ki/iii Beach. Photo by Marian Maraya.

CUC expands Tinian power distribution By Haidee V. Eugenio Variety News Staff

BETTER power supply and distri­bution await Tinian consumers as the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. (CUC) disclosed four ongoing projects where business and com­mercial establishments will hook upto the utilities agency for electri­cal supply.

Gregorio Castro, CUC deputy director for Tinian, said the Inter­national Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) awarded a contract to Telesource, Inc. for the construc­tion of an overhead and under­ground power distribution hook­ing up IBB to CUC's power sys­tem.

The project, which sta11ed dur­ing the second week of November, is set to get off the ground within 120 days or approximately four months.

"This is an ongoing project and we expect it to be finished by Feb­ruary or March next year,'' said Castro.

CUC is also cun-ently working on the installation of power distri­bution system in Carolina Heights' homesteads, with the recent purchase of needed mate­rials to complete the project.

"This is an in-house project where cue staff will be the one doing the actual construction of a new electrical overhead distribu­tion lines and secondary services to Carolina Heights homesteads. The lines will tie with the ex.isling systems at the Marpo well," said Castro.

This project takes 180 days or until early next year to be com­pleted.

Another power distribution project for Carolina Heights agri-

cultural area is also underway. The project stretches from Carolina Heights to Suicide Cliff.

Castro said the expansion of the new Tinian power plant substation is also ongoing and is expected to be finished by February next year.

"Hopefully by nextyearall these projects will be done so that our residents and businesses here will have betterpowersupply," said the CUC official.

Aside from improving the power distribution system, CUC is also currently working on a better water supply in Tinian with the ongoing upgrading of waterpipes in the San Jose ,u-ea, marking the first time such rehabilitation is done in ape­riod of 30 years.

Since 1994, Tinian remains to be the only island in the CNMI which has a 24-hour water supply from cue.

SGMA takes part in 'social responsibility' conference By Rene P. Acosta Variety News Staff

THE SAIP AN Garment Manu­facturers Association joined the recently held Social Business Responsibility Conference in San Francisco, California, which drew close to 1,000 par­ticipants.

SGMA Executive Director Ri­chard Pierce, who represented the Saipan apparel makers, said the conference discussed corporate responsibility. The independent

monitoring of the controversial local garment industry, he noted, will begin next week.

Among the topics discussed during the conference were the promotion of compliance to law­ful and ethical working condi­tions and the innovative ap­proaches to monitoring for com­pliance.

Pierce said this is not the first that the NMI garment industry has worked with the organizers of the conference.

Pricewaterhouse has conducted a series of training sessions for SGMA members early this year under the principles set forth in the Code of Conduct of the SGMA.

··our attendance at the confer­ence will guarantee that the larg­est international and national re­tailers will continue to use Saipan manufacturers as the source for apparel they've come to recog­nize as some of the world's fin­est," he said.

immigration restrictions that tend to discourage potential tourists.

DOLi currently requires cer­tain foreign nationals to secure an Authorization to Board (ATB) from DOU before they are al-lowed to visit the CNMI. ·

"If we can work something out with DOLi then there is a possi­bility of increase in traffic from these regions,'' said Tenorio.

MV A also disclosed that Pa­cific Island Aviation (PIA) is showing interest in operating char­ter flights between Taiwan and the CNMI.

Tenorio also recently visited

TONY

Hong Kong and Taiwan for mar­ket re-assessment where travel agents aired their concerns on the lack of available airline seats go­ing to CNMI as all available flights need to transit through Guam. The MVA official said CNMI-bound tourists still need to compete with Guam-bound passengers from Taiwan.

Continental Micronesia, how­ever, placed the blame on the con­tinuous decline in the number of Saipan-bound passengers from Hong Kong and Taipei for its decision to terminate direct flights to the CNMI starting Oct. 1.

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Indonesia strains on minds but not lips at ASE.AN

MANILA, (Reuters) . When Southeast Asian leaders gather in Manila next weekend for annual talks they are likely to ignore one of the region's most pressing problems-Indonesia's rebel­lious Aceh province, diplomats and analysts say.

The Nov. 28· summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to focus on measures to sustain economic recoveries after the 1997-98 financial crisis and a proposed regional code of conduct to avoid accidental wars over potentially oil-rich isles in the South China Sea.

The meeting will be followed by a separate summit with China. Japan and South Korea to explore the idea of an East Asian forum to head off potential conflicts in the region. Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said there was a "more than 50 percent" chance the ASEAN summit would adopt a code of conduct that would bar claimants from expanding their presence in the Spratlys Islands area.

Aceh, where growing demands for independence threaten the stability of Indonesia and ASEAN itself, may not be discussed at all. given ASEAN's dogged desire to stay clear of internal problems in member countries.

"Everybody is looking at Aceh but what is to be gained from talking about it at this point, unless Indonesia wants to talk about it. It's an intern 11 problem," ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo Severino said.

"It's unlikely Aceh will come up." The resource-rich Indone­sian province's clamor for independence has grown since East Timar voted in August to split from Jakarta's rule. Many fear an Aceh breakaway could rip the archipelago apart.

''The Balkanization of Indonesia will be the biggest night­mare not only of Indonesia but also its neighbors," said Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Center.

Ba2inda said ASEAN should tackle the Aceh problem head on. "It must be discussed within ASEAN," he told Reuters. "It is not that we are interfering but it has international and re-2ional ramifications ... ASEAN should have discussed the East Timor problem beforehand. When it blew up. ASEAN was caught with its pants down."

Leading Filipino political analyst Alex Magno said ASEAN could serve as a guarantor of a referendum on Aceh's future. "With ASEAN assurance, Indonesia could preserve itself with a hi2her de2ree of autonomy.

It ;-s easie1'." to sell autonomy to the Acehnese if it is within an A SEAN framework.'' Magno said. •·Jt 's part of a larger question of what ASEAN can do for the big brother who is in trouble."

"ASEAN has to change," Siazon told reporters. "You will see more ASEAN countries getting involved in some of the prob­lems of their neighbors. They know, the neighbors also know, it's sometimes useful if your neighbor can help."

The territorial row over the Spratlys, a cluster of isles and reefs straddling strategic sealanes, involves four A SEAN mem­bers.

The arc:a is claimed wholly or in part by China. Taiwan. Vietnam. Malaysia. Philipp·1nes and Brunei. The last four arc members of A SEAN. which also includes Indonesia, Singapore. Thailand. Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Baginda said any code of conduct should have a mechanism for enforcing rules. "If you have a code of conduct and no ability to enforce it. what is the point?" he said.

Rafael H. Arroyo _Zaldy Dandan_ ___ . _

P.O. Box 231, Saipan MP 96950-0231 Tel (670) 234-6341/75781979719272 Fax (670) 234-9271

© 1999, Marianas Variety All Rights Reseried

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Memory lapse PHILIPPINE Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, who ar­rived on island over the weekend had some­thing in mind when he said the Mindanao con­flictand the continuing communist threat back home are proving to be stumbling blocks in efforts to attract more investors, boost employ­ment, uplift living conditions and bring home, albeit gradually, the estimated six million Fili­pino overseas contract workers abroad.

Money that would have been spent on vital infrastructure, for instance, are going down the drain for the purchase of ammunitions.

Not too long ago, I met the senator, who once headed the defunct-National Capital Region Defense Command, at a camp-out fronting the old Senate building in Manila.

The senator, who now chairs the powerful defense committee, was trying to reason out with leaders of an ongoing general strike orga­nized to register national protest against an impending oil price hike. Strikers, by the time Biazon arrived via helicopter at the camp, had burnt nearly a dozen public utility buses across the metropolis, barricaded major thoroughfares, created enough confusion to ke,:-p people locked inside their homes and woJtd have success­fully ground the economy to a halt had the protest continued the following day.

Negotiating with the strike leaders, Biazon pied that the strikers stop the mayhem and resort instead to non-violent means.

Adamantly. the agitators replied the planned three-day strike was being held to stop the price hike, which, they said, would further make life difficult for the grassroots people, who will have to put up with a resulting in­crease in the cost of living.

"But don't you think what you 're doing is not already making life miserable for them?" re­plied Biazon.

* * * * * Still on contract workers, Philippine nation­

als go abroad for work, in the process, becom­ino -victims of double taxation, hate crimes, un~crupulous employers and recruiters, rap­ists, drug traffickers and suffer psychological disorders to name a few consequences, because life is too harsh for them back home.

The money remitted to their country, on the other hand, is spent on appropriations funding pork barrels - politicans' pet projects, jun­kets, and, as Biazon said, war materiel that could also probably be killing their kin who may had opted to take to the hills and join the rebels to "overhaul the flawed socio-economic system by the power of the gun."

Money they managed to keep and bring home with them often ends up in government's loan programs - housing, insurance, health and the like - or in banks, both of which eat up a sizable bulk of the workers' seed capital in return for restrictive debt service plans. It's a stick-up job made legal, most people agree.

Talks about finally bringing home the con­tract workers - alive, and not in boxes- have been around for the past three national admin­istrations.

But the millions of dollars they regularly send home seem to always give government leaders a memory lapse.

Unless those in the "immaculate corridors of power" muster enough political will to do things right, the poor workers will remain where they are, merely receiving token gestures of apprecia­tion that announce them as "new heroes" when­ever they find time to come home for a visit.

So what's on your mind, senator?

* * * * * Maybe it's re-elected Rep. Heinz S.

Hofschneider (R-Saipan) after all. A well-placed source told us a Republican

party caucl!s will be held anytime now to for­malize Hofschneider's assumption of post as the Speaker of the 12th Legislature, which convenes in January.

If I got it right, incumbent Speaker Diego T. Benavente (R-Saipan) will step down to be vice speaker, while incumbent Vice Speaker Jess T. Attao takes the Floor.

Question: What chairmanship post will be given to former Speaker Benigno R. Fitial (R· Saipan), who also won in the just-concluded midterm elections Jnd has for some time also been party chair.

Commerce and Tourism ? Probably Ways and Means.

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. FEATURE:

Appalachia: Tooth decay war target

SPINDALE, N.C. (AP)-Nine-month-old Blake Hardin's face brightened in a big, toothy smile, his teeth freshly painted with protective fluoride varnish.

The nurses cheered. It was another tiny victory in a new war on tooth decay in Appalachia, one of the nation's poorest regions, using a dental technique employed in Europe for more than a quarter century.

A dozen pediatric nurses watched Blake's four tiny teeth get painted with a small yellow brush during the training session at the Rutherford County Health Department, "We see a Jot of bad mouths," said registered nurse Deborah Gregg as she watched colleague Charlene Jones work on Blake.

"I just hate to see these little ones in so much pain." In Appalachia, as many as one in every four young children still suffers from severe tooth decay. There are myriad reasons: Some rural water systems lack fluoride, many children drink unfluoridated private well water, infants

sometimes use nursing bottles too long. In addition, children have poor diets and inadequate oral

hygiene. The antidote, officials hope, is "Smart Smiles," a three-year program funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission and just getting under way.

With pediatric dentists in short supply in North Carolina's mountains, program organizers decided to turn to pediatri­cians and their nurses.

After receiving basic training in the simple procedure, they will be painting the teeth of hundreds of children under age 5 in 11 western North Carolina counties. "(They) see the kids with the bombed-out mouths," said Robert Leddy, regional dental health supervisor with the state Department of Health and Human Services, who attended the training session.

"This gives us huge access," said James W. Bawden, the former University of North Carolina dental school dean who came up with the idea for the program. He said treatment will be offered to children brought in for medical checkups.

Organizers know of no other program like it in the United States. The program's goal is to give high-risk children

dental care at an age when it can do the most good. Normally, Bawden said, most of the children wouldn't see a dentist until they were as old as 6 or 7. By then, tooth decay often is too firmly entrenched, he said.

"By age 2 or 3, most of these children have suffered considerable pain and often have swelling and fever from dental infections," Bawden said. "They have several teeth that need to be extracted and require extensive treatment to retain the rest of their teeth." With Blake sprawled across the lap of his mother, Renee Martin, Jones dried the boy's teeth with white gauze and then applied a coat of fluoride varnish.

"All done!" Jones said, surprised at the ease of the procedure. As Mrs. Martin sat Blake up in her lap, the other nurses broke into applause. Moments later, Blake's 3-year-old brother Cory underwent the same treatment.

After the yellow varnish dries, the teeth have a dull appearance, which lasts for about a day. Dentists recom­mend repeating the process every six months to restore the outer, fluoride-rich layer of tooth enamel.

While the pilot program initially targets just the I I counties, funding is being sought to expand the effort to all I 00 counties in the state. Organizers aren't certain whether the program will be expanded to other Appalachian states if it proves to be successful in North Carolina.

Leddy said that while ·'Smart Smiles" means extra work for pediatricians, they aren't complaining. ··we 're not twisting anyone's arms," he said.

''They want to do something." Doctors have seen enough advanced tooth decay in Appalachian children that they are happy to be armed with a countermeasure, said Leddy. "If treated early, we can actually reverse the decay process," he said. "If we can get them in on a regular basis, we can do a Jot."

TIJESDA Y, NOVEMBER 23, 1999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-7

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Q~d. g11.me decides New Mexico posts

RESERVE, N.M. (AP) - Flick-snap. Card to Jim Blancq. It was just a friendly game. except that it was held in the only courtroom in the Catron County Courthouse, and the dealer was District JU1;!ge Neil Mertz, come down o,ff the. bench in a business suit. He used a pocketknife to tear the cellophane off a deck of cards and began shuffling.

"All right," he said. "Seven-card stud, all up." With a flick of the wrist, the judge drew the first card and snapped it down hard in front of Blancq.

Except for a fussy baby, the crowd fell silent. It was about a big a crowd as you 're likely to get in a small town.

The Fishers had strolled over from Elkhorn Realty. Jess Carey of the 3-Trees Gun Shop set aside his distaste for court proceedings to at­tend.

The sheriff, the newspaperman, the county manager · indeed, nearly one-fourth of Reserve 's 400 souls were there.

But then, .the stakes were high. To the win· ner would go the post of magistrate judge of Catron, New Mexico's largest county (6,898 square miles along the Arizona border) though one of its smallest in population (about 3,000).

If that doesn't sound like much of a pot, consider it in terms any gambler can under­stand. With a salary of $53,500 a year, the job is one of the highest-paying in a county where the average annual income is $13,000, prima· rily from government employment and cattle ranching.

Over a four-year term that's $214,000, not including retirement and benefits. As Blancq puts it: "It wasn't just a little poker game." -Another flick of the wrist. Card to Lena Milligan.

The players had arrived at this point the way so many candidates in small-town elections do: Their race had been declared a tie. On Nov. 3, 1998, the returns initially had Ms. Milligan, 55, a cook at the senior citizens' center and the Democratic challenger, defeating Blancq, 62, a retired Navy pilot and the Republican incum­bent, 798 votes to· 797.

But the tally was reversed on recount, and Blancq took office. Ms. Milligan filed a law­suit challenging the results, and nine months later Mertz ruled the race a tie.

While even the Federal Election Commis­sion doesn't know the exact number, at least 15 states have laws providing for tied elections to be settled by lot, says Dick Smolka, publisher of the newsletter Election Administration Re­ports.

Flick-snap. Card to Blancq. In the case of Milligan vs. Blancq, Mertz ordered the parties to convene at 1 :30 p.m. Sept. 21 in the County Courthouse, a two-story brick building that is by far the tallest on Rcserve's Main Sti·eet. a badly paved road hugged by one motel, a bar and a handful of eateries.

With its shiny benches and bookcases stacked neatly with law books, the courtroom itself is modern enough but for the absence of air con­ditioning. Ceiling fans and three windows pro· vide the only circulation.

Mertz explained the "somewhat unusual" proceeding and asked each candidate and their party chairs to choose a method for breaking the tie. "Cut of a deck of cards · .high card ... Ms. Milligan proposed, with her party chair­woman concurring. B lancq had something else in mind.

"I would prefer to play one hand of seven­card stud poker, all seven cards up. You be the dealer," he suggested to Mertz. "The best five­card hand speaks for itself. We won't draw any cards."

Mertz pulled two decks of cards from his pockets. He also removed a package of dice and two half-dollars, confessing to the laugh­ing crowd, ''I made no provision for straws or other similar devices."

With that, he came down off the bench, ap· proached the couns!!l table· and prepared to deal. Flick-snap. Card to· Ms. Milligan. Not being a card player himself, the judge focu~ed hard on the deal, worried he'd fumble the deck.

The spectators, seated in four rows of b.enches behind the table, squirmed and squinted. "Call em out so we can hear em!" someone shouted. "All right," Mertz said. "So far I've dealt to Judge Blancq: three of hearts, queen of dia­monds. Ms. Milligan: IO of hearts, six of dia­monds." The audience settled back and lis­tened for the next card.

Blancq's wife, seated on the right side of the courtroom with her husband's supporters. bowed her head in prayer.

Ms. Milligan's kin, on the left side, simply watched. Flick-snap. "To Judge Blancq," Mertz intoned, ''three of diamonds: One pair." Blancq's face revealed nothing. He was. he thought to himself, surprisingly .calm.

But his faith in God had gotten him this far. and somehow he knew things would work out. He glanced at his wife. "Was she praying?" he wondered. He supposed so. Flick-snap. "To Ms. Milligan, two of diamonds."

Ms. Milligan drew in a breath as she studied the cards. He had a pair, but she could be on her way to a diamond flush with the six and two of diamonds in addition to her 10 of hearts. Her friends had persuaded her to run for this office, and she had thought it might be neat. Now she really wanted to win.

The butterflies in her belly stirred as Mertz drew the next card. Flick-snap. "To Judge Blancq, four of clubs." He still had one pair. Flick-snap. "Ms. Milligan, jack of diamonds.''

Another diamond! She needed just two more for a flush. Flick-snap. "Judge Blancq, queen of hearts." Two pair: threes and queens. Blancq had gained the upper hand. Flick-snap. "To·· Ms. Milligan, ace of hearts."

She had two hearts, the ace and the 10, and three diamonds, the six, two and jack. Com­pared with Blancq's two pair, she still didn't have much. Flick-snap. "To Judge Blancq, four of diamonds. ·

And Ms. Milligan, ace of clubs." Blancq now had three pair: queens, fours and threes. Ms. Milligan had one pair of aces. If she were to get one more ace, she could win with three of a kind. One more pair, and she could win with aces high.

"Just one more," Ms. Milligan thought des­perately. "One more." Blancq wasn't worried. He fully expected to get a full house: all he needed was another three. four or queen. Even if she got another ace or another pair. he would win.

Mertz paused and looked up at the two play­ers. "Th is' II be the final card, w i 11 it not'" he asked. "Mmm hmm." Ms. Milligan nodded. Flick-snap. "Judge Blancq. two of spades." It wasn't a full house, but he could still win with two pair · as long as she didn't get the right card.

Flick-snap. "Ms. Milligan. nine of diamonds ... - B lancq 's wife raised her head and thrust her arms in the air. "Praise you. Jesus! Thank you. Lord!" Ms. Milligan's husband and parents le ft the room.

From first cml lo last. the game took onlv a minute. 15 seconds. Still. in the words of o'ne New Mexico judge who presided over an eke· lion-deciding poker game in the 1970s. the episode can best be described as "a slow tor­ture."

Ms. Milligan would certainly agree. although time has made her a little less bitter and more philosophical.

"I just wasn't very lucky that day." Blancq still has the deck of cards, with his and Ms. Milligan's hands intact. He plans to display them in a shadow box, and one day tell his grandkids how grandpa won an election in a hand of poker.

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8-MAR!ANASV ARIETY ~ws ~ND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999_ ·~~ LOCAL

Lawmakers urged to take part in site selection By Marian A. Maraya Variety News Staff

"WHERE were our leaders when PSS [Public School Sys­tem] needed them to identify a large piece of land to build a second high school for our chil­dren?."

Board of Education (BOE) member Tom Pangelinan raised this question infront of other BOE members. parents. and concerned individuals during a recent BOE meeting.

Still undecided on the site for the planned second high school, BOE members are urging law­makers to take part in the site selection process.

"Earlier we issued letters to every representative and sena­tor, but out of the 27, only one came. Where were they when we needed to hear from them?" Board member Tony Pellegrino also said.

