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The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 13
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The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 13

Publication:
The Guardiani
Location:
London, Greater London, England
Issue Date:
Page:
13
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 13 Th Guardian Tuesday April 28 1998 Journalist in Internet porn case claims First Amendment US under fire for Cuba ban Martin Ksttle In Washington said vestcniav "We would love a deal hefnie the summit and are working for a negnti ateil solution hut it must be loot Castro greet Jean Chretien at the atari of trie Canadian Canada and EU lead calls for engagement with Castro regime tempt to make contact, Mr Matthews said that he took on "the persona of the people he was trying to reach" and asked other users to send him photos that they were chatting about. "He believed it was the only way he would be able to gather Information for a freelance piece he was trying to research," Mr Matthews's lawyer said. The tactic worked, and Mr Matthews received several pornographic photos of young girls. In the hope of gaining the trust of other child porn Internet users, he also sent some of the photos over the Web. It was at this point that Mr Matthews was arrested.

He is now seeking to argue in court that he was protected from conviction because of embargo to be put on trial as war criminals The White House spokc-man Mike McCurrv. com mentmg on Mi' Chretien's visit, acknowledged thai US policy had not "brought about a blossoming of democratic liberties Cuba" Hut lie said "We think over tune it represents a better prospei for bringing about change." Washington's Helms Bur ton law. under which the Ca nadian businessmen have been banned, is at the centre of the long running dispute between the KU. which sup ports trade links with Cuba, and the Clinton administration. The law.

passed two vears ago. has yet to be invoked against EU companies, but conflicts are looming At their Luxembourg meet ing yesterday, KU foreign ministers shelved proposals put forward by fhe trade commiosionei Sir Leon Brit (an for a free trade area agreement with the US. until the dispute over Helms Burton is resolved EU officials hope to reach a deal before the El' US summit in London on May IK One tien spoke out in support of a policy of "constructive engagement" with Cuba. Mr Chretien criticised continuing sanctions against the Castro regime, though without naming the US. "Through good times and bad, our countries have always chosen dialogue over confrontation, engagement over isolation, exchange over estrangement." he said.

In reply, President Castro delivered a strong attack on the US for its sanctions, which he described as "the most prolonged, unjust and brutal blockade in He said: "No state should think it has the right to kill another people by hunger and sickness. That is genocide. It is converting a nation into a ghetto and applying a new version of the Holocaust." In Luxembourg and Martin Kettle In Washington WASHINGTON'S continuing cold-war boycott of Cuba came under fire on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday, underlining the increasing isolation of the United States caused by its refusal to do business with Fidel Castro's regime. Canada's prime minister began a high-profile visit to Cuba, while European Union foreign ministers put Atlantic free-trade plans on ice until the US shelves attempts to penalise European companies that trade with Havana. On the first full day of his first Cuban visit, Jean Chre The two leaders spoke at the opening of a 25 million terminal at Havana international airport, half of which has been financed by Canada.

Canadian companies are among the largest foreign investors in Cuba, and executives from the Canadian IN A case which American civil liberties groups believe may be the first of its kind, an American radio reporter who claims he was researching for a feature has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography over the Internet. Larry Matthews, an editor with National Public Radio (NPR) who has 31 years' experience in radio news, has been charged by prosecutors in Maryland with nine counts of possession and six counts of distribution of child pornography. His case comes before the courts in July. If convicted, Mr Matthews faces up to 15 years imprisonment on each count. Mr Matthews's case is 'It's important for reporters to be able to pursue distasteful subjects' likely to be the first in which the rights of a journalist under the US Constitution's First Amendment come face-to-face with the law on Internet pornography.

As a result, the American Civil Liberties Union, NPR and two organisations representing radio journalists have asked to be represented at the trial. Mr Matthews's lawyer told the Washington Post that Mr Matthews was trying to research a story on child pornography on the Internet and on efforts to police it. He said that he gained access to the private chat rooms the Internet equivalent of a telephone party line frequented by people interested in child pornography and identified himself as a reporter who wanted to interview the participants. When he joined the chat room, the others rapidly left, he said. Then, in a further at eeeeeeeeai J-fliapjHH iiBLaLaLaLaLaK 9ILaLaLaBCrft.xB WNlBmSnF-jMBmBESm i f-';" 'vaKPAaKiiHRV MHorBrBrararara minister's flratvteitto Canadian companies are among the largest Investors In PHOTOGRAPH GARY HERSHORN owned Sherritt International mining giant have been banned from entering the US in retaliation.

Later Washington hit back at Mr Castro's criticism, say ing he had proved himself "woefully out of touch" when he called for organisers of the cause he had no apparent source of income. At the time of his arrest. Mr Fagan said he had rescued his daughters, then aged five and two, from an alcoholic mother. Mrs Kurth. who now works as a cellular biologist at the University of Virginia, denies she was an alcoholic "I firmly believe what hap pened with my sister and I 19 years ago happened for a reason," Lisa Martin said "We'd like to say Daddy, we love vou'.

case. Prosecutors say Orr described the actual deaths of the woman, her grandson and two employees in graphic detail. Another fire allegedly caused by Orr was the 1991 blaze that destroyed the back lot of Warner Bros Studios in Bur hank. The blaze, which was reported across the world, gutted the set of the 1970s series. The Waltons.

