The Boston Globe
Northeast states endure eighth day of rain
A view of a flooded neighborhood near to the Passaic River in Fairfield, N.J., Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005. With flood waters rising in northern New Jersey, the state activated its emergency management office Thursday morning, preparing high-water rescue vehicle and swift-boat rescue teams for use in flooded communities. The northern section of the state got more than 5 inches of rain over the past two days, with an additional 2 inches expected in some places. The rain was expected to continue through Saturday. (AP Photo/Jose F. Moreno)
By Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer October 14, 2005
FAIRFIELD, N.J. --Much of the waterlogged Northeast entered its eighth straight day of rain Friday, a deluge that has trapped motorists, delayed airline flights and sent streams surging over their banks.
At least 10 people have died in the region since last weekend because of the downpours, and four others were missing in New Hampshire. Forecasters predicted another 2 to 3 inches of rain.
Flood warnings covered parts of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, and residents in some New Jersey communities were urged to evacuate their homes.
When water from the rain-swollen Passaic River began seeping into Nick Sitarella's home, he loaded a moving van with his belongings and got out.
"I'm not taking any chances," Sitarella said. "It's a horrible way to live."
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/10/14/northeast_states_endure_eighth_day_of_rain/
Romney promises aid for flooded Western Mass
Gov. Mitt Romney (center) met with western Mass. lawmakers in his chambers, including state Sen. Brian Lees (left) and state Sen. Stephen Brewer (right), as they discussed the state's response to recent flooding in the western part of the state.
(Globe Staff Photo / John Tlumacki)
By Theo Emery, Associated Press Writer October 12, 2005
BOSTON --Gov. Mitt Romney, who has faced criticism for his response to flooding in Western Massachusetts, promised aid to the affected communities on Wednesday after meeting with the region's lawmakers.
Romney met for an hour with Senators and Representatives from areas that received nearly a foot of rain last week, with more expected on Wednesday and in coming days.
"We're safe and sound. Now the question is how are we going to pay for the damage that's been caused," Romney said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/12/romney_promises_aid_for_flooded_western_mass/
Southwestern N.H. braces for possibility of more flooding
By Anne Saunders, Associated Press Writer October 14, 2005
CONCORD, N.H. --Light rain fell over southwestern New Hampshire on Friday morning and was expected to strengthen during the night, bringing a renewed threat of flooding in already saturated areas.
Gov. John Lynch headed back to the area, meeting with officials in Walpole, Alstead, Langdon and Acworth. It was his fourth trip to the area this week.
The area, which was under a flood watch, should escape further flood damage as long as any new rainfall stays below 3 inches, Emergency Management Director Bruce Cheney told lawmakers Thursday.
With the National Weather Service on Friday calling for up to 3 inches of rain by nightfall, it could be a close call. "The three to four inches of rain falls in the next 24 hours anywhere in the watch area, small stream or serious urban flooding would result," the weather service said in a statement Friday.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2005/10/14/southwestern_nh_braces_for_possibility_of_more_flooding/
Man arrested for two Faneuil Hall rapes
By Associated Press October 12, 2005
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --A man suspected in the rapes of two women near Faneuil Hall last month was arrested in Maine over the weekend and is being held on $2 million bail.
Authorities said Kevin Bennett, 33, of Arlington, Mass., picked up the women near Faneuil Hall Marketplace on separate nights last month and then took them to Cambridge, where he allegedly raped and assaulted them.
He was arraigned Wednesday in Cambridge District Court on rape, kidnapping and assault with intent to murder charges. The women believed they were getting into cabs.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/12/man_arrested_for_two_faneuil_hall_rapes/
Union agrees to postpone strike after request from governor
October 12, 2005
HARTFORD, Conn. --The state's largest health care union agreed Wednesday to postpone a strike threatened for later this week, after Gov. M. Jodi Rell's budget director requested that workers not walk out at four nonprofit agencies.
Union leaders representing workers at the four agencies agreed to reschedule a strike date from Friday to Oct. 28 at 6 a.m.
The New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, is slated to meet with Robert Genuario, the secretary of the state Office of Policy and Management and Rell's budget director, on Friday afternoon.
About 1,200 mental health and mental retardation workers at the Oak Hill School in Hartford, New Seasons in Manchester, The Caring Community in Colchester and North Central Counseling Services in Enfield have been without a contract since April.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2005/10/12/union_agrees_to_postpone_strike_after_request_from_governor/
Red Cross shelters for hurricane victims
By The Associated Press October 12, 2005
More than 22,000 hurricane victims -- about 8 percent of the total in early September -- remain in shelters, most of them run by the American Red Cross. As of Wednesday, 161 Red Cross shelters remained open in eight states:
-- 81 Louisiana
-- 63 Texas
-- 11 Mississippi
-- 2 Arkansas
-- 1 Alabama
-- 1 Kentucky
-- 1 Tennessee
-- 1 Georgia
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/10/12/red_cross_shelters_for_hurricane_victims/
White House backs plan to shut Hub energy office
Critics fear closure could hinder grants
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff October 14, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has endorsed a Senate plan to close the Boston regional office of the US Department of Energy, which distributed tens of millions of dollars last year to help low-income New Englanders make their homes more energy-efficient.
Though New Englanders would continue to be eligible for DOE grants, elected officials as well as the nonprofit agencies that administer the grant programs expressed concern that closing the Boston office would make it more difficult for local groups to apply for conservation grants, which they then distribute to eligible homeowners.
The local office has worked to help area nonprofit groups take advantage of DOE grants. The agency recently paid to weatherize more than 2,600 homes during one year in Massachusetts alone, helping lower residents' heating bills.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/14/white_house_backs_plan_to_shut_hub_energy_office/
Studies are fine if there were time to conduct one. At this point there should be emergency management included in widespread disease regardless the source. I am surprised this was not already done as part of Massachusetts Homeland Security. This is typical 'reactionary' government rather than leadership with insight. It reminds me of someone standing at the shoreline asking for a study as the tidal wave approaches.
Romney orders study of facilities that could be used in flu epidemic
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff October 14, 2005
Governor Mitt Romney directed public health authorities yesterday to explore the feasibility of converting state-owned college dormitories, National Guard armories, and other facilities into makeshift medical wards in the event that victims of a future influenza epidemic swamp hospitals.
The governor said in an interview that he also asked officials from the Department of Public Health to evaluate whether the state should stockpile additional doses of medication to treat the flu, as well as antibiotics to combat bacterial complications such as pneumonia stemming from the disease.
The directives were issued a day after more than 250 doctors, hospital administrators, and emergency authorities conducted a drill at a Boston hotel to test their ability to contend with a potential outbreak of avian flu.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/14/romney_orders_study_of_facilities_that_could_be_used_in_flu_epidemic/
Questions and answers on bird flu virus
By John J. Lumpkin, Associated Press Writer October 14, 2005
WASHINGTON --A bird flu virus spreading through Asia, and now reported in the European part of Turkey, has world health authorities warning of a worldwide pandemic unseen since World War I. The Bush administration is discussing quarantines and other methods to control its spread should it arrive in the United States, but for the moment, bird flu remains only a potential threat.
Some questions and answers on the bird flu:
Q: What is bird flu?
A: The term "bird flu" generally describes one of several influenza viruses that birds can carry. But several types can also infect humans. These are different in makeup from the usual human flus.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/10/14/questions_and_answers_on_bird_flu_virus/
Former N.C. congressman gets four years
By Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press Writer October 12, 2005
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. --Former Rep. Frank Ballance was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison for conspiring to divert taxpayer money to his law firm and family through a charitable organization he helped start.
