Year 2000 bug solved
THE JERUSALEM POST 9/16/99: "A computer amateur, who took a
six-month programming course 27 years ago and has since learned
applications during his IDF reserve duty, has found a solution to
the Y2K computer bug that is applicable to all databases. The
revolutionary solution, for which patents have been applied in
the US, compresses four digits for the 21st century into two
symbols, without interfering with any years from the 20th
century. It accomplishes this by using special algorithms for
expanding two symbols into four digits and compressing four
digits into two symbols.
The achievement belongs to Ben-Etzion Yaron, head of manpower and
payroll in the Hebrew University's department of computerized
information systems. It has already proven itself in checking for
and fixing computer bugs in the department's listing of faculty
sabbaticals scheduled for the 21st century.
Yaron received a Kaye
Prize for Innovation from the HU last June for a program that
identifies the bugs in programs running only on VAX computers.
Realizing that this limitation would restrict the use of his
invention, he worked day and night over the past two months to
expand the application to all computers and computer languages.
The only Y2K bugs it cannot fix, he said, are those in computer
components embedded in equipment, such as medical devices. The
result of his work is Sapir 2000, which makes possible the
analysis of computer programs written in COBOL, used in the 1970s
and '80s for databases that its developers thought would be
abandoned by the end of the century but remained, with repairs
over the years, to cause the Y2K bug.
Yaron's invention can even
identify errors in other programs that have already been revamped
to cope with Y2K and make corrections, thus providing a kind of
"second opinion" to ensure that chaos does not ensue after
January 1.
Sapir 2000 can also be applied to other situations
requiring expansion of existing information to incorporate
additional digits. It is estimated that the time needed by
Yaron's program to make databases compatible with the next
century is 15 percent-20% of the time required using other
solutions..."
Barak's secret meetings with PA No. 2
MA'ARIV 9/15/99: "Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Baraq
has recently held a number of secret meetings with Abu-Mazin
[Mahmud 'Abbas], the number two official in the Palestinian
Authority [PA]. The two discussed key issues pertaining to the
permanent arrangement. The meetings were kept a complete secret
even from the narrow circle of the prime minister's associates.
The two held three to four meetings over the past few weeks. At
least one of the meetings was held at the prime minister's home.
Baraq and Abu-Mazin tried to draw up a list of issues for the
permanent arrangement talks in an attempt to outline reasonable
solutions. Baraq tried to convince Abu-Mazin of the importance
of attaining a framework agreement between the two sides by
February 2000, according to his original plan.
The prime
minister also raised the need for self-restraint as well as the
need not to launch the permanent arrangement negotiations with
extremist statements that could cause an atmosphere of crisis
early on in the negotiations.
Abu-Mazin came to the meetings in his capacity as Yasir 'Arafat's
personal emissary and reported to the PA chairman on their
contents. Baraq, as far as known, did not report to anyone.
In the meantime, perplexity in Jerusalem is increasing in light
of the fact that the prime minister has not yet appointed anyone
to replace attorney Gil'ad Sher as head the negotiating team
with the Palestinians.
The leading candidates are attorney Yo'el
Singer, Major General 'Uzi Dayan, Shin Bet head 'Ami Ayalon,
Defense Ministry Director General Ilan Biran, and a new name
that has been raised in the last few days: businessman Yosi
Ginosar...
Another problem: The prime minister intends to conduct
the negotiations through two to three persons alone in a
discreet, covert, and private manner. The Palestinians, however,
formed a large team that includes a great number of legal
advisers -- among them a considerable international
"strengthening" -- professional negotiators and other
officials..."
[ISRAEL RADIO on 9/15/99 reports: "The prime
minister's bureau this morning denied Ma'ariv's report to the
effect that the prime minister has held secret negotiations with
Abu-Mazin on the permanent arrangement."]
[ISRAEL RADIO reported
today, 9/17/99 that Baraq has met secretly with Yasser Arafat.
No details of the meeting were available.]
