The Rooster
Friday, September 08, 2006
Morning Papers
The Jeruslem Post
Arab states to push Mideast peace plan
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arab foreign ministers met Wednesday to promote a plan to revive the deadlocked Middle East peace process amid widespread Arab fears the recent war in Lebanon helped boost the influence of Iran and the militants it supports.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the 22-nation body will discuss a plan to request a ministerial meeting by the UN Security Council to advance efforts to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict, through direct talks among Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians.
Bahrain's foreign minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who chaired Wednesday's meeting in Cairo, said in an opening speech that "a credible and real effort" is needed to put the peace process back on track.
But it's unclear what - if anything - the UN is prepared to do. And reaction from Israel and the United States also so far has been tepid.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1154526017180&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Olmert, Blair to meet for talks on Middle East situation
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
JERUSALEM
A meeting between the Israeli and British prime ministers was scheduled to take place in Jerusalem on Saturday, officials said.
The meeting was set to begin the evening of a planned mass demonstration in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, in which citizens, politicians and religious leaders were to call on the government to set up a state inquiry commission to examine whether officials mishandled the war in Lebanon.
Israel's fragile truce with Hizbullah, resuming peace talks with the Palestinians and the Iranian nuclear program will be the key topics for discussion at the meeting between Israeli and British premiers Ehud Olmert and Tony Blair.
"The prime ministers will speak about Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran and the Palestinians," said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Olmert.
In London, Blair's spokesman said the British leader will focus on the aftermath of the Lebanon fighting and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but will not deliver any detailed proposals.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526037080&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Syria okays EU presence on border
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
Italian Premier Romano Prodi said Saturday that Syria's President Bashar Assad has agreed "in principle" to a deployment of unarmed EU monitors on its border to help stem the flow of weapons into Lebanon.
Russia to probe Hizbullah weapons Prodi said in a statement that he had spoken with Assad several times over the last few days. "I reminded President Assad that the European Union has significant experience in training programs for frontier guards, and that the idea of an EU mission of assistance on the border between Syria and Lebanon would be an excellent signal of cooperation between Syria and Europe," Prodi said. "President Assad gave me his accord in principle." An indication of agreement from Assad was considered significant, after he said last month in a TV interview that he would consider the deployment of international troops along the Lebanon-Syria border to be a hostile move toward his country.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526035972&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
IDF releases five Lebanese detainees
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon
IDF soldiers released five Lebanese men from custody on Saturday morning after detaining them overnight.
It was initially reported that the five men were armed, however, according to Israel Radio, the men were unarmed but had approached the soldiers on patrol there in a suspicious manner.
The five were detained in Ayta a-Shaab, a village near the border that saw heavy fighting between Hizbullah and the IDF during the 34-day war in Lebanon.
The IDF said Friday that soldiers stopped a group of men who were moving toward the Israeli border and questioned them.
Israeli forces are in the process of withdrawing from areas they seized in the south during the Lebanon war, and Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers are taking their place under the terms of a UN-brokered cease-fire that began Aug. 14.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526034746&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Work on Busheir reactor to continue
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday denied reports that Russia would stop construction on the nuclear reactor in Busheir if Iran were to expel UN IAEA nuclear inspectors, Israel Radio reported.
Head of Russia's atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, said in Moscow that the Busheir reactor would be operational within a year, and that in another six or seven months Russia would begin shipping nuclear fuel to Iran.
US Affairs: Defusing the bomb Meanwhile, Lavrov also called on Friday for an investigation to determine whether Israel used cluster bombs in its offensive in Lebanon, Russian news agencies reported. Lavrov's call for a probe came on the heels of a visit to the Middle East, where he faced Israeli charges that Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas used Russian arms supplied by Syria in their war with Israel, and appeared aimed at least in part to counter criticism over the issue. "In the interests of everybody and in the interests of turning this page for good, it is necessary to conduct such an investigation, to establish the facts and not to leave any disagreements," ITAR-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526035717&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Abbas willing to meet with Olmert
By JPOST STAFF
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he was willing to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and would not set any conditions for any such meeting.
Abbas said that efforts were continuing to be made towards the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of Palestinian security prisoners currently incarcerated in Israel, and Abbas hoped that many Palestinians would be freed as part of an exchange agreement, Israel Radio reported.
On Tuesday, Abbas told the Al-Khaleej newspaper that negotiations over the release of Shalit have not been fruitful until now. His announcement came against a backdrop of conflicting reports in the Arab media about an imminent prisoner swap between Israel and the Palestinians.
Abbas was quoted by the paper as saying that Shalit would be transferred to Egypt and held there until Israel fulfilled its part of the bargain.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526035254&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Haniyeh: Hamas gov't won't step down
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh declared on Friday that his embattled Hamas-led government had no intention of stepping down, despite a sweeping civil service strike and an economic crisis that a top UN official said has brought the Gaza Strip to a "point of near meltdown."
Hamas' takeover of the Palestinian Authority in March has provoked crushing international sanctions that have rendered the government unable to pay its 165,000 employees for the past six months.
In the widest sign of growing displeasure with Hamas, tens of thousands of teachers, health workers and other government employees launched an open-ended strike last Saturday. The work stoppage, organized in large part by the rival Fatah movement, has threatened to bring down the government.
"The government is not going to resign," Haniyeh told 2,000 worshippers at a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. "We have no thoughts of resignation or dismantling the (Palestinian) Authority."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526034195&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
'If the Torah isn't for everyone, it isn't for anyone'
By HAVIV RETTIG
Rabbi Michael Melchior wears many hats. He serves as chairman of the Knesset Education Committee, head of the Knesset caucuses for Arab-Israeli cooperation and the environment, head of the left-wing religious Meimad party, chief rabbi of Norway and rabbi of a congregation in the southern part of Jerusalem.
He is the honorary head of several non-profit organizations, participates in inter-religious dialogue that lands him in places such as Qatar and Alexandria and has initiated a chain of schools in which religious and secular children study together. For the start of the school year, Rabbi Melchior spoke to The Jerusalem Post about education in Israel, the religious-secular divide and peacemaking.
The hottest social issue right now seems to be the 2007 budget. It has been said that even though the budget presented this week (and quickly withdrawn and amended following public outrage) was merely the Finance Ministry's opening position in the negotiations, the post-war cut to released soldiers' benefits and the hike in student tuition showed a psychological disconnect from the national mood. How do you see the budget presented this week?
I truly don't understand it. Everything is ad hoc. There hasn't been a single serious discussion of what we want to do. Everything in politics is done for tomorrow's headline.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526029359&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Not making the grade
By PEGGY CIDOR
In the late Sixties, Zalman Aranne, the education minister from the Mapai Party, initiated a broad-based reform of the educational system.
"Integration," he called it. By bringing children from different backgrounds into the same schools, the minister predicted, he could accelerate Israel's melting-pot ideal and cut down the gaps between the haves and have nots in Israeli society.
Eli Haim, a retired principal of a Jerusalem school, remembers those days.
"It began in 1967, after the waves of new immigrants, after the reparations from Germany, after the terrible recession of 1964-1966. Prosperity had begun, especially in the large cities. There was a real concern that the egalitarian ethos wouldn't survive."
"Aranne, who was a true defender of socialist and egalitarian ideals, believed there was a need to bring children together - whether they were immigrants or veterans, rich or poor," Haim continues. "We didn't have 'special' schools back then, everybody studied the same [government-mandated] programs and all the kids wore uniforms."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526026386&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Asbury Park Press
Illness a legacy of 9/11
Thousands who helped at WTC have health problems
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY TODD B. BATES
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER
The Rev. Denise P. Mantell spent hundreds of volunteer hours helping people at or near the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
This year, she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
She thinks "there's probably . . . a very good possibility" that the cancer is linked to her exposure, said Mantell, a Matawan resident and rector of Trinity Episcopal Church there.
Sarah R. Atlas, a volunteer dog handler with New Jersey Task Force One, an urban search and rescue team based at Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, spent 10 days at or near ground zero immediately after the disaster.
Since then, Atlas, who lives in Camden County, has developed numerous health problems, including chronic nasal and sinus problems and a sleeping disorder.
"What's happened, happened," said Atlas, a 50-year-old emergency medical technician. "If, God forbid, I get something else down the road," medical people will identify it quickly.
When the World Trade Center towers collapsed, vast amounts of dust, smoke and gases were released into the air, and fires at ground zero burned for more than three months, emitting even more contaminants, according to studies.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080398
He did his job, and died; family ineligible for aid
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY SHANNON MULLEN
STAFF WRITER
It was their firefighter son, not their telephone worker son, whom Angelo and Frances DeBiase were most anxious about on Sept. 11.
Gary DeBiase, assigned to Ladder 109 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, was among the first responders to the World Trade Center site that day, arriving not long after the towers collapsed, killing more than 300 of his fellow firefighters. Working under extremely hazardous conditions, he stuck with the painstaking recovery effort through the end of the year — a life-changing experience he will never forget.
His brother, Mark, a resident of Jackson, had a role in the recovery effort, too, albeit a fleeting one. A cell tower technician for AT&T Wireless, he was called in to set up emergency communication equipment at ground zero on Sept. 12. He spent a total of 16 hours there, then moved on to do the same job at Staten Island's Fresh Kills landfill, where Trade Center debris was being dumped and sifted for remains and forensic evidence.
By week's end, Mark had returned to his regular duties. As time went on, he scarcely gave his recovery work a second thought, even after alarms were raised about a growing number of ground zero responders developing respiratory illnesses and other health problems believed to be caused by toxic dust and fumes at the trade center site.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080399
U.S. promises more aid for those made ill by ground zero duties
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JOHN MACHACEK
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON — The federal government promised Thursday to play a bigger role in dealing with the growing number of Sept. 11 rescue and recovery workers made sick by toxic dust at ground zero.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced that $75 million approved last year by Congress for medical treatment would be released by October. He also said top officials at his agency would begin working on a plan for treating and monitoring all affected workers.
But in a meeting with New York lawmakers and two ailing workers, Leavitt said the federal government could not bear all the burden for treating illnesses that are more widespread than previously thought. A study released Tuesday by Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City found that nearly 70 percent of 10,000 workers tested by the hospital had become sick.
"If the $75 million proves to be inadequate, the federal government will be part of a coordinated effort (with state and local governments) to solve whatever the balance of the problem there is," Leavitt told reporters later.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080394
N.J.'s business-friendly strategy aims at job growth
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JONATHAN TAMARI
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
TRENTON — Gov. Corzine promised a more coordinated and focused approach to building New Jersey's economy Thursday, outlining a plan he hopes will spark job growth and reverse perceptions about the state's supposed hostility toward business.
In what business leaders called a marked change from previous administrations, the plan relies on heavy personal involvement from the governor, who vowed to become New Jersey's "marketer in chief" in order to attract investments.
"This plan puts economic development at the top of my administration's agenda," Corzine said as he outlined his strategy in Newark at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The proposal includes two funds to boost investments in high-technology fields and help small business and minority-owned ventures, especially in cities such as Camden and Newark, although the administration has only a fraction of the money it hopes to offer.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080397
Mistake in zoning map stirs debate
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
LAKEWOOD — Property owners in a largely undeveloped southwest section of the township learned recently that they can build much more on their land than was allowed just a few years ago.
Thus, the phone calls from property owners — some angry, some sensing an opportunity to cash in — have been pouring in all week to the office of Township Committeeman Charles Cunliffe.
"It's been nonstop," said Cunliffe.
But it's also all a big mistake, he said Thursday.
When the Township Committee voted about a year ago to approve a new zoning map, there was a mix-up, Cunliffe said.
The area off Cross Street near the Jackson boundary, a more rural part of town, had been zoned to require 2-acre building lots. The new zoning reduced the minimum lot size to 1 acre. The result: Land value there has more than doubled, Cunliffe said.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080396
Senate: Saddam saw al-Qaida as threat
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/DANIEL BEREHULAK
U.S. Video
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saddam Hussein regarded al-Qaida as a threat rather than a possible ally, a Senate report says, contradicting assertions President Bush has used to build support for the war in Iraq. The report also newly faults intelligence gathering in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion.
Released Friday, the report discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor or turn a blind eye toward" al-Qaida operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or his associates.
As recently as an Aug. 21 news conference, Bush said people should "imagine a world in which you had Saddam Hussein" with the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction and "who had relations with Zarqawi."
Democrats contended that the administration continues to use faulty intelligence, including assertions of a link between Saddam's government and the recently killed al-Zarqawi, to justify the war in Iraq.
They also said, in remarks attached to Friday's Senate Intelligence Committee document, that former CIA Director George Tenet had modified his position on the terrorist link at the request of administration policymakers.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_REPORT?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Mistake in zoning map stirs debate
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
LAKEWOOD — Property owners in a largely undeveloped southwest section of the township learned recently that they can build much more on their land than was allowed just a few years ago.
Thus, the phone calls from property owners — some angry, some sensing an opportunity to cash in — have been pouring in all week to the office of Township Committeeman Charles Cunliffe.
"It's been nonstop," said Cunliffe.
But it's also all a big mistake, he said Thursday.
When the Township Committee voted about a year ago to approve a new zoning map, there was a mix-up, Cunliffe said.
The area off Cross Street near the Jackson boundary, a more rural part of town, had been zoned to require 2-acre building lots. The new zoning reduced the minimum lot size to 1 acre. The result: Land value there has more than doubled, Cunliffe said.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080396>
HP chair: Board members want her to stay
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Business Writer
AP Photo/PAUL SAKUMA
Technology Video
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairwoman Patricia Dunn said Friday that several of her fellow board members want her to remain on the job despite a criminal investigation into her efforts to plug a media leak.
Dunn's crusade spawned a ruse to obtain the personal phone records of company directors and at least nine reporters. It put HP's board at the center of an imbroglio that threatens to distract the Palo Alto-based company as it tries to build on a recent run of success in the personal computer and other high-tech markets.
"I serve at the pleasure of the board," Dunn told The Associated Press in an interview. "I totally trust their judgment. If they think it would be better for me to step aside, I would do that. But a number of directors have urged me to hang in there."
Incensed by several media stories that quoted unnamed people about information shared during HP board meetings, Dunn authorized an investigation earlier this year to determine if any of the company's directors were talking out of turn.
The inquiry convinced HP that George Keyworth II had been providing reporters with confidential company information. The company is punishing him by preventing him from running for re-election to the board.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HEWLETT_PACKARD_DIRECTORS?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
NASA to try 5th launch attempt Saturday
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo
AP VIDEO
NASA Scrubs Atlantis Launch
Science Video
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- For the fourth time in two weeks, NASA nixed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, this time for a faulty fuel tank sensor - the same glitch that has thwarted two other missions.
A fifth liftoff attempt will be made at 11:15 a.m. EDT Saturday to get the spacecraft headed on a mission to resume construction of the international space station.
On Friday the six astronauts were already strapped in with the hatch closed when the space agency called off the launch with just 45 minutes to go. Although the fuel sensor had malfunctioned hours earlier, NASA wanted to keep discussing the problem before scrubbing the flight.
But they knew the odds for a liftoff weren't good. The agency has a new rule requiring a stand-down of 24 hours when one of the hydrogen tank's four engine cutoff sensors doesn't work properly; such a delay would allow engineers to gather more data on the problem.
"We had a lot of discussion. ... We follow the rules," launch director Mike Leinbach radioed Atlantis' crew, notifying them about the scrub. "Ought to feel good that we did that."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPACE_SHUTTLE?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Police close in on fugitive on FBI list
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
AP VIDEO
Manhunt Intensifies for Armed Fugitive
U.S. Video
CARROLL, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities hunting for one of the nation's most wanted men claimed to have murder suspect Ralph "Bucky" Phillips surrounded in the woods near the Pennsylvania line Friday after opening fire on him and putting dogs on his trail.
Police said they did not know whether Phillips was wounded in the shooting, and there was no sign of blood at the scene.
But state police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said officials believed they had the escaped convict trapped in an area near Carroll, about 65 miles south of Buffalo. Authorities used helicopters, roadblocks and dogs to try to close the noose.
"We believe we have him contained," Bennett said, but added, "I won't say that I'm completely convinced that this is going to come to the conclusion we want."
A 44-year-old career thief who broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April, he is suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others. Phillips, who has threatened "suicide by cop" and once promised to "splatter pig meat all over Chautauqua County," is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TROOPER_SHOT?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Atomic clocks are getting more precise
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer
Science Video
NEW YORK (AP) -- Some physicists are creating a revolution in the arcane world of ultra-precise clocks. And among them is a researcher who has trouble getting anywhere on time.
"I do tend to be a little bit late," said Jim Bergquist, 58. "Quite a bit late."
Of course, the time he focuses on professionally is far removed from the world of dinner dates and planes to catch.
Bergquist, who is with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., works with extremely accurate devices that rely on the behavior of atoms to measure time. In fact, he is working on what could be the world's most accurate such timepiece.
In Bergquist's world, a 10-billionth of a second is just too long a time between ticks of a clock. And it really makes a difference that a clock in mile-high Denver ticks faster than another at sea level. (Time itself passes more quickly when gravity is reduced.)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VERY_ACCURATE_CLOCK?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Police: Man robs bank to be 'supported'
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Police said Gaetan Roy had just lost his job, so he came up with a plan: Rob a bank, hang around, then get taken to jail to be "supported."
Roy has been charged with robbing a St. Mary's Bank. Police said he walked into the bank Friday and handed a note to the teller that said: "This is a robbery. Put all the cash into the plastic bag. No hassles, no problems."
Roy left the bank with about $1,300. When officers arrived, they found Roy in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot next to the bank, drinking an iced coffee. Police said he had the note and cash stuffed in his pockets.
"It appears he didn't make any furtive gestures," Sgt. Lloyd Doughty said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EAGER_BANK_ROBBER?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Cell phones found inside four prisoners
AP Photo/CENTROS PENALES
AP VIDEO
You Won't Believe Where Inmates Hid Phones
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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- Cell phones, complete with a charger and data chips, were found in the body cavities of four inmates at a maximum-security prison, and they had used the phones to direct criminal activities on the street, officials said Wednesday.
The discovery was made Tuesday at the prison in Zacatecoluca, in central El Salvador, after suspicious officials took X-rays of the inmates, federal corrections chief Jaime Villanova said.
The names of the prisoners, all members of the dangerous Mara Salvatrucha gang, were not released in order to avoid jeopardizing an ongoing investigation that began a month ago, he said.
Capt. Juan Ramon Arevalo, director of the Zacatras prison, said the gang members had introduced the cell phones, wrapped in plastic bags, into their bodies through their anuses. The phones were relatively small - about as long as an adult forefinger.
Authorities also found nine cell phone chips, each slightly larger than a fingernail, and one charger.
"Each one had a cellular with a number of chips," Arevalo said, adding that one also had hidden a charger in his anal cavity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTESTINAL_PHONES?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Wie misses another men's tournament cut
AP Photo/OLIVIER MAIRE
News Video
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland (AP) -- Michelle Wie didn't just fail to make the cut in her latest men's tournament. She finished dead last. Wie struggled to an 8-over 79 Friday at the European Masters, missing the cut at a men's event for the ninth time in 10 attempts.
The 16-year-old from Hawaii, who shot a 78 in Thursday's first round, finished at 15-over 157 - last of the 152 players who completed 36 holes. She was 22 shots off the lead shared by Andrew McLardy (65), Bradley Dredge (67) and Marcel Siem (67).
