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February 7, 2002

 
 
Sveiki, all!

A quieter week in the news. NATO membership looks hopeful for Latvia:

  • World Forum-Briefs [excerpt], Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga speaks at World Economic Forum (in New York)--women are still untapped as a resource on the world stage
  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leaves for Latvia; bilateral relationships to be discussed
  • Powell Predicts Large Expansion of NATO; won't say who, but NATO is bound to expand
  • US DEPT OF STATE: Support for Latvia's Integration in Euro-Atlantic Institutions; Powell praises Latvia's efforts
  • Olympics-Prusis case "slap in face" for anti-drug campaign-IOC; the previously reported angle of "compelling evidence" that it was supplements is lost in this report; IOC livid that arbitration reinstated Prusis (out, then in, then out, now in again)

This week's link deals with a new return to older times.

This week's picture could be a postcard from the 50's. Then again...

As always, AOL'ers, remember, mailer or not, Lat Chat spontaneously appears every Sunday on AOL starting around 9:00/9:30pm Eastern time, lasting until 11:00/11:30pm. AOL'ers can follow this link in their AOL browser: Town Square - Latvian chat. And thanks to you participating on the Latvian message board as well: LATVIA (both on AOL only).

Ar visu labu,

Silvija Peters

 

  Latvian Link

 
An interesting article on neo-paganism in Eastern Europe, including Latvia, can be found at:

http://www.vinland.org/heathen/pagancee/
 

 

  News


World Forum-Briefs [excerpt]
AP US & World Monday, February 04, 2002 1:18:00 AM
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press
By The Associated Press

      NEW YORK (AP) — Some 150 female participants at the World Economic Forum met Sunday to discuss increasing the representation of women in positions of power.
      "We are not tapping the world's resources available ... if women, who form roughly 50 percent of the world's population, are so underrepresented" in leadership ranks, said Vaira Vike-Freibiga, president of Latvia, at a press conference after the women's meeting.
      Agnes Touraine, chief executive of Vivendi Universal Publishing, said a woman doesn't need "to be a superwoman to be a CEO." It's important, she added, to explain "to our daughters that they can do it."
      Asked what kind of advice women should give their daughters, Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, said it was "to interrupt."
      "What happens in meetings and in life, when women raise their hands, men interrupt," she said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leaves for Latvia
COMTEX NewswireTuesday, February 05, 2002 2:23:00 AM
(c) 2002 ITAR-TASS

      KIEV — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoli Zlenko leaves for Latvia for a three-day official visit. He is going to discuss with Latvian officials prospects of the development of bilateral relations, including in the sphere of European integration, as well as some international problems.

Powell Predicts Large Expansion of NATO
Reuters Online Service Tuesday, February 05, 2002 9:21:00 PM
Copyright 2002 Reuters Ltd.

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Secretary of State Colin Powell predicted on Tuesday a large expansion of NATO at the Prague summit in November.
      Nine European countries have asked NATO to choose them at the summit. Diplomats and analysts believe at least four countries, and possibly up to seven, will be invited to join in the second wave of NATO enlargement.
      Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "I'm not prepared to say today how many of the aspirants will be invited but I think it's going to be a pretty good sized addition to the membership."
      "The standard will be — do they contribute to the alliance? Have they met the standards of the Membership Action Plan?" he added.
      The nine countries seeking membership are Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
      Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are among the leading contenders for membership. Diplomats say the decision on the applications by Bulgaria and Romania could go either way, while membership for Macedonia and Albania is a distant prospect. U.S. officials, however, have said they do not rule out the possibility of accepting all nine.
      In the first round of expansion in 1999, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the originally Western alliance, bringing membership up to 19.
      At talks with Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga on Tuesday, Powell offered "full U.S. support for Latvia's ongoing efforts to integrate fully into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including Latvia's work toward achieving its NATO Membership Action Plan objectives," the State Department said.

US DEPT OF STATE: Support for Latvia's Integration in Euro-Atlantic Institutions
COMTEX Newswire Wednesday, February 06, 2002 8:28:00 AM
(c) M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

      Feb 06, 2002 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) — Secretary Powell met today with the President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga. In their meeting, Secretary Powell offered President Vike-Freiberga full U.S. support for Latvia's ongoing efforts to integrate fully into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including Latvia's work toward achieving its NATO Membership Action Plan objectives.
      The Secretary told President Vike-Freiberga that he looked forward to the success of her initiative to work with the Latvian Parliament to amend the language requirement in Latvia's election laws. He also praised her efforts in the areas of integrating minority groups into Latvian society, fostering economic reform and integrity and transparency in government, and encouraging reconciliation with history.
      M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to infom2.com.

Olympics-Prusis case "slap in face" for anti-drug campaign-IOC
Reuters World Report Wednesday, February 06, 2002 5:58:00 PM
Copyright 2002 Reuters Ltd.
By Adrian Warner

      SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 6 (Reuters) — Olympic leaders hammered Latvia and bobsleigh on Wednesday for paving the way for Sandis Prusis to enter the Winter Olympics despite a doping scandal, calling it a "slap in the face" for anti-drug campaigners.
      International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical commission member Arne Ljungqvist called on sports officials to find a way of stopping Prusis from competing despite Tuesday's decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to over-rule an IOC ban on the driver.
      The International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT), which reduced a two-year ban on Prusis to three months giving him the go-ahead to compete despite a positive test for steroids, came under heavy fire from leading IOC members.
      "I think this is a slap in the face for us. It is a provocation to us all," Ljungqvist told Reuters at the end of an IOC session being held before Friday's start to the Salt Lake Games.
      "In this particular case there should be some further action taken, further discussion with the bobsleigh federation and Latvians to make sure he doesn't compete here. We don't want an unclean athlete here."
      To applause from IOC members, Canada's Dick Pound, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), said: "The presence of this athlete in the Olympic Winter Games does enormous harm to the image of the Games and to the spirit of Olympism and fair play.
      "The behaviour of the international federation in this matter, which I consider to be an abuse of its autonomy, has damaged its own reputation for supporting doping-free sport."
      SAME OBSERVATION
      The former IOC vice-president added: "I make the same observation with respect to the Latvian National Olympic Committee in its decision to enter this athlete into the Games in these circumstances.
      "I think the athlete himself should be ashamed to participate in the Olympic Games at this time and under these conditions."
      Norway's former Olympic speedskating champion Johann Olav Koss told the meeting: "I am disappointed by the CAS ruling because we want to have clean athletes in the Olympics and this is a disgrace to all athletes participating in this Games."
      Last Friday the IOC's executive board banned Prusis from the Games after he tested positive for nandrolone during a training session on the Olympic run at Park City in November.
      Steroid bans are usually for two years. But the three-month FIBT ban would have allowed the driver to compete in Salt Lake.
      But Tuesday's CAS statement said the IOC could not interfere with an international federation's autonomy unless it had violated the Olympic charter.
      IOC president Jacques Rogge told the session that the IOC would now look at ways of changing its charter to make sure the same situation did not occur again.
      "In this particular case, it was our conscience that called us to do this (ban him)," he said. "We respect the CAS decision. (But) It seems that we had a juridical loophole...We have lost the case but our conscience is clear."
 
 

  Picture Album

 
At first, or even second, glance, it looks like a classic picture postcard of the railway bridge from a quarter, or a half, century ago. But it's actually a snapshot from last July!
 

Train crossing the Daugava
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