Israel tours south Sudan
Omdurman's SUDAN TV 9/12/99: "The Israeli state-owned radio on
Friday [10 September] disclosed that some Israeli military
experts had toured south Sudan in [the] framework of exploration
visit to the lands occupied by the outlaw's movement [Sudanese
People's Liberation Movement]. The experts visited Yei, and the
areas in which a civil administration has been established by
the outlaws, the radio said. However, the radio did not mention
the number and names of the experts who entered the country
without the permission of the government, in a clear violation
of international norms.
The experts [who] were invited by rebel
leader, John Garang, were briefed on the military plans of the
outlaws Movement, and they were informed about the Movement's
endeavors to rebuild its forces.
It is worth mentioning that the
outlaw's Movement has been receiving technical and military aid
from the Jewish state. Garang has also sent some of his military
leaders to Israel to attend training sessions."
Divisions within Hamas
Beirut's AL NAHAR 9/1/99: "Recently there were some signs
indicating deep disagreements within Hamas. Leaflets were
distributed inside [the Palestinian territories] and abroad,
targeting the leaders of Hamas, such as Shyakh Ahmad Yasin. Are
these leaflets part of the struggle within Hamas and are there
actual disagreements within the movement? [Ghawshah](The Hamas
spokesman in Jordan, before Jordan shut down the Hamas offices):
Hamas is a unified movement in the territories and abroad and it
has remained like this for the past 11 years. The movement has
proved that it is quite difficult to penetrate it through
conspiracies targeting it.
We do not deny that some differences
occur within the movement's leadership here and there, but the
movement is based on the process of consultation and is
committed to the decisions of the majority. During all the
critical junctions in the movement's history, consultations were
carried out with the core centers in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip, as well as inside the prisons and abroad. Whenever the
majority of members agrees on something, their decision is
regarded as the movement's decision.
However, the campaign
against Hamas had been intensified considerably during the past
two months, targeting the leaders of the movement in the
territories and abroad. We cannot but connect this media campaign
to Baraq's assumption of power, which brought an atmosphere of
false optimism to some of the quarters that believe in the
settlement process.
[Jaradi](the newspaper reporter) Do you accuse the Palestinian
Authority [PA] of playing a part in this campaign?
[Ghawshah] You can say that some suspicious quarters, which are
backed by particular circles, are behind the campaign, but we do
not want to add further to the description of these circles.
[Jaradi] There were reports about a financial crisis within Hamas
following the reduction in the financial backing that the
movement used to receive from several regional quarters. Other
reports say that the cause of the crisis is the squandering of
funds by some of he movement's leaders.
[Ghawshah] Hamas is an
austere Islamic movement and whatever is said about it is
absolutely incorrect. You can see for yourself from the
appearance of the spokesman's office. If the leaders' hands were
tainted with dirty money, the movement would not have been able
to remain intact in light of the ongoing massive campaign
against it.
We do not have a financial crisis, because our main
backing comes through legitimate channels from Muslims in Arab
and Islamic countries. While our resources are limited in
comparison to the billions, which the PA gets, the effect that
these funds make is clear and tangible to the observers, many of
whom are foreigners, who have attested to the transparency of
our movement and certified that it is clean and far from any
sort of corruption.
[Jaradi] What is the reason for not holding elections at the
Consultative Council? Is it the struggle for positions or are
there some specific arrangements, which you are preparing to
contain the disagreements within the movement?
[Ghawshah] There is no truth in these reports, which were carried
by some newspapers. We cannot delve into the internal structure
of the movement. We can say that Hamas is a movement that is
based on consultation among its members. There is no struggle
for positions and everybody's goal is to participate in the
jihad effort against the Zionist enemy.
[Jaradi] Do you not agree that Hamas' bid to separate the
political wing from the military wing is leading to a negative
outcome because the two wings are supposed to have some type of
coordination so that military operations can correspond with the
political situation in order to get better results?
[Ghawshah] I stress that the military wing is totally separate
from the political wing. Without this separation, Hamas and the
'Izz-al-Din al-Qassam Brigades would not have been able to
survive thus far.
