November 30, 2005. 1430z. The Water Vapor Satellite of the North and Western Hemisphere. The storm "Epsilon" is in the Mid-Atlantic. The system along the North American east coast has origing at the equator that extends all the way off the satellite image to the left. There is a vortex west of California and the density of the water vapor of this satellite image is significant.
November 30, 2005. 1330 z. Water Vapor Satellite GOES East. The vortex in Mid-Atlantic is EPSILON. This is the 30th named storm this season. It is huge. NOAA did not note this storm or it's record setting volume ! Any reasonable person has to ask themselves if this is the size of the storms to come. This one is over open ocean.
The New Atlantic Basin Records.
Any and all information used by the USA authorities in this instance is competely based on information regarding the 'snap shot' of the Atlantic Ocean. These agencies are limited by the government in it's funding of programs to understand Global Warming and Climate Change. The USA is limited to restrictions of concern to the USA in this area."The Atlantic Basin is in the active phase of a multi-decadal cycle in which optimal conditions in the ocean and atmosphere, including warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures and low wind shear, enhance hurricane activity. This increase in the number and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes can span multiple decades (approximately 20 to 30 years). NOAA will make its official 2006 season forecast in May, prior to the June 1st start to the season."The information here is limited to 'immediate WEATHER' conditions and mentions nothing about the rising temperatures globally of the oceans. A stringent pier review by International Scientists needs to follow with tough recommendations to impove the performance of the USA agencies. There is a current history extending minimally to 2002 that The National Hurrican Center, The National Weather Service and NOAA have been manipulative in their reporting of the FACTS regarding Global Warming and Climate Change. They exhibit a real indignation to the well being of other populous of the world and what they are experiencing. When NOAA states they are natural cycles they never discuss the 'survivability' of them and when exactly this GLOBAL DYNAMICS played out under record setting carbon dioxide load of 650,000 years.There 'bliss' and statements disregarding the dangers to Earth and it's Ice Reserves with ever encroaching 'point of no return' is a human rights violation and nothing short of it. The USA is not alone in survival on Earth and it is of extreme concern for the disregard of other worldwide scientific findings that make this Climate unique and very dangerous. 650,000 years ago there were no humans on Earth. The USA government scientific community has become a travesty.
The Rooster
November 29, 2005. Palmer Flats, Alaska. This is sunset. The days are shorter in Alaska this time of year. It helps the climate to encourage cooling rather than heating. It is the CO2 that holds heat to terra firma and not the natural cycles of the daylight hours.
November 28, 2005.Yankton, South Dakota.Photographer states: Blizzard on the plains--we're grateful for the sun this morning after a blizzard and a lenghty power outage. It was getting a little chilly!This is exactly what I was concerned with as early as last year. This is the resident of this house working outside to 'dig out.' He has built an outside fire to keep warm while he was working in the yard. There is also a reference by the photographer that the house was getting a little chilly. These are not 'lake effect snow storms.' They are however glacial storms with very, very frigid aire. The longer a 'cold' temperature to this extent remains on a house the more the house will get colder and colder and more difficult to heat. This weather is very, very dangerous. The governor of the northern states need to rethink their strategy for sustained cold temperatures especially with their residents in rural areas with little to no access to help. My first thoughts are to have 'snow mobile' patrols ready to react to residents in distress. It is advisable for residents to have 'radio access' in their homes should their phones fail. There is a chance cell phones will operate no matter the weather, however, the emergency citizen radio band is a guarantee to reach the outside world.
Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
History
Today is Wednesday, Nov. 30, the 334th day of 2005. There are 31 days left in the year.
1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
1803, Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.
1804, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase went on trial, accused of political bias. (He was acquitted by the Senate.)
1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens -- better known as Mark Twain -- was born in Florida, Mo.
1897 J.A. Sweeting patents a cigarette-rolling device.
1900, Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.
1924 Maggie Lena Walker, president and founder of Penny Savings Bank, is honored in Richmond, VA by the Order of Saint Luke.
1936, London's famed Crystal Palace, constructed for the International Exhibition of 1851, was destroyed in a fire.
1962, U Thant of Burma was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, succeeding the late Dag Hammarskjold.
1981, the United States and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.
1987 James Baldwin, Black novelist, essayist, playwright, and poet, dies in St. Paul-de-Vence, France. He wrote highly acclaimed novels such as "Go Tell It On the Mountain" and "Blues For Mr. Charlie"
1993, President Clinton signed into law the Brady bill, which requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.
Ten years ago: President Clinton became the first U.S. chief executive to visit Northern Ireland, where he implored Roman Catholics and Protestants alike not to surrender to the impulses of "old habits and hard grudges."
Five years ago: Al Gore's lawyers battled for his political survival in the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts; meanwhile, GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee moved to award the presidency to George W. Bush in case the courts did not by appointing their own slate of electors.
One year ago: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced his resignation.
NAACP President Kweisi Mfume announced he was stepping down after a nearly nine-year tenure.
President Bush tried to repair strained U.S.-Canada relations during a visit to Ottawa.
"Jeopardy!" fans got to see Ken Jennings end his 74-game winning streak as he lost to real estate agent Nancy Zerg.
Missing in Action
The server I usually go to is down. Sorry. I'll pick up again when it returns.
Chipotle Bean Tostadas Recipe
Tostadas are toasted or fried corn tortillas, topped with a layer of refried beans and other things such as cheese, lettuce, and salsa. Growing up, my mother made tostadas or tacos for us at least once a month, the main difference being that tostadas are flat, crispy, and layered with beans, and tacos are folded and usually without beans. This food is kid heaven - messy, choose your own topping, and incredibly tasty. This month we found a recipe in Fine Cooking for Smokey Refried Bean Tostadas. This recipe called for a slightly different approach to the beans - they suggested adding cumin and Chipotle Tabasco sauce. The chipotle added such a terrific smokey chile flavor to the beans, no salsa was needed on the tostadas. I think they are the best refried beans we've ever had. We make our beans from scratch, so I don't know how it would taste with canned beans, but the smokey flavor of the chipotle is wonderful.
To cook the tortillas, we love to use grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil is a very light oil with a high flash or smoke point, which means that you can get it pretty hot before it starts to burn, making it easier to cook with. It is also very healthy, high in many essential fatty acids. It is not widely available, but beginning to get more available in grocery stores. We get ours at the local Raley's grocery store (California chain).
2 Tbsp olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
About 4 cups of cooked pinto beans, drained (either freshly made or 2 15-oz cans)
4 teaspoons of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce (definitely do not use regular Tabasco sauce, only the Chipotle kind)
Salt
1/2 cup high flash-point vegetable oil, such as grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil
1 dozen corn tortillas
Salt
1 cup of crumbled Cotija Queso Seco (Mexican farmers cheese) or you can use feta cheese
1 cup finely diced fresh tomato
1/2 cup thinly sliced red radishes
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
Optional
Iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced and sprinkled with vinegar and salt
GuacamoleSour cream
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001608chipotle_bean_tostadas.php
The Los Angeles Times
There's still a ray of hope
FOR THE USUAL BAD POLITICAL reasons, the Legislature dropped the ball this year on solar power. Fortunately, other public agencies are doing what they can to make up for the lawmakers' failure.