Ballance, a 63-year-old Democrat who was a state senator before being elected to Congress in 2002, also agreed to repay $61,917 and to forfeit $203,000 in a bank escrow account in the name of the John A. Hyman Memorial Foundation.
The forfeited funds will be returned to North Carolina taxpayers, federal prosecutor Dennis Duffy said.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/10/12/former_nc_congressman_gets_four_years/
Poll: Bush presidency judged unsuccessful
President Bush takes questions from reporters during his meeting with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski in the Oval Office in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer October 14, 2005
WASHINGTON --For the first time, more people say George W. Bush's presidency will be judged as unsuccessful than say it will be seen as a success, a poll finds.
Forty-one percent of respondents said Bush's presidency will be seen as unsuccessful in the long run, while 26 percent said the opposite. Thirty-five percent said it was too early to tell, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
In January, 36 percent said successful and 27 percent said unsuccessful.
The increasing pessimism about Bush's long-term prospects comes at a time when many polls have found the public increasingly is negative about Bush's performance and the direction of the country.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/14/poll_bush_presidency_judged_unsuccessful/
Dog welcomes squirrel into litter of pups
October 12, 2005
SEATTLE --Animal lover that she is, Debby Cantlon didn't think twice when someone asked if she could take in an orphaned newborn squirrel and nurse it back to health.
It also was apparently a no-brainer for Mademoiselle Giselle, her pregnant Papillon.
The black and white pooch with long-haired butterfly ears dragged the squirrel's cage to her bedside -- twice -- before she gave birth to her pups on Sept. 9.
Cantlon was concerned at first, but ultimately decided to allow the squirrel out, then Giselle actively encouraged the little rodent to join her litter.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/10/12/dog_welcomes_squirrel_into_litter_of_pups/
Army reviews how it notifies families of deaths
By Will Dunham October 12, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has launched a review into how it notifies families that a soldier has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan after hearing complaints from some of them, including the parents of former professional football player Pat Tillman, officials said on Wednesday.
Army Secretary Francis Harvey has directed that the review into the notification process be completed by January, said his spokesman, Lt. Col. Thomas Collins.
"We're going to fix this," Collins said. "The whole goal here is to make the system more accurate and quicker, too."
"The last thing we want to do is have somebody get the wrong information about how their loved one died," Collins added.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/10/12/army_reviews_how_it_notifies_families_of_deaths/
Israel locks down for solemn fast of Yom Kippur
Troops carry out security sweep in West Bank towns
Orthodox Jews strike the backs of other Orthodox Jews as part of the 'Malkot' ceremony to atone for their sins for the Yom Kippur holiday in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem. (Reuters Photo)
By Steve Weizman, Associated Press October 12, 2005
JERUSALEM --Israel prepared Wednesday to lock down for Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when borders close, streets empty of traffic and Jews fast, pray and ask for forgiveness.
In a sweep through West Bank towns before the holy day, Israeli forces arrested six Palestinians, including a teenage boy allegedly coerced by militants into becoming a suicide bomber and a senior Hamas fugitive who was on the run for eight years, the army said.
In another arrest in the Hebron-area town of Dahariya, troops brought a fugitive's mother to call on him to surrender. When he came out of his hideout, he was forced to strip to show he had not strapped explosives to his body.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/10/12/israel_locks_down_for_solemn_fast_of_yom_kippur/
THIS IS A EXCUSE FOR OIL EXPLORATION.
US wants to push ocean boundaries to limit terror threat
By Stefano Ambrogi October 12, 2005
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The United States wants to search foreign ships far outside its territorial waters to stop a possible terrorist attack on the country coming from the sea, a U.S. coastguard leader said on Wednesday.
"If the threat is significant enough we will board that ship as far from our coast as we can," said Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson who is Pacific Area commander of the U.S. coastguard.
Johnson, who oversees key trade routes with Asia, told a maritime security conference in Copenhagen the policy of the United States was to "push back" its sea borders for searches as much as possible -- perhaps by as much as 2,000 nautical miles.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/10/12/us_wants_to_push_ocean_boundaries_to_limit_terror_threat/
Kashmir's double tragedy
October 12, 2005
THE HUNDREDS of thousands of Pakistanis whose lives were shattered by an earthquake over the weekend were not just living on a geological fault line. They were doubly victimized by the political fissures that have inhibited political and economic development in this corner of Asia for almost 60 years.
Some Pakistani officials put the death toll as high as 40,000, with falling debris causing most of the deaths, many of them in schools. Much is known today about ways to protect buildings from earthquake damage, but doing so would be an unachievable luxury in a nation where the gross domestic product was only $2,200 per person in 2004. Many buildings are being strengthened in Japan, another nation vulnerable to earthquakes, but there the comparable GDP figure in 2004 was $29,400.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/10/12/kashmirs_double_tragedy/
The Australian
Bali mob want Amrozi dead
Cameron Stewart and Sian Powell
October 13, 2005
CHAOTIC scenes marred yesterday's third anniversary of the Bali bombings as a former Indonesian president suggested his country's military or police may have been behind one of the 2002 bombings.
A violent mob of 2000 angry protesters stormed Bali's Kerobokan jail, breaking down a wall outside the prison and demanding the execution of three of the Bali bombers.
Chanting "Kill Amrozi, kill Amrozi", the crowd removed part of the jail's main steel door before riot police stopped them from entering the prison where some of the Bali bombers are held.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16903182%5E601,00.html
Tourist struck by skateboarder
October 13, 2005
A EUROPEAN tourist is critically ill in hospital after being struck down by a skateboarder in Sydney's tourist precinct, police said.
A 65-year-old Norwegian woman was walking along George Street, The Rocks, with her husband about 4pm (AEST) yesterday when she was hit.
The skateboarder, who had been travelling on the footpath, stopped to ask if she was okay before skating off, a NSW police spokeswoman said.
The couple then caught a taxi to their hotel in Wentworth Avenue but the woman soon fell ill and was taken to St Vincent's Hospital.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16904778%5E1702,00.html
Vaccine for heart disease
From correspondents in Stockholm, Sweden
October 13, 2005
RESEARCHERS in the United States and in Sweden are working together to develop the world's first vaccine against heart disease, one of the scientists involved said today.
"We have produced a simple form of vaccine that has worked well on test animals... Now we're trying to develop it into a vaccine that has the quality and safety needed to use on humans," Jan Nilsson, a professor at the Experimental Cardiovascular Research Unit of Lund University in southern Sweden, said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16904771%5E1702,00.html
Troops cross Kashmir border with help
From correspondents in Srinagar, India
October 13, 2005
INDIAN soldiers today crossed the de facto border dividing the Indian and Pakistani zones of disputed Kashmir to rebuild a quake-destroyed bunker, an Indian army spokesman said.
"It is unprecedented in the manner that our soldiers have gone across the border to extend help," Lieutenant Colonel K Seghal said in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
The soldiers crossed a bridge that spans the Line of Control, the 770-kilometre de facto border that divides the two zones of the Himalayan territory, Lt-Col Seghal said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16904755%5E1702,00.html
Landslide kills quake troops
From correspondents in Jammu, India
October 12, 2005
AT least six Indian soldiers on a rescue mission in earthquake-hit Kashmir were killed by a landslide triggered by rain, a military officer said today.
The rockslide wiped out part of a patrol walking along a track, Colonel Hemant Juneja said.
