The Rooster
Friday, January 26, 2007
Morning Papers
Michael Moore Today
Escalate Yourself This Weekend!
Anti-War Groups Plan Surge on Washington
By Aaron Glantz / IPS
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 - Peace activists from around the United States will converge on Washington Saturday for what organisers hope will be the largest demonstration to date against the Iraq war.
"We expect a turnout in the six figures," said Tom Andrews, a former Democratic congressman who now runs the group Win Without War, which is organising the march along with True Majority, Working Assets, the RainbowPUSH Coalition, the National Organisation for Women and the national umbrella group United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).
UFPJ's Leslie Cagan told IPS that the level of energy in the antiwar movement has spiked since the November election, when voters ended Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
"The voters of this country figured out that they could use the November elections as a vehicle to voice their opposition to the war," Cagan said. "What happened there was that the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9079
"...the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."
"The 110th Congress must stand up to the president."
United for Peace and Justice
March on Washington, January 27, 2007
Assemble on the National Mall,
between 3rd and 7th Streets, at 11 am.
Rally 11am-1pm.
March will kick off at 1pm.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
MARCH ROUTE, MAPS & LOGISTICS
Weather: Predicted to be 48 F and sunny! However, because there might be some precipitation in Washington, DC, before Saturday, the Mall could be a little muddy. So you may wish to wear boots, or at least bring an extra pair of socks.
Confirmed speakers: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Reps. Kucinich, Waters, and Woolsey, Bob Watada, and more ...
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
Transportation Center for January 27
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ride.php
Have Housing
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/housing.php
Spread the Word About the January 27th Mobilization!
On Jan. 27, 2007, we are bringing the Mandate for Peace to Washington DC. You can help ensure that the new Congress gets the message by spreading the word far and wide. Help us make this the biggest and loudest demonstration for peace possible!
Here's how you can get involved:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3437
Jan. 27-29 Schedule of Events
Below is a schedule for the events of the Jan. 27-29 mobilization in Washington DC. Further details will be added as they are finalized, so please keep checking back here.
EVENTS ORGANIZED BY UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE (Please scroll down for information on the Interfaith Service, the Veterans For Peace action on Thursday, CodePink's Walk in Their Shoes installation, and other actions being organized during the weekend.)
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3489
Jan. 27 March Route, Parking, Logistics, What to Bring, Etc.
Scroll down and look to the right-hand side of the page for a link to a printer-friendly version of this page.)
MAP OF ASSEMBLY AREA
Click here to download a map of the assembly area on the Mall, and contingent formation locations.
MARCH ROUTE
After an arduous and long process of negotiating with the U.S. Capitol Police, a final route for the march on Jan. 27th has been agreed to. Here are the details:
1 pm -- March steps off from 3rd Street and Jefferson Drive, NW. We will take 3rd Street north to Constitution, the east on Constitution to 1st Street, NE, then south to East Capital Street. At that point we will make a U-turn in the street and head north on 1st Street to Constitution. The march will proceed west on Constitution to 1st Street, NW, where we will head south, passing between the Reflecting Pool and the West Lawn of the Capitol. The march will pick up Maryland Ave., heading west until it intersects with Independence and then going west to 4th Street. We will then turn north on 4th and end up back on the Mall.
Yes, the march will double back on itself. This means that unlike other marches, most of us will have a chance to see and be inspired by the stream of contingents from all over the nation. We will be on three sides of the Capitol building sending our message loud and clear: This war must end now!
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3499
Democratic senators won't join Iraq war protest in Washington
By Jeff Zeleny / International Herald Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for the largest anti-war march since Democrats gained control of Congress, staging the first of several protests to persuade lawmakers to do more than simply speak out against President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq.
But do not look for senators to be standing among the protesters on the National Mall. Despite the consensus building around a resolution to oppose sending more troops to Iraq, even the most liberal among Democratic senators do not appear eager to align themselves with a traditional anti-war protest.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9087
Cheney increasingly on the defensive
By Ron Hutcheson / McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney, often considered the hidden power behind the White House throne, is increasingly out in the open and on the defensive.
He's scheduled to testify at the perjury trial of his former top aide; congressional Democrats want to probe his role in the White House; and his unprecedented clout may be waning. Once widely considered a source of wisdom and experience in the White House, the vice president has become a frequent target of criticism.
On Wednesday, a testy Cheney sparred with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer over Iraq and al-Qaida and insisted that Bush administration policies have succeeded in both cases. While he's acknowledged mistakes in Iraq, he bristled when Blitzer suggested that Cheney had lost credibility because of blunders there.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9070
The Boston Globe
North Pole temperature exceeds Boston's
By Michael Grillo
Boston.com Staff
January 26, 2007
Looking to get some relief from today's icy cold temperatures? Take a trip to Anchorage, Alaska or even the North Pole.
Both locations today reached a balmy 24 and 10.5 degrees, respectively, compared to Boston's high of 12 degrees.
Bostonians are feeling the chill of single-digit temperatures with wind chills as low as -15 degrees as an arctic air mass makes its way through the region.
Temperatures in the single-digits swept into many New England cities this morning: 3 in Worcester; 9 in Hartford, Conn.; 3 in Concord, N.H.; and -3 in Bangor, Maine.
International Falls, located near the Canadian border in Minnesota and notorious for some of America's coldest weather, was 23 degrees at about 11 a.m. Even the Arctic was considerably warmer than New England: the temperature in Nuuk, a city on the coast of Greenland, reached 36 degrees today.
In Europe, it was 21 degrees in Prague; 30 in Helsinki, Finland; 28 in Oslo, Norway; and 30 in Geneva, Switzerland.
But if those hot spots don't warm your cockles, check out flights to the Bahamas (73 degrees) or Buenos Aires where it's summer and a pleasant 71.
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2007/01/26/north_pole_temperature_exceeds_bostons/?p1=MEWell_Pos1
Troops died after, not in, sneak attack
By Steven R. Hurst and Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Associated Press Writers
January 26, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Four American soldiers were abducted during a sophisticated sneak attack last week in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and their bodies were found up to 25 miles away, according to new information obtained by The Associated Press.
The brazen assault, 50 miles south of Baghdad on Jan. 20, was conducted by nine to 12 militants posing as an American security team. They traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles -- the type used by U.S. government convoys -- had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues, and spoke English.
In a written statement, the U.S. command reported at the time that five soldiers were killed while "repelling the attack." Now, two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials say four of the five were captured and taken from the governor's compound alive. Three of them were found dead and one mortally wounded later that evening in locations as far as 25 miles east of the governor's office.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/us_soldiers_not_killed_in_sneak_attack/
Cold turns boiling water to snow and keeps the MBTA up all night
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
On days as cold as today on the top of Mount Washington, a pan of boiling water thrown into the air will turn to snow before it hits the ground.
Crowbars used to clear ice off meteorological instruments snap in half like twigs.
Neil Lareau, the weather observer on duty today atop the mountain, wore three ski-masks, a pair of goggles, and a Gore-Tex hood just to step outside to take the temperature.
That's because a new record low for Jan. 26 was set today at the Mount Washington Observatory when it stayed 32.5 degrees below zero for more than four hours this morning. Add sustained winds of 67 mph, and the wind chill at the summit hit minus 83 degrees.
"We live for days like today," said Lareau, 26, who is one of six people stationed at the observatory this week. "We kind of thrive on having this reputation for the world's worst weather."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/cold_turns_boil.html
Hamas rallies across West Bank and Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip --In the year since Islamic Hamas swept parliamentary elections, Palestinians have sunk deeper into poverty, their government has been ostracized by the international community and hundreds have died in violence.
Yet the militant movement remains popular and its chief rival, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reluctant to force a showdown, either by disbanding the government or setting a date for early elections.
Hamas marked the one-year anniversary of its upset victory in Palestinian elections on Friday with celebrations that were dramatically scaled back after a new outbreak of deadly factional violence, including a deadly attack on a group of Hamas militiamen on Thursday night and retaliation that spilled over into Friday, killing nine people.
Tensions were so high that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas bowed out of a planned appearance at a rally in Jebaliya, apparently fearing it would be too dangerous to travel there. In the end, only several thousand Hamas supporters gathered in Jebaliya to celebrate Hamas' ascent to power.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/hamas_rally_across_west_bank_and_gaza/
Calif. bans toxic dry-cleaning chemical
By Samantha Young
Associated Press Writer
January 26, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --By 2023, California will completely ban the most common chemical used by dry cleaners. Under the newly enacted ban, perchloroethylene is to be phased out starting next year. The state is still debating what the alternative will be. Dry cleaning businesses are upset.
The regulation by the California Air Resources Board begins to phase out the toxic chemical next year, banning dry cleaners from buying machines that rely on the solvent. State officials say the fluid causes a variety of cancers.
The state's 3,400 dry cleaners who now use it must get rid of machines that are 15 years or older by July 2010.
"That's the wave of the future -- nontoxic, non-smog forming," said Annette Kondo, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Clean Air, a California environmental group. "We think this is going to ripple down to other states across the country."
