Wednesday, March 09, 2005

The Latest Eruption of Mount St. Helens Posted by Hello
There is still a good deal of seismic activity in the Pacific Rim. There is now investigation of the seismic possibility of Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier is very near Seattle, Washington and approximately 60 miles from Mount St. Helens.

Seismic Activity as recorded by USGS

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/

Magnitude Greater Than 2.5 Earthquakes From Around the World
This list contains all earthquakes with magnitude greater than 2.5 located by the USGS and
contributing networks in the last week (168 hours). Magnitudes 5 and above are in bold font. Magnitudes 6 and above are in red. (Some early events may be obscured by later ones on the maps.)

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. Mar 9, 2005 — Mount St. Helens made its most significant emission in months, sending a gritty ash cloud drifting slowly to the northeast.
The National Weather Service issued an ashfall advisory Tuesday evening after pilots reported spotting ash higher than 30,000 feet, said National Weather Service meteorologist Danny Mercer. The advisory was cancelled early Wednesday.
A fine dusting of ash was reported 125 miles to the east-northeast in southern Grant County late Tuesday night, the National Weather Service reported.

Pasted from <
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=566778

Mount St. Helens Erupts
AFP

March 9, 2005 — Restive U.S. volcano Mount St. Helens erupted Tuesday, sending a plume of smoke and ash nearly 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) into the air, officials said.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20050307/helens.html

Big burst from St. Helens
By
Sandi Doughton and Nick Perry
Seattle Times staff reporter
KIM BLAU / THE COLUMBIAN
Mount St. Helens yesterday sends a plume of steam and ash 36,000 feet in the air. The explosion may have been triggered by a collapse or rock fall on the lava dome that has been building inside the volcano's crater, a Cascades Volcano Observatory spokeswoman said.

Mount St. Helens cranked up the drama yesterday, sending a plume of ash and steam 36,000 feet in the air shortly before sunset.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002201548_volcano09m.html

Notice 3/1/2005: MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK REMAINS OPEN with normal winter closures with the following exceptions:
-- CARBON RIVER ROAD (NW corner of park) is closed at the Carbon River Entrance due to flooding. Open to foot traffic.
The PARADISE SNOWPLAY area remains closed due to lack of snow.
THE PARK REMAINS OPEN to snowshoeing, snow boarding and cross-country skiing.

http://www.nps.gov/mora/
This apartment building in Stilfontein, South Africa, was damaged by Wednesday's earthquake. (AP photo)
 Posted by Hello

Earthquake Rattles South Africa

Quake traps miners in South Africa
Last Updated Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:18:19 EST
CBC News
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Rescuers are racing to reach 42 miners trapped underground in South Africa after an earthquake rattled through the northern part of the country on Wednesday.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/03/09/mine-050309.html

S.African Miners Trapped After 'Exceptional' Quake
Wed Mar 9, 2005 04:13 PM ET
By Alistair Thomson
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Rescue teams were battling on Wednesday to reach 28 South African miners still trapped in collapsed shafts after an earthquake hit a gold mining area, amid worries of soaring temperatures due to lack of ventilation.
Originally 42 miners were trapped but 14 were pulled to safety, officials said.
"Fourteen have been rescued. It seems that there might be more people rescued. We will confirm that number in due course," gold mining company DRDGOLD spokesman Ilja Graulich told Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7856339

Earthquake Rattles South Africa
By VOA News
09 March 2005

Damaged apartment building in Stilfontein, South Africa
A gold mining company in South Africa says 42 of its miners are trapped following an earthquake measuring around 5.0 on the Richter scale.
DRDGold says the company has sent a rescue team to the mine located near the northern city of Klerksdorp, at the epicenter of the quake.
It says at least 13 other miners suffered injuries in Wednesday's quake.
The company says it is evacuating all of the 3,200 miners who were on duty.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-09-voa39.cfm

What does bigoted American Propaganda look like?


Moqtada al-Sadr
Posted by Hello

The Christian Science Monitor , the favorite signular religious tone of CNN's NewsNight Morning Papers, is THE quintessential propaganda newsprint of the USA.

Moqtada al Sadr and The Grand Ayatollah al Sistani have lead the majority of Iraq to the promise of an autominous government in peaceful elections.

The articles starts like this:

"Sadr enters the mosque at Kufa where he's led Friday prayers for nearly a year denouncing the authorities and warning of an "imperialist" conspiracy against Iraq's majority Shiites."

In all honesty are the Shi'ites so wrong? They have done what the current Allawi government has requested and what was their reward to date.

Recount Delays Iraq Final Election Results

Discrepancies Force Recount of 300 Ballot Boxes in Iraq, Delaying Results of National Elections

BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 10, 2005 — Iraqi officials said Wednesday they must recount votes from about 300 ballot boxes because of various discrepancies, delaying final results from the landmark national elections. Hundreds perhaps thousands of other ballots were declared invalid because of alleged tampering.

Where does this all end? We don't know. Why? Because CNN has become the Neocon Recruitment Tool. What would it take to recruit young people into the military in a voluntary basis? Jazz it up, right? What if the Pentagon would promise complete access to 'good and stirring' momentum to attract viewers to a Christian Neocon Station? What would a return in 'favor' look like?

PAULA ZAHN NOW

A show with a 'doll' faced anchor opens with salvos against a Professor who claims Freedom of Speech issues followed by an interview with a Colorado governor intended to intimidate the governor into 'firing' the professor who has stepped down from his Ethics Study designation, showing faces of students who believe in the embattled professor who obviously are 'misguided' I suppose.

The next segment is to 'sell' the audience Bush's agenda of 'ownership' and the success of his economy in that an independant contractor in Detroit. ONE independant contractor not a nation full, but, one is show case building contractor that state: "You have to understand that affordable, clean, decent housing, I believe, is almost a God-given right."

That followed by commercials like Jaguar car commercials stating "Can you resist?" Long about now if you are military material you need to ask yourselves 'Resist what?'