Rep. Heinz Hofschneider (R­Saipan). chairman of the House

Guam school hosts fundraiser

By Therese Hocog

Variety News Staff

HAGATNA - The Chief Gadao Academy (CGA) hosted its second annual Night with the Chiefs last night at the GATE Theater in Tiyan.

The concert was a fund raiser to benefit the academy.

Performers at the benefit con­cert include Jesse Bias. Ruby Santos. Patrick Palomo. Carlos Laguana and Friends. Hale and the CGA student choir.

began educating students on Guam back in 1994.

CGA aims to provide qual­ity education "in an atmo­sphere conducive to the de­velopment of the spiritual, in­tellectual. physical and social 1 ives of students.··

Committee on Health, Educa­tion, and Welfare (HEW) has expressed preference for Kagmanas a site for the planned high school.

"I am sure we could find a property there somewhere," said the legislator, in an earlier in­terview.

But Pellegrino said that more legislators need to come in and air their concerns since this is­sue greatly affects everyone.

Bothered by the leaders' "apa-

thy," towards the issue, Pangelinan expressed disappoint­ment that lawmakers are not as enthusiastic for this concern as they are with other issues.

"Most of Saipan 's prime pub­lic lands have been utilized for golf courses, hotels, land ex­change, and wildlife conserva­tion areas ... what about for our kids' schools?," he said.

Meanwhile, he further stressed that the site choices should not only be limited to the

two current sites being eyed (Capitol Hill and Koblerville).

Board members Pangelinan and Pellegrino at the BOE meet­ing last Friday both presented their sides on the feasibility of the mentioned sites.

But in the end, board members agreed the "actual" site did not matter as much as the general public's opinion on the issue.

The board is set to make a final decision on the site at the next board meeting on Dec. 9.

CGA is a non-profit educa­tional institution which first

CGA operates "in the belief that this purpose can be ful­filled through the knowledge and understanding of the an­cient Chamorro culture and the similarities between Chamorro culture and Chris­tian principles."

FIELD DAY. Eucon International School students spent Saturday with their family playing "sponge toss" and other games during the Eucon field day. Photo by Marian A. Maraya

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Bus wash for PSS buses By Marian A. Maraya Variety News Staff

THE PUBLIC School System (PSS) is embarking on a project which would provide PSS school buses with its very own automated bus cleaning service called the "bus wash."

PSS Administrative Ser­vices Officer Jess Sanchez said that the bus wash is simi­lar to the "car wash" concept where buses have to enter a room with sprinkling water and moving mops, and come out from the other side squeaky clean.

"It is like a car wash, so to speak, and they will have it constructed right next to the bus compound. All school buses and transportation fleet will be washed." Sanchez said.

"We really appreciate the ef­forts of the Board of Educa­tion members the Commis­sioner. as well as the adminis­tration of Mrs. Louise Concepcion in putting up this bus wash,'' he added.

Aside from the bus wash, PSS is also set to put up at least two shower rooms for the transportation fleet staff. according to Sanchez.

"So that when they finish washing their buses, they could go in there and rinse

themselves and change back to regular work clothes, to pre­pare themselves for the after­noon operations," he said.

"I sympathize with the bus drivers who are the first to be called to duty and being the last people to shut the door of PSS ... and they have endured much simpler facilities in the past... I thank them and I be­lieve that the services are well received, not just by the stu­dents but the parents of the kids that we support," said Sanchez.

Sanchez is also asking the community for more patience with regard to the some prob­lems they have with the trans­portation fleets.

"They are being mechani­cally addressed to ensure a sound and safo transportation fleet, when we pick up and drop our students to and from schools,'' he said.

Sanchez said that with the arrival of two regular buses and one special vehicle for students with disabilities on December, there would be less of these mechanical problems to address, although he added that getting seven additional new buses would be more than enough for PSS to give excel­lent busing services.

AIDS day walkathon THE National AIDS Committee will be holding a Walkathon this Saturday, November27,at6a.m. and will start at Kilili Beach to Thirteen Fisherman's Memorial and back approximately 3 miles.

The purpose of this is to sup­port those infected and affected by HIV and to increase awareness in the community.

Participation is free and everyone is encouraged to join in this effort.

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·COMMUNITY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-9

Accountants' group elects new officers THE MARIANAS Institute of Filipino CPAs elected on Sat­urday its new set officers for the new millennium at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe, a media release said.

MIFICPA 's newly elected officers are Nestor A. Alegre of Younis Art Studio/ Marianas Variety, president; Irene Tantiado of CTSI, vice president; Raquel Fajilan of Grace Christian Academy, secretary; Josephine Agpalo of Deloitte & Touche, trea­surer; Ariel Lingad of Micronesian Telecom mun ica­tion Corp., PRO; and Socnilo Villanueva of the Common­wealth Utilities Corp .. audi-

o r

Araceli Maraya of the Phil­ippine Overseas Labor Office delivered an inspirational mes­sage during the program.

In her speech, she encour­aged and challenged all par­ticipants to take the U.S. CPA examination.

She said her office and the Philippine Consulate are ready to support and assist the orga­nization on its undertakings and projects.

Waldo and Maraya were given plaques of appreciation for their support and assistance to the organization.

Maraya inducted the new of­ficers after the election.

The newly elected officers vowed to do their best in rep­resenting the organization in worthwhile undertakings.

The Marianas Institute of Filipino CPAs' newly elected officers were sworn in last Saturday.

The election coincided with the orientation seminar on U.S. CPA review and exami­nation conducted by Richard Waldo.

They also appealed to the members for their support and participation in upcoming projects and activities. includ­ing the CPA review.

NMI joins HIV prevention conf ere nee Waldo also made a presenta­tion on the statement of cash flow.

By Therese Hocog Variety News Staff

HAGATNA-Jackie Quitugua, program coordinator with the CNMI Public School System, said the participation of the Northern Marianas at a recent regional con­ference to integrate HIV preven­tion education spoke of personal commitment.

The conference held from Nov. 18 to Nov. 20 at the Pacific Star Hotel saw some 30 participants from the CNMI.

Quitugua said they had orga­nized themselves so thatthere was a school team consisting of ad­ministrators, counselors, teachers, and parents.

Church representatives and public health officials were also part of the group.

''The collaboration is to strengthen our comprehensive effort to do more in our preven­tion and education activities in the schools," Quitugua said.

According to Quitugua some individuals on the group had paid their own way to attend the con­ference.

"This truly speaks of personal commitment," Quitugua said.

Quitugua said because the confer­ence was geared to the Pacific region it benefited many in attendance.

"In our efforts to find solutions, we are looking at our data, revis­iting our conversations, reflect­ing on what we have done and what we need to do to make things even better for everyone-students, parents, the community,'' Quitugua said.

Reina Camacho, a health edu­cator with the CNMI's Division of Public Health, said the confer­ence can benefit the Northern Marianas by having those partici­pating actively take the informa­tion to their work sites and con­duct presentations on what was learned.

Oleai Elementary School prin­cipal Evelyn Manglona said when

· teaching younger children, edu­cators must be very careful and sensitive.

The children's comprehension is not as sophisticated as if they would be in middle school, Manglona said.

Manglona said the conference provided her with more informa­tion on HN/AIDS and that the accountsofindividuals living with HIV had a great impact on her.

"All the statistics and informa­tion provided are useful." said Manglona. "However, what is going to grab our people's atten­tion is someone tellingtheirstory."

AIDS committee to sponsor toy, food drive

THE National AIDS Committee is conducting a toy and food drive to provide those families and per­sons affected by HIV and AIDS with toys and food this holiday season.

The AIDS epidemic in the Northern Mariana Islands af­fects individuals and families on a daily basis. As World AIDS Day draws near (Dec. I), the National AIDS Committee is asking for your help.

The following items are needed: , New Toys for children from

toddler to 10 years of age; and • Non-perishable food items. Donors are asked to give only

new items that can be of use to the families. Toys and food can be dropped off at the Red Cross of­fice on Airport Road anytime Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Items will be ac­cepted through the end of Decem­ber.

All items will be forwarded to the National AIDS Committee and then distributed to those infected and affected by HIV.

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On Guam call: (671) 649-4678 or e-mail us al: yas@gtepaclflca.net

Office hours: 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

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10-MARIANAS v·ARIETY NEWS AND.VIEWS-TUESDAY~ NOVEMBER 2:(1999

Protest launched vs toxic waste

By Eric F. Say Variety News Staff

HAGATNA-The "Concerned Citizens for a Clean Environ­ment and Safe Community"' began a series of peaceful pro­tests yesterday at the bridge crossing the Agana River. which is believed to be con­taminated with toxic waste from the old Navy power plant in Mongmong.

All through the week the group will be holding protests at noon in various locations in Mongmong and Hagatfia cul­minating with protest at the Navy's office at Tiyan.

The protest is against the fed­eral government's alleged fail­ure to take necessary precau­tions protecting the local com­munity from exposure to poly­chlorinated biphenyls (PCB), said the group's spokesperson, former Sen. Angel Santos.

Santos said recent tests on

fish samples caught in the river show high concentrations of toxic chemicals as those found around homes near the Agaila power plant in Mongmong.

"The federal government should at least post warning signs in at least two locations along the river were many people fish," Santos said.

The locations are at the two bridges that cross the river, first near the GMTA bus com­pound and near the Bank of Guam Building.

The group, composed mostly of concerned Mongmong citizens, wants the federal government to conduct a complete clean-up of all pri­vate properties that are con­taminated with PCB 's.

Most of the residential lots that are situated across from the former Navy p5>wer plant have been found to be contaminated with the toxic chemical.

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Members of the Chamorro Nation and Organization for People of Indigenous Rights stage a protest on East O'Brien Drive in Hagatiia yesterday. . Pholo by Eduardo c. Siguenza

Fuel tax under·fire Variety News Staff

HAGATNA-AProposal to im­pose a 10-cent tax per gallon of diesel fuel sold to fishing tankers has come under fire from the island's business community.

Bill 248, introduced by Sen. Carlotta Leon Guerrero (R-

Sinajana) proposes to take out the tax exemptions for fuel purchases by tankers that refuel at sea while providing tax breaks for fuel.pur­chases by fishermen and farmers.

According to Leon Guerrero, there has been a 48 percent drop in revenue derived from the liq­uid fuel tax and taking out the fuel tax exemption for tankers could help boost GovGuam earnings from this revenue stream

Moreover, Leon Guerrero said boosting liquid tax revenue is important because this is the fund­ing source for the Guam Mass Transit Authority (GMTA), the island's highway bonds, and other essential GovGuam expenditures.

But the Guam ChamberofCom­merce, represented during the hearing by Chamber president Eloise Baza, believes that busi­ness activity in the maritime sec­tor may be affected if the tax exemption enjoyed by tankers is removed.

"The Chamber's position on Bill 248 reflects the concerns and recommendations of the members of the Chamber's Maritime Af­fairs Committee and our member wholesalers who project a decline

in business activity in their re­spective sectors if the liquid fuel tax exemption is removed by Bill 248," Baza testified.

If the fuel tax exemption is taken out as proposed in Bill 248's cur­rent form, Baza said the Chamber will oppose the bill in its entirety and recommend instead that the tax exemptions for local fisher­men and farmers be addressed in a separate bill.

Cecilia Terlaje, the public in­formation officer of Mobil Oil Guam, also testified against the bill, saying that the proposed tax could adversely affect the eco7

nomics of the fishing/tanker busi­ness and force large fishing op­erators to look outside Guam for their fuel supplies.

"Mobil Oil Guam believes that a new tax could result in reloca­tion of vessels to other areas in our region where taxes are lower and incentives are available. In addition, this proposed new tax will be detrimental to businesses furnishing provisions and supplies to fishing tankers as well as the Port Authority of Guam and other government agencies," Terlaje said.

Control sought on Fed money Variety News Staff

HAGA TN A-Sen. Ben Pangelinan (D-Barrigada) yester­day reiterated his request for Con­gressman Robert Underwood (D­Guam) to include language in Fed­eral legislation which would re­quire that funds reimbursed to Guam be subject to control by the Legislature.

Pangelinan said this is necessmy to bring accountability to govern­ment spending. Specifically. the senator wants the Legislature to have control over funds reimbursed to Guam for costs incurred in pro­viding educational and social ser­vices to immigrants from the former trust territories of Micronesia who enter and remain on Guam.

The Legislature's minority leader already introduced a reso­lution on the matter and this was overwhelmingly supported by other senators. But Pangelinan said no progress has been made so far in the U.S. Congress.

"Federal funds must be subject to local laws and undergo the proper appropriation procedures required of other local funds. This is essential to maintaining the checks and balances amon; the three branches, particularly be­tween the executive and legisla­tive branches," the senator ;aid.

According to Pangelinan, ac­tual Compact Impact funding is estimated to be between $15-20 million, three to four times what Guam has been reimbursed in past years and twice what is currently proposed in Congress for fiscal year 2000. Congress currently limits the use of the reimbursed money to specific capital improve­ment and infrastmcture projects.

"While we continue to work to­gether to permanently secure a proper reimbursement amount. we mu stat once ensure that any amount returned to the people of Guam is not expended to benefit a few spe­cial interests," Pangelinm1 said.

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P.AOIF•C ISLANDS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 199,9-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS A@_YIEWS-11

In Papua New Guinea

Direct election of premier proposed PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) - Former Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan has called for the people to be given the right to directly elect rhe Prime Minister.

Sir Julius, wholosthisNamatanai Open seat in 1997 general elec­tions made the suggestion when he

was asked to comment on the pro­posed Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates law.

Sir Julius, whose election peti­tion against Namatanai MP, Ephraim Apelis will go on trial next month in Kavieng said: "Any system other than having a Prime Minister directly elected by the

people wou Id still create too much opening for political manoeuvring and instability."

"The People's Progress Party under my leadership has suffered from parliamentary membership drain, yet we cannot legislate against our leaders conscience to move camps where they feel they

share common ideologies and can better serve their people from their allegiances," Sir Julius said.

"I believe the only way to go now is to have the Prime Minister elected by the people. This would entail creating a new electorate for PNG. The Prime Minister would normally serve his full term with

provisions for the Prime Minister to become caretaker in the event of death, ill health or resignation of the PM," Sir Julius said.

He added there should be "built­in" provisions for no-confidence motions or impeachment criteria wiih adequate checks and balances by a parliamentruy committee system.

Rabi· islander researches her past SUV A (Pacnews) - Rabi is­lander and Ph.D. student, Katerina Teiawa, has produced a 20 minute documentary film, what she calls a "poetic visual presentation" on the history and effects of phos­phate mining in her ancestral is­land of Banaba or Ocean Island.

Titled "Out of Phosphate: The DiasporaofOceanislanders", the film brings together rare footages and photographic stills from the archives of the British Phosphate Commissioners. Ms Teiawa was assisted in her film project by local photographer Willie Chung and Australian ethnographic film-

maker Gary Kildea. Over20milliontonnesofphos­

phate were taken from Ocean Is­land and fed to the agricultural industries of Australia and New Zealand from 1900 to 1979.

"Ocean Islanders were resettled from their homeland to Rabi Is­land by the British in order to facilitate the mining process. Phosphate from Ocean Island, however, was used to produce an agricultural boom in Australia, New Zealand and other colonial territories between the two world wars," Ms Teiawa said.

"The footage and photographs

I have collected show how luxuri­ous the facilities were during the height of colonial period. Today, Ocean Island is like a ghost town, with really rundown infrastructure.In a way, mining creates a reverse development process, it brings rapid develop­ment for a while and leaves you with nothing in the end." Teiawa. said.

Ocean Islanders were resettled to Rabi in Fiji in 1945 and 1947. They and their descendants account for 4,000 of Fiji's population.

They vote in the Fiji elections as General Voters.

Australian elected to UNESCO board SUV A (Pacnews) - An Austra­lian, Professor Kenneth Wiltshire has been elected into the UNESCO Executive Board at its general conference last week.

Since l946Australiahasserved on the Executive Board on five previous occasions, the last being from 1991 to 1995.

As a result of a one-off decision by the last session, there was a requirement to choose two of the eight members elected from the Asia-Pacific region to serve a two­year term.

Addt'l budget for

Kiribati gov't approved

TARAWA (Pacnews) - The Kiribati Parliament begins its last meeting of the year today with the approval of a supplementary ap­propriation bill to cover additional government expenditure until December 31, 1999.

The additional sum of A$5.7 million (US$3.6 million) has al­ready been withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund.

This means that the revised ap­propriation for Kiribati's recur­rent budget for 1999 amounts to $70,311,553 (US$44,86 ! )

The Consolidated Fund is a spe­cial fund where all government surplus money is deposited.

The fund was created before Inde­pendence and ha5 grown to almost A$30 million (US$19. l million).

It is different from the country's Reserve Fund of almost $600 million, which is invested in over­seas money markets.

The biggest additional expen­diture went to the outer islands development with more than $3 million (US$ I .9 million) and the MinistryofHealth with more than $1 million (US$640,000).

This was done to rectify an imbal­ance in the number of seats allocated among the regions of the world.

Professor Wiltshire is currently Chairman of the Australian Na­tional Commission for UNESCO.

Professor Wiltshire will be re­quired to attend meetings of the Executive Board in Paris.

It prepares the agenda. for the General Conference, examines the programme of work and corre­sponding budget estimates, and is responsible for the effective ex­ecution of Conference decisions.

These usually take place two or three times a year, normally in May and October.

The 58-member Executive Board acts as an administrative council for UNESCO.

Membership of the Executive Board will enable Australia and the Pacific region to provide direct input into the reform and revitalisation of UNESCO, including in areas of pmgramme and financial manage­ment, and in reforming relations be­tween the Director -General and the Executive Board.

AHOY THERE. A replica of Captain James Cook's "Endeavour" leaves Honolulu Harbor, bound for Kauai as part of its four-year around-the-world cruise. Cook sailed the "Endeavour" around the world in a famous 1768-71 exploration. The replica ship, built in Australia, carries 18 professional seamen and 34 volunteers. AP

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; f2:M,(RiANAS \rARIETY·NEwS AND'VIEWS-T01:SDA Y--NOVEM:BER 23'. l 99_9~~---~·· -· ~---· ·-~· --~. PACIFIC IShANEJS

Fiji OK's deployment of soldiers in Timor SUV A (Pacnews) - The Fiji Government has approved the deployment of 190 Fiji soldiers to East Timor as part of the Interna­tional Force in East Timor (INTERFET).

The Government made the de­cision after securing funding for the deployment from Australia, which is overseeing operations of INTERFET. The Fiji deployment will cost about $USS million ($US2.57 million).

INTEFET is a United Nations­mandated multinational force formed to address the deteriorat­ing humanitarian and security siru-

ation in East Timar. Commander Major General

Peter Cosgrove of Australia leads the unified command tasked to, among other things, restore peace and security in East Timar, pro­tect and support the United Na­tions Assistance Mission in East Timer (UNAMED in carrying out its tasks, and facilitate hu­manitarian assistance operations. . Fiji's Home Affairs Minister,

Jaji Uluinakauvadrasaid the onus is now with the Fiji Military Forces to make arrangements with the Australian High Commission in Suva on the date of deployment

PNG prime minister cites achievements

PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) - Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Sir Mekere Morauta says his Government has been able to achieve its economic stabilisation programme in just over one hundred days since coming into office -"something that no other Gov­ernment has been abk to do previously".

He was speaking at the Kumul Association (PNG students studying in Aus­tralia) in Brisbane enroute from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet­ing (CHOGM) in South Af­rica.

Sir Mekere said: "In our first hundred days we have suc­ceeded in rebuilding our rela­tionships with th; interna­tional community and with our development partners. We can now proceed with comprehen­sive economic reforms''.

"The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have supported our re­form programme with a $US300 million structural ad-

justment programme. They, together with our

other development partners, particularly the new Friends of PNG grouping, have also agreed to an additional $US200 dollars in extraordi­nary assistance.

These pledges, he said, dem­onstrate restoration of inter­national confidence in PNG and endorsement of our eco­nomic stabilisation programme "It has taken us just over 100 days to achieve something that no government has been able to do previously, over years."

"The government's reform programme is focused on the five key challenges I outlined to Parliament on the day we took office.