Environmental and health advocates embraced the new rule, though they had urged the air board to accelerate the ban because of the chemical's health effects as a potential carcinogen. The solvent has contaminated one in 10 wells in California.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/01/26/california_bans_dry_cleaning_chemical/
Mass. housing market ends worst year in decade
Prices, sales tumble in December; condos are sole bright spot
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
Massachusetts house prices tumbled 5.4 percent in December, in a sour endnote to the worst year for the state's housing market in a decade.
Amid new evidence the state is still struggling to emerge from the housing downturn, economists said it is likely prices for single-family houses will continue to decline this year. Single-family sales for 2006 were 41,593, which was the lowest total since 1996, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which released its monthly market report yesterday.
"We're working through the correction," said Larissa Duzhansky, an economist with Global Insight, a Lexington economics and consulting firm. She predicted, "We're going to see home prices going down in 2007."
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/01/26/mass_housing_market_ends_worst_year_in_decade/?p1=MEWell_Pos2
Bob Seger
He's a father now, but triumphant return shows he's still a
By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
When Bob Seger laughs, it sounds exactly as you might it imagine it would.
It's a deep, rusty chuckle that starts in his belly and fights its way through the nicotine-coated throat famous for a whole mess of songs familiar to anyone who has ever listened to a classic-rock station or seen a truck commercial.
At 61, Seger is a jolly soul who laughs often. At his good fortune -- more than 50 million albums sold, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acclaim, a concert tour drawing rave reviews that comes to the TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow and the DCU Center on Tuesday. At the senior moments, he and his manager of 40 years, "Punch" Andrews, have been experiencing lately. At his ability, after an 11-year hiatus, to record an album as rock solid as his recently released "Face the Promise." And, unlike a lot of artists his age, at hearing his songs on the radio with his kids in the car.
"Oh yeah," he says in his friendly bellow on the phone from his home in Detroit. "I know every nook and cranny of all of 'em, and it's fun to hear 'em on the radio, we usually turn it up every time!"
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2007/01/26/bob_seger/
God's gay child
January 15, 2007
LOVE AND let love.
God gave me a gift, a wonderful son who happens to be gay. God does not give inferiors gifts. God does not make mistakes. This little boy that God gave to me is now a fine young man. But my son is treated like a second-class citizen by my church. Maybe my state constitution will treat him likewise. I pray that it will not.
If you had a gay loved one in your family you would be a better person. You would be sensitive to the discrimination gays endure. You would realize that they, too, are entitled to mutual love.
God will continue to send gay babies. We must take them into our hearts and our lives. That would please God.
DOROTHY DONAHUE
Norwell
Old Romney debate clip is now a hit on the Web
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff
January 11, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A video recording of former Governor Mitt Romney expressing liberal views became an Internet sensation in the political world yesterday, prompting Romney to call a conservative webcast to say that he has "grown a bit wiser" in the past 13 years
He also accused opponents of his nascent presidential campaign of attacking him because of his record fighting for conservative causes.
The five-minute clip from an October 1994 debate against Senator Edward M. Kennedy shows Romney endorsing a series of liberal viewpoints and includes statements of support for abortion rights and gay rights. The clip was viewed more than 12,000 times on Youtube.com yesterday by 10 p.m.
Last night, Romney called in to the conservative Internet broadcast "The Glenn and Helen Show" to react to the distribution of what his presidential exploratory committee called "ancient footage."
"I'm grayer, I'm a little heavier, and I hope I've grown a bit wiser as well," Romney said. "Of course, I was wrong on some issues back then. I'm not embarrassed to admit that. I think most of us learn with experience. I know I certainly have."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/11/old_romney_debate_clip_is_now_a_hit_on_the_web/
Patrick highlights black heritage more as governor
By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | January 26, 2007
BOSTON --Deval Patrick was on the cusp of becoming the first black governor of Massachusetts, yet during his campaign last year he was reluctant to talk about such a groundbreaking prospect.
Since then, the Democrat has been far more willing to publicly embrace his African-American heritage.
When a woman told him on his way into his inaugural ball it was the most integrated event she had ever seen in Boston, Patrick told the crowd of 15,000 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, "Get used to that!"
Patrick's transformation began even before he took the oath of office. It started when he placed his left hand on a Bible as he raised his right to be sworn in.
The book used at the inauguration was the so-called Mendi Bible, which slaves who commandeered the ship "Amistad" gave to former President John Quincy Adams for securing their freedom after he argued their case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1841.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/patrick_highlights_black_heritage_more_as_governor/
Sculpture lovely to look at, and thought-provoking, too
By Ken Johnson, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
Would you like to see a miracle? I'm talking about a 1-foot square slab of marble whose surface has been transformed into a vision of the Virgin Mary seated in the clouds with her infant son in her lap and cherubic angels in fluttering attendance. It's carved in low relief with breathtaking delicacy, and it looks as though the stone had melted away, leaving only this dreamy, uncannily luminous mirage.
Made between 1425 and 1435 by Donatello, who was, next to Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, "Madonna of the Clouds" welcomes visitors right at the start of "Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston," an excellent, medium-size exhibition.
For the show, curators dusted off and gathered together almost every piece of Italian Renaissance sculpture the museum owns, including works in stone, bronze, wood, and clay. It also borrowed some items from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and, from a private collection, a fascinating array of tabletop-scale bronzes.
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/01/26/sculpture_lovely_to_look_at_and_thought_provoking_too/
R.I. newspapers to be sold for $7.6m
Journal Register Co. agreed to sell three daily newspapers and its weekly newspaper group in Rhode Island for $7.6 million.
The Pennsylvania company publishes 27 daily newspapers including the New Haven Register and 368 non-daily publications.
The company identified the buyer as R.I.S.N. Operations Inc. A phone number for R.I.S.N. supplied by the Journal Register Co. belongs to Horizon Publications of Marion, Ill., which owns and operates daily and weekly publications in 16 states and two Canadian provinces, including the Newport Daily Express of Newport, Vt., according to Horizon's website. A spokesman at Horizon declined comment.
Properties in the sale included the Call of Woonsocket, the Times of Pawtucket, Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick, and its weekly group, the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group.
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/ri_newspapers_s.html
Priest defrocked after rape conviction
January 26, 2007
BOSTON --A Roman Catholic priest who's in prison for raping a teenage boy in the 1980s has been defrocked by the Vatican, the Boston Archdiocese said Friday.
Paul William Hurley, of Sandwich, can no longer perform public ministry, except for offering absolution to the dying, and will not receive financial support from the archdiocese, the archdiocese said in a statement.
Hurley was placed on administrative leave in 2001 after the allegation of sexual misconduct. He was convicted in June of repeatedly raping a 15-year-old South Boston boy in 1987 and 1988 in the rectory of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Cambridge, where Hurley was assigned.
Hurley was sentenced in July to four years in prison.
Church law requires that priests be permanently removed from ministry if an act of sexual abuse of a minor is admitted or proven through a church investigation.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/priest_defrocked_after_rape_conviction/
Norway may ease ban on stem cell study
January 26, 2007
OSLO, Norway --Norway's government on Friday proposed lifting a national ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research, saying the change might help find cures to a broad range of diseases.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any tissue in the body, leading scientists to see them as a possible source of medical breakthroughs.
Current Norwegian law, from 2003, bars use of fertilized eggs or stem cells taken from them in research and requires eggs left over after assisted pregnancies to be destroyed.
The proposed law would allow research on such eggs under strict legal and ethical limits, including consent from the parents and approval from a national ethics panel, the government proposal said.
"The government believes if is important to use the opportunities offered by science to gain knowledge that can be used to treat serious illnesses in the future," Minister of Health and Care Services Silvia Brustad said in presenting the legislation.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/01/26/norway_may_ease_stem_cell_research_ban/
Standard Register to close Vermont plant
January 26, 2007
DAYTON, Ohio --Standard Register Co., a provider of document services, on Friday said it will close a facility in Middlebury, Vt., and transfer equipment and production operations to three other U.S. plants.
The Middlebury plant, which employs about 112 people and produces business forms, will continue to perform limited production through March.
Standard Register is providing all affected employees with severance and job-finding assistance. Most workers will be able to apply for open positions at other facilities, with relocation assistance.
The redistribution of manufacturing assets to its Murfreesboro, Tenn., York, Pa. and Fayetteville, Ark. plants will move production closer to customers' locations, Standard Register said.
Shares of Standard Register rose 10 cents to $12.64 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Novell gets second warning from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. of Waltham received a second noncompliance letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to its late fiscal 2006 annual report.
Novell received the first noncompliance notice in September because it didn't file its third-quarter report. Novell delayed filing both reports pending the completion of the view of historical stock-based compensation practices.
In January, Novell had a hearing before the Nasdaq panel regarding the first noncompliance letter. The panel granted the company's request for continued listing as long as on or before March 1, Novell provides information regarding the stock-option review, and on or before March 13, the company files its quarterly report and any necessary restatements.