Hamas has made use of past experiences and now
its military structure is based on the creation of cells, which
are always on the ready. The cells cannot be eliminated despite
the vicious campaign against the mujahidins in Palestine carried
out by the unholy alliance among the Zionist Shabak, the
Palestinian shabak [intelligence service], and the CIA.
[Jaradi] The military operations then are not connected to any
political circumstances. So when the military operations are
fewer, as they are this year, the reason is situation in the
field.
[Ghawshah] Right. During the first six months of 1999 military
operations were very much limited but have we made some moves
recently. The reason for the reduction in the operations is due
to the iron grip that the unholy tripartite alliance has imposed
on us.
There is no truth in the reports that the 'Izz al-Din
al-Qassam Brigades ceased their operations when Netanyahu was in
power and that now when there are signs for "peace", it is
renewing the attacks.
[Jaradi] The negative atmosphere in your ties with the PA makes
the possibility of holding a dialogue with it remote even though
certain Palestinian factions are opening up to the PA and have
initiated a dialogue with it.
[Ghawshah] It is no secret that Yasir 'Arafat sent us one of his
ministers, Talal Sidr, who met with Hamas Political Bureau Chief
Khalid Mish'al and asked for a dialogue between the two parties.
Hamas' response was that we knew well that the call for a
dialogue was not innocent and that the goal was to drag Hamas
through dialogue to join the process of relinquishment and
concessions, particularly because the final negotiations are
imminent.
Our experience with 'Arafat shows that he is good at
embroiling others in plans that lead to the relinquishment of
the Palestinian cause. So our response was clear: We refused to
participate in this dialogue even though the PA hinted that it
might release some of Hamas detainees as a bribe.
As for
participation in the dialogue by brothers in the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP], Hamas declared at the
latest meeting of the follow-up committee in Damascus that the
PFLP should reconsider its position, especially because it is a
group with a long history of struggle, because 'Arafat's
invitation is not innocent, and because the PFLP's participation
with the PA on the basis of the so-called final negotiations
would raise suspicion about the Palestinian opposition and
resistance...
[Jaradi] You have a plan for national Palestinian unity aimed at
grouping the opposition forces within a framework that provides
a new charter. Is this a sign that you are prepared to put
forward an alternative to the PLO after it gave up its charter?
[Ghawshah] We have said clearly that the PLO no longer exists,
that the PA has replaced it, that the PLO gave up its national
charter in 1993, and that its chairman 'Arafat sent a message to
Yitzhaq Rabin in which the PLO recognized the Jews' national
right to establish a state on the land of Palestine.
During
'Arafat's tenure, the PLO was not democratic and did not really
represent the Palestinian people. We also said that most members
of the Palestine National Council are appointed by 'Arafat.
During the 1990's we in Hamas were not against the PLO but we
insisted that if we wanted to join the PLO, it must hold free
and honest elections. Fatah, however, did not agree. We now
believe that it is necessary to find a establish a national
representative authority to chart the framework of the follow-up
committee.
At the latest follow-up committee meeting, brother
Khalid al-Fahum promised to put forward a concept of this
authority within one and a half months. We believe that this
authority should be formed by a freely-elected Palestinian
parliament. This parliament will represent the real authority of
the Palestinian people so that the lie that one person
represents this authority must end. The authority must revert to
all the Palestinian people who exceed 8 million.
This
parliament, which is supposed to represent all the Palestinian
ideological and political trends, will decide on the various
plans put to it..."
Out of Lebanon in 10 months
Madrid's RNE-1 RADIO NETWORK 9/15/99: "...Speaking to Radio
Nacional, Shlomo Ben-Ami highlighted our country's crucial role
in the Middle East peace process. He also reiterated his
government's desire to continue with negotiations, not only with
the Palestinian people but also with all the neighbours in the
region. Shlomo Ben-Ami: 'We think the Palestinian problem must
be resolved through an historic territorial compromise
recognizing Palestinians' rights, which we always upheld in
opposition and we see no reason not to continue while in power.