These are to build a lasting peace in Bougainville: to re­move, systematically, ob­stacles to growth and devel­opment; to stabilise the cur­rency and the national economy; to restore order to the national budget; and to strengthen PNG's institutions of state.".

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for the Fiji soldiers. "Initially we didn't have the

equipment nor the funds to pay for the allowances of the Fiji sol­diers to go to East Timer.

However, the Australian Gov­ernment is.willing.to pay for the logistics, including vehicles and tents, and the United States has agreed to take them to East Timer," he said.

The Minister said the Fiji sol­diers will continue to be paid sala­ries by the Government which will total about $FJ1.1 million ($US0.57 million) during the du­ration of the deployment

He agreed that the mission in· East Timor is not without danger, but said the Fiji soldiers will re­main part ofINTERNET until the end of the mission.

"The agreement for the deploy­ment says the Fiji soldiers will work until the expiry of the INTERFET mission, which will scale down its operations around January and February 2000.

At that time some troops of INTERFET will pull out." . "It will be a gradual change and .

the transition will take about three months. We have suggested that Fiji stay there right until the end

of this trans1t1on period after which a UN peacekeeping force will take over."·

Nineteen countries are. riow committed to INTERFET and personnel now number over

. 9,400,.includingabout4,500per­sonnel from coalition partners.

The countries involved are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Den­mark, France, Germany, Ire­land, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Philip­pines, Portugal,. Republic of Korea, Singapore·, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States.

GONE FISHING. An East Timorese fisherman works in the shadow of the USS Peleliu in the bi!i harbor. Fishermen have resumed fishing after an initial reluctance because of bodies that had washed ashore nearby and rumours that there were other bodies buried in the harbor. AP··

In Cook Islands

Report: Outgoing gov't offered car, pay rai.ses RAROTONGA(Pacnews)-The outgoing Government in the Cook Islands awarded Ministers cars and increased the amount of money payable to the official Opposition a day before they were voted out of office, the Cook Is­lands newspaper reported yes ter­day.

On Wednesday, Opposition Leader Dr Terepai Moate took over as Prime Minister after a vote of no confidence against Dr Joe Williams' Government, which had only been in office since for a

couple of months. Dr Williams had been Prime

Minister since July 28 after he unseated long-serving Prime Min­ister Sir Geoffrey Henry. The change of rule ended a 10-year reign by the Cook Island Party.

Papers leaked in Rarotonga af­ter no confidence vote allegedly show that on Tuesday when Dr Williams and his six ministers met as a Cabinet for the last time, they sold undervalued vehicles to themselves, gave a pay rise to the official Opposition, and paid for

Police say ex-militants behind rape of researcher

HONIARA (Pacnews) - Locals living in the western part of the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara are helping police hunt for a group of former militants who raped an elderly Japanese woman at the International Centre for Living Aquatic Research and Manage~ ment (ICLARM) at Aruligo.

Police Commissioner Rererangi Rangihika confirmed the woman was raped and robbed at gunpoint by a group of about six to eighr men on Friday evening.

The ICLARM Centre is in­volved in research into Clam farm­ing and has several overseas sci­entists based there. It is located a few kilometres west of Honiara.

The Commissioner confirmed

the group was led by former lead­ers of the militant group (Isatambu Freedom Fighters) - Harold Keke and Joseph Sangu.

The two were the original lcad­·ers of the militant group but Com­missioner Rangihika confirmed they had been sacked by the group because of their criminal activi­ties.

ll1ey were reportedly involved in intimidating their own people on Guadalcanal by making un­necessary threats and demands.

The Commissioner said the police now needs the co-opera­tion of the_ community and the Guadalcanal ProvinGial Govern­ment to bring Sangu .. and Keke into custody.

an overseas trip by Dr Williams and Sir Geoffrey.

They also allegedly approved the transfer of a Government car to the Opposition office which previously never had the use of a Government vehicle.

Incoming Finance Secretary, Kevin Carr said he had advised the new Government on the previous Government's moves.

In addition CruT has issued in­structions that no Governmentassts are to be sold over the next few days without his prior approval.

UN population fund gets

$2.4M SUVA (Pacnews)-The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has successfully se­cured $US2.4 million from the Turner Foundation for a reaional adolescent Reproductive Health (RH) project in the South Pacific.

This was announced at the end of the UNFPA sponsored Cairo conference Mid Term Review seminar in Nadi, Fiji last week.

The regional project aims to assist Pacific Island Countries (PlC 's) develop initiatives. which will provide a comprehensive range of reproductive and sexual health information and services t(\ ~d.olescent and youth of the Pac1f1c. ..

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999 ~MARIANAS VARIETY· NEWS AND vrnws~l3

Biggest ever protest against army school COLUMBUS, Ga., (Reuters) -Thousands of protesters filed into the military base housing the U.S. Army"s academy for Latin Ameri­can soldiers on Sunday in the larg­est demonstration to date against a school critics call a training ground for dictators and assas­sins.

"We do not want this school of war," the Rev. Roy Bourgeois, founder of the 9-year-old move­ment to close the School of the Americas at sprawling Fort Benning. "It can only be closed. It cannot be changed," Bourgeois said during a protest to mark the tenth anniversary of the murder in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests in which several graduates of the school have been charged.

Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her. l 5-year-old daughter. Of 26 officers charged in the slayings, 19 were School of th'e Americas graduates or former students.

Critics say the School of the Americas, which moved in 1984 from Panama to Fort Benning. about 85 miles ( 136 km) south­west of Atlanta, has turned out soldiers who violate human rights and are trained to battle their own people.

"We will keep coming back and back every year until this school is shut down," he said. Protest organisers estimated that about !0,000 people gathered at Fort Benning's main gate to demand the closure of the School of the Americas and that 4,800 people had made it inside the fort.

Thousands of protesters cross the entrance into Fort Benning, risking arrest in calling for the closure of the

The Pentagon has said 1980s school training manuals included torture. Former students of the school include former Panama­nian dictator Manuel Noriega, who is now serving a U.S. prison sentence for drug running, and former Argentine military dicta­tor Leopoldo Galtieri. Military officials say the school has helped advance democracy in Latin America and that it has reformed its curriculum to stress respect for human rights.

School of the Americas, because of human rights abuses committed by its graduates. AP

They were herded onto school buses by base security. Police had not issued an official estimate.

Abeu t 5,000 had attended a rally Saturday. Demonstrators chanted,

sang, listened to speakers and held a memorial funeral procession for people they say had died or been tortured by fonner students of the school.

Some carried cardboard coffins or white crosses. One splattered red paint. Actor Martin Sheen,

Expulsion flap divides Illinois town

DECATUR, Ill. (AP) - Every­one at the bus stop in downtown Decarur was getting along fine until talk turned to the school ex­pulsion controversy. Minutes later, a verbal dispute ended with the participants on opposite sides of the street, a physical symbol of the disagreement that has con­sumed this nonnally quiet blue­collar town.

Residents disagree over whetberthe school board was right to issue two-year expulsions for six students who were involved in a fist fight.

But most appearunited in wish­ing the debate had stayed within the city limits rather than expand­ing into a national issue. "It 'smadc a big, heated thing that's unnec­essary," Sheryl Wright said as she waited for the bus.

That "big, heated thing'' has been boiling for two weeks. The expulsions drew the attention of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who be­gan leading protests against the school .district. Under pressure, and on the advice of state offi­cials, the school board reduced the punishment to a one-year ex-

pulsion during which the students can attend alternative schools.

Since then, the board has dug in its heals and refused to budge, while Jackson and his Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition have refused to

· back off a demand that the stu­dents be given a chance to return to regular schools in January.

The standoff played out before the nation as a small army of camera crews, reporters and pho­tographers descended on the town.

There are few local fence-sit­ters. Wright, 38, said anything more than a few days' suspension is too harsh. At the other end of the bus stop a man spoke up to say he believes the board has been right all along.

He then stood and walked across the street. Leaders on both sides say this isn't a racial issue al­though all six expelled students and a seventh who resigned are black. But some of Jackson's sup­porters point out that the school board has only one black mem­ber. Meanwhile. some school dis­trict supporters say Jackson wouldn't have come to town had the expelled students been white.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, with expelled students Roosevelt Fuller, center; and Shawn Honorable. AP

who plays the U.S. president in a popular television show, drew the loudest cheers when he. made a mock proclamation closing the school.

"As the acting president of the United States, hence the com­mander in chief as well, I do

hereby decree that the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia, cease and desist opera­tions and disband forever, effec­tive immediately," he said.

The demonstration marked the tenth anniversary of the 1989 murders in El Salvador of six

"The school is unique, it's an absolutely precious commodity to the U.S. Southern Command," U.S. Marine General Charles Wilhelm, commander in chief of the U.S.SouthernComrnand,said in a recent Reuters interview.

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NATION. 14-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEM8ER 23, l 999 __

US investigators in Egypt to probe crash CAIRO,Egypt(AP)-Six U.S. investigators are in Egypt look­ing into the backgrounds of pas­sengers. crew members and any­on; who had access to the EgyptAirplane before Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, a senior Western diplomat said Sun­day.

The six investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board aJTived Friday to

"run through information. check facts, hist~ry ... records of the plane, individuals on board, who had access to the plane and some info1mation that can only be ac­cessed here." the diplomat saip on condition of anonymity. ·

All 217 people aboard the Boeing 767 jet died when it went down Oct. 3 l less than an hour after leaving New York for Cairo.

U.S. media reports last week speculating that the plane was

ValueJet trial enters second week

MIAMI (AP) - Carole Rietz tries to get an aisle seat in the courtroo~1. Feeling trapped te!Ti­fies her. but she doesn't want to miss the criminal u·ial of a jet maintenance company blamed for the ValuJet crash that killed her son.

The tJial of SabreTech and three fom1eremployees heads into its sec­ond week of testimony Monday.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the oxy­gen generators - which ValuJet wasn't authorized to carry as cargo - fueled the fire that brought the jet down. The report spread blame among the Federal Aviation Ad­ministration, ValuJet and the maintenance contractor, but it fo­cused on the now-defunct con­tractor, SabreTech.

crashed deliberately by one of the Egyptian co-pilots have angered many Egyptians and inspired the wrath of Egyptian media.

Some pro-government newspa­pers have published conspiracy theories implying U.S. authori­ties are blaming the crew to cover up sabotage or whatever really may have gone wrong.

But the Western diplomat said that U.S.-Egyptian relations are unaffected. "Popular perception

has taken a hit on both sides, but there has been no change at any level in intergovernmental rela­tions." he said.

"Egyptian officials are quite satisfied. with t~e cooperation in the investigation and we have not discerned the same sense of out; rage by the officials that has been evident in the media and on the street," the diplomat said.

On Friday, NTSB head Jim Hall denounced speculative media re-

ports about conversations taped by the cockpit's voice recorder. Sevi:ral news organizations quoted anonymous officials as saying the man in the co-pilot's seat, said to be Gameel El­Batouty; was heard saying on the tape: ··:r made my decision now. I put my faith in God's hands."The first sentence - since disavowed -about making a "decision" had spurred theories of a suicidal per­son at the airplane's controls.

The defendants are charged with a conspiracy to I ie on repair records in events leading up to the May 11. l 996. crash in the Florida Everglades. All 110 people on board were killed. including Howard Rietz. 21. an architecture student.

The company. a former subsidiary of St. Louis-based Sabre liner, argues that lax federal oversight and limited hazardous materials training are to blame and that it shouldn't be singled out as a scapegoat

If convicted, the men face up to 55 years in prison and $2. 7 mil­lion in fines. SabreTech, also charged with illegal tr;msporta­tion of hazardous materials and causing placement of destructive devices on an aircraft. could be ordered to pay up to $6 million plus restitution to the victims' families.

FUR PROTEST. Danielle Tessier of Boston holds a flaming replica of a Macy's credit card during a demonstration protesting the fur trade Sunday in Boston. Tessier and approximately 36 members of ~he Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade staged the protest outside the downtown Macy's as the holiday shopping season gets underway. AP

In four days of testimony last week. prosecutors laid out a timeline of events starting with Sabre Tech 's removal of explo­sive-triggered oxygen generators from a ValuJet airplane. its stor­age of those canisters without safety caps that cost pennies apiece. and its loading of the boxes labeled "empty" onto Flight 592 bound for Atlanta.

NASA predicts space outposts

Relatives of the victims have joined together in grief and lob­bying for safer flights.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP)- In a lecmre that sometimes sounded more like science fiction than sci­ence, a NASA official said the next era of space exploration will involve missions that last for years rather than weeks and will even-

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tually pave the way for manned probes to the planets.

Edward Stone, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Labora­tory, said he foresaw a network of orbiting communications satel­lites on Mars as well as rovers that

drive around for miles and con­struct the robotic outposts.

"It's a logical next step," he said Nov. 16. "But it will depend on the development of teohnol­ogy so that we can bring 'up there' back here through the power of

New probe to 'listen' to Mars PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -A NASA spacecraft set to land on Mars next month will attempt for the first time to capture the sounds of the Red Planet - using a $15 microphone connected to u chip commonly found in talking toys and telephones.

Unlike other instruments aboard the $165 million Mars Polar Lander, the Mars Microphone is privately funded and has no clearly defined scientific mission.

Its purpose is simply to capture the planet's noises, whether they be the whoosh of a dust devil, the crackle oflightning or the whirof sand blowing through the thin at­mosphere. Dead silence is another possibility.

Sponsors believe the 10-sec­ond sound bites it can record will further fuel the public's interest in an alien world that for years has been fodder for science fiction -and serve as a tool to teach the physics of sound.

"This is going to be another way of getting another sense on Mars - and a sense of Mars," said Louis Friedman, executive direc­tor of the Planetary Society, a private group that spent less than $50,000on the entire microphone project.

The microphone is the culmi- ·

nation of a quarter century of dreams, rejections, dismissal by some scientists and clever plan­ning.

Carl Sagan, the late planetary scientist who successfully fought for cameras on spacecraft in the 1960s, first proposed wiring a lander for sound during the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s.

But the idea never became a priority because scientists be­lieved other instruments such as thermometers and spectral ana­lyzers could provide more valu­able data. "With our knowledge of what you get out of listening to sound, how important is that rela­tive to other measurements?" said Joseph Boyce, the lander's pro­gram scientist at NASA.

"It's probably important. but not as important as temperature or pressure.··

Two proposals to wire wind­measurement experiments for sound were, rejected for the 1 ander mission. Friedman thought there might be another way.

After raising money from the group's 100,000 members, the society approached the Russian Space Research Institute, which was plucing that nation's first in­strument aboard the Mars Polar Lander.

jO I' I

I . NATION

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, l 999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-15

Clinton calls for sharing .wealth FLORENCE,Italy(AP)-Presi­dent Clinton, worrying about "people and places that are com­pletely left behind," called on pros­perous nations Sunday to spread global wealth by helping poor coun­tries with Internet hookups, cell phones, debt relief and small loans. "How can we continue to grow the economy?" Clinton asked.

"You can bring investment to the places that are left behind." In a spectacular 14th century Re­naissance palace with frescoed ceilings, Clinton spoke a ta "Third Way" gabfest with five like­minded world leaders.

They ta! ked for hours about how to spread the benefits of the 21st century's global economy and technological marvels.

The Third Way is billed as a middle ground between the poli­tics of the left and the right - a system of governance that pro­motes entrepreneurs and trade and protects the less fortunate. Join­ing Clinton were Italian Premier MassimoD'Alema,BritishPrime Minister Tony Blair, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique

In New Hampshire

President Clinton talks to Bulgarians after arriving.at the airport in Sofia, Sunday. Clinton is the first American president to visit Bulgaria in 98 years of bilateral relations. AP

Cardoso, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and German Chan­cellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Before the session, Clinton ig­nored pouringrainand tookaquick

walk along the Arno River toward the Ponte Vecchio, a 14th-century structure that is the city's oldest bridge and the only one to escape destruction in World War II.

Later, Clinton headed for B•·'. garia, the fourth stop on a I 0-day. six-country trip. It was the first presidential visit to the former Soviet bloc state · nd was intended

to highlight the problems and the progress of the Balkans.

'The tight security measures in Sofia upset many Bulgarians, who said the restrictions were worse than when top Soviet leaders came to to.wn more than a decade ago. Bulgaria has won recognition in the West for its ethnic tolerance and peaceful transition from com­munist rule.

Clinton spent less than 24-hours in Florence - much to the dismay of his entourage. The city is one of the great art capitals of the world, the place that nurtured Michelangelo. Dante and Leonardo Da Vinci.

It also is known for its fashion­able shops. AITiving here late Saturday. the pr~sident drew par­allels between the advances of the Renaisssance and the changes. wrought by the technological age.

Expanding on that theme Sun­day, Clinton. cited the "digital di­vide" of haves and have-nots. "The people who have access to the Internet and technology have enormous advantages and it has to be closed," he said.

Gore leaving no stone unturned Bush says he'll not

meet with gay group KEENE, N.H. (AP) - Memo from Al Gore to New Hampshire's undecided voters: Come with questions, wear comfortable shoes. "Use this evening to purge yourself of any doubt," the vice president said, inviting queries Friday night from Keene residents standing elbow to elbow in attor­ney Kip Weeks' living room.

More than an hour later, as some slipped out through the dining room, and others maneuvered for a scrap of wall to lean against, Gore allowed, 'Tm getting some body language that maybe people are ready to shift to the one-on­one questions."

He took a final puzzler on the

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environmental impact of traffic roundabouts vs. something called a traffic trumpet, then lingered another 30 minutes for individual conversations. A once-peppy campaign volunteer rolled her eyes and loud! y exhaled in exas­peration. Gore is the last to leave his own parties these days.

Call it his leave-no-stone-unturned strategy for beating the equally oere­bral Bill Bradley for the Democratic presidential nomination.

After campaigning most of the year from behind a vice presidential lec­tern, and seeing his onoe-presumed nomination degrade to a wide-open question, Gore also is using these open forums to establish himself as a

leader in his own right-out of Presi­dent Clinton's shadow.

At a Saturday forum in the caf­eteria of Concord's Dame School, Gore responded to a question about his "one weakness" by say­ing that fortoo Jong on the stump, he worried about contradicting Clinton administration policy.

"I think it's a weakness as a presidential candidate and cer­tainly would be as president, if I didn't shed myself of that, which I have," Gore said. ·'What you want to know is, what is my own spontaneous reaction to what comes up? What is my judgment?" But Gore can get carried away in these freewheeling exchanges.

WASHINGTON (AP) George W. Bush, appearing re­laxed and composed in his first live Sunday talk show interview, said he probably would not meet with a gay Republican group.

"I don't believe in group thought, pitting one group of people against another," the GOP presidential front-runner said from the Texas governor's mansion. He offered no new policy initiatives as he sought to reinforce his readiness for the White House.

"I will bring honor and dignity to the White House, just like I've done as the govemorofTexas," he said, emphasizing the theme of his

Mo1oriola LS7SO

latest commerical in New Hamp­shire. A top rival. Arizona Sen. John McCain. who has met witll the Log Cabin Republicans. said the GOP is a party of inclusion in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln.

Publisher Steve Forbes said he was "open'' to a meeting with the group, the Log Cabin Republi­cans.

Bush touched on affirmative action, Social Security. HMO re­form and other topics during his hourlong interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." Eagerto project his. fitness for the Oval Office. Bush seemed confident and pre­pared for the questions.

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16-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBE~R_±c,23,'.,_,~19~9z_9 _______ _

Texas university victims mourned COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-Classmates. families and friends gathered in churches Sun­day. quietly sobbing and praying for the 12 people killed when a four-story pyramid of logs col­lapsed at Texas A&M University.

At A&M United Methodist Church. a youth minister recited the names of the dead. A man and a woman lit 12 small white candles. Tim Kerlee Jr .. who of­ten attended the church. was one of the collapse victims.

The Aggie spirit is strong. se­niorpastor Charles Anderson told the congregation. But ''the spirit of Ag:gieland is not enough.'' Lo­cal. ~state and federal ~fficials planned to meet Monday to map out an investigation strategy.

A pallbearer, right, is comforted after funeral services for one of the 12 people killed at Texas A&M University. AP

But Anderson said the answers would do little to comfort those left behind. ··Answers won't hold your hand," he said.