The former fire captain also allegedly started a fire that razed 67 homes in Glendale, the suburb where he worked. War games one which gives picilec lion for Kuropi an linns against jl'S sanctions legisl.it ion The EU has threatened that I if sanctions are applied against any European coin pain it ill complain to the I World Trade Organisation I The EU also wants to he cmpted I mm US "D'Amato restrictions against companies that trade with Iran Talks on the Iran dispute are to re-unie tomorrow Sir Leon's plans for a "new transatlantic market removing trade barriers and liberalising investment and intellectual pioperty rights, are expected to be worth SMOO million a war to the KU within five years Although the EU's tough line is a negotiating stance, it comes as Washington's at tempt to dragoon small countries into its boycott ot Cuba is showing signs of fail ure. Several Latin American and Caribbean countries have reestablished diplomatic ties with Cuba Travel Shop get sway on our 01283 538351 Manor, Abbey Croft, DEI 4 1HP. Name Addre1. PoMco-Je ill batteneaor want to wsssaiid tweak show up germ defences the First Amendment, which says that Congress may make no law "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the His supporters say that the Matthews case will be a crucial test case for the use of the Internet by investigative journalists.

"We think it's important for reporters to be able to pursue difficult and occasionally distasteful subjects. We feel this prosecution is very chilling," said Barbara Cochran of the Radio-Tele-vision News Directors Association, one of the organisations which is supporting Mr Matthews. "It's always in the name of some horrendous evil, like child pornography, that important rights tend to get stripped away," said Robert Corn-Revere, a Washington lawyer who specialises in journalism law and First Amendment rights. Maryland prosecutors argue that Mr Matthews should not be allowed to defend himself by citing the First Amendment. They say that what Mr Matthews did was analogous to selling crack cocaine in an attempt to develop information on illegal drug dealing.

But Mr Matthews says: "It's a frightening thing. Can the government take any topic and say, the only thing you're allowed to report is what we tell you?" disagree on the plausibility of such high technology threats. But most agree that the danger will grow and that such an attack, if successful, could be catastrophic. Apprehension about germ warfare grew in 1995 as Iraq admitted that it had built a large biological arsenal and was prepared to use it during the Gulf war in 1991. The General Accounting Office, in a report in December, criticised the government for a serious lack of co-ordination in efforts to counter the terrorist threat.

The US gov ernment concedes at least some of its failings According to a draft of an interagency study, government counter-terrorism programmes suffer from a lack of intelligence-sharing and a lack of information about what individual terrorists or groups may be plotting. William Haseltine, an expert on genetic engineering whom the White House asked to review the scenario, said that it was realistic. "You could make such a virus today." he said "Any trained molecular virologist with a really good lab can do it." Administration officials said the scenario was in tended to inflict a substantial disaster to put strain on the system and reveal any weaknesses. Among the shortcomings, officials said, were that in such emergencies hospitals would quickly exhaust supplies of antibiotics and vaccines. One participant said that it was very difficult "to get trained, immunised medical staff into an infected Washington may now ere ate a national stockpile of vac-cines.

antibiotics and antidotes. 99 55 to find out. Dead fish float up to shore on the Guadalquivir river outside Seville yesterday after a burst dike of a mine reservoir dumped 175 million cult, of toxic waste into the Gitadiamar river on Saturday. Makeshift dikes have been used to divert the waste from the Guadiamar to the Guadalquivir to save the nearby Donana national park. Europe's biggest bird reserve.

Environmentalists challenged the Spanish government's claim that the toxins would be diluted as they drained away photoi.fwh emu nuonrANAm TMSuardan Kidnapped girls stand by father Bruges the Venice of the North 4 days, departs 28th June, 29th August 27th September From only 139 Thar can fsw pieces left where you can totally divorce in 1978 Mr Fagan had told his daughters their mother died in a car crash The case hit the headlines last week when Mr Fagan, who for the past 20 years has led a glamorous life as William Martin, was charged ith kidnapping. Mr Fagan had worked as a karate instructor and as a lawyer in Massachusetts He reinvented himself as Dr William Martin, a Florida social ite whose millionaire lifestyle was a source of mystery be Martin Kettle In Washington THE daughters of the Florida socialite accused of kidnapping them from their mother nearly 20 years ago rallied to his defence at a press confer ence in Boston yesterday. Rachael Martin, aged 23. and Lisa Martin, aged 21, said Stephen Fagan. who changed all their identities after seiz ing the girls in 1979.

