News Digest
■ Viewers of the 2000 Sydney
games were left in awe after tiie
competitions came to a dose.
THE ASSOCIATED Pfl ESS
SYDNEY, Australia
-Sydneysiders watched their
beloved bridge spit red fire, as it
foamed gold into the harbor
below. Then, in a final blaze of
luminous glory, the five Olympic
rings exploded to blackness.
"Bring back the rings,"
screamed Malena Cordera, a law
clerk who watched in rapt
amazement Sunday night with a
more than a million others. "I
miss them already.”
Across the water, real estate
mogul Peter Kampfer beamed
with pride when Juan Antonio
Samaranch pronounced Sydney
2000 the "best games ever.” This
time, he knew, the venerable
Olympics czar was not exagger
ating.
“I'm speechless,” said
Kampfer, who is usually not “In
my wildest dreams I did not
expect everything to go so well.
People will go home, and they
will remember us."
After seven years of prepara
tion; Aussies had dazzled,
charmed and - if medals are
counted on a per capita basis -
conquered a world that too often
forgets about them.
“G'day,” the introductory
cliche, is widely replaced by the
congratulatory: “Good onya.”
Tom and Louisa Shields, on a
backpack honeymoon from San
Francisco, came avfray as com
mitted Oz lovers. “We were really
impressed, with everything,”
Tom said. “The people, the trans
port, the whole thing."
And the final flourish, an
orgy of pyrotechnics that
seemed to light up half the
Southern Hemisphere, elevated
them to gush mode.
“My God, you didn’t know
where to look," Louisa Sheilds
said. “Fireworks came from over
head, from the sides, from the
tops of buildings.”
She forgot to mention the
streak of flame 1,000 feet up as an
F-lll fighter bomber buzzed the
harbor bridge trailing ignited
fuel
With every outsider’s acco
lade, Australians seemed to lbse
more of the condition known
here as “cultural cringe,” a collec
tive anxiety about what everyone
else thinks about them.
“Australians now realize how
good they can be, and this will
inspire us in other areas,” said
Paul Vlagsma, a University of
Sydney engineer. “As far as I’m
concerned, the Olympics can go
on forever.”
But the games ended Sunday
night, and newspaper headlines
predicted psychologists would
be overwhelmed with cases of
post-rings letdown.
Traffic, miraculously free
flowing during the Olympics
because so many Sydneysiders
left town, will go back to its
habitual snarl. Bar talk will be
deprived of the butt of so many
jokes: Uic^Sydney organizing
committed
The games seemed to bring
out the Aussies’ best Praise was
heaped upon 47,000 volunteers
who shepherded visitors, hauled
supplies, solved problems and,
essentially, made the games hap
P®1* >
Wry, irreverent wit pervaded *
“Australians now realize how good they can be,
and this will inspire us in other areas. As far as
I’m concerned, the Olympics can-go on forever/’
Paul Vlagsma
University of Sydney engineer
the Aussie-styie Olympics, mak
ing believers of the most cynical.
Each night at 11, Australia
watched “The Dream,” a sort of
adults-only “Sports Night” with
two commentators, Roy and HG,
who reported on the day’s
action.
Their furry stuffed animal,
Fatso the Wombat, eclipsed the
three official cuddly mascots.
Fatso was auctioned off for
$40,000.
After being turned away from
the U.S. team’s party venue, they
gibed at Yankee unfriendliness.
In references to past games, they
say "toilet” for Atlanta. New slang
for visiting the men’s room is
"going to Atlanta.”
Beneath the surface, there
was bitterness and dispute. Ric
Birch, who directed the smash
hit opening ceremony and the
closing, announced he was mov
ing to California with his
American wife.
In an interview with the
Australian Financial Review, he
excoriated politicians who
organized the games. As he was
designing a show about toler
ance and understanding, Birch
said, officials tried to fire him.
On the 36th floor of
Grosvenor Place, however, Steve
Marando had only positive
thoughts about his city’s
Olympics.
"When I saw reaction to the
opening ceremony, I knew we'd
done it,” he said. “You could walk
through the streets and feel the
spirit Before, everyone knocked
the Olympics. Since they began,
not one negative remark.”
Austria gathering
rebuilds lost youth
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ULRICHSBERG, Austria -
Austria’s right-wing firebrand
Joerg Haider joined veterans of
Adolf Hitler’s army on a moun
taintop Sunday, and called for
respect and tolerance for die gen
eration that "lost their youth” in
World Warn.
Haider, former chairman of
the far-right Freedom Party,
received a spontaneous standing
ovation from a crowd of about
2,000 aging Austrians and
Germans who served in the Nazi
forces.
The annual gathering has
been criticized by those who see it
as glossing over the honors of the
Nazi regime. Nevertheless, Haider
insisted that the gathering serves
to “thank those who built the
peaceful Europe we enjoy today.”