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/novell_gets_sec.html
Examining the path to YouTube stardom
By Jake Coyle
AP Entertainment Writer
January 26, 2007
NEW YORK --So you want to be a viral video star.
Now that web sites like YouTube have created a democratized platform for celebrity, anyone who uploads a video has a chance to become a sensation. And we've seen deals follow with TV networks and record labels.
Sounds easy, right? Except that more than 70 million videos are watched on YouTube daily. In that enormous digital wilderness, most videos fall without a sound.
To reach the pinnacle of YouTube celebrity, your video must generally rank among either the most-viewed or most-subscribed lists, which each include only 100 videos, arranged daily, weekly, monthly and by all-time.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/01/26/examining_the_path_to_youtube_stardom/
Googling YouTube
Source: Ars Technica
When Google bought YouTube last fall you may have wondered, what happens to Google Video? Well here's an answer. Go on Google Video today and do a search and you'll get both Google and YouTube videos in your search results (often mostly YouTube). Google is aiming to make Google Video be the place you'll go to "search for the world's online video content, irrespective of where it may be hosted." Ars Technica says it's only a matter of time before GooTube tells copyright holders "Hey, why don't you sell your video on the same pages as these uploaded clips." Instant upsell.
http://www.boston.com/business/blog/filter/
N.Y. scanners spark union cries of "geoslavery"
By Michelle Nichols | January 26, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every morning Dennis Colson, a surveyor at New York City's Department of Design and Construction, begins his work day by placing his hand on a scanner to log his time and attendance at the office.
The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student dining hall in 1974.
But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" and assertions that technology developed for security will be used to track, label and control workforces.
"It's frustrating, it's kind of an insult," Colson, 53, told Reuters. "They are talking about going to voice and retina scanners and that's an invasion of privacy in that they can track you wherever you go."
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/01/26/ny_scanners_spark_union_cries_of_geoslavery/
'God' references are removed from movie
By Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press Writer | January 25, 2007
ATLANTA --So much for God and country, at least during some in-flight showings of the Oscar-nominated movie "The Queen." That's because all mentions of God are bleeped out of a version of the film given to some commercial airlines.
Even in these politically correct times, censoring references to God in the film wasn't a statement of some kind. Rather, it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.
The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities -- including any blasphemy -- for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/25/god_references_are_removed_from_movie/
Mistrial after lawyer falters at closing
January 26, 2007
FARMVILLE, Va. --A judge declared a mistrial in an attempted-murder case after the defense lawyer said he couldn't continue his closing statement because he had lost his train of thought. Judge Ernest P. Gates Sr. also suggested that attorney James E. Sheffield seek medical help.
Gates declared the mistrial Thursday in the case of a man accused of shooting a police officer in the leg in 2005.
Sheffield, 74, a former judge, returned from a recess to say that he could not continue the closing argument.
Russell Smith, charged with attempted capital murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm, offered to finish the job himself.
"This is about me," he told Gates.
The judge warned against it, and Smith requested the mistrial.
Drunk man goes for unexpected train ride
January 26, 2007
FARGO, N.D. --A drunk man who tried to climb over a freight train stopped at a downtown crossing ended up going for a ride when the train took off. The 23-year-old man called 911 from his cell phone early Friday when the train reached the Casselton area west of Fargo because he was cold and wanted off, said Cass County Deputy Sheriff Shawn Getz.
Dispatchers called BNSF Railway, which alerted the train conductor.
"A few miles west of Casselton they were able to stop the train and (the man) got off," Getz said.
Authorities said the man did not require any medical treatment, and the railroad did not press charges. The man was taken to a detox center, Getz said.
Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event
January 26, 2007
ONTARIO, N.Y. --It's not your typical church breakfast. An event billed as "Porn and Pancakes" is being hosted by a church in rural upstate New York.
The breakfast discussion on the pornography industry in America is planned next month at the Living Word Assembly of God Church in the town of Ontario, about ten miles east of Rochester.
A billboard advertisement near the church shows the words "Porn and Pancakes" written in syrup on a stack of flapjacks.
Organizers told a Rochester TV station that the event on February 10th will be an honest discussion about pornography and its impact on society. The discussion will be led by Triple-X Church, a group of youth ministers who travel the country talking about porn and the porn industry.
The pastor of the Wayne County church and churches from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have asked about hosting "Porn and Pancakes" events.
On the Net:
http://www.livingwordag.com/
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/26/church_hosts_porn_and_pancakes_event/
Polite nude jogger shocks hikers, bikers
January 25, 2007
SARATOGA, Calif. --Who was that undressed man? That's the question startled hikers, bikers and horseback riders are asking about a jogger seen streaking through an open space preserve wearing nothing but sneakers, glasses and a black tam hat.
"He passed me and said `Good evening,'" said equestrian Sue Bowdoin, who spotted the naked man, middle-aged and sporting a pale paunch, while riding her horse, Randy, on a trail in Fremont Older Open Space Preserve last summer. "I thought: Ugh!"
Although numerous park users have reported seeing the exhibitionist over the last year-and-a-half, rangers have been unable to identify and arrest him for exposing himself, said Gordon Baillie of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
By most accounts, the man is polite and does nothing other than run in the buff.
A woman who saw him said he looked scared and backed away after she cornered him with her horse and told him he was offending people.
People who use the park regularly have not reported recent sightings in the cold weather, but they theorize he may be incognito because he is clothed. With dark hair, sweaty red skin and lack of body hair, he is easily recognizable, Bowdoin said.
"He's frumpy. Plain. Not in good physical shape," Bowdoin said. "It's not a pretty sight.'
Scientist develops caffeinated doughnuts
January 26, 2007
DURHAM. N.C. --That cup of coffee just not getting it done anymore? How about a Buzz Donut or a Buzzed Bagel? That's what Doctor Robert Bohannon, a Durham, North Carolina, molecular scientist, has come up with. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee.
While the product is not on the market yet, Bohannon has approached some heavyweight companies, including Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks about carrying it.
Twins give birth to sons within hours
January 25, 2007
AUBURN, Ind. --Nicole Cramer had little idea when she went to the hospital to see her twin sister's newborn son that within hours, she would give birth to a son of her own.
Her sister, Naomi Sale, had scheduled a Caesarean section on Tuesday morning and gave birth to Ethan Alexander at 8:29 a.m. Cramer, also nine months pregnant, visited Sale and her new nephew in the hospital but was having contractions and didn't stay long.
"I thought, after I did the C-section, on my way home, 'I wonder if her sister would go into labor?'" said Dr. Thaddeus Weghorst, the obstetrician for both women.
Within hours, Cramer was in the delivery room of DeKalb Memorial Hospital.
After a 1 1/2-hour labor, Cramer delivered Carter Nathaniel Birchfield.
"This solidifies the theory on the bond between twins," Weghorst said. "Even their uteri have a bond."
Cramer and Sale celebrate their 23rd birthdays Jan. 29. They were due to give birth within a day of each other at the end of January, but Weghorst's office didn't figure out they were twins until they were eight months along.
The sisters explained, in unison, that they usually had their appointments on the same day, but at different times.
Weghorst, who has been in practice for eight years, said the close deliveries were a first for him.
"I've delivered two sets of twins in the same day, but never this," he said.
The Jordan Times
Improper use of heaters leads to rise in fatalities, injuries
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of improper use of gas, wood and kerosene heaters has risen dramatically this year with officials warning of a further rise if safety measures are not properly applied by citizens.
Lieutenant Colonel Farid Shareh, head of the Public Relations Department at the Civil Defence Department (CDD), said the majority of incidents were a direct result of the public’s failure to abide by safety procedures.
During the Eid holiday, seven people, including three children, died in separate gas heater incidents in Amman and other governorates. Reports of fatalities continued after the 9-day vacation with incidents of individuals dying in their sleep because they left these heaters on overnight without proper ventilation.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews4.htm
4 dead in Beirut cast shadow over aid pledges
Paris conference pledges $7.6 billion
BEIRUT (Reuters) — Four people were shot dead in clashes between pro- and anti-government activists in Lebanon on Thursday, overshadowing a $7.6 billion aid deal by international donors to shore up the US-backed government.
Two opposition students and two other people were shot dead and 100 were injured, many by gunfire, at Beirut's Arab University, security sources said.
The Lebanese army declared a night curfew in Beirut after the clashes and leaders of both sides appealed for calm.
A campaign led by Hizbollah and Shiite and Christian allies against the government, which is struggling to recover from last year's war with Israel, has raised tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon, still recovering from a 1975-90 civil war.
Fighting started between students with sticks and stones on the university campus then spilled into nearby streets. It developed into exchanges of gunfire from assault rifles and pistols involving students and residents from both sides.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news1.htm
Israel, Jordan, Palestinians agree on economic zone — Peres
DAVOS (AP) — Israel's foreign minister reached out to the Palestinian president in an emotional speech Thursday as he sat next to her at the World Economic Forum, saying lasting peace is the dream of her people and promising that a future Palestinian state is "not an illusion... It's achievable". Tzipi Livni made clear, however, that her government would not compromise on its need for security and urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to compromise with extremists, a reference to the Hamas government's refusal to disavow its call for Israel's destruction.