"Answers won't hold you in their arms, and answers will not

sit by your bedside on a sleepless night." Three of the victims were buried Sunday. In Katy, near Houston, a funeral was held for Christopher Lee Heard, 19, a pre­engineering major who planned to become a Navy SEAL like his father.

Jamie Hand, 19, an environ-

NORTHERN MARIANAS COLLEGE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The Northern Marianas College is soliciting competitive sealed proposals from qualified individuals or firms for the following:

RFP No. 00-025 Satellite Antenna and Radio Equipment Maintenance

lntere~ted individuals or firms may pick up the specifications/ scope of work at NMC Procurement Office, Building L, As Terlaje Campus, Saipan, during working hours (7:30 a.m. to 4:30p.m.)

Proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked: RFP 00-025 Satellite Antenna and Radio Equipment Maintenance to Procurement Office, Building "L" no later than 4:00 P.M., Monday, November 29, 1999.

The Northern Marianas College reserves the right to reject any or all proposals for any reason and to waive any defects in the proposals if determined by the College to be in its best inter­est. All proposals shall become the property of NMC. For additional information, please call NMC Procurement at 234-6128 extension 2300, 2301, 2302.

/s/ JGNACIA B. VILLALUZ Procurement Officer

<!Commonb:Jealtb Wtilities <!Corporation JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

IT IS THE POLICY OF THE COMMONWEALTH UTILITIES CORPORATION (CUC) THAT TIIE cue MERIT I/IRING SYSTEM SHALL BE APPLIED AND ADMINISTERED ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL OPPORTUNl1Y FOR ALL CITIZENS AN_D NATIONALS AS DEFINED BY TIIE NORTHE/1.N MARIANAS COMMONVrEALll/ CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE. SEX, RELIGION, POLITICAL AFFILIATION OR BELIEF, MARITAL STATUS, HANDICAP OR PLACE OF ORIGIN. Job Vacancy No. 00-002 Opening Date: li/12199

Closing Date: 11/26/99

INTERNAL AUDITOR DUTIES: Primarily responsible for the overall internal audit of CUC, reviews the reliability and integrity offinancial and operating infonn?tion and the m~ans used to identify, measure, and report that mfonnat1on. _Reviews the ope~uons or programs to ascertain whether results are consistent w1(h estab!Ished objectives and goals and whether operations or programs are bemg earned out as planned. SUBJECT TO PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENING.

LOCATION: COMMONWEALTH UTILITIES CORPORATION, SATPAN

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: BS degree_ in Account_i~g or equivalent. At least five (5) years experience in external or internal aud1tmg; .at least three (3) years experience in electronic spreadsheets and word process mg software.

STARTING SALARY: $32,250.00 to $37,200.00 per annum. Salary will be detennined upon experience and qualifications.

Applications are available at the CUC Saipan, or the CUC RoL1 orTinian offices. Copy of diploma and/or official transcript and recent pohce clearance must be attached

and submitted no later than the closing date.

FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS WILL RESULT lli..A,lITOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION.

An F,nuaJ OnlN)rtunitv Emulover

mental design major and artist who sang at her church, was buried ';iear her home in Henderson.

And in Austin, services were held for Christopher Breen, 25, an A&M graduate who had re­turned to help pass on the bonfire traditions.

Starr's star power as

lawyer waning

Kenneth Starr

NEW YORK, (Reuters) Former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr would take a 60 percent pay cut if he decides to return to his old law.firm, an indi­cation that his former partners doubt his ability to recruit new clients, The New Yorker maga­zine reports in its Nov. 29 issue.

When Starr left the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in 1998, he was at the top of the salary range for partners, now about $2 million a year, according to excerpts from the article.

But Starr was recently offered a job at Kirkland & Ellis "at the .. bottom of the partner salary range,'' or about $800,000, The New Yorker reports.

In addition, the magazine cites a person involved in the discus­sions as saying the law firm wants to impose further restrictions on Starr, who left the law firm to prepare evidence for impeach­ment proceedings against Presi­dent Bill Clinton over his rela­tionship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

"He's not allowed to come back for six more months," that person is cited as saying. "And when he does become a partner again he's not allowed to give any more speeches."

"The idea is, he's welcome to come back here to practice law but not to go on being a political figure."

.. : · .. · · .. ·NAT-tON

· · New~ Digest 4 university buses

crash, 2 die WHITE HA VEN, Pa. (AP) - Four charter buses loaded with Penn State University students crashed on a foggy interstate early Sunday, killing a student and a bus driver and injuring at least 106 people, authorities said.

The four buses were among six carrying 280 students home frorri a shopping trip to New York, officials said. .

University President Graham B. Spanier said the buses hit a "very thick wall of fog" while traveling on Interstate 80 just after midnight.

The ensuing chain-reaction wreck involved three of the buses smashing into one another with a fourth hitting a guard rail. A pickup truck and two cars also became tangled in the wreckage, officials said.

The bus driver who died, Robert Clifford Burge, 50, of Altoona, was in the second of the four buses.

4 die in Indiana shooting ANGOLA, Ind. (AP)-A man who was thrown out of an apartment in a domestic dispute returned with a gun early Sunday, killing three people and injuring two others before shooting himself to death, officials said.

A Steuben County sheriff's deputy who engaged in a shootoutwi!h the suspect was among the wounded, Sheriff Joel Working told radio station WLKI.

Working said the suspect took his own life as other law enforcement officers closed in. Inside the apartment, police found two men dead and two women seriously injured. One of the women later died at a hospital in Fort Wayne, where the other was listed in serious condi­

tion. Authorities did not immediately release their identities. Deputy

John Araque was in fair condition at Cameron Hospital in Angola, which is about 40 miles north of Fort Wayne. Working said the man apparent! y had been thrown out of the apartment in a domestic dispute and had threatened to come back with a gun and shoot everyone.

School rifle teams in spotlight LYNBROOK, N.Y. (AP)-There's a what in the school basement? That was the reaction many people had earlier this month when test results revealed high levels of lead in the Marion Street Elementary School, emanating from a basement rifle range.

It seems that for decades, the Lynbrook High School rifle teams used it for target practice and competition - a notion that alarmed parents who had fresh memories of school shootings in places like Littleton, Colo., and Springfield, Ore.

School officials in Lynbrook headed off a petition drive by parents and closed the rifle range following a three-day cleanup; the team now practices at a range off campus. It follows the lead of schools in places like Chicago, Arlington, Va., and elsewhere, where school-based rifle teams and rifle ranges have been shut down.

Charles Tacke, a rifle coach on Long Island fornearly 25 years, says there's no cause for alarm, contending that instructing students in the proper use of firearms is the surest prevention for tragedy.

Cops use satellite to track suspect SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)- When Brad Jackson said his 9-year-old daughter disappeared without a sound from his front yard early one school morning, police were skeptical. Blood stains on Jackson's size-I 1 athletic shoes and Valiree 's sheets added to their suspicions.

And Valiree's mother, Roseann Stone Pleasant, had disappeared just as mysteriously in 1992. So when the trail grew cold, investigators turned to the digital-age version of a bloodhound. a space-based tracking system that made the 33-year-old truck driver unwittingly li:ad them to clues.

A week after Valiree's Oct. 18 disappearance, detectives obtained warrants to search Jackson's white-and-brown 1995 Ford pickup.The vehicle was soon returned - but with hidden cargo.

Police had attached Global Positioning System devices - satellite­linked transmitters commonly used by boaters, hikers and the military for navigation - that allowed them to track Jackson's movements for the next 18 days.

Fruit virus makes 1st appearance STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - No one knows just how the destructive plum pox virus found its way to North America. Perhaps a home gardener returning from Chile slipped a few peach tree buds in a bag and smuggled them in, not willing to wait the year or two necessary to clear the U.S. quarantine.

No one knows, because even the culprits would not have realized they were carrying infected plants.

The fruit tree virus showed up in a cluster of central Pennsylvania orchards in October - the first appearance anywhere on the continent - and has quickly sowed fear in growers around the nation. The only cure is to bulldoze and bum the infected trees.

''People are very disturbed about it, very uncertain," said John Peters, co-owner of four farms that has tested positive for the virus. Like many growers, Peter had never heard of it before October.

.;j 'I,'.

il1¥fittPPINES/AS1A ~---TUE~=S=DAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999-MARIANAS_yARIETY NEWS ANI>_:YJ~WS~17

US qrges return of E. Timor refugees JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)­A senior U.S. envoy opposed calls for martial law in troubled Aceh province Sunday and urged Indonesia to expedite re­patriation of East Timorese refu­gees.

"We would be delighted if 150,000 refugees in West Timor just got up and went home," said visiting U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke. ·1.

"But they are being prev~nted

from doing so by intimidation, by misinformation, by gangs of people who call themselves mi­litias but are thugs." Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said he had asked President Abdurrahman Wahid to speed up the return process.

The refugees fled East Timar after Indonesian troops and mili­tiamen went on a burning and looting rampage after the East

Ti morese voted for independence Aug. 30in a U.N.-supervised bal-lot. ·

Following the arrival of inter­national peacekeepers on Sept. 20, many militiamen also fled to WestTimor, where U.N. officials have accused them of terrorizing refugees in the camps and hinder­ing their repatriation.

Later Sunday, Holbrooke and his delegation left for West Timor to visit the camps. On

Monday, he is scheduled to chair a meeting at a frontier crossing between Indonesian officials and top U.N. administrators in East Timor.

"We hope to establish on the border a joint border commission, which will enable more rapid pas­sage of the border and less intimi­dation as they cross," said Holbrooke. He pointed out that some 800,000 ethnic Albanian refugees had managed to return to

Kosovo within three days after the end of NATO bombing of Serbia.

In contrast, Holbrooke noted, only70,000refugees have crossed into East Timor since Sept. 20. Fears of a "show of force" by militia gangs when Holbrooke visits the border town of Atambua on Monday have prompted the Indonesian army to place a battal­ion on standby, a military spokes­man said.

Japan's Obuchi to hold off election

TOKYO, (Reuters)-Prime Min­ister Keizo Obuchi will try to ride out a dip in support for his cabinet by holding off a general election until the fiscal 2000 budget is passed next year, a senior politi­cian said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

SUMMIT SITE. Carpenters carry boards with the ASEAN logo as they rush to finish a signboard in Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. Manila will be the site of the third ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) informal summit later this week. AP

Yoshiro Mori, secretary-gen­eral of Obuchi's Liberal Demo­cratic Party (LDP), said on a na­tional Fuji TV programme that the party "did not want to muddy the political waters" by calling an election before the budget is passed, which is expected next spring.

Obuchi, who must call an elec­tion by next October, has seen his popularity ratings plummet since a third party was added to his coalition last month.

Opposition parties have called for an early poll so the public can voice its views on the new coafi­tion, and the media has quoted an LDP leader, Taku Yamasaki, as saying a snap poll should be called if the Liberal Party decides to bolt the alliance. WTO entry mixed

blessings for China A poll by the national daily

Mainichi Shimbun earlier this month found support for the Obuchi cabinet dropped by· 16 percentage points to 32 percent after he brought the Buddhist­backed New Komeito Party into his coalition.

Political observers generally believe Obuchi will hold the elec­tion some time after next July's Group ofEight (08) leading pow­ers summit, which Japan will host, and before the October deadline. BEIJING (AP) - Beside the

cheery, ruddy-cheeked farmers selling baskets of bright orange persimmons, carpenter Chan Yinmiao cut a forlorn figure sit­ting by the side of the road on a Beijing overpass, waiting in the wind for work.

Butwhentalktumedtothebreak­through trade deal his government struck with the United States this week, he brightened up.

Chan's family, hundreds of miles away in eastern China, cul­tivates rice. He hopes the trade deal will open up lucrative export markets for their crop. "The more the market opens. the more op­portunities we 'II have to make money," Chan said.

In Taiwan

Excitement in China about the deal, which marked a major milestone in China's campaign to join the World Trade Organi­zation, extends beyond those who hope to measure its ben­efits in dollars, cents and im­proved trade figures.

Some hope entry into the group that makes the rules for world trade will also spur improvements in human rights, legal reforms and. eventually, progress toward democracy. "Economic opening will bring political opening," said veteran Beijing democracy cam­paigner Ren Wanding.

"A free and private economy forms the base for a democratic system.

Presidential candidate wants expanded Chinese trade TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - A presidential candidate wants to scrap restrictions on investment in China, news reports said Sun­day - another indication that he would forge closer ties with the mainland if elected.

CuJTent policies aimed at dis­couraging investment in China dash with the global trend of break­ing down economic barriers, the China Times quoted independent candidate James Soong as saying at a campaign rally Saturday.

Soong .said the restrictions,

along with a ban on direct trade. transportation and communica­tion with China. will be hard to maintain once Taiwan joins the World Trade Organization.

Taiwan is expected to join the rule-making body for interna­tional trade soon. Taiwan's ruling Nationalists have placed limit; on the amount of money Taiwan­ese companies can invest in China and banned them altogether from participating in major projects like power plants and transportation infrastructure.

IN LOVING MEMORY

Mary Margaret Hanley January 6, 1926 - Noyember 17, 1999

Joins Husband: Joseph R. Hanley Son: John T. Delafield

Daughter: Mary Carol Delafield

Survived By Children: David Lee Delafield, Kathryn J. Delafield and Garry Lee Evilsizer Former Husband and Spouse: David D. Delafield; and Marianna C. Delafield

Grandchildren: Joshua and Becky Delafield, Jesse Delafield, David Lee Delafield, John S. Delafield, Leigh Delafield, and Rebecca Delafield

Adopted Family: Merced V. and Rafael M. Reyes and family: Antonia V. Reyes (Jeannae and Joseph) Roman V. and Frances M. Reyes (Kisha, Tambra, Rocco)

Angel V. and MargmetF. Reyes (Angel,Sedonia, Eugenio and Katelynn) Cynthia Rand Rick DLC Camacho {Dionne, Rikki) Jerome V. Reyes and Tricia D. Diaz,

Patrick V. Reyes, Levonne V. Reyes

Final Rosary will be held on Wednesday, November 24. 1999 at 4:30 p.m. followed by a mass at San Jose .Church at 5:00 p.m. · ...

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Ht-MARIANAS V ARIE'I'Y NEWS AND VIEWS• TUES DA y, Ne>VEMBER23, 1999 WORt.:fJ'

S. Africa called beacon for gay rights NELSPRUIT, South Africa (AP) - Bernalee Rabeira, a 26-year-old makeup artist with a daz­zling smile, was crowned the sec­ond Miss Gay South Africa in a drag queen contest that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.

The pageant, held Saturday night in a conservative farming hub near Kruger National Park, caused hardly a ripple other than a few irate statements from a local minister - testament to how far South Africa has come since the rigid morality of apartheid, when homosexuality was illegal and gay

people were often harassed. Even more so, it illustrated how

South Africa has become a bea­con for gay rights in a region where governments are showing themselves increasingly. ho­mophobic.

In southern Africa, leaders of Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have denounced homosexuality in recent years. · Condemnation came from the

presidents of Kenya and Uganda in September. Homosex"uality re­mains deeply taboo in central and west Africa, where incidents of harassment occur periodically.

18 feared drowned in Nile River

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) (AP) - Rescuers searched Sunday for 18 people feared drowned when their boat hit a rock in the Nile River and cap­sized.

Many of the victims, who included two children, six women and l O men, were re-1 ated, said Fathi Khalil, a law­yer and family member of two of the victims.

recovered by Sunday evening, but rescue teams made up of local residents and nearby army units were still search­ing, Khalil said.

..Four men and a woman were able to make it to a small isle," he said.

African bishops at the Angli­can Church's once-a-decade con­ference in England last year helped push through a denunciation of homosexuality as "incompatible with scripture." Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, famous for saying that homosexuals are "lower than pigs and dogs," was accosted by gay activists in Lon­don in October.

He said government-backed "gangster gays" were behind the attack, and demanded an apology - in vain - at the Commonwealth summit this month.

The climate could not be more

different in South Africa, where former president Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters culti­vated an atmosphere of tolerance after the end of white minority rule.

The new constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Courts have struck down apartheid-era laws that banned even casual contact that could be construed as homo­sexual.

And recent legal decisions rec­ognize same-sex partnerships for health insurance and pension rights, said Evert Knoesen, head

of the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality.

'Three other landmark cases are pending. A Pakistani coup!~ and Ugandan doctor have applied for asylum in South Africa, claiming· they. face persecution at home because they are gay.

"There's nothing subtle about it. They a·re arresting people (in Uganda)," the doctor said in an interview, speaking on condition that his name not bt, disclosed.

He says South Africans accept him, but he still fears harassment. 'Tm not going back. That's all. They can put me in jail here.

The accident took place Fri­day near the Egyptian border, about 450 miles north of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

None of the bodies had been

"As the area is rarely fre­quented by boats in the evening, they spent the night in that cold area until Saturday morning, when they saw a fishing boat that brought them to shore and brought the sad news with it." No other details about the acci­dent were available.

PRAYING FOR RAIN. Jordanians participate in special Muslim prayers in Amman for rainfall in the parched Arab country. The prayers are taking place in many different cities in Jordan following calls from clergymen to save the country from a severe drought. AP

Iranian pilgrims visit holy sites in Iraq

Jordan King pardons Hamas officials

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran reopened its border with Iraq on Sunday, allowing 800 pil­grims to cross into Iraq for the first time in almost a year, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Iran closed its border with Iraq last December during the U.S. and British airstrikes against Iraq because it feared for the pilgrims' safety.

In July 1998, Baghdad agreed to allow 12.000 Ira-

nian pilgrims to visit the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala each month.

Those visits were the first by Iranian pilgrims since a U.N.-brokered cease-fire ended the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.

Another 3,000 Iranians are expected to travel in the next few weeks to the holy shrines, sacred sites for Shiite Mus­lims and second only to holy shrines in Saudi Arabia.

AMMAN, Jordan (AP)- King Abdullah II on Sunday pardoned 25 officials of the militant Pales­tinian group Hamas who were accused of illegal political activi­ties in Jordan. Four of those re­leased were sent to Qatar, appar­ently to live in exile.

Under a deal struck with the government, the group must keep its Jordanian offices closed and prohibit its members from par­taking in Hamas activities inside the kingdom. "The case ofHamas is now considered closed after His Majesty the king decided to

INTERFAITH. The Dalai Lama, second from right, helps to hold upa candle representing peace with other religious leaders on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. From left, Imam Wallace Dean Muhammad, Archbishop Ngada, president of the Federation of African Churches, the Dalai Lama and Rabbi David Rosen. AP

pardon all of the group's activ­ists," Prime Minister Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh said.

Jordan has come under pres­sure from the United States, Is­rael and the Palestinians to re­strain Hamas. The group of activ­ists were eventually rounded up and charged with illegal political activities and affiliating with a banned group.

Hamas is opposed to peace with Israel and advocates its annihila­tion. It is also critical of Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with the Jewish state. Hamas has claimed scores

of deadly attacks on Israeli tar­gets in the last 10 years.

Rawabdeh said fourofthe lead­ers were sent to Qatar after con­sultations between King Abdullah and Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Al Khalifa Al Thani.

T.he prime minister declined to name the four, but officials speaking on condition of ano­nymity said they were Hamas political strategist Khalid Mashaal, party spokesman Ibrahim Ghosheh and politi­cal bureau members Izzat Rushoq and Sarni Khater.

Palestinian police block workers KHAN YUN IS, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian police joined ac­tivists in stopping thousands of Palestinians from going to work in Jewish settlements Sunday, prompting a counter-closure by Israel that confined hundreds of Palestinians to their home villages. Meanwhile, Palestinian and Is­raeli negotiators failed to resolve a dispute over the location of a West Bank troop withdrawal that was to have taken place last week.

Angry at settlement expansion in territory where the Palestinians hope to establish a state, activists from a Palestinian anti-settlement group pitched tents at two cross­ing points between the Palestin­ian-controlled and Israeli-con­trolledareas of Gaza, while plain­clothes police closed both check­points.

"W c aim to prevent all workers from going to the settlements so long as they are on the map," said Hassan Shaaban, an activist leader.

In June, Palestinian police con­ducted asimilaroperation. block­ing workers from reaching their jobs for several days. ~

By early morning, about 700 workers were waiting at the en­trance of the Gush Katif settle­ment. where about 5,000 Pales­tinians work. Police lifted the hloc ka<le only at noon. too late for the workers to get to their jobs.

