New Focus starting at Bottom of this entry today, hopefully a regular here.
"Push for Peace"
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Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Oak-He-Doe-$he"
In history, January 15 …
… 1559, England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
… 1844, the University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.
… 1870, the Democratic party was first represented as a donkey in a cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly.
… 1892, the 13 rules of basketball are published by Dr. James Naismith.
… 1917, born Robert C. Byrd, Democratic member of the United States Senate from West Virginia (1959- ). Robert Carlyle Byrd was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. His mother died when he was one year old, and his coal miner father left him in the care of relatives. Byrd grew up in poverty. Although he graduated at the top of his high school class, he worked only odd jobs during the Great Depression of the 1930s, until World War II (1939-1945) provided employment opportunities. Byrd worked as a shipyard welder during the war.
… 1922, the Irish Sinn Fein leader Michael Collins becomes the first prime minister of the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) and forms a provisional government.
… 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.
… 1967 Super Bowl I was played. Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10
http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps/game/sbi
Most Valuable Player
Bart Starr
… 1973, President Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in peace negotiations.
… 1992, the Yugoslav federation, founded in 1918, effectively collapsed as the European Community recognized the republics of Croatia and Slovenia.
The Indiana Star
Outlook seems brighter
Rain finally ends; state seeks federal disaster declaration
By John Strauss and Rob Schneider
john.strauss@indystar.com
January 15, 2005
Flooding throughout the state continued Friday even as a new weather system brought sunshine and -- finally -- an end to the rain.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/2/209740-3812-092.html
A connection with God
More than 2 million Muslims expected to renew their faith in pilgrimage to Mecca.
He tried to ignore being bumped constantly from behind.
Daud Abdur-Rahman kept telling himself that the persistent bumping was just another sacrifice he had to make as part of his journey of faith to Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- the birthplace of Islam.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/209491-7125-047.html
The Chicago Tribune
Big rain, frozen ground spur floods
By Deborah Horan, Tribune staff reporter. Staff reporter Gayle Worland and freelance writers Carolyn Rusin and Barbara Bell contributed to this report
Published January 14, 2005
After being tantalized by spring temperatures for a day, residents across Chicagoland fought torrents of rain and flooded streets Thursday in what already has become a record wet month.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0501140216jan14,1,6250923.story?coll=chi-news-hed
WEEKEND SNOW PROSPECTS NOT COMPLETELY DEAD DESPITE SPRAWLING SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE
Hasn't been this cold in a year; intense chill to be reinforced later next week
Published January 14, 2005
Bitterly cold air has poured from Canada into the nation's heartland and appears poised to linger. In Chicago, Friday's cold temps are only the beginning. A series of frigid sub-zero nighttime lows are predicted into early next week. And while the chill is to moderate with a snow-generating Alberta Clipper-type system Tuesday into Wednesday next week, there are growing indications bitterly cold air may resurge then linger into the following weekend. It's a big turnaround in a month which has been so mild--it currently ranks 19th mildest of the 135 Januarys on record, among the warmest 15% since 1871. Despite the chill and the predicted presence of a sprawling arctic high pressure over the area--Chicago's barometric pressure may surge to near 30.90" over the weekend--the metro area may not completely escape snow. A powerful 150 m.p.h. jet stream is roaring from west to east through the nation's mid-section. Embedded within it are pockets of even stronger winds, known as jet streaks, each of which may generate enough "lift" to convert some eastbound Pacific moisture into clouds--and even some flurries or possible snow showers Saturday and Saturday night.