The incident happened yesterday in Kupwara, one of the worst-hit areas in Indian Kashmir, where officials say more than 1200 people have died.
"We have fanned these foot patrol parties in different directions to provide relief and rescue operations in inaccessible areas," Col. Juneja said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16901744%5E1702,00.html
No bird flu in Romania
By Jeremy Smith in Brussels
October 13, 2005
BIRD flu has not been detected in Romania, European Union veterinary experts said overnight, confirming that the highly contagious disease has not yet reached Europe.
"The disease situation amongst poultry and wild birds ... the available epidemiological data and the laboratory results at present do not confirm the presence of avian influenza," the European Commission said in a statement after a meeting of EU member state vets.
Preliminary tests last week on three ducks in Romania's Danube delta near the Black Sea proved positive and raised fears that the disease had entered Europe, but the EU vets' results made clear the virus was not present.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16904739%5E1702,00.html
Spike Lee to make Katrina film
From correspondents in Los Angeles
October 13, 2005
FAMED US filmmaker Spike Lee is to produce and direct a new documentary about the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in flood-stricken New Orleans, the entertainment industry press announced overnight.
Lee, 48, the maker of such hit feature films as Malcolm X (1992) and Do The Right Thing (1989), is to make When the Levee Broke for the US HBO cable television channel, the network told Daily Variety.
No details of the project were immediately available, however. Lee is currently putting the final touches on his latest film, The Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16904734%5E1702,00.html
Microsoft, Yahoo to share messaging
By correspondents in New York
October 13, 2005
YAHOO and Microsoft said overnight they signed an interoperability agreement that will allow people who use their respective consumer instant messaging services to interact with each other.
The companies expect to launch the free interconnectivity services in the second quarter of 2006.
Yahoo and Microsoft estimate they will have a high percentage of the 275 million people who use IM services worldwide.
"Yahoo and Microsoft share a commitment to providing the highest-quality experience possible for consumers, and today's groundbreaking announcement underscores our desire to provide consumer interoperability between our thriving IM communities," said Terry Semel, chief executive at Yahoo.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16905278%5E1702,00.html
Nuclear facility escapes damage
Rahul Bedi
October 14, 2005
PAKISTAN'S main nuclear weapons facility at Kahuta, just 75km from the epicentre of the earthquake, is undamaged, according to military officials.
"There is no danger to our nuclear installations and weapons from earthquakes," Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said. "They are fully safe."
But Major-General Sultan could not confirm what intensity of earthquake the Khan Research Laboratories at Kahuta had been designed to withstand.
The research centre is the country's flagship nuclear weapons facility and technicians there are working on developing long-range missiles to deliver strategic weapons.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16911262%5E2703,00.html
Quake villages wait for aid
Correspondents in Islamabad
October 14, 2005
AS many as 70 per cent of the remote villages devastated by the Central Asian earthquake almost six days ago have yet to receive any outside help.
Relief workers in northern Pakistan said they had not yet reached many villages in the remote mountainous region close to the quake's epicentre.
Jan Vandemoortele, UN resident co-ordinator for Pakistan, said most roads had now been cleared but many remote areas remained inaccessible.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16911264%5E2703,00.html
Militants move on Kashmir chaos
Rahul Bedi, New Delhi
October 14, 2005
ISLAMIC militant groups closely linked to al-Qa'ida have been swift to establish relief operations in the earthquake-ravaged Kashmir region of northern Pakistan, according to security sources in New Delhi.
"Their aim is not only to expand and consolidate their already considerable influence and presence in the region, but also to operate as a credible front to raise desperately needed money for their jihadist activities," a senior intelligence official said.
Over the past year, under mounting pressure from the US and other Western countries, funding has become an acute problem for al-Qa'ida and associated insurgent groups, with large money transfers being closely monitored.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16911260%5E2703,00.html
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Government urged to back science education
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- The government was urged Wednesday to launch a broad program supporting science education, research and innovation in an effort to maintain the nation's economic dominance.
Leadership in science and technology helped make the United States a world leader, but there are indications that could slip away, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences warned.
For example, 70,000 engineers were graduated in the United States last year, compared to 350,000 in India and 600,000 in China, the committee said in a new report. And in 2001, U.S. industry spent more on liability lawsuits than on research and development.
The report calls for four main efforts to shore up the nation's position.
-Improve math and science education in elementary and high schools by establishing a merit-based scholarship program to attract 10,000 students per year to careers teaching math and science.
-Increase the nation's investment in basic research by 10 percent each year for the next seven years, with a special emphasis on physical science, math, engineering and information science.
-Provide 25,000 new undergraduate scholarships each year and 5,000 new graduate fellowships for U.S. citizens enrolled in physical science, life science and math programs in American colleges and universities.
-Modernizing the U.S. patent system, provide tax credits to companies that increase research and development, ensure affordable broadband internet access.
Other recommendations included providing automatic visa extensions to foreign students who have received doctorate degrees who want to seek employment in the United States and establishing an advanced research agency within the Department of Energy.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1155AP_Pushing_Science.html
Cooling newborns may help protect brains
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chilling a newborn's entire body can help prevent or reduce brain damage caused by lack of oxygen during difficult births, research suggests.
However, experts say the results are too preliminary and in conflict with previous research for the treatment to be used outside of medical studies.
"Widespread application of brain cooling ... would be premature," Dr. Lu-Ann Papile, a neonatologist at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. She had no role in the study.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=Chilling%20Babies
Consular: Man in Bush plot denied torture
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A U.S. consular officer in Saudi Arabia who made jail visits to a man accused of plotting to assassinate President Bush testified Wednesday that he saw no evidence the inmate had been tortured, but he said he was denied access to him for nearly a month.
The testimony came during a pretrial hearing to determine the validity of a confession given to Saudi authorities by Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a 24-year-old U.S. citizen.
In the videotaped confession, Abu Ali says he "was interested in jihad" because of "my hatred of the United States for support of Israel against the Palestinian people." He said he discussed possible terrorist acts with two al-Qaida leaders, who encouraged him to return to America and establish an al-Qaida cell.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Bush_Plot.html
Mobile homes, campers wait at FEMA sites
By JAY REEVES
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
A police officer patrols a row of travel trailers at a Federal Emergency Management Agency staging area on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005, in Selma, Ala. The federal government is acquiring temporary homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina far faster than it can distribute them, with more than 9,000 campers and mobile homes now sitting empty at staging areas awaiting delivery. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- More than 9,000 mobile homes and campers meant for the victims of Hurricane Katrina are sitting unused at government staging areas while displaced families continue to live out of tents and shelters.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says the backlog was inevitable: The temporary housing is easier to acquire than distribute because of the limited number of accessible roads, cleared lots and trucks to haul housing to the storm-ravaged region.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Katrina_Housing_Backlog.html
Text of proposed Iraqi constitution
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SECTION SIX: FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER ONE: FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 122:
First: The President of the Republic and the Council of the Ministers collectively or one-fifth (1/5) of the Council of Representatives members may propose to amend the Constitution.
Second: The fundamental principles mentioned in Section One and the rights and liberties mentioned in Section Two of the Constitution may not be amended except after two successive electoral terms, with the approval of two-thirds of the Council of Representatives members, and the approval of the people in a general referendum and the ratification of the President of the Republic within seven days.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iraq_Constitution_Text_5th_Add.html
Reputed IRA official denies link to firm
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DUBLIN, Ireland -- The reputed chief of staff of the outlawed Irish Republican Army on Wednesday denied having anything to do with an English property portfolio that detectives suspect of being a shelter for IRA money.