"I'm still in shock," Wie said. "I didn't know what sport I was playing out there. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed again. I really just couldn't get anything going."
After bogeys on her first two holes Friday, Wie took double-bogey 7s on successive par-5s. Starting her round at the 10th, she hit her third shot into the middle of the lake at the 598-yard 14th.
Then Wie drove out of bounds at the 15th.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GLF_EUROPEAN_MASTERS?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Man's gun fires in Wal-Mart bathroom
HUDSON, N.H. (AP) -- A Nashua man faces a felony reckless conduct charge after his gun discharged in a Wal-Mart bathroom, striking the ceiling and scaring an employee in the next stall.
Charles Masterson, 36, said he pointed his gun toward the ceiling because he had been taught that was the safest thing to do when it wasn't being used.
The precaution backfired when the gun discharged Tuesday night while Masterson was in the bathroom.
Police charged him for putting the teenage employee in danger. Masterson's 13-year-old son also was in the bathroom.
Masterson was jailed overnight, but released on personal recognizance Wednesday after his arraignment in Nashua District Court.
Masterson said he had been carrying the Glock 9mm pistol in his waistband.
The Wal-Mart employee, Adam Carew, 17, of Dracut, Mass., told police he was in the handicapped accessible stall when he heard the gunshot. Carew said he ran out and saw Masterson's son covering his ears.
Carew told police Masterson walked out of his stall, put the gun in his pants and just walked right out of the bathroom like nothing happened.
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Wal-Mart employees called police.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BATHROOM_GUNFIRE?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Police close in on fugitive on FBI list
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
AP VIDEO
Manhunt Intensifies for Armed Fugitive
U.S. Video
CARROLL, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities hunting for one of the nation's most wanted men claimed to have murder suspect Ralph "Bucky" Phillips surrounded in the woods near the Pennsylvania line Friday after opening fire on him and putting dogs on his trail.
Police said they did not know whether Phillips was wounded in the shooting, and there was no sign of blood at the scene.
But state police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said officials believed they had the escaped convict trapped in an area near Carroll, about 65 miles south of Buffalo. Authorities used helicopters, roadblocks and dogs to try to close the noose.
"We believe we have him contained," Bennett said, but added, "I won't say that I'm completely convinced that this is going to come to the conclusion we want."
A 44-year-old career thief who broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April, he is suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others. Phillips, who has threatened "suicide by cop" and once promised to "splatter pig meat all over Chautauqua County," is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TROOPER_SHOT?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Coffee, tea or your choice of 20 movies?
Airlines are installing additional screens and offering more movies to attract customers for their longer, more lucrative flights.
BY Jeff Kearns / The Dallas Morning News
Airlines offer more movie choices
As program manager for in-flight entertainment at American Airlines, Robert D'Avignon faced a difficult choice this summer with the action thriller Mission: Impossible III.
Book a blockbuster or risk upsetting passengers?
''We tend to be a bit more conservative,'' said D'Avignon, who decided against playing the film on overhead screens because it contained too much violence.
Nevertheless, the carrier deemed an edited version of the Tom Cruise film acceptable for viewing on its personal, in-seat screens.
More and more, airline officials are balancing their concerns about offending customers with orthodox taste in movies against the desire to please passengers by offering a greater selection of films.
It's all part of a major shift in how airlines think about the $1.75 billion-a-year industry for in-flight entertainment.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7784
Rock the Vote
http://www.rockthevote.com/2006-voter-registration-deadlines.php
Camp Democracy
On September 5th, we launched a non-partisan camp for peace, democracy, and the restoration of the rule of law. Camp Casey moved from Crawford, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to create a larger camp focused not only on ending the war but also on righting injustices here at home and on holding accountable the Bush Administration and Congress. Here's the schedule of what's happening each day from now till September 21st. Here are free rooms and rides. If you can send a bus and need help paying for it, ask us. If you need help filling it, post it on the board. In Spanish: Campamento de la Democracia.
http://www.campdemocracy.org/
Hill promises to change health care system, war
Democrat vows to bring troops home with honor
By Chris Freiberg / Indiana Daily Student
Baron Hill, Democratic candidate for the 9th Congressional District, addressed the IU College Democrats Wednesday and promised change if re-elected to Congress.
Hill is facing Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th, for the third time in what is expected to be another close race. In 2002, Hill won the seat by fewer than 500 votes. In 2004, Sodrel won the seat by fewer than 1,500 votes.
Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg is also running.
Hill held the seat from 1998 until 2004 defeat.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 200 in Jordan Hall, Hill touched on a variety of topics, including health care reform, the war in Iraq and ethics.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=168
Florida Primary Showing Bodes Ill for Harris
Against three political unknowns, the onetime GOP star gets 49% of the vote in Senate bid.
By Carol J. Williams / Los Angeles Times
MIAMI — Rep. Katherine Harris, the controversial one-time Republican hero, collected less than half the party's vote Tuesday in winning her Senate primary race against three political unknowns, foreshadowing a tough November face-off with Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.
Harris' 49% showing reflected her growing unpopularity within the party after a campaign replete with gaffes and questions about her integrity. Nelson, who had no primary challenger, leads in opinion polls by 40 percentage points and has amassed a $16-million war chest — twice the amount of Harris' contributions.
In the hotly contested race to replace Gov. Jeb Bush, the costliest in Florida history, moderate Republican Charlie Crist ran away with the primary with 64% of the vote over 33% for challenger and religious-right choice Tom Gallagher.
In the Democratic contest, Rep. Jim Davis outpolled state Sen. Rod Smith 47% to 41%, despite an eleventh-hour spending blitz by the state's powerful sugar lobby on behalf of the underdog.
The four men seeking to succeed Bush in the governor's mansion spent more than $30 million, on top of lavish outlays for attack ads by soft-money supporters.
Crist's decisive victory suggests that Florida Republicans have moved toward the political center, as Gallagher cast himself as the more conservative choice, campaigning on his staunch opposition to abortion, legalized gay unions, stem cell research and stricter gun controls.
But Florida voters rate those issues of less importance than education, immigration and the economy, and Gallagher's attempts to label Crist a closet liberal apparently failed to sway them.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=167
GOP relying on terror card to save party in November
By Thomas M. DeFrank / New York Daily News
WASHINGTON — President Bush and the Republicans expect a stinging defeat in November, but they're betting the terror card saves them from an electoral debacle.
"The security issue trumps everything," a senior Bush official said last week. "That's why even though they're really mad at us, in the end they're going to give us another two years."
Nevertheless, many other senior Bush loyalists privately believe anti-Iraq and anti-Bush sentiment will cost the Republicans the House nine weeks from today, a doomsday scenario that would cripple Bush for his final two years in office.
"We'll lose the House," one of the party's most prominent officials flatly predicted, "and the president will be dead in the water for two years."
Even a perennially optimistic senior Bush strategist conceded, "I'm pretty worried about it. The House is not looking good."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=166
Vanishing Act
Friend arrested for false reporting in disappearance of Lance Hering
By Christine Reid / Daily Camera
The friend of a Boulder Marine reported missing after a hiking accident last week confessed to authorities that they concocted the story so the soldier could get out of returning to duty.
Lance Hering, a 21-year-old lance corporal, went missing Aug. 30. His friend, Steve Powers, told authorities he and Hering went for a hike after dark in Eldorado Canyon State Park and Hering fell, struck his head and lost consciousness.
When he regained consciousness four hours later, Powers said, he went to get help and returned with rescuers to find Hering gone.
Powers, 20, of Boulder, admitted to Boulder County Sheriff's Office deputies late Wednesday night that the story was a ruse concocted weeks ago.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7811
Update on Attempts to Locate Missing Person Lance Hering - 09/08/06
This media release provides supplemental information regarding the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office on-going investigation into the staged disappearance of 21 year-old Lance Hering, of Boulder. Previous media releases detailing the incident may be found on the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office web-site at www.bouldersheriff.org
The Sheriff’s Office is seeking the issuance of a warrant for Mr. Hering’s arrest on a charge of False Reporting to Authorities, a misdemeanor. Steve Powers, Mr. Hering’s alleged co-conspirator in the incident, was arrested Wednesday evening on the same charge and booked and released at the Boulder County Jail. False Reporting to Authorities (CRS 18-8-111) is a Class 3 Misdemeanor and carries penalties upon conviction ranging from a minimum fine of $50.00 to a maximum of six months in Jail and/or a $750.00 fine. The Sheriff’s Office will also seek restitution for the as-yet undetermined costs of conducting a five-day air and ground search for Mr. Hering as a condition of any verdict or plea agreement.
http://www.co.boulder.co.us/sheriff/hering.htm
"I think the public is looking at anyone who goes AWOL as cowards and it goes much deeper than that."
Family Says AWOL Soldier's Decision 'Went Deeper'
Tough Question: What Makes Someone Desert The Military?
Alan Gionet / CBS4
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The family of a soldier from Colorado said the issue of service members going AWOL is much more complicated than many people make it seem.
CBS4 asked the tough question: What makes someone desert the military?
"I think the public is looking at anyone who goes AWOL as cowards and it goes much deeper than that," Rebecca Barker said.
Barker is the mother of Mark Wilkerson. Wilkerson is a young Specialist from Colorado Springs who had actually talked his family into letting him join the Army.
Then he decided he wanted out after his unit was told they'd be going back to Iraq a second time.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7814
"I can't talk him out of it. I've tried."
Deserter defies mom in return to U.S.
Iraqi war vet faces court martial, jail, in bid to speak out against Bush
Mother `can't talk him out of it' but understands need to `heal himself'
By Phinjo Gombu / Toronto Star
Darrell Anderson, a U.S. Army deserter who fought in Iraq and sought refugee status in Toronto, has decided to return home and face a possible court-martial — against his mother's wishes.
Anita Anderson said her son, whose life has been pretty "messed up" by his Iraqi experience, believes he has to speak out against President George W. Bush in the United States, even if it means a trial or going to jail.
"He feels this is something he has to do," she told the Star yesterday. "I can't talk him out of it. I've tried."
Anderson said her 24-year-old son, who is married to a Canadian citizen and suffers from post-traumatic stress, is also returning because he feels it's the only way he can "heal himself up."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7815
Senate panel releases Iraq intel report
By Jim Abrams / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - There's no evidence Saddam Hussein had a relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Al-Qaida associates, according to a Senate report on prewar intelligence on Iraq. Democrats said the report undercuts President Bush's justification for going to war.
The declassified document being released Friday by the Senate Intelligence Committee also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war.
It discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates."
Bush and other administration officials have said that the presence of Zarqawi in Iraq before the war was evidence of a connection between Saddam's government and al-Qaida. Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June this year.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7818
Links to Iraq Intelligence Phase II Reports
http://intelligence.senate.gov/
Panel Set to Release Just Part of Report On Run-Up to War
Full Disclosure May Come Post-Election
By Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post
A long-awaited Senate analysis comparing the Bush administration's public statements about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein with the evidence senior officials reviewed in private remains mired in partisan recrimination and will not be released before the November elections, key senators said yesterday.
Instead, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will vote today to declassify two less controversial chapters of the panel's report, on the use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, for release as early as Friday. One chapter has concluded that Iraqi exiles in the Iraqi National Congress, who were subsidized by the U.S. government, tried to influence the views of intelligence officers analyzing Hussein's efforts to create weapons of mass destruction.
"It is clear to me, at least, that the INC information provided to the Department of Defense was misleading, that the government spent unnecessary amounts of money supporting that group, and all of that helped create bogus reasons to go to war," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a member of the intelligence committee.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7805
Top Military Lawyers Dislike Tribunal Plan
Bush's proposal to allow withholding evidence from suspects would preclude 'a full and fair hearing,' they say. GOP leaders work on a deal.
By Richard Simon / Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's proposal for bringing suspected terrorists to trial drew criticism from top military lawyers Thursday as congressional Republicans worked to bridge differences within their own ranks over the proposal.
A group of influential GOP senators who have been critical of the administration's proposal worked through the day to try to come up with a compromise. Republican leaders — looking to highlight their party's efforts in fighting terrorism in advance of the November midterm elections — are pushing for a vote on new rules for military commissions by the end of the month.
President Bush exhorted Congress on Wednesday to adopt his plan for holding trials for terrorism suspects, including the most notorious prisoners in U.S. custody. The Supreme Court in June struck down the administration's previous tribunal system.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7816
Iraq defends Arab TV channel ban
By Ibon Villelabeitia / Reuters
BAGHDAD - Iraq's government on Friday defended its decision to close the Baghdad bureau of Al Arabiya television for "sectarian" reporting, despite criticism from media bodies which called the ban an assault on press freedom.
"If al Qaeda wanted reporters to work for it, it could do no better than the reporters for Arabiya," Yasseen Majeed, media advisor to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said, a day after cabinet voted to close the channel's Baghdad bureau for a month, accusing it of promoting Sunni Muslim insurgent violence.
Arabiya, a pan-Arab satellite network watched by millions in Iraq, rejected the charges. Spokesman Nasser al-Sarami said its reporters adhered to objective reporting. He said Iraq had not informed the channel which story had prompted the ban.
"We have been trying to contact the Iraqi government on their reason ... but our calls have not been answered," he said at the station's headquarters in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7820
Local War Vets Take Fight Against Government Over DU Exposure To Court
By Dean Meminger / NY1
They fought for their country in Iraq, and now they are fighting their government over an illness that they say can be directly linked to their service. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.
A group of New York Iraq war veterans are in a battle against their own military and government, and they are hoping the Federal courts will come to their rescue.
On Wednesday a judge held a hearing to determine if the nine veterans have the right to sue because they were exposed to depleted uranium from U.S. military weapons and equipment while in Iraq.
"This is not only for us, but for every soldier that is serving in Iraq right now that has a family. This affects everyone," said veteran Agustin Matos.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7812
War turns southern women away from GOP
By Shannon McCaffrey / Associated Press
MACON, Ga. - President Bush's once-solid relationship with Southern women is on the rocks. "I think history will show him to be the worst president since Ulysses S. Grant," said Barbara Knight, a self-described Republican since birth and the mother of three. "He's been an embarrassment." In the heart of Dixie, comparisons to Grant, a symbol of the Union, is the worst sort of insult, especially from a Macon woman who voted for Bush in 2000 but turned away in 2004.
In recent years, Southern women have been some of Bush's biggest fans, defying the traditional gender gap in which women have preferred Democrats to Republicans. Bush secured a second term due in large part to support from 54 percent of Southern female voters while women nationally favored Democrat John Kerry, 51-48 percent.
"In 2004, you saw an utter collapse of the gender gap in the South," said Karen Kaufmann, a professor of government at the University of Maryland who has studied women's voting patterns. White Southern women liked Bush because "he spoke their religion and he spoke their values."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7802
Republican Rift Over Wiretapping Widens
Party at Odds on Surveillance Legislation
By Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post
Deepening Republican divisions over the future of President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program may jeopardize GOP leaders' hopes of making terrorism surveillance legislation a centerpiece of their final legislative push this month.
House and Senate Republican leaders plan to focus congressional attention almost exclusively on national security, hoping to draw clear distinctions between Republicans and Democrats ahead of the November elections. Topping the to-do list is passing legislation officially sanctioning the National Security Agency's secret wiretapping of suspected terrorist communications. The eavesdropping has been carried out without warrants since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A federal judge in Detroit recently ruled the program illegal.
Republican leaders have planned to produce legislation by month's end that would give the administration as much latitude as possible to continue the program. But that effort may be splintering. The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider as many as four contradictory bills on the issue tomorrow and could approve all of them. That would leave it to Senate leaders and the White House to sort out how to proceed.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7797
Senate rejects limits on cluster bombs
By Andrew Taylor / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday rejected a move by Democrats to stop the Pentagon from using cluster bombs near civilian targets and to cut off sales unless purchasers abide by the same rules.
On a 70-30 vote, the Senate defeated an amendment to a Pentagon budget bill to block use of the deadly munitions near populated areas. The vote came after the State Department announced last month that it is investigating whether Israel misused American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas of Lebanon.
Unexploded cluster bombs — anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area — litter homes, gardens and highways in south Lebanon after Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah militants.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., have long sought to keep cluster bombs from being used near concentrated areas of civilians. They say that as many as 40 percent of the munitions fail to detonate on impact — they can still can explode later — leaving innocent civilians and children vulnerable to injury or death long after hostilities have ceased.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7798
continued …
Arab states to push Mideast peace plan
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arab foreign ministers met Wednesday to promote a plan to revive the deadlocked Middle East peace process amid widespread Arab fears the recent war in Lebanon helped boost the influence of Iran and the militants it supports.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the 22-nation body will discuss a plan to request a ministerial meeting by the UN Security Council to advance efforts to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict, through direct talks among Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians.
Bahrain's foreign minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who chaired Wednesday's meeting in Cairo, said in an opening speech that "a credible and real effort" is needed to put the peace process back on track.
But it's unclear what - if anything - the UN is prepared to do. And reaction from Israel and the United States also so far has been tepid.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1154526017180&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Olmert, Blair to meet for talks on Middle East situation
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
JERUSALEM
A meeting between the Israeli and British prime ministers was scheduled to take place in Jerusalem on Saturday, officials said.
The meeting was set to begin the evening of a planned mass demonstration in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, in which citizens, politicians and religious leaders were to call on the government to set up a state inquiry commission to examine whether officials mishandled the war in Lebanon.
Israel's fragile truce with Hizbullah, resuming peace talks with the Palestinians and the Iranian nuclear program will be the key topics for discussion at the meeting between Israeli and British premiers Ehud Olmert and Tony Blair.
"The prime ministers will speak about Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran and the Palestinians," said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Olmert.
In London, Blair's spokesman said the British leader will focus on the aftermath of the Lebanon fighting and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but will not deliver any detailed proposals.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526037080&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Syria okays EU presence on border
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
Italian Premier Romano Prodi said Saturday that Syria's President Bashar Assad has agreed "in principle" to a deployment of unarmed EU monitors on its border to help stem the flow of weapons into Lebanon.
Russia to probe Hizbullah weapons Prodi said in a statement that he had spoken with Assad several times over the last few days. "I reminded President Assad that the European Union has significant experience in training programs for frontier guards, and that the idea of an EU mission of assistance on the border between Syria and Lebanon would be an excellent signal of cooperation between Syria and Europe," Prodi said. "President Assad gave me his accord in principle." An indication of agreement from Assad was considered significant, after he said last month in a TV interview that he would consider the deployment of international troops along the Lebanon-Syria border to be a hostile move toward his country.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526035972&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
IDF releases five Lebanese detainees
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon
IDF soldiers released five Lebanese men from custody on Saturday morning after detaining them overnight.
It was initially reported that the five men were armed, however, according to Israel Radio, the men were unarmed but had approached the soldiers on patrol there in a suspicious manner.
The five were detained in Ayta a-Shaab, a village near the border that saw heavy fighting between Hizbullah and the IDF during the 34-day war in Lebanon.
The IDF said Friday that soldiers stopped a group of men who were moving toward the Israeli border and questioned them.
Israeli forces are in the process of withdrawing from areas they seized in the south during the Lebanon war, and Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers are taking their place under the terms of a UN-brokered cease-fire that began Aug. 14.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526034746&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Work on Busheir reactor to continue
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday denied reports that Russia would stop construction on the nuclear reactor in Busheir if Iran were to expel UN IAEA nuclear inspectors, Israel Radio reported.
Head of Russia's atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, said in Moscow that the Busheir reactor would be operational within a year, and that in another six or seven months Russia would begin shipping nuclear fuel to Iran.