Senate Bill 1 would have added a couple of necessary spurs to the solar movement by requiring homebuilders to offer solar panels as an option in their new developments and by making it easier for solar home owners to sell their excess power to the local electric utility.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-solar30nov30,0,4604790.story?coll=la-home-oped
U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press
Troops write articles presented as news reports. Some officers object to the practice.
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Mexico to Extradite More Suspects to U.S.
By Sam Enriquez and Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writers
MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to allow the extradition of criminal suspects who face life sentences abroad, clearing the way for thousands of alleged killers and drug traffickers to stand trial in the United States.
The court's 6-5 vote ends four years of wrangling between the U.S. and Mexican governments over murder suspects who have been protected by Mexico's ban on life sentences.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico30nov30,0,715510.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Gov. May Put Davis Aide in Key Post
Susan Kennedy, former Democratic activist, could soon become the chief of staff, sources say.
By Robert Salladay and Peter Nicholas, Times Staff Writers
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, launching an overhaul of his administration, is poised to hire a former Democratic Party activist and high-ranking aide to Gray Davis as his new chief of staff, sources familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.
The hiring of Susan P. Kennedy — a former executive director of the California Democratic Party, longtime abortion rights activist and Cabinet secretary to Davis, the Democrat whom Schwarzenegger replaced — would signal a shift in direction for the Republican governor.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold30nov30,0,4713955.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Where to for Lotto Winner? Back Home to Help His Town
By John M. Glionna, Times Staff Writer
BATAGRAM, Pakistan — Ihsan Khan angrily walks the rubble-strewn streets of his hometown where buildings tumbled like children's play blocks during the recent magnitude 7.6 temblor that killed 87,000 people.
Where was the heavy equipment that was so desperately needed to help free those who were trapped beneath the debris, Khan wants to know.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-lotto30nov30,0,4237202.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews
Please Don't Eat the Ballots
Opie the goat is now out of office in Anza, but across the U.S., other communities have elected animals as their honorary mayors.
By Ashley Powers, Times Staff Writer
ANZA, Calif. — Opie the goat charmed his way out of the slaughterhouse, but he wasn't as nimble in the gruff world of desert politics.
The goat was named honorary mayor of this rural Riverside County town after drumming up more money for charity than anybody else. But like any office-holder, he wasn't without enemies.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-opie30nov30,0,5529122.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Gold Touches $500 Level
By Tom Petruno and Kathy M. Kristof, Times Staff Writers
Gold, the fashion accessory that became grossly out of style on Wall Street in the 1990s, passed a new milepost in its comeback Tuesday.
The metal traded above $500 an ounce, a price last reached in 1987, extending a rally that has made it one of this decade's star investments.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gold30nov30,0,7645764.story?coll=la-home-business
The Arab News
Saudi Poet Announces International Women’s Anthology
Molly Thomas-Hicks, Arab News
Nimah Ismail Nawwab, whose best-selling collection of poetry, “The Unfurling,” was published in 2004 to worldwide acclaim, sees literature as a way of building bridges between cultures. (AN photo by Mahmoud Al-Hashim)
DHAHRAN, 30 November 2005 — Women of all nationalities are invited to submit their original creative writing for inclusion in an upcoming anthology of poetry, essays, and short fiction.
The book, tentatively entitled “Where Prayer Measures Time: The Women of Saudi Arabia Speak,” is the latest project of poet Nimah Ismail Nawwab. Her best-selling collection of poetry, “The Unfurling,” was published in 2004 to worldwide acclaim.
“The goal of this collection,” Nimah said, “is to provide a true representation of the variety of women living within the Kingdom by accepting submissions from both established and emerging writers. Women throughout the world are contributing to society in important ways. Saudi Arabia is no exception.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73953&d=30&m=11&y=2005
Sultan Urges Iraqis to Stand Together
Arab News
RIYADH, 30 November 2005 — Crown Prince Sultan, who held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari here yesterday, called upon the Iraqi people to stand together in the face of the trying times they are going through.
“We love the Iraqi people and hope they will stand united for the betterment of their country and to protect it from all evil,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the crown prince as saying.
Jaafari had earlier met with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and discussed with him the current developments in Iraq. He thanked the king for his efforts to bolster Iraq’s unity.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73942&d=30&m=11&y=2005
The Coming Flame Out in Iraq
Fawaz Turki, disinherited@yahoo.com
It hasn’t come to fisticuffs yet, but the congressional debate over Iraq has soured to the point where it’s only a hair short of that.
In the shadow of news of daily horrors in that sad land, Democrats are mounting an aggressive challenge to President Bush by accusing him of having deliberately lied to the American people about the reason for going to war 30 months ago.
And Rep. John P. Murtha (D. Pa.), a 73 year-old former Marine who had served in Vietnam, called for an immediate withdrawal of American troops. Vice President Dick Cheney countered by calling war opponents on the Hill “dishonest and reprehensible.” And the White House claimed that Murtha was advocating “surrender to the terrorists, while Republican members called their fellow legislator a “coward.” Not to be outdone in this mud-slinging free-for-all, Rep. Murtha fingered Bush and Cheney as “guys who got deferments and never been there, and send people to war.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=73949&d=30&m=11&y=2005
Kingdom Signs SR512 Million Contract for Railroad Project
Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH, 30 November 2005 — Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf signed here yesterday a contract for over SR512 million ($136.8 million) with a consortium of multinational companies led by the Louis Berger Group of the US to do the complete design and construction of a 2,400 km freight and mineral transportation project linking Al-Jalamid and Al-Zabira in the north to Riyadh, with another line branching off to Ras Az-Zour in the Eastern Province.
The signing ceremony, held at the minister’s office, was attended by senior officials of the ministry, the Public Investment Fund, Dr. Abdullah Dabbagh, president of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) and delegates of the consortium.
A major feature of the mining project is that it will provide job opportunities for 16,000 people when completed over a period of 75 months. However, the potential is deemed to be much greater than the estimated figure based on two projects alone. The contract also calls for training young Saudis and facilitating technology transfer to the Kingdom
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73943&d=30&m=11&y=2005
Gun Violence, a look at the violence in New York is a current focus of The New York Post
New York Post
Post for New York's Gallant
September 12, 2005 -- Ten New Yorkers whose everyday heroism is the light that makes the city shine took their bows last night as winners of the fourth annual New York Post Liberty Medals.
The hometown heroes, who represent the many guardian angels and pioneering advocates who help their neighbors, were honored at a reception at the New-York Historical Society emceed by TV talk-show host Regis Philbin.
Special judges' awards were presented posthumously to two fallen heroes, NYPD Officer James McNaughton and firefighter Chris Engeldrum, who gallantly served their city and died for their country.
http://www.nypost.com/libertymedals/
LET'S GET RID OF GUNS THAT STOLE MY SON AWAY
November 30, 2005 -- Two years ago, Kimberly Hill lost her 8-year-old son, Daesean, when he was shot and killed by drug dealers battling over turf on her block. Since then, she has grieved for her son but found solace by holding marches against gun violence in her East New York neighborhood and comforting other parents whose children are killed.
