However, if the internal computer clock is compared to another more accurate one that is corrected for leap year, an error will flag.

I am not certain how important missing leap year could be for a computer -- certainly it will be one day off after leap year passes. Of course, it is still better if the date does not need to be manually reset after the leap year event. Hopefully all other dates that year would still be correct -- so that manual correction would be possible. Don't know.

Another item is whether those who tested their computers used Windows 95 with the Microsoft patch intended ( ostensibly ) to make Win 95 y2k compliant.

All metals seem to be at the bottom of their channels. No big surprise. However it seems both silver and palladium have poked through their respective lines of resistance connecting the recent highs. I lucked out and bought back into silver at a good price ( 5.05 ) , so am well positioned for the move. Gold is so dead, its hard to tell if its really moving. Kind of like a glacier ... you have to watch it for a long time. Platinum has sought out my lower channel ( the gold one in previous charts ) , a little disappointing. I got in a bit early, but averaged down to 373.5, an OK starting point. Now have a full load. If the small move we saw today continues into tomorrow, it may well break through its line of resistance ... and Platinum II, The Summer Ecstasy, will officially begin.

The channels paint a glowing picture of pending opportunity. However, there is an alternative. If I wanted to, I could easily construct a channel scenario that has all metals breaking through to new lows. I don't even want to contemplate this scenario, since my bets are placed. I am encouraged by the recent action of silver and palladium, but will not relax until platinum and even gold begin to participate.

If silver, platinum and palladium start moving, its hard to believe that gold can do the opposite.

There is some good news, though -- gold is getting stronger compared to the commodity price index ( cry0 ) -- but mostly because cry0 is falling off a cliff. Also gold is rising slowly relative to the dropping interest rates. So -- despite gold's inactivity, it is gaining relative strength. A key item is whether cry0 breaks below 200. If it does, gold might actually go lower.

Best wishes to you -- JTF

The relative strength of gold to the US dollar will depend on how the Europeans view buying gold over the US dollar. Several items are clear -- gold is portable and traditionally a European choice in crisis. My guess is that if we have a Russian revolution -- we will have a gold rally, but we will not like what comes with it.

Whether the US markets rally along with the dollar will depend more on WJC's fortunes. Up alot if WJC is able to resurrect his tarnished reputation, and less so if not.

1 ) AG lowers rates? By how much? 30 year rates go to 2-3%?

2 ) South America continues its meltdown -- escape to safety in the US markets?

3 ) Europe gets the jitters with Russian uncertainty?

4 ) WJC avoids impeachment? WJC resigns?

All of the above? All but item 4?

I find it hard to believe that you are right, unless WJC is able to pull his chestnuts out of the fire.

I consider that a very good contrarian indicator that the Dow will be in the low three digits by then using Business Weak' s past horrible record on calling for the death of equities in the early 90's

Did you both notice the current news about how the Russian nuclear provinces are now complaining that they did not get the full amount of relief funds from the US ( and ? ) to dismantle the missles? Sounds like nuclear blackmail to me -- a prelude perhaps to what will come later if things get worse.

We could NEVER accuse Bill C of being a person who has been there, done that? Or could we ?

Maybe he has a different view of the world, and does he think to himself done that, been there....

I have never had sex with THAT women.... perhaps he is a bit of a pervert, and only likes to watch?

If that is the case, YOU ALL HAVE A PROBLEM - he IS the President of the USA, a real Dr Strangelove....

+++++++++++++

Charlie, are you still interested in nuggets, my mate is back in town ?!

Copyright © 1998 ALBERICH__A/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved

You said:

All Law comes from religious inspiration and scripture. Martial law comes from the

religion that worships power.

This , to me implies that The Christ did not desire to FORCE anyone to do anything.

In his confrontations with the adversary ( satan ) it was obvious that Satan tried to use force.

To me Martial Law means force.

Can you thiink of a better correllary between the first sentnce above and

the Gospel Of Brotherly Love in which we all allow others the Right to do as they please until and unless he/she/they get in our face or space or take what is not theirs?