Thomas "Slab" Murphy - who has never issued a public statement before - said he had "never conducted any business" with the Manchester-based property firm at the center of the probe, the Craven Group.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Ireland_IRA_Money.html
Schroeder's seven years in power ending
By MELISSA EDDY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BERLIN -- Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Wednesday he will not participate in Germany's new coalition government, ending seven years in power marked by a newly assertive foreign policy and efforts to prune welfare benefits that were a drag on Europe's biggest economy.
In a speech to a trade union conference in his hometown of Hanover, Schroeder also took swipes at President Bush and Tony Blair, opponents in the debate over the Iraq war.
Schroeder's Social Democrats lost last month's parliamentary elections to conservative Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, and Merkel struck a power-sharing deal Monday to become Germany's first female chancellor.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Germany_Election.html
Haiti rules U.S. citizen can seek office
By ALFRED DE MONTESQUIOU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A Haitian-born U.S. businessman may run for president, Haiti's highest court ruled Tuesday in a decision the would-be candidate said marked a turning point in the roles expatriate Haitians could play in their homeland.
The elections will be the first since a February 2004 revolt toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the first democratically elected president in the country that has suffered decades of civilian and military dictatorships and coups.
Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled Nov. 20, but elections officials have said preparations are behind schedule and the vote likely will be postponed for up to a month.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Haiti_Elections.html
Canada argues against Chinese asylum bid
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OTTAWA -- A former senior prison official in China who defected to Canada has no right to refugee status in Canada because of his complicity in crimes against humanity, federal lawyers argued in documents filed in court on Tuesday.
Han Guangsheng's bid for asylum "completely disregards" his involvement in a system linked to widespread human rights abuses, according to documents by federal prosecutors.
The former supervisor of prisons and labor camps in northeastern China faces possible deportation following the Immigration and Refugee Board's rejection of his claim.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1101AP_Canada_Chinese_Defector.html
China warns Canada on Taiwan trade bill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OTTAWA -- China's ambassador to Canada warned Wednesday that a bill before Parliament calling for formal trade and cultural ties with Taiwan could destroy the foundations beneath 35 years of diplomatic ties between Ottawa and Beijing.
Ambassador Lu Shumin said there would be serious "consequences" if the measure introduced by British Columbia Conservative Jim Abbott were passed. Though the measure is considered unlikely to become law, the issue is creating tensions as Canada and China move toward building much stronger trade ties.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1101AP_Canada_China_Taiwan.html
Cheney Observer
Halliburton sold assets to outsourcing.
Halliburton Sells Westport Technology Center to Intertek Caleb Brett
Houston -
HOUSTON -- Halliburton's (NYSE:HAL) Energy Services Group has reached an agreement to sell its Westport Technology Center to Intertek Caleb Brett, a division of Intertek Group plc (FTSE:ITRK), a global leader in outsourcing, testing, inspection, certification and related services.
Intertek has acquired the assets, contracts, technology and intellectual property assets of Westport Technology Center International.
Westport Technology Center delivers comprehensive upstream technical services to the global Oil and Gas Exploration and Production industry, including expertise in drilling fluids, flow assurance, reservoir fluids, well productivity, materials, corrosion, geochemistry, geology, hydrates, and more. Westport's management team and staff will continue to run the business integrated into Intertek Caleb Brett's global laboratory network, from which it will further expand and internationalize the services from Westport's main facility in Houston.
http://houston.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=46620&type_news=latest
New Zealand government taps Landmark Graphics for data storage deal
Landmark Graphics Corp. has been hired by the New Zealand government to provide Web site and database technology for an internal department that manages the country's government-owned mineral assets.
Houston-based Landmark, a division of Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL), supplies software and services for the upstream oil and gas industry. Under the contract, Landmark will provide a single data storage solution for New Zealand's Ministry of Economic Development.
"This will directly support the Ministry of Economic Development's efforts to promote and encourage exploration in New Zealand," said Halliburton vice president Peter Bernard.
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2005/10/10/daily10.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Bush's faith-based nominee
By Cathy Young October 10, 2005
THE NOMINATION of White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court ignited an unexpected controversy, mainly among Bush supporters. The debate has not focused on Miers's ideology, since no one seems to know much about it. But if Bush's choice for the high court seems lackluster, the political reaction to it has been far more interesting.
The outcry has focused in large part on Miers's qualifications, or lack thereof. She has never held a federal judgeship and has spent most of her career in the private sector (though one could argue that this may bring diversity to the court). Her few writings show little if any intellectual flair.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/10/10/bushs_faith_based_nominee/
Term limited
Bush's miscalculations and mistakes are thwarting his ability to push his agenda
By CARL P. LEUBSDORF
First published: Sunday, October 9, 2005
Troubled second terms are a fact of presidential life. No modern chief executive has escaped.
Like most predecessors, President Bush has brought on many of his problems through miscalculations and mistakes. One result: the lowest job approval of any modern president at this point in his term.
Several factors are responsible:
Weak re-election: Though Bush surpassed 50 percent in 2004 and won clearly over John Kerry, in contrast to his disputed 2000 triumph, his margin was by the smallest percentage of any re-elected president in U.S. history. He claimed a mandate, but polling showed the public almost evenly split over his handling of most issues but terrorism.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=406881&category=OPINION&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=10/9/2005
Norfolk election officials, voter group clash over registration woes
04:03 PM EDT on Sunday, October 9, 2005
Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va. — More than half of Norfolk's new voter applications have been incomplete or rejected.
That has prompted the registrar's office and a social action group to call for intervention by the Virginia State Board of Elections.
Lawyers from the Washington-based Advancement Project got involved at the request of Project Vote, which has submitted five-thousand voter applications in Norfolk this year.
State election officials were in town last week at the request of General Registrar Elisa Long, who says they are expected to issue a report sometime this week. Andrew Rivera of the Advancement Project asked the state elections board for a similar review.
Rivera has repeatedly asked to see the voter applications that could not be processed but Long has refused, citing election law and privacy concerns.
http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/100905cckkWVECelection.111a19b66.html
Hungarian prime minister awarded University's top honor
by Robert Parker
In addition to students and professors, new Elliott School Dean Michael Brown attended the event, along with Hungary's ambassador to the United States András Simonyi and American ambassador to Hungary George Herbert Walker III. Walker is the first cousin of former President George Bush and uncle to the current president.
http://www.gwhatchet.com/media/paper332/news/2005/10/10/CampusNews/Hungarian.Prime.Minister.Awarded.Universitys.Top.Honor-1015100.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.gwhatchet.com
A key journalistic principle
New York Times reporter Judith Miller, finally released from prison, testified before the grand jury investigating the case in which Bush Administration officials may have revealed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Ms. Miller was imprisoned without trial for 85 days in civil contempt of court when she refused to reveal the name of her source. She and her newspaper took that stand in the face of substantial pressure, including that originating from the fact that some of her media colleagues, including syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, who first published Ms. Plame's name, and NBC News journalist Tim Russert, talked to prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.
Ms. Miller stayed true to her principles to the end, only agreeing to testify when her source, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, specifically relieved her of a pledge to protect him.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051010/OPINION02/510100313
NO NOBEL PRIZE FOR WAR PRESIDENT
By Bill Gallagher
DETROIT -- George W. Bush doesn't like to play hurt but he has no choice. Every week now, he's getting clobbered. His Nixonian administration can only struggle to stop the bleeding, bandage the wounds and pray that the twin enemies of truth and time will stop. The Busheviks are in full retreat. Events, largely of their own creation, are overwhelming them. The self-inflicted assault is endless.