Then is a discussion about the virtues of Iraq, including John McCain, the Repuglican's Next and highly rated Presidential Candidate for 2008 next to Guilliani. This discussion even includes momentum by Don Rumsfeld stating: "There is going to be a discussion, no one wants to keep -- we certainly don't want to keep our forces in any country longer than we have to. That's our last choice." So of course the 'leaving' of Iraq has to be soon in the offing and no reason not to join the military as Iraq is a virtuous pursuit even though the reality is, it has killed a vast amount of innocent Iraqis in an illegal invasion.

The next segment is about a young man who wanted to join the police force and wasn't able to but was accepted into the military. Mind you all this rhetoric was lead in by a 'wildly' inviting week or more of 'Rock 'n' Roll' continued on Larry King Live all this week. Hence, inviting young minds still in high school to view a motivating hour to escort them into the military. So this segment goes on with lies to propagate anger as motivation to fight in Iraq and eventually Iran.

"UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a wedding picture of me and Steve and Chris, and people look at that wedding picture, they ask, well, who are you married to, just because Steve is seven years older than me and Chris is seven years younger.

SHOULDER: Tucker's high school football coach saw the evolution, saw the hard work that number 42 put in on the field and off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-two comes up with it. He wasn't the most talented kid in the world but he worked hard at it and he had a good attitude. And he gave us everything he had. And that's all we could ask.

TUCKER: I got out of high school, I wanted to be a police officer. And everywhere I went, everyone said, you don't have any experience. You don't have any experience.This is basic training. This is my first

MRE. SHOULDER: The police force said no; the Army said yes.

TUCKER: I joined after 9/11 ...

I joined after 9/11...

I joined after 9/11 ...

I joined after 9/11...

...because after the terrorist attacks in September 11 it -- it makes you -- you're like, I'm an American, that's my job.

SHOULDER: Private First Class Tucker was one of the first Americans to enter Baghdad.

TUCKER: I was the fourth tank back in the E column (ph).

SHOULDER: His commanders credit him with saving many soldiers' lives. He earned a fast track promotion, skipping a rank to sergeant. The former bully is now the protector. "

THE EVENTS of September 11 have been proven to never be a reason for the invasion into Iraq.

Then the lead into the next hour of Rock 'n' Roll stars caught in a fire that could have and should have been prevented:

ZAHN: How are you doing tonight, Larry? What's up?

What's up? (Catchy little saying. Casual and inviting. Ready to join the military yet and die in Iraq?)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Pretty good. Quite a show tonight, Paula. We've got members of the band Great White. Nearly two years ago they were in that nightclub with the pyrotechnical problems. The fire went off, 96 people were killed then; four later died of injuries. We're going to have members of the band on, their attorney, and victims of that event, all tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." It's exclusive. Should be quite an hour. And it's at the top of the hour, Paula.

It's exlusive. WOW. That is because no other station in the country stoops so low to sell 'fear' and 'terror' to the Ameican public.

ZAHN: Thanks. Larry, I vividly remember being called in in the middle of the night, and just trying to understand the horror of what happened there. Wow. It's hard to believe two years has passed since then. Larry, we'll see you at the top of the hour. Thanks.

KING: OK.

The last segment is a touching closure into how to cope with not coming back so your spouse can collect the big bucks from Congress and go on to be an inspiration to more soldier recruitment via Paula Zahn NOW.

ZAHN: During his last deployment to Iraq, Major Terrence Sanders had an emotionally draining job, to say the least. His assignment was to identify American casualties from the 3rd Infantry Division, fellow soldiers and friends. That's one dimension of this officer's sacrifice. This is the other. We call it Major Sander's bedtime song, for reasons it will be very clear. Again, Michael Shoulder.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOWANDA SANDERS, WIFE: Hello, Garfield. Who sits there in the movie that you like with the fish? Nemo.

MICHAEL SANDERS, SON: Yes.

MAJOR TERRENCE SANDERS, U.S. ARMY: This is pre-training for my wife if I don't come back.

SHOULDER: Major Terrence Sander has spent the last year preparing to say good-bye. T.

SANDERS: Our love for each other goes beyond what we visually see, but in our hearts we know that we were the ideal person for each other. SHOULDER: Major Sanders is leaving for his second deployment to Iraq. The Sanders have a 3-year-old son, Michael, but it is 14-year- old Brandon that makes the deployment to Iraq particularly hard on the family.

T. SANDERS: He has cerebral palsy.

There you have it. The propaganda sales career of CNN to bring in the recruits. An entire hour of motivation toward service including commercials of fancy cars one can purchase up front with their recruitment bonus, something like $25,000 by now. The entire hour is to ridicule Freedom of Speech and universities so young people don't seek motivation to do well as higher education is 'Anti-American' anyway and allowed to be that by negligence, apathy and people like Governor Bill Owens who don't understand the POWER of government to control the outcome of people's lives like Ward Churchill.

Take that hour and multiply it by 24 while realizing the recruitment level dropped last month and the elections in Iraq are in a questionable 'legitimate' balance when CNN was claiming they were so well organized and run and do you have? A savvy American Public becoming more savvvy with 'grassroots' moment in this country championed by people like Micheal Moore and oppositional opinions by Democrats like Senator Edward Kennedy who see the handwriting on the wall in Iraq.

There is no current exit strategy for Iraq because Cheney has no plan of leaving. He wants to escalate this travesty into an invasion into Iran. Like Colin Powell before her, Condi Rice is riding a wave of preceived propaganda while touring Europe for the appearance of unification of the old allies and current coalition so even if the USA has to move unilaterally into Iran it would appear there is momentum otherwise. How is that preceived momentum secured?

Bush to ask congress for $100m for Poland

www.chinaview.cn 2005-02-10 12:09:39

BEIJING, Feb. 9 -- US President George W. Bush says he would ask Congress for 100 million US dollars to help modernize armed forces in Poland, a staunch ally in the war in Iraq.
During an Oval Office meeting with visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Bush said on Wednesday that he was confident that Congress would approve the money.
The military aid is fifty percent more than the United States gave Poland last year.
The money will be part of the war funding request the White House is expected to submit to Congress next week.