US Affairs: Defusing the bomb Meanwhile, Lavrov also called on Friday for an investigation to determine whether Israel used cluster bombs in its offensive in Lebanon, Russian news agencies reported. Lavrov's call for a probe came on the heels of a visit to the Middle East, where he faced Israeli charges that Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas used Russian arms supplied by Syria in their war with Israel, and appeared aimed at least in part to counter criticism over the issue. "In the interests of everybody and in the interests of turning this page for good, it is necessary to conduct such an investigation, to establish the facts and not to leave any disagreements," ITAR-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526035717&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Abbas willing to meet with Olmert
By JPOST STAFF
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he was willing to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and would not set any conditions for any such meeting.
Abbas said that efforts were continuing to be made towards the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of Palestinian security prisoners currently incarcerated in Israel, and Abbas hoped that many Palestinians would be freed as part of an exchange agreement, Israel Radio reported.
On Tuesday, Abbas told the Al-Khaleej newspaper that negotiations over the release of Shalit have not been fruitful until now. His announcement came against a backdrop of conflicting reports in the Arab media about an imminent prisoner swap between Israel and the Palestinians.
Abbas was quoted by the paper as saying that Shalit would be transferred to Egypt and held there until Israel fulfilled its part of the bargain.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526035254&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Haniyeh: Hamas gov't won't step down
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh declared on Friday that his embattled Hamas-led government had no intention of stepping down, despite a sweeping civil service strike and an economic crisis that a top UN official said has brought the Gaza Strip to a "point of near meltdown."
Hamas' takeover of the Palestinian Authority in March has provoked crushing international sanctions that have rendered the government unable to pay its 165,000 employees for the past six months.
In the widest sign of growing displeasure with Hamas, tens of thousands of teachers, health workers and other government employees launched an open-ended strike last Saturday. The work stoppage, organized in large part by the rival Fatah movement, has threatened to bring down the government.
"The government is not going to resign," Haniyeh told 2,000 worshippers at a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. "We have no thoughts of resignation or dismantling the (Palestinian) Authority."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526034195&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
'If the Torah isn't for everyone, it isn't for anyone'
By HAVIV RETTIG
Rabbi Michael Melchior wears many hats. He serves as chairman of the Knesset Education Committee, head of the Knesset caucuses for Arab-Israeli cooperation and the environment, head of the left-wing religious Meimad party, chief rabbi of Norway and rabbi of a congregation in the southern part of Jerusalem.
He is the honorary head of several non-profit organizations, participates in inter-religious dialogue that lands him in places such as Qatar and Alexandria and has initiated a chain of schools in which religious and secular children study together. For the start of the school year, Rabbi Melchior spoke to The Jerusalem Post about education in Israel, the religious-secular divide and peacemaking.
The hottest social issue right now seems to be the 2007 budget. It has been said that even though the budget presented this week (and quickly withdrawn and amended following public outrage) was merely the Finance Ministry's opening position in the negotiations, the post-war cut to released soldiers' benefits and the hike in student tuition showed a psychological disconnect from the national mood. How do you see the budget presented this week?
I truly don't understand it. Everything is ad hoc. There hasn't been a single serious discussion of what we want to do. Everything in politics is done for tomorrow's headline.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526029359&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Not making the grade
By PEGGY CIDOR
In the late Sixties, Zalman Aranne, the education minister from the Mapai Party, initiated a broad-based reform of the educational system.
"Integration," he called it. By bringing children from different backgrounds into the same schools, the minister predicted, he could accelerate Israel's melting-pot ideal and cut down the gaps between the haves and have nots in Israeli society.
Eli Haim, a retired principal of a Jerusalem school, remembers those days.
"It began in 1967, after the waves of new immigrants, after the reparations from Germany, after the terrible recession of 1964-1966. Prosperity had begun, especially in the large cities. There was a real concern that the egalitarian ethos wouldn't survive."
"Aranne, who was a true defender of socialist and egalitarian ideals, believed there was a need to bring children together - whether they were immigrants or veterans, rich or poor," Haim continues. "We didn't have 'special' schools back then, everybody studied the same [government-mandated] programs and all the kids wore uniforms."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526026386&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Asbury Park Press
Illness a legacy of 9/11
Thousands who helped at WTC have health problems
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY TODD B. BATES
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER
The Rev. Denise P. Mantell spent hundreds of volunteer hours helping people at or near the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
This year, she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
She thinks "there's probably . . . a very good possibility" that the cancer is linked to her exposure, said Mantell, a Matawan resident and rector of Trinity Episcopal Church there.
Sarah R. Atlas, a volunteer dog handler with New Jersey Task Force One, an urban search and rescue team based at Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, spent 10 days at or near ground zero immediately after the disaster.
Since then, Atlas, who lives in Camden County, has developed numerous health problems, including chronic nasal and sinus problems and a sleeping disorder.
"What's happened, happened," said Atlas, a 50-year-old emergency medical technician. "If, God forbid, I get something else down the road," medical people will identify it quickly.
When the World Trade Center towers collapsed, vast amounts of dust, smoke and gases were released into the air, and fires at ground zero burned for more than three months, emitting even more contaminants, according to studies.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080398
He did his job, and died; family ineligible for aid
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY SHANNON MULLEN
STAFF WRITER
It was their firefighter son, not their telephone worker son, whom Angelo and Frances DeBiase were most anxious about on Sept. 11.
Gary DeBiase, assigned to Ladder 109 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, was among the first responders to the World Trade Center site that day, arriving not long after the towers collapsed, killing more than 300 of his fellow firefighters. Working under extremely hazardous conditions, he stuck with the painstaking recovery effort through the end of the year — a life-changing experience he will never forget.
His brother, Mark, a resident of Jackson, had a role in the recovery effort, too, albeit a fleeting one. A cell tower technician for AT&T Wireless, he was called in to set up emergency communication equipment at ground zero on Sept. 12. He spent a total of 16 hours there, then moved on to do the same job at Staten Island's Fresh Kills landfill, where Trade Center debris was being dumped and sifted for remains and forensic evidence.
By week's end, Mark had returned to his regular duties. As time went on, he scarcely gave his recovery work a second thought, even after alarms were raised about a growing number of ground zero responders developing respiratory illnesses and other health problems believed to be caused by toxic dust and fumes at the trade center site.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080399
U.S. promises more aid for those made ill by ground zero duties
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JOHN MACHACEK
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON — The federal government promised Thursday to play a bigger role in dealing with the growing number of Sept. 11 rescue and recovery workers made sick by toxic dust at ground zero.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced that $75 million approved last year by Congress for medical treatment would be released by October. He also said top officials at his agency would begin working on a plan for treating and monitoring all affected workers.
But in a meeting with New York lawmakers and two ailing workers, Leavitt said the federal government could not bear all the burden for treating illnesses that are more widespread than previously thought. A study released Tuesday by Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City found that nearly 70 percent of 10,000 workers tested by the hospital had become sick.
"If the $75 million proves to be inadequate, the federal government will be part of a coordinated effort (with state and local governments) to solve whatever the balance of the problem there is," Leavitt told reporters later.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080394
N.J.'s business-friendly strategy aims at job growth
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JONATHAN TAMARI
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
TRENTON — Gov. Corzine promised a more coordinated and focused approach to building New Jersey's economy Thursday, outlining a plan he hopes will spark job growth and reverse perceptions about the state's supposed hostility toward business.
In what business leaders called a marked change from previous administrations, the plan relies on heavy personal involvement from the governor, who vowed to become New Jersey's "marketer in chief" in order to attract investments.
"This plan puts economic development at the top of my administration's agenda," Corzine said as he outlined his strategy in Newark at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The proposal includes two funds to boost investments in high-technology fields and help small business and minority-owned ventures, especially in cities such as Camden and Newark, although the administration has only a fraction of the money it hopes to offer.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080397
Mistake in zoning map stirs debate
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
LAKEWOOD — Property owners in a largely undeveloped southwest section of the township learned recently that they can build much more on their land than was allowed just a few years ago.
Thus, the phone calls from property owners — some angry, some sensing an opportunity to cash in — have been pouring in all week to the office of Township Committeeman Charles Cunliffe.
"It's been nonstop," said Cunliffe.
But it's also all a big mistake, he said Thursday.
When the Township Committee voted about a year ago to approve a new zoning map, there was a mix-up, Cunliffe said.
The area off Cross Street near the Jackson boundary, a more rural part of town, had been zoned to require 2-acre building lots. The new zoning reduced the minimum lot size to 1 acre. The result: Land value there has more than doubled, Cunliffe said.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080396
Senate: Saddam saw al-Qaida as threat
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/DANIEL BEREHULAK
U.S. Video
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saddam Hussein regarded al-Qaida as a threat rather than a possible ally, a Senate report says, contradicting assertions President Bush has used to build support for the war in Iraq. The report also newly faults intelligence gathering in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion.
Released Friday, the report discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor or turn a blind eye toward" al-Qaida operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or his associates.
As recently as an Aug. 21 news conference, Bush said people should "imagine a world in which you had Saddam Hussein" with the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction and "who had relations with Zarqawi."
Democrats contended that the administration continues to use faulty intelligence, including assertions of a link between Saddam's government and the recently killed al-Zarqawi, to justify the war in Iraq.
They also said, in remarks attached to Friday's Senate Intelligence Committee document, that former CIA Director George Tenet had modified his position on the terrorist link at the request of administration policymakers.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_REPORT?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Mistake in zoning map stirs debate
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/8/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
LAKEWOOD — Property owners in a largely undeveloped southwest section of the township learned recently that they can build much more on their land than was allowed just a few years ago.
Thus, the phone calls from property owners — some angry, some sensing an opportunity to cash in — have been pouring in all week to the office of Township Committeeman Charles Cunliffe.
"It's been nonstop," said Cunliffe.
But it's also all a big mistake, he said Thursday.
When the Township Committee voted about a year ago to approve a new zoning map, there was a mix-up, Cunliffe said.
The area off Cross Street near the Jackson boundary, a more rural part of town, had been zoned to require 2-acre building lots. The new zoning reduced the minimum lot size to 1 acre. The result: Land value there has more than doubled, Cunliffe said.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/NEWS/609080396>
HP chair: Board members want her to stay
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Business Writer
AP Photo/PAUL SAKUMA
Technology Video
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairwoman Patricia Dunn said Friday that several of her fellow board members want her to remain on the job despite a criminal investigation into her efforts to plug a media leak.
Dunn's crusade spawned a ruse to obtain the personal phone records of company directors and at least nine reporters. It put HP's board at the center of an imbroglio that threatens to distract the Palo Alto-based company as it tries to build on a recent run of success in the personal computer and other high-tech markets.
"I serve at the pleasure of the board," Dunn told The Associated Press in an interview. "I totally trust their judgment. If they think it would be better for me to step aside, I would do that. But a number of directors have urged me to hang in there."
Incensed by several media stories that quoted unnamed people about information shared during HP board meetings, Dunn authorized an investigation earlier this year to determine if any of the company's directors were talking out of turn.
The inquiry convinced HP that George Keyworth II had been providing reporters with confidential company information. The company is punishing him by preventing him from running for re-election to the board.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HEWLETT_PACKARD_DIRECTORS?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
NASA to try 5th launch attempt Saturday
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo
AP VIDEO
NASA Scrubs Atlantis Launch
Science Video
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- For the fourth time in two weeks, NASA nixed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, this time for a faulty fuel tank sensor - the same glitch that has thwarted two other missions.
A fifth liftoff attempt will be made at 11:15 a.m. EDT Saturday to get the spacecraft headed on a mission to resume construction of the international space station.
On Friday the six astronauts were already strapped in with the hatch closed when the space agency called off the launch with just 45 minutes to go. Although the fuel sensor had malfunctioned hours earlier, NASA wanted to keep discussing the problem before scrubbing the flight.
But they knew the odds for a liftoff weren't good. The agency has a new rule requiring a stand-down of 24 hours when one of the hydrogen tank's four engine cutoff sensors doesn't work properly; such a delay would allow engineers to gather more data on the problem.
"We had a lot of discussion. ... We follow the rules," launch director Mike Leinbach radioed Atlantis' crew, notifying them about the scrub. "Ought to feel good that we did that."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPACE_SHUTTLE?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Police close in on fugitive on FBI list
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
AP VIDEO
Manhunt Intensifies for Armed Fugitive
U.S. Video
CARROLL, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities hunting for one of the nation's most wanted men claimed to have murder suspect Ralph "Bucky" Phillips surrounded in the woods near the Pennsylvania line Friday after opening fire on him and putting dogs on his trail.
Police said they did not know whether Phillips was wounded in the shooting, and there was no sign of blood at the scene.
But state police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said officials believed they had the escaped convict trapped in an area near Carroll, about 65 miles south of Buffalo. Authorities used helicopters, roadblocks and dogs to try to close the noose.
"We believe we have him contained," Bennett said, but added, "I won't say that I'm completely convinced that this is going to come to the conclusion we want."
A 44-year-old career thief who broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April, he is suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others. Phillips, who has threatened "suicide by cop" and once promised to "splatter pig meat all over Chautauqua County," is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TROOPER_SHOT?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Atomic clocks are getting more precise
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer
Science Video
NEW YORK (AP) -- Some physicists are creating a revolution in the arcane world of ultra-precise clocks. And among them is a researcher who has trouble getting anywhere on time.
"I do tend to be a little bit late," said Jim Bergquist, 58. "Quite a bit late."
Of course, the time he focuses on professionally is far removed from the world of dinner dates and planes to catch.
Bergquist, who is with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., works with extremely accurate devices that rely on the behavior of atoms to measure time. In fact, he is working on what could be the world's most accurate such timepiece.
In Bergquist's world, a 10-billionth of a second is just too long a time between ticks of a clock. And it really makes a difference that a clock in mile-high Denver ticks faster than another at sea level. (Time itself passes more quickly when gravity is reduced.)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VERY_ACCURATE_CLOCK?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Police: Man robs bank to be 'supported'
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Police said Gaetan Roy had just lost his job, so he came up with a plan: Rob a bank, hang around, then get taken to jail to be "supported."
Roy has been charged with robbing a St. Mary's Bank. Police said he walked into the bank Friday and handed a note to the teller that said: "This is a robbery. Put all the cash into the plastic bag. No hassles, no problems."
Roy left the bank with about $1,300. When officers arrived, they found Roy in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot next to the bank, drinking an iced coffee. Police said he had the note and cash stuffed in his pockets.
"It appears he didn't make any furtive gestures," Sgt. Lloyd Doughty said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EAGER_BANK_ROBBER?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Cell phones found inside four prisoners
AP Photo/CENTROS PENALES
AP VIDEO
You Won't Believe Where Inmates Hid Phones
Advertisement
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- Cell phones, complete with a charger and data chips, were found in the body cavities of four inmates at a maximum-security prison, and they had used the phones to direct criminal activities on the street, officials said Wednesday.
The discovery was made Tuesday at the prison in Zacatecoluca, in central El Salvador, after suspicious officials took X-rays of the inmates, federal corrections chief Jaime Villanova said.
The names of the prisoners, all members of the dangerous Mara Salvatrucha gang, were not released in order to avoid jeopardizing an ongoing investigation that began a month ago, he said.
Capt. Juan Ramon Arevalo, director of the Zacatras prison, said the gang members had introduced the cell phones, wrapped in plastic bags, into their bodies through their anuses. The phones were relatively small - about as long as an adult forefinger.
Authorities also found nine cell phone chips, each slightly larger than a fingernail, and one charger.
"Each one had a cellular with a number of chips," Arevalo said, adding that one also had hidden a charger in his anal cavity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTESTINAL_PHONES?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Wie misses another men's tournament cut
AP Photo/OLIVIER MAIRE
News Video
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland (AP) -- Michelle Wie didn't just fail to make the cut in her latest men's tournament. She finished dead last. Wie struggled to an 8-over 79 Friday at the European Masters, missing the cut at a men's event for the ninth time in 10 attempts.
The 16-year-old from Hawaii, who shot a 78 in Thursday's first round, finished at 15-over 157 - last of the 152 players who completed 36 holes. She was 22 shots off the lead shared by Andrew McLardy (65), Bradley Dredge (67) and Marcel Siem (67).
"I'm still in shock," Wie said. "I didn't know what sport I was playing out there. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed again. I really just couldn't get anything going."
After bogeys on her first two holes Friday, Wie took double-bogey 7s on successive par-5s. Starting her round at the 10th, she hit her third shot into the middle of the lake at the 598-yard 14th.
Then Wie drove out of bounds at the 15th.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GLF_EUROPEAN_MASTERS?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Man's gun fires in Wal-Mart bathroom
HUDSON, N.H. (AP) -- A Nashua man faces a felony reckless conduct charge after his gun discharged in a Wal-Mart bathroom, striking the ceiling and scaring an employee in the next stall.
Charles Masterson, 36, said he pointed his gun toward the ceiling because he had been taught that was the safest thing to do when it wasn't being used.
The precaution backfired when the gun discharged Tuesday night while Masterson was in the bathroom.
Police charged him for putting the teenage employee in danger. Masterson's 13-year-old son also was in the bathroom.
Masterson was jailed overnight, but released on personal recognizance Wednesday after his arraignment in Nashua District Court.
Masterson said he had been carrying the Glock 9mm pistol in his waistband.
The Wal-Mart employee, Adam Carew, 17, of Dracut, Mass., told police he was in the handicapped accessible stall when he heard the gunshot. Carew said he ran out and saw Masterson's son covering his ears.
Carew told police Masterson walked out of his stall, put the gun in his pants and just walked right out of the bathroom like nothing happened.
Buy AP Photo Reprints
Wal-Mart employees called police.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BATHROOM_GUNFIRE?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Police close in on fugitive on FBI list
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
AP VIDEO
Manhunt Intensifies for Armed Fugitive
U.S. Video
CARROLL, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities hunting for one of the nation's most wanted men claimed to have murder suspect Ralph "Bucky" Phillips surrounded in the woods near the Pennsylvania line Friday after opening fire on him and putting dogs on his trail.
Police said they did not know whether Phillips was wounded in the shooting, and there was no sign of blood at the scene.
But state police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said officials believed they had the escaped convict trapped in an area near Carroll, about 65 miles south of Buffalo. Authorities used helicopters, roadblocks and dogs to try to close the noose.
"We believe we have him contained," Bennett said, but added, "I won't say that I'm completely convinced that this is going to come to the conclusion we want."
A 44-year-old career thief who broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April, he is suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others. Phillips, who has threatened "suicide by cop" and once promised to "splatter pig meat all over Chautauqua County," is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TROOPER_SHOT?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Coffee, tea or your choice of 20 movies?
Airlines are installing additional screens and offering more movies to attract customers for their longer, more lucrative flights.
BY Jeff Kearns / The Dallas Morning News
Airlines offer more movie choices
As program manager for in-flight entertainment at American Airlines, Robert D'Avignon faced a difficult choice this summer with the action thriller Mission: Impossible III.
Book a blockbuster or risk upsetting passengers?
''We tend to be a bit more conservative,'' said D'Avignon, who decided against playing the film on overhead screens because it contained too much violence.
Nevertheless, the carrier deemed an edited version of the Tom Cruise film acceptable for viewing on its personal, in-seat screens.
More and more, airline officials are balancing their concerns about offending customers with orthodox taste in movies against the desire to please passengers by offering a greater selection of films.