was a good father and that they ewttch off for a taw days from the prasauras of medarn day Hvtng so completely at Bruges Ha baauly and trsnquUNy la outstanding, as tna most perfectly preserved medtevil team In Europe, tta atmosphere la totally unique, whether Its a stroll by ons of tna canals Bruges Is slso known as Venice of tha North', tipping eoltsa In ths OM tssrksi Squara with tha 13th Cantury Flemish chinas ringing out from His battry In tha background, or perhaps a garni trip around tha town by boras and oarrlsga. Ita ssrantty wtu amazs you. ft has somathtng for all tsstsa. Look what Is INCLUDED In tha pries. Quided walk of historic Bruges, the most pertect'y preservsd modisval town Europe.

to 19th Century Fierri5h Brewery Tour ot Yprea and the First World Wa battlefields Luxury coach Return ferry crossings Service ot experienced hi-Mnguat tour guide Ece)tent quality, modern 3 star hotel A superb location in trie heart of the old preserved town. Top fireman 'was serial arsonist' would stand by him. "The media has portrayed him as everything from a gold-digging playboy to a thief," Rachael Martin said. "I'm am here to tell you that is not true." Her sister Lisa said Mr Fagan "was, and is, the best mother, father and friend anyone could ask Neither woman mentioned their mother. Barbara Kurth, who was awarded custody of her daughters when her mar riage to Mr Fagan ended in fornia.

His manuscript was crammed with detail. But federal crime investigators were also investigating the fires and, when they read Orr's book, they broke the case. The Tire described in chapter six was remarkably like the one at Ole's hardware store in Pasadena that killed a woman and her two-year-old grandson. The fire was started with a timing device made of a rubber band, matches and a cigarette. The Pasadena fire was just one of several fires al Judith Miller and William Broad in New York ONK (lav last month.

40 officials from more than a dozen US federal agencies met secretly in Washington to play out what would happen if terrorists attacked the United States with a devastating new type of Kerm weapon The results were not encouraging. In the scenario, terrorists spread a virus along the Mexican American border After doctors diagnosed the epidemic as smallpox vaccines were rushed in to immunise the population, but the virus turned out to be a hybrid for which there was no cure. As the scenario unfolded, officials playing the role of state and local officials were quickly overwhelmed by a panicked population, thousands of whom were dying, and discovered huge gaps logistics, legal authority and medical care The outcome of the exercise surprised some participants but illustrated what others had long suspected the US, despite huge investments of time, money and effort in recent years, is still unpre pared to respond to biological The exercise, offi cials said, also underlined the need for a sweeping plan that President Clinton is expected to approve this eek Mr Clinton's interest in germ warfare has been deep ened by books, aides said He was so alarmed by one a novel bv Richard Preston titled The Cobra Event, which portrays a lone terrorist's attack on New York City with a genetically engineered vi rus that he instructed intel ligence experts to evaluate its credibility. Experts tend to HEALTH INSURANCE. Call 0800 77 Prime Health A member ot Standard I if Croup Paris legedly started by Orr.

Experts say his wish to be present at the extinguishment of fires is part of a py-romaniac personality type. At his trial in Los Angeles this week, prosecutors will attempt to prove that Orr, aged 49, even began fires near halls where he attended conferences. Orr, who is already in jail, convicted on three federal arson charges, now faces the death penalty for more than 24 counts of arson and murder. The Pasadena fire is crucial to the 4 das. departs 1st May, 31st July, 1 1th September 27th November From only 99 Fancy a Cheng of scene, a break to recharge the oalsbista something special, why not Christopher Read In Loa Angeles THE villain of the novel was a pyromaniat who used a simple device to start a blaze at Cat's ironmonger store in Pasadena, north Los Angeles.

The fire killed a woman and her grandson aged two. The author of Points of Origin was fire captain John Leonard Orr, a recognised arson expert who led a team investigating several fires in southern Cali Not sees the started with to Parts? 'EaoaUent quality, modern 3 star hotel Located approximately two rrMe south of Notre Dame the geographical centre ot Paris Comprehensive sightseeing tour. Pais By Njght tour' Volt the beautiful Chateau of Veriatfts Tour ot the artiats quarter picturesque Montmsrtre. Luxury coach. Return terry crossings Servico of experienced bi-lingual tour guide.

For fun eaUNs or tMo otter. Including, Droohur na booking form, pMMoo roiwplo and i it urn iho oeueon, or ceURMomTrtvoi todev ERA To: Riviera Travel, Burton-on-Trent, Please senc me full details ot the following Guardan Trave1 Otter The Starts surprisingly, a neighbour who overlooks the gallery and missile every time he goes to the bathroom has to make complaints. Good heavens, what wrong these people? Dont they appreciate modem art? Adrian Searle on the Young Americans 2 exhibition eMttatrataMMMMBMM Bruges Pans Pie.ise rick rx NOT to Cji-Mn ul cor'pa'iifc'. t), Te ABTA No V4 '4-1 Arts, G2 page 10.

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