Bush Seeks $400 Million to Reward Allies

WASHINGTON Feb 9, 2005 — President Bush is asking Congress to set up a $400 million fund to reward nations that have taken political and economic risks to join U.S.-led coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ambassador Ashe meets with Bush, Polish president

Knoxville's ex-mayor says Poles have trouble getting visas to come to America

By RICHARD POWELSON, powelsonr@shns.comFebruary 10, 2005
WASHINGTON - For Mayor-turned-Ambassador Victor Ashe, Wednesday was his first opportunity to meet at the White House with the top two people he wants to keep happy - the presidents of the United States and Poland.


US-Iran tensions escalate

The World Today - Thursday, 10 February , 2005 12:30:00
Reporter: John Shovelan


ELEANOR HALL: Tensions between the United States and Iran have increased today, with Iran's President Mohammed Khatami threatening "massive consequences" if there is any attempt to shut down his country's nuclear program.

Rice Warns Iran It Risks U.N. Action if Talks With Europe Over Nuclear Plan Don't Progress

BRUSSELS, Belgium Feb 9, 2005 — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran on Wednesday that it risks U.N. action if negotiations with Europe over its nuclear program don't progress.

ARE YOU ALL getting the picture now? The USA is not to be sent home from Iraq as Iraq regardless the rebel issue is the USA's basis of operation in the area. It is convenient for espionage into Iran. The Coalition of the Willing is to remain together no matter what rewarding loyality with monies the USA does not have. The propaganda of CNN is to remain palatable to continue hour after hour recruitment into the military while instilling The Politics which has become The Culture of Fear in the American Society. The enemy is the Arab nations that won't allow the USA complete control over the oil glut there and Cheney is growing restless for the Caspian.

The enemy here is BIGOTRY scapegoating Arab Nations to provide reason for war that will bring Halliburton and Cheney's cronies greater profits through plundered opportunity. The enemy are newsprint like The Christian Science Monitor who will give you free issues if someone will please read them regularly. The real enemy is the propagandists from CNN who are ruthless to go to any means to recruit young minds away from education into a life of military service.

The 'challenge' the world needs to be pursuing is peace and the impending Climate Change that has already killed 160,000 people just last year which does not include the tsunami victims.

Think people.

Think!!

This is the Iman Ali Mosque at the time Najaf was facing the USA lead Coalition without the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani


The Iman Ali Mosque at the time of the USA lead Coalition intended attacks on Najaf. All Cleric al Sadr knew to do was to fight. The USA Coalition had removed his freedom of speech when they closed his newspaper. The community stood together to fight the invader that had already proven, through the closure of Cleric al Sadr's newspaper, their insincerity in any of their assertions for an open and democratic Iraq. What did anyone expect? I congratulate Cleric al Sadr for his wisdom to see through the deception and also to let the older and wiser Grand Ayatollah motivate 'the flock' to take control of their destiny. Godspeed. Posted by Hello
The Cyclones of the Western Pacific. Today. Happening Now. Posted by Hello
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas shaking hands ahead of their Gaza meeting Tuesday night. (Reuters) . They are in complete agreement with full truce. Mr. Mofaz to travel to Egypt and a conference with President Mubarak. Also Israel believes a rapid withdrawal of Syrian Troops would endanger the area. Israel is in disagreement with the USA and it's 'wild' demands that endanger stability to the region. Lebanese liberation should proceed but in a safe manner that does not incite Anti-Israel violence. Posted by Hello

Morning Papers - It's origin

Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"

"OkeyDoke"


March 8…


1841,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., jurist and associate justice of the Supreme Court

1859,
Kenneth Grahame, English author

1894: The first dog license law is enacted by the state of New York.

1917: The first revolt of the Russian Revolution (called the February Revolution) begins.

1948: The Supreme Court rules that religious instruction in public schools violates the Constitution.

Missing in Action

1967
CRAIN CARROLL O. MEMPHIS TN RADIO CONTACT LOST
1967
GALVIN RONALD E. RIVER FOREST IL
1967
PAWLISH GEORGE F. LAS ANIMAS CO RADIO CONTACT LOST
1971
ANSHUS RICHARD C. MINNEAPOLIS MN 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE AND WELL 98
1971
GRANTHAM ROBERT E. LOS ANGELES CA
1971
HALE JOHN D. BRANDENBURG KY
1971
PRATHER PHILLIP D. ARMARILLO TX 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG DECEASED 11/20/97

March 9…

1454, Vespucci, Amerigo, Italian navigator, for whom the continents of North and South America are named. He was born in Florence. In 1495 he took over the business of a merchant in Seville, Spain, who had furnished supplies to ships voyaging to the West Indies. Vespucci later set out for the New World himself and left accounts and maps of four voyages.

1867: The United States agrees to purchase the 1,524,640 sq km/586,400 sq mi Alaska Territory from Russia for $7,200,000.

1796, the future emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, married Josephine de Beauharnais. The couple divorced in 1809.

1933, Congress, called into special session by President Roosevelt, began its "100 days" of enacting New Deal legislation.

1943,
Bobby Fischer, chess player (1943)

1954, CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy's anti-Communism campaign on an episode of "See It Now."

1975, work began on the Alaskan oil pipeline.

1981, Dan Rather made his debut as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."

Missing in Action

1966
COLLINS WILLARD M. QUINCY IL KIA AT CRASH SITE 3 RECOV
1966
FOSTER ROBERT E. LOCKPORT NY KIA AT CRASH SITE 3 RECOV
1966
PETERSON DELBERT R. MAPLE PLAIN MN NO TRACE SUBJ 3 RECOV
1967
GRAENING BRUCE A. KENMORE OH 03/18/67 ESCAPED
1967
PUTNAM CHARLES L. KEY WEST FL POSS DEAD REMAINS RETURNED NOV 3 1988
1967
PRENDERGAST FRANCIS S. "CAPTURED, ESCAPED, RESCUED" NOT ON ANY LIST DECEASED 1998
1969
REX ROBERT F. ODEBOLT IA
1969
TINSLEY COY R. CLEVELAND TN 11/05/69 RELEASED
1969
WALTERS TIM L. SOUTH BEND IN REMAINS IDENTIFIED 08/11/99
1970
COTTEN LARRY W. NASHVILLE TN
1970
PARCELS REX L. JR. BERKELEY CA
1970
ROBINSON EDWARD KANSAS CITY MO
1970
SCHOEPPNER LEONARD J. CANTON OH
1970
TERLA LOTHAR G. SCRANTON PA