But Livni, turning to face Abbas, also made a personal and impassioned plea for dialogue to begin.
"I would like to negotiate, to speak, to meet, to talk," she said. On finding peace, she said: "There is nothing I want more ... this is part of our dream, this is part of our goal." Abbas, for his part, said he was confident that the peace process could be put back on track. "We are ready as of now to start serious negotiations," he said during the public session. Afterward, the two warmly shook hands. They are to meet one-on-one at a hotel near the forum on Friday. "We are creating this momentum ... to put the train on the track and push it after that," Abbas told the Associated Press.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news2.htm
Young Global Leaders brief Queen Rania on dignity project
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania joined Young Global Leaders (YGL) for a briefing on their recent projects, including the launch of the Global Dignity Project, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.
Discussions focused on the YGLs' role in using their expertise and experience in helping their local communities as well as the global community.
One project recently launched by the YGLs is the dignity project, which seeks to raise global awareness of the universal right of every human being to lead a dignified life, and compel people around the globe to move to action in implementing these rights.
People from all over the world are welcome to sign the Dignity Principles on their website (http://www.globaldignity.org).
The Dignity Principles are based on both ethics and enlightened self-interest, the YGLs told the Queen.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews2.htm
34 killed, but Maliki vows to pursue gunmen
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Bombs killed at least 34 people in Baghdad on Thursday but Iraq's prime minister vowed a crackdown in the capital would leave gunmen nowhere to hide.
In a speech to parliament, Nouri Maliki urged politicians on all sides to support his security plan, backed by 17,000 US reinforcements and seen by many as a last chance to halt sectarian violence in the capital.
"There will be no safe haven — no school, no home, no [Sunni] mosque or Shiite mosque. They will all be raided if they are turned into a launchpad for terrorism, even the headquarters of political parties," he said.
Maliki said his determination had already borne fruit.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news3.htm
As Iraq war drags on, comparisons with Vietnam grow
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another Vietnam? Defenders of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war policy have long shrugged off such comparisons. But as the war heads towards the four-year mark and a newly-empowered Democratic Congress takes aim at presidential spending for more troops, the comparisons are becoming more frequent.
Despite Bush’s State of the Union appeal for Congress to give his new war strategy a chance, congressional Democrats joined by some Republicans are forging ahead with a resolution opposing Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.
Congress has clear constitutional authority to declare war and set spending levels. Yet limiting troops or war spending has never been easy. In Vietnam, it took years.
Nine years after Congress in its Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorised President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the Vietnam War, Congress voted in 1973 to cut off remaining funds for combat operations in Southeast Asia. By then, President Richard Nixon had already withdrawn most ground troops.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news9.htm
On winning the peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Jonathan Power
Pervez Musharraf, president and military strongman of Pakistan, opened his eyes wide, sat bolt upright on his sofa, and said: “I never thought of that.” He repeated the phrase and looked, I dare suggest, a little bewildered.
In many years of interviewing top leaders I have never before felt the sensation of catching someone totally off balance. Yet all I had asked was: “Why don’t you talk to your enemies, the Taleban and Al Qaeda?”
In two hours of conversation there was no effort, as is usual with senior Pakistani officials, to persuade me that the Taleban and Al Qaeda were being defeated or that the war in Afghanistan was going well. Indeed, there was an absence of bravado and a receptivity to new, so far unconsidered, ideas.
Pakistan is the hub of the Anglo-American/NATO war against Al Qaeda and the Taleban. The British have here their largest embassy in the world. The city is full to the brim with American secret agents and senior military people. But the truth is the war in Afghanistan is going badly. The Taleban are gaining the upper hand, financially fuelled by proceeds from growing poppy, which they now encourage in a reverse of policy when they were in power, when they ruled that it was un-Islamic. Al Qaeda, too, high up in the mountains of Pakistan, is rebuilding its strength.
Katsav — Israel’s bland president facing disgrace
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli President Moshe Katsav, whose leave of absence over a looming rape indictment was approved by parliament on Thursday, is a bland bureaucrat who rose from impoverished origins as an immigrant from Iran to assume the nation's top job.
After more than four hours of debate, a Knesset committee approved by a vote of 13 to 11 that Katsav be suspended from office for three months because of the allegations — the most serious ever levelled against an Israeli leader.
Katsav requested the leave of absence after the attorney general said on Tuesday that he intended to indict him on a slew of charges including rape, sexual harassment and abuse of power.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news5.htm
Mortars hit Somalia’s international airport, killing 2
MOGADISHU (AP) — Gunmen launched mortars on Mogadishu International Airport, killing at least two people a day after powerful troops from neighbouring Ethiopia began withdrawing from this chaotic nation.
Also Wednesday, US defence officials said the United States launched an air strike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets — the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news7.htm
UK consultancy to provide technical assistance for water management
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday signed a 1.175-million euro agreement with the European Commission for improving management of water and wastewater services in the country.
Under the deal, signed by Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem and Head of the European Commission Delegation in Amman Patrick Renauld, the Ian Pope Associates (IPA) Energy + Water Consulting will provide the ministry with technical assistance for the project.
As part of the EU-funded agreement, an audit unit to monitor the water sector’s performance will be created if approved by the government.
In addition, the British consulting company will provide technical assistance to the programme management unit (PMU) at the ministry to help it implement all water-related projects, Renauld said during the signing ceremony.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews6.htm
The new cold war — Middle East style
Rami G. Khouri
Lebanon and Palestine are the most dramatic examples of the new ideological battle that now defines much of the Middle East, where local players and medium-strength regional powers often interact with one another in parallel with foreign powers’ interests and goals.
While tensions were increasing in Beirut last weekend in anticipation of the January 23 national strike by the Hizbollah-led opposition against the Siniora-Hariri-led government, in nearby Damascus, the leaders of the two major Palestinian political groups, Hamas and Fateh, were meeting under Syrian auspices to try and solve their dispute over who rules Palestine and defines its foreign policy vis-à-vis Israel.
If you were too young to remember the cold war between the American- and Soviet-led global camps, study this dynamic closely, because it is a miniature regional version of the former global contest. It is possible that the Middle East-anchored new cold war we are living through these days may persist for many years, or it may be over in two or three years, depending on how both sides harness and use their competitive assets. For now, we can only identify some of the new rules and realities of the regional confrontation.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion2.htm
Escalate Yourself This Weekend!
Anti-War Groups Plan Surge on Washington
By Aaron Glantz / IPS
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 - Peace activists from around the United States will converge on Washington Saturday for what organisers hope will be the largest demonstration to date against the Iraq war.
"We expect a turnout in the six figures," said Tom Andrews, a former Democratic congressman who now runs the group Win Without War, which is organising the march along with True Majority, Working Assets, the RainbowPUSH Coalition, the National Organisation for Women and the national umbrella group United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).
UFPJ's Leslie Cagan told IPS that the level of energy in the antiwar movement has spiked since the November election, when voters ended Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
"The voters of this country figured out that they could use the November elections as a vehicle to voice their opposition to the war," Cagan said. "What happened there was that the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9079
"...the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."
"The 110th Congress must stand up to the president."
United for Peace and Justice
March on Washington, January 27, 2007
Assemble on the National Mall,
between 3rd and 7th Streets, at 11 am.
Rally 11am-1pm.
March will kick off at 1pm.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
MARCH ROUTE, MAPS & LOGISTICS
Weather: Predicted to be 48 F and sunny! However, because there might be some precipitation in Washington, DC, before Saturday, the Mall could be a little muddy. So you may wish to wear boots, or at least bring an extra pair of socks.
Confirmed speakers: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Reps. Kucinich, Waters, and Woolsey, Bob Watada, and more ...
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
Transportation Center for January 27
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ride.php
Have Housing
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/housing.php
Spread the Word About the January 27th Mobilization!
On Jan. 27, 2007, we are bringing the Mandate for Peace to Washington DC. You can help ensure that the new Congress gets the message by spreading the word far and wide. Help us make this the biggest and loudest demonstration for peace possible!
Here's how you can get involved:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3437
Jan. 27-29 Schedule of Events
Below is a schedule for the events of the Jan. 27-29 mobilization in Washington DC. Further details will be added as they are finalized, so please keep checking back here.
EVENTS ORGANIZED BY UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE (Please scroll down for information on the Interfaith Service, the Veterans For Peace action on Thursday, CodePink's Walk in Their Shoes installation, and other actions being organized during the weekend.)
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3489
Jan. 27 March Route, Parking, Logistics, What to Bring, Etc.
Scroll down and look to the right-hand side of the page for a link to a printer-friendly version of this page.)
MAP OF ASSEMBLY AREA
Click here to download a map of the assembly area on the Mall, and contingent formation locations.