Now, one of her son's killers is on trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court. She has attended the trial every day. This week, she said the tragedy of her son's death has only been compounded by news of Officer Dillon Stewart's fatal shooting.
MY son Daesean would have turned 10 this year.
He would have loved the party we threw him. My whole East New York neighborhood was there. We closed off the street. The kids played and rode their bikes. At the end, we let a flock of balloons rise into the air.
But Daesean — "Dae Dae," we called him — wasn't there. He was shot and killed two years ago by drug dealers battling for turf across the street from our house.
http://www.nypost.com/commentary/58643.htm
SUSPECT EYED IN 2ND SHOOT
By LARRY CELONA, PERRY CHIARAMONTE, MURRAY WEISS and KATE SHEEHY
ALLAN CAMERON
Photo: William C. Lopez
November 29, 2005 -- A hero Brooklyn cop yesterday was shot through the heart but lived long enough to help nab his attacker — who had mercilessly pumped a bullet into another officer just a week ago, police said.
Decorated Officer Dillon Stewart, 35, took one deadly bullet through his left armpit — a mere quarter-inch above the protective plate of his armored vest — while driving in pursuit of the Glock-toting thug in Flatbush around 2:49 a.m., cops said.
Suspected cop killer Allan Cameron — who last night also was fingered in the infamous gunpoint mugging of an off-duty officer in Crown Heights on Nov. 19 — got off at least five shots at Stewart and his partner, Paul Lipka, authorities said.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/58551.htm
Killings equal 10-year high
Boston tallies its 66th of '05; few cases solved
By Suzanne Smalley and Donovan Slack, Globe Staff November 30, 2005
Boston reached a grim benchmark yesterday, recording its 65th and 66th homicides this year, surpassing the total for all of last year and equaling a 10-year high.
An unidentified 17-year-old male, found with multiple gunshot wounds late Monday at the corner of George and Langdon streets, died early yesterday at Boston Medical Center, police said. Another 17-year-old, who was shot in the head Thanksgiving evening on Woodbine Street, was also pronounced dead yesterday, police said. A family member has identified him as Dion Taylor.
The youths were, like many of this year's homicide victims, young men shot to death in Roxbury.
Clarimundo Da Silva, who said he ran out of his home across the street when he heard the gunfire around 10:30 p.m. Monday, found a teenager sprawled on the ground with several gunshot wounds to the chest and a blood-soaked white T-shirt. The youth was asking for his mother.
''I said, 'Wait, the ambulance is coming, you're going to talk to your mother,' " Da Silva said. ''I thought he was going to make it."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/30/killings_equal_10_year_high/
Gun violence in Columbus puts murder rate near 100
Monday, November 28, 2005
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS - The state’s largest city is nearing 100 slayings for the second time in three years, and an increase in gun violence has played a major role, police said.
Of the city’s 97 killings this year, 74 — or three-fourths — were by gun. In 2004, two-thirds of the city’s 89 slayings involved guns, police said.
Sgt. Dana Norman said drug use is a common denominator among many shooting victims. “If you get into that lifestyle, you could get into anything — robberies, assaults,” Norman said.
Most victims either were selling or buying illegal drugs, or they were near someone who buys or sells illegal drugs, said Lt. Brent Mull, spokesman for the Columbus Police Division.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=255345&Category=15
'Fifth-graders came in screaming'
Shots sprayed as recess started
By Suzanne Smalley and Aubrey Gibavic, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent November 29, 2005
Gunfire erupted outside a Dorchester elementary school yesterday afternoon, as more than a dozen fifth-graders were starting recess in their playground, outraged school officials and parents said yesterday.
It is unclear what prompted the shooting in front of the John Winthrop School, which is located on the Dorchester-Roxbury line, but Boston police were seeking two men in minivans who fired at each other, spraying the area with gunfire.
''At lunch the fifth-graders came in screaming," Marianna Ayala, 9, said. ''My friend George said there was a guy shooting with a real gun." Marianna's father, Jose, held her hand and added that he, too, was shocked by the afternoon gunfight.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/29/fifth_graders_came_in_screaming/
Residents Pack Meeting On SF Gun Violence
POSTED: 10:50 pm PST November 1, 2005
UPDATED: 10:54 pm PST November 1, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco residents swamped a hearing Tuesday evening on the city's strategies to end gun and gang violence.
In attendance at the hearing, which was called by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, was San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong, as well as representatives from the district attorney's office, the Housing Authority and the Department of Public Health.
Although they identified many of the same roots to the problem of gun violence, residents expressed support for various solutions, including community policing, support for youth intervention programs, more effective law enforcement in at-risk areas and anti-poverty measures.
"Until we are willing to deal with economic disparity, we are not going to solve the problem of crime in this city," said city resident Joe Blue.
Judy Jacobs, who said she had been a youth counselor in neighborhoods throughout the city and is currently counseling in the Western Addition, expressed concern that the violence is getting worse in that neighborhood.
"These kids tell me about the terror on the street," Jacobs said.
City resident Eddie Coleman, representing the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, also said he was concerned by the recent wave of violence.
"We must do something quickly, because this is way out of hand," he said.
http://www.foxreno.com/news/5228867/detail.html
Record shows a grasp of gun violence's costs
Gun violence victimizes far too many in our state, especially those living in our cities. In addition to the physical, psychological and emotional toll that gun violence takes on victims and their families, gun violence imposes a huge economic burden on all of us. For example, treatment of a gunshot wound to the chest costs on average $322,000, according to the Violence Prevention Institute, and the cost is far higher if there's neurological damage. Because most victims have no insurance, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, most of this cost will be paid indirectly by private health insurance. So solving our gun-violence problem is both a public-safety requirement and an economic imperative.
I'm proud of my strong record in the U.S. Senate on gun-violence prevention, and I would bring that same commitment to tackling this problem in New Jersey as governor. I believe that when voters decide which candidate to support in this election, it is important for them to understand that there are major differences between my opponent and me on this important issue. For example, I have fought to close the gun-show loophole in federal law that has helped the black market in firearms flourish and has made it easier for convicted felons to get guns. When he ran for the Senate in 2002, my opponent opposed fully closing the loophole. I strongly support New Jersey's assault-weapons ban.
To make New Jersey safer, we need to get guns out of the hands of gang members and other criminals and take strong action to prevent guns from getting into those hands in the first place. I would make sure that our gun laws are aggressively enforced. I also would strengthen our laws against gun traffickers and work closely with federal law enforcement officials and officials from other states to stem the tide of illegal guns that flow into New Jersey from states with lax gun laws, like Georgia and Pennsylvania.
We also need to get at the root causes of gang activity and gun violence by building stronger families and stronger communities. We can do this by taking a holistic approach. We must start at the beginning by improving neonatal care. We also must give more families access to quality preschool, full-day kindergarten, and after-school programs so our children can grow and develop in the right environment. Finally, we must create real opportunities by creating thousands of good jobs at good wages.