Sources: Frank Wachowski, Chicago weather historian
WGN-TV/Thomas Valle, Zach Horn and Michelle Harrold
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0501140150jan14,1,5202344.column?coll=chi-news-hed
Up to 5 May Be Buried in Utah Avalanche
By DOUG ALDEN
Associated Press Writer
Published January 15, 2005, 3:21 AM CST
PARK CITY, Utah -- Just a half hour before an avalanche outside a Utah ski resort trapped as many as five people under 30 feet of snow, skier Jess Fleig sensed that something was amiss.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top12jan15,1,5607611.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Health Officials Warn of Tsunami Trauma
By MATTI HUUHTANEN
Associated Press Writer
Published January 15, 2005, 2:03 AM CST
HELSINKI, Finland -- Fearful that the southern Asian tsunami may leave millions traumatized, European health ministers urged governments to be mindful of the psychological scars the disaster left behind, especially on children.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top13jan15,1,6000828.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Apple Sues Over Online News Scoops
By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post
Published January 14, 2005
Nicholas M. Ciarelli was not even old enough to shave when he started getting under Apple Computer Inc.'s skin.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fi-apple14jan14,1,119521.story?coll=chi-business-hed
No More Internet for Them
Fed up over problems stemming from viruses and spyware, some computer users are giving up or curbing their use of the Web.
By Joseph Menn
Times Staff Writer
Published January 14, 2005
Stephen Seemayer had the first Pong video game system on his block. A decade later, the Echo Park artist was the first in his neighborhood to get a personal computer. And in 1996, he was so inspired by the World Wide Web that he created a series of small paintings for viewing over the Internet.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/la-fi-fedup14jan14,1,2577779.story?coll=chi-technology-hed
Texas-size lawsuit for 4th-largest spammer
By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
Published January 14, 2005
AUSTIN, Texas -- Seeking to shut down a University of Texas student listed as the fourth-worst e-mail spammer in the world, the Texas attorney general on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the man potentially seeking nearly $500 million in damages.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0501140237jan14,1,5970352.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Moss laughs off his penalty
League's $10,000 fine for `sideshow' no big deal to WR
By Sean Jensen
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Published January 14, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS -- The National Football League fined Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss $10,000 on Thursday for mock-mooning Green Bay Packers fans Sunday. The defiant receiver shrugged off the fine, suggesting he might perform a more vulgar touchdown celebration next time.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0501140256jan14,1,4889595.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed
Readers sound off on drivers and their horns
Published January 14, 2005
Honkers who use a car horn as a doorbell when they're picking someone up. Honkers who exit alleys with the fanfare of a bugle band. Honkers who never met an intersection that didn't deserve a big blow, especially when they're revving through the red.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0501140196jan14,1,1396665.column?coll=chi-news-hed
The Boston Globe
FBI keeping records on millions of air travelers who flew in months before Sept. 11
By Leslie Miller, Associated Press, 1/14/2005 16:23
WASHINGTON (AP) If you're among the millions of Americans who took airline flights in the months before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI probably knows about it and possibly where you stayed, whom you traveled with, what credit card you used and even whether you ordered a kosher meal.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/014/wash/FBI_keeping_records_on_million:.shtml
Avalanche buries 3 near Utah ski resort
By Doug Alden, Associated Press Writer January 14, 2005
PARK CITY, Utah -- An avalanche outside a Utah ski resort on Friday trapped at least three people beneath as much as 30 feet of snow, authorities said.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/01/14/avalanche_reported_near_utah_ski_resort/
Voter turnout for 2004 highest since 1968
By Laurie Kellman, Associated Press Writer January 14, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Deep divisions over the war in Iraq and intense voter registration drives pushed the 2004 presidential election turnout to 60.7 percent, the highest level since 1968, the Center for the Study of the American Electorate said Friday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/01/14/voter_turnout_for_2004_highest_since_1968/
Michael Moore Today
The Man !!
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
The Scandals
http://www.michaelmoore.com/index_main.php
Hollow Accountability
By Richard Cohen / Washington Post
Let us call the roll: George Tenet, who assured the president that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction? A graceful retirement and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=961
The News
CLINT EASTWOOD SHOULD BE INDICTED. THREATS OF MURDER ARE AS SERIOUS AS THE CRIME ITSELF. I find this attitude completely offensive and dangerous. What a 'NUT CASE!'