It's all part of a major shift in how airlines think about the $1.75 billion-a-year industry for in-flight entertainment.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7784
Rock the Vote
http://www.rockthevote.com/2006-voter-registration-deadlines.php
Camp Democracy
On September 5th, we launched a non-partisan camp for peace, democracy, and the restoration of the rule of law. Camp Casey moved from Crawford, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to create a larger camp focused not only on ending the war but also on righting injustices here at home and on holding accountable the Bush Administration and Congress. Here's the schedule of what's happening each day from now till September 21st. Here are free rooms and rides. If you can send a bus and need help paying for it, ask us. If you need help filling it, post it on the board. In Spanish: Campamento de la Democracia.
http://www.campdemocracy.org/
Hill promises to change health care system, war
Democrat vows to bring troops home with honor
By Chris Freiberg / Indiana Daily Student
Baron Hill, Democratic candidate for the 9th Congressional District, addressed the IU College Democrats Wednesday and promised change if re-elected to Congress.
Hill is facing Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th, for the third time in what is expected to be another close race. In 2002, Hill won the seat by fewer than 500 votes. In 2004, Sodrel won the seat by fewer than 1,500 votes.
Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg is also running.
Hill held the seat from 1998 until 2004 defeat.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 200 in Jordan Hall, Hill touched on a variety of topics, including health care reform, the war in Iraq and ethics.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=168
Florida Primary Showing Bodes Ill for Harris
Against three political unknowns, the onetime GOP star gets 49% of the vote in Senate bid.
By Carol J. Williams / Los Angeles Times
MIAMI — Rep. Katherine Harris, the controversial one-time Republican hero, collected less than half the party's vote Tuesday in winning her Senate primary race against three political unknowns, foreshadowing a tough November face-off with Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.
Harris' 49% showing reflected her growing unpopularity within the party after a campaign replete with gaffes and questions about her integrity. Nelson, who had no primary challenger, leads in opinion polls by 40 percentage points and has amassed a $16-million war chest — twice the amount of Harris' contributions.
In the hotly contested race to replace Gov. Jeb Bush, the costliest in Florida history, moderate Republican Charlie Crist ran away with the primary with 64% of the vote over 33% for challenger and religious-right choice Tom Gallagher.
In the Democratic contest, Rep. Jim Davis outpolled state Sen. Rod Smith 47% to 41%, despite an eleventh-hour spending blitz by the state's powerful sugar lobby on behalf of the underdog.
The four men seeking to succeed Bush in the governor's mansion spent more than $30 million, on top of lavish outlays for attack ads by soft-money supporters.
Crist's decisive victory suggests that Florida Republicans have moved toward the political center, as Gallagher cast himself as the more conservative choice, campaigning on his staunch opposition to abortion, legalized gay unions, stem cell research and stricter gun controls.
But Florida voters rate those issues of less importance than education, immigration and the economy, and Gallagher's attempts to label Crist a closet liberal apparently failed to sway them.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=167
GOP relying on terror card to save party in November
By Thomas M. DeFrank / New York Daily News
WASHINGTON — President Bush and the Republicans expect a stinging defeat in November, but they're betting the terror card saves them from an electoral debacle.
"The security issue trumps everything," a senior Bush official said last week. "That's why even though they're really mad at us, in the end they're going to give us another two years."
Nevertheless, many other senior Bush loyalists privately believe anti-Iraq and anti-Bush sentiment will cost the Republicans the House nine weeks from today, a doomsday scenario that would cripple Bush for his final two years in office.
"We'll lose the House," one of the party's most prominent officials flatly predicted, "and the president will be dead in the water for two years."
Even a perennially optimistic senior Bush strategist conceded, "I'm pretty worried about it. The House is not looking good."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=166
Vanishing Act
Friend arrested for false reporting in disappearance of Lance Hering
By Christine Reid / Daily Camera
The friend of a Boulder Marine reported missing after a hiking accident last week confessed to authorities that they concocted the story so the soldier could get out of returning to duty.
Lance Hering, a 21-year-old lance corporal, went missing Aug. 30. His friend, Steve Powers, told authorities he and Hering went for a hike after dark in Eldorado Canyon State Park and Hering fell, struck his head and lost consciousness.
When he regained consciousness four hours later, Powers said, he went to get help and returned with rescuers to find Hering gone.
Powers, 20, of Boulder, admitted to Boulder County Sheriff's Office deputies late Wednesday night that the story was a ruse concocted weeks ago.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7811
Update on Attempts to Locate Missing Person Lance Hering - 09/08/06
This media release provides supplemental information regarding the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office on-going investigation into the staged disappearance of 21 year-old Lance Hering, of Boulder. Previous media releases detailing the incident may be found on the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office web-site at www.bouldersheriff.org
The Sheriff’s Office is seeking the issuance of a warrant for Mr. Hering’s arrest on a charge of False Reporting to Authorities, a misdemeanor. Steve Powers, Mr. Hering’s alleged co-conspirator in the incident, was arrested Wednesday evening on the same charge and booked and released at the Boulder County Jail. False Reporting to Authorities (CRS 18-8-111) is a Class 3 Misdemeanor and carries penalties upon conviction ranging from a minimum fine of $50.00 to a maximum of six months in Jail and/or a $750.00 fine. The Sheriff’s Office will also seek restitution for the as-yet undetermined costs of conducting a five-day air and ground search for Mr. Hering as a condition of any verdict or plea agreement.
http://www.co.boulder.co.us/sheriff/hering.htm
"I think the public is looking at anyone who goes AWOL as cowards and it goes much deeper than that."
Family Says AWOL Soldier's Decision 'Went Deeper'
Tough Question: What Makes Someone Desert The Military?
Alan Gionet / CBS4
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The family of a soldier from Colorado said the issue of service members going AWOL is much more complicated than many people make it seem.
CBS4 asked the tough question: What makes someone desert the military?
"I think the public is looking at anyone who goes AWOL as cowards and it goes much deeper than that," Rebecca Barker said.
Barker is the mother of Mark Wilkerson. Wilkerson is a young Specialist from Colorado Springs who had actually talked his family into letting him join the Army.
Then he decided he wanted out after his unit was told they'd be going back to Iraq a second time.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7814
"I can't talk him out of it. I've tried."
Deserter defies mom in return to U.S.
Iraqi war vet faces court martial, jail, in bid to speak out against Bush
Mother `can't talk him out of it' but understands need to `heal himself'
By Phinjo Gombu / Toronto Star
Darrell Anderson, a U.S. Army deserter who fought in Iraq and sought refugee status in Toronto, has decided to return home and face a possible court-martial — against his mother's wishes.
Anita Anderson said her son, whose life has been pretty "messed up" by his Iraqi experience, believes he has to speak out against President George W. Bush in the United States, even if it means a trial or going to jail.
"He feels this is something he has to do," she told the Star yesterday. "I can't talk him out of it. I've tried."
Anderson said her 24-year-old son, who is married to a Canadian citizen and suffers from post-traumatic stress, is also returning because he feels it's the only way he can "heal himself up."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7815
Senate panel releases Iraq intel report
By Jim Abrams / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - There's no evidence Saddam Hussein had a relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Al-Qaida associates, according to a Senate report on prewar intelligence on Iraq. Democrats said the report undercuts President Bush's justification for going to war.
The declassified document being released Friday by the Senate Intelligence Committee also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war.
It discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates."
Bush and other administration officials have said that the presence of Zarqawi in Iraq before the war was evidence of a connection between Saddam's government and al-Qaida. Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June this year.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7818
Links to Iraq Intelligence Phase II Reports
http://intelligence.senate.gov/
Panel Set to Release Just Part of Report On Run-Up to War
Full Disclosure May Come Post-Election
By Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post
A long-awaited Senate analysis comparing the Bush administration's public statements about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein with the evidence senior officials reviewed in private remains mired in partisan recrimination and will not be released before the November elections, key senators said yesterday.
Instead, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will vote today to declassify two less controversial chapters of the panel's report, on the use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, for release as early as Friday. One chapter has concluded that Iraqi exiles in the Iraqi National Congress, who were subsidized by the U.S. government, tried to influence the views of intelligence officers analyzing Hussein's efforts to create weapons of mass destruction.
"It is clear to me, at least, that the INC information provided to the Department of Defense was misleading, that the government spent unnecessary amounts of money supporting that group, and all of that helped create bogus reasons to go to war," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a member of the intelligence committee.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7805
Top Military Lawyers Dislike Tribunal Plan
Bush's proposal to allow withholding evidence from suspects would preclude 'a full and fair hearing,' they say. GOP leaders work on a deal.
By Richard Simon / Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's proposal for bringing suspected terrorists to trial drew criticism from top military lawyers Thursday as congressional Republicans worked to bridge differences within their own ranks over the proposal.
A group of influential GOP senators who have been critical of the administration's proposal worked through the day to try to come up with a compromise. Republican leaders — looking to highlight their party's efforts in fighting terrorism in advance of the November midterm elections — are pushing for a vote on new rules for military commissions by the end of the month.
President Bush exhorted Congress on Wednesday to adopt his plan for holding trials for terrorism suspects, including the most notorious prisoners in U.S. custody. The Supreme Court in June struck down the administration's previous tribunal system.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7816
Iraq defends Arab TV channel ban
By Ibon Villelabeitia / Reuters
BAGHDAD - Iraq's government on Friday defended its decision to close the Baghdad bureau of Al Arabiya television for "sectarian" reporting, despite criticism from media bodies which called the ban an assault on press freedom.
"If al Qaeda wanted reporters to work for it, it could do no better than the reporters for Arabiya," Yasseen Majeed, media advisor to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said, a day after cabinet voted to close the channel's Baghdad bureau for a month, accusing it of promoting Sunni Muslim insurgent violence.
Arabiya, a pan-Arab satellite network watched by millions in Iraq, rejected the charges. Spokesman Nasser al-Sarami said its reporters adhered to objective reporting. He said Iraq had not informed the channel which story had prompted the ban.
"We have been trying to contact the Iraqi government on their reason ... but our calls have not been answered," he said at the station's headquarters in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7820
Local War Vets Take Fight Against Government Over DU Exposure To Court
By Dean Meminger / NY1
They fought for their country in Iraq, and now they are fighting their government over an illness that they say can be directly linked to their service. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.
A group of New York Iraq war veterans are in a battle against their own military and government, and they are hoping the Federal courts will come to their rescue.
On Wednesday a judge held a hearing to determine if the nine veterans have the right to sue because they were exposed to depleted uranium from U.S. military weapons and equipment while in Iraq.
"This is not only for us, but for every soldier that is serving in Iraq right now that has a family. This affects everyone," said veteran Agustin Matos.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7812
War turns southern women away from GOP
By Shannon McCaffrey / Associated Press
MACON, Ga. - President Bush's once-solid relationship with Southern women is on the rocks. "I think history will show him to be the worst president since Ulysses S. Grant," said Barbara Knight, a self-described Republican since birth and the mother of three. "He's been an embarrassment." In the heart of Dixie, comparisons to Grant, a symbol of the Union, is the worst sort of insult, especially from a Macon woman who voted for Bush in 2000 but turned away in 2004.
In recent years, Southern women have been some of Bush's biggest fans, defying the traditional gender gap in which women have preferred Democrats to Republicans. Bush secured a second term due in large part to support from 54 percent of Southern female voters while women nationally favored Democrat John Kerry, 51-48 percent.
"In 2004, you saw an utter collapse of the gender gap in the South," said Karen Kaufmann, a professor of government at the University of Maryland who has studied women's voting patterns. White Southern women liked Bush because "he spoke their religion and he spoke their values."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7802
Republican Rift Over Wiretapping Widens
Party at Odds on Surveillance Legislation
By Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post
Deepening Republican divisions over the future of President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program may jeopardize GOP leaders' hopes of making terrorism surveillance legislation a centerpiece of their final legislative push this month.
House and Senate Republican leaders plan to focus congressional attention almost exclusively on national security, hoping to draw clear distinctions between Republicans and Democrats ahead of the November elections. Topping the to-do list is passing legislation officially sanctioning the National Security Agency's secret wiretapping of suspected terrorist communications. The eavesdropping has been carried out without warrants since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A federal judge in Detroit recently ruled the program illegal.
Republican leaders have planned to produce legislation by month's end that would give the administration as much latitude as possible to continue the program. But that effort may be splintering. The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider as many as four contradictory bills on the issue tomorrow and could approve all of them. That would leave it to Senate leaders and the White House to sort out how to proceed.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7797
Senate rejects limits on cluster bombs
By Andrew Taylor / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday rejected a move by Democrats to stop the Pentagon from using cluster bombs near civilian targets and to cut off sales unless purchasers abide by the same rules.
On a 70-30 vote, the Senate defeated an amendment to a Pentagon budget bill to block use of the deadly munitions near populated areas. The vote came after the State Department announced last month that it is investigating whether Israel misused American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas of Lebanon.
Unexploded cluster bombs — anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area — litter homes, gardens and highways in south Lebanon after Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah militants.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., have long sought to keep cluster bombs from being used near concentrated areas of civilians. They say that as many as 40 percent of the munitions fail to detonate on impact — they can still can explode later — leaving innocent civilians and children vulnerable to injury or death long after hostilities have ceased.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7798
continued …
Enthalpy - heat transfer - water vapor is a gas
September 8, 2006.
1130z.
UNISYS GOES East Satellite.
The storm in question of course is Florence. It's not packing much of a punch. Normally, a storm of these dynamics would have accelerated to far higher velocities than a 'Tropical Storm' status. Do to the low level of humidity in the troposphere this storm season cannot capture enough heat in water vapor to manifest high velocities to return heat to the oceans. In other words the 'surface' of earth has gotten hot enough to vaporize it's humidity.
Florence is 'supported' by a very wide swath of ocean. The last time a storm was this size was Floyd. It measured something like 500 miles across. However. Floyd was well supported in velocity and 'heat transfer' dynamics with dense cloud mass.
Moral to this entry: Earth is losing it's ability to stay cool to support biotic life. If one refers to the storm season of 1998. It occurred in similar fashion to this season. However. It had higher water vapor density in the troposphere and higher velocity storms. BOTH, these years were under the influence of Human Induced Global Warming. HOWEVER. 2006 is eight years further down the timeline.
"Got it ?!"
This report is from Reuters
Tropical Storm Florence nears Bermuda
Thu Sep 7, 2006 5:45 PM ET
By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Florence will send dangerous swells over the eastern U.S. coastline as the unusually broad cyclone churns northwest in the Atlantic toward Bermuda, forecasters warned on Thursday.
The sixth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before its center passes west of Bermuda early next week, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Florence was over the open sea and expected to turn away from the United States. But it was an unusually large storm more than 1,000 miles wide. Forecasters said it would roil the surf along the eastern U.S. shore, make swimming dangerous and erode beaches.
"Since the wind field is so large, it will send a swell out ahead of the system. That looks like it will affect much of the east coast Sunday into Monday," said Mark Willis, a meteorologist at the hurricane center. "It means dangerous surf conditions."
The storm's center was about 1,015 miles southeast of Bermuda. Florence was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph) and had top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).
It would become the season's second hurricane if its top sustained winds hit 74 mph (119 kph), and was expected to reach that threshold by Saturday.
Computer tracking models projected Florence would hook sharply north and turn away from the United States during the weekend. It was too early to predict the potential impact on Bermuda, but the storm's vast size made it likely the British banking center would at least feel the fringes of the storm by Monday.
"Bermuda is in the cone of uncertainty at this point," Willis said.
The six-month hurricane season that began on June 1 has produced only one hurricane. Tropical Storm Ernesto briefly reached hurricane strength near Haiti last month but weakened before drenching the U.S. East Coast.
The 2005 season broke records with 28 tropical storms, of which 15 became hurricanes. The worst was Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, killed some 1,500 people along the U.S. Gulf Coast and caused $80 billion in damage.
Forecasters had predicted this hurricane season would be busier than average, but most trimmed their predictions amid early signs of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which impedes hurricane formation in the Atlantic.
Thu Sep 7, 2006 5:45 PM ET
By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Florence will send dangerous swells over the eastern U.S. coastline as the unusually broad cyclone churns northwest in the Atlantic toward Bermuda, forecasters warned on Thursday.
The sixth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before its center passes west of Bermuda early next week, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Florence was over the open sea and expected to turn away from the United States. But it was an unusually large storm more than 1,000 miles wide. Forecasters said it would roil the surf along the eastern U.S. shore, make swimming dangerous and erode beaches.
"Since the wind field is so large, it will send a swell out ahead of the system. That looks like it will affect much of the east coast Sunday into Monday," said Mark Willis, a meteorologist at the hurricane center. "It means dangerous surf conditions."
The storm's center was about 1,015 miles southeast of Bermuda. Florence was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph) and had top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).
It would become the season's second hurricane if its top sustained winds hit 74 mph (119 kph), and was expected to reach that threshold by Saturday.
Computer tracking models projected Florence would hook sharply north and turn away from the United States during the weekend. It was too early to predict the potential impact on Bermuda, but the storm's vast size made it likely the British banking center would at least feel the fringes of the storm by Monday.
"Bermuda is in the cone of uncertainty at this point," Willis said.
The six-month hurricane season that began on June 1 has produced only one hurricane. Tropical Storm Ernesto briefly reached hurricane strength near Haiti last month but weakened before drenching the U.S. East Coast.
The 2005 season broke records with 28 tropical storms, of which 15 became hurricanes. The worst was Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, killed some 1,500 people along the U.S. Gulf Coast and caused $80 billion in damage.
Forecasters had predicted this hurricane season would be busier than average, but most trimmed their predictions amid early signs of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which impedes hurricane formation in the Atlantic.
Morning Papers - continued
The Newport News Daily Press
Surveying storm damage
Government officials are out to assess Hampton Roads' damage from Ernesto to help Gov. Kaine decide whether to seek federal disaster dollars.
BY MATHEW PAUST
757-247-4760
September 8, 2006
GLOUCESTER -- Someone asked Samantha West if she knew she was going to have a party.
"If I knew, I'd have thrown a barbeque," said West, standing between her small home and her grandmother's slightly larger, cinderblock house. Piled in the yards around both homes were waterlogged household furnishings that were ruined last week by flooding from the remnants of Ernesto.
The conversation with West took place moments after a convoy of media and government vehicles pulled up in front of these two devastated homes Thursday in the flood-prone section of Gloucester County known as Guinea. Television crews bristling with cameras and microphones swarmed out of their trucks to the ravaged dwellings, followed by men and women with more deliberate agendas.
The official visitors represented federal, state and local agencies conducting a damage assessment of the region. Their findings over the next several days could prompt an outflow of federal funds to help people get back on their feet.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-21156sy0sep08,0,2264542.story?coll=dp-widget-news
PHOTO GALLERY: ERNESTO
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-ernesto-pg,0,1203455.photogallery?coll=dp-widget-news
Eustis chief: Iraq post-war plan muzzled
Army Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, an early planner of the war, tells about challenges of invasion and rebuilding.
BY STEPHANIE HEINATZ
247-7821
September 8 2006
FORT EUSTIS -- Months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq, the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps said Thursday.
In fact, said Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, Rumsfeld said "he would fire the next person" who talked about the need for a post-war plan.
Rumsfeld did replace Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff in 2003, after Shinseki told Congress that hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to secure post-war Iraq.
Scheid, who is also the commander of Fort Eustis in Newport News, made his comments in an interview with the Daily Press. He retires in about three weeks.
Scheid doesn't go so far as calling for Rumsfeld to resign. He's listened as other retired generals have done so.