During this campaign, I have outlined detailed plans on health care, education and economic development that will help us achieve these goals. Details are available on my Web site - www.corzineforgovernor.com.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/opinion/local1/13067947.htm
Shots Fired Near Boston Elementary School
Extra Officers To Be On Patrol
POSTED: 6:02 am EST November 29, 2005
UPDATED: 11:43 am EST November 29, 2005
BOSTON -- Extra police will be patrolling the area around a Boston elementary school Tuesday after gunfire erupted on the street while students were playing outside.
NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that children were outside on the playground near Brookford Street at the John Winthrop School about 1 p.m. Monday when shots rang out. The bullets hit a car across the street, shattering windows and puncturing tires. A few houses were hit as well.
Teachers rushed the children into the school after at least 10 gunshots were exchanged between individuals in two minivans. Hours later, police said shots were fired again, also from a minivan.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/consumer/5424140/detail.html
Delphi delays effort to nix contracts
By Associated Press
Nov 29, 2005 - 07:51:03 am PST
DETROIT -- Delphi Corp., which filed for bankruptcy last month, said Monday it's making progress in restructuring talks with General Motors Corp. and will delay an effort to reject its union contracts.
Delphi, the largest U.S. auto supplier, was scheduled to ask a bankruptcy judge to void its union contracts on Dec. 16. The company is pushing that back to Jan. 20. Delphi has almost 34,000 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers and other unions.
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2005/11/29/biz/news04.txt
Man dies after stun-gun shooting
By Liam Ford
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 21, 2005, 4:06 PM CST
A 30-year-old autistic man died Sunday after police shocked him twice with a stun gun during a violent confrontation at a group home in Des Plaines, authorities said Monday.
After stripping off his clothing in the backyard of the residential facility, Hansel Cunningham experienced breathing problems when officers tackled then tried to handcuff him, said Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini.
``He fought through it all,'' said Prandini. ``He continued to fight. We had to forcibly put him in handcuffs. It took three officers to get him subdued.''
Prandini declined to say whether the stun gun contributed to Cunningham's death, saying the cause was undetermined. He said officers also tried to subdue Cunningham with pepper spray but he continued to resist.
Cunningham was one of several adult men in the group home, Rimland Services for Autistic Citizens, in the 800 block of Gulf Cul De Sac in Des Plaines.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051121stungun,1,2512177.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Man Injured in Pellet Gun Shooting
Polk County sheriff's detectives are investigating a driveby shooting with a pellet gun that left a man superficially wounded.
Detectives think suspects driving in a late model, creamcolored Pontiac or Oldsmobile with a tan, vinyl top shot Roger Pilkington, 62, of Lakeland, in the back while he was walking along U.S. 27 in the Babson Park area.
On Wednesday, Ruby McCall, a driver with the Polk County Transit Service, dropped Pilkington at Fellowship Dining, a county congregate meal program in Frostproof.
Hours later, McCall found Pilkington hurt and walking along U.S. 27. She immediately called 911 and helped him get onto the bus, treated his wound and waited until emergency aid arrived.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051119/NEWS/511190363/1004
Mesquite child dies in pellet gun shooting
DALLAS A four-year-old girl has died after her cousin shot her with a pellet gun.
Police are investigating the Mesquite child's death as an accident.
Esmeralda Contreras died yesterday after undergoing surgery at Children's Medical Center. Her 5-year-old cousin shot her earlier in the day as she played with other children in her grandmother's backyard.
Police believe the boy fired only one shot. No other children were injured.
A relative says the boy found the gun behind a washing machine on the back porch.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4079170&nav=1TjD
Residents Disgusted with Vandalism
Story posted on 2005-11-07 18:47:00
THE LIST OF PEOPLE HIT BY VANDALS IN NORTHAMPTON COUNTY CONTINUES GROWING TONIGHT. MORE THAN A DOZEN MORE VICTIMS IN PEN ARGYL HAVE COME FORWARD, SAYING THEY TOO, HAD HOMES AND CARS SHOT UP BY B-B'S EARLY YESTERDAY. NOW, AS WFMZ'S SCOTT NOLL EXPLAINS, VICTIMS WANT TO KNOW WHO'S GOING TO PAY?
RACHET NATS 31:32
REPORTER:
AT BANGOR GLASS WORKERS CAN BARELY KEEP UP WITH THE CALLS.
31:40:NATS THANK YOU, GOOD BYE
4:07: ED WAGNER:
WE MUST HAVE HAD 50-75 CALLS.
NATS 4:05
REPORTER:
PEOPLE LIKE GERRY WILLIAMSON.
ONE OF MORE THAN 150VICTIMS OF VANDALS THAT HIT THE PEN ARGYL AREA EARLY SUNDAY.
http://wfmz.com/cgi-bin/tt.cgi?action=viewstory&storyid=10405
Police: LaCrosse tot shot himself
Associated Press
LACROSSE, Ind. -- An autopsy has determined that a 3-year-old northern Indiana boy who died last week shot himself in the chest with his father's handgun, investigators said.
Andrew Venegoni died Nov. 22 when he accidentally shot himself with his father's Glock 10 mm semiautomatic handgun, LaPorte County Chief Deputy Coroner John Sullivan said Monday.
Sullivan said a test showed it took very little strength to pull the trigger.
"The end result was he took the weapon and he had the firing end of the gun pointed at his upper right chest," he said.
LaPorte County police Major Gary Broling confirmed that the shooting in LaCrosse, about 25 miles southeast of Gary, has been ruled self-inflicted and accidental.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/NEWS01/511290486
Seguin man injured after fall with gun
Web Posted: 11/29/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
A 44-year-old Seguin man was recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center on Monday after accidentally shooting himself Sunday morning.
Rogelio Ybarra spotted a snake in his barn in the 3200 block of Warneck Road and went back to his house to retrieve his .38-caliber handgun, said Guadalupe County Sheriff's Department spokesman Kevin Jordan.
As Ybarra approached the barn, he fell against a gate and the gun discharged, shooting him in the abdomen.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA112905.2B.roundup7.8da2850.html
Woosley claims innocence in machine gun killing of two Rancho teens
Rod Leveque, Staff Writer
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A defense attorney told jurors Monday that his client is guilty of some crimes, but insisted the man did not murder two teenagers with a machine gun on the Haven Avenue overpass of the 210 Freeway.
Lanny Woosley forced a woman to perform a sex act on him, and burned a stolen car in Chino, defense attorney Don Jordan said during the opening statements of Woosley's trial in West Valley Superior Court.
But he didn't spray bullets into 17-year-old Christopher Heyman and 18-year-old Blake Harris in a fit of road rage, as authorities have alleged, Jordan said.
"My client didn't have any idea that was going to happen," Jordan said.
Woosley, 23, went on trial Monday on a variety of charges, the most serious being the murders of Heyman and Harris, who were shot inside a car Jan. 18, 2004, while on their way home from a party.