The president's "brain," his political "genius," good ole "Turd Blossom" himself, Karl Rove, is a desperate man, crawling and begging as he tries to escape indictment on federal felony charges. Bush, the cowboy president, is all hat, no horse; Rove, his ramrod, is now all turd, no blossom.
Initially, Rove lied to FBI agents about his role in identifying and outing CIA officer Valerie Plame. This week, he'll make his fourth visit to the grand jury, trying to explain why he lied when he was first questioned about his role in exposing Plame.
Publicly, Rove denied he had "any knowledge" about the leak and White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan scoffed that "it is a ridiculous suggestion" to say Rove was in any way involved in the scandal. Lies. All lies.
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher234.html
DeLay's Lawyers Subpoena His Prosecutor
By LARRY MARGASAK
The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 11, 2005; 11:17 PM
WASHINGTON -- Indicted Rep. Tom DeLay's attorneys turned the tables on a Texas prosecutor Tuesday, delivering a subpoena to compel his testimony about his conduct with grand jurors.
Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, who contends there was misconduct by prosecutors, said Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle refused the subpoena at his Austin office when he declined to sign a paper acknowledging its delivery. Earle said he had voluntarily accepted the subpoena.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, arrives to make a statement in his office on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 in Washington after a Texas grand jury charged Rep. DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme. Setting aside his own aversion to the media, DeLay has waged a blitz on radio, on TV and in print as he tries to shore up his support in his own congressional district while assuring fellow Republicans he plans to return to power. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak - AP)
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The subpoena is part of the defense tactic to have charges dismissed before trial against DeLay, R-Texas, who was obligated to temporarily step aside as House majority leader when charged with conspiracy and money laundering in a state campaign finance investigation. DeLay has denied any wrongdoing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101327.html
Frustrated mayor says helping city will help Louisiana
By JOE GYAN JR.
jgyan@theadvocate.com
New Orleans bureau
Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Hurricane Katrina evacuee Albert Chui Clark, right, from New Orleans' 3rd Ward, speaks his mind to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin during a brief get-together Thursday inside the Baton Rouge River Center. The center is closing its doors to evacuees and forcing them to leave today.
A frustrated New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned Thursday that it would be in the state's best interest to help the Crescent City jump-start its Hurricane Katrina-riddled economy, saying the impact on the state -- if nothing is done -- will pale in comparison to the layoffs the city recently announced.
"You think 3,000 layoffs in New Orleans is a big deal. Just wait,'' Nagin, his sleeves rolled up, said during an evening meeting with The Advocate's editorial board. "I see a state in crisis.''
The mayor pointed out during the Baton Rouge meeting that New Orleans accounts for 35 percent of the state budget.
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/101405/new_nagin001.shtml
Nagin Visits Cajundome Evacuees
Posted: Oct 14, 2005, 05:48 AM EDT
With evacuees shouting his nick-name, 'Ray Nay' as he arrived at the Cajundome, it was clear New Orleans evacuees were happy to see a familiar face.
Mayor Ray Nagin told them the city needs workers, and working is the best way for displaced residents to find temporary housing. "If they sign up for a job, employers have temporary housing - FEMA has temporary housing, that jumps them in front of the line," Nagin tells KATC.
Right after the storm, thousands called the Cajundome home. That number's down to about 500, and many of those folks told Nagin they want to be back in New Orleans as soon as possible. "If he would have come here with a bus and said 'how many people want to leave here today and go back to New Orleans to work' - everybody in here would have left," says one Cajundome resident.
Nagin did not bring a bus, but he did bring a message of hope.
Despite giving no timeline on re-populating hard-hit areas, the mayor pointed out positive signs like re-opening schools, and livable neighborhoods.
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3976872
Claim: Cheney's office opposed Miers nomination to court
RAW STORY
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Veteran conservative columnist and pundit John Fund asserts in the Wall Street Journal today that the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tried to block the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, RAW STORY has learned.
"A last minute effort was made to block the choice of Ms. Miers, including the offices of Vice President Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales," Fund claims. "It fell on deaf ears."
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Report_Cheneys_office_opposed_Miers_nomination_1013.html
Exclusive Interview: Murray Waas On How Dick Cheney's Top Aide 'Scooter' Libby Misled Federal Prosecutors in the CIA Leak Case
Democracy Now!
October 12, 2005
As speculation grows that Libby and Karl Rove could be indicted, we speak with Waas on his new expose that Libby never told prosecutors that in June 2003 he spoke with New York Times reporter Judith Miller about CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of the Iraq war. Miller will testify once again today about their conversations. [includes rush transcript]
Speculation is growing in Washington that Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby and President Bush's top advisor Karl Rove could soon be indicted by a federal prosecutor investigating the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Investigative Journalist Murray Waas is reporting in the National Journal that Libby failed to tell the grand jury about a discussion he had with New York Times reporter Judith Miller in June 2003 - weeks before Plame's name first appeared in the press. Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald only learned of the discussion after Miller announced last week that she had discovered a set of notes on the conversation. Fitzgerald, who has been investigating the case for nearly two years, has now asked Miller to testify again today before the grand jury.
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m16719&date=13-oct-2005_04:51_ECT
Subpoena issued for Frist stock records
By Greg Farrell, USA TODAY
Federal investigators looking into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's well-timed sale of HCA stock earlier this year have issued a subpoena seeking any personal records or correspondence that the Tennessee Republican has pertaining to the transaction, according to a lawyer familiar with the matter.
The subpoena, from attorneys at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, comes after Frist's vow last month that he would cooperate fully. The lawyer did not want to be named because of confidentiality.
Frist's brother and father founded Hospital Corporation of America. Since Frist was elected to the Senate in 1994, he has fended off questions that his stake in HCA posed a conflict of interest with his role in health care legislation.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-13-frist_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA
Public Figures: Ethical trifecta
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
When it comes to accusations of ethical improprieties, Republicans have scored a sort of trifecta. GOP leaders in the White House and both branches of Congress are under investigation.
Nothing is proved, though Karl Rove deserves frequent traveler mileage for his visits to the grand jury investigating a CIA agent's exposure. Tom DeLay has stepped down as House majority leader while he fights his indictment in connection with political fund raising. Two investigations are looking at Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's sale of stocks, which he said he ordered to guard against conflicts of interest if he runs for president.
We recall a certain hoo-hah during the Clinton administration about private failings proving an inability to conduct public business honestly. Our faith in the ability of Rove, DeLay and Frist to run their private lives honestly remains undiminished. But we certainly do worry whether they can provide ethical leadership of government.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/244530_shocked.asp
The 'Dubya' papers
By Gil Jenkins, Collegian columnist
October 14, 2005
The year 2008:
In a powerful move by the Democratic majority, a landmark bill is passed through Congress overturning former President Bush's Executive Order 13233. This order stipulated that all presidents' private papers could only be released by the approval of both the former and current presidents. Under the new bill, the power to release such papers is returned to the National Archives, which first had that power under the Presidential Records Act of 1978. The bill requires that the archives release all presidential papers not dealing with national security 12 years after said president leaves office.
The year 2020:
The first set of presidential papers is released from George Walker Bush's first and second terms. One such paper released from his second term is a transcripted oval office conversation between President Bush and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, dated Oct. 2005. The contents of the conversation prove to be quite unsettling:
Bush: (To Rove) Come on in T.B. (Turd Blossom)
Rove: Yes sir, Mr. President. Thank you for meeting with me.