MARCH ROUTE
After an arduous and long process of negotiating with the U.S. Capitol Police, a final route for the march on Jan. 27th has been agreed to. Here are the details:
1 pm -- March steps off from 3rd Street and Jefferson Drive, NW. We will take 3rd Street north to Constitution, the east on Constitution to 1st Street, NE, then south to East Capital Street. At that point we will make a U-turn in the street and head north on 1st Street to Constitution. The march will proceed west on Constitution to 1st Street, NW, where we will head south, passing between the Reflecting Pool and the West Lawn of the Capitol. The march will pick up Maryland Ave., heading west until it intersects with Independence and then going west to 4th Street. We will then turn north on 4th and end up back on the Mall.
Yes, the march will double back on itself. This means that unlike other marches, most of us will have a chance to see and be inspired by the stream of contingents from all over the nation. We will be on three sides of the Capitol building sending our message loud and clear: This war must end now!
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3499
Democratic senators won't join Iraq war protest in Washington
By Jeff Zeleny / International Herald Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for the largest anti-war march since Democrats gained control of Congress, staging the first of several protests to persuade lawmakers to do more than simply speak out against President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq.
But do not look for senators to be standing among the protesters on the National Mall. Despite the consensus building around a resolution to oppose sending more troops to Iraq, even the most liberal among Democratic senators do not appear eager to align themselves with a traditional anti-war protest.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9087
Cheney increasingly on the defensive
By Ron Hutcheson / McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney, often considered the hidden power behind the White House throne, is increasingly out in the open and on the defensive.
He's scheduled to testify at the perjury trial of his former top aide; congressional Democrats want to probe his role in the White House; and his unprecedented clout may be waning. Once widely considered a source of wisdom and experience in the White House, the vice president has become a frequent target of criticism.
On Wednesday, a testy Cheney sparred with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer over Iraq and al-Qaida and insisted that Bush administration policies have succeeded in both cases. While he's acknowledged mistakes in Iraq, he bristled when Blitzer suggested that Cheney had lost credibility because of blunders there.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9070
The Boston Globe
North Pole temperature exceeds Boston's
By Michael Grillo
Boston.com Staff
January 26, 2007
Looking to get some relief from today's icy cold temperatures? Take a trip to Anchorage, Alaska or even the North Pole.
Both locations today reached a balmy 24 and 10.5 degrees, respectively, compared to Boston's high of 12 degrees.
Bostonians are feeling the chill of single-digit temperatures with wind chills as low as -15 degrees as an arctic air mass makes its way through the region.
Temperatures in the single-digits swept into many New England cities this morning: 3 in Worcester; 9 in Hartford, Conn.; 3 in Concord, N.H.; and -3 in Bangor, Maine.
International Falls, located near the Canadian border in Minnesota and notorious for some of America's coldest weather, was 23 degrees at about 11 a.m. Even the Arctic was considerably warmer than New England: the temperature in Nuuk, a city on the coast of Greenland, reached 36 degrees today.
In Europe, it was 21 degrees in Prague; 30 in Helsinki, Finland; 28 in Oslo, Norway; and 30 in Geneva, Switzerland.
But if those hot spots don't warm your cockles, check out flights to the Bahamas (73 degrees) or Buenos Aires where it's summer and a pleasant 71.
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2007/01/26/north_pole_temperature_exceeds_bostons/?p1=MEWell_Pos1
Troops died after, not in, sneak attack
By Steven R. Hurst and Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Associated Press Writers
January 26, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Four American soldiers were abducted during a sophisticated sneak attack last week in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and their bodies were found up to 25 miles away, according to new information obtained by The Associated Press.
The brazen assault, 50 miles south of Baghdad on Jan. 20, was conducted by nine to 12 militants posing as an American security team. They traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles -- the type used by U.S. government convoys -- had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues, and spoke English.
In a written statement, the U.S. command reported at the time that five soldiers were killed while "repelling the attack." Now, two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials say four of the five were captured and taken from the governor's compound alive. Three of them were found dead and one mortally wounded later that evening in locations as far as 25 miles east of the governor's office.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/us_soldiers_not_killed_in_sneak_attack/
Cold turns boiling water to snow and keeps the MBTA up all night
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
On days as cold as today on the top of Mount Washington, a pan of boiling water thrown into the air will turn to snow before it hits the ground.
Crowbars used to clear ice off meteorological instruments snap in half like twigs.
Neil Lareau, the weather observer on duty today atop the mountain, wore three ski-masks, a pair of goggles, and a Gore-Tex hood just to step outside to take the temperature.
That's because a new record low for Jan. 26 was set today at the Mount Washington Observatory when it stayed 32.5 degrees below zero for more than four hours this morning. Add sustained winds of 67 mph, and the wind chill at the summit hit minus 83 degrees.
"We live for days like today," said Lareau, 26, who is one of six people stationed at the observatory this week. "We kind of thrive on having this reputation for the world's worst weather."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/cold_turns_boil.html
Hamas rallies across West Bank and Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip --In the year since Islamic Hamas swept parliamentary elections, Palestinians have sunk deeper into poverty, their government has been ostracized by the international community and hundreds have died in violence.
Yet the militant movement remains popular and its chief rival, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reluctant to force a showdown, either by disbanding the government or setting a date for early elections.
Hamas marked the one-year anniversary of its upset victory in Palestinian elections on Friday with celebrations that were dramatically scaled back after a new outbreak of deadly factional violence, including a deadly attack on a group of Hamas militiamen on Thursday night and retaliation that spilled over into Friday, killing nine people.
Tensions were so high that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas bowed out of a planned appearance at a rally in Jebaliya, apparently fearing it would be too dangerous to travel there. In the end, only several thousand Hamas supporters gathered in Jebaliya to celebrate Hamas' ascent to power.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/hamas_rally_across_west_bank_and_gaza/
Calif. bans toxic dry-cleaning chemical
By Samantha Young
Associated Press Writer
January 26, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --By 2023, California will completely ban the most common chemical used by dry cleaners. Under the newly enacted ban, perchloroethylene is to be phased out starting next year. The state is still debating what the alternative will be. Dry cleaning businesses are upset.
The regulation by the California Air Resources Board begins to phase out the toxic chemical next year, banning dry cleaners from buying machines that rely on the solvent. State officials say the fluid causes a variety of cancers.
The state's 3,400 dry cleaners who now use it must get rid of machines that are 15 years or older by July 2010.
"That's the wave of the future -- nontoxic, non-smog forming," said Annette Kondo, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Clean Air, a California environmental group. "We think this is going to ripple down to other states across the country."
Environmental and health advocates embraced the new rule, though they had urged the air board to accelerate the ban because of the chemical's health effects as a potential carcinogen. The solvent has contaminated one in 10 wells in California.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/01/26/california_bans_dry_cleaning_chemical/
Mass. housing market ends worst year in decade
Prices, sales tumble in December; condos are sole bright spot
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
Massachusetts house prices tumbled 5.4 percent in December, in a sour endnote to the worst year for the state's housing market in a decade.
Amid new evidence the state is still struggling to emerge from the housing downturn, economists said it is likely prices for single-family houses will continue to decline this year. Single-family sales for 2006 were 41,593, which was the lowest total since 1996, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which released its monthly market report yesterday.
"We're working through the correction," said Larissa Duzhansky, an economist with Global Insight, a Lexington economics and consulting firm. She predicted, "We're going to see home prices going down in 2007."
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/01/26/mass_housing_market_ends_worst_year_in_decade/?p1=MEWell_Pos2
Bob Seger
He's a father now, but triumphant return shows he's still a
By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
When Bob Seger laughs, it sounds exactly as you might it imagine it would.
It's a deep, rusty chuckle that starts in his belly and fights its way through the nicotine-coated throat famous for a whole mess of songs familiar to anyone who has ever listened to a classic-rock station or seen a truck commercial.
At 61, Seger is a jolly soul who laughs often. At his good fortune -- more than 50 million albums sold, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acclaim, a concert tour drawing rave reviews that comes to the TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow and the DCU Center on Tuesday. At the senior moments, he and his manager of 40 years, "Punch" Andrews, have been experiencing lately. At his ability, after an 11-year hiatus, to record an album as rock solid as his recently released "Face the Promise." And, unlike a lot of artists his age, at hearing his songs on the radio with his kids in the car.
"Oh yeah," he says in his friendly bellow on the phone from his home in Detroit. "I know every nook and cranny of all of 'em, and it's fun to hear 'em on the radio, we usually turn it up every time!"
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2007/01/26/bob_seger/
God's gay child
January 15, 2007
LOVE AND let love.
God gave me a gift, a wonderful son who happens to be gay. God does not give inferiors gifts. God does not make mistakes. This little boy that God gave to me is now a fine young man. But my son is treated like a second-class citizen by my church. Maybe my state constitution will treat him likewise. I pray that it will not.
If you had a gay loved one in your family you would be a better person. You would be sensitive to the discrimination gays endure. You would realize that they, too, are entitled to mutual love.
God will continue to send gay babies. We must take them into our hearts and our lives. That would please God.