Clint Eastwood told an awards ceremony in New York that he would "kill" 'Fahrenheit 9/11' filmmaker Michael Moore if he ever showed up at his front door with a camera.Clint Eastwood, a Republican, made the comments at the National Board of Review awards held in New York where he picked up a Special Filmmaking Achievement prize for Million Dollar Baby. Michael Moore, who received a special "Freedom of Expression" award for his anti-Bush documentary, appeared to laugh off Eastwood's comments.Other award winners included Annette Bening for Best Actress in Being Julia, Jamie Foxx for Best Actor in Ray, Michael Mann - Best Director for Collateral and Finding Neverland was awarded Best Film. Jeff Bridges accepted a Career Achievement Award.
Iraq New Terror Breeding Ground; War Created Haven, CIA Advisers Report
By Dana Priest / Washington Post
Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists, according to a report released yesterday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=951
FCC Orders Probe of Williams-Bush Deal
By Genaro C. Armas / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ordered an investigation Friday into whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose he was paid by the Bush administration to plug the president's education agenda.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=960
Fear and Voting in Baghdad
By Robert Fisk / Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Journalism yields a world of clichés but here, for once, the first cliché that comes to mind is true. Baghdad is a city of fear. Fearful Iraqis, fearful militiamen, fearful American soldiers, fearful journalists.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=959
A LIQUIDITY EVENT
Newsweek reported this week that the Bush administration's pervasive civilian mindset is one of the reasons the administration failed to construct a coherent post-war plan prior to the invasion. Before the war "military leaders offered a mixed assessment about an Iraq without Saddam. Civilian neocons predicted that Iraqis would happily celebrate Saddam’s demise."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php
Massive Student Walk Outs on January 20th
*Walk against the cuts in public funding of our schools and libraries!
*Walk against their recruiting of our friends and peers to die in wars!
*Walk against the wars at home that keep people poor and homeless!
http://www.geocities.com/j20walkout/index.htm
The Miami Herald
Tsunami warning system to cover state
The East Coast, including Florida, and the Caribbean will benefit from a broader tsunami detection system by 2007, U.S. officials said.
BY MARTIN MERZER
mmerzer@herald.com
Provoked by the disaster in Southeast Asia and eastern Africa, U.S. officials announced Friday that they will rapidly deploy a tsunami warning system for Floridians, others on the East Coast and residents of the Caribbean islands.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10650878.htm
Ricin case bewilders small town
Townspeople in Ocala are puzzled by the case of a young man police say was making a world-class poison at home.
BY MARC CAPUTO
mcaputo@herald.com
OCALA - Inside his mother's blue-trimmed, faded pink house, Steven Ekberg kept as messy a room as could be expected for a depressed 20-something, unemployed waiter -- except, police say, for the strewn-about Uzi and imitation AK-47 semiautomatic rifles and a vial that contained ricin, one of the deadliest toxins known to man.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10650750.htm
Where is Rilya?
One in four foster kids on risky mind drugs
A state senator fears foster children are being used as 'guinea pigs' by doctors who prescribe them powerful mood-altering drugs.
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
cmarbin@herald.com
Nearly 1,900 children under the care of Florida's child welfare system are taking antidepressant drugs, despite a strong federal warning that such medications are linked to an increased risk of suicidal thinking among children.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10650879.htm
The New York Times
China Promotes Another Boom: Nuclear Power
By HOWARD W. FRENCH
Published: January 15, 2005
DAYA BAY, China - The view from this remote point by the sea, with lines of misty mountains stretching into the distance, is worthy of a classical Chinese painting. In the foreground, though, sits a less obvious attraction: one of China's first nuclear power reactors, and just behind it, another being rushed toward completion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/15/international/asia/15china.html?hp&ex=1105851600&en=876ad58357a640d4&ei=5094&partner=homepage
In a Small Fishing Boat, Looking to Make Peace With a Punishing Sea
OLUVIL, Sri Lanka, Jan. 13 - Standing on a dark beach before daybreak Thursday, Syed Ibrahim Yusuf wrestled with his fear. That morning he had planned to return to the sea for the first time since a wall of water rewrote his life, his livelihood and his village. Instead, he stood on the beach under a moonless sky, unmoving and unsure, intimidated by waves he would have challenged easily three weeks ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/15/international/worldspecial4/15fishermen.html?oref=login&hp
Sharon Cuts Israeli Ties With Palestinian Authority
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: January 15, 2005
ERUSALEM, Jan. 14 - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Friday that all government officials cut ties with the Palestinian Authority and that the Gaza Strip be sealed until Palestinian leaders moved to curb terrorism. He issued the order a day after Palestinian militants killed six Israelis at a checkpoint on the Gaza border.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/15/international/middleeast/15mideast.html?hp&ex=1105851600&en=019550d4693b5bc0&ei=5094&partner=homepage
THANK YOU !! It was a very strange incident. I wonder if the Russians have gaps in their maps?