The Belfast Telegraph

Chechen rebel leader 'killed by bodyguard accidentally'
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
09 March 2005
Russia's secret service claimed last night that Aslan Maskhadov, the rebel president of Chechnya, and one of Russia's two most wanted men, had been shot dead.
Ramzan Kadyrov, vice-president in Chechnya's Moscow-backed government, claimed the separatist leader, who has been on the run for five years, had been accidentally shot by his own bodyguard.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=618176

IRA offered to shoot killers of McCartney
By David McKittrick
09 March 2005
The saga of the killing of the Belfast man Robert McCartney has taken another extraordinary turn with an IRA announcement that it was prepared to shoot those involved.
The terrorist organisation said it had made an offer to Mr McCartney's relatives to shoot up to four people, but the family had made it clear it did not want "physical action".

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=618173

Bush lunch date snub for Sinn Fein
By Sean O'Driscoll in New York
08 March 2005
Sinn Fein is to be excluded from an annual St Patrick's Day luncheon at the US House of Representatives because President George Bush is expected to attend.
Gerry Adams normally attends the House of Representatives Speaker's Luncheon, but is excluded this year following a White House request.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=617919

Irvine turns on his former pupil to help Lords challenge Blair's terror Bill
By Ben Russell and Nigel Morris
08 March 2005
Lord Irvine of Lairg, the former advisor, confidant and mentor of the Prime Minister, delivered a stinging blow to his friend yesterday as he opted to vote against the Government's anti-terror Bill.
Lord Irvine joined a coalition of opposition peers to inflict a humiliating defeat on the proposed anti-terror legislation by more than two to one.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=617897

Viewpoint: Sinn Fein fails to regain credibility
Ard Fheis: Party must go further if an inclusive way forward is to be found
07 March 2005
Anyone who was hoping that Sinn Fein would use the Ard Fheis to signal a major change of heart will have been disappointed. Instead, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness served up little more than a further helping of self-serving rhetoric.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/story.jsp?story=617735

Cynical manipulation puts Sinn Fein ahead
Malachi O'Doherty
07 March 2005
I first heard the question raised by Niall O'Dowd on Good Morning Ulster on Friday. He said that when the McCartney sisters came to the US this week many people would be asking who was manipulating them.
The same question was raised by Gerry Adams. He suggested that political forces opposed to Sinn Fein had been exploiting the murder of Robert McCartney and the campaign of his sisters for the prosecution and conviction of the killers.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/story.jsp?story=617733

Viewpoint: Murders review is a welcome move
Looking back: Anything that helps relatives of victims is worth pursuing
08 March 2005
Behind the cold statistics of deaths in the troubles lie thousands of cases of heartbreak, so the government's £30m contribution to reviewing unsolved killings is a welcome and compassionate gesture. Without it, the promise of a review would have been meaningless, since extra resources and manpower will be necessary.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/story.jsp?story=617987

The Scotsman

Government forced into climbdown over terror bill
JAMES KIRKUP
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
Key points
• More Terror Bill troubles for Tony
• House of Lords put up resistance to plan
• Government may be forced to give ground
Key quote
"The Prime Minister should face reality and appreciate there are serious concerns across the parties about this bill which threatens our civil liberties." - David Davis, Tory shadow home secretary
Story in full
MINISTERS will today be forced into an embarrassing climbdown in the parliamentary struggle over the Terrorism Bill, allowing judges to oversee the issuing of control orders on terror suspects.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=257102005

We don't want vengeance from the IRA
FRASER NELSON
POLITICAL EDITOR
Key points
• PIRA reveals details of murder by its members and offer their deaths in return
• Family of victim refuse offer and want those responsible in court
• Sinn Fein concerned over repercussions of killing
Key quote
"The family made it clear that they did not want physical action taken against those involved," it said. "They stated that they wanted those individuals to give a full account of their actions in court." - IRA statement
Story in full
THE IRA said yesterday it had offered to shoot the men who killed Robert McCartney, in an extraordinary statement which blew another hole in the faltering peace process.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=257692005

How oil and gas could be the new dot-com bubble
John Bowker
MARKET enthusiasm for any one sector is a dangerous thing. If shares in any industry rocket, it’s time to jump ship. City bulls are never in it for the long term.
The most famous example is technology, or dot-com. The late 1990s internet bubble is the most notorious since its South Sea ancestor, costing investors kazillions in misplaced investments. Now the sector is derelict - regarded with suspicion.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=257002005&20050309093838

Texas forecast and oil hike put Wall Street on defensive
US STOCKS slipped yesterday after chip-maker Texas Instruments provided a disappointing profit and sales forecast and oil neared $55 a barrel, dampening Wall Street’s mood.
McDonald’s was down 2.6 per cent, or 88 cents, at $33.33 after it said same-store sales rose 4.6 per cent in the United States, its largest market, but fell 3.4 per cent in Europe, the company’s second-largest market.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=258272005

The Times London

Police chief says IRA offer was to kill
By Times Online, and David Sharrock of The Times
The IRA meant to kill when it offered to shoot Provisionals who murdered the Belfast man Robert McCartney, the Northern Ireland chief constable said today.
Hugh Orde also confirmed that his detectives know the identities of the gang members suspected of stabbing the father of two to death, but their investigation is being thwarted by witnesses refusing to give evidence.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1517738,00.html

Putin gets upper hand as Chechen rebel leader is trapped and killed
By Jeremy Page
But shooting may ruin any prospect of a negotiated peace

ASLAN MASKHADOV, the former Chechen President who led a separatist insurgency for almost a decade and was one of Russia’s two most wanted men, has been killed by special forces.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1517077,00.html

The Moscow Times

Maskhadov Declared Dead in FSB Sweep
By Catherine Belton and Valeria Korchagina
Staff Writers
NTV / AP
A television screen grab of the body that authorities identified Tuesday as Maskhadov, who had a $10 million bounty on his head.
FSB special forces officers killed Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov in a special operation in the Chechen village Tolstoy-Yurt, Federal Security Service director Nikolai Patrushev told President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks Tuesday night.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/09/001.html