The Israeli army retaliated by temporarily stopping about 2,500 Palestinians who live in the Is­raeli-controlled area from leav­ing their villages. Workers said the blockade was depriving them of their livelihood.

·{ .. i

WORLD.· TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, )999-MARIANAS'VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-19

Chechens brace for Russian attack SLEPTSOVSKA YA, Russia (AP) - More than 5,000 rebels have barricaded themselves in the Chechen capital. bracing for a Russian offensive as federal troops close in after weeks of re­lentless shelling, military officials said Sunday.

On Chechnya's borders, refu­gees pushed through wet snow and a damp wind to flee the breakaway republic.

oil refineries and fuel stations sell­ing oil stolen from pipelines from the Caspian Sea, the military com­mand said.

They al so targeted suspected guerrilla positions in the towns of Bamut, to the westofGrozny,and Argun and Urus-Martan, east and south of the capital. Despite mounting criticism from the West, Russia has not scaled back its offensive in Chechnya, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ruled out any easing of the intensity of the "anti-terrorist operation."

'·There will be no pauses,'' he said in an interview on national television Saturday night. Chechnya has effectively been beyond Moscow's control since Russian forces withdrew at the end of a 1994-96 war.

Most were on foot, though some crossed in cars sagging with sweaters, pots and blan­kets. Russian ·forces have the capital, Grozny, 80 percent sur­rounded and were trying to com­plete the circle by advancing on the towns of Urus-Martan and Achkhoi-Martan to the south and southwest, a Defense Min­istry spokesman in Moscow said Sunday.

In some places, the Russians were as close as 3 miles from the city, said the press center of the Russian command in the northern Caucasus.

Refugees from Chechnya cook on a campfire in a refugee camp near Sleptsovskaya, 31 miles west of Grozny. These refugees, who are among nearly 200,000 who have fled the fighting in Chechnya, are Jiving in the railway cars. AP

Moscow says its latest cam­paign is aimed at rooting out Is­lamic militants blamed for terror­ist acts around Russia, and insists it is targeting rebel fighters, de­spite claims from human rights groups and Chechens that the ci­vilian toll has been high. Ground combat has rocked eastern Chechnya in recent days.

The Defense Ministry spokes­man said 5,000-6,000 militants were taking up positions in

Grozny to prepare for the Russian offensive.

Grozny has been a key focus of Russia's military campaign in Chechnya since it began in Sep­tember.

Vote could change Russian politics

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's sometimes chaotic parliament is one of the country's loudest and cockiest political players. It's also toothless, backing off from fight after fight with President Boris Yeltsin.

Now lawmakers have a chance to change their weakling image. Voters elect a new State Duma, the lawmaking chamber of par­liament, on Dec. 19 in an election that could transform the face of Russian politics.

Analysts expect centrists to gain a stronger hand in the Duma, put­ting pressure on the Communist Party to leave aside ideological squabbling and compromise on issues. At the same time, Yeltsin will be in a weaker position as the last few months of his final term wind down.

··These elections will lead to a political breakthrough," predicts Nikolai Petrov. a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

In Poland

President Boris Yeltsin

'"After this election, the Duma will become much more power­ful in relation to the president.''

Yeltsin ensured the Duma would be weak by drawing up a constitu­tion that gives the presidentanover­whelming advantage- the power to dissolve parliament at will. But the charteralsobars Yeltsin, who leaves office next summer. from dissolv­ing the Duma during his term's last six months.

Cold weather kills 25 WARSAW, Poland (AP) - The quick onset of cold winter weather has killed 25 people across Po­land so far - with authorities find­ing fournewly frozen bodies Sun­day.

Searchers had to use a police doe to find two of the victims, yo~ng boys who fell through thin ice on a newly frozen lake near the village of Zienki, about l 00 miles east of Warsaw. The boys, age 6 and 7, disappeared Satur­day after getting their parents per­mission to play on the icy lake.

Authorities discovered two other cold weather victims in east-

em Poland on Sunday. A 48-year­old woman was found frozen to death in the yard of her Lublin home after a night of drinking, and the body of a 53-year-old man was found at a meeting room of the city's fire stations.

On Saturday, authorities dis­covered a 43-year-old man fro­zen to death in the fields near the village of Si tawka.

After a mild but brief fall, tem­peratures sudden I y plunged as low as 5 degrees in late October and winter weather with snow and subfreezing temperatures arrived last week.

Russian aircraft have been shell­ing the city and suspected rebel bases throughout the Caucasus Mountains republic for weeks.

Warplanes and helicopter gun­ships flew 82 missions over

Chechnya over the past 24 hours despite poor weather, the Defense Ministry said.

The shells destroyed apartment buildings in southeast Grozny, an arms depot in a Grozny suburb,

Kosovo airport shut to civilians PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP)­NATO shut down Kosovo's air­port to civilian traffic after a team investigating an aid agency plane erash questioned whether mis­communication between the air­liner and controllers may have played a role in the accident, a NATO spokesman said Sunday.

Investigators are trying to find out why the regular charter flight by the World Food Program to

ferry humanitarian workers to the province slammed into a hillside in foggy weather, killing 24 people.

The Nov. 12 flight missed clearing a remote mountain in northern Kosovo by only a few yards. The French team in charge of the crash requested the shut­down of the airport Saturday.

NATO spokesman Roland Lavoie stressed that the shutdown

of the airport in the capital, Pristina, was a precaution. The closure was intended to give in­vestigators time to examine the rules followed by civilian and military aircraft to see what dif­ferences exist between them and if those differences may have been a factor in the plane crash.

No conclusions had been reached, he said. ·'This is not an interim report," Lavoie said.

l)eatb & jf unera ~nnouncement

GENAIDA MARIA MANGLONA QUITUGUA

Born December 07, 1981, was called by our Lord Jesus Chnst to her eternal rest

on Thursday. November 18, 1999. at the age ol 17.

In celebration of her new life

She now joins her Grandparents: Vicente Jl.lalig Manglona & Maria Ogo Quitugua She will be extremely missed and fQf~ver remembered in the hearts of her

Parents: Antonio ()J Oi~ha M Quitigua Grandparents: Anotonio R. CJuitug1.1a/Florencia H. Manglona

Great Grandmother; Christina $. Taimanao Brother: Garren M. Quitugua ···

Sister: GwendolynM.Qultugua!fit:JbertL Maratita (Austin.l3ryan 0. Maratita) God Parents: Lupe Manibusan, Madano Taitano, M/M Norma & Juanita Palma

Aunts & Uncles/Spouses: Edward H. Manglona;Evelyn I Brian Mendiola; Glenn/Aloyse Manglona; Daniel I Nicolasa Quitugua Ann Sauer; Terisita!Scot/Lynn; Rosalia/Randall Cunliffe; Victoria/Gerald Calvo;

Ana/Rodney Klin; Rosita/N()rman Davis; Bennette/Micheal Mosely.

Cousins: Agnes I Albert Taitano; Patrick/Adrianne Quitugua; Jun, Jeff, Rodney & Roland Quitugua; Lisa/Anthony, Benevente; Donna, TJ& JenhiferM11nglona; John & Bonnie Ann Sauer; Claudia,

Michelle, Jeremy, Anthony & Aguida Sablan,:Joetta/ Jerome Fejeran; Joshua & Mathew Quitigua; Gerald II, Tana, Carlos & Sabia Calvo; Stacy,.Heather, & Jason Cunliffe; Krystal, Amber, Glenn Jr. & Tiara Sabana Manglona; Dennis, Bianca, Brittany, Bran.dee & Brian}/Mendiola; Latoya, Mickey, Lindsay & Delena Maria Mosley.

She is additionalltsu£ivedb}!J;eious nieces and nephews.

Family viewing will be held on Nove~ber 24{}~S9starting 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 pm at her residence in lgua, Rota. Mass of the angel will be offeredat3:30in the afternoon at San Isidro Chapel in Sinapalo 1.

Interment will follow al San Jose Cemetery, Songsong, Rota.

WORLD 20-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS ANI)\TiEWS~TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999 ----------~~c_:__ _____________________________ _

Brazil pushes anti-drugs crusade SAO PAULO, (Reuters) - A congressional task force probing organised crime in Brazil was scheduled to open new hearings on Tuesday that could lead to the arrest of prominent public figures linked to an extensive drug-traf-ficking network. ~

Authorities said a special team of crimebusters set up by Con­gress will take to Brasilia a loncr list naming prominent business~ men, bankers and police officers allegedly involved in drug smug­gling and money launderi;g in :'in industrial city near Sao Paulo.

The list even includes· a well­known university professor and the former president of a local soccer team.

The findings, which included surprising testimonies on Brazil­ian links with Colombia's drug cartels and information on cross­border cocaine delivery routes. were produced by an all-party congressional task force that fo­cused on Campinas, a boom town some 60 miles ( I 00 km) north of Sao Paulo last week.

·The probe marked a major ad­vance for the task force. dubbed

Colombia extradites drug suspect

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -Police put an accused heroin traf­ficker on a U.S. government plane to Florida on Sunday. the first time in nearly a decade Colombia has turned over one of its nationals to stand trial in the United States.

The handover of 30-year-old Jaime Orlando Lara to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administra­tion comes 10 days after a deadly terrorist bomb exploded in Bogota in what many suspected was a warning against extraditions.

President Andres Pastrana defi­antly signed Lara's extradition pa­pers just hours after the Nov. 11 explosion, which killed eight by­standers in an upscale shopping district. "'ln compliance with that executive decision, this citizen was transferred today to the United Stares, .. judicial police directorGen. Ismael Trujillo told reporters at a Bogota air base from which Lara left Sunday morning on a DEA

In Kosovo

plane for Fort Lauderdale. Dressed in jeans and sneakers,

the handcuffed and heavily guarded suspect walked the 60 feet to the twin-engine Cessna without uttering a word, police said. Lara was indicted in New York in October 1998.

Prosecutors say he headed a smuggling ring that shipped as many as 30 pounds of heroin to the United States on commercial flights and distributed it through New York, Houston and Miami.

Colombia exports 80 percent of the world's cocaine and is a rising heroin supplier to the U.S. market. Acting on a U.S. request, police captured Lara in Bogota last December.

He was among 42 drug suspects awaiting possible extradition to the United States. At least 30 of those are Colombians captured Oct. 13 in a sweep authorities dubbed Op­eration Millennium.

Workers prepare for winter BOGE, Yugoslavia (AP)-The tourofthe burned-out hotel where the Rexhbogaj family plans to spend the winterdoesn 'ttake long. Four rooms house I 2 people in the shell of a chalet of charred walls and white plastic sheeting stamped "USAID.''

Threadbare blankets spread on the floor do little to block the cement's chill. ··Jt's really cold," said 36-year-old Zarife Rexhbogaj. her breath forming a cloud around her cheeks. "And it is getting colder."

With the first dusting of snow Thursday in Kosovo's higher al­titudes, aid agencies are racing to deliver plastic sheeting, wood stoves, lumber, blankets, food and clothes to thousands of people bracing for winter.

So great is the need and so extensive the destruction - at least I 00,000 homes are dam­aged or destroyed - that aid groups have set an ambitious goal of creating one warm dry room per house.

And even that takes into ac­count that in some houses up to three families will be living under one roof. "It's definitely going to be a very long winter," said Paula

Ghedini, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Just before the first snow, the UNHCR had estimated that 80 percent of its 16,000 emergency repair kits had gone out. The U.S. Agency for International Devel­opment, however, estimated that by mid-November only half its kits to keep rooms warm and dry had been distributed.

The massive effort was slowed by dozens of glitches. The sheer scale of devastation and poor roads to many regions slowed relief ef­forts. Some aid agencies didn't procure the necessary supplies in time.

Bottlenecks at the main border crossing from Macedonia into Kosovo prevented supplies from getting in.

Macedonian authorities stalled virtually all aid coming into Pristina, Kosovo's capital, this month when they levied a tax of $105 per truck at the Bl ace cross­ing. Worse, the Macedonians tem­porarily stopped giving aid agency convoys first priority for passage, sending them to the end of a miles­long line behind commercial ve­hicles.

the ''Untouchables" after the U.S. crime busters who put gangster Al Capone behind bars in 193 I.

Brazil's "Untouchables" unit was set up seven months ago to tackle a seemingly impossible assignment.

Shocking evidence on exten­sive narcotics rings that one pros­ecutotsaid ''could put Brazil close. to equal footing with Colombia" poured out of a city little known outside of Brazil.

Campinas has three universi­ties and serves as Brazilian foot­holds for U.S. telecommunica-

tion firms Lucent Technologies Inc. and Motorola Inc. as well as Japanese foodstuff manufacturer Ajinomoto, but the name hardly rings a bell among foreigners. "The task force has acting powers that the courts or prosecutors don't have," Benedito Mariano, human rights . activist told Falha de S.Paulo newspaper in a weekend interview. "In the three reports we've published this year, Campinas ranked No. I in terms of police accusations, including fatal accidents."

The special task force has been

instrumental in jailing at least 60 suspects involved in organised crime across Brazil so far.

During th!'!ir week-long stay in Cai:npinas, the ci-imebusters gath­ered hundreds of pages worth of evidence that could lead to. nu­merous arrests in one of Latin America's most violent countries, when;-drug-related crimes, espe­dally in shantytowns and city outskirts, r11ise few eyebrows.

"We've already got hold of part of a monster," Magno Malta, an evan­gelical priest leading the crusading team told reporters on Saturday.

Argent!na:s President Carlos Saul Menem adjusts the mantilla of his daughter Zulema during the canonization ceremony of 10 saints at the Vatican, among them Hector Valdivie/so Saez the firsr Argentinean saint. ' AP

Pope honors church's 12 newest saints

VAT I CAN CITY (AP) -Leaning on his staff, Pope John Paul II looked weak and weary Sunday as he gave his church the century's last saints - IO priests who gave their lives for their faith in Spain and two Italians.

Including the 12 men he pro­claimed saints Sunday, John Paul has named 296 saints since becoming pope in 1978. That's one-half of the 592 saints formally added to the Roman Catholic Church's roll of the holy in the last 500 years.

The IO martyrs - nine born in Spain, the I 0th born in Buenos Aires to Spanish par­ents - perished in the 1930s, just before or during the Span­ish Civil War.

Throughout his 22-year­long papacy, John Paul has been passionate about sin­gling out men and women of modern times who can serve as role models for Catho-1 ics.

The more than two-hour­long canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica seemed to tax the 79-year-old pope's strength.

He gripped his staff tightly when standing, sometimes grabbing on to the arm of his chair for extra support.

His speech was slurred at times during the ceremony as well as during his appearance later from the window of his private studio to a crowd of pilgrims and tourists in the chilly, rain-soaked St. Peter's Square.

Usually pleased by color­ful displays of local culture by the faithful during public appearances, this time the pope seemed tired and eager to head back to the warmth of his studio.

He rapped his lectern to try to make a group of flag-wav­ing, singing Italian pilgrims quit performing and raised his voice sharply in order to fin­ish speaking above the din of their song.

Slurred speech, as well as the hand-trembling which the pope exhibits, a,e symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a pro­gressive neurological disor­der. The Vatican no longer denies the pope suffers from it, but has never given a full diagnosis.

The l OS paniards canonized for their martyrdom are Hec­tor Valdivielso Saez, Jose Sanz Tejedor, Filomeno Lopez y Lopez, Claudio Bernabe Cano, Vilfrido Fernandez Zapico, Vicente Alonso Andres, Romano Martinez Fernandez, Manuel Seco Gutierrez, Manuel Barba! Cosan and Manuel Canoura Arnau.

The two Italians are Tommaso da Cori, a Franciscan who died in 1729 and was famed for his disci­pline and meditations, and Benedetto Menni, who lived in 19th century Milan, where he established an order of nuns who work in hospitals.

Argentine President Carlos Menem attended Sunday's ceremony to honor Valdivielso Saez as his country's first saint.

As a child, Valdivielso Saez moved from Argentina to Spain when his immigrant par­ents returned to their home­land. In order to be declared a saint, a person must perform at least two miracles, unless the person was a martyr and died for their faith.

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WORLD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-21

Trapped cave explorers rescued FLAUJAC, France (AP) -Rescue workers on Sunday reached seven cave explorers who had been trapped deep underground for IO days by high water levels in southwest­ern France.

The cave explorers, stranded 330 feet underground since Nov. 11, were reported in good condition. Workers on Sun­day began the slow process of helping them-ascend.

For 10 days, while the fate of the cave explorers was un­certain, France followed the story closely and people sent messages of support to family members. . About 150 people had been w9rking to locate and rescue the se.ven men who took refuge in-· an arching underground chamber as heavy rains lifted the : water level of an under-

ground river, blocking their exit. Family and rescuers had

gathered in Flaujac, 340 miles south of Paris, above the cav­ern where the men were trapped.

Many popped open bottles of champagne Sunday when they learned the good news. Rescuers drilled deep holes into the ground in three spots to install lighting and sophis­ticated listening equipment.

A rescue team descended into one of the slippery holes to reach the explorers. The explorers had entered the cave in the nearby town of Gramat.

The cavers, all said to be very experienced, had planned a three-day expedition, equipped with plenty of food and canoes. Supplies had run out by the time they were dis­covered.

Facade of Brazil >.youth camp erodes

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -· From the outside, the sprawling complex with manicured lawns, swimming pool, basketball court and soccer field could easily have piissed for a summer camp. · Only the riot troopers on patrol hinted at the world inside. For years, the Imigrantes detention center for juvenile offenders concealed from outsiders a vicious world of sys­tematic beatings and dirty, over­crowded living quarters.

But the facade crumbled from a wave· of deadly riots and mass escapes this year that has forced the Sao.Paulo state government to shut the complex. Hundreds of young inmates were bused away in early November, but the memo­ries of brutality aren't so easily erased. Charred and silent, Imigrantes remains a symbol of how Brazil treats its wayward children. "When we are released, or run away, all we want is to get

even," said one former inmate. Like other such centers run by the Sao Paulo State Foundation for the Welfare of Minors, the stated purpose of Imigrantes was to re­habilitate youngsters, who should "be treated with respect and dig­nity" and "receive schooling and vocational training."

"If that were the case, this place would be like Disneyland. But this is hell," 16-year-old "P.S." said a few weeks before the com­plex was closed. Like other in­mates, he cannot be identified because he is a minor.

Brazilians got a glimpse of that hell when riots exploded at Imigrantes and other juvenile cen­ters, known as Febems.

An estimated 1,500 inmates escaped - only about 500 were recaptured. The worst was on Oct. 24, when more than 1,000 youths seized control of Imigrantes and went on a 19-hour rampage.

Yvon Casal, with white helmet, is pulled to the surface after being rescued from a cave near Gramat, southwestern France. AP

This New Year

End may be near for cults LONDON, (Reuters) - As mil­lions across Britain party the night away this Millennium New Year, for some it may well prove that theendoftheworldisrathermore than nigh. While colourful druids and pagans swarm to sacred sites to celebrate the new millennium, others could well be preparing for the occasion with apocalyptic gloom, doom and possible ritual mass suicides, cult experts warn.

"It is possible some cult leaders will do something drastic to mark the millennium and it could hap­pen here," said Ian Haworth, a sect expert at the Cult Informa­tion Centre. "You certainly can't rule it out."

"There has been a bit of a lull, so m:_iybe this is the proverbial calm before the storm," said Haworth, estimating Britain is currently home to some 500 cults and thousands of followers.

Some say rumours of impend-

ing bids to trigger Armageddon are already circulating. "We have to be prepared that there might be some people planning serious acts to coincide with the millennium," said Audrey Chaytor of cult study group FAIR (Family Action In­formation Resource). "And we have heard rumours about pos­sible dangerous acts," she added, declining to elaborate.

Britain is not the only country scrambling to make provisions for any possible Doomsday ritu­als.

1n the United States the FBI has warned fringe groups and cults pose a very real threat, while Canada,

Greece and Australia have all voiced fears of ritual multiple sui­cides. Israel has stepped up its own campaign against suspected cults, deporting a group ofBri tish and American Christians from Jerusalem they believe were plan-

ning violent acts to hasten Christ's second coming.