Bush: Always a pleasure to meet with my "architect." Karl, I'm
http://www.dailycollegian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/14/434f04b1b0118
Papers: DeLay group used $100K for races
By SHARON THEIMER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Tom DeLay's political group used nearly $100,000 in corporate and unlimited donations to mail last-minute political appeals praising five congressional candidates despite rules meant to keep such money out of federal races, documents released Thursday show.
The records also detail payments DeLay's group made to Jim Ellis and Warren Robold, two longtime fundraisers indicted in Texas in the same state campaign finance case as DeLay. All three men say they are innocent in that case.
The documents from the Federal Election Commission's audit of DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority PAC (ARMPAC) were obtained by Political Money Line, a group that studies campaign fundraising.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_DeLay_Donations.html
IT is upto Mr. Earle as thse are probably baseless accusations, but, all this might better be put into the State Attorney General's safe keeping rather than run the risk of conflict of interest and possibly compromising the integrity of the case.
Ronnie Earle linked to Miers-run lottery
Posted: October 13, 2005
1:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
In 1997, when Harriet Miers was chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission, controversy swirled in Texas regarding allegations that former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes had made an illegal campaign contribution to Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle. At the time, Ben Barnes was a political lobbyist under contract to GTECH, the Rhode Island firm running the Texas Lottery.
Under the GTECH contract, Barnes was receiving 4 percent of GTECH's gross revenue in Texas, a contract worth some $3 million a year to Barnes. Barnes, a Democrat, obtained the GTECH contract in 1991, arguing that as a Democrat he could influence then-Gov. Ann Richards, also a Democrat. When George W. Bush was elected Texas governor in 1995, he persuaded GTECH that his influence over the governor's office continued, since he was the person who was responsible for pulling the strings needed to get Bush into the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46816
U.S. cash, demands of war fuel human trade
BY CAM SIMPSON AND AAMER MADHANI
Chicago Tribune
(KRT) - American tax dollars and the wartime needs of the U.S. military are fueling an illicit pipeline of cheap foreign labor, mainly impoverished Asians who often are deceived, exploited and put in harm's way in Iraq with little protection.
The United States has long condemned the practices that characterize this human trade as it operates elsewhere in the Middle East. Yet this very system is now part of the privatization of the American war effort and is central to the operations of Halliburton subsidiary KBR, the U.S. military's biggest private contractor in Iraq.
To document this system, the Chicago Tribune retraced the journey of 12 Nepalese men kidnapped last year from an unprotected convoy en route to an American military base in Iraq. The Tribune's reporting found that:
To maintain the flow of low-paid workers key to military support and reconstruction in Iraq, the U.S. military has allowed KBR to partner with subcontractors that hire laborers from Nepal and other countries that prohibit citizens from being deployed in Iraq. That means brokers recruiting such workers operate illicitly.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/world/12891064.htm
AP Releases Full New Orleans Beating Video
Thursday October 13, 2005 11:46 PM
NEW YORK (AP) - The Associated Press on Thursday released the full video of police officers beating a retired teacher as they tried to arrest him on New Orleans' Bourbon Street.
On Sunday, the news agency had released an edited version of the video, shot by an AP Television News crew the night before.
``Viewer interest in these images has been enormous, so we are putting out the entire video,'' said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. ``Many times people like to see more information, which is why we post documents, transcripts and other amplifying material to our Web customers.''
The full version of the video runs just over five minutes, about one minute more than the edited version. The additional minute mostly shows the street scene and the officers continuing to struggle with 64-year-old Robert Davis.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5342364,00.html
Finalists cut to 4 in bid for presidential library
Associated Press
DALLAS — The list of finalists to build the George W. Bush Presidential Library has been limited to four: Southern Methodist University, the University of Dallas, Baylor University in Waco and a group led by Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
Eliminated were the city of Arlington, Texas A&M and the University of Texas System, Donald Evans, head of the library selection committee, confirmed Wednesday night.
"It will be the finest presidential library museum that has been built," said Evans, former commerce secretary and President Bush's longtime friend.
The next step for the four finalists will be to make oral presentations of their proposals in Washington next month, Evans said.
The cost to build the library is estimated between $200 million and $300 million. The library will be financed with private donations.
A committee led by Evans and Marvin Bush, President Bush's youngest brother, will consider the proposals. But the president and first lady Laura Bush will have the final decision.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3394905
St Gobain is takeover target for 3 US funds - report
10.13.2005, 05:05 AM
PARIS (AFX) - Saint-Gobain is being eyed as a takeover target by three US hedge funds - The Carlyle Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Blackstone Group, French magazine Challenges reported.
The funds are eying separate bids for the French glassmaker, which is itself bidding for UK plasterboard maker BPB.
At 9.49 am, Saint Gobain was up 0.81 eur or 1.7 pct at 47.79 eur.
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/10/13/afx2274734.html
CORRECT: Morgan Stanley Spun Off US, Not Asia Pvt Equity
(This is the first in a series of articles on the expanding activities of private equity firms in Asia)
By Nisha GopalanOf DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Asia's emergence as a private equity hotspot has generated quite a bit of work for an old breed of dealmakers - investment bankers.
… "This is a very important business for us. We can help the private equity firms buy the company, fix the company and sell the company," said Morgan Stanley Executive Director Dennis Montecillo, who has been covering the private equity industry and financial sponsors in Asia for five years."With the uptick in financial sponsor activity across the region, investment banks have become more active advisers (to private equity firms)."
Private equity investment, which fled Asia after the dotcom bust and ensuing weak markets, came back in force last year, emboldened by several successful exits that showed the market was open again, 3i's Paton said. Among them was a consortium of investors led by U.S. firm Carlyle Group that more than doubled its initial investment when it sold a 40% stake in South Korea's KorAm Bank to Citigroup for US$2.73 billion.
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/051013/15/3vmg8.html
Lehman closes $650 million fund of funds
Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:42 PM ET
NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.(LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it closed its first dedicated fund of funds vehicle, raising $650 million to invest in such firms as the Carlyle Group, Blackstone and Warburg Pincus.
http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=fundsNews2&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20051011:MTFH68267_2005-10-11_22-43-19_N11501322:1
WYCS-TV executives lobby local government to prevent change
A letter from executives at WYCS-TV, a small Louisville television started in 1996, has been sent to members of the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Council, urging them to act before a decision by Insight Communications forces the station to change channel positions.
WYCS, which bills itself as the area's only minority-oriented TV station, is located on channel 24 for cable subscribers in Louisville. The station currently has access to 273,000 cable homes.
Doutrick said Insight's Louisville office has not received letters or complaints from any Metro Council members. The office did receive one letter of protest from a customer and another letter from a former customer both complaining about the change.
"We're looking for some better programming for our basic service," she said. "We really feel this is better for our customers."
Insight Communications Co. was purchased in July by its co-founders through The Carlyle Group, a private equity company. Insight is based in New York City.
http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2005/10/10/daily6.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Geeks with Guns
QinetiQ - history and structure
QinetiQ was formed in July 2001 when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) split its Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in two. The smaller portion of DERA, which engaged with the more ‘sensitive’ military research, including running Porton Down, was rebranded DSTL and remains part of the MoD. The larger part of DERA, including most of the MoD's non-nuclear testing and evaluation establishments, was renamed QinetiQ and prepared for privatisation. The company became a public private partnership in 2002 with the purchase of a stake by US based private equity company the Carlyle Group.