Exiled Moguls Surface in Israeli Probe
By
Valeria Korchagina
Staff Writer

Self-exiled media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky
Self-exiled media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky and Yukos co-owner Leonid Nevzlin may be questioned in an investigation of what is shaping up to be the biggest money-laundering scandal in Israel's history, officials said Tuesday.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/09/002.html>

Rosneft Threatening $3.8Bln Suit: Yukos
Combined Reports
Rosneft, which bought a confiscated unit of Yukos in December, may sue Yukos for $3.8 billion to collect debts owed to the unit, according to U.S. court papers.
Yukos says that most of the money the company owes Yuganskneftegaz, the unit that was seized and sold to collect back taxes, was paid to the government to meet tax obligations. Rosneft, a state-owned company, is asking for the money again, Yukos said in documents filed Friday to a Houston court.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/09/041.html

Military Says Women's Day Attack Thwarted
The Associated Press
Authorities have seized three Chechen rebels who were planning a large attack on a regional administration building, the military said Tuesday.
The rebels, who were seized Monday, told their captors that the assault on an administration building in Tolstoy-Yurt had been planned for Tuesday, which is the Women's Day holiday, the federal forces North Caucasus command center said in a statement. That village is in a sector of Chechnya that has been under control of federal forces in recent years and such an assault would have indicated that rebel fighters could infiltrate well beyond the usual areas of fighting.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/09/014.html

The Decisive Day After Women's Day
By Nadezhda Azhgik

Russians geared up for March 8 by buying candies and champagne, luxuriant bouquets and modest snowdrops. In upscale offices and universities, in factories and market pavilions, in kindergartens and temporary holding cells, men congratulated their female colleagues and gave flowers to grandmas, wives, girlfriends, bosses and random acquaintances. In short, they demonstrated all the infamous generosity and mystery of the Russian soul, only to forget the chivalry March 9 and return to the daily grind that would come to a standstill if it weren't for women.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/09/006.html

Hezbollah Responds to Anti-Syrian Sentiment
By Tanalee Smith
The Associated Press
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Tens of thousands of pro-Syrian protesters gathered in a central Beirut square Tuesday, answering a nationwide call by the militant Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group to demonstrate against foreign intervention and counter weeks of massive anti-Syrian rallies.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/09/252.html

The Daily Star

Opposition, U.S. demand deadline on Syrian pullout
By Nada Raad, Hanan Nasser and Nafez Qawas
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, March 08, 2005

BEIRUT: Syria's announcement that it would shift its troops to eastern Lebanon this month has been dismissed by both the country's political opposition and the U.S. for failing to set a deadline for a full withdrawal. Following Monday's meeting of the Higher Lebanese Syrian Council in Damascus, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar Assad signed a first-step agreement stipulating the redeployment of Syrian troops from Northern and central Lebanon to the east by the end of March.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=13251

Will Syria's pullout herald in a new era of relations between neighbors?
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Editorial
The announcement of Syria's plans to begin a pullout from Lebanon marks a historic turning point in the region - one that Syrian President Bashar Assad has taken. The move, while it falls short of the rapid and full withdrawal demanded by the international community, is a good first step toward establishing Lebanese sovereignty and independence. More importantly, the move will help repair any damaged ties between the Syrian and the Lebanese people and will foster a positive and balanced diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&article_id=13231&categ_id=17

Nasrallah warns U.S. to stop interfering in Lebanon
By Adnan El-Ghoul
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, March 09, 2005

BEIRUT: Hundreds of thousands filled the streets of Beirut to hear the leader of the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah warn the United States to stop interfering in Lebanon and denounce a UN resolution demanding the withdrawal of Syria's army and the disarming of militant groups. In what was widely labelled a "pro-Syrian" demonstration, Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah thanked Syria for its sacrifices in Lebanon, and firmly rejected UN Resolution 1559, which he said was Israeli-inspired.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=13267

Haaretz

Ya'alon: Syrian pullback could spur anti-Israel violence
By
Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, Reuters and Haaretz Service
Israeli security officials are concerned that a Syrian pullback of forces in Lebanon to the Bekaa could spur Hezbollah to renew violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border, outgoing Israel Defense Forces chief Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday.
The Syrians may want to "bring about an increase in the terror threat" on their way out of Lebanon, Ya'alon told reporters in Tel Aviv. He said Israel must keep careful watch "and see that our interests are not harmed."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549514.html

Mofaz to Cairo for disengagement talks with Mubarak
By
Amos Harel and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will make a one-day trip to Cairo on Thursday to hold talks on the disengagement plan with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The two will discuss a variety of diplomatic issues connected to the plan for an Israeli pullout from the entire Gaza Strip, which borders Egypt, and parts of the northern West Bank.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549582.html

Sasson: Some outposts built on private Palestinian land
By
Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Some of the illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank were both planned and funded by the Housing Ministry, including a number of those built on private Palestinian land, the author of a report on the outposts told reporters Wednesday.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549577.html

IDF troops to guard homes of settlers who evacuate early

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel Defense Forces troops will guard the houses of settlers who leave the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank ahead of the implementation of the disengagement plan, out of concern that the remaining settlers will take over the empty houses, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau decided Tuesday.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549563.html

The Sydney Morning Herald

Evacuations underway as Ingrid creeps closer
March 9, 2005 - 2:02PM

Holidaymakers in upmarket resorts are among those being evacuated as far north Queensland battens down ahead of what could be one of Australia's most destructive cyclones in 30 years.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Evacuations-under-way-as-Ingrid-creeps-closer/2005/03/09/1110316044524.html

Man-eating giant croc caught
March 9, 2005 - 1:10PM

A Ugandan Wildlife Authority official steps over the giant croc, believed to have eaten more than 80 people over two decades.
Photo: Reuters
A five-metre-long crocodile said to have eaten more than 80 people has been caught alive in Uganda and transferred to a sanctuary, say officials.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Caught-croc-that-ate-80-people/2005/03/09/1110316068922.html