DOROTHY DONAHUE
Norwell
Old Romney debate clip is now a hit on the Web
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff
January 11, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A video recording of former Governor Mitt Romney expressing liberal views became an Internet sensation in the political world yesterday, prompting Romney to call a conservative webcast to say that he has "grown a bit wiser" in the past 13 years
He also accused opponents of his nascent presidential campaign of attacking him because of his record fighting for conservative causes.
The five-minute clip from an October 1994 debate against Senator Edward M. Kennedy shows Romney endorsing a series of liberal viewpoints and includes statements of support for abortion rights and gay rights. The clip was viewed more than 12,000 times on Youtube.com yesterday by 10 p.m.
Last night, Romney called in to the conservative Internet broadcast "The Glenn and Helen Show" to react to the distribution of what his presidential exploratory committee called "ancient footage."
"I'm grayer, I'm a little heavier, and I hope I've grown a bit wiser as well," Romney said. "Of course, I was wrong on some issues back then. I'm not embarrassed to admit that. I think most of us learn with experience. I know I certainly have."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/11/old_romney_debate_clip_is_now_a_hit_on_the_web/
Patrick highlights black heritage more as governor
By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | January 26, 2007
BOSTON --Deval Patrick was on the cusp of becoming the first black governor of Massachusetts, yet during his campaign last year he was reluctant to talk about such a groundbreaking prospect.
Since then, the Democrat has been far more willing to publicly embrace his African-American heritage.
When a woman told him on his way into his inaugural ball it was the most integrated event she had ever seen in Boston, Patrick told the crowd of 15,000 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, "Get used to that!"
Patrick's transformation began even before he took the oath of office. It started when he placed his left hand on a Bible as he raised his right to be sworn in.
The book used at the inauguration was the so-called Mendi Bible, which slaves who commandeered the ship "Amistad" gave to former President John Quincy Adams for securing their freedom after he argued their case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1841.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/patrick_highlights_black_heritage_more_as_governor/
Sculpture lovely to look at, and thought-provoking, too
By Ken Johnson, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
Would you like to see a miracle? I'm talking about a 1-foot square slab of marble whose surface has been transformed into a vision of the Virgin Mary seated in the clouds with her infant son in her lap and cherubic angels in fluttering attendance. It's carved in low relief with breathtaking delicacy, and it looks as though the stone had melted away, leaving only this dreamy, uncannily luminous mirage.
Made between 1425 and 1435 by Donatello, who was, next to Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, "Madonna of the Clouds" welcomes visitors right at the start of "Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston," an excellent, medium-size exhibition.
For the show, curators dusted off and gathered together almost every piece of Italian Renaissance sculpture the museum owns, including works in stone, bronze, wood, and clay. It also borrowed some items from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and, from a private collection, a fascinating array of tabletop-scale bronzes.
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/01/26/sculpture_lovely_to_look_at_and_thought_provoking_too/
R.I. newspapers to be sold for $7.6m
Journal Register Co. agreed to sell three daily newspapers and its weekly newspaper group in Rhode Island for $7.6 million.
The Pennsylvania company publishes 27 daily newspapers including the New Haven Register and 368 non-daily publications.
The company identified the buyer as R.I.S.N. Operations Inc. A phone number for R.I.S.N. supplied by the Journal Register Co. belongs to Horizon Publications of Marion, Ill., which owns and operates daily and weekly publications in 16 states and two Canadian provinces, including the Newport Daily Express of Newport, Vt., according to Horizon's website. A spokesman at Horizon declined comment.
Properties in the sale included the Call of Woonsocket, the Times of Pawtucket, Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick, and its weekly group, the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group.
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/ri_newspapers_s.html
Priest defrocked after rape conviction
January 26, 2007
BOSTON --A Roman Catholic priest who's in prison for raping a teenage boy in the 1980s has been defrocked by the Vatican, the Boston Archdiocese said Friday.
Paul William Hurley, of Sandwich, can no longer perform public ministry, except for offering absolution to the dying, and will not receive financial support from the archdiocese, the archdiocese said in a statement.
Hurley was placed on administrative leave in 2001 after the allegation of sexual misconduct. He was convicted in June of repeatedly raping a 15-year-old South Boston boy in 1987 and 1988 in the rectory of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Cambridge, where Hurley was assigned.
Hurley was sentenced in July to four years in prison.
Church law requires that priests be permanently removed from ministry if an act of sexual abuse of a minor is admitted or proven through a church investigation.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/priest_defrocked_after_rape_conviction/
Norway may ease ban on stem cell study
January 26, 2007
OSLO, Norway --Norway's government on Friday proposed lifting a national ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research, saying the change might help find cures to a broad range of diseases.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any tissue in the body, leading scientists to see them as a possible source of medical breakthroughs.
Current Norwegian law, from 2003, bars use of fertilized eggs or stem cells taken from them in research and requires eggs left over after assisted pregnancies to be destroyed.
The proposed law would allow research on such eggs under strict legal and ethical limits, including consent from the parents and approval from a national ethics panel, the government proposal said.
"The government believes if is important to use the opportunities offered by science to gain knowledge that can be used to treat serious illnesses in the future," Minister of Health and Care Services Silvia Brustad said in presenting the legislation.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/01/26/norway_may_ease_stem_cell_research_ban/
Standard Register to close Vermont plant
January 26, 2007
DAYTON, Ohio --Standard Register Co., a provider of document services, on Friday said it will close a facility in Middlebury, Vt., and transfer equipment and production operations to three other U.S. plants.
The Middlebury plant, which employs about 112 people and produces business forms, will continue to perform limited production through March.
Standard Register is providing all affected employees with severance and job-finding assistance. Most workers will be able to apply for open positions at other facilities, with relocation assistance.
The redistribution of manufacturing assets to its Murfreesboro, Tenn., York, Pa. and Fayetteville, Ark. plants will move production closer to customers' locations, Standard Register said.
Shares of Standard Register rose 10 cents to $12.64 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Novell gets second warning from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. of Waltham received a second noncompliance letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to its late fiscal 2006 annual report.
Novell received the first noncompliance notice in September because it didn't file its third-quarter report. Novell delayed filing both reports pending the completion of the view of historical stock-based compensation practices.
In January, Novell had a hearing before the Nasdaq panel regarding the first noncompliance letter. The panel granted the company's request for continued listing as long as on or before March 1, Novell provides information regarding the stock-option review, and on or before March 13, the company files its quarterly report and any necessary restatements.
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/novell_gets_sec.html
Examining the path to YouTube stardom
By Jake Coyle
AP Entertainment Writer
January 26, 2007
NEW YORK --So you want to be a viral video star.
Now that web sites like YouTube have created a democratized platform for celebrity, anyone who uploads a video has a chance to become a sensation. And we've seen deals follow with TV networks and record labels.
Sounds easy, right? Except that more than 70 million videos are watched on YouTube daily. In that enormous digital wilderness, most videos fall without a sound.
To reach the pinnacle of YouTube celebrity, your video must generally rank among either the most-viewed or most-subscribed lists, which each include only 100 videos, arranged daily, weekly, monthly and by all-time.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/01/26/examining_the_path_to_youtube_stardom/
Googling YouTube
Source: Ars Technica
When Google bought YouTube last fall you may have wondered, what happens to Google Video? Well here's an answer. Go on Google Video today and do a search and you'll get both Google and YouTube videos in your search results (often mostly YouTube). Google is aiming to make Google Video be the place you'll go to "search for the world's online video content, irrespective of where it may be hosted." Ars Technica says it's only a matter of time before GooTube tells copyright holders "Hey, why don't you sell your video on the same pages as these uploaded clips." Instant upsell.
http://www.boston.com/business/blog/filter/
N.Y. scanners spark union cries of "geoslavery"
By Michelle Nichols | January 26, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every morning Dennis Colson, a surveyor at New York City's Department of Design and Construction, begins his work day by placing his hand on a scanner to log his time and attendance at the office.
The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student dining hall in 1974.
But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" and assertions that technology developed for security will be used to track, label and control workforces.
"It's frustrating, it's kind of an insult," Colson, 53, told Reuters. "They are talking about going to voice and retina scanners and that's an invasion of privacy in that they can track you wherever you go."
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/01/26/ny_scanners_spark_union_cries_of_geoslavery/
'God' references are removed from movie
By Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press Writer | January 25, 2007
ATLANTA --So much for God and country, at least during some in-flight showings of the Oscar-nominated movie "The Queen." That's because all mentions of God are bleeped out of a version of the film given to some commercial airlines.
Even in these politically correct times, censoring references to God in the film wasn't a statement of some kind. Rather, it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.
The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities -- including any blasphemy -- for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/25/god_references_are_removed_from_movie/
Mistrial after lawyer falters at closing
January 26, 2007
FARMVILLE, Va. --A judge declared a mistrial in an attempted-murder case after the defense lawyer said he couldn't continue his closing statement because he had lost his train of thought. Judge Ernest P. Gates Sr. also suggested that attorney James E. Sheffield seek medical help.
Gates declared the mistrial Thursday in the case of a man accused of shooting a police officer in the leg in 2005.
Sheffield, 74, a former judge, returned from a recess to say that he could not continue the closing argument.