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_3259600
Man accused of killing estranged wife with nail gun arrested after release from hospital
Created: 11/27/2005 8:59:00 AM
Updated:11/27/2005 8:59:00 AM
NEVADA CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A California man has been charged with murdering his estranged wife by shooting her in the head with a nail gun.
Richard Williams was arrested yesterday after spending five weeks in a hospital for nail gun wounds to his chest and abdomen.
Authorities found a suicide note in the home indicating Williams' wife was seeing someone else. The note was believed written by Williams and asked that their bodies be cremated and the ashes spread together.
Officials say Williams wasn't arrested immediately after the October 22nd incident because Nevada County would have been at least partly responsible for his hospital bills.
Instead, guards were stationed outside his hospital room 24 hours a day, waiting for him to recover.
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=43894
A neighborhood wounded
November 30, 2005
A SENSE of helplessness is spreading through some Boston neighborhoods, where the crack of gunfire is unnerving adults and children alike. Police are lagging in homicide arrests, and prosecutors often can't persuade witnesses to come forward. Even school recess is risky.
Shots fired Monday by warring sides during a rolling gun battle near the John Winthrop Elementary School in Dorchester did not hit their intended targets or anyone else. But the victims are numerous, starting with about 15 fifth-graders who were just starting afternoon recess when the shooting began. Some 300 students attend the small school set back in a residential neighborhood. About two-thirds of them walk to school, notes the principal, Emily Shamieh. The school enjoys a good reputation for efforts to increase parental involvement. Shamieh is proud of its after-school dance program. But for the bullets flying nearby, it might be a model for neighborhood schools.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/11/30/a_neighborhood_wounded/
Juvenile Dies After Police Say Her Brother Shot Her
Police say an 11-year-old Greensboro girl is now the third juvenile to die in a shooting this year.
Greensboro, NC -- Police say an 11-year-old Greensboro girl is now the third juvenile to die in a shooting this year.
Police say 11-year-old Raanika Seagroves died at Georgetown Manor apartments Monday night after her 17-year-old brother shot her with a shotgun.
In March, a similar incident happened when police say a 6 year-old boy's cousin shot him with a gun in their home on Santa Fe Trail.
Maria Kimber, Seagroves' cousin pleads, "People need to get rid of these guns, they need to melt them down and throw them all away, and it's not people killing people, its guns killing people."
According to police records, this shooting now brings the unofficial number of homicides for this year in Greensboro to 27.
Police are still investigating Seagroves' death, but so far no one is being charged.
http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=52810
Man Accused Of Killing Dallas Officer Expected To Face Grand Jury
POSTED: 10:25 am CST November 29, 2005
UPDATED: 6:07 pm CST November 29, 2005
DALLAS -- A judge says the case for the man accused of killing a Dallas police officer will go to a grand jury.
Juan Liscano, 28, is charged with capital murder in the death of officer Brian Jackson during a domestic disturbance call on Nov. 13.
Police said Liscano's girlfriend called police after a he threatened her with a gun. Liscano fled into an ally and fired at officers, including five-year Dallas police veteran Jackson, police said.
The Mexican immigrant walked into the courtroom Tuesday with an interpreter.
A homicide detective described what happened the night Jackson died, and talked about a videotaped interview police had with Liscano. When asked why he shot Jackson, Liscano said it was the simple thing to do.
"[Jackson] was hit through the right arm and through the chest under the right arm..." Detective H.E. Johnson said.
Liscano has been held in the Dallas County jail on a $1.5 million bond.
The case is expected to go to the grand jury next week.
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/5426470/detail.htmlcontinued ...
November 26, 2005. Idaho. Photographer states :: Our first significant snowstorm blew in from the northwest last night. Snowflakes near the camera are illuminated by flash.
November 27, 2005. Idaho. Photograher states :: This center-pivot sprinkler appears to extend forever on this wintry day. The snowstorm started horizontally, which explains the whitewall tires.
Agriculture On-Line
The weather in the Farm Belt (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
DJ US Cash Grain Outlook:Storms, Prices Limit Interior Trade
9:47 AM, November 28, 2005
CENTRAL CITY, Neb. (Dow Jones)--A combination of inclement weather anddepressed prices severely limited cash grain trade in key areas of the U.S.interior Monday. Local basis premiums were largely unchanged. The first major winter storm of the season was producing snow and ice across the central to northern Plains, plus thunderstorms from Florida to the Great Lakes. With blowing snow and wind gusts of over 50 miles an hour creating near-blizzard conditions and very treacherous roads, winter storm watches and warnings were in effect from eastern Colorado to northern Minnesota. High winds were also buffeting many other areas of the southern Plains and Deep South, restraining travel by high-profile grain trucks. "I had to crack the door of my pickup open with a screwdriver this morning,because it was encased in ice," said a Nebraska elevator operator. "I can'timagine there are many farmers that want to get a grain truck out on these roads, just to sell at these prices." Although cash corn markets have rebounded slightly this month, national average prices remain within pennies of 5-year lows. Meantime, spot soybeanvalues are the most depressed of the month, while soft red winter wheat priceslanguish at a 2 1/2 year low. Hard wheat markets have also reached down toprices not seen since September or October. With mediocre demand offsetting limited country movement, interior basis premiums were largely unchanged Monday, aside from an average decline of 3/4 cent in SRW wheat values. Meanwhile, grain futures continued to weaken overnight, shaving cashcontracts by 7 3/4 cents for soybeans, plus some 2-3 cents for winter wheat and 1 cent for corn. "Large domestic supplies and concern over the spread of bird flu continues to keep pressure on the market," said Doane Agricultural Services. March oats ended e-CBOT trade with gains of 1 1/4 cents, while rice and spring wheat were left untraded.
http://www.agriculture.com/ag/futuresource/FutureSourceStoryIndex.jhtml?storyId=34600110
Survey: U.S. soybean crop produces near record low protein content
Agriculture Online
11/23/2005, 8:41 AM CST
A quality survey of the U.S. soybean crop shows that the 2005 crop vegetable oil content was at record high levels, but protein contents were next to the worst in the survey's 20-year history. The survey was funded by the American Soybean Association and conducted by Iowa State University
Based on 13% moisture , the average U.S. protein contents in a bushel of soybeans were 34.92% and 19.41% oil.
The protein content is approximately 0.5 percentage points below a 35.38% average, and the oil is approximately 0.8 percentage points above the long-term U.S. average of 18.65 % oil, according to the survey.
http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml;jsessionid=EWZDVQULIN4NVQFIBQNR5VQ?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1132758047788.xml
Iraq becomes No. 2 U.S. wheat customer
By Mike McGinnis
Agriculture Online Markets Editor
11/23/2005, 3:27 PM CST
With an improved trade environment and financing tools, Iraq has become the second largest buyer of U.S. wheat. Nigeria, which buys more than 2.0 million metric tons, is the No. 1 U.S. wheat customer.
Iraq, still subsidizing food for their citizens, uses the U.S. hard red winter (HRW) wheat to make bread, said Dawn Forsythe, U.S. Wheat Associates spokesperson.