But British police stopped short of predicting mayhem, simply saying they were keeping a close eye on all groups deemed a poten­tial threat to the public.

''As a matter of routine police monitor any groups or individuals who could cause public disorder problems or terrorist related activ­ity," a Scotland Yard Police special operations spokeswoman said.

"In the run-up to the· millen­nium, officers will continue to monitor the activities and behaviour of any groups or indi­viduals who could pose such a threat," she added.

Some however say the hype surrounding millennium festivi­ties could, if anything, decrease the chances of a repeat of the kind of mass suicides carried out by the Heaven's Gate and Solar Temple sects.

Thousands remember Spanish dictator

Various youths give the fascist salutes at a rally to commemorate the 24th death anniversry offormer Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in Madrid, Sunday. AP

MADRID. Spain (AP) -N-:arly 2,000 p-:oplc. many sporting fascist and Nazi me­mentos, attended two separate rallies in Madrid on Sunday to commemorate the 24th anni­versary of the death of former Spanish uictator Gen.

Francisco Franco. In the big­gest rally, more than l,500mostly eluerly people gathered in Madrid's central Plaza de Oriente to hear speeches by right-wing activists praising Franco and Ro­man Catholic values.

Elsewhere, about 300 people, including many skinheads with fascist and Nazi badges emblazoned on their hats and scarfs, rallied at the foot of Madrid's only re­maining statue to Franco.

Ricardo Ynestril!as, head of

the exlrcmist National Unity Alliance, addressed the crowd while police stood by in case violence broke out.

Franco came to power at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and died on Nov. 20, 1975, at age 82. His followers hold their main annual gather­ing in Madrid on the Sunday closest to the anniversary.

In the late 1970s, the gath­erings would attract t.ens of thousands of people, but at­tendance has dwindled sharply in recent years.

Although democracy \Vas re­stored to Spain three years after Franco's death, extreme right-wing political groups have minimal support today in Spain, and none are repre-· sented in Parliament.

22-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999 BUSINESS & TRADE

In Fiji b

Garment exports expected to surpass sugar SUVA (Pacnews) - Fiji's gar­ment export earnings. projected to reach a record F$271.8 (USS 138.6 million) million this year. would eclipse the income for sugar.

This is according to Fiji's Com­merce Minister. Anup Kumar. He said. "this is the first time any product is expected to displace sugar as the most important item of export."

Expon receipts are expected to reach a record F$861 million (USS439. I million) while export of services would also reach a record F$ l .2 billion.

Kumar said the achievements would propel economic growth by 7.8 percent this year.

"The development underlined a more important trend- the growing share of manufactured products in our exports. This development in

Computer maker to sell technological gem

SAN FRA'.\i"CISCO (Reuters) -Computer maker SGI is in talks to sell Cray Research - once one of the technological gems of the United States - to a little-known technology acquisition group called Gores Technology Group, industry sources said.

One industry source said that the companies have been talking for at least two months and that Gores, with operations in both Los Angles and Boulder, Colo., originally offered $ l 00 million for the struggling supercomputer maker.

But since doing due diligence on Cray. it has lo;,ered its °offer, the source said. Steve Conway, a spokesman for Cray, a business unit of SGI. in Eagan, Minn .• de­clined to comment on who Cray is talking to, but he did say that the current merger talks are acceler­ating.

"Beyond just saying the talks are far along, I can't really com­ment," Conway said. Dan Gray.

who works in business develop­ment at Gores Technology, also said he cannot comment.

SGI, based in Mountain View, Calif., announced in August that it had formed a separate business unit for Cray, amid yet another restructuring at SGI and job cuts of 1,500.

At the time, SGI said it was in active discussions with othercom­panies to assume the operation of Cray through a partnership or an­other transaction.

Another source said that Cray and Gores were hoping to make an announcement at last week's Supercomputing '99 conference in Portland, Ore., which was a launching pad for a newly inde­pendent Cray, but the talks were still ongoing at the time of the show.

Three and a half years ago, SGI paid over $700 million for Cray, which was once the largest maker of supercomputers, the world's fastest computers.

Gas pipeline project secures potential buyers

PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) - The multinational Papua New Guinea (PNG)-Queensland Gas Pipeline Project has so far se­cured about 180 potential buyers of PNG gas.

Project Director, John Powell, made the announcement during a presentation to participants of the recent Consultative Group meet-

ing between Government officials and foreign donors in Port Moresby.

Powell told the international donors the project is "world class".

He said the buyers who have been secured are from Brisbane, Townsville and Gladstone in Aus­tralia.

garment is profound because the increase in exports has been driven largely by the initiative of the pri­vate sector," Kumar said.

Earnings from sugar proceeds to the European markets have been adversely affected due to the weakening of the Euro dollar by more than 10 percent. Fiji Sugar Corporation chairman, Hafiz Khan said in addition, there would be a steady erosion of the price of

sugar in the European market by two to three percent.

"The world market still faces an oversupply of sugar, with 136.54 million metric tonnes of raw value projected for this year," he said.

"Major producers to Brazil con­tinues each year to expand pro­duction am! delivering high qual­ity product."

Fiji is expected to produce 406,

000 metric tonnes of sugar from 3.57 million tonnes of cane.

The revelations were made at the annual Fiji Exporter of the Year Award ceremony in Nadi. Natural Waters of Fiji scooped the premier award for the second time.

The company, which exports its products from its base in Yaqara, on the western part of the main island Viti Levu, exports more than 90 percent of its total output

BEFORE THE DELUGE. A worker rests in front of a billboard which promotes Chinese brands, on a Beijing street. Chinese companies are expected to face stiff competition from an influx of impotted products once China gains entry into the World Trade Organization. China overcame its biggest hurdle in its 13-year quest to join the WTO when it recently signed a deal with the U.S. AP

Samoa's chocolate manufacturer wins award APIA (Pacnews) - Samoa's chocolate manufacturer, the Wilex Cocoa and Coconut Com­pany, has won the 1999 Exporter of the Year Award - the third successive year it has won the award.

The Company's Board Direc­tor and Director of Personnel and Administration, Carol Wil­son struggled for words when Wilex was crowned the last win­ner of the millennium at the Exporter of the Year Awards (EYA) held at the University of Samoa campus, Le Papaigalagala.

Addressing local business people Carol said: "I never ex­pected it. We had thought maybe

~ iAOMPUTE nSSOOATE

this year the award will go to a new outfit". She hinted fisher­ies businesses might have had the upper hand because of their achievement in the export mar­ket lately.

Along with the trophy, Wilex also received the main prize of 3,500 Tala ($US I, 167), Excel­lence in Marketing Award, Tl ,500 ($US500), Manufactur­ing Award for Outstanding Ex­port Achievement, T2,000 ($US667) and free airline tick­ets.

Acknowledging the support of friends and families, Wilson credited the win to the company's hardworking man­agement and staff.

"It's our employees and our management team who we be­lieve are the assets and back­bone of Wilex, and to them we dedicate these awards. These are the fruits of their hard labour," she said.

Apart from exporting choco­lates and other copra products, Wilex also exports Kava prod­ucts. It recently started manu­facturing soap products. Carol said Wilex soaps has already attracted buyers from Tonga, Fiji and American Samoa.

However, the company still insists on maintaining ex­porting lines such as cocoa. Kava and its chocolate prod­ucts.

OPEC committed to oil cuts

ALGIERS, (Reuters)-Algeria's Energy and Mining Minister Youssef Yousfi was quoted on Sunday as saying that OPEC members were committed to maintaining oil cuts and might prolong them beyond March, de­spite pressures.

"The producers are coming to­gether to maintain the cuts and might extend the supply cuts be­yond March," he said, according to state-run radio.

Y ousfi said he was satisfied with the current level of crude stock­pile withdrawals and he predicted a stable market during the last quarter of 1999 and the next one.

"There are huge pressures on the producers over the crude oil supply cuts but they are putting up resistance against these pres­sures," the radio quoted Y ousfi as saying, without elaborating.

Several other OPEC ministers have said an extension of the crude cuts is conditional on there still being a surplus of inventories.

NEW PARTNERS. Charles B. Wang, right, chairman and CEO of the U.S.-based Computer Associates International Inc., and Masanobu Suzuki, president of Japan's NTT Communications Corp., announcing their partnerships to provide information technology management services to business customers. AP

OPEC and Non-OPEC produc­ers agreed in I ast March to re­move 2.1 million barrels a day of oil from the glutted market to shore up prices. In October, OPEC reaffirmed its decision to main­tain the cuts through March 2000.

Oil prices closed sharply up, hitting fresh nine-year highs on Friday as traders brought up early winter supplies for fear they will soon get more expensive.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-23

Deadly toxin may control sweating BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) -A deadly toxin changed Tim Smith's life - for the better. Smith sweats massive amounts, caused by a little-known condition called hy­perhidrosis. While everyone else is cool and dry, he soaks through three shirts a day. "It's just so disgusting," Smith says.

But Smith's life changed about a year ago, after a doctor friend suggested he try an injection of Botox. That's botulism toxin, the same paralyzing stuff that causes food poisoning and is part of the biological warfare arsenal.

Doctors have used it in small doses to stop muscle seizures, smooth forehead wrinkles and now

to control· excessive sweating. Smith was the· first person in

Washington state to get the treat­ment, but he wasn't deterred by the experimental nature of the in­jections. Like most sweaty suf­ferers, he was desperate for a cure.

"The alternative is living with it, feelinggrossallthetime,''saysSmith. Dr. Ib Odderson injected a small amount of Botox into both Smith's underarms. ;The next afternoon, he qtl]ed me and said, 'I think it's work­ing,"' says Odderson, who practices atOverlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue.

"Four days later he called and said, 'I haven't changed my shirt today."' Now Smith is a Botox

believer, and Odderson is con­ducting a placebo-controlled study on the treatment. "It's amaz­ing," Smith says of the treatment.

"You join the rest of the world, basically." For a long time, there was no hope forpeople like Smith. Dr. Odderson estimates about 5 percent of the population has hy­perhidrosis. But that estimate may be low, he says - because many excessive sweaters are too ashamed to seek treatment. Op­tions for sufferers are limited.

Strong topical creams work for some but irritate or do nothing for others. There's a surgical proce­dure to cut the nerves that control underarm sweating, butthat's in-

Internet gives elderly link to life SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Is the fountain of youth available at

kthe click of a mouse? Experts say nursing home residents, even the frail ones, take to computers quickly and can revitalize their lives through e-mail and the Internet.

"The Internet is a window to life," said David Lansdale, a geri­atrics expert from Stanford Uni­versity.

"It's an elixir for these people." Lansdale, who believes every nursing home should be equipped with communal e-mail and Internet access, is one of several academics raising the issue here at a weekend meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

Lansdale said mastery of e­mail and Internet techniques can help overcome what he termed the four plagues of institution­alized elders: loneliness, bore­dom, helplessness and decline of mental skills.

"The end result is we want to promote relationships," he said. "Getting connected is bringing people back to life."

He directs a program called LinkingAges that teaches nurs­ing home residents how to com­municate with faraway family, old friends and health care pro­viders by using e-mail. The 12-week course ends with a gradu­ation ceremony, and encourages participants to share the e-mail

they receive from relatives. Lansdale told of a woman in

her 90s who mastered the les­sons and got a message from a granddaughter that said: "Dear Grandma, I can't believe you just sent me e-mail.

You 're the coolest grandma in California." Group dynamics of a nursing home can improve the program's success.

One resident might exclaim, "Hey, I can do this," and other residents will be emboldened to make the effort themselves - he said in a presentation Saturday.

People who master the tech­nology gain confidence that spreads into other aspects of their lives, and many take pride in helping teach the skills to their fellow residents, he said. "You have opened up the heav­ens to me," Lansdale said he was told by one resident who must use a wheelchair.

Douglas McConatha, a soci­ologist from West Chester Uni­versity in Pennsylvania, said he observed improved morale and a noticeable drop in depression among nursing home residents who received Internet training as part of a study he conducted. "It took maybe two training ses­sions," he said.

"You turn them loose in this environment, and a large por­tion of them flourish.

They learned so fast they out­paced the 20-year-ol<l college

Procurement and Supply CNMI Government INVITATION TO BID

ITB NO.:ITB00-0014 FOR: ONE YEAR LEASE OF OFFICE SPACE FOR CENSUS 2000 OPENING: NOV.29, 1999 TIME: 10:00A.M. Governor Pedro P. Tenorio and Lt. Governor Jesus R. Sablan' through the Director, Division of Procurement and Supply, are soliciting competitive sealed bids to qualified individuals or firms for one year lease of office space for Census 2000 interested individuals or firms may pick up bid forms at the office of the Director, Procurement and Supply, Lower Base, Saipan, during working hours (7:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday to Friday except CNMI Holidays). .

Isl Herman S. Sablan, Director Division of Procurement and Supply

APARTMENT FOR RENT Quiet Two (2) Bedrooms • Three (3) Bedrooms• Swimming Pool Tennis Court

li]ij~~,1-~tl 235-5686 (8:30 AM lo 5:30-PM Wttkda s l.JS.962~ l.J4.lM9 i6:00 PM,10 9:00 Plt, EmJduy including Sol, & SW!.)

students learning witp them." McConatha advocated ex­panded online education pro­grams aimed at attracting retir­ees both as students and as in­structors.

He described one such pro­gram, called Circle of Leam­ing, that encourages elderly people to offer courses based on their lifetime experience, on topics ranging from personal finance to hobbies.

One man is teaching a course about his Italian grandmother, McConatha said. "We can now capture the knowledge of our elders and transfer that wisdom to future generations," McConatha said.

Only 25 percent of Ameri­cans over age 60 own a com­puter, compared with 50 per­cent for the rest of the popula­tion, according to research by Microsoft and the American Society on Aging.

'Peanuts' creator has colon cancer

SANTA ROSA, Calif., (Reuters) - Charles M. Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy and the rest of the popular "Peanuts" comic strip gang, has been diagnosed with colon can­cer, his p~blishcr said on Sunday.

The cancer was discovered when Schulz, 76, underwent emergency surgery last Tuesday for a blocked abdominal aorta last week in Santa Rosa, about 45 miles north of San Francisco.

Officials at Santa Rosa Memo­rial Hospital where Schulz had surgery declined to comment on his condition, and a spokeswoman for the cartoonist was not imme­diately available Sunday. Schulz' wife Jean said doctors were deter­mining the best course of treat­ment, which can include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

One consideration is that Schulz, who turns 77 on Friday, is still recuperating from the ab­dominal surgery. ··1 don't see ad­ditional surgery proposed at this point," she told Sunday's Santa ·Rosa Press· Democrat.

vasive and can increase sweat else­where in the body.

Smith, like most sufferers, made sacrifices. A hairdresser, he passed up lucrative work at hair shows because he knew his sweat­ing would embarrass him in front of a crowd. He tried almost every­thing: antiperspirants, an electri­cal device that was supposed to shock his sweat glands into sub­mission, even sanitary napkins stuffed under his armpits.

Doctors don't know what causes hyperhidrosis, though . some think it is likely genetic. The disorder affects people dif­ferently; some sweat under their arms, others on the hands, others

on their foreheads. But they all share the social

stigma and a fervent hope for a cure. Botufinum toxin, the most deadly poison in the world·, is an unlikely savior. But in the late 1960s, researchers starting· har­nessing its paralyzing power to. heal neurological disorders.

They found that, in small quan­tities, botulinum could be used to control muscle spasms by para­lyzing the nerves that caused the muscle to contract.

By a quirk of biological fate, the chemical that causes some muscle spasms - acetycholine - is the same neurotransmitter in­volved in sweating.

OOHL~LA. French model Laetitia Casta sports a leopard-print top and skirt with added feather detail at Greek fashion designer Celia Kritharioti's Winter 2000 Haute Couture fashion show in Athens. AP

Writer Quentin Crisp dies LONDON (AP)-Quentin Crisp, the eccentric writer, performer and raconteur best-known for his auto­biography '"TI1e Naked Civil Ser­vant," died Sunday after collaps­ing at a private residence.

He was 90. Crisp, who lived principally in New York City for decades, was in his native Britain to begin touring with a one-man show.

He collapsed at a p1ivate resi­dence rurnnged by the Green Room Theater in the northwest England city of Manchester, where h; was to begin appearing Monday night, said the theater's press manager, Christopher Hodgson.

He had been found unconscious and was transported to Mm1chester Royal Infirrnm-y, where he died. authorities said.

In an interview published the day before his death in The Times of London, Crisp outlined his wishes for a funeral. "No flowers.

No candles. No long faces stand­ing around in the rain, ;tarting down -

Quentin Crisp

into a hole in the ground while someone drones on about how wonderful I was. I'd rather just be shuffled off.

Just drop me intooneof those black plastic bags and leave me by the trash c,m." Ciisp told the newspaper.

A slight, dandified figure who wore makeup and high-heeled shoes and piled his white hair in bouff.mt waves on top of his head. Crispmadenosecretofthe fact that he was gay.

24-MARlANAS .Y_ ARlETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999

~8'1arianas CWlrietr~ Classified Ads Section

Employment Wanted

·liiwtii Job Vacancy ·

Announcement

PUBLIC NOTICE All interested resident workers are

urged to register at the Dept. of Labor & Immigration,

Division of Employment Services for the job/s being advertised in which

you are qualified and available. For further assistance,

please call Alfred A. Pangelinan at Tel. 664-2078.