Russell Smith, charged with attempted capital murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm, offered to finish the job himself.
"This is about me," he told Gates.
The judge warned against it, and Smith requested the mistrial.
Drunk man goes for unexpected train ride
January 26, 2007
FARGO, N.D. --A drunk man who tried to climb over a freight train stopped at a downtown crossing ended up going for a ride when the train took off. The 23-year-old man called 911 from his cell phone early Friday when the train reached the Casselton area west of Fargo because he was cold and wanted off, said Cass County Deputy Sheriff Shawn Getz.
Dispatchers called BNSF Railway, which alerted the train conductor.
"A few miles west of Casselton they were able to stop the train and (the man) got off," Getz said.
Authorities said the man did not require any medical treatment, and the railroad did not press charges. The man was taken to a detox center, Getz said.
Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event
January 26, 2007
ONTARIO, N.Y. --It's not your typical church breakfast. An event billed as "Porn and Pancakes" is being hosted by a church in rural upstate New York.
The breakfast discussion on the pornography industry in America is planned next month at the Living Word Assembly of God Church in the town of Ontario, about ten miles east of Rochester.
A billboard advertisement near the church shows the words "Porn and Pancakes" written in syrup on a stack of flapjacks.
Organizers told a Rochester TV station that the event on February 10th will be an honest discussion about pornography and its impact on society. The discussion will be led by Triple-X Church, a group of youth ministers who travel the country talking about porn and the porn industry.
The pastor of the Wayne County church and churches from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have asked about hosting "Porn and Pancakes" events.
On the Net:
http://www.livingwordag.com/
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/26/church_hosts_porn_and_pancakes_event/
Polite nude jogger shocks hikers, bikers
January 25, 2007
SARATOGA, Calif. --Who was that undressed man? That's the question startled hikers, bikers and horseback riders are asking about a jogger seen streaking through an open space preserve wearing nothing but sneakers, glasses and a black tam hat.
"He passed me and said `Good evening,'" said equestrian Sue Bowdoin, who spotted the naked man, middle-aged and sporting a pale paunch, while riding her horse, Randy, on a trail in Fremont Older Open Space Preserve last summer. "I thought: Ugh!"
Although numerous park users have reported seeing the exhibitionist over the last year-and-a-half, rangers have been unable to identify and arrest him for exposing himself, said Gordon Baillie of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
By most accounts, the man is polite and does nothing other than run in the buff.
A woman who saw him said he looked scared and backed away after she cornered him with her horse and told him he was offending people.
People who use the park regularly have not reported recent sightings in the cold weather, but they theorize he may be incognito because he is clothed. With dark hair, sweaty red skin and lack of body hair, he is easily recognizable, Bowdoin said.
"He's frumpy. Plain. Not in good physical shape," Bowdoin said. "It's not a pretty sight.'
Scientist develops caffeinated doughnuts
January 26, 2007
DURHAM. N.C. --That cup of coffee just not getting it done anymore? How about a Buzz Donut or a Buzzed Bagel? That's what Doctor Robert Bohannon, a Durham, North Carolina, molecular scientist, has come up with. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee.
While the product is not on the market yet, Bohannon has approached some heavyweight companies, including Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks about carrying it.
Twins give birth to sons within hours
January 25, 2007
AUBURN, Ind. --Nicole Cramer had little idea when she went to the hospital to see her twin sister's newborn son that within hours, she would give birth to a son of her own.
Her sister, Naomi Sale, had scheduled a Caesarean section on Tuesday morning and gave birth to Ethan Alexander at 8:29 a.m. Cramer, also nine months pregnant, visited Sale and her new nephew in the hospital but was having contractions and didn't stay long.
"I thought, after I did the C-section, on my way home, 'I wonder if her sister would go into labor?'" said Dr. Thaddeus Weghorst, the obstetrician for both women.
Within hours, Cramer was in the delivery room of DeKalb Memorial Hospital.
After a 1 1/2-hour labor, Cramer delivered Carter Nathaniel Birchfield.
"This solidifies the theory on the bond between twins," Weghorst said. "Even their uteri have a bond."
Cramer and Sale celebrate their 23rd birthdays Jan. 29. They were due to give birth within a day of each other at the end of January, but Weghorst's office didn't figure out they were twins until they were eight months along.
The sisters explained, in unison, that they usually had their appointments on the same day, but at different times.
Weghorst, who has been in practice for eight years, said the close deliveries were a first for him.
"I've delivered two sets of twins in the same day, but never this," he said.
The Jordan Times
Improper use of heaters leads to rise in fatalities, injuries
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of improper use of gas, wood and kerosene heaters has risen dramatically this year with officials warning of a further rise if safety measures are not properly applied by citizens.
Lieutenant Colonel Farid Shareh, head of the Public Relations Department at the Civil Defence Department (CDD), said the majority of incidents were a direct result of the public’s failure to abide by safety procedures.
During the Eid holiday, seven people, including three children, died in separate gas heater incidents in Amman and other governorates. Reports of fatalities continued after the 9-day vacation with incidents of individuals dying in their sleep because they left these heaters on overnight without proper ventilation.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews4.htm
4 dead in Beirut cast shadow over aid pledges
Paris conference pledges $7.6 billion
BEIRUT (Reuters) — Four people were shot dead in clashes between pro- and anti-government activists in Lebanon on Thursday, overshadowing a $7.6 billion aid deal by international donors to shore up the US-backed government.
Two opposition students and two other people were shot dead and 100 were injured, many by gunfire, at Beirut's Arab University, security sources said.
The Lebanese army declared a night curfew in Beirut after the clashes and leaders of both sides appealed for calm.
A campaign led by Hizbollah and Shiite and Christian allies against the government, which is struggling to recover from last year's war with Israel, has raised tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon, still recovering from a 1975-90 civil war.
Fighting started between students with sticks and stones on the university campus then spilled into nearby streets. It developed into exchanges of gunfire from assault rifles and pistols involving students and residents from both sides.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news1.htm
Israel, Jordan, Palestinians agree on economic zone — Peres
DAVOS (AP) — Israel's foreign minister reached out to the Palestinian president in an emotional speech Thursday as he sat next to her at the World Economic Forum, saying lasting peace is the dream of her people and promising that a future Palestinian state is "not an illusion... It's achievable". Tzipi Livni made clear, however, that her government would not compromise on its need for security and urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to compromise with extremists, a reference to the Hamas government's refusal to disavow its call for Israel's destruction.
But Livni, turning to face Abbas, also made a personal and impassioned plea for dialogue to begin.
"I would like to negotiate, to speak, to meet, to talk," she said. On finding peace, she said: "There is nothing I want more ... this is part of our dream, this is part of our goal." Abbas, for his part, said he was confident that the peace process could be put back on track. "We are ready as of now to start serious negotiations," he said during the public session. Afterward, the two warmly shook hands. They are to meet one-on-one at a hotel near the forum on Friday. "We are creating this momentum ... to put the train on the track and push it after that," Abbas told the Associated Press.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news2.htm
Young Global Leaders brief Queen Rania on dignity project
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania joined Young Global Leaders (YGL) for a briefing on their recent projects, including the launch of the Global Dignity Project, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.
Discussions focused on the YGLs' role in using their expertise and experience in helping their local communities as well as the global community.
One project recently launched by the YGLs is the dignity project, which seeks to raise global awareness of the universal right of every human being to lead a dignified life, and compel people around the globe to move to action in implementing these rights.
People from all over the world are welcome to sign the Dignity Principles on their website (http://www.globaldignity.org).
The Dignity Principles are based on both ethics and enlightened self-interest, the YGLs told the Queen.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews2.htm
34 killed, but Maliki vows to pursue gunmen
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Bombs killed at least 34 people in Baghdad on Thursday but Iraq's prime minister vowed a crackdown in the capital would leave gunmen nowhere to hide.
In a speech to parliament, Nouri Maliki urged politicians on all sides to support his security plan, backed by 17,000 US reinforcements and seen by many as a last chance to halt sectarian violence in the capital.
"There will be no safe haven — no school, no home, no [Sunni] mosque or Shiite mosque. They will all be raided if they are turned into a launchpad for terrorism, even the headquarters of political parties," he said.
Maliki said his determination had already borne fruit.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news3.htm
As Iraq war drags on, comparisons with Vietnam grow
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another Vietnam? Defenders of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war policy have long shrugged off such comparisons. But as the war heads towards the four-year mark and a newly-empowered Democratic Congress takes aim at presidential spending for more troops, the comparisons are becoming more frequent.
Despite Bush’s State of the Union appeal for Congress to give his new war strategy a chance, congressional Democrats joined by some Republicans are forging ahead with a resolution opposing Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.
Congress has clear constitutional authority to declare war and set spending levels. Yet limiting troops or war spending has never been easy. In Vietnam, it took years.