In 2005, between June 1 and November 22, Iraq purchased the most wheat ever from the U.S., at 1.9 million metric tons. That compares with just 370,000 metric tons in 2004.
http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1132781913423.xml
Citizen ag journalists share harvest reports from the field
By Cheryl Rainford
Agriculture Online News Editor
10/15/2005, 3:00 PM CDT
In the October issue of Successful Farming magazine, Agriculture Online News Editor Cheryl Rainford invited readers to become citizen ag journalists this harvest season. Farmers from across the country and around the world sent photos and updates on their yields. See what they said in this series of slideshows.
http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1131140735591.xml
Michael Moore Today
Senator urges Bush to explain war
By Jackie Frank / ReutersWASHINGTON - The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee urged President George W. Bush on Sunday to go before the American public to explain his plan for the war in Iraq.
Virginia Sen. John Warner told NBC's "Meet the Press," said such a public address would be helpful to hold on to public support during the next six months while Iraq sets up its own government and gains the ability to maintain its security.
Bush, who has been out of public sight since he arrived on November 22 at his Crawford, Texas ranch for a Thanksgiving break, has been facing waning support for the war and the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5015
Bush to tackle illegal immigration
WACO, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday tackles the thorny problem of illegal immigration on the Mexico border with his own Republican Party split over whether undocumented workers already in the United States should be allowed to stay.
Fueled by fears of terrorists slipping into the country, escalating violence and drug smuggling, Americans have become increasingly worried about illegal immigration. More than three-quarters think the government is not doing enough to control the borders, according to a CBS News poll last month.
In Tucson, Arizona, on Monday and El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Bush will focus on border security, portraying his temporary worker program -- which some Republicans say rewards lawbreakers -- as a way to relieve pressure on enforcement by bringing illegal immigrants "out of the shadows."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5017
Use of Chemical in Iraq Ignites Debate
Critics say civilians died in incendiary attacks. U.S. asserts white phosphorus was only used on insurgents.
By John Daniszewski and Mark Mazzetti / Los Angeles TimesBAGHDAD — Omar Ibrahim Abdullah went for a walk to get away from the heavy fighting in Fallouja a little over a year ago and, by his account, came across such a grotesque sight that he's been unable to banish it from his memory.
The United States had mounted a full-scale offensive to pacify the rebel-controlled Iraqi city, and Abdullah said he was eager to escape the Askari district, where he lived. He walked south toward the Euphrates River and stumbled on dozens of burned bodies that he said were colored black and red.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5020
Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort
By Anne Gearan / Associated PressWASHINGTON - A top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees arose from White House and Pentagon officials who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful" and the Geneva Conventions irrelevant.
In an Associated Press interview, former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson also said President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of postwar planning. Underlings exploited Bush's detachment and made poor decisions, Wilkerson said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5021
19 Days and Counting: Where’s Scotty?
Where did White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan go? The last time McClellan gave an on-the-record press briefing from the White House press podium was 19 days ago.
On November 14, PR Week reported that McClellan was on his way out:
A White House correspondent, who asked not to be identified, predicts McClellan, who replaced Ari Fleischer as press secretary in summer 2003, will soon be leaving his post. “I’m expecting very big changes,” the correspondent says.
On November 18, McClellan issued a written statement attacking Rep. John Murtha’s call for a drawdown in Iraq. McClellan said Murtha was “surrender[ing] to the terrorists.” Both Bush and Cheney had to later publicly step back from McClellan’s attacks.
We called the White House to ask whether there would be a press briefing today, and the press assistant checked the schedule and informed us there was not one scheduled. When asked whether there would be a press briefing any time this week, the press office informed us that there was nothing scheduled because the President would be traveling.
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/11/28/wheres-scottie/
Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes
By Elliot Spagat / Associated PressSAN DIEGO - Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges, admitting taking $2.4 million in bribes in a case that grew from an investigation into the sale of his home to a wide-ranging conspiracy involving payments in cash, vacations and antiques.
Cunningham, 63, entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004.
Cunningham answered "yes, Your Honor" when asked by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns if he had accepted bribes from someone in exchange for his performance of official duties.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5019
Ex-PM: Abuse as bad as Saddam era
CNNLONDON, England -- Human rights abuses in Iraq are as bad as they were under Saddam Hussein if not worse, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has said.
"People are doing the same as (in) Saddam's time and worse," Allawi said in an interview published in Britain on Sunday.
"It is an appropriate comparison," Allawi told The Observer newspaper. "People are remembering the days of Saddam. These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same things."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5014
LEFTOVERS
George emerges from his Texas compound today to talk about immigration and border security in Arizona. He'll be walking a fine line between the Hispanic vote he's been wooing for years and the Conservative base he's supposed to represent. But obviously he'd rather jump into that quagmire than back into the Iraq fire.
Let's play along. Here's what's going on in immigration these days:
A while ago George proposed a guest worker program which would essentially allow "illegals" to work in America for a few years legally. Conservatives call this "backdoor amnesty." Congress was supposed to discuss the plan this year but they didn't like it and put it off until next year (just in time for the election).
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=552
Help Displaced Gulf Coast Residents Return Home
Two and a half months after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the Bush Administration is doing little to create the conditions needed for the region’s low-income African American, Native American, and immigrant residents to return home.
With the region’s infrastructure, housing stock, and economy badly damaged, few of those displaced can return to the Gulf Coast without assurances that basic needs will be met. At a minimum, they need decent, affordable housing; well-paying jobs; services like electricity, clean water, and health care; and a voice in determining how their cities are rebuilt. But according to local organizers and media reports, when it comes to helping the region’s low-income communities of color, the federal government is continuing the same pattern of inaction and delay it exhibited when Katrina first struck.
http://unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3140
It's time for a nation to return the favor
The Times-PicayuneThe federal government wrapped levees around greater New Orleans so that the rest of the country could share in our bounty.
Americans wanted the oil and gas that flow freely off our shores. They longed for the oysters and shrimp and flaky Gulf fish that live in abundance in our waters. They wanted to ship corn and soybeans and beets down the Mississippi and through our ports. They wanted coffee and steel to flow north through the mouth of the river and into the heartland.
They wanted more than that, though. They wanted to share in our spirit. They wanted to sample the joyous beauty of our jazz and our food. And we were happy to oblige them.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/covington.php?id=60
San Francisco Chronicle
We're In For A SoakingThe first big storm of the season is upon us, with rain expected off and on Tuesday.
http://sfgate.com/weather/
Delicious Dungeness
Seafood lovers 'feel crabby' in Bay Area -- and hungry, too
Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff WriterTuesday, November 29, 2005
Dozens of boats, their holds full of delectable Dungeness, delivered the first big crab catch of the season to Bay Area ports Monday. Seafood lovers were ecstatic.