Super bridge to link Hong Kong and mainland China
March 9, 2005

Beijing has given final approval to build a 29km-long super bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, state media reported yesterday.
A feasibility report has been completed for the project, estimated to cost $US3.8 billion ($4.8 billion), the China Daily reported. No date was given for when construction would begin.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Super-bridge-to-link-Hong-Kong-and-mainland-China/2005/03/08/1110160833767.html

Iraqi official slain during day of attacks
March 9, 2005

A senior Iraqi official was gunned down in Baghdad yesterday after a day of attacks waged by insurgents against the country's security services that left at least 27 people dead.
An interior ministry source said Iraq's deputy director for passports and identification was shot dead by armed men in Baghdad yesterday, without giving further details.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/After-Saddam/Iraqi-official-slain-during-day-of-attacks/2005/03/08/1110160833056.html

Three killed in NZ mountaineering accident
March 9, 2005
Three people died in a mountaineering accident today in New Zealand's Southern Alps.
The trio, who died in Ball Pass, were part of a guided tour of six climbers and two guides, said police.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Three-killed-in-NZ-mountaineering-accident/2005/03/09/1110316071250.html

The Jerusalem Post

Rajoub: PA factions have agreed to full truce
By
JPOST STAFF AND ARIEH O'SULLIVAN

All of the Palestinian factions have agreed to uphold a cease-fire and refrain from attacks against Israel, including in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, to ensure the advance of negotiations between the two nations, PA National Security Advisor Jibril Rajoub said Wednesday.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110165542522

PA to cut incitement out of sermons
By
KHALED ABU TO
The Palestinian Authority has decided to impose restrictions on preachers who deliver Friday sermons in West Bank and Gaza Strip mosques, a senior PA security official told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110252011030

Ovadia calls PM 'evil' for pullout
By
JPOST.COM STAFF

In a sharp and unprecedented censure of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party, used the terms "cruel" and "evil" to describe Sharon , who he referred to as the "initiator of the disengagement plan."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110338400890

Mar. 8, 2005 23:30 Updated Mar. 9, 2005 0:04
Rice: Dismantle illegal outposts
By
HERB KEINON
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will bring to the cabinet for discussion Sunday the conclusions of the Sasson report on unauthorized settlement outposts he received Tuesday that spelled out government complicity in the expansion of the illegal outposts.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110252010398

continued...
Due to the increased velocity on the North Atlantic Vortex, the temperature in Boston yesterday plummetted 43 degrees. Posted by Hello

Morning Papers - continued...

American Headlines

Feds halt parents' access to Matt Hale
The Associated Press
Published March 8, 2005, 10:43 AM CST
Jailed white supremacist leader Matthew Hale, one focus of a massive investigation into the shooting deaths of a federal judge's husband and mother, can no longer receive visits from his parents or talk to them on the phone, Hale's father said Tuesday.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050308haleparents,1,7399938.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Syrian Army Evacuates Bases in Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press Writer
Published March 9, 2005, 3:29 AM CST
MDEIREJ, Lebanon -- Syrian soldiers flashed victory signs and waved automatic rifles as they drove eastward through Lebanon's mountains on Wednesday, pressing ahead with their evacuation of positions they have held for almost three decades and allowing for the Lebanese army to take their place.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ats-ap_top11mar09,1,7916079.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Suicide Truck Bomb Kills Three in Baghdad
By TODD PITMAN
Associated Press Writer
Published March 9, 2005, 3:42 AM CST
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide bomber detonated a garbage truck packed with explosives outside the Agriculture Ministry and a hotel used by Western contractors Wednesday, killing himself and at least three others, officials said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-iraq,1,7982944.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Syrian Army Evacuates Bases in Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press Writer
Published March 9, 2005, 3:29 AM CST
MDEIREJ, Lebanon -- Syrian soldiers flashed victory signs and waved automatic rifles as they drove eastward through Lebanon's mountains on Wednesday, pressing ahead with their evacuation of positions they have held for almost three decades and allowing for the Lebanese army to take their place.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ats-ap_top11mar09,1,7916079.story?coll=chi-news-hed

43 degrees of separation
March is an erratic month, but this week it has been bipolar, sliding from April to January in just 24 hours.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, the official temperature was 69. Shortly after 3 yesterday, it was 26, the winds were howling at 25 m.p.h., and the region's lawns were cemented under a rock-hard crust of snow and ice.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11085298.htm

Editorial Italian Hostage Fiasco Train your fire
What could be worse than being held hostage for a month by terrorists who are only too willing to kill their captives? The answer might be getting hit by "friendly fire" 35 minutes after being released.
That is the harrowing situation Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena found herself in Friday night.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11085339.htm

Editorial Casey's U.S. Senate Bid Free pass could help or hinder him
It is disappointing that Gov. Rendell has helped clear the field of Democratic primary opponents to state Treasurer Robert Casey Jr. in his quest to topple Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.
Rendell's endorsement of Casey convinced former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer not to wage a primary campaign. Former Democratic Congressman Joseph Hoeffel, who lost last year's general election to U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.), had stepped aside before Rendell's announcement on Friday.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11085337.htm

Chechen Separatist Leader Is Slain
The death of Aslan Maskhadov, a relative moderate, dims hopes for peace with Russia.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-chechen9mar09,0,649992.story?coll=la-home-world>

Bankrupt of Compassion
The bankruptcy bill that passed a key vote in the Senate on Tuesday is driven by the premise that the nation is under siege by an army of deadbeats running up credit card bills, declaring personal bankruptcy and sticking honest Americans with the tab. That's the credit card and banking industries' story, and they're sticking to it. We can all guess who will profit from the bill.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-bankrupt9mar09,0,5214298.story

Killing of Rebel Leader a Win for Puti
By JUDITH INGRAM, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW — Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov's killing represents a rare propaganda victory for President Vladimir Putin and his hardline approach to battling separatists. But it is unlikely to bring a quick end to Russia's bloody and destabilizing war in Chechnya, now in its sixth year.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top15mar09,0,7067875.story