"Everybody has a right to their opinion," he said. "But what good did it do?"
Scheid's comments are further confirmation of the version of events reported in "Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq," the book by New York Times reporter Michael R. Gordon and retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor.
In 2001, Scheid was a colonel with the Central Command, the unit that oversees U.S. military operations in the Mideast.
On Sept. 10, 2001, he was selected to be the chief of logistics war plans.
On Sept. 11, 2001, he said, "life just went to hell."
That day, Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of Central Command, told his planners, including Scheid, to "get ready to go to war."
A day or two later, Rumsfeld was "telling us we were going to war in Afghanistan and to start building the war plan. We were going to go fast.
"Then, just as we were barely into Afghanistan ... Rumsfeld came and told us to get ready for Iraq."
Scheid said he remembers everyone thinking, "My gosh, we're in the middle of Afghanistan, how can we possibly be doing two at one time? How can we pull this off? It's just going to be too much."
Planning was kept very hush-hush in those early days.
"There was only a handful of people, maybe five or six, that were involved with that plan because it had to be kept very, very quiet."
There was already an offensive plan in place for Iraq, Scheid said. And in the beginning, the planners were just expanding on it.
"Whether we were going to execute it, we had no idea," Scheid said.
Eventually other military agencies - like the transportation and Army materiel commands - had to get involved.
They couldn't just "keep planning this in the dark," Scheid said.
Planning continued to be a challenge.
"The secretary of defense continued to push on us ... that everything we write in our plan has to be the idea that we are going to go in, we're going to take out the regime, and then we're going to leave," Scheid said. "We won't stay."
Scheid said the planners continued to try "to write what was called Phase 4," or the piece of the plan that included post-invasion operations like occupation.
Even if the troops didn't stay, "at least we have to plan for it," Scheid said.
"I remember the secretary of defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that," Scheid said. "We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today.
"He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war."
Why did Rumsfeld think that? Scheid doesn't know.
"But think back to those times. We had done Bosnia. We said we were going into Bosnia and stop the fighting and come right out. And we stayed."
Was Rumsfeld right or wrong?
Scheid said he doesn't know that either.
"In his own mind he thought we could go in and fight and take out the regime and come out. But a lot of us planners were having a real hard time with it because we were also thinking we can't do this. Once you tear up a country you have to stay and rebuild it. It was very challenging."
Even if the people who laid out the initial war plans had fleshed out post-invasion missions, the fighting and insurgent attacks going on today would have been hard to predict, Scheid said.
"We really thought that after the collapse of the regime we were going to do all these humanitarian type things," he said. "We thought this would go pretty fast and we'd be able to get out of there. We really didn't anticipate them to continue to fight the way they did or come back the way they are.
"Now we're going more toward a civil war. We didn't see that coming."
While Scheid, a soldier since 1977, spoke candidly about the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq, he remains concerned about the American public's view of the troops.
He's bothered by the nationwide divide over the war and fearful that patriotism among citizens will continue to decline.
"We're really hurting right now," he said.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-21075sy0sep08,0,2264542.story?coll=dp-widget-news
Irresistible Merrill Lynch may hit immovable wall
By Andrew Leckey
Tribune Media Services columnist
September 3, 2006
Q: What's your opinion of my shares of Merrill Lynch & Co.? The company seems to be doing really well. --K.T., via the Internet
A: To quote a market adage: Trees don't grow to the sky.
Despite recent dramatic success, it seems inevitable that the largest U.S. brokerage firm, with offices in 36 countries, will encounter some fits and starts because that's simply the way that the financial markets operate.
Shares of Merrill Lynch (MER) are up 10 percent this year following last year's 13 percent gain, a 2 percent gain in 2004 and a 54 percent jump in 2003. Earnings in its most recent quarter rose 44percent, boosted by strong results in its investment banking and brokerage businesses.
Stanley O'Neal, chief executive since December 2002, has partnered with MBNA to issue credit cards. He has expanded mortgage and middle-market lending and invested heavily in improving technology capabilities. A true believer, O'Neal personally owns a million Merrill Lynch shares. His total stake is 3 million shares when options are included.
http://www.dailypress.com/sns-yourmoney-0903leckey,0,4291944.story
Crabber red runs in his veins
From ballboy to "utility player," Hampton's Matthew Mitchell fulfills a lifelong dream of being a Crabber.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
September 8, 2006
HAMPTON -- He's been wearing the uniform his whole life, it seems. If only they made diapers in Crabber red.
Matthew Mitchell didn't grow up around Hampton High football, he grew up smack-dab in the middle of it. When he was 6 months old, the Crabbers lost in the state championship game. Somehow, you know he cried a little harder that day. When he was 5 years old, Hampton won its first of four consecutive titles. He was the team's ballboy.
One of his parents' favorite scrapbook items is a picture of Matthew, then 6, decked out in his Crabber uniform - shoulder pads, helmet, the whole bit. Kneeling across from him, poised for the tackle, is star quarterback Ronald Curry.
"Matthew knows the tradition," said his father, Danny, a longtime Hampton assistant coach. "When you hear it all your life, you're either going to rebel against it or absorb it. He absorbed it."
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-20925sy0sep08,0,6079561.story
Fishing reports from around the area
By Don Lancaster
Correspondent
September 8, 2006res
Have a great catch you want to show off? The Daily Press would love to see it. Please send a photo of your big fish to suthrncstm@aol.com. Each submission must include your full name, the species of fish with its weight and length, and when and where it was caught. Horizontal photos should be 500 pixels wide while vertical photos should be 425 pixels tall. We'll post the best ones in this photo gallery.
Tropical Depression Ernesto, arriving over the Labor Day Weekend, was an angling disaster. As a result, this week's report is somewhat abbreviated.
Temperatures below were obtained at noon on the respective dates:
http://www.dailypress.com/dp-sports-fishing,0,2270434.htmlstory
Lone survivor
Published September 8 2006
Q: Who was Lake Drummond - in the Great Dismal Swamp - named after?
A: The lake, part of the Great Dismal Swamp, is named for William Drummond, a 17th-century governor of North Carolina. American Heritage Magazine, in a 2002 article, offered this legend: [He] got lost in the swamp with a group of hunters. All but Drummond perished. He eventually staggered out ragged, hungry, and full of descriptions of a vast body of water deep in the swamp." Other sources say he was the first European to "explore" the lake. Drummond was one of the key players in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, and was executed later that year.
http://www.dailypress.com/dp-21076cm0sep08a,0,2356300.column
What's in it?
From Prozac to pesticides, chemicals are showing up in the water
September 8, 2006
Don't drink the water - is that the lesson coming out of strange developments in Virginia rivers?
First, a few years ago, mutant fish appeared in a branch of the Potomac River up in West Virginia, mutant in what our tender minds might consider the worst way: Their sexual anatomy was confused. Male fish harbored eggs.
Then intersex fish showed up in Maryland. And now, according to a Washington Post story, they've been found in the main branch of the Potomac around Washington, D.C., and in tributaries throughout that region.
Scientists, being the cautious souls they are, haven't decided what is causing the fish to cross gender lines. But speculation has brought to light the fact that water can contain stuff we might not want to be drinking. Not just pathogens and bacteria. Water treatment plants pretty well eliminate them. But stuff that people and animals ingest, which then makes its way, via agricultural runoff or discharges from sewage treatment plants, into our rivers and streams and our water supplies.
Stuff like hormones in contraceptives, hormone replacement medications and agricultural supplements. It has to go somewhere. And when it does, it may be mixing with the remains of Viagra.
Then there's all that Prozac.
Not to mention herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, all the assorted stuff industry uses and discharges, and the ordinary chemicals we use around the house.
Want more to think about? Try steroids, caffeine, insect repellents, disinfectants and fire retardants.
Unless it's removed by sewage treatment plants - which many of these substances aren't - what goes into a human or animal and is excreted, what goes down a pipe, comes out in rivers and streams.
Scientists at the United States Geological Survey found, generally at low levels, prescription and nonprescription drugs, hormones and what they call other organic "wastewater compounds" in the vast majority of the streams they studied across the nation. They concluded that "many such compounds can enter the environment, disperse, and persist to a greater extent than first anticipated."
Other researchers have made similar findings, like those who found a cholesterol-lowering drug in a groundwater reservoir in Phoenix. In Canada, drugs used to treat cancer, psychiatric conditions and inflammation turned up in water leaving sewage treatment plants. Streams around Kansas City contain substances from codeine to caffeine, ibuprofen to disinfectants. Doesn't that just make your day?
The Geological Survey is continuing to explore the sources, occurrence, transport and effects of these "emerging contaminants," a phrase that suggests that new sources of worry are looming ahead. In the meantime, the general manager of the Washington Aqueduct, which processes Potomac River water into drinking water, admits neither he nor anyone else knows whether the substances that are messing with fish have an effect on people. Water experts seem to think that humans, being larger, different and not water-dwellers, may be less susceptible.
So there's one consolation. You can be glad you're not a fish - of either or both genders.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-19644sy0sep08,0,4360940.story?coll=dp-opinion-editorials
Mail and Guardian
Vlok: 'My role in dirty war'
Yolandi Groenewald and Tumi Makgetla Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 07:56
Apartheid law and order minister Adriaan Vlok this week shed new light on his involvement in the dirty war against activists in the 1980s — including signing pre-drafted letters thanking policemen for carrying out assassinations.
In a wide-ranging, two-hour interview at the Mail & Guardian’s offices, Vlok also admitted using words like “eliminate” in motivating policemen to crack down on political troublemakers.
And he described former president PW Botha’s "intense interest" in security and central role in getting police to maak ’n plan (sort out) unrest. Botha had congratulated Vlok for police operations, including the bombing of the South African Council of Churches’ Khotso House headquarters in Johannesburg.
And it emerged this week that he had extended his journey of repentance by washing the feet of 10 widows and mothers of the “Mamelodi 10”, who were lured to their deaths by police agent Joe Mamasela. Their bodies were burned and buried in a field in Winterveld, near Pretoria, where the remains were recently found and identified by the National Prosecuting Agency.
However, Vlok remained adamant that he had nothing more to tell and that he could not “lie” to satisfy victims’ demands for information.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283479&area=/insight/insight__national/
UCT defends 'extreme' admissions policy
Sumayya Ismail Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 11:47
Whether through employment or education, transformation and affirmative action strategies have become part of daily life in South Africa, and recent media attention on the admissions policies of the University of Cape Town (UCT) has raised some important questions.
Specifically, are these measures vital to atone for the apartheid past or are they just another form of discrimination, aimed at a different group of people?
Following a bout of letters published in Cape Town newspapers last week, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon attacked the university's policies in his column on SA Today, criticising its use of race as a primary admissions requirement to certain medical and law degrees.
UCT assesses its undergraduate applicants based on a points system -- similar to that used by other South African tertiary institutions. Unlike other institutions, however, UCT's 2007 admission requirements clearly distinguish between different race groups in stipulating the number of points required for specific degrees.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283565&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
UN warns of 'catastrophe' in Darfur
Richard Waddington Geneva, Switzerland
08 September 2006 11:40
Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region faces a humanitarian "catastrophe" without rapid action to improve security and let aid flow to those in need, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.
The warning by UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres followed a similar cry of alarm by top UN humanitarian official Jan Egeland last month.
"Hundreds are still dying amid ongoing violence, and thousands are being forcibly displaced ... If things do not improve, we are heading for a major catastrophe," Guterres said in a statement.
The Sudanese government rejects UN plans to deploy 20 000 troops and police to the Darfur region by year-end, likening it to a Western invasion that would attract jihadi militants and create an Iraq-like quagmire.
Khartoum has deployed thousands of troops to the region in recent months to confront rebels who refused to sign a peace accord, and the UNHCR said this had triggered fears of a major military offensive that could create yet more refugees.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=283577
Ethiopia: We stopped rebel hit squad
Les Neuhaus Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
08 September 2006 12:51
Ethiopia said it has arrested nine members of a rebel hit squad that was planning to assassinate government leaders, state media reported on Friday.
The suspects were working for the rebel Oromo Liberation Front, which has been fighting for greater autonomy in southern Ethiopia, the National Intelligence and Security Service said.
The Oromo make up a third of Ethiopia's 75-million people, and have been the centre of dissent against the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Merera Gudina, head of the Oromo National Congress, said he was sceptical of the government's claims. On Monday, he said the Ethiopian government had detained without charge more than 250 members of the Oromo ethnic group. The latest arrests came Thursday.
"The problem is that no one has been brought into court yet, so the public has not been able to see them with their own eyes," Merera said.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283623&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
Uganda peace talks stall
Juba, Sudan
08 September 2006 12:51
The expected resumption of peace talks between Uganda and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has stalled as mediators try to build on a landmark truce, officials said on Friday.
Negotiations had been due to resume this week after the truce took effect on August 29, but mediators are reluctant to bring the sides together again until major gaps on contentious post-conflict issues are narrowed, they said.
Although the cessation of hostilities accord appears to be holding, rebel fighters have yet to gather at camps in southern Sudan as they are to do under the pact, and Ugandan and LRA officials have traded barbs in recent days.
Kampala and the rebels both insist they are committed to ending the brutal, two-decade war that has ravaged northern Uganda, but sticking points over how to proceed have kept them from resuming direct discussions, officials said.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=283609
Putin takes Africa diplomacy drive to Morocco
Lamine Ghanmi Casablanca, Morocco
07 September 2006 04:44
President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's main African trading partner, Morocco, on Thursday, seeking to widen his sphere of political influence on the continent beyond Moscow's traditional Cold War allies.
The visit, the first by a Russian head of state since Leonid Brezhnev 45 years ago, followed a two-day trip to South Africa where Putin pledged billions of dollars of investment.
Analysts said Putin's appearance was aimed at improving ties with a kingdom that leaned towards the West during the Cold War, and pushing Russian diplomacy beyond the usual circuit of Soviet-era friends.
"Putin is anxious to demonstrate that his Russia is a global player that is increasingly important on the world stage," said George Joffe, of Cambridge University's Centre of International Studies.
Arriving at the Royal Palace in Casablanca on Thursday, Putin was given a 21-gun salute and red-carpet welcome by King Mohammed.
Later the two heads of state witnessed the signature of cooperation agreements covering areas such as justice, fisheries, tourism, culture, agriculture and banking.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=283461
Buthelezi lashes behaviour of Zuma supporters
Cape Town, South Africa
08 September 2006 12:14
The recent verbal attacks on President Thabo Mbeki by supporters of former deputy president Jacob Zuma are despicable, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
"I would like to ... express my deepest concern at the media reports about the vulgar and highly personal attacks upon President Thabo Mbeki by declared supporters of Mr Jacob Zuma in recent days, in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere," he said in a statement on Friday.
The attacks were damaging the institution of the presidency both locally and abroad.
"Despite my political differences -- and they are wide -- with the president, I feel it is incumbent upon me to, once again, emphasise that Mr Mbeki is the first citizen of South Africa, and should be accorded the respect and dignity his sacred office deems.
"I find it incredulous that in the very same week that the president is batting for South Africa -- such as hosting a leader of one of the most important emerging investors and trade partners, [President] Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation -- supporters of the ruling-party and Mr Zuma would resort to such despicable
conduct.
"In my book, such behaviour is neither consonant with our African tradition, nor concordant with the culture of respect and deference to our leaders and institutions which one associates with the Zulu nation.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283593&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
Joburg power restored 'on a gradual basis'
Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 12:14
Following power cuts in the morning, 85% of electricity was restored to the north-western suburbs of Johannesburg by 9am on Friday, City Power said.
"We're continuing to restore power on a gradual basis," said spokesperson Louis Pieterse.
Areas affected by the outages included Rosebank, Linden, Northcliff, Parkhurst, Greenside and Hyde Park.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg metro police have asked motorists to exercise caution.
"Officers will be deployed to the major intersections. Where motorists do not find officers, they are asked to treat those intersections as four-way stops and to exercise caution," said chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
Louis Botha Avenue, Empire Road, Wolmarans and Smith streets would be manned by traffic police.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283579&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
HIV blamed for substantial growth in death rates
Louise Flanagan Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 09:38
Substantially more young women and men in their prime are dying and it's probably due to HIV infection, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Thursday.
"For some sex-age groups and some causes of death the increase in death rates between 1997 and 2004 has been truly astounding," said Stats SA in its 200-page report on adult mortality.
The report looks at deaths for people aged 15 to 64 from 1997 to 2004.
"This large increase in death rates has occurred for several causes of death for both males and females. It is concentrated in ages 20 to 44 and especially for communicable diseases," says the report.
"It also occurs for some non-communicable diseases that exhibit an age pattern of mortality similar to HIV and that likely include a high proportion of deaths that are due to HIV."
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283503&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
'The sun's rays have become strangers to our eyes'
Fulgence Zamblé Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
07 September 2006 11:44
To get a sense of the problems besetting prisons in Côte d'Ivoire, look no further than Building C of the House of Arrest and Correction of Abidjan (Maca).
The 115 detainees crowded together in this building share just one toilet, and barely manage a daily shower. Maca, the largest prison in southern Côte d'Ivoire, is home to more than 4 000 prisoners -- even though the 26-year-old facility was built for just half that number, says director Toha Ouattara.
Two or three residents of Building C can be seen sharing an ear of boiled maize or a braised yam, bought for about 24 United States cents (about R1,70). This is the amount of money allocated to buy daily rations for detainees in Ivorian prisons, says one of the guards at Maca.
"Those who are lucky are visited by relatives or friends who bring them good meals every day," the guard says. However, certain prisoners claim that some of this extra food, such as meat and fish, is often confiscated by guards, who take it for themselves.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283368&area=/insight/insight__africa/
Video claims to show Bin Laden with 9/11 plotters
08 September 2006 08:37
Al-Qaeda released a videotape on Thursday purporting to show some of the September 11 hijackers training in Afghanistan and meeting Osama bin Laden shortly before the 2001 attacks on the US.
The tape, which was broadcast by the Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera, showed masked men practising martial arts and concealing knives. A procession of men, whose faces could not be clearly seen, also appeared descending a steep mountain path to a rocky gully, where they are greeted by Bin Laden, smiling in a white headdress and dark robe.
The video was produced by as-Sahab, al-Qaeda's media arm, and appeared to have been issued to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It included the video "wills" of two of the 19 hijackers, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, in which they justified their actions as reprisals against supposed ill-treatment of Muslims by the West. "If we are content with being humiliated and inclined to comfort, the tooth of the enemy will stretch from Jerusalem to Mecca, and then everyone will regret on a day when regret is of no use," Ghamdi said.
The video also showed Muhammad Atef, the group's commander until he was killed by a US air strike in Afghanistan in 2001; and Ramzi Binal-shibh, allegedly one of the September 11 planners who was captured in Pakistan four years ago and is one of the captives US President George Bush said would be transferred to Guantánamo Bay from secret prisons abroad.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=283482
Report: Dozens killed in India explosions
Mumbai, India
08 September 2006 11:40
At least 25 people were feared killed in a series of explosions on Friday in a town in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, TV reports said.
Four blasts took place in Malegaon town, 260km north-east of Mumbai, India's financial hub, the NDTV channel said. One explosion was outside a mosque.
At least 25 people were killed, NDTV said. Police, however, said five people were killed in two blasts.
They said thousands had gathered at the mosque for Friday prayers.
The blasts came days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that intelligence agencies had warned of more terrorist attacks across the country, possibly on economic and religious targets as well as on nuclear installations.