Submarine Crash Shows Navy Had Gaps in Mapping System
Sailors on the San Francisco, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, had just finished cleaning the vessel last Saturday as it sped along 500 feet beneath the surface of the South Pacific. Submarines run blind, just listening for sounds of danger. And to the captain and other officers relying on undersea navigation charts, everything seemed clear.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/15/national/15submarine.html?hp&ex=1105851600&en=d468ef3a035eb867&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Craft on Titan Finds Tantalizing Signs of Liquid
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: January 15, 2005
DARMSTADT, Germany, Jan. 14 - A European spacecraft plunged through the murky atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan on Friday and successfully came to rest on a bizarre landscape never before explored.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/15/science/space/15titan.html?hp&ex=1105851600&en=1beeb7f799794cc9&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Space.com
Huygens Probe Returns First Images of Titan's Surface
By Peter de Selding
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 14 January 2005
3:30 p.m. ET
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/huygens_images_050114.html
CNN
FACT BOX
Cassini-Huygens mission to Titan:
TITAN: Largest Saturnian moon. May harbor organic compounds similar to those predating life on Earth. Temperature is minus 292 degrees F (minus 180 C).
HUYGENS PROBE: Spacecraft is 8.9 feet in diameter and 703 pounds (317 kg). Was released from Cassini on December 24 and landed on Titan January 14.
The probe will sample Titan's atmosphere, measure its wind and rain, listen for alien sounds and take pictures.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/01/14/huygens.titan/index.html
The Los Angeles Times
Shifts in Apparel Trade Roil Global Economy
The end of textile quotas will boost China but threaten living standards in many poor nations.
Pasted from <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-quotaone16jan16,0,3076753.story?coll=la-home-headlines>
Fighting to the Polls in Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq — On a recent morning, a stream of armored vehicles brought American and Albanian soldiers here to lock down the Mosul airfield.
A few hours later, U.S. Ambassador John D. Negroponte and top American military commanders Gen. George W. Casey and Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz arrived in a swarm of helicopters to meet with Iraqi election officials. Introductions didn't take long. The commission overseeing elections in Iraq's third-largest city numbers two people.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-mosul15jan15,0,769485.story?coll=la-home-headlines
U.S. Plans to Expand Tsunami Alert System
The $37.5-million proposal would add 32 buoys to protect most of the nation's coastlines.
WASHINGTON — Spurred to action by the devastating southern Asian tsunami, top Bush administration science officials Friday pledged to double the country's investment in a warning system by greatly expanding detection technology in the Pacific Ocean and extending it into the Atlantic.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tsunami15jan15,0,899422.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Haaretz
PM halts all ties with Abbas over terror
By Amos Harel and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Pressing Mahmoud Abbas on the eve of the Saturday inauguration of the new Palestinian Authority chairman, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered a blanket halt on all ties with Abbas until he cracks down on Palestinian terror groups, amid reports that Israel accused the PA's anti-terror agency of complicity in the deadly Thursday attack on the Karni crossing facility in Gaza.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/527106.html
The Sun Sentinel
President Bush extends waiver of provision in law on Cuba
WASHINGTON -- President Bush notified Congress on Friday that he would maintain a ban on lawsuits by U.S. citizens whose property was taken by the Cuban revolution.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0115bushcuba,0,3752066.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Will this action expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba?