01 COMMERCIAL CLEANER-Salary: S3.05 per hour 01 HOUSEKEEPING SUPERVISOR­Salary: S3.40 per hour 04 CLEANER, HOUSEKEEPING-Sal­ary: S3.05 per hour 02 TAILOR-Salary: S3.05-3.60 per hour 01 CARPENTER-Salary: S3.15-3.20 per hour 01 ELECTRICIAN-Salary: $3.60 per hour Contact: KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD. Tel. 322-0770(11 /30)T81659

01 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT-Sal­ary: S3.05-3.25 per hour 01 BUILDING MAINTENANCE & RE­PAIRER-Salary: S3.05-3.25 per hour Contact: ANNABELLE LE S. MAGSAYSAY dba Mican Group Intl./ Aquabest Tel. 235-2782(11/30)T33504

01 MANAGER-Salary: S1 ,200.00 per month 02 MASSEUR/MASSEUS-SALARY: S3.05 per hour · Contact: MIRAGE CORPORATION Tel. 233-4317l11/30)T33495

02 BEAUTICIAN-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: REMEDIO S. BUNIAG dba Jihan Corporation Tel. 322-0414(11/ 30)T33490

01 COOK-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: DANIEL S.IREMEDIO S. BUNIAG dba Marfran Enterprises Tel. 322-0414(11/30)T33491

02 HEAVY EQUIPMENT MECHANIC­Salary: S3.65 per hour Contact: SHINTANI MANGLONA COR­PORATION Tel. 532-0316111/ 30)T33489

01 MUSICIAN-Salary: $3.05-03.50 per hour Contact: COMMONWEALTH MARINE LEISURE CORP. dba Marine Sporis & Leisure Tel. 234-9157(11/30)T33488

01 PAINTER-Salary: S3.10 per hour 02 MASON-Salary: S3.05-3.10 pe rhour 02 CARPENTER-Salary: S3.05-3.20 per hour 01 DRAFTER.ARCHITECTURAL-Sal­ary: S750.00 per month 01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary: SB00.00 per month 01 ELECTRICIAN-Salary: S3.05 per hour 01 STEELWORKER-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: NORTH PACIFIC BUILDERS, INC. Tel. 235-7171 (11/30)T81654

01 MAINTENANCE, REPAIRER BLD.G -Salary: $3.25-3.75 per hour 02 H.E. OPERATOR-Salary: S3.75 per hour 01 MECHANIC/MAINTENANCE-Sal­ary: S3.75 per hour 05 MAINTENANCE WORKER, MU­NICIPAL-Salary: S3.25-3.75 per hour Contact: JACINTO C. CRUZ dba Cruz Sanitation Services Tel. 234-0456(11/ 3D)T33500

01 WAITRESS (RESTAURANT)-Salary: S3.05 per hour 02 COOK-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: JNM KINTOL I NC. dba Auntie Mag's Diner Tel. 288-0375(12/ 6)M33579 '. ~ -------- -~]

01 DISC JOCKEY-Salary: $3.05 per hour 01 WAITRESS (NIGHTCLUB)-Salary: S3.05 per hour 01 DANCER-Salary: $3.05-3.50 per hour Contact: STARDUST CLUB Tel. 234-5520(11/16)T33308

03 MACHINE OPERATOR (CONTINOUOS FORM)-Salary:3.20 per hour Contact: ASG CORP. dba Elite Printing Tel. 233-6564(11/19)F33358

----- --- ----------

01 SALES REPRESENTATIVE-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: LAWRENCE M. FLEMING Tel. 234-9263(11/23)T33404

01 WAITRESS-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: XU LAN CORPORATION dba Penguin Bar Tel. 233-4445(11/ 23)T33407

01 DRAFTSMAN-Salary: S5.20 per hour 03 CARPENTER-Salary: S3.10 per hour 02 MASON-Salary: $3.1 O per hour Contact: JESSIE A. ARIZALA dba Sys­tems Services Company Tel. 234-5334(11/23)T33406

01 STEEL WORKER-Salary: S3.95 per hour Contact: GUANGDONG DEVELOP­MENT CO., LTD. dba Guangdong Hard­ware Tel. 288-2288(11/23)T33395

17 IRONER-Salary: S3.05 per hour 04 PACKER-Salary: S3.05 per hour 17 CUTTER-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: JOO ANG APPAREL, INC. Tel. 235-2731 (11/23)T33397

01 CONSTRUCTION WORKER-Sal­ary: S3.05 per hour Contact: L.M.S. CORPORAT!ON dba Root's Appearl Tel. 288-1886(11/ 23)T33398

01 SALES REPRESENTATIVE-Salary: S3.05 per hour must have extensive experience in the field of. marketing & selling hardware grocery & gen. mdse.; know how to drive; multi-lingual; with computer back­ground (Realworld, Synchomics)

· 01 WAREHOUSE WORKER-Salary: S3.05-3.30 per hour 01 AUTO MECHANIC-Salary:S3.05 per ho~r Contact: TRANSAMERICA (SAIPAN) CORPORATION Tel. 234-1629(11/ 23)T81527

03 TRAVEL COUNSELOR-Salary: S800-2,400.00 per month Contact: PACIFIC MICRONESIA TOURS, INC. Tel. 234-3913(11/ 23)T81521

------·---

05 CARPENTER-Salary: $3.05-3.50 per hour Contact: BIRD ISLAND DEVELOP­MENT INCORPORATED Tel. 3.05-3.50 pe rhour Contact: BIRD ISLAND DEVELOP­MENT INCORPORATED Tel. 235-6888(11/23)T33385

10 SEWING MACHINE REPAIRER­Salary: S3.05 per hour 35 SEWING MACHINE OPERATOR­Salary: S3.05 pe rhour Contact: HSIA-LING H. LIN dba Net Apparel Company Tel. 235-6888(11/ 23)T33386 ------------------

01 CARPENTER-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: BOBBIE'S AMUSEMENT CO., INC. Tel. 235-2624(11/23)T33387

01 COOK(RESTAURANT)-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: THE SAMURAI CORPORA­TION dba Hyaku-Ban Rest/Southern Cross Trap. Rest. Tel. 234-3374(11 / 23)T33388 ---------··----

01 (JET SKI) INSTRUCTOR-Salary: $3.50 per hour Contact: MR. DAVID E. PANGELINAN dba Island Marine Sports Tel. 235-7110(11/30)T33503

02 BUILDING MAINTENANCE RE­PAIRER-Salary: $3.10 -3.380 per hour Contact: FUJI PACIFIC, INC. Tel. 234-0583( 11 /30JT33499

01 CARPENTER-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: BLOOMINGJ. CORP. Tel. 235-7878(11/30)T33494

01 ICE MAKER-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: GLOBAL ENTERPRISES INC. dba Diamond Ice & Water Tel. 234-5922(11/3DJT33493

07 CUTTER-Salary: S3.05 per hour 02 BUTTONHOLE MACHINE OPERA­TOR-Salary: $3.05 per hour 02 MARKER-Salary: $3.05 pe rhour 07 PRESSER (MACHINE)-Salary: S3.05 per hour 04 QUALITY CONTROL CHECKER­Salary: S3.05 per hour 03 (ASST.) PRODUCTION MANAGER­Salary: $3.05-10.00 per hour 51 SEWING MACHINE OPERATOR­Salary: 3.05 per hour 02 TRIMMER-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: EXPRESS MANUFACTUR­ING, INC. Tel. 322-6743(11/23)T33389

01 ACCOUNTANT-Salary: 850.00 per month Contact: BLANCO VENDE, LTD. dba Kiosk & Coral Reef Logo Shop Tel. 322-3313(11/23)T33392

01 ELECTRICIAN (SUPERVISOR)­Salary: S800-1,200.00 per month 01 PROJECT MANAGER-Salary: S800-1,800.00 per month Contact: HBR INTERNATIONAL, INC. Tel. 322-2406(11/23)T33394

02 MAINTENANCE REPAIRER-Salary: S3.50-6.50 per hour plus S425.00 per month housing allowance . High school graduate; 3 Years experi­ence required Contact: DFS Saipan Limited Tel. 234-6615(12/7)T817900

01 GRAPHIC ARTIST-Salary: S3.50 per hour Contact: YOUNIS ART STUDIO, INC. dba Marianas Variety News & Views Tel. 234-6341 (1217)T81803

01 SUPERVISOR-Salary: $ 3.05 per hour Contact: AMERICAN FUCHENG COR­PORATION Tel. 233-9668(12/7)T33588

03 COMMERCIAL CLEANER-Salary: $3.05 per hour 03 JANITOR-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: DINO/LETTY A. JONES dba D/L Personnel Service Supply Tel. 322-5389(12/7)T33589

01 WAREHOUSE WORKER-Salary: $4.55 per hour 01 CIVIL ENGINEER-Salary: S700.00-800.00 per month 01 PLUMBER-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: JG Sablan Realty & Construc­tion Co., Inc. Tel. 234-3221(12/ 7)T33590

02 DELIVERY ROUTE-Salary: S3.05 per hour Contact: JG SABLAN WATER & ICE INC. Tel. 234-3219(12/7)T33591

01 MECHANIC, MARINE ENGINE-Sal­ary: $600.00 -1,500.00 per month Contact: BIG BOY MARINE SPORTS INC., dba Big Boyz II Marine Tel. 234-3358( 12/7)T33592

01 MAINTENANCE REPAIRER, BLDG. -Salary: S4.00-4.50 per hour Contact: SEAFIX INCORPORATED Tel. 322-0997(12/7)T33593

01 GENERAL MANAGER-Salary: $800.00 per month 01 CUSTOM TAILOR-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: PACIFIC ENGINEERING & CONST., INC. dba Tessie's Corner Tel. 234-5224(12/7)T33600

01 CARPENTER-SALARY: $3.05 per hour 01 PLUMBER-Salary: $3.15 per hour 01 MASON-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: VARGAS CORPORATION Tel. 235-0297(12/7)T33602

Classified Ads

FI.RST.

i DEADLINE: 12:00 noon the day prior to publication

NOTE: If some reason your advertisement is incorrect. call us immediately to make the neoessary corrections. The Marianas Variety News and Views is responsible only for one Incorrect insertion. We reserve the right to edit, refuse, reject or cancel any ad at any time.

02 WASHING MACHINE OPERATOR­Salary: $3.05 per hour o 1 WELDER-Salary: $3.05 per hour Contact: HIP SHING (SAIPAN) Tel. 322-8989

01 ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER- I Salary: S1, 100.00-2,300.00 per month Duties includes analyzing and orga­nizing office operations and proce­dures or devises new forms to im­prove efficiency of work flow. Super­vise company's general accounting and other administrative related du­ties. Coordinates activities of cleri­cal personnel in the organization. Due to the nature of the business, Japanese reading, writing and speak­ing is preferred. Contact: HBR INTERNATIONAL,

i INC. Tel. 322-5115(11/30)AC33514

FULL TIME DECKHAND/CREW

NEEDED Apply in person at Outer Cove Marina at M/V Super Emerald

Between 8:00 am-10:00 am daily

LOCAL HIRE ONLY-

Walter/ress with bartendlng experience Full time. Salary Negotiable based on

quallllcatlons Olea\ Beach Bar & Grill

Jerry 235-1756/1757

· LOST PASSPORT wt • '

Name: Jin Zhongcheng National: Chinese

DOB: August 4, 1962 Contact #: 288 - 5550

FOR RENT OR SALE Restaurant Photo Studio

B-B-0 San Antonio San Jose 1GannentFoo10.,c.n, .. 1

Tel no.: 235-2445

FOR RENT Nightclub/Restaurant/Barracks

Located along Beach Road, Chalan Kanoa Tel.234-5520

(8:00 A.M. - 5:00)

APARTMENT FOR RENT • 2-Bdrm near Coral Ocean Point and

Koblerville Elementary School • Fenced location, aircon in each bdrm,

refngerator, stove, water healer • Water, !rash collection and sewer paid • Electricity not included. 235-4341 after 5:30 .m.

Immediate CIVIL ENGINEER

SURVEYOR

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CONSENSUALTRANSFERorTWA ACCEPTED.

Please apply in person at WESTERN EQUIPMENT, INC.

LOWER BASE, SAIPAN MP 96950

DIESEL ENGINE/ GENERATOR MECHANIC . ----­LOCAL HIRE ONLY

Must have a minimum of 5 Years proven Experience maintaining & Repairing Diesel Engines and Generators. You will be tested. Engines and Generators. You will be tested, Caterpillar experience preferred. Must have a Complete set of tools & a VolUFrequency Meter Salaiy Range $6.00 to $12.00 per hour, depending on experience. Pick up application person at Pacific Machineiy in As Lita. Phone# 288-6900

HOOSE FOR RE'NT 2 Bedroom. Kitchen, Living Room, Water Heater. A/C living Room Rain Water Tank, Chain Link Fence. Refrigerator, Stove, Asking : $SOD. per month. If interested please call Ben at 234-3901 after 5:00 or lcnve message

24 HOUR-FAX & . · E-MAIL SERVICE I will send and receive business

messages to the mainland & Asia for you.

I work while you sleep! 288-2456

STUDIO APRTMENT FOR RENT Furnished studio

Located at Upper Navy Hill New Split Air Con, Refrigerator & Range/oven

24 Hour water Laundry facility on site

$375 per month plus security deposi1 (Power and water included)

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LOST PASSPORT Name: Zheng Zhipeng

DOB: June 1 , 1978 Chinese National

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2-BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT Furnished, Located at Lippe, Navy HIii

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24 Hour Wa1er S500 per month plus security deposll

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.,~ .,. 1 '

I

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-25

EEK & MEEK® by Howie Schneider i-lOIV lUAS 1COR. D\~ lU m-1 1!-\S 1V 1-B1J.S NJ:J-10R lAST /vi 61-1 T?

BIT 1-tlS 5PORT"5 PROJECTIOU WPS W1i1 OFF

PEANUTS® by Charles M. Schulz THIS 15 MY M'f GR.AMMA 5A'{5

REPORT ON THE SHE'S NEVER SEEN THE NILE RIVER SO NILE RIVER .. HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S THERE?

10-1'1-

STELLA WILDER

YOUR BIRTHDAY Born today, you are a persis­tent and tenacious individual, and never one to back down once you have set your sights on a goal. Despite consider­able odds and the obstacles that may seem to stand in your way, you will always forge ahead with determination and certainty. You are confident of your own abilities, and ea­ger to prove yourself to friends, family, and anyone who may cast a curious glance in your direction. It is likely that you will enjoy consider­able support in your endeav­ors from the start, and that you will always take full ad­vantage of any direct assis­tance or good old fashioned luck that may come your way.

The close support and con­stant companionship of a spe­cial someone will always prove imperative to you, and pivotal to your continued suc­cess and good fortune. You are generous with those who have been generous with you, and you never hesitate to give credir where credit is due.

Also born on this date are: Evander Holyfield, boxer; John Lithgow, actor; Peter Max, artist; John LeCarre, author.

To see what is in store for you tomorrow, find your birth­day and read the correspond-

HEY, MOM! THERE'S SOMEBODY HERE ABOUT THE AD YOU PUT IN THE PAPER!

ing paragraph. Let your birth­day star be your daily guide.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24

LIBRA (Sept. 23-0ct. 22) - You can impress a loved one today simply by getting down to business when the time comes. Distractions and hesitation are not for you at this time.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) - You may receive an invitation which is difficult to turn down today, but your schedule may simply be pro­hibitive right now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) - Look past the ob­vious today and trust that your

_ own special insights will shed light on one or two difficult issues.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) - Now is the time to put that bad habit to bed for good - or if not for good, at least while someone you love is watching!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) - Something unexpected and highly unusual is likely to happen to you today which will affect the coming week in a subtle but important way.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) - What you want and how you can get it may be unclear during the first part of the day,

YOU KNOW THAT OLD FISH TANK

YOU WANT TO SELL?

YES, I BRING Ii " ALL TOGETl-lER m ill NEAR THE END .. ';' [ ~

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but later on, certain events will clarify much for you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) - You needn't subject yourself to anything that doesn't suit either your mood or your taste. Be sure your refusals are polite and'tactful.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) - You will want to find a way out of a difficult personal or professional situation to­day. There is more to this prob­lem than the environment, however.

GEMINI (May 21-June20) - You 'II get a valuable, up­close view of something quite new and intriguing today. A loved one has a surprise offer­ing in store for you later on.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -· A little flattery can get you everywhere with a loved one today, but take care that they aren't just empty words. Notice the little things!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -Earning power may be a ma­jor issue today, and someone close to you may raise unex­pected objections when you describe a new strategy.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) - It may be time for you to trade places with a loved one so that you can both learn a few important and timely les­sons about each other.

THERE'S NOTHING FISHY ABOUT IT! CLASSIFIED ADS REALLY GET RESULTS! '----·-·-· .. • ..... • ••• -·--·-·_· __ • __ ._._. ____ ~.,,.-~-·- .·.~ •• :,~._·:~: .•• ":.' :·. :·._,._,. __ • •.•• I

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pattern 9 Court matter

12 Pension-plan abbr.

13 Baseball great

14 Not at home 15 Reid or

Conway 16 Concoct 17 Beige 18 Egotism 20 Cyprinoid

fish 21 Golden Gate

Bridge locale (abbr.) ·

23 Switch positions

24 Store fodder 28 Guido's high

note 30 or overall

plans 32 Loose

garment 34 Those

holding ollice 35 TV's Jay-36 Scheme 39 -Aviv 40 Cover with a

long, narrow mark

41 Night before 43 Selenium

symbol 44 Norris ID 45 Macaw 47 Revise text 50 Escaped 51 Type of tea 54 Assist 55 Car name 56-Tin Tin 57 Madre's

hermana 58 Jagged rocks 59 Begley and

Sullivan

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1 Fruit seed 2 Mr. Onassis 3 Light

supplier 4 Rude huts

Answer to Previous Puzzle

2-13 © 1998 United Feature Syndicate

5 Ruler 6 Algonquian

Indian 7 Base 8 Half an em 9 Mythical bird

10 A cont. 11 R-V linkup

17 Unsuccessful car

19 Artificial language

20 Profit on bank acct.

21 Feudal slaves 22 -on air 24 Type of hunt

(2wds.) 25 "By the time

--to Phoenix"

26 Boundaries 27 School (Fr.) 29 Abridgement,

for shor1 31 Genetic

material 33 Build 37 Mr. Fleming 38 Escapes by

deceit 42 Teutonic deity 45 Actor Alan -46 Farm unit 47 Dine 48 Roman 502 49 Mountain on

Crete 50 On behalf of 52 Concealed 53 Part of Q&A 55 Washington,

Kidsp~ SOLVE THE REBUS BY WRITING ~'II TMIN THE NAMES OF THE PICTURE

CLUES AND ADDING OR SUB1l1ACT1NG THE LETTERS.

1.

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•

26-MARIAN!,.S VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23, 1999

Florida ... Continued from page 28

ranked No. 1 in the preseason and went on to win the national title: Tennessee ( J 951 ): Michigan State ( 1952): Oklahoma ( 1956. 1974. 1975. 1985 ): Alabama (1978): and Florida State (1993).

Nebraska ·s move to No. 3 -it is third in the latest coaches' poll. too - means the Cornhuskers might have a chance to overtake the Hokies in the BCS standings, which uses polls, computers and

Car .. ·. Continued from page 1

from inside the car. Police said all occupants of the

car were U.S. Navy personnel. There were two men and two women in the vehicle. The driver of the Tercel sustained facial in­juries. The front sea: passenger was taken to the Naval Hospital where he was pronounced dead as a result of the serious injuries he had sustained.

The two women in the backseat both sustained minor injuries and were also taken to the Naval Hos­pital for treatment.

The Guam Police Department said the man's name is being with­held until it is confirmed his fam­ily is notified.

Meanwhile, officers are look­ing into the death of 33-year-old Sherri Lea Taylor.

The Guam Police Department said Taylor had passed away dur­ing the morning hours of this past Saturday.

Police said their interest in Taylor's death stems from an ear-

New FCC. . . Continued froni_ page 1

telecommunications, yesterday said the FCC rule will force exist­ing CNMI telecommunications firm to open up their lines to other internet access providers. thereby impacting on the cost and effi­ciency of these services.

.. This is something good for consumers of internet access and other data services. The higher the speed. the higher the capabili­ties. the better for us." said Webb.

While 128 K has become the standard speed in the U.S. main­lanJ. the C~IMI still makes use of 56 K. saiJ Webb. He. however. said while the 128 K is also avail­able here. it's cost is rather too

'Proceed . .. Continued from page 1

financial evaluation is expected tobe oulin mid-December to give the board ample time to review it before finally deciding on award­ing the contract to any of the firms.

Burns & McDonnel released in October the result of its evaluation of bidders' proposals where Enron International' s proposal was ranked first closely followed by Tomen Power, then HEI Power Corp.

The board has 90 days to re­lease its final decision on the project since its meeting in Oct. 13.

strength-of-schedule to deter­mine which teams will play in its national title game - the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4. The latest BCS standings will be released Monday.

Florida State received 66 first­place votes and 1,746 points from the 70 sports writers and broadcasters on the AP panel. Last week the Seminoles had 63 first-place votes.

Virginia Tech, which plays Boston College on Friday, had four first-place votes and 1,681 points; Nebraska, at Colorado on Friday, had 1,607 points.

lier case involving Taylor. LastNov.12,ataround !Oin

the evening police responded to a disturbance call at the Hamilton Guest House in Hagatiia.

When officers arrived on the scene they found Taylor with fa. cial wounds.

Taylor sustained cuts to her lip and the right side of her face.

She also complained of pain to her head and neck_

Taylor was taken to the Guam Memorial Hospital.

After an investigation offic­ers determined Taylor was home alone when a man allegedly forced his way into her room and assaulted her.

Police were able to obtain the identity of the suspect in the case.

Last Nov. 3, they spotted him along Route 8 near Bottoms Lounge in Maite: 40-year-old Anthony Chargualaf Flores from Mongmong was arrested for aggravated assault and later booked and confined at the Hagatiia Detention Center.

After being released Taylor was readmitted to the hos pi ta!

prohibitive. "With this FCC rule, we expect

the cost to lower down," added Webb.

FCC adopted the rules on Nov. 18.

The Order is intended to ensure that as many companies as pos­sible will be able to deploy new technologies on a faster, more cost­effective basis and should acceler­ate the ability of residential and small business customers to access competitive broadband services from their choice of providers.

It also permits competitive car­riers to obtain access to the high­frequency portion of the local loop from the incumlx:nt local ex­change rnrriers (LECs) over which the incumbent LEC pro­vides voice services.

CUC's move to conduct an­otherfinancial evaluation has been branded by Enron as "delay tac­tic" in awarding the contract.

Once the results of the new in­dependent financial analysis of CUC does not merit the economic feasibility of the controversial $120 million power plant project. or any changes in the project speci­fication from 80 MW to 70 MW or lower is needed, then a new request for proposal (RFP) may be issued thereby going back to square one.