India has been on a heightened security alert after a series of bombs on commuter trains in Mumbai killed 186 people in July. The attack was blamed on Islamist militant groups with links across the border in Pakistan.
Malegaon has suffered religious violence in the past. In May, police recovered a cache of explosives and automatic rifles from the region based on information they said was provided by arrested Islamist militants. -- Reuters
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283582&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
SA football and the Gang of Three
Lungile Madywabe Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 09:01
Senior individuals in local football are trying to sabotage plans to rebuild the national team and the public profile of the South African Football Association (Safa) through an elaborate strategy that would ultimately undermine the work of newly appointed Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, and force him out of his job not long after he assumes his duties next February.
The goal of the group -- Kaizer Chiefs boss Kaizer Motaung, Cosmos owner and former national coach Jomo Sono and Premier Soccer League chairperson and Orlando Pirates strongman Irvin Khoza -- is to force the football governing body to consider their favoured candidate for the head coach job “by popular public demand”.
In recent weeks, Sono and Motaung -- traditional foes who have often traded insults in the media -- have jointly called for a soccer indaba open to everyone from football administrators to former players, right down to the man in the street.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__sport/&articleid=283498
USA Today
Senate to issue Iraq intelligence report
Posted 9/7/2006 10:50 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate intelligence committee on Friday will issue a report, two years in the making, that Democrats on the panel say will prove that misuse of intelligence played a role in the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq.
"Ultimately, I think you will find that administration officials made repeated prewar statements that were not supported by underlying intelligence," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., top Democrat on the committee.
The 400-page study to be released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will examine how the intelligence community used information provided by the Iraqi National Congress, an anti-Saddam Hussein group that had financial backing from the United States.
It will also compare pre-war assessments of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program with what was discovered about that program after the war.
The report, expected to reiterate the overestimation of the threat posed by Iraq's WMD program and the questionable reliance of intelligence agencies on INC leader Ahmed Chalabi, comes out in the same week that President Bush is emphasizing the importance of the Iraq campaign to the war on terror.
Republican members of the intelligence committee declined to comment on the report Thursday, but Democrats, who have been pushing for its release, said it backed up their argument that Bush's case for war in Iraq was misleading.
Rockefeller said the report reveals that "the administration pursued a deceptive strategy abusing intelligence reporting that the intelligence community had already warned was uncorroborated, unreliable and in some critical circumstances fabricated."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-07-iraq-report_x.htm
IED attacks keep rising, U.S. adjusting
Posted 9/7/2006 9:23 PM ET
By Samir Mizban, AP
A U.S. soldier checks an improvise explosive device detection robot.
BILLIONS FOR SAFETY
The Pentagon is spending nearly $3.5 billion this year to combat improvised explosive devices (IEDs). That spending includes:
$1.4 billion on electronic jamming devices
$613 million on "neutralizing" IEDs -- usually by exploding them
$470 million on surveillance technology
Source: Defense Department
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Iraqi insurgents continue to increase their homemade-bomb attacks on U.S. and other coalition troops, despite a $3.5 billion Pentagon effort to stop them, a Pentagon official said Thursday.
Retired Army general Montgomery Meigs said Iraqi insurgents attacked troops of the U.S.-led coalition 1,200 times in August with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), compared with 1,100 attacks in July.
August's figure is four times as many IED attacks as were reported in January 2004.
"We know what (the enemy is) using," said Meigs, head of the Pentagon's anti-IED task force, the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. "It's not an easy thing to counter. It can be countered."
The top killers of U.S. troops in Iraq, IEDs have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 servicemembers and have wounded more than 10,000.
Among the challenges for the task force: Iraq is awash in the explosives — often artillery shells — used to make the homemade bombs, and the means of detonating them can come straight off the shelf.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-09-07-ied-us_x.htm
Bombs in Baghdad mar milestone day
Sept. 7 - On a day that was supposed to mark a significant step forward for the fledgling Iraqi government, there were vivid reminders of the seething violence that still persists.
http://usatoday.feedroom.com/ModBodyText_dsp.jsp?&REDIRECT_TO_STORY=FEEDROOM157369&nsid=b-46d49b36:10d8b9e0f18:3ca1
Bomb kills 2 U.S. soldiers, 8 others in Afghanistan
Updated 9/8/2006 4:55 AM ET
AFGHANISTAN VIOLENCE
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide car bomb struck a convoy of U.S. military vehicles in Kabul on Friday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 17, police said. Two American soldiers were among the dead and two others among the wounded, the U.S. military said.
The blast, which took place near the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital, tore a military vehicle into two burning chunks and scattered debris and body parts over a 50-yard radius.
It rattled windows throughout the downtown area and sent a plume of brown smoke spiraling into the sky.
Eight Afghan civilians were killed and 15 were wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai. Two American soldiers were among those killed, and two were wounded, said U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Tamara Lawrence. The attacker also died.
The attack came days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., which led the United States and its allies to invade Afghanistan later that year. The former Taliban regime was toppled for harboring al-Qaeda terror network chief Osama bin Laden, who was blamed for masterminding the attacks.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-08-afghan-blast_x.htm
Video shows bin Laden meeting with 9/11 plotters
Updated 9/7/2006 7:12 PM ET
Al-Jazeera via MSNBC
This image comes from a video, shown by Arab broadcaster al-Jazeera, that reportedly includes footage of al-Qaeda leaders planning the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
BIN LADEN TAPES
Audio and videotapes from Osama bin Laden since Sept. 11, 2001:
Sept. 7, 2006: Al-Jazeera broadcast what it called a previously unshown video in which al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is seen meeting with some of the Sept. 11 hijackers.
June 28, 2006: A message posted on an Islamic militant website says Osama bin Laden will issue a videotaped message paying tribute to slain al-Qaeda in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but does not say when the video would be posted or whether bin Laden would appear in the video or just speak in a voice-over.
May 23, 2006: Bin Laden purportedly says in an Internet audio tape that Zacarias Moussaoui had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks.
April 23, 2006: In an audiotape on Arab TV, bin Laden says the West is at war with Islam and calls on his followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed U.N. force.
Jan. 19, 2006: Bin Laden warns that his fighters are preparing new attacks in the United States but offers the American people a "long-term truce" without specifying the conditions, in an audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera, the pan-Arab satellite channel.
Dec. 28, 2004: An hourlong audiotape, he endorses Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and calls for a boycott of Iraqi elections.
Dec. 16, 2004: An audiotape posted on an Islamic website shows a man identified as bin Laden praising militants who attacked a U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia earlier that month and calling on militants to stop the flow of oil to the West.
Oct. 29, 2004: Al-Jazeera airs a video of bin Laden saying the United States can avoid another Sept. 11 attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.
May 6, 2004: In an online audiotape released on Islamic forums, bin Laden offers rewards of gold for the killing of U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq.
April 15, 2004: A man identifying himself as bin Laden offers a "truce" to European countries that do not attack Muslims, in an audiotape broadcast on Arab TV stations.
Jan. 4, 2004: A speaker thought to be bin Laden says on an audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera that the U.S.-led war in Iraq is the beginning of the "occupation" of Persian Gulf states for their oil. He calls on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East.
Sept. 10, 2003: In the first video image of bin Laden in nearly two years, he is shown walking through rocky terrain with top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri. In an accompanying audiotape, a voice purporting to be bin Laden's praises the "great damage to the enemy" on Sept. 11 and mentions five hijackers by name.
April 7, 2003: In an audiotape obtained by the Associated Press in Pakistan, bin Laden exhorts Muslims to rise up against Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other governments it claims are "agents of America," and calls for suicide attacks against U.S. and British interests. The CIA determines the 27-minute tape is likely authentic.
Feb. 13, 2003: An audiotape purported to be of bin Laden reads a poetic last will and testament in a recording first obtained by the British-based Islamic Al-Ansaar news agency. Bin Laden says he wants to die a martyr in a new attack against the U.S.
Feb. 11, 2003: Bin Laden tells his followers to help Saddam Hussein fight Americans in an audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera. U.S. officials say they believe the tape to be authentic.
Nov. 12, 2002: Al-Jazeera broadcasts a brief audiotape in which a voice attributed to bin Laden threatens new terrorism against the U.S. and its allies, and calls the Bush administration "the biggest serial killers in this age." U.S. experts say the tape can't be authenticated because of its poor quality.
Dec. 13, 2001: U.S. Defense Department releases videotape of bin Laden in Afghanistan on Nov. 9, 2001, saying the destruction of the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded even his "optimistic" calculations.
Source: The Associated Press
CAMPAIGN OF TERROR
New footage: Broadcast shows video of Osama bin Laden meeting with Sept. 11 hijackers Analysis: Hunt for bin Laden
Audio surfaces: Tape said to be from new al-Qaeda in Iraq leader
CAIRO (AP) — An Arab television station broadcast previously unseen footage Thursday of a smiling Osama bin Laden meeting with the top planners of the Sept. 11 attacks in an Afghan mountain camp and calling on followers to pray for the hijackers as they carry out the suicide mission.
The sections shown on Al-Jazeera TV were part of a video that al-Qaeda announced it would release later on the Internet to mark the fifth anniversary of the airborne attacks on the United States.
The video includes the last testament of two of the hijackers, Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. It shows bin Laden strolling in the camp, greeting followers, who Al-Jazeera said included some of the hijackers. But their faces are not clear in the video, and it was not immediately known which are purportedly shown.
In one scene, bin Laden addresses the camera, calling on followers to support the hijackers.
"I ask you to pray for them and to ask God to make them successful, aim their shots well, set their feet strong and strengthen their hearts," bin Laden said. The comments were apparently filmed before the attacks but never before released.
The footage was the fourth in a series of long videos that al-Qaeda has put out to memorialize the suicide hijackings against the Pentagon and World Trade Center, said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a private U.S. company that monitors militant message traffic and provides counterterrorism intelligence services for the American government.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-07-qaeda-tape_x.htm
Armitage says he was first source in CIA leak
Updated 9/7/2006 9:38 PM ET
By Katsumi Kasahara, AP
Richard Armitage, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, said he inadvertently disclosed CIA employee Valerie Plame's identity because he assumed her job was not a secret because it was included in a State Department memo.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The former No. 2 State Department official said Thursday he inadvertently disclosed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame in conversations with two reporters in 2003.
Confirming that he was the source of a leak that triggered a federal investigation, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he never intended to reveal Plame's identity. He apologized for his conversations with syndicated columnist Robert Novak and Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.
For almost three years, an investigation led by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has tried to determine whether Bush administration officials intentionally revealed Plame's identity as covert operative as a way to punish her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, for criticizing the Bush administration's march to war with Iraq.
"I made a terrible mistake, not maliciously, but I made a terrible mistake," Armitage said in a telephone interview from his home Thursday night.
He said he did not realize Plame's job was covert.
Armitage's admission suggested that the leak did not originate at the White House as retribution for Wilson's comments about the Iraq war. Wilson, a former ambassador, discounted reports that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had tried to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger to make a nuclear weapon — claims that wound up in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.
Armitage said he was not a part of a conspiracy to reveal Plame's identity and did not know whether one existed.
He described his June 2003 conversation with Woodward as an afterthought at the end of a lengthy interview.
"He said, 'Hey, what's the deal with Wilson?' and I said, 'I think his wife works out there,'" Armitage recalled.
He described a more direct conversation with Novak, who was the first to report on the issue: "He said to me, 'Why did the CIA send Ambassador Wilson to Niger?' I said, as I remember, 'I don't know, but his wife works out there.'"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-07-armitage-cia-leak_x.htm
9/11 put anonymous faces on the front page of history
Updated 9/8/2006 5:09 AM ET
By Jeff Swensen, for USA TODAY
Standing on the spot where two-thirds of Flight 93 hit the ground at over 500 mph, Somerset County coroner Wallace Miller recalls the scene on Sept. 11, 2001. Because the bodies were vaporized, "I realized early on you didn't need a coroner, you needed a funeral director," Miller said.
9/11 ANNIVERSARY
By Rick Hampson and Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
On one of the worst days in U.S. history, they stepped — or were pushed — into an instant, unexpected, often unwanted prominence. They became supporting actors in a tragedy that saw almost 3,000 of their countrymen slaughtered in less than two hours.
After Sept. 11, 2001, their names and faces suddenly were familiar to millions, only to fade in public memory in the five years since.
AUDIO GALLERY: Then and now: Path toward healing
The day's principal actors — Bush, Rumsfeld, Giuliani — have never left the stage. And we've never stopped waiting for bin Laden's next appearance.
But what of the supporting cast? The aide who whispered the catastrophic news in Bush's ear, the commissioners at Giuliani's side, the air traffic manager who grounded every plane in the sky.
Some have prospered. Former New York fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen wrote a book and joined Rudy Giuliani's security consulting firm, which does a brisk business thanks largely to the former mayor's 9/11 reputation.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-07-sept11-then-now_x.htm
Clinton officials protest 9/11 TV series
Posted 9/7/2006 7:25 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) — A "terribly wrong" miniseries about events leading to the Sept. 11 attacks blame President Clinton's policies, former Clinton administration officials said in letters demanding that ABC correct it or not air it.
But in a statement released Thursday afternoon in apparent response to the growing uproar, ABC said, "No one has seen the final version of the film, because the editing process is not yet complete, so criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible."
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Clinton Foundation head Bruce Lindsey and Clinton adviser Douglas Band wrote in the past week to Robert Iger, CEO of ABC's parent The Walt Disney Co., to express concern over The Path to 9/11.
The two-part miniseries, scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday and Monday, is drawn from interviews and documents including the report of the Sept. 11 commission. ABC has described it as a "dramatization" as opposed to a documentary.
"For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, and time compression," ABC said in its statement. "We hope viewers will watch the entire broadcast of the finished film before forming an opinion about it."
The letter writers said the miniseries contained factual errors, and that their requests to see it had gone unanswered.
"By ABC's own standard, ABC has gotten it terribly wrong," Lindsey and Band said in their letter.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-09-07-clinton-911-protest_x.htm
Possible contenders to follow Blair
Updated 9/7/2006 8:30 PM ET
Possible contenders for Labor Party leader:
Gordon Brown: Chancellor of the exchequer; deemed the successor in waiting.
John Reid: Home secretary — equivalent of the U.S. attorney general; had high visibility during the August terrorism alert.
Alan Johnson: Education secretary; believed to want the deputy leader job.
Hilary Benn: International development secretary; was special adviser to David Blunkett when he was the education secretary.
Alan Milburn: Resigned as health secretary in 2003.
Jack Straw: Former foreign secretary; current leader of the House of Commons.
Margaret Beckett: Britain's first female foreign secretary.
Charles Clarke: Replaced as home secretary by John Reid.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-07-blair-contenders_x.htm
Congressmen slam BP executives at Alaskan oil leak hearing
Updated 9/7/2006 10:14 PM ET
KEY EVENTS INVOLVING BP'S ALASKA PIPELINE
March 2: A leak is discovered in an unregulated line on the west side of Prudhoe Bay. About 267,000 gallons of crude are spilled. Corrosion is later ruled the cause.
March 15: The U.S. Transportation Department orders BP to test its three low-pressure lines in Prudhoe Bay for corrosion using an internal probe known as a "smart pig." The western line had not been smart-pigged since 1998; an eastern section of pipe had not been tested since 1992.
July 22: BP sends a smart pig through parts of the eastern pipeline, finding extensive corrosion in several places.
Aug. 6: BP begins production shutdown, starting with the eastern side.
Aug. 11: BP decides not to shut the western side of the field, meaning Prudhoe Bay will still produce about 200,000 barrels a day, half its normal total.
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress blasted BP (BP) executives Thursday for failing to prevent two oil leaks in Alaska this year, saying the company ignored signs of pipeline corrosion, cut costs despite record profits and harassed workers who raised concerns.
"Years of neglecting to inspect the most vital oil-gathering pipelines in this country is not acceptable," Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told BP officials at a hearing before the investigations subcommittee.
BP executives acknowledged their corrosion-monitoring program was deficient but insisted they were not aware of the crisis until this year.
"We didn't believe we had a corrosion problem in these lines," said Steve Marshall president of BP's Alaska operations. "Clearly in retrospect, we did."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-09-07-bp-hearing_x.htm
Killer cancer genes ID'd
Updated 9/7/2006 4:14 PM ET
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
Scientists have identified the bulk of the genes that cause breast and colorectal cancers, a finding that eventually could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat two of the leading cancer killers, according to a study published online Thursday in Science.
Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, which partially financed the research, describes the work as "groundbreaking" and "truly remarkable."
"For the first time, this tells us that you could identify what in cancer is the Achilles heel," Zerhouni says, noting that researchers should try to confirm these results. "Instead of doing what we do now, which is to give the standard treatment for everybody, we will adjust the treatment for each patient and hopefully dramatically affect their cancer."
The findings help explain why cancer remains such a daunting foe, experts say.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-07-cancer-genes_x.htm
Among 20 Spots, National Parks top the list of places in the USA leisure travelers say they would like to visit.
National Parks - 66%
Hawaiian Islands other than Oahu - 63%
Honolulu, Hawaii (Oahu) - 59%
The Florida Keys - 53%
Surveying storm damage
Government officials are out to assess Hampton Roads' damage from Ernesto to help Gov. Kaine decide whether to seek federal disaster dollars.
BY MATHEW PAUST
757-247-4760
September 8, 2006
GLOUCESTER -- Someone asked Samantha West if she knew she was going to have a party.
"If I knew, I'd have thrown a barbeque," said West, standing between her small home and her grandmother's slightly larger, cinderblock house. Piled in the yards around both homes were waterlogged household furnishings that were ruined last week by flooding from the remnants of Ernesto.
The conversation with West took place moments after a convoy of media and government vehicles pulled up in front of these two devastated homes Thursday in the flood-prone section of Gloucester County known as Guinea. Television crews bristling with cameras and microphones swarmed out of their trucks to the ravaged dwellings, followed by men and women with more deliberate agendas.
The official visitors represented federal, state and local agencies conducting a damage assessment of the region. Their findings over the next several days could prompt an outflow of federal funds to help people get back on their feet.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-21156sy0sep08,0,2264542.story?coll=dp-widget-news
PHOTO GALLERY: ERNESTO
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-ernesto-pg,0,1203455.photogallery?coll=dp-widget-news
Eustis chief: Iraq post-war plan muzzled
Army Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, an early planner of the war, tells about challenges of invasion and rebuilding.
BY STEPHANIE HEINATZ
247-7821
September 8 2006
FORT EUSTIS -- Months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq, the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps said Thursday.
In fact, said Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, Rumsfeld said "he would fire the next person" who talked about the need for a post-war plan.
Rumsfeld did replace Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff in 2003, after Shinseki told Congress that hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to secure post-war Iraq.
Scheid, who is also the commander of Fort Eustis in Newport News, made his comments in an interview with the Daily Press. He retires in about three weeks.
Scheid doesn't go so far as calling for Rumsfeld to resign. He's listened as other retired generals have done so.
"Everybody has a right to their opinion," he said. "But what good did it do?"
Scheid's comments are further confirmation of the version of events reported in "Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq," the book by New York Times reporter Michael R. Gordon and retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor.
In 2001, Scheid was a colonel with the Central Command, the unit that oversees U.S. military operations in the Mideast.
On Sept. 10, 2001, he was selected to be the chief of logistics war plans.
On Sept. 11, 2001, he said, "life just went to hell."
That day, Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of Central Command, told his planners, including Scheid, to "get ready to go to war."