“Most who come here are not
old Nazis or neo-Nazis,” Haider
said. “They are old citizens who
suffered during the war and lost
their youth to the war and then
began to rebuild.”
The Ulrichsberg gathering,
held each year on the first Sunday
of October, has been harshly criti
cized as a festival for old Nazis that
Weather
TODAY
Partly cloudy
high 80, low 54
TOMORROW
Partly cloudy
high 79, low 51
serves as a feeding ground for
neo-Nazis. Three years ago, the
ruin of a church that serves as a
monument to Nazi soldiers who
died in the war was attacked and
severely damaged. It has since
been restored.
Whether the criticism has
sunk in or die veterans have sim
ply mellowed with age, the theme
of this year's 41st gathering cen
tered largely on democracy for all
ofEurope.
During his speech to the
crowd, Haider called for compen
sation for slave laborers, who were 1
forced to work on farms and in
factories throughout Hitler's Third
Reich. He also endorsed tolerance
for ethnic minorities in Europe.
Those remarks were far differ
ent from comments he made to
the veterans nine years ago when
he praised Hitler’s employment
policy. That touched off a
firestorm of criticism which
forced him to resign as governor of
Carinthia state.
Despite those words, many
plaques on the walls of the ruined
church echoed Nazi-era themes
which have made this gathering
controversial. ,
At the entrance, die old SS slo
gan "Die Ehre Unserer Soldaten
Heisst Treue” (the honor of our
soldiers is patriotism) is carved in
large elaborate letters on the wall
Haider’s party joined the
Austrian coalition government in
February, triggering diplomatic
sanctions by the 14 other
European Union members. They
were lifted last month after an EU
commission found Austria in
compliance with EU standards of
democracy and human rights.
CCjf ss
Associate
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Putin leans to Yugoslav challenger
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW - Russia appeared
on Sunday to be accepting the
western view that Slobodan
Milosevic's days as president are
over, after a week of refusing to
take sides in Yugoslavia's election
dispute, observers said
But while Russian President
Vladimir Putin indicated support
for opposition presidential candi
date Vojislav Kostunica in conver
sations with western leaders this
weekend, he hasn’t abandoned
Milosevicyet
Putin is treading carefully,
keeping in mind Russians’ strong
support for fellow Slavs in Serbia
and powerful anti-NATO senti
ments, commentators said
Losing support from Russia,
which played a key role in negoti
ating an end to NATO’s air strikes
on Yugoslavia last year, would be a
major blow to Milosevic.
“Putin knows it’s time to leave
Milosevic behind, but is accepting
this rather unwillingly,” said polit
ical analyst Andrei Piontkovsky.
“Putin knows that that will anger
our patriots, nationalists who sup
port Slavic Serbia.”
Yugoslavia is at odds over who
won last week’s presidential vote.
Kostunica, citing figures from the
opposition’s poll watchers, says he
beat Milosevic outright; Milosevic
says a runoff is necessary because
he claims Kostunica got less than
50 percent of the vote.
Western countries have dis
missed talks of a runoff and urged
Milosevic to concede defeat
President Clinton called Putin
on Saturday, and the White House
said both leaders agreed “that it is
important for Milosevic to respect
die will of the Serbian people.”
The Russian presidential press
service would not comment on
what was said in the conversa
tions.
BracaNadezdk/Newsmakers
A protester shouts during an anti-AWosevk street rally Sunday that stopped traffic on a
major road in Belgrade Yugoslavia.The raHy of several thousand people was a chess
rehearsal fora street blockade in downtown Beigrade.The opposition plans to block all
the roads in Serbia and announce a general strike today to protest President Milosevic^
alleged election fraud.
Opponents contest drug as unsafe
■ FDA approval of RU-486 spars
debate on the possible action
to limit the use of the abortion pill.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Abortion oppo
nents contended Sunday that the new
abortion pill may be unsafe and raised
the possibility of government action to
limit its use.
Reform Party presidential candi
date Patrick Buchanan called RU-486,
the early-abortion method approved
Thursday by the Food and Drug
Administration for use in the United
States, “a human pesticide.”
“As president, I would use all the
power of my office, including appoint
ments at the FDA, to prevent its being
put on the market," Buchanan said on
NBC's “Meet the Press.”
Green Party candidate Ralph
Nader, also on NBC, countered that
use of the drug is “up to the woman,
not the government.”
“This is a pill that’s been shown to
be safe in Europe for numerous years,”
Nader said. "And it's preferable to sur
gical procedure.”
Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., said
on ABC’s “This Vyeek” that there are “a
lot of questions” surrounding the safe
‘They can protest as much as they want. This is a safe,
effective method.”