"People are coming in specifically for it -- we've had a lot of reservations," said John Konstin, the owner of San Francisco's venerable John's Grill restaurant. "There were 12 crabs waiting for our purveyor at the docks. There's nothing like chowder, fresh crab and a bottle of Chardonnay for lunch."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/29/CRABS.TMP
High court revisits state abortion laws
At issue is N.H. statute that parents must be notified
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff WriterTuesday, November 29, 2005
The first abortion case to come before the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts will test whether the justices are willing to give states nearly unlimited power to regulate and restrict the operation.
At issue when the court hears arguments Wednesday will be a New Hampshire law requiring that parents be notified before girls under 18 can have an abortion, the same requirement that California voters rejected earlier this month.
The New Hampshire law does not involve a direct attack on Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established women's constitutional right to abortion. But if the court endorses the Bush administration's position in the case, virtually any restriction short of an outright ban on abortion will be protected from legal challenge until after it takes effect -- and then could be challenged only in individual cases rather than across the board.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/29/ABORTION.TMP
Motorcycling SF officer's leg severed in hit-and-run
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff WriterMonday, November 28, 2005
A San Francisco police officer remains hospitalized today after having his left leg severed when an alleged hit-and-run motorist ran into his motorcycle as the officer was on his way to an assignment in the Bayview District.
Eric Batchelder, 31, a five-year veteran, had civilian clothing on over his patrol uniform when he was hit shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, police said. He was on a private motorcycle, but was considered on duty at the time.
Batchelder, assigned to Mission Station, was driving south on Potrero Avenue when a 1970 Dodge Charger heading the other way hit him as the car was turning onto westbound 20th Street.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/28/MNGILFVAE96.DTL
Liquor store owner's ordeal
Arson, kidnapping in Oakland -- 6 sought in previous attack
Henry K. Lee and Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff WritersTuesday, November 29, 2005
The owner of one of two West Oakland corner markets vandalized last week for selling alcohol to African Americans was kidnapped shortly before his store burned in an arson fire Monday, police said.
The owner of New York Market, Tony Hamdan, was found safe about 12 hours after the fire gutted his store. Later Monday, Oakland police said they had identified six of the men who had destroyed liquor displays and toppled shelves at another market shortly before midnight Wednesday.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/29/STORE.TMP
A deadly tale of underground rap
Vallejo's Mac Dre was shot in a dispute over money, and that led to 2 reprisal slayings and a third related killing, police say
Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff WriterTuesday, November 29, 2005
Vallejo rapper Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks wasn't on MTV, on magazine covers or in movies. But his clever, hardcore rhymes had an underground following, and when he was killed on a Kansas City freeway last November, hip-hop radio stations mourned him at length. Mac Dre was big enough for that.
Police investigators say Hicks, 34, was shot in a financial dispute, but the rumor mill said something sexier: that a West-Midwest rap war had flared and that a notorious Kansas City rapper dubbed "Fat Tone" had taken out Hicks. In the world of hip-hop, police say, bad blood often means good business.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/29/MACDRE.TMP
Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort
By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer
Monday, November 28, 2005
(11-28) 20:01 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --
A top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees arose from White House and Pentagon officials who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful" and the Geneva Conventions irrelevant.
In an Associated Press interview, former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson also said President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of postwar planning. Underlings exploited Bush's detachment and made poor decisions, Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson blamed Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and like-minded aides. He said Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/28/national/w144121S92.DTL
Haaretz
Abbas delays Fatah vote over widespread fraud
By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas suspended primary elections of his ruling Fatah movement on Tuesday over widespread fraud in Gaza and the West Bank, a party official said.
The primaries, ahead of a January parliamentary election in which Islamic group Hamas poses a strong challenge, were Fatah's first. They have been seen as a key step for Abbas to assert his control.
"Abbas has instructed the election committee to stop the entire election process in all areas as a result of the widespread fraud," Ahmed al-Deek, a senior Fatah official, told Reuters.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/651396.html
Political chess: Reichman to Kadima, Yechimovicz to Labor
By Nir Hasson, Mazal Mualem and David Ratner, Haaretz Correspondents, The Associated Press and Haaretz Service
In the latest move on the Israeli political chessboard, Professor Uriel Reichman announced Tuesday that he is leaving his position as chairman of the board of the Shinui party, and will join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new Kadima faction.
Sharon and Reichman, chairman of the Constitution for Israel Movement, have agreed that Reichman will be the party's candidate for education minister, and will also addres the issue of changing the system of government.
The new party wants to see a "presidential" system, in which voters choose the prime minister and legislators on an individual basis and not as part of a party list, with Knesset members elected according to specific regions of the country.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/650995.html
Court asked to recognize non-Orthodox conversions in Israel
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel Religious Action Center on Tuesday morning petitioned the High Court of Justice with a request that immigrants who undergo Reform or Conservative conversion be recognized as Jews and entitled to Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
Only Orthodox conversions to Judaism are recognized today under the Law of return. The Reform movement is asking the High Court to end this monopoly.
The petitions were filed by attorney Nicole Maor against the Interior Ministry in the name of seven people who are undergoing conversion through Israel's Reform movement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/651418.html
Israeli-Palestinian soccer 'peace team' to face Barcelona's stars
By Reuters and Haaretz Service
The joint Israeli-Palestinian soccer "peace team," sponsored by Shimon Peres' Center for Peace, flew to Spain on Sunday for a friendly match against Spain's leading team Barcelona Tuesday evening.
The "peace team" includes Israeli internationals and Palestinian players from the West Bank.
Most of the 27-member team, which was accompanied by a host of local sports and political dignitaries, flew from Tel Aviv for the match Tuesday, which comes at the end of a two-day Euro-Mediterranean summit in Barcelona. Leaders of all 25 European Union member states and 10 of Mediterranean neighbors are meeting in the city to discuss closer regional cooperation.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/651372.html
Eight Palestinians arrested in overnight West Bank raid
By Nir Hasson and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents, and Reuters
Israel Defense Forces arrested eight Palestinians suspected of terror involvement late Monday night in the West Bank.
Six Islamic Jihad and two Hamas gunmen were arrested in raids near Jenin, Tul Karm and Hebron.
Earlier, a Palestinian gunman hurled an explosive device at an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday evening.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/651042.html
Russia's chief rabbi meets with anti-Semitic nationalists
By Yossi MelmanRussian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar met this week with Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Dmitri Rogozin, the heads of two Russian nationalist parties that disseminate anti-Semitic propaganda.
The meetings outraged the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "Through these meetings, the chief rabbi confers legitimacy on people and parties known for clearly anti-Semitic positions," said one ministry official.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/649280.html
The Boston Globe
Arkansas father killed by tornado
By Daniel Connolly, Associated Press Writer November 29, 2005
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. --Tommy Hamilton and Melissa Gonzales had just tied the knot after the recent birth of their son. Along with the baby, Hamilton had three sons from a previous marriage and Gonzales brought two girls to the union.
"It was kind of a Brady Bunch thing," said Jerry Denton, Hamilton's co-worker.
Less than a week after their marriage, Hamilton, 33, was killed Sunday when the family van drove into a tornado as they returned to their western Arkansas home after a Thanksgiving weekend trip.