We want to withdraw from Lebanon without...[changes
thought]...we have said so very clearly: in a matter of 10
months Israel will be out of Lebanon, with or without an
agreement."
Compromise on return of PA refugees?
YEDIOT AHARONOT 9/15/99: "A joint Israeli-Palestinian forum of
public figures and academics has recently drafted compromise
versions of solutions for he Palestinian refugee problem.
The summation document of the forum's discussions, which had been
secretly held over several years, was yesterday relayed to Prime
Minister Ehud Baraq. The forum participants jointly drafted two
compromise proposal versions -- an Israeli version and a
Palestinian one.
The Palestinian version says that Israel must
fully recognize the refugees' moral right to return to their
homes. It notes, however, that the actual implementation of the
right of return is unfeasible, and the proposal therefore assumes
that most refugees will opt for compensation, some will return
to the Palestinian state territory, and only a small portion
will return to the State of Israel's territory."
Foreign Investment up
GLOBES 9/15/99: "Foreign investments in the Israeli economy rose
sharply since September 1998. Overall foreign investments in the
period September 1998 -- July 1999 reached a record $5 billion.
This emerges from figures published today by the Bank of Israel.
Overall direct (non-financial) investments in the economy (real
estate and industry) amounted to $2.8 billion in this period.
Overall foreign financial investment was $2 billion. The figures
point to a sharp rise in foreign investments in Israeli
securities overseas (notably high tech)..."
Judaea and Samaria policemen down
MA'ARIV 9/15/99: "Police Commissioner Yehuda Wilk has ordered to
reduce the number of policemen serving in the Police Judaea and
Samaria District by approximately 10 percent. Police sources say
"this is the beginning of Israel Police's withdrawal from the
area." The goal is to reduce the number of policemen in the
district by about 100 positions. It is assessed that as a result
of this, some police stations will become small police points in
which only a few policemen will serve.
Senior police officers
say that in their opinion, "the timing is problematic because we
are on the eve of the withdrawal discussions." The
commissioner's decision has caused great anger in the Judaea and
Samaria District.
Officers and policemen in the district claim
this decision will cause a deterioration in law enforcement in
the area and there will be "only an semblance of a police
presence in the area."...
PFLP leader return?
AL QUDS in Jerusalem 9/15/99: "Al-Quds has learned that the
Palestinian Authority is exerting intensive efforts on the
highest levels for the return of Abu-'Ali Mustafa, deputy
secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine [PFLP], to the homeland. There are positive
indications that Abu-'Ali will soon realize his dream of
returning to Palestine."
Baraq's 5 No's to permanent settlement
GLOBES 9/14/99: "Prime Minister Ehud Baraq announced today that
Palestinian refugees would not be allowed to return to Israeli
territory under the framework of a permanent settlement with the
Palestinian Authority. Baraq thus added a fifth condition for a
permanent settlement with the Palestinians. He has so far
reiterated that Israel would not withdraw to the 1967 lines;
Jerusalem would remain Israel's united capital; there would be
no foreign army west of the Jordan river; and Israel would
continue to control settlement enclaves.
King of Jordan 'Abdallah
II said yesterday during his meeting with Lebanese president
Emil Lahud, "Jordan regards the right of return as holy." The
king's comments, on the day marking the start of negotiations
over the permanent settlement, were apparently designed to
reinforce Palestinians' demand to allow refugees to return to
their places of residence before the War of Independence, and
compensate those who do not.
The precedent of the return of
Jewish assets in Europe has reinforced expectations of receiving
compensation for Palestinian refugees' property. It is in Jordan
and Lebanon's interest to assure the receipt of compensation by
refugees living in their countries.
Jordan has strengthened
commercial ties with Syria in recent months, and it now appears
that it doing the same with Lebanon. Strengthened ties with
Syria include the extension of tax-exempted products to 200, and
the renewed operation of the train service between Syria and
Jordan."
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in the content and articles of this website,
do not necessarily express the opinions of the Zionist Organization
of America, nor the editor and creator of this website.