Elanor Smeal
president, Feminist Majority Foundation
ty of the pill - and that the outcome of
next month's election will determine *\
whether Congress has enough votes
next year to put limits on its use.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the
Feminist Majority Foundation, also on
ABC, said the drug had undergone
“tremendous review” by the FDA.
“They can protest as much as they
want,” she said of abortion foes. “This
is a safe, effective method.”
One lawmaker, Rep. Tom Coburn,
R-Okla., said after the FDA’s decision
that he would promote legislation
calling for severe limits on which doc
tors could administer mifepristone,
the pill's chemical name.
The Christian Coalition’s Pat
Robertson said on CBS’s “Face the
Nation” that the drug’s approval was a
“political ploy” by Democrats to cor
ner Republican presidential nominee
George W. Bush on the subject.
Bush, whose father's administra
tion banned RU-486 imports in 1989,
opposes abortion.
Vice President Gore supports the
pill option.
Robertson said the pill should be
reviewed to determine if it’s a “danger
to women.”
The pill blocks action of a hor
mone essential for maintaining preg
nancy.
It has been used by millions of
European women since it was
approved nearly a decade ago. Anti
abortion advocates have fought hard
to keep the Aug out of the U.S. since it
first appeared in France.
FDA Commissioner Jane Henney
approved mifepristone based on stud
ies that found it 92 percent to 95 per
cent effective in causing abortion.
Complications are rare; serious
bleeding occurs in 1 percent of
women.
But the pill-caused abortion
requires three doctor visits and, to
ensure it is performed accurately, the
FDA restricted its use to doctors with
certain training and mandated that
detailed patient-information
brochures be given to every woman.
World/Nation
The Associated Press
■Jemsalem
Negotiator's accusations,
ideas result in violence
Palestinian gunmen, cheered
by rock-throwing rioters, fired on
Israeli troops from rooftops and
abandoned buildings Sunday in
clashes across the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. Nine Palestinians were
killed when Israelis returned fire,
for a total of 29 in three days of
bloodshed over a contested
Jerusalem shrine
The latest fighting came as
Israeli and Palestinian peace
negotiators traded harsh accusa
tions instead of new ideas on how
to solve their disputes. *
■ Vatican Gty
Pope admits belittling
other religions was wrong
Pope John Paul II took per
sonal responsibility Sunday for a
controversial Vatican assertion of
the primacy of the Roman
Catholic Church, saying it was
wrong to see it as a belittling of
other religions.
“Our confession of Christ as
the only son, the medium
through which we see the face of
God, isn’t arrogance that depre
cates other religions but an
expression of joyous gratitude,”
the Pope said, saying that dia
logue had to start with making
onrs position dear.
Jews and leaders of some
Christian denominations object
ed to last month’s Vatican docu
ment, which renewed longstand
ing church assertions of its prima
cy over other denominations.
■China
Falun Gong supporters
removed from Guna parade
BEIJING — Police beat and
dragged away hundreds of Falun
Gong followers who emerged
from crowds to chant and unfurl
banners during China’s National
Day celebrations on Sunday in a
protest that forced the brief do
sure of much of Tiananmen
Square.
Tiie banned sect’s protest in
Beijing’s main square, one of its
biggest acts of civil disobedience,
was an embarrassment to
Chinese leaders, showing that the
meditation group remains
unbowed despite a brutal 14
month crackdown.
In the morning, small groups
of Falun Gong sect members
seemed to materializefrom
among the tens of thousands of
Chinese tourists who gathered on
the square tQ mark the 51st,
anniversary of communist rule.
■ Washington DlC
Nader, Buchanan fail to
meet criteria for debate
Ralph Nader and Pat
Buchanan staged a mini-debate
of their own Sunday and groused
about being shut out of Tuesday's
faceoff between George W. Bush
and A1 Gore.
“What are they afraid of?”
asked Buchanan, the Reform
Party nominee. Green Party can
didate Nader said he’ll be in
Boston for the Bush-Gore event
and joked: “Maybe I'll crawl up on
the stage there.”
The bipartisan Commission
on Presidential Debates, organiz
er of three 90-minute debates this
month between the Republican
Bush and Democrat Gore, said
last week that Buchanan and
Nader had failed to meet its crite
ria for participation Tuesday.
Candidates’ names must
appear on enough state ballots to
have a chance of winning a
majority of Electoral College
votes, and they must average 15
percent support in five major
national polls.
■Mexico
Hurricane Keith creates
havoc for part of Mexico
CHETUMAL — Coastal resi
dents of Mexico's Yucatan
Peninsula and northeastern
Belize fled their homes Sunday as
the dangerous core of Hurricane
Keith came ashore, bringing
strong wind and torrential rain.
With the storm packing 125
mph winds, scores of people in
Chetumal, a bay-side city of
130,000, abandoned their homes.
Mexican authorities set up 15
shelters and evacuated 800 peo
ple from high-risk areas in the
region, about 190 miles south of
Cancun.