Bill Clinton to Have Scar Tissue Removed
By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK — Former President Clinton set out on a tour of tsunami-ravaged countries last month knowing he needed more surgery on his chest. But his doctors had given him the go-ahead, assuring him that this operation -- to fix a lung problem caused by his heart bypass -- could wait.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top12mar09,0,5888224.story

A barrage of rain, sleet, snow, aggravation
Latest storm leads to spinouts and power outages
By Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent March 9, 2005
Rain hardened into sleet then shifted into a whirlwind of snow, creating slick roads that led to a spike in spinouts and scattered power outages, officials said.

http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/03/09/a_barrage_of_rain_sleet_snow_aggravation/

Airport reopens as winter storm begins to leave Massachusetts
By Greg Sukiennik, Associated Press Writer March 9, 2005
BOSTON -- Massachusetts residents shoveled out from the latest storm of a long, snowy winter on Wednesday, as icy snow and a chilly blast of wind resulted in power outages, dangerous wind chill and whiteout conditions that shut down Logan International Airport.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/09/winter_storm_hits_massachusetts_closes_airport/

Death of boy, 4, considered an accident, pending autopsy
By Patricia Wen and John Ellement, Globe Staff March 9, 2005
Four relatives of Dontel Jeffers, determined to find out for themselves how the 4-year-old boy could have died this week, showed up at the state medical examiner's office on Albany Street in Roxbury yesterday in the cold rain.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/09/death_of_boy_4_considered_an_accident_pending_autopsy/

Complication means more Clinton surgery
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff March 9, 2005
Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to undergo surgery tomorrow in New York to repair a rare complication stemming from his open heart operation six months ago, doctors said.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/09/complication_means_more_clinton_surgery/

Syria's backers hold huge rally in Beirut
By Scott Wilson, Washington Post March 9, 2005
BEIRUT -- In the largest demonstration of Lebanon's weeks-old political upheaval, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese celebrated Syria's long military presence here yesterday and cheered as the influential leader of a militant Islamic party warned the United States and the opposition movement it supports to cease disrupting the country's volatile political system.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/09/syrias_backers_hold_huge_rally_in_beirut/

Broward approves, Miami-Dade rejects slot machines
Broward County voters approved slot machines at parimutuel facilities, but Miami-Dade voters said no. A last-minute anti-slot campaign led by Gov. Jeb Bush was cited as the difference in Dade.
BY JACK DOLAN AND ERIKA BOLSTAD
jdolan@herald.com
Racetrack and jai-alai fronton owners got a split decision from South Florida voters Tuesday on whether they can install Vegas-style slot machines.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11086031.htm

Senate GOP gain victory on abortion vote
By DAVID ESPO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Abortion rights forces lost their first test of the new Congress on Tuesday, a skirmish over the rights of violent protesters in bankruptcy court, in a vote that reflected last fall's election results and portended fiercer battles ahead.
"Clearly, with the freshman class that came in this year you gained a number of pro-life votes," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, one of seven conservative Republicans who won their seats last fall. "I think the culture of the Senate has changed on that issue to the right."

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11079420.htm

Schiavo battle reaches Congress
Days before the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo is scheduled to be removed, those trying to keep her alive turned to courts and politicians for help.
BY PABLO BACHELET AND GARY FINEOUT
pbachelet@herald.com
WASHINGTON - As the time for the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube looms ever closer, a battle to try to keep the brain-damaged woman alive is being fought simultaneously in the courts, the Florida Legislature and, as of Tuesday, Congress.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11085640.htm

St. Helens blows again
Ashfall seen in Yakima
By
CHRISTINE FREY AND ATHIMA CHANSANCHAI
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
Mount St. Helens spewed a gray plume of ash miles into the air yesterday, surprising scientists and enthralling onlookers with its largest show of force in months.
The eruption, which began at 5:25 p.m., lasted about 30 minutes and sent a billowing cloud about 36,000 feet into the air.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/215168_sthelens09.html

Drought here may be worst since 1992
Scientists fear dry winter may be glimpse into Northwest's future
By
TOM PAULSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
This winter's extraordinary warm weather and low snowpack could produce the kind of drought not seen here since 1992, when wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of acres throughout the West while Puget Sound-area residents faced mandatory water rationing, experts say.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/215151_drought09.html

Court hears arguments on same-sex marriage
By
TRACY JOHNSON AND CLAUDIA ROWE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
OLYMPIA -- Outside the state Supreme Court, thousands came to rally for fairness, equality and loving commitments, or to discuss what kinds of relationships are best for raising children and honoring God.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/215170_gaymarriage09.html

E-mails sent at work anything but private
That's one big lesson in Boeing CEO case
By
DAN RICHMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Two rules emerge from Sunday's firing of Boeing Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher, an ouster that occurred after a tipster told company officials the CEO was having an extramarital affair with a co-worker.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/215147_email09.html

Oldest lowland gorilla in captivity dies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ERIE, Pa. -- A gorilla believed to be the longest living of its kind in captivity has died of old age. He was 49.
Rudy died in his sleep Tuesday at the Erie Zoo, said zoo spokesman Scott Mitchell.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=BRF%20Gorilla%20Dies

Food poisoning kills 25 Philippine kids
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANILA, Philippines -- At least 25 children died from food poisoning after eating a snack at school Wednesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Philippines%20Mass%20Poisoning

Fire on kindergarten bus in China kills 12
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING -- A fire on a kindergarten bus in eastern China has killed 12 children and injured at least five others, the government said Wednesday.
The fire broke out late Tuesday afternoon while the bus was delivering the children to their homes in Linyi, a city in eastern China's Shandong province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=China%20Kindergarten%20Bus%20Fire

Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa to resign
By HELEN LUK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa waves as he leaves Hong Kong government headquarter Wednesday March. 9, 2005. Several major newspapers quoted unidentified sources as saying that Tung would announce his resignation Thursday before he flies to Beijing to take over a new post on an elite advisory group to the Chinese legislature. Tung has led Hong Kong since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule nearly eight years ago. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa plans to announce that he's resigning Thursday afternoon, a move that would end seven years of rocky rule, an official said Wednesday.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Hong%20Kong%20Tung