A day or two later, Rumsfeld was "telling us we were going to war in Afghanistan and to start building the war plan. We were going to go fast.
"Then, just as we were barely into Afghanistan ... Rumsfeld came and told us to get ready for Iraq."
Scheid said he remembers everyone thinking, "My gosh, we're in the middle of Afghanistan, how can we possibly be doing two at one time? How can we pull this off? It's just going to be too much."
Planning was kept very hush-hush in those early days.
"There was only a handful of people, maybe five or six, that were involved with that plan because it had to be kept very, very quiet."
There was already an offensive plan in place for Iraq, Scheid said. And in the beginning, the planners were just expanding on it.
"Whether we were going to execute it, we had no idea," Scheid said.
Eventually other military agencies - like the transportation and Army materiel commands - had to get involved.
They couldn't just "keep planning this in the dark," Scheid said.
Planning continued to be a challenge.
"The secretary of defense continued to push on us ... that everything we write in our plan has to be the idea that we are going to go in, we're going to take out the regime, and then we're going to leave," Scheid said. "We won't stay."
Scheid said the planners continued to try "to write what was called Phase 4," or the piece of the plan that included post-invasion operations like occupation.
Even if the troops didn't stay, "at least we have to plan for it," Scheid said.
"I remember the secretary of defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that," Scheid said. "We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today.
"He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war."
Why did Rumsfeld think that? Scheid doesn't know.
"But think back to those times. We had done Bosnia. We said we were going into Bosnia and stop the fighting and come right out. And we stayed."
Was Rumsfeld right or wrong?
Scheid said he doesn't know that either.
"In his own mind he thought we could go in and fight and take out the regime and come out. But a lot of us planners were having a real hard time with it because we were also thinking we can't do this. Once you tear up a country you have to stay and rebuild it. It was very challenging."
Even if the people who laid out the initial war plans had fleshed out post-invasion missions, the fighting and insurgent attacks going on today would have been hard to predict, Scheid said.
"We really thought that after the collapse of the regime we were going to do all these humanitarian type things," he said. "We thought this would go pretty fast and we'd be able to get out of there. We really didn't anticipate them to continue to fight the way they did or come back the way they are.
"Now we're going more toward a civil war. We didn't see that coming."
While Scheid, a soldier since 1977, spoke candidly about the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq, he remains concerned about the American public's view of the troops.
He's bothered by the nationwide divide over the war and fearful that patriotism among citizens will continue to decline.
"We're really hurting right now," he said.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-21075sy0sep08,0,2264542.story?coll=dp-widget-news
Irresistible Merrill Lynch may hit immovable wall
By Andrew Leckey
Tribune Media Services columnist
September 3, 2006
Q: What's your opinion of my shares of Merrill Lynch & Co.? The company seems to be doing really well. --K.T., via the Internet
A: To quote a market adage: Trees don't grow to the sky.
Despite recent dramatic success, it seems inevitable that the largest U.S. brokerage firm, with offices in 36 countries, will encounter some fits and starts because that's simply the way that the financial markets operate.
Shares of Merrill Lynch (MER) are up 10 percent this year following last year's 13 percent gain, a 2 percent gain in 2004 and a 54 percent jump in 2003. Earnings in its most recent quarter rose 44percent, boosted by strong results in its investment banking and brokerage businesses.
Stanley O'Neal, chief executive since December 2002, has partnered with MBNA to issue credit cards. He has expanded mortgage and middle-market lending and invested heavily in improving technology capabilities. A true believer, O'Neal personally owns a million Merrill Lynch shares. His total stake is 3 million shares when options are included.
http://www.dailypress.com/sns-yourmoney-0903leckey,0,4291944.story
Crabber red runs in his veins
From ballboy to "utility player," Hampton's Matthew Mitchell fulfills a lifelong dream of being a Crabber.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
September 8, 2006
HAMPTON -- He's been wearing the uniform his whole life, it seems. If only they made diapers in Crabber red.
Matthew Mitchell didn't grow up around Hampton High football, he grew up smack-dab in the middle of it. When he was 6 months old, the Crabbers lost in the state championship game. Somehow, you know he cried a little harder that day. When he was 5 years old, Hampton won its first of four consecutive titles. He was the team's ballboy.
One of his parents' favorite scrapbook items is a picture of Matthew, then 6, decked out in his Crabber uniform - shoulder pads, helmet, the whole bit. Kneeling across from him, poised for the tackle, is star quarterback Ronald Curry.
"Matthew knows the tradition," said his father, Danny, a longtime Hampton assistant coach. "When you hear it all your life, you're either going to rebel against it or absorb it. He absorbed it."
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-20925sy0sep08,0,6079561.story
Fishing reports from around the area
By Don Lancaster
Correspondent
September 8, 2006res
Have a great catch you want to show off? The Daily Press would love to see it. Please send a photo of your big fish to suthrncstm@aol.com. Each submission must include your full name, the species of fish with its weight and length, and when and where it was caught. Horizontal photos should be 500 pixels wide while vertical photos should be 425 pixels tall. We'll post the best ones in this photo gallery.
Tropical Depression Ernesto, arriving over the Labor Day Weekend, was an angling disaster. As a result, this week's report is somewhat abbreviated.
Temperatures below were obtained at noon on the respective dates:
http://www.dailypress.com/dp-sports-fishing,0,2270434.htmlstory
Lone survivor
Published September 8 2006
Q: Who was Lake Drummond - in the Great Dismal Swamp - named after?
A: The lake, part of the Great Dismal Swamp, is named for William Drummond, a 17th-century governor of North Carolina. American Heritage Magazine, in a 2002 article, offered this legend: [He] got lost in the swamp with a group of hunters. All but Drummond perished. He eventually staggered out ragged, hungry, and full of descriptions of a vast body of water deep in the swamp." Other sources say he was the first European to "explore" the lake. Drummond was one of the key players in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, and was executed later that year.
http://www.dailypress.com/dp-21076cm0sep08a,0,2356300.column
What's in it?
From Prozac to pesticides, chemicals are showing up in the water
September 8, 2006
Don't drink the water - is that the lesson coming out of strange developments in Virginia rivers?
First, a few years ago, mutant fish appeared in a branch of the Potomac River up in West Virginia, mutant in what our tender minds might consider the worst way: Their sexual anatomy was confused. Male fish harbored eggs.
Then intersex fish showed up in Maryland. And now, according to a Washington Post story, they've been found in the main branch of the Potomac around Washington, D.C., and in tributaries throughout that region.
Scientists, being the cautious souls they are, haven't decided what is causing the fish to cross gender lines. But speculation has brought to light the fact that water can contain stuff we might not want to be drinking. Not just pathogens and bacteria. Water treatment plants pretty well eliminate them. But stuff that people and animals ingest, which then makes its way, via agricultural runoff or discharges from sewage treatment plants, into our rivers and streams and our water supplies.
Stuff like hormones in contraceptives, hormone replacement medications and agricultural supplements. It has to go somewhere. And when it does, it may be mixing with the remains of Viagra.
Then there's all that Prozac.
Not to mention herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, all the assorted stuff industry uses and discharges, and the ordinary chemicals we use around the house.
Want more to think about? Try steroids, caffeine, insect repellents, disinfectants and fire retardants.
Unless it's removed by sewage treatment plants - which many of these substances aren't - what goes into a human or animal and is excreted, what goes down a pipe, comes out in rivers and streams.
Scientists at the United States Geological Survey found, generally at low levels, prescription and nonprescription drugs, hormones and what they call other organic "wastewater compounds" in the vast majority of the streams they studied across the nation. They concluded that "many such compounds can enter the environment, disperse, and persist to a greater extent than first anticipated."
Other researchers have made similar findings, like those who found a cholesterol-lowering drug in a groundwater reservoir in Phoenix. In Canada, drugs used to treat cancer, psychiatric conditions and inflammation turned up in water leaving sewage treatment plants. Streams around Kansas City contain substances from codeine to caffeine, ibuprofen to disinfectants. Doesn't that just make your day?
The Geological Survey is continuing to explore the sources, occurrence, transport and effects of these "emerging contaminants," a phrase that suggests that new sources of worry are looming ahead. In the meantime, the general manager of the Washington Aqueduct, which processes Potomac River water into drinking water, admits neither he nor anyone else knows whether the substances that are messing with fish have an effect on people. Water experts seem to think that humans, being larger, different and not water-dwellers, may be less susceptible.
So there's one consolation. You can be glad you're not a fish - of either or both genders.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-19644sy0sep08,0,4360940.story?coll=dp-opinion-editorials
Mail and Guardian
Vlok: 'My role in dirty war'
Yolandi Groenewald and Tumi Makgetla Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 07:56
Apartheid law and order minister Adriaan Vlok this week shed new light on his involvement in the dirty war against activists in the 1980s — including signing pre-drafted letters thanking policemen for carrying out assassinations.
In a wide-ranging, two-hour interview at the Mail & Guardian’s offices, Vlok also admitted using words like “eliminate” in motivating policemen to crack down on political troublemakers.
And he described former president PW Botha’s "intense interest" in security and central role in getting police to maak ’n plan (sort out) unrest. Botha had congratulated Vlok for police operations, including the bombing of the South African Council of Churches’ Khotso House headquarters in Johannesburg.
And it emerged this week that he had extended his journey of repentance by washing the feet of 10 widows and mothers of the “Mamelodi 10”, who were lured to their deaths by police agent Joe Mamasela. Their bodies were burned and buried in a field in Winterveld, near Pretoria, where the remains were recently found and identified by the National Prosecuting Agency.
However, Vlok remained adamant that he had nothing more to tell and that he could not “lie” to satisfy victims’ demands for information.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283479&area=/insight/insight__national/
UCT defends 'extreme' admissions policy
Sumayya Ismail Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 11:47
Whether through employment or education, transformation and affirmative action strategies have become part of daily life in South Africa, and recent media attention on the admissions policies of the University of Cape Town (UCT) has raised some important questions.
Specifically, are these measures vital to atone for the apartheid past or are they just another form of discrimination, aimed at a different group of people?
Following a bout of letters published in Cape Town newspapers last week, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon attacked the university's policies in his column on SA Today, criticising its use of race as a primary admissions requirement to certain medical and law degrees.
UCT assesses its undergraduate applicants based on a points system -- similar to that used by other South African tertiary institutions. Unlike other institutions, however, UCT's 2007 admission requirements clearly distinguish between different race groups in stipulating the number of points required for specific degrees.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283565&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
UN warns of 'catastrophe' in Darfur
Richard Waddington Geneva, Switzerland
08 September 2006 11:40
Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region faces a humanitarian "catastrophe" without rapid action to improve security and let aid flow to those in need, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.
The warning by UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres followed a similar cry of alarm by top UN humanitarian official Jan Egeland last month.
"Hundreds are still dying amid ongoing violence, and thousands are being forcibly displaced ... If things do not improve, we are heading for a major catastrophe," Guterres said in a statement.
The Sudanese government rejects UN plans to deploy 20 000 troops and police to the Darfur region by year-end, likening it to a Western invasion that would attract jihadi militants and create an Iraq-like quagmire.
Khartoum has deployed thousands of troops to the region in recent months to confront rebels who refused to sign a peace accord, and the UNHCR said this had triggered fears of a major military offensive that could create yet more refugees.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=283577
Ethiopia: We stopped rebel hit squad
Les Neuhaus Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
08 September 2006 12:51
Ethiopia said it has arrested nine members of a rebel hit squad that was planning to assassinate government leaders, state media reported on Friday.
The suspects were working for the rebel Oromo Liberation Front, which has been fighting for greater autonomy in southern Ethiopia, the National Intelligence and Security Service said.
The Oromo make up a third of Ethiopia's 75-million people, and have been the centre of dissent against the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Merera Gudina, head of the Oromo National Congress, said he was sceptical of the government's claims. On Monday, he said the Ethiopian government had detained without charge more than 250 members of the Oromo ethnic group. The latest arrests came Thursday.
"The problem is that no one has been brought into court yet, so the public has not been able to see them with their own eyes," Merera said.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283623&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
Uganda peace talks stall
Juba, Sudan
08 September 2006 12:51
The expected resumption of peace talks between Uganda and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has stalled as mediators try to build on a landmark truce, officials said on Friday.
Negotiations had been due to resume this week after the truce took effect on August 29, but mediators are reluctant to bring the sides together again until major gaps on contentious post-conflict issues are narrowed, they said.
Although the cessation of hostilities accord appears to be holding, rebel fighters have yet to gather at camps in southern Sudan as they are to do under the pact, and Ugandan and LRA officials have traded barbs in recent days.
Kampala and the rebels both insist they are committed to ending the brutal, two-decade war that has ravaged northern Uganda, but sticking points over how to proceed have kept them from resuming direct discussions, officials said.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=283609
Putin takes Africa diplomacy drive to Morocco
Lamine Ghanmi Casablanca, Morocco
07 September 2006 04:44
President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's main African trading partner, Morocco, on Thursday, seeking to widen his sphere of political influence on the continent beyond Moscow's traditional Cold War allies.
The visit, the first by a Russian head of state since Leonid Brezhnev 45 years ago, followed a two-day trip to South Africa where Putin pledged billions of dollars of investment.
Analysts said Putin's appearance was aimed at improving ties with a kingdom that leaned towards the West during the Cold War, and pushing Russian diplomacy beyond the usual circuit of Soviet-era friends.
"Putin is anxious to demonstrate that his Russia is a global player that is increasingly important on the world stage," said George Joffe, of Cambridge University's Centre of International Studies.
Arriving at the Royal Palace in Casablanca on Thursday, Putin was given a 21-gun salute and red-carpet welcome by King Mohammed.
Later the two heads of state witnessed the signature of cooperation agreements covering areas such as justice, fisheries, tourism, culture, agriculture and banking.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=283461
Buthelezi lashes behaviour of Zuma supporters
Cape Town, South Africa
08 September 2006 12:14
The recent verbal attacks on President Thabo Mbeki by supporters of former deputy president Jacob Zuma are despicable, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
"I would like to ... express my deepest concern at the media reports about the vulgar and highly personal attacks upon President Thabo Mbeki by declared supporters of Mr Jacob Zuma in recent days, in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere," he said in a statement on Friday.
The attacks were damaging the institution of the presidency both locally and abroad.
"Despite my political differences -- and they are wide -- with the president, I feel it is incumbent upon me to, once again, emphasise that Mr Mbeki is the first citizen of South Africa, and should be accorded the respect and dignity his sacred office deems.
"I find it incredulous that in the very same week that the president is batting for South Africa -- such as hosting a leader of one of the most important emerging investors and trade partners, [President] Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation -- supporters of the ruling-party and Mr Zuma would resort to such despicable
conduct.
"In my book, such behaviour is neither consonant with our African tradition, nor concordant with the culture of respect and deference to our leaders and institutions which one associates with the Zulu nation.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283593&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
Joburg power restored 'on a gradual basis'
Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 12:14
Following power cuts in the morning, 85% of electricity was restored to the north-western suburbs of Johannesburg by 9am on Friday, City Power said.
"We're continuing to restore power on a gradual basis," said spokesperson Louis Pieterse.
Areas affected by the outages included Rosebank, Linden, Northcliff, Parkhurst, Greenside and Hyde Park.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg metro police have asked motorists to exercise caution.
"Officers will be deployed to the major intersections. Where motorists do not find officers, they are asked to treat those intersections as four-way stops and to exercise caution," said chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
Louis Botha Avenue, Empire Road, Wolmarans and Smith streets would be manned by traffic police.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283579&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
HIV blamed for substantial growth in death rates
Louise Flanagan Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 09:38
Substantially more young women and men in their prime are dying and it's probably due to HIV infection, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Thursday.
"For some sex-age groups and some causes of death the increase in death rates between 1997 and 2004 has been truly astounding," said Stats SA in its 200-page report on adult mortality.
The report looks at deaths for people aged 15 to 64 from 1997 to 2004.
"This large increase in death rates has occurred for several causes of death for both males and females. It is concentrated in ages 20 to 44 and especially for communicable diseases," says the report.
"It also occurs for some non-communicable diseases that exhibit an age pattern of mortality similar to HIV and that likely include a high proportion of deaths that are due to HIV."
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283503&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
'The sun's rays have become strangers to our eyes'
Fulgence Zamblé Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
07 September 2006 11:44
To get a sense of the problems besetting prisons in Côte d'Ivoire, look no further than Building C of the House of Arrest and Correction of Abidjan (Maca).
The 115 detainees crowded together in this building share just one toilet, and barely manage a daily shower. Maca, the largest prison in southern Côte d'Ivoire, is home to more than 4 000 prisoners -- even though the 26-year-old facility was built for just half that number, says director Toha Ouattara.
Two or three residents of Building C can be seen sharing an ear of boiled maize or a braised yam, bought for about 24 United States cents (about R1,70). This is the amount of money allocated to buy daily rations for detainees in Ivorian prisons, says one of the guards at Maca.
"Those who are lucky are visited by relatives or friends who bring them good meals every day," the guard says. However, certain prisoners claim that some of this extra food, such as meat and fish, is often confiscated by guards, who take it for themselves.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283368&area=/insight/insight__africa/
Video claims to show Bin Laden with 9/11 plotters
08 September 2006 08:37
Al-Qaeda released a videotape on Thursday purporting to show some of the September 11 hijackers training in Afghanistan and meeting Osama bin Laden shortly before the 2001 attacks on the US.
The tape, which was broadcast by the Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera, showed masked men practising martial arts and concealing knives. A procession of men, whose faces could not be clearly seen, also appeared descending a steep mountain path to a rocky gully, where they are greeted by Bin Laden, smiling in a white headdress and dark robe.
The video was produced by as-Sahab, al-Qaeda's media arm, and appeared to have been issued to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It included the video "wills" of two of the 19 hijackers, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, in which they justified their actions as reprisals against supposed ill-treatment of Muslims by the West. "If we are content with being humiliated and inclined to comfort, the tooth of the enemy will stretch from Jerusalem to Mecca, and then everyone will regret on a day when regret is of no use," Ghamdi said.
The video also showed Muhammad Atef, the group's commander until he was killed by a US air strike in Afghanistan in 2001; and Ramzi Binal-shibh, allegedly one of the September 11 planners who was captured in Pakistan four years ago and is one of the captives US President George Bush said would be transferred to Guantánamo Bay from secret prisons abroad.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=283482
Report: Dozens killed in India explosions
Mumbai, India
08 September 2006 11:40
At least 25 people were feared killed in a series of explosions on Friday in a town in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, TV reports said.
Four blasts took place in Malegaon town, 260km north-east of Mumbai, India's financial hub, the NDTV channel said. One explosion was outside a mosque.
At least 25 people were killed, NDTV said. Police, however, said five people were killed in two blasts.
They said thousands had gathered at the mosque for Friday prayers.
The blasts came days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that intelligence agencies had warned of more terrorist attacks across the country, possibly on economic and religious targets as well as on nuclear installations.
India has been on a heightened security alert after a series of bombs on commuter trains in Mumbai killed 186 people in July. The attack was blamed on Islamist militant groups with links across the border in Pakistan.
Malegaon has suffered religious violence in the past. In May, police recovered a cache of explosives and automatic rifles from the region based on information they said was provided by arrested Islamist militants. -- Reuters
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283582&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
SA football and the Gang of Three
Lungile Madywabe Johannesburg, South Africa
08 September 2006 09:01
Senior individuals in local football are trying to sabotage plans to rebuild the national team and the public profile of the South African Football Association (Safa) through an elaborate strategy that would ultimately undermine the work of newly appointed Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, and force him out of his job not long after he assumes his duties next February.