QinetiQ is now
56% owned by the MoD
31% owned by the Carlyle Group
13% owned by QinetiQ employees
In the summer of 2005 it was announced that QinetiQ is to be floated on the stock market -- early estimates value the company at around £1bn. Carlyle Group and QinetiQ, executives are likely to make around £300m and £145m respectively from the sale of shares, which may have been undervalued at the first stage of privatisation.
The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a massive ($24bn capital) US-based investment firm with interests ranging from energy to healthcare to media to defence. It is most noted by campaigners for its military interests and its close links with political power. Current and past executives include former UK Prime Minister John Major, former US President George Bush Sr and former US Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci.
[box]
QinetiQ's website describes the company as 'Europe's largest technology research company'. The company's website stresses its 'technology rich services and solutions', how it 'operate[s] at the leading edge of technology' and 'gives customers access to the output of 50 years of national investment at the forefront of technology'. But QinetiQ also demostrates exactly what its state and corporate backers mean by 'technology' -- and what they think technology is for.
Most of QinetiQ's work is still based on military applications -- weapons, guidance systems, military aircraft technology etc. From this, it branches out into surveillance and security technologies (including some of the technologies being considered for use in ID cards), communications and high-tech materials, including nanotechnology and 'energetic materials' (i.e. explosives) among other areas. This is cutting-edge technology as our society's political and corporate leaders currently see it -- even where it is not arms-based, it is capital-intensive, centralised, facilitates state or corporate control, and is overwhelmingly irrelevant to the most crucial problems facing our planet.
The QinetiQ approach views state-funded military research as a starting point, out of which come military technologies. If they are too sensitive (e.g. nuclear weapons) they are developed by the state, otherwise they are licensed to private companies to manufacture and sell back to the state. Out of this military research come by-products with civilian applications -- so-called 'dual-use technologies' -- which are similarly licensed to the private sector to profit from.
This approach thus assumes that:
•funding military research is a proper state activity
•it is right to devote a high proportion of technological research resources to military ends
•the profits of research belong in the private sector, even where it was publicly-funded
•civilian research is secondary to military in the state's priorities
•spin-offs from military projects are an acceptable means of developing civilian technologies
•research is a self-propelling process producing morally-neutral 'discoveries', and that any problems should be dealt with after the fact
Specific technologies
QinetiQ is one of the UK's leaders in developing nanotechnology. Its subsidiary QinetiQ Nanomaterials Ltd, founded in 2002, manufactures bulk quantities of nanoparticles and pSiMedica Ltd (a joint venture with Australian-based pSivida) is involved in developing 'biosilicon', a nano-engineered material with possible medical applications. See the Corporate Watch briefing (http://archive.corporatewatch.org/newsletter/issue22/issue22_part6.htm) for more on the safety and structural issues around nanotechnology.
On ID cards, QinetiQ, in its role as consultant to the government, does not, for once, seem to be backing the highest-tech option, arguing for barcoded or memory-stick cards rather than the government's favoured biometrics. However, this is not due to any qualms over the fundamental concept. Neil Fisher, QinetiQ's Director of Security Services, has said 'You will want, in what's fast becoming a digital society, to be able to authenticate your identity almost for any transaction that you do, be it going to the bank, going to the shops, going to the airport.'
QinetiQ privatisation and the military-industrial complex
The 'military-industrial complex' is the coalition of interests that develops between the armed forces, government bureaucracy and the private companies that benefit from miltary contracts. Since the coining of this phrase, by former US president Eisenhower, many have viewed this complex as an anti-democratic force, skewing government policy towards militaristic ends for the benefit of particular companies, or subsections of government and the military. In this context, the privatisation of a company like QinetiQ represents a shift in the balance of power in the military-industrial complex -- towards increasing the private sector's influence over the state, over military policy and over technology development.
Other sources:
http://www.qinetiq.co.uk/
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=2065
Carlyle and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe to sell Dex Media in $9.5bn deal
04/10/2005. Source: AltAssets.
The Carlyle Group and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe have agreed to sell yellow pages publisher and directional media company Dex Media to its competitor R.H. Donnelley Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, each Dex share will be exchanged for $12.30 in cash and 0.24154 RHD shares. In aggregate, current Dex shareholders will receive approximately $1.85bn in cash and 36.4 million RHD shares, for total equity consideration of approximately $4.2bn. RHD will also assume Dex's net debt outstanding, expected to be approximately $5.3bn at year end 2005.
'We are thrilled to be joining with Dex Media. This combination will create a company with the scale, innovative products and services and proven business processes to lead our industry into the era of integrated local commercial search, encompassing both print and digital platforms,' said David C Swanson, R.H. Donnelley's chairman and chief executive officer.
RHD has also agreed to repurchase the remaining outstanding convertible preferred stock issued upon completion of the Sprint Publishing and Advertising acquisition in January 2003 and held by investment partnerships affiliated with The Goldman Sachs Group for approximately $337m including accrued dividends. The preferred shares were convertible into approximately 5.2 million RHD common shares as of 30 September 2005.
Upon completion of the transaction, current RHD and Dex shareholders will own approximately 47 per cent and 53 per cent of the combined company, respectively.
http://www.altassets.com/news/arc/2005/nz7527.php
A Run On Detroit's Parts Makers
Big money is chasing the thousands of outfits that supply U.S. carmakers
It's hard to imagine a less sexy business than auto parts -- especially these days. The industry has nearly every problem afflicting American business: union strife, runaway health-care costs, heavy debt, overcapacity, and exposure to raging steel and fuel prices, not to mention an uncertain future amid rising competition from Asia and Eastern Europe.
And yet plenty of big money is chasing parts makers these days. From a passel of private equity buyers, including New York investor Wilbur Ross, to a handful of foreign parts makers, investors are trolling for deals among America's ailing auto suppliers. They've got plenty to choose from: Just since the start of 2004, 35 parts makers have filed for bankruptcy protection. Chunks of Delphi Corp. (DPH ) and Visteon Corp. (VC ) -- respectively the No. 1 and No. 2 industry players -- could soon be on the block. And dozens of small, still-healthy outfits are ready to sell out as big customers such as Ford Motor Co. (F )and General Motors Corp. (GM ) insist that more parts be manufactured in low-cost Asia. "Literally every day, some company comes up for sale," says Thomas T. Stallkamp, former Chrysler Group (DCX ) president and now a managing partner with New York private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC.
...BOLTED TOGETHER
So what do acquirers see in these smaller companies? In some cases, diversifying their customer base is the goal. Private equity investor Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C., which has deep roots in the defense industry, recently snapped up AxleTech International in Troy, Mich. Carlyle figures there's plenty of growth to be had expanding AxleTech's defense business by making more parts for tactical military vehicles.
...Things are about to get very Darwinian in the auto-parts industry -- and given the pricing pressures, overcapacity, and weak profits, that's exactly what it needs.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_41/b3954053.htm
$209 Million Back Taxes Slapped on 5 Foreign Funds
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The National Tax Service (NTS) has slapped a total of 214.8 billion won ($209 million) in penalties on Lone Star Funds and four other foreign funds for evading on capital gains taxes on transactions of stocks and other assets.
But the tax agency did not specify how much it taxed each foreign fund.
It also plans to refer several high-ranking officials at the foreign funds to the prosecution for possible violations of domestic tax law and financial transaction law, the agency said.
The five foreign funds are the Carlyle Group, Lone Star, Goldman Sachs, AIG and Westbrook.