27.0%
Yes, President Bush is right (27 responses)
51.0%
No, this action will only benefit Fidel Castro (51 responses)
22.0%
I don't know (22 responses)
100 total responses
Florida’s U.S. senators urge Bush to forge ties in Latin America
WASHINGTON -- Florida's two U.S. senators are training a spotlight on U.S. policy on Latin America, saying Washington needs to pay more attention to its southern neighbors.
During the first term of the Bush administration, critics said the White House's focus on the war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Iraq war left diplomacy toward Latin America on the backburner.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-alatam15jan15,0,5127079.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Haitians, Latinos fear they’re profiling’s new faces
Immigration advocates accused some local and federal officials of using racial profiling as part of the stepped-up immigration enforcement that has sent widespread fear through South Florida's Hispanic and Haitian communities, an accusation immigration agents steadfastly deny.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-csweep15jan15,0,6297548.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
4,400 to lose jobs under DCF plan
TALLAHASSEE · State workers will continue to handle applications from people seeking food stamps, Medicaid, welfare and other benefits, but about 4,400 state jobs will be cut from the program by 2007, Gov. Jeb Bush said this week.
Workers in the Department of Children & Families created the plan to streamline the work that decides who among millions of poor Floridians is eligible for the Economic Self-Sufficiency program.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-dcfreorg15jan15,0,4591339.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines>
The Gulf News
Democracy is essential for a viable Palestinian state
By Prof. As'ad Abdul Rahman, Special to Gulf News
Municipal elections have been one of the most talked about topics within Palestinian circles. The last time Palestinians chose their mayors, council members and village councils was back in 1976.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/OpinionNF.asp?ArticleID=147834
Key US figure in Iraq prisoner abuse found guilty
Reuters
Fort Hood, Texas: A military jury found U.S. soldier Charles Graner guilty of abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in a scandal that badly damaged America's worldwide reputation following the invasion of Iraq.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/WorldNF.asp?ArticleID=147961
European probe lands on Saturn's moon
Agencies
Darmstadt, Germany: A European space probe successfully relayed scientific data about Saturn's moon Titan after making a soft landing yesterday, a space official said - a major triumph for Europe's space programme.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/WorldNF.asp?ArticleID=147872
Health Talk
Painkiller Ads Mislead Consumers Says FDA
January 15, 2005
A letter issued to Pfizer by the US Food and Drug Administration warned ads for Celebrex and Bextra, both cox-2 inhibitors, overstated the benefits of the drugs and underestimated the associated risks.
The FDA cited five different print and television promotional ads, saying they mislead the public.
http://www.healthtalk.ca/fda_warning_letter_011505_3773.php
Peace Push in Sri Lanka, Banda Aceh
Tamil Tigers to meet Norwegian minister
15 January 2005 09:30
The political leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers has said it is very difficult to predict the outcome of next Wednesday's planned meeting between the Tigers' Commander and the Norwegian Foreign Minister.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0115/srilanka.html
Prabhakaran to meet Norway's foreign minister in peace push
http://www.manoramaonline.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=manorama/MmArticle/CommonFullStory&c=MmArticle&cid=1105780307329&channel=News&p=1002194839100&count=7
Rebels Recruiting Children, U.N. Says
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kidsoldier15jan15,1,3812930.story?coll=la-headlines-world
Amid disaster, hopes for peace
New aim to end Sri Lanka war
By Jehangir S. Pocha, Globe Correspondent January 15, 2005
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Humbled by the tsunami disaster, political leaders on both sides of the conflict in this devastated nation say they feel a renewed obligation to find a peaceful settlement to the long-running civil war between the government and the Tamil separatist group that controls most of the country's northeast.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/01/15/amid_disaster_hopes_for_peace/
In quake disaster's wake, problems and progress
Sri Lankan rebels were said to recruit children. Deaths rose, but in some areas, life was improving.
By Jeff Franks and Karima Anjani
Reuters
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The United Nations said yesterday that it had reports Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers were recruiting children displaced by the tsunami. It told the rebels to leave underage survivors alone.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/10650314.htm
continued this evening...