House budget limits Bush tax cuts
By ALAN FRAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans want to cut taxes, trim spending and lower record deficits slightly over the next few years but are sidestepping some details about how they would do it.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Budget

35 corpses found shot, beheaded in Iraq
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
QAIM, Iraq -- Police said Wednesday they have found a total of 35 bodies - some shot and some beheaded - in two different places in Iraq.
Twenty corpses were found late Tuesday near Rumana, a village about 12 miles east of the western city of Qaim, near the Syrian border, police Capt. Muzahim al-Karbouli said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Bodies

20 bodies shot to death found in west Iraq
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Police said Wednesday they have found 20 bullet-riddled bodies, all dressed in civilian clothing, near a village in Iraq's western border with Syria.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Bodies%20Found

Zanzibar police arrest opposition members
By ALI SULTAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania -- Zanzibari police launched an early morning and reportedly brutal raid on the homes of government opponents, arresting 18 as tensions heated up ahead of elections.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Zanzibar

AP: Africa report provides map to recovery
By ED JOHNSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair's commission on Africa has come up with a road map to recovery for the continent, but countries must now cooperate and focus on priorities if the project is to succeed, the only American member of the task force said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Africa%20Commission

UN: Over 350,000 Africa refugees back home
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
GENEVA -- More than 350,000 African refugees were able to return to their homelands in 2004, but some 4 million remain in limbo because of sustained conflicts on the continent, the U.N. refugee agency said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Africa%20Refugees

Annan pushes Security Council on Sudan
By NICK WADHAMS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Jan Egeland of Norway, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, in Khartoum Monday, March 7, 2005 where he said mass rape and sexual abuse continue in Darfur despite the noticeable improvement in the humanitarian situation in the region. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)
UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday urged the Security Council to move faster to confront the crisis in Sudan, as the world body's humanitarian chief said women and girls in the conflict-plagued Darfur region are suffering from an increasing wave of rapes.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=UN%20Sudan

Australia won't deport 104-year-old woman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia -- A 104-year-old Chinese woman will not be deported from Australia despite immigration officials' decision to refuse her a permanent visa, the Australian government announced Wednesday.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20Centenarian%20Deportation


Data Is Lacking on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says
By
DOUGLAS JEHL and ERIC SCHMITT
Published: March 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 8 - A commission due to report to President Bush this month will describe American intelligence on Iran as inadequate to allow firm judgments about Iran's weapons programs, according to people who have been briefed on the panel's work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/international/09weapons.html?hp&ex=1110430800&amp;en=48649e4ca2d8893d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Donations Are Tied to House Leader
By
PHILIP SHENON
Published: March 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 8 - Documents subpoenaed from an indicted fund-raiser for Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, suggest that Mr. DeLay was more actively involved than previously known in gathering corporate donations for a political committee that is the focus of a grand-jury investigation in Texas, his home state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/politics/09delay.html?hp&ex=1110430800&amp;en=831e38eda29cc75a&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Journalism at Risk

Reluctant Rather Is Set to Sign Off
After Bush report fiasco, the TV anchor's messy exit epitomizes larger problems at CBS News.
By Scott Collins, Times Staff Writer
After months at the center of a media storm and years as one of the most polarizing figures on the American news scene, Dan Rather will sign off this week as anchor of "CBS Evening News." But to paraphrase one of his homespun Rather-isms, don't bet the trailer money that he'll disappear.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rather7mar07,0,1820461.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Why was Giuliana Sgrena's car attacked by U.S. forces?
BAGHAD (Aljazeera) - Ever since the kidnappings and beheadings of non-military personnel in Iraq began nearly 2 years ago, many observers and analysts have asked why the Iraqi resistance fighters would commit these crimes, knowing they would turn world opinion against them.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=3/8/2005&Cat=4&Num=004

Giuliana Sgrena: 'Voice of weakest'

Sgrena has tried to be the voice of the poor
Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena never thought she would be taken hostage telling the story of the people she deeply cared for.
A toughened war correspondent, her reports filter the impact of conflict through the lives of ordinary people - precisely what she was doing in Baghdad on 4 February when she was seized by gunmen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4321173.stm

Authorities suspend licence of jailed journalists' lawyer
Country/Topic: China
Date: 01 March 2005
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Person(s): Shi Tao, Zhang Lin, Huang Jinqiu
Target(s): journalist(s) , web dissident(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): imprisoned
Urgency: Threat
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:
CHINA: Authorities suspend license of lawyer for jailed journalists
New York, March 1, 2005 - Authorities in Shanghai have suspended the law license of Guo Guoting, defense attorney for three jailed journalists as well as a number of other dissidents and members of the Falun Gong religious sect. The suspension throws into question the defense of imprisoned writers Shi Tao, Zhang Lin and Huang Jinqiu.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/65030/

Michael Moore Today

Interesting picture of George there, Mike. "PULL!" The sort of thing he enjoys, political pull.

Terror Suspects Buy Guns in States... Legally

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Terror Suspects Buying Firearms, U.S. Report Finds
By Eric Lichtblau /
New York Times
Dozens of terror suspects on federal watch lists were allowed to buy firearms legally in the United States last year, according to a Congressional investigation that points up major vulnerabilities in federal gun laws.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1723

Why is George Protecting Terrorists' 2nd Amendment Rights? An excerpt from 'Dude, Where's My Country'
[The following excerpt is from Chapter 1: '7 Questions for George of Arabia']
Question #5: Why are you protecting the “Second Amendment rights” of potential terrorists?
Mr. Bush, in the days after September 11, the FBI began running a check to see if any of the 186 “suspects” the feds had rounded up in the first five days after the attack had purchased any guns in the months leading up to September 11. Using the instant background check files for gun purchases created under the Brady Bill, the FBI immediately found two of the suspects had indeed purchased weapons.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1724

Struggling to boost numbers, Army recruits more dropouts
By Tom Bowman /
Baltimore Sun
WASHINGTON - Struggling to boost its ranks, the U.S. Army is recruiting a higher number of high school dropouts and recruits who score in the lowest category on military aptitude tests, raising concerns among senior officers and defense analysts that the quality of the force will suffer.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1730

continued...