Word: settlements
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...good news is that Barak wants to negotiate by mid-February the outlines of a settlement with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and begin talks with Syrian president Hafez Assad on returning the Golan Heights. Arafat and Assad, both ailing, realize this is probably their best and last chance to reach agreements. But Arafat and Barak are still haggling over a small parcel of Israeli-occupied territory. Albright wants to stay out of petty real estate disputes and keep Barak and Arafat focused on resolving bigger questions. But the men still distrust one another so much that it's hard...
First some facts. The WTO is basically a framework of international trade agreed among its member governments, together with a nascent dispute settlement mechanism for enforcing those agreements. It is much less an international bureaucracy. The Geneva headquarters hosts a mere 500 workers, including support staff. This staff mainly supports international negotiations, analyzes trade patterns and manages the dispute settlement process. Contrary to charges on the streets of Seattle, it does not write international trade rules: the member governments do that in the course of negotiations...
...second problem is one of standards. The activists are incensed that the WTO dispute settlement boards can rule that duly enacted U.S. laws are contrary to the WTO. This they claim is undemocratic on its face. But the critique is foolish: the whole point of international trade agreements is to bind the parties to a set of shared standards (that they have mutually adopted), so that they don't engage in unilateral actions to the detriment of others. The fact that such unilateral actions are democratically enacted within a member country is beside the point...
This ruling, which comes after extensive settlement negotiations, may mark the beginning of the end of a landmark case. Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy in 1995, after thousands of women filed lawsuits against the company, seeking damages for numerous illnesses allegedly brought on by their breast implants. Despite the stunning amounts of cash it compels the company to turn over, Tuesday's settlement is good news for Dow Corning - the plan allows it to pay back its creditors and return to business. Not just yet, though: The specifics of the bankruptcy ruling, to be released next week, could raise some...
...Volz, president of the Columbia, S.C., visitors' bureau, has advanced prostate cancer; he's been given two to three years to live. A few months ago, he received the funding for his viatical settlement, which handed him $58,500, or roughly 40% of his $150,000 policy. "There are some things I'd like to do, but I didn't have the resources for, like a trip to Hawaii or herbal remedies not covered by insurance," says Volz...