I personally have no doubt that all

flavours of religions which have appeared in our Judaeo-Christian culture are

essentially power driven in their design.

This point could stand some clarification for me to be comfortable with the concept of which you speak.

I would discuss this point further with you, but not online.

My email is ajent@mena-ark.com in case u r innerested.

The public just isn't buying Hillary Rodham Clinton's story that she learned of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky only days before he admitted it to the world.

By DEBORAH ORIN NEW YORK POST NEWS

A whopping 84 percent of Americans think Mrs. Clinton knew of the affair for some time, according to a new Newsweek magazine poll. Only 11 percent believe she just found out.

The level of skepticism could rise because Newsweek also claims that Mrs. Clinton knew of another long-term affair of her husband's.

The previously undisclosed affair, in the late 1980s, almost broke up the Clintons' marriage, claims Newsweek, which didn't identify the woman except to say it wasn't Gennifer Flowers, with whom Clinton this year admitted to having an affair, after denying it for years.

The question of what - and when - the First Lady knew could be vital to her husband's political future.

That's because the White House is trying to put forth the spin that if Mrs. Clinton forgives her husband, so should the rest of the country, as in 1992 when he admitted causing pain in my marriage.

Mrs. Clinton is presenting herself as a victim who's a willing political prop, says Republican pollster Kellyanne Fitzpatrick.

The White House wants her to say, I forgive him' - and then tacitly ask all the rest of us to forgive him.

White House leakers even invoked Mrs. Clinton's name to answer criticism that the president should have apologized to Lewinsky when he spoke to the nation last Monday. That idea was withdrawn out of sensitivity to Mrs. Clinton, they claimed.

The White House spin machine keeps leaking various accounts of when Mrs. Clinton learned her husband cheated on her and lied.

The latest version is that the president 'fessed up to his wife on Thursday, Aug. 13, after returning home from a memorial service for the victims of the Nairobi embassy bombing.

Only then did the president supposedly admit his Lewinsky affair had gone on 18 months with at least half a dozen sexual encounters, says Newsweek, which says Mrs. Clinton is ticked off at suggestions she was an enabler who knew of the affair and helped cover it up.

The same report also says the president told his wife last January that he slipped briefly with Lewinsky - but adamantly denied Lewinsky could possibly have a semen-stained dress.

In another account, press secretary Marsha Berry claimed the First Lady was misled and first learned the truth over the weekend of Aug. 15-16.

But Berry said Mrs. Clinton learned the nature of ^the president's upcoming_ testimony over the weekend. The dodgy language could suggest Mrs. Clinton was simply saying she learned what he would say - not what he did.

If Clinton did, indeed, make a mini-confession last January, was Mrs. Clinton telling the truth when she told the world that it was all a vast right-wing conspiracy?

And if Mrs. Clinton had no reason to doubt her husband's word until Aug. 13 or 16, why had she been in hiding, avoiding reporters and TV interview requests for weeks, ever since Lewinsky cut a tell-all immunity deal with Sexgate prober Ken Starr?

Others say it is hard to believe Mrs. Clinton could have remained in the dark as she accompanied her husband to church on Sunday, Aug. 16 - when The Washington Post and TV commentators were telling the world her husband was getting ready to 'fess up to her.

The White House line is that Mrs. Clinton avoids TV and newspaper reports on Sexgate and that those items are omitted from news summaries provided to her.

Several factors make America an economic titan

By Cynthia L. Kemper

International Business Consultant

Aug. 23 - EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series on American global competitiveness based on interviews with Professor Jonathan Adelman, a specialist on China and Russia with the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies, and Agota Kuperman, a former senior diplomat for the U.S. Department of State and cultural attache to Germany.

American confidence in the U.S. economy evokes both elation and cautionary concern. While some are riding our current wave of prosperity with little or no worry about tomorrow, others question whether our success may only be the calm before the storm. But rather than a time for taking our successes for granted or forecasting gloom, some see the present as a time for proactive thinking and implementation designed to prepare our country for a more secure global future. Into the last group fall the University of Denver's Jonathan Adelman and former U.S. diplomat Agota Kuperman, who have taken on the task of assessing the assets and liabilities facing our country from a globally competitive perspective today. This week, our focus will be America's assets as it rounds the corner into the next millennium. Next week, we'll address our country's perceived liabilities, and conclude with some thoughts to ponder.