Officials said the twister was packing winds estimated at 170 mph -- strong enough to lift the van into the air and hurl it into the highway median.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/11/29/arkansas_father_killed_by_tornado/
Study: Midwest warming may harm ducks
November 28, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS --The gradual warming of the Upper Midwest could cut the duck population in half as early as 2050, according to a new study published in the journal BioScience.
The study looked at how climate change could affect the Upper Midwest, where North America's best duck breeding grounds are, over the next 50 to 100 years.
The area, known as the prairie pothole region, produces 50 percent to 80 percent of the continent's ducks and contains an estimated 5 million small ponds spread across the Dakotas, western Minnesota and Iowa, northeastern Montana and three Canadian provinces. Even though the area is notorious for wet and dry spells, it is large enough for waterfowl to adapt and migrate to other ponds with enough water and cover.
That would end if climate change increases average temperatures across the entire prairie pothole region, said Carter Johnson, a professor of ecology at South Dakota State University who co-authored the study.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/28/study_midwest_warming_may_harm_ducks/
Tap water in Chinese city declared safe
A young boy fills a water container from a tanker truck in a street in Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang province Monday Nov. 28, 2005. Harbin's water supply resumed Sunday after a five day cut, but authorities warned that the water was not yet drinkable, forcing thousands to continue to depend on trucked-in water. The city's water supply was cut for five days in order to prevent contamination by a toxic spill in the Songhua river. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
By Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer November 29, 2005
HARBIN, China --Officials on Tuesday said this city's water was again safe to drink after being shut down for five days because of a pollution scare in a nearby river, but residents remained wary about taking their first sips.
Running water was turned back on in Harbin, the capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province, on Sunday after supplies were shut down for 3.8 million people following a Nov. 13 explosion at a nearby chemical plant that spewed toxins in the Songhua River.
Officials initially warned that the water wasn't immediately safe to drink after lying in underground pipes for five days.
"Harbin's water is now safe to use and drink," Xiu Tinggong, vice director of the city's health inspection bureau, said on local television Tuesday. "Everybody can rest assured that the water is safe."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/11/29/china_says_tainted_water_now_safe_to_drink/
Judge increases Bulger's pension
State told to factor in housing fee, annuity
By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff November 29, 2005
Former University of Massachusetts president William Bulger won a significant victory in his battle to boost his pension yesterday when a Superior Court judge ruled that the state must include in its calculations items it had discounted as perks.
The ruling increases Bulger's annual pension by about $29,000, to an estimated $208,000, according to state officials, by forcing the state to include in its calculations a housing allowance and a portion of an annuity he received as UMass president.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/29/judge_increases_bulgers_pension/
Debate over gay clergy is testing many faiths
Vatican expected to announce ban
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff November 29, 2005
After three years of tortuous debate, leaked documents, and rumors, the Vatican appears ready today to formally ban most gays from Catholic seminaries and from ordination as priests. But Catholics are far from the only major denomination wrestling with the issue of homosexuals' fitness to serve as religious leaders.
Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Jews -- all are deeply divided on the matter. Many clergy and scholars say that ordination of gays is the most explosive issue in religion in the United States. It has the potential, they say, to create irreparable schisms between those who see the struggle as a continuation of efforts to secure full rights for minorities and women and others who find the Bible's statements against homosexuality too absolute and negative to be subject to reinterpretation.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/29/debate_over_gay_clergy_is_testing_many_faiths/
Vatican publishes gay priest document
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer November 29, 2005
VATICAN CITY --The Vatican on Tuesday published its long-awaited document on gays in the priesthood, saying that men with "deep-seated" gay tendencies shouldn't be ordained but that those with "transitory" tendencies could be if they had overcome them for three years.
The official release of the "Instruction" from the Congregation for Catholic Education came a week after an Italian Catholic news agency posted a leaked copy on its Web site. As a result, the document's contents were already known.
Reaction has been mixed, with conservatives saying it may help reverse the "gay culture" that has grown in many U.S. seminaries. Liberal critics have complained that the restrictions will create morale problems among existing priests and lead to an even greater priest shortage in the United States.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/29/vatican_publishes_gay_priest_document/
Slaying of teenage girl leaves small town in shock
November 29, 2005
FAYETTE, Maine --Maine State Police detectives investigating the weekend slaying of a 14-year-old girl that shocked residents of this quiet central Maine community are advising people in the area to be cautious.
Authorities have refused to discuss specifics surrounding the killing of Marlee Johnston, including the cause of death, or to comment on any leads or potential suspects.
"We have leads we're following up," Detective Sgt. Anna Love said Monday. "We are reviewing the evidence . . . and will be doing that over the next days, weeks, however long it takes."
Love said it would prudent for people to be cautious by locking their doors and having a companion when walking in isolated areas.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2005/11/29/slaying_of_teenage_girl_leaves_small_town_in_shock/
Anti-nuclear protest delays Blair energy review
A fisherman walks past the Dungeness nuclear power station in Kent. Picture taken October 3, 2005. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
By Mike Peacock and Katherine Baldwin November 29, 2005
LONDON (Reuters) - Anti-nuclear protesters staged a rooftop demonstration on Tuesday in a hall where British Prime Minister Tony Blair was due to launch a major review of Britain's future energy needs, forcing him to deliver his speech elsewhere.
Speculation is rife that Blair favors a new generation of nuclear power stations to help fill a looming energy gap.
The Greenpeace protesters, dressed in suits to mix in with the business audience, clambered into the rafters of the conference center shortly before Blair was due to speak, dropping leaflets, saying: "Nuclear: Wrong Answer."
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chief Digby Jones refused a Greenpeace demand to allow them to speak before Blair -- or have their activists disrupt his delivery.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/29/blair_expected_to_favor_nuclear_in_energy_review/
U.S. farmers use pesticide despite treaty
Organically grown strawberries are seen for sale on Aug. 12, 2005, at a roadside stand in Watsonville, Calif. California, which grows more than 85 percent of the nation's strawberries and other methyl bromide-dependent crops, launched regulations last year to improve its strictest-in-the-nation protections for farmworkers and others. Organic techniques are too costly and substitute chemicals are not as effective, growers say. Methyl bromide's survival demonstrates the difficulty of banishing a powerful pesticide that helps deliver what both farmers and consumers want: abundant, pest-free and affordable produce. (AP Photo/Rita Beamish)
By Rita Beamish, Associated Press Writer November 28, 2005
WATSONVILLE, Calif. --Shoppers rifle through store shelves brimming with succulent tomatoes and plump strawberries, hoping to enjoy one last round of fresh fruit before the Western growing season ends. There is no hint of a dark side to the blaze of red.
Strawberries are a painful subject for Guillermo Ruiz. The farm worker believes his headaches, confusion and vision trouble stem from a decade working in the fields with methyl bromide, a pesticide that protects the berries with stunning efficiency.
Cheri Alderman, a teacher whose classroom borders a farm, fears her students could inhale a dangerous whiff of the fumigant as it drifts from the adjacent strawberry field. "A little dribble of poison is still poison," she says.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/11/28/us_farmers_use_pesticide_despite_treaty/continued …