The Commonwealth Develop­ment Authority (CDA) also ear-1 ier raised concerns on the project's funding needs, citing

Colts. . . Continued from page 28

In other NFL games, it was Tampa Bay 19,Atlanta IO; New York Jets 17, Buffalo 7; Caro­lina 31, Cleveland 17; Green Bay 26, Detroit 17; Miami 27, New England 17; Tennessee 16, Pittsburgh IO; and Seattle 31, Kansas City 19.

In late games, it was Balti­more at Cincinnati, Chicago at San Diego, Dallas at Ari{ona, New York Giants at Washing­ton, St. Louis at San Francisco, and New Orleans at Jackson-

last week and on Saturday passed away.

Officers do have the cause of death of the victim and are wait­ing the results of an autopsy to decide whether Taylor's death is related to her being a victim of an assault.

In other police news, a Yigo woman reported at around 4 in the morning she found an un­known man inside her room "ex­posed."

The woman also reported the man stole some jewelry from her room then fled her house.

Kisano Opisbo, 29, was ar­rested for burglary, criminal sexual conduct, disorderly con­duct, resisting arrest. He was later booked and confined at the Hagatfia Detention Facility.

Police obtained a description of the suspect and moments later located him hiding outside Erica's Lounge in Yigo.

When officers tried to subdue the suspect he tried to escape. The police department said the man was brought under control and arrested for his involvement in the incident.

This will enable competitive carriers to provide digital sub­scriber line (DSL)-based services over the same telephone lines si­multaneously used by incumbent LECs to provide hasic telephone servi.ce, a technique referred to as "line sharing."

Line sharing will pe1mit con­sumers to obtain innovative ser­vices from either incumbent or competitive carriers, without hav­ing to forego the traditional voice services from their provider of choice.

Since line sharing allows cus­tomers to receive both services on the same line. it eliminates the need for consumers to procure a

second iine. This allows for more efficient use of the existing tele­phone network.

CUC's approximately $105 mil­lion debt to CDA. By next year, CUC's grace period will be up, and payments need to start.

CDA Board Chairman Juan S. Tenorio earlier asked CUC to re­evaluate its plans fort he 80 mega­watt power plant project, and sug­gested that the project be done in phases. He said CDA has grounds to be concerned due to the cost factor.

The $120 million power plant is so far the largest project to be undertaken by the CNMI.

The next CUC board meeting will be scheduled either at the last week of November or early De­cember.

ville. The Monday night matchup

is Oakland at Denver. Bucs 19, Falcons 10

At Tampa, Florida, rookie Martin Gramatica kicked four field goals and Donnie Abraham scored on a 47-yard intercep­tion return in the final minute as the Buccaneers won their third straight.

Tampa Bay (6-4) pulled into a three-way tie for the NFC Central lead with Detroit and Minnesota. Atlanta (2-8) has

lost four of its last five. Jets 17, Bills 7

At East Rutherford, New Jer­sey, defensive lineman Eric Ogbogu recovered Doug Flutie's fumble in the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown as the revived New York Jets ( 4-6) won their third in a row.

The Bills (7-4) held Curtis Martin to 64 yards, stopping his streak of 100-yard games at four .. But Buffalo also had trouble generating offense, gaining only 265 yards.

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Governor. • • Continued from page 1

Saipan) lamented that while other tourist destinations in the region, including Guam, have undertaken moves to upgrade tourist sites by constructing state-of-the-art at­tractions like theme parks, for in­stance, the CNMI has remained

Federal ... Continued from page 1

Hall in a press statement. Court records showed that the

amended consolidated complaint filed by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees, Local 5, AFL-CIO and Commonwealth Labor Federation before NLRB alleges interference with union activities.

The complaint also alleges dis­crimination through nonrenewal of the contracts of35 alien work­ers alleged to be active in the union, constructive discharge of a non-resident worker, and termi­nation of a local worker.

NLRB filed last August its pe­tition with the federal court seek­ing temporary injunctive relief to restrain Dai-lchi from further en­gaging in unfair labor practices and to restore the status quo by reinstatement of the 37 alleged discriminatees pending the Board's decision on the merits.

Munson in his order issued last Wednesday concluded that as the Administrative Law Judge of the Board found, Dai-Ichi 'sevidence sufficiently rebuts NLRB 's claims by showing that the nonrenewals would have occu1Ted even in the absence of union activity.

"Economic conditions and lo­cal law requirements thus appear to factor heavily into respondent's (Dai-lchi) decision not to renew the contracts of some of its work­ers," Munson said.

Although the statistics proffered by NLRB purports to show a sig­nificantly greater proportion of

with not much sites and tourist activities except for World War II monuments, dive spots, water sports and jungle hikes.

The MTC will be composed of representatives from both public and private sectors as part of plans to come up with a unified effort to make the islands more attractive to tourists.

union activists were not renewed, the judge pointed out, the Hotel has effectively challenged those statistics with evidence that 14 of the 37 alleged discriminatees were identified as active union partici­pants only after they were noti­fied that their contracts would not be renewed.

'"Because petitioner's evidence does not appear sufficient to show pretext, the court concludes that petitioner has failed to demon­strate that it has a fair chance of success on the merits of the charges relating to the discrimi­natory nonrenewal of the con­tracts of the 35 nonresident work­ers, as indeed the ALJ's report bears out,'' Munson said.

As to Rang:amar' s case, Munson said the court finds Dai-le hi 's vague allegations of poor work perfom1ance is effectively coun­tered by NLRB 's evidence show­ing that the timing of respondent's discharge was just after her visit to the Horiguchi Building where the NLRB 's Saipan office is lo­cated and her interrogation by management concerning the visit.

''The court thus concludes peti­tioner will likely prevail and in factdidprevail intheAIJ'sdeci­sion, on the merits of its discharge that respondent was discriminatorily discharged be­cause of her union activities," Munson said.

Hall said Dai-lchi is optimistic that it will prevail on its challenge to the NLRB 's decision to over­turn the results of the first election among its employees, in which the union lost by a substantial margin.

'.~ ';•

('

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VJEWS-27

NBA rounduv ...

Minnesota snaps road losing streak VANCOUVER, British Co­lumbia (AP) - Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 14 rebounds as Minnesota snapped an l l -game road losing streak, beat­ing Vancouver 105-81 on Sun­day.

Rookie Wally Szczerbiak added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and Terrell Brandon had 18 and eight assists as the Timberwolves won their fifth game in six outings to improve to 5-2. Minnesota also beat Vancouver for the 12th time in 13 meetings.

Minnesota's last road victory - not counting its victory over Sacramento in Tokyo this month -was March 24, when it beat the Celtics in Boston.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 15 points and 11 re bounds for the Grizzlies.

Pistons 113, Bucks 94 In Auburn Hills, Michigan,

Grant Hill had 31 points and seven assists to lead surging Detroit to its third straight vic­tory.

The Pistons have won five of seven since starting the year 0-4. Detroit out-rebounded Mil-

NBA standings EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION

w L Pel GB Miami 8 2 .800 -Boslon 6 4 .600 2 New York 6 6 .500 3 Ortando 5 6 .455 31-2 Philadelphia 5 6 .455 31-2 Washinglon 2 8 200 6 New Jersey 1 CENTRAL DIVISION

9 .100 7

Toronlo 7 3 .700 -Indiana 6 4 .600 1 Charlolte 6 5 .545 1 1-2 Milwaukee 6 5 .545 11-2 Cleveland 4 5 .444 2 1-2 Delrott 5 6 .455 21-2 Atlanla 3 7 .300 4 Chica~ 1 9 .100 6 WES RN CONFERENCE Midwest Division San Anlonio 8 3 .727 -Minnesola 5 2 .714 1 Ulah 6 4 .600 1 t-2 Denver 4 5 .444 3 Dallas 4 7 .364 4 Vancouver 3 6 .333 4 Houslon 2 10 .167 61-2 Pacific Division Portland 10 1 .909 -Sacramenlo 7 1 .875 11-2 Saaltle 9 3 .750 11-2 LA Lakers B 4 .667 21-2 Phoenix 7 4 .636 3 L.A. Clipr,rs 3 7 .300 61-2 GokJen lale 2 7 222 7

waukee 43-28, including 36-18 in the final three quarters.

Lindsey Hunter scored 21 and Jerry Stackhouse had 19 for De­troit.

Ray Allen led the Bucks with 33 on 13-of-15 shooting and Glenn Robinson added 20.

Suns 99, Supersonics 86 In Phoenix, Jason Kidd scored

l'8 of his 25 points in the second half, and Phoenix handed Se­attle its first loss in seven games against Western Conference opponents.

Kidd also had 14 assists and seven rebounds, helping the Suns keep up their recent mastery of the SuperSonics by beating them for the sixth consecutive time.

Tom Gugliotta scored 16 points for Phoenix. Vernon Maxwell scored 20 points off the bench for Seattle - going 4-for-7 on 3-pointers, and Ruben Patterson and Vin Baker had 13 points each. Baker also grabbed 14 rebounds.

Kings 100, Rockets 105 In Sacramento, California,

Chris Webber had 28 points and I I rebounds and Jason Will­iams added 25 points and 12

assists as Sacramento Kings won its sixth straight.

The Kings improved to 7-1, tying the franchise mark for the best start, ·held by the 1952-53 Rochester Royals.

Rookie Steve Francis had 21 points and nine assists for Hous­ton, which lost its fifth con­secutive game and fell to 2-10 this season.

Hakeem Olajuwon had 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Charles Barkley scored 19.

Raptors 111, Lakers 102 In Los Angeles, Vince Carter

had a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds despite bruising his right hip as Toronto defeated the Lakers for the first time in Los Angeles. .

Carter was knocked down hard in the third quarter and was diagnosed with a bruised hip. After a few minutes lying on the floor, he got up and remained in the game.

Shaquille O'Neal had 37 points and 19 rebounds for the Lake rs to complete a four-game stretch this week in which he scored at least 30 points a game. Glen Rice added 29 points.

Sprewell leads Knicks Toronto Raptors' Doug Christie (13) looks to go up tor a layup against Los Angeles Lakers' Robert Horry, right, and Shaquil/e O'Neal. The

in victory vs. his former team ;,.;,t;nnis team falls in finals. OAKLAND,California(AP)- wanted to "crush" and "kill" his

1

Latrell Sprewell got what he old team, returned to a volatile HARTFORD, Connecticut wanted out of his bitter reunion reception. He was as much the (AP) - Alex O'Brien and with coach P.J. Carlesimo. target of derisive chants and jeers Sebastien Lareu defeated No. 1-

"Ifinally got to come back here as support and cheers from the ranked Mahesh Bhupathi and and play," Sprewell said after lead- divided crowd in the packed Oak- Leander Peas 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, tow in ing the New York Knicks past land Arena. · the Phoenix ATP Tour World GoldenState86-79Saturdaynight "He handled himself well," Doubles Championship on Sun-in his first game against the War- teammate Marcus Camby said. day. riorssincechokingCarlesimotwo "He knew what kind of environ- In a rematch of the U.S. Open years ago. ment he was in. All he wanted to final, the American O'Brien and

"It was an uphill battle for me do was win. Canadian Lareau once again beat and a struggle for my family the "We knew how much it meant the Indian duo. whole time. To be able to come for Spree. We wanted to win for O'Brien and Lareau converted backandgetthisvictorymeanta him. But it's not over. We get six of eight break points in the lot." them again in two weeks in New match. They also had only one

Sprewell, who in the days lead- York. I'm sure it's going to be just double fault the entire match. ing up to the game had said he as wild then." "We were on fire," O'Brien

said_ "It was one of those days where everythirig worked out."

O'Brien, 29, and Lareau, 26, finish the year as the No. 2-ranked team in the world. They won four of five finals in 1999 and are 8-7 in career finals.

O'Brien and Lareau split dlrs 170,000 for their performance in the World Doubles in addition to receiving an $80,000 bonus for finishing in the No. 2 spot.

The pair will play with new partners next year, with O'Brien teaming up with American Jared Palmer and Lareau playing with Canadian Daniel Nestor.

Jr m.iddleweight boxer remains in critical condition ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (AP) - Stephan Johnson re­mained in critical condition fol­lowing a brain injury in a junior middleweight bout against Paul Vaden.

His manager said after the Sat­urday night bout that surgery was planned. But the wife of the 31-year-old boxer said Sunday her husband was not operated on.

The scheduled 12-round fight was on the undercard of the Michael Grant-Andrew Golota heavyweight bout at Trump Taj Mahal. Grant stopped Golota in the 10th round.

Johnson, who was in the hospital lobby with the fighter's mother and four family friends Sunday afternoon.

They all declined comment on Johnson's condition, as did ad­ministrative supervisor Donna Burkowski, citing the mother's wishes.

Johnson of Brooklyn, New York, had been diagnosed with a subdural hematom; and swelling of the brain after being knocked out in the I 0th round. -

"This is a major injury," said Dr. Rick Snepar, who treated him at ringside. "This is the worst kind of thing that can happen to a boxer."

DOWN AND OUT. Stephan Johnson is wheeled out on a stretcher after being knocked out during his middleweight tight against USBA junior middleweight champion Paul Vaden in Atlantic City, New Jersey Saturday. AP

Bonnie Johnson said her hus­band was in critical condition. Atlantic City Medical Center would not release information at the request of Johnson's mother.

"Everything's the same as it was last night," said Bonnie

Snepar could not be reached Sunday. His answering service said he was not on call and there was no answer at his home tele­phone.

-

28-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY- NOVEMBER 23 1999

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. " ... ·.• "-·.· . ........ ··_-- i..·. ~ SPORTS In Rocball action

Bwilsbwils defeat Smackers THE last four games ofRocball's pre-season games ended last week.

In those last four pre-season games, the Bwilsbwils defeated the Smackers in three sets 39 to 25, the Shooting Stars tied 37 to 37 against a group of players that represented various other teams, Gymless crushed No-fear 48 to 1, and the Brotherhood outlasted a group ofRocball players in a pick­up game, 46 to 30.

At the conclusion of Rocball's pre-season practice games, the Jammers had the best offensive record by scoring an average of 47 points per game. Team Gymless had the best defensive record for the pre-season games by only allowing their opponents to score an average of 18 points per game against them.

In personal accomplishments, Freddy Pelisamen of the Brother­hood, Vince Tagabuel of DX, and

Sonny John of the J ammers tied for scoring the most aces at 6 aces each. Glen Dikito of NOYB and Sonny John of the Jammers both scored 3 xunks each for the most xunks in Rocball 's pre-season games.

In the category of Kees and Goals, Steve Santos of the Brotherhood and Tyce Mister of Gymless tied for the most kees at 9 kees each and Phillip Rudolph of the Jammers won in the goal scoring category

Reigning CNMI chess champion Manny Domingo (extreme right) and Sablan Construction's Manny Chargualaf (extreme left) watch the game between Jun Baja (second from left) and Fred Mamitag in the ongoing Coca Cola chess team tournament. Photo courtesy of CNMI Chess Association

In Coca Cola chess team tourney

R&F still ahead of the pack LED BY reigning CNMI cham­pion Manny Domingo, R&F En­terprises on Sunday blanked Dol­lar Days Wholesale 3-0 to retain its commanding lead in the 1999 Coca Cola chess team tournament.

With three rounds left, R&F now has 18 points, 3.5. points ahead ofY ana Law Office, which scored 1- I against Cartown with

the board 2 game rescheduled. Cartown, which has 13. 5 points,

shares third-fourth places with Sablan Construction.

Dollar Days and Fortune Inter­national are tied for fifth-sixth places with 13 points, while Com­puter World is on eighth and last place with 12.

Sponsored by Coca Cola Bev-

erage Co. Micronesia, Inc., the double round-robin tournament is held every Sunday at Afetna Square Building in San Antonio. Games begin at 1 p.m. Time con­trol is two hours per player per game.

For more information, call Manny Domingo at 235-3030, or Almer Santos at 235-7320.

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'Florida State is No. 1 in AP poll 1

NEW YORK (AP)- Florida State is perfectly comfortable at No. 1.

The Seminoles ( 11-0) easily retained the top spot in The Associated Press' Top 25 col­lege football poll Sunday after completing their third perfect regular season with a 30-23 win over Florida.

Virginia Tech ( I 0-0) held firm at No. 2 with a 62-7 vic­tory over Temple on Saturday,

and Nebraska moved to No. 3, replacing the Gators (9-2), who fell to No. 5.

Wisconsin (9-2), headed for the Rose Bow I to play Pac- IO cham­pion Stanford, also improved one spot to No. 4, followed by Florida, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Kansas State and No. 10 Michigan.

Florida State, set to play for a national title in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4, is trying to become the first

team to go wire-to-wire in the AP poll.

Nebraska in 1983 and Florida State in 1993 came closest. The '83 Comhuskers went 12-0 be­fore losing to Miami 31-30 in the Orange Bowl. The '93 Semi­noles were No. 1 for most of the season, lost to Notre Dame but beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to claim the title.

Since 1950, eight teams were Continued on page 26

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with 4 goals scored in three games. Overall, the top heavy hitter for

Roe ball's pre-season games was Tyce Mister with 2 aces, 2 xunks, 9 kees, and 2 goals for a total of 32 points. Hot on Tyce Misters per­formance for heavy hitter were Tarness Kapwich of the Jammers with 4 aces, 2 xunks, 5 kees, and 3 goals for 31 points and Marino Plunglulug of Shooting Star with 6 aces, 2 xunks, 6 kees and 1 goal for 31 points.

~season· Games.Standings <ream Won Jammers . . > \ . . 3

. Brotherhood i3 DX • ) : . 2 Chuukanos .2 Gymless.· 2 Shooting .Star• 2 Bwilsbwils 1 Smackers 1 lgi-Ogo 1 No-Limit 1 NOYB 0

Loss . ·O .

0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3

Gov't softball team standings Team DPS DCCA REV. & TAX CUC CHC/DPH CPA LEGISLATURE CUSTOMS COURTHOUSE GAVELS DEQ CHC EMERGENCY 1 DLNRTOROS . GARAPAN ELEM. SCH. DIV. OF FISH & WILDLIFE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE DEPT. OF LAB. & IMMIG. DIV. OF PUBLIC LAND & SURVEY FIRE DEPT. DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS MAYOR'S OFFICE

Wins 7 7 7 5 5 5 4 4 5 2 4 3 2 4 3 3 3 2 2 0

Loss 0 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 i

i Top Batters (as of 11 /16/99) l Based on 22 or more at bats

! Name Team i Jerry Ayuyu DPS j Bill Benavente Rev. & Tax I Brien Nicholas Gavels 1 Dennis Ngeskebei CUC I Frank Pangelinan DPS

Bradley Ngewalk E-1 Scott Santos DCCA Mike Muna DPH Outlaws Melvin Sakisat DCCA Florencio Falig Gavels

AB 22 28 25 25 22 29 24 24 22 31

Hits 20 23 19 19 16 21 17 17 15 21

Avg. .909 .821 .760 .760 .727 .724 .708 .708 .681 .677

Most Doubles: (1 O) Ismael Aguon, (8) Poland Masaharu (7) Bradley Ngewalk, Donald Pangelinan (6) Jeff Cabrera, Bill

Continued on page 26

Colts rout Eagles for sixth straight win PHILADELPHIA (AP) - it's not because of an injury or Peyton Manning finally got because we were getting blown benched - for being too good. out."

After leading Indianapolis to a Manning threw for 235 yards 41-point lead Sunday, Manning andthreetouchdownsbeforeleav-sat out the fourth quarter of the ing with a 44-3 lead at Veterans Colts' 44-17 victory over the Stadium. Rookie Edgerrin James Philadelphia Eagles. ran for 117 yards and two touch-

It was the first time in his two- downs in the first quarter and fin-year NFL career that Manning ished with a career-high 152yards, watched a play from the sideline. pushing him over 1,000 for the He had taken 1,590 consecutive season. snaps since getting drafted No. 1 The Colts (8-2) are tied with in 1998. Miami for first place in the AFC . ''I'm ~!ad it's_beca~se,:,v,e had a East~;fue''Ey!p~es fell to 3-8.

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960 Sout?)M@rij)ecP[iJl.(\$J,l\t1:k'BM "AIPAN MP 9 6 9 s1o Tamum'ng'P!az°li.''Ct.l 96911 " · ' I

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