Officials from the funds were not immediately available for comments.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200509/kt2005092918001310230.htm
Pravda
Russia kills 72, arrests 31 terrorists as the battle in Nalchik ends
10/14/2005 16:00
About 1,500 Russian military men and 500 commandoes have been sent to Nalchik in connection with a huge terrorist attack on the city
Russian special forces destroyed 72 terrorists during the military operation in the city of Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino Balkaria republic, situated in Russia's south near Chechnya. The terrorists killed from 14 to 24 local residents; the exact number of victims among the civilians is yet to be specified.
Battles in the Russian city of Nalchik have finally ended at about 10:00 a.m. local time today, during the second day of the special operation to eliminate a large group of terrorists in the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic.
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/382/16303_Nalchik.html
Terrorists kill 12 civilians in Nalchik attack
10/13/2005 23:23
Police units of the republic have destroyed 50 terrorists; gunmen release some of the hostages in return to drinking water
The battles in the city of Nalchik have subsided. There are hardly any people in the streets. Seven terrorists have blockaded
themselves in the building of the Third Police Department of the city. "The federal forces have ousted the terrorists from the ground floor of the building and made them retreat in two offices. The terrorists are holding several people hostage," Deputy Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation, Alexander Chekalin said. The official added that the Russian soldiers offered the gunmen to lay down their arms, but they refused.
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/382/16301_Nalchik.html
Putin orders to blockade embattled Nalchik and destroy all terrorists
10/13/2005 16:11
About 20 civilians have been reportedly killed in the attack, 40 other people have been hospitalized with injuries
President Vladimir Putin has ordered to blockade the embattled Nalchik not to let any of the terrorists escape from the city, the Deputy Interior Affairs Minister of Russia, Alexander Chekalin, told reporters after a meeting with the Russian president.
According to Chekalin, the president ordered to destroy all armed terrorists, who show resistance to the federal forces.
President of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, Arsen Kanokov, said that several terrorists had been captured alive. All of the arrested gunmen belong to the so-called Jamaat terrorist group, the president added.
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/382/16297_Nalchik.html
Rain, hail and fatal diseases hamper rescue efforts in quake-stricken Pakistan
10/12/2005 13:28
UN health officials warn of diseases, including malaria, cholera and dysentery, due to a lack of clean water and sanitation
Helicopters resumed delivering urgently needed relief supplies Wednesday to those who survived the weekend earthquake in hard-to-reach areas of Indian Kashmir, after nearly 12 hours of disruption caused by torrential rains and snow, AP said.
Torrential rain has halted aid efforts in the earthquake-ravaged region of Kashmir, bringing yet more misery to the millions of homeless living in the open.
Asian earthquake levels Pakistan: New photos from the scene
As survivors prayed for food and fresh water, health officials reported another blight on the shattered landscape - an outbreak of fatal diseases. Rain turned roads into rivers of mud and swamped decomposing bodies that lay under rubble and on the roadsides.
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/385/16293_earthquake.html
Russia suffers decline in oil industry as crude market recovers after hurricanes
10/12/2005 22:24
Russia still remains one of the top oil exporters, although the national crude output has been decreasing laltely
The Russian oil industry has boundless opportunities and brightest perspectives. This assumption has become quite popular during the recent years, although it has been called into question now. Experts say that Russia has been losing its oil power on the world market of liquid black gold.
According to the report from the International Energy Agency, which was published yesterday in Paris, the crude output started decreasing in Russia in 2005 and dropped almost 2.5 times as opposed to 2004. However, Russia still ranks the top oil exporter among all non-OPEC members. According to preliminary estimates, Russia was extracting 9.8 million barrels of crude daily in September of the current year and gained 70,000 barrels a day in comparison with August of the same year. It is expected that the crude output will increase by some 300,000 barrels a day until the end of 2005 vs. 2004. A similar increase in the Russian oil industry was forecast for 2006 too. Nevertheless, IEA experts believe that it is not an optimistic factor at all. The growth in the oil extraction during the forthcoming two years in Russia will be a lot lower than in 2004, when the crude output increased by 740,000 barrels a day over a year.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/357/16295_oil.html
Vladimir Putin celebrates his 53rd birthday in St.Petersburg's most beautiful palace
10/07/2005 16:03
The palace employees cleaned every corner in and out of the palace, although it used to be a dilapidated building just several years ago
Did schoolboy Vladimir Putin think 40 years ago that one of the most beautiful palaces in St.Petersburg will be restored especially for him and his guests? Obviously no. Nowadays, there is a whole crowd of people waiting for a chance to take a glance at the beautiful residence of the Russian president. Vladimir Putin uses the residence for official meetings with the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Russian president is currently expecting another guest of honor in his residence - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
The sign on the doors of the palace says now that the palace will be closed for visits on October 5-7. The palace was closed due to Vladimir Putin's birthday, which the president celebrates today, on October 7.
It is worthy of note that Putin always tries to celebrate his birthday in his native city, St.Petersburg. In 2003, for example, the president went on board a tour boat to take a ride in a company of his friends along the Neva River in St.Petersburg.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/350/16271_Putin.html
A tell-all story of Eric Clapton to be published in 2007
02:35 2005-10-13
The memoirs of Eric Clapton, a tell-all story that has been one of the most sought manuscripts in publishing, will be released by Doubleday in 2007.
Financial terms were not disclosed, although Clapton was widely believed to be seeking a multimillion-dollar contract and numerous publishers were interested.
http://newsfromrussia.com/culture/2005/10/13/65111.html
Condoleezza Rice tries to win Central Asia's sympathies for USA's purposes
10/12/2005 16:04
Condoleezza Rice's current visit to Central Asia is connected with the fact that the USA has been losing its positions in the region
The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has started her debut tour of Central Asian states. The program of the tour includes official visits to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Ms. Rice may also visit Pakistan to express sympathies on behalf of the USA in connection with the recent devastating earthquake.
Condoleezza Rice arrived in the republic of Kyrgyzstan yesterday. "It is important for Kyrgyzstan to maintain friendly relations with its neighbors, there are no reasons for the republic to choose between Russia and the USA," the US Secretary of State said at the briefing in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Russian politicians had a similar reaction to the visit of the top US official. The Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, stated during his visit to Paris that there was no opposition between Russia and the USA in Central Asia, although there were certain legal interests in the region, the minister added.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/92/373/16294_Rice.html
Rain, hail and fatal diseases hamper rescue efforts in quake-stricken Pakistan
10/12/2005 13:28
UN health officials warn of diseases, including malaria, cholera and dysentery, due to a lack of clean water and sanitation
Helicopters resumed delivering urgently needed relief supplies Wednesday to those who survived the weekend earthquake in hard-to-reach areas of Indian Kashmir, after nearly 12 hours of disruption caused by torrential rains and snow, AP said.
Torrential rain has halted aid efforts in the earthquake-ravaged region of Kashmir, bringing yet more misery to the millions of homeless living in the open.
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/385/16293_earthquake.html
Guatemala: Over 1,000 killed in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan
10/11/2005 11:19
Authorities said they would abandon communities buried by landslides and declare them mass graveyards
More than 100 Guatemalan communities buried by massive landslides are to be declared mass graveyards by local authorities, in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan that left over 1,000 killed in the Central American country. The death toll has now reached 652, with 384 people missing, while some Indian villages are, in effect, mass graves, according to figures released by the army and civil defence rescue teams.
Hurricane Stan also affected Mexico, where left 61 killed and hundreds injured, and El Salvador that suffered from the death of 70 people and major losses to its agriculture.
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/385/16285_Stan.html
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