Overconfidence in a country like the United States - at the very height of its power - may be natural but can also be a very dangerous matter,'' Adelman said. The very fact that most of us overestimate our country's power and underestimate the threats and dangers it faces, should be cause for concern.''

It may be true that the United States is currently in the unique historical position of having no major enemies. And where productivity, economic output and military might are concerned, we remain No. 1 in the world.

But, the danger lies here: When you are the world leader, the tendency is to avoid or deny the need for risk management, thus leaving you unprepared,'' Adelman said. We should not automatically assume that the natural business cycle has been abolished; that growth will always be linear, bigger and better. Further, we've discovered that the transition to a free-market economy and democratic society is far more difficult for other countries than originally thought.''

Yet, why has the U.S. outpaced every other country in economic, political and military power? Where do our strengths lie? Here are Adelman and Kuperman's thoughts:

Information technology leadership. The United States is at the forefront of the global information technology revolution in development and adaptation.

Immigration. By continuing to take in 700,000 immigrants a year - the majority of all legal immigrants in the world - the United States benefits from people with a strong work ethic and new ideas. The 1930s wave of immigration of Central European Jewish refugees contributed greatly to the success of the Manhattan Project in 1945, while the current wave of Asian immigrants is contributing to our success in science and technology today.

Competitive environment. U.S. openness to immigration and technological advances has created a welcome, competitive environment for entrepreneurs - something greatly limited by governmental, cultural and societal limitations in many other countries.

Openness to failure. Our willingness to learn from failure has fostered a strong entrepreneurial spirit. In Europe, failure usually induces shame. In Silicon Valley, it's more often a badge of honor.

Labor mobility. Unlike our Asian and European counterparts, flexible American attitudes encourage openness to job mobility and flexibility.

Creative and proper use of capital. Ongoing studies indicate the American economy is much more efficient with the actual allocation and availability of capital than more capital-intensive economies like Japan and Germany.

Size. Until recently, the United States has been the world's largest free, open-market economy - better preparing us for global competition.

Agriculture. The United States has the best naturally endowed, marketized agricultural business culture in the world. Only 2 percent of our workforce is on the farm, yet it supplies all of our needs and a $50 billion surplus in exports.

Idealism/can-do attitude. The American frontier spirit,'' still alive and well, is at the core of our ability to continually overcome and create new and innovative ways to solve global problems. Cynthia L. Kemper is a Denver-based consultant and trainer who specializes in international business issues. Her column appears every Sunday. E-mail her at ckemper@edgewalkers.com.

In Shenzhen there are numerous hulks of unfinished contruction projects that ran out of money. Sometimes there is just the foundatations, sometimes the buliding is finished but the fittings are not put in and the place sits empty. Shenzhen is still a busy place and luckily is not affected by the floods but the projections for office and factory space were wildly optimistic.

After much lurking in this forum, this is my first day of posting. If anyone wants info on Hong Kong or China I would be pleased to help.

^HSI is up 3.8% right now and its pretty volatile.

The govt claim that they can support the market as much as they want to and that they have 92 billion in reservers. However, as one broker said, the combined funds of the speculators far exceeds this. Now the HK govt are in a corner, they cant pull out now or prices will fall, but they can't maintain this position forever.

HK had a laissez-faire reputation before this, but now its starting to behave more like the rest of the Asian basket cases. I half expect Tung Chee Wa to come on TV soon and call Soros a moron like Mahattir did!

Steve in TO__A : I don't really know how I posted before without a username. Its a good trick eh!

Regards

Colombo

Revelations 6:8 ( Vulgate )

et ecce equus pallidus et qui sedebat desuper nomen illi Mors et inferus sequebatur eum et data est illi potestas super quattuor partes terrae interficere gladio fame et morte et bestiis terrae

Revelations 6:8 ( King James )

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Of course, I don't really know anything about it.