The goal of the group -- Kaizer Chiefs boss Kaizer Motaung, Cosmos owner and former national coach Jomo Sono and Premier Soccer League chairperson and Orlando Pirates strongman Irvin Khoza -- is to force the football governing body to consider their favoured candidate for the head coach job “by popular public demand”.
In recent weeks, Sono and Motaung -- traditional foes who have often traded insults in the media -- have jointly called for a soccer indaba open to everyone from football administrators to former players, right down to the man in the street.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__sport/&articleid=283498
USA Today
Senate to issue Iraq intelligence report
Posted 9/7/2006 10:50 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate intelligence committee on Friday will issue a report, two years in the making, that Democrats on the panel say will prove that misuse of intelligence played a role in the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq.
"Ultimately, I think you will find that administration officials made repeated prewar statements that were not supported by underlying intelligence," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., top Democrat on the committee.
The 400-page study to be released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will examine how the intelligence community used information provided by the Iraqi National Congress, an anti-Saddam Hussein group that had financial backing from the United States.
It will also compare pre-war assessments of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program with what was discovered about that program after the war.
The report, expected to reiterate the overestimation of the threat posed by Iraq's WMD program and the questionable reliance of intelligence agencies on INC leader Ahmed Chalabi, comes out in the same week that President Bush is emphasizing the importance of the Iraq campaign to the war on terror.
Republican members of the intelligence committee declined to comment on the report Thursday, but Democrats, who have been pushing for its release, said it backed up their argument that Bush's case for war in Iraq was misleading.
Rockefeller said the report reveals that "the administration pursued a deceptive strategy abusing intelligence reporting that the intelligence community had already warned was uncorroborated, unreliable and in some critical circumstances fabricated."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-07-iraq-report_x.htm
IED attacks keep rising, U.S. adjusting
Posted 9/7/2006 9:23 PM ET
By Samir Mizban, AP
A U.S. soldier checks an improvise explosive device detection robot.
BILLIONS FOR SAFETY
The Pentagon is spending nearly $3.5 billion this year to combat improvised explosive devices (IEDs). That spending includes:
$1.4 billion on electronic jamming devices
$613 million on "neutralizing" IEDs -- usually by exploding them
$470 million on surveillance technology
Source: Defense Department
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Iraqi insurgents continue to increase their homemade-bomb attacks on U.S. and other coalition troops, despite a $3.5 billion Pentagon effort to stop them, a Pentagon official said Thursday.
Retired Army general Montgomery Meigs said Iraqi insurgents attacked troops of the U.S.-led coalition 1,200 times in August with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), compared with 1,100 attacks in July.
August's figure is four times as many IED attacks as were reported in January 2004.
"We know what (the enemy is) using," said Meigs, head of the Pentagon's anti-IED task force, the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. "It's not an easy thing to counter. It can be countered."
The top killers of U.S. troops in Iraq, IEDs have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 servicemembers and have wounded more than 10,000.
Among the challenges for the task force: Iraq is awash in the explosives — often artillery shells — used to make the homemade bombs, and the means of detonating them can come straight off the shelf.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-09-07-ied-us_x.htm
Bombs in Baghdad mar milestone day
Sept. 7 - On a day that was supposed to mark a significant step forward for the fledgling Iraqi government, there were vivid reminders of the seething violence that still persists.
http://usatoday.feedroom.com/ModBodyText_dsp.jsp?&REDIRECT_TO_STORY=FEEDROOM157369&nsid=b-46d49b36:10d8b9e0f18:3ca1
Bomb kills 2 U.S. soldiers, 8 others in Afghanistan
Updated 9/8/2006 4:55 AM ET
AFGHANISTAN VIOLENCE
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide car bomb struck a convoy of U.S. military vehicles in Kabul on Friday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 17, police said. Two American soldiers were among the dead and two others among the wounded, the U.S. military said.
The blast, which took place near the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital, tore a military vehicle into two burning chunks and scattered debris and body parts over a 50-yard radius.
It rattled windows throughout the downtown area and sent a plume of brown smoke spiraling into the sky.
Eight Afghan civilians were killed and 15 were wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai. Two American soldiers were among those killed, and two were wounded, said U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Tamara Lawrence. The attacker also died.
The attack came days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., which led the United States and its allies to invade Afghanistan later that year. The former Taliban regime was toppled for harboring al-Qaeda terror network chief Osama bin Laden, who was blamed for masterminding the attacks.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-08-afghan-blast_x.htm
Video shows bin Laden meeting with 9/11 plotters
Updated 9/7/2006 7:12 PM ET
Al-Jazeera via MSNBC
This image comes from a video, shown by Arab broadcaster al-Jazeera, that reportedly includes footage of al-Qaeda leaders planning the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
BIN LADEN TAPES
Audio and videotapes from Osama bin Laden since Sept. 11, 2001:
Sept. 7, 2006: Al-Jazeera broadcast what it called a previously unshown video in which al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is seen meeting with some of the Sept. 11 hijackers.
June 28, 2006: A message posted on an Islamic militant website says Osama bin Laden will issue a videotaped message paying tribute to slain al-Qaeda in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but does not say when the video would be posted or whether bin Laden would appear in the video or just speak in a voice-over.
May 23, 2006: Bin Laden purportedly says in an Internet audio tape that Zacarias Moussaoui had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks.
April 23, 2006: In an audiotape on Arab TV, bin Laden says the West is at war with Islam and calls on his followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed U.N. force.
Jan. 19, 2006: Bin Laden warns that his fighters are preparing new attacks in the United States but offers the American people a "long-term truce" without specifying the conditions, in an audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera, the pan-Arab satellite channel.
Dec. 28, 2004: An hourlong audiotape, he endorses Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and calls for a boycott of Iraqi elections.
Dec. 16, 2004: An audiotape posted on an Islamic website shows a man identified as bin Laden praising militants who attacked a U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia earlier that month and calling on militants to stop the flow of oil to the West.
Oct. 29, 2004: Al-Jazeera airs a video of bin Laden saying the United States can avoid another Sept. 11 attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.
May 6, 2004: In an online audiotape released on Islamic forums, bin Laden offers rewards of gold for the killing of U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq.
April 15, 2004: A man identifying himself as bin Laden offers a "truce" to European countries that do not attack Muslims, in an audiotape broadcast on Arab TV stations.
Jan. 4, 2004: A speaker thought to be bin Laden says on an audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera that the U.S.-led war in Iraq is the beginning of the "occupation" of Persian Gulf states for their oil. He calls on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East.
Sept. 10, 2003: In the first video image of bin Laden in nearly two years, he is shown walking through rocky terrain with top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri. In an accompanying audiotape, a voice purporting to be bin Laden's praises the "great damage to the enemy" on Sept. 11 and mentions five hijackers by name.
April 7, 2003: In an audiotape obtained by the Associated Press in Pakistan, bin Laden exhorts Muslims to rise up against Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other governments it claims are "agents of America," and calls for suicide attacks against U.S. and British interests. The CIA determines the 27-minute tape is likely authentic.
Feb. 13, 2003: An audiotape purported to be of bin Laden reads a poetic last will and testament in a recording first obtained by the British-based Islamic Al-Ansaar news agency. Bin Laden says he wants to die a martyr in a new attack against the U.S.
Feb. 11, 2003: Bin Laden tells his followers to help Saddam Hussein fight Americans in an audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera. U.S. officials say they believe the tape to be authentic.
Nov. 12, 2002: Al-Jazeera broadcasts a brief audiotape in which a voice attributed to bin Laden threatens new terrorism against the U.S. and its allies, and calls the Bush administration "the biggest serial killers in this age." U.S. experts say the tape can't be authenticated because of its poor quality.
Dec. 13, 2001: U.S. Defense Department releases videotape of bin Laden in Afghanistan on Nov. 9, 2001, saying the destruction of the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded even his "optimistic" calculations.
Source: The Associated Press
CAMPAIGN OF TERROR
New footage: Broadcast shows video of Osama bin Laden meeting with Sept. 11 hijackers Analysis: Hunt for bin Laden
Audio surfaces: Tape said to be from new al-Qaeda in Iraq leader
CAIRO (AP) — An Arab television station broadcast previously unseen footage Thursday of a smiling Osama bin Laden meeting with the top planners of the Sept. 11 attacks in an Afghan mountain camp and calling on followers to pray for the hijackers as they carry out the suicide mission.
The sections shown on Al-Jazeera TV were part of a video that al-Qaeda announced it would release later on the Internet to mark the fifth anniversary of the airborne attacks on the United States.
The video includes the last testament of two of the hijackers, Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. It shows bin Laden strolling in the camp, greeting followers, who Al-Jazeera said included some of the hijackers. But their faces are not clear in the video, and it was not immediately known which are purportedly shown.
In one scene, bin Laden addresses the camera, calling on followers to support the hijackers.
"I ask you to pray for them and to ask God to make them successful, aim their shots well, set their feet strong and strengthen their hearts," bin Laden said. The comments were apparently filmed before the attacks but never before released.
The footage was the fourth in a series of long videos that al-Qaeda has put out to memorialize the suicide hijackings against the Pentagon and World Trade Center, said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a private U.S. company that monitors militant message traffic and provides counterterrorism intelligence services for the American government.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-07-qaeda-tape_x.htm
Armitage says he was first source in CIA leak
Updated 9/7/2006 9:38 PM ET
By Katsumi Kasahara, AP
Richard Armitage, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, said he inadvertently disclosed CIA employee Valerie Plame's identity because he assumed her job was not a secret because it was included in a State Department memo.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The former No. 2 State Department official said Thursday he inadvertently disclosed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame in conversations with two reporters in 2003.
Confirming that he was the source of a leak that triggered a federal investigation, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he never intended to reveal Plame's identity. He apologized for his conversations with syndicated columnist Robert Novak and Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.
For almost three years, an investigation led by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has tried to determine whether Bush administration officials intentionally revealed Plame's identity as covert operative as a way to punish her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, for criticizing the Bush administration's march to war with Iraq.
"I made a terrible mistake, not maliciously, but I made a terrible mistake," Armitage said in a telephone interview from his home Thursday night.
He said he did not realize Plame's job was covert.
Armitage's admission suggested that the leak did not originate at the White House as retribution for Wilson's comments about the Iraq war. Wilson, a former ambassador, discounted reports that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had tried to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger to make a nuclear weapon — claims that wound up in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.
Armitage said he was not a part of a conspiracy to reveal Plame's identity and did not know whether one existed.
He described his June 2003 conversation with Woodward as an afterthought at the end of a lengthy interview.
"He said, 'Hey, what's the deal with Wilson?' and I said, 'I think his wife works out there,'" Armitage recalled.
He described a more direct conversation with Novak, who was the first to report on the issue: "He said to me, 'Why did the CIA send Ambassador Wilson to Niger?' I said, as I remember, 'I don't know, but his wife works out there.'"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-07-armitage-cia-leak_x.htm
9/11 put anonymous faces on the front page of history
Updated 9/8/2006 5:09 AM ET
By Jeff Swensen, for USA TODAY
Standing on the spot where two-thirds of Flight 93 hit the ground at over 500 mph, Somerset County coroner Wallace Miller recalls the scene on Sept. 11, 2001. Because the bodies were vaporized, "I realized early on you didn't need a coroner, you needed a funeral director," Miller said.
9/11 ANNIVERSARY
By Rick Hampson and Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
On one of the worst days in U.S. history, they stepped — or were pushed — into an instant, unexpected, often unwanted prominence. They became supporting actors in a tragedy that saw almost 3,000 of their countrymen slaughtered in less than two hours.
After Sept. 11, 2001, their names and faces suddenly were familiar to millions, only to fade in public memory in the five years since.
AUDIO GALLERY: Then and now: Path toward healing
The day's principal actors — Bush, Rumsfeld, Giuliani — have never left the stage. And we've never stopped waiting for bin Laden's next appearance.
But what of the supporting cast? The aide who whispered the catastrophic news in Bush's ear, the commissioners at Giuliani's side, the air traffic manager who grounded every plane in the sky.
Some have prospered. Former New York fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen wrote a book and joined Rudy Giuliani's security consulting firm, which does a brisk business thanks largely to the former mayor's 9/11 reputation.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-07-sept11-then-now_x.htm
Clinton officials protest 9/11 TV series
Posted 9/7/2006 7:25 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) — A "terribly wrong" miniseries about events leading to the Sept. 11 attacks blame President Clinton's policies, former Clinton administration officials said in letters demanding that ABC correct it or not air it.
But in a statement released Thursday afternoon in apparent response to the growing uproar, ABC said, "No one has seen the final version of the film, because the editing process is not yet complete, so criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible."
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Clinton Foundation head Bruce Lindsey and Clinton adviser Douglas Band wrote in the past week to Robert Iger, CEO of ABC's parent The Walt Disney Co., to express concern over The Path to 9/11.
The two-part miniseries, scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday and Monday, is drawn from interviews and documents including the report of the Sept. 11 commission. ABC has described it as a "dramatization" as opposed to a documentary.
"For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, and time compression," ABC said in its statement. "We hope viewers will watch the entire broadcast of the finished film before forming an opinion about it."
The letter writers said the miniseries contained factual errors, and that their requests to see it had gone unanswered.
"By ABC's own standard, ABC has gotten it terribly wrong," Lindsey and Band said in their letter.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-09-07-clinton-911-protest_x.htm
Possible contenders to follow Blair
Updated 9/7/2006 8:30 PM ET
Possible contenders for Labor Party leader:
Gordon Brown: Chancellor of the exchequer; deemed the successor in waiting.
John Reid: Home secretary — equivalent of the U.S. attorney general; had high visibility during the August terrorism alert.
Alan Johnson: Education secretary; believed to want the deputy leader job.
Hilary Benn: International development secretary; was special adviser to David Blunkett when he was the education secretary.
Alan Milburn: Resigned as health secretary in 2003.
Jack Straw: Former foreign secretary; current leader of the House of Commons.
Margaret Beckett: Britain's first female foreign secretary.
Charles Clarke: Replaced as home secretary by John Reid.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-07-blair-contenders_x.htm
Congressmen slam BP executives at Alaskan oil leak hearing
Updated 9/7/2006 10:14 PM ET
KEY EVENTS INVOLVING BP'S ALASKA PIPELINE
March 2: A leak is discovered in an unregulated line on the west side of Prudhoe Bay. About 267,000 gallons of crude are spilled. Corrosion is later ruled the cause.
March 15: The U.S. Transportation Department orders BP to test its three low-pressure lines in Prudhoe Bay for corrosion using an internal probe known as a "smart pig." The western line had not been smart-pigged since 1998; an eastern section of pipe had not been tested since 1992.
July 22: BP sends a smart pig through parts of the eastern pipeline, finding extensive corrosion in several places.
Aug. 6: BP begins production shutdown, starting with the eastern side.
Aug. 11: BP decides not to shut the western side of the field, meaning Prudhoe Bay will still produce about 200,000 barrels a day, half its normal total.
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress blasted BP (BP) executives Thursday for failing to prevent two oil leaks in Alaska this year, saying the company ignored signs of pipeline corrosion, cut costs despite record profits and harassed workers who raised concerns.
"Years of neglecting to inspect the most vital oil-gathering pipelines in this country is not acceptable," Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told BP officials at a hearing before the investigations subcommittee.
BP executives acknowledged their corrosion-monitoring program was deficient but insisted they were not aware of the crisis until this year.
"We didn't believe we had a corrosion problem in these lines," said Steve Marshall president of BP's Alaska operations. "Clearly in retrospect, we did."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-09-07-bp-hearing_x.htm
Killer cancer genes ID'd
Updated 9/7/2006 4:14 PM ET
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
Scientists have identified the bulk of the genes that cause breast and colorectal cancers, a finding that eventually could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat two of the leading cancer killers, according to a study published online Thursday in Science.
Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, which partially financed the research, describes the work as "groundbreaking" and "truly remarkable."
"For the first time, this tells us that you could identify what in cancer is the Achilles heel," Zerhouni says, noting that researchers should try to confirm these results. "Instead of doing what we do now, which is to give the standard treatment for everybody, we will adjust the treatment for each patient and hopefully dramatically affect their cancer."
The findings help explain why cancer remains such a daunting foe, experts say.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-07-cancer-genes_x.htm
Among 20 Spots, National Parks top the list of places in the USA leisure travelers say they would like to visit.
National Parks - 66%
Hawaiian Islands other than Oahu - 63%
Honolulu, Hawaii (Oahu) - 59%
The Florida Keys - 53%
Miscellaneous regarding late season vacation spots
Phoenix/Scottsdale makes top travel list
By Donna Hogan, Tribune
August 29, 2006
Scottsdale is expected to be hot this fall, according to travel agents nationwide. And it has nothing to do with the weather.
Phoenix/Scottsdale was the seventh most popular U.S. vacation destination for fall vacationers according to Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates.
Carlson Wagonlit is one of the largest U.S. travel agency chains. About 16 percent of the 334 agents surveyed booked trips to the Valley, more than those who sent clients to Florida hot spots such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Also good news for local tourism leaders is the lengthy stays the leisure travelers are planning.
An impressive 66 percent of the travel agents said the fall vacations average six or seven days.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=72795
Hail, Victoria!
Sightseers can see a lot of it during a special week in Cape May
September 07, 2006 - Gloria Hayes Kremer
Long after the sea has reclaimed the last few sandcastles left by summer beach-lovers, the fall season comes alive in Cape May, N. J., with one of the most entertaining celebrations in the country: the 34th annual Victorian Week.
For 10 days -- from Oct. 6 through Oct. 15 -- exciting activities glorify the unique heritage of America's first seashore resort with an astonishing variety of house tours, murder-mystery dinners, glass-blowing demonstrations, boat tours, fashion shows ... and more.
Particularly at this time of year, tranquil Cape May may be the perfect getaway to soften the reminder of the horrific events of 9/11. Although we cannot escape the memories of that traumatic day, we can realize that there are still places and experiences like this very pleasant seaside town that bring us back to the reality of how life can and should be enjoyed.
http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/10580/
A most exotic locale
Written by By Gary A. Warner/The Orange County Register
For an end-of-the-summer escape, consider exploring one of the most remote and exotic locales in the United States.
Tom Uhlenbrock/MNS - LOUNGE TIME:There’s plenty of time to relax on the scenic and seldom-traveled west end of Kauai, the smallest main island in the Hawaiian chain.
KAUAI, Hawaii — Ironically, the place where Hawaiians had “first contact” with the West is one of the least affected by Catp. John Cook’s modern descendents — tourists.
Waimea has a long list of superlatives that should make it a top destination in the islands. It’s home to Polihale, Hawaii’s longest beach, and Waimea Canyon, “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” The natural light show of the best sunsets on the island are occasionally aided by a blazing rocket launch from the Navy’s nearby Pacific Missile Range.
But West Kauai remains a vacationer’s afterthought, a day trip at most for visitors staying in Poipu, Kapaa, Princeville and other points east.
The reason I love to stay in Waimea is what drives most tourists away. No luxury hotels. No timeshare sales offices. No gourmet dining. No pricey boutiques. No Wyland whale murals. No McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell or even an outpost of Kauai’s popular Bubba’s Burgers (OK, there is a discretely positioned Subway). Even, gasp, cell phone dead zones.
http://tracypress.com/content/view/3701/2/
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