THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY NEWS March 13, 2001 PAGE3

Albanians Attack Macedonian Forces SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Ethnic Albanian rebels attacked Macedonian forces near a northern village last Friday, trapping senior government officials in a remote area, despite U.S. moves to cut the flow of sup­ plies to the insurgents from Kosovo. Macedonian state radio announced that border crossing points into Kosovo would · be closed Friday afternoon because of the "security situation." Most supplies to Kosovo's civilian population and interna­ tional peacekeepers enter the province from Macedonia. The fighting started late Thursday when insurgents ambushed a government convoy in_Brest. Shooting continued Friday. Macedonian officials traveled to the area to assure residents that the government was in control, and came under attack, officials said. The American move into the border region was the most robust response so far by the NATO-led peacekeeping force to eth­ nic Albanian rebel activity that is spreading from Kosovo to Albanian-speaking areas beyond the province's borders. Additionally, NATO agreed to allow Yugoslav troops to take up positions in a buffer zone around Kosovo. Fighting around Kosovo's borders has raised fears of a new Balkan war.

Copywrited Material Nixed from Cocaine War Weakens Heroin's BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)- Washington's from NAPSTER, page 1 $1.3 billion war on Colombian cocaine has had an unexpected consequence: it has receive notices from them, Napster will take forced the scaling back of efforts to stop this every step within the limits of our system to country's flourishing heroin trade. exclude their copyrighted material from Strikes against poppy plantations high in being shared. We will continue to work for a the Andes have been on hold since resolution that preserves the Napster com­ December because airplanes and helicopters used in aerial eradication missions were munity and the experience," stat­ reassigned to the U.S.-financed push against ed the Napster Web site Friday afternoon. coca crops. Judge Patel acknowledged in her ruling U.S. officials are calling the suspension that "it would be difficult for plaintiffs to temporary. But the halt is . frustrating identity all infringing files on the Napster Colombian police and angering some U.S. system given the transitory nature of its oper­ lawmakers concerned about growing heroin ation. . .. This difficulty, however, does not production here. relieve Napster of its duty." The world's leading cocaine producer, Patel issued an initial injunction shutting Colombia now exports more heroin than down Napster last summer, but the U.S. Asian producers Thailand and Pakistan and supplies 70 percent of an expanding U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Nate West I Retriever Weekly Staff delayed the order until it could review the heroin market, according to the U.S. Drug Downtime: Tracy Williams attempts to look up some but fails. Enforcement Administration. case. Last month the Appellate Court ruled DEA Administrator Donnie Marshall Patel's injunction was indeed too broad. on Monday, March 5, that the blocking was Justice Department. said successful heroin fighting efforts in 'We are gratified the District Court acted "based on file names" and could still be Aimster, which utilizes the AOL Instant Asia and years of battling cocaine in so promptly in issuing its injunction requir­ thwarted, but added that efforts to refine the Messenger system, is a combined flle-shar­ Colombia had unwittingly pushed ing Napster to remove infringing works from blocking system would continue. ing and chat program. Much like Napster, Colombian traffickers into a booming U.S. its system," said Hillary Rosen in a As of last Tuesday afternoon, it was still Aimster only allows a computer to be heroin market. Recording Industry Association of America possible to download many songs, such as a searched by people who are a part of one's Concern about heroin could dampen the press release. "We intend to provide the noti­ remix of Metallica's "Enter The Sandman," buddy list. Napster, as well as many other enthusiasm over what U.S. officials are call­ fications prescribed by the court expeditious­ or Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg's "Nuthin But a G file-swapping services, opens one's hard ing a successful start to coca eradication. ly and look forward to the end of Napster's Thang." Friday afternoon it was still possible drive to all other users of the service. Again, The United States is providing troop train­ infringing activity." to download such hits as Britney Spears' Aimster allows the transfer of more then just ing and combat helicopters to escort crop Napster had already taken steps to block "Oops! I Did It Again," and Dave Mathews . dusters over southern coca plantations that are often guarded by armed rebels. some copyrighted songs from its service~ Band's "I Did It." "Aimster gives you the fastest, most A State Department official, who spoke specifically the songs of its most outspoken The injunction against Napster is far from complete searching of the hottest flles on the on condition of anonymity, acknowledged free opponents, Metallica and Dr. Dre. a deathblow to the online purveyance of major Internet file-sharing services - includ­ that poppy eradication has been temporarily Official blocking of copyrighted songs music on the Internet. Even if Napster is ing AOL file sharing, Gnutella and soon halted because aircraft were needed in coca­ does not guarantee the songs will be unavail­ completely whipped off the World Wide Microsoft Networking - and lets you target growing areas due to bad weather. able on the service. According to Howard Web, other file sharing systems will more hundreds of thousands of flles Within sec­ Critics of the U.S.-backed fumigation King, a lawyer for Metallica and Dr. Dre, than likely take its place. onds," states the Aimster Web site. Aimster policy say even a renewed poppy eradica­ Napster's current blocking software only iMesh, based in Isreal, is almost identical is not officially affiliated with America tion program will do little good. blocks files by a specific name. to the Napster system, but also allows the Online. Ricardo Vargas, a Colombian researcher Misspellings, intentional or unintentional, transfer of Audio, Movie, and Image files. Other file-sharing systems, such as who has written a book on the country's will prevent the songs from being properly iMesh is also based in Isreal, giving it per­ Bearshare, www.bearshare.com, and drug policy said, "No matter how many blocked. haps an upper hand in bypassing any future Limewire, www.limewire.com, also offer plane"'S come, more plants will always be A spokeswoman for Napster confirmed injunctions placed upon them by the US alternatives to Napster. planted."