Nine years after Congress in its Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorised President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the Vietnam War, Congress voted in 1973 to cut off remaining funds for combat operations in Southeast Asia. By then, President Richard Nixon had already withdrawn most ground troops.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news9.htm
On winning the peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Jonathan Power
Pervez Musharraf, president and military strongman of Pakistan, opened his eyes wide, sat bolt upright on his sofa, and said: “I never thought of that.” He repeated the phrase and looked, I dare suggest, a little bewildered.
In many years of interviewing top leaders I have never before felt the sensation of catching someone totally off balance. Yet all I had asked was: “Why don’t you talk to your enemies, the Taleban and Al Qaeda?”
In two hours of conversation there was no effort, as is usual with senior Pakistani officials, to persuade me that the Taleban and Al Qaeda were being defeated or that the war in Afghanistan was going well. Indeed, there was an absence of bravado and a receptivity to new, so far unconsidered, ideas.
Pakistan is the hub of the Anglo-American/NATO war against Al Qaeda and the Taleban. The British have here their largest embassy in the world. The city is full to the brim with American secret agents and senior military people. But the truth is the war in Afghanistan is going badly. The Taleban are gaining the upper hand, financially fuelled by proceeds from growing poppy, which they now encourage in a reverse of policy when they were in power, when they ruled that it was un-Islamic. Al Qaeda, too, high up in the mountains of Pakistan, is rebuilding its strength.
Katsav — Israel’s bland president facing disgrace
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli President Moshe Katsav, whose leave of absence over a looming rape indictment was approved by parliament on Thursday, is a bland bureaucrat who rose from impoverished origins as an immigrant from Iran to assume the nation's top job.
After more than four hours of debate, a Knesset committee approved by a vote of 13 to 11 that Katsav be suspended from office for three months because of the allegations — the most serious ever levelled against an Israeli leader.
Katsav requested the leave of absence after the attorney general said on Tuesday that he intended to indict him on a slew of charges including rape, sexual harassment and abuse of power.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news5.htm
Mortars hit Somalia’s international airport, killing 2
MOGADISHU (AP) — Gunmen launched mortars on Mogadishu International Airport, killing at least two people a day after powerful troops from neighbouring Ethiopia began withdrawing from this chaotic nation.
Also Wednesday, US defence officials said the United States launched an air strike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets — the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news7.htm
UK consultancy to provide technical assistance for water management
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday signed a 1.175-million euro agreement with the European Commission for improving management of water and wastewater services in the country.
Under the deal, signed by Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem and Head of the European Commission Delegation in Amman Patrick Renauld, the Ian Pope Associates (IPA) Energy + Water Consulting will provide the ministry with technical assistance for the project.
As part of the EU-funded agreement, an audit unit to monitor the water sector’s performance will be created if approved by the government.
In addition, the British consulting company will provide technical assistance to the programme management unit (PMU) at the ministry to help it implement all water-related projects, Renauld said during the signing ceremony.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews6.htm
The new cold war — Middle East style
Rami G. Khouri
Lebanon and Palestine are the most dramatic examples of the new ideological battle that now defines much of the Middle East, where local players and medium-strength regional powers often interact with one another in parallel with foreign powers’ interests and goals.
While tensions were increasing in Beirut last weekend in anticipation of the January 23 national strike by the Hizbollah-led opposition against the Siniora-Hariri-led government, in nearby Damascus, the leaders of the two major Palestinian political groups, Hamas and Fateh, were meeting under Syrian auspices to try and solve their dispute over who rules Palestine and defines its foreign policy vis-à-vis Israel.
If you were too young to remember the cold war between the American- and Soviet-led global camps, study this dynamic closely, because it is a miniature regional version of the former global contest. It is possible that the Middle East-anchored new cold war we are living through these days may persist for many years, or it may be over in two or three years, depending on how both sides harness and use their competitive assets. For now, we can only identify some of the new rules and realities of the regional confrontation.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion2.htm
The troposphere today is grossly out of balance.
When is the last time anyone reading this has seen a 'straight' line of demarcation moving from the Equator to the North Pole as if drawn with a straight edge?
Yet, in the satellite image below at 8 o'clock and in the satellite images of UNYSIS that is exactly what is occuring over the Pacific Ocean and off the west coast of the North American continent.
This is profoundly dangerous. It is important the leaders of the free world are taking the initiative to aggressively 'take care of Earth.'
A sincere thank you to all of them.
When is the last time anyone reading this has seen a 'straight' line of demarcation moving from the Equator to the North Pole as if drawn with a straight edge?
Yet, in the satellite image below at 8 o'clock and in the satellite images of UNYSIS that is exactly what is occuring over the Pacific Ocean and off the west coast of the North American continent.
This is profoundly dangerous. It is important the leaders of the free world are taking the initiative to aggressively 'take care of Earth.'
A sincere thank you to all of them.
On brink of climate disaster
GLOBAL warming has accelerated and the carbon emitted this century will continue to warm the Earth for more than a thousand years, according to the scientific advice commissioned by the world's governments.
Officials from about 180 governments, including Australia, will meet in Paris next week for the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in six years.
Confidential research to go to the meeting predicts rainfall will increase in the tropics over this century. But it is likely rainfall will diminish in the regions near the tropics, which includes most of the inhabited parts of Australia.
The reductions in rainfall due to global warming could be as much as 20 per cent under some of the scenarios the working group finds plausible.
The updated expert scientific advice for the meeting is considerably more confident that global warming is caused by man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. The best assessment for the last climate change panel meeting put the likelihood at more than 66 per cent that human activity was to blame. But the scientists now assert it is more than a 90 per cent likelihood, say sources familiar with the confidential advice.
The likelihood of a continuing global trend to more warm days and fewer cold ones is rated greater than 99 per cent.
Research on the physical science of climate change, prepared by 49 of the foremost experts, finds warming caused by carbon emissions increased by 20 per cent in the past 10 years, the fastest in at least 500 years.
The scientists predict that the average global temperature will rise by 0.2 degrees in each of the next two decades, double the rate of warming that would have occurred if greenhouse outputs had been stabilised at 2000 levels.
The advice to the governments says man-made carbon dioxide emissions already under way in the 21st century - even if they were to cease at the end of the century - will continue to exert a warming effect for more than a thousand years because it takes time for the gas to leave the Earth.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday brushed off an accusation from the Australian of the Year, Tim Flannery, that his Government had dragged the climate change chain. Mr Howard said he was not "bowled over by some of the doomsday scenarios".
Among other effects the scientists predict are that sea ice will shrink in the Arctic and Antarctic under all plausible scenarios, extremes including heatwaves will continue to become more frequent and snow cover will contract. There are projected to be fewer tropical cyclones, but their intensity will grow.
In a projection less troubling than the previous report, the scientists now believe the rise in the sea level will be smaller. The scientists are uncertain of the strength of the feedback effects that will accompany global warming - that is, its propensity to be self-perpetuating.
The findings will be the basis for debate and negotiations over measures governments might take to address global warming.
Eastern Cape swelters in near-hazardous heat
The Eastern Cape had temperatures so high on Friday that they were almost hazardous to health, the South African Weather Service said.
"Both Port Elizabeth and East London are at around a discomfort index of 107," said spokesperson Garth Sampson, adding that an index of 110 is hazardous to health.
When temperature and humidity are both high, the body cannot cool itself adequately by sweating. The discomfort index is a measure of this.
"People should not engage in vigorous outdoor activities as some areas along the coast might have reached 110 already. Special care should be taken to keep the sick and elderly people cool," said Sampson.
In Uitenhage, the temperature was 40,2 degrees Celsius, while Somerset East recorded 40,7. In East London and Port Elizabeth, the temperatures were above 35 degrees Celsius.
"The good news is the wind should turn west by 3pm, bringing instant relief in Port Elizabeth.
"But East Londoners will have to wait until around 5pm when the wind will change in that area, bringing the temperatures down," Sampson said.
Meanwhile, the Herald newspaper reported on Friday that dozens of fires had destroyed large tracts of veld in the Nelson Mandela metropolitan area as a result of the heat wave.
The high temperatures are wreaking havoc on agricultural production, with farmers saying if good rains do not come soon, a crippling drought is imminent.
"The blistering heat has caused a string of veld fires in the past two days, with firefighters, in Nelson Mandela Bay in particular, working around the clock fighting runaway fires sparked by the heat and dry weather."
At least 55 veld fires have been reported in and around the city in the past two days, the newspaper reported.
Weather officials said it is normal at this time of the year to experience hot conditions and very little rain. The rest of the country has also been experiencing hot conditions, Sampson said, adding that it will be cooler on Friday night.
"On Saturday it would be warm with maximum temperatures in most parts of the country at 25 degrees Celsius."
He said the temperatures are expected to rise in the whole country by Sunday.
"The temperatures had been high in the country for the past week, with Cape Town also reaching 40 degrees Celsius. The heat will cool off tomorrow [Saturday] but start heating up again on Sunday." -- Sapa
Terror, climate are CEOs' big worries today (if clicked on there are a lot of pop ups from India)
ARE THESE PEOPLE IN TOUCH WITH REALITY?
Not surprisingly, this year's event has 17 sessions in which the impact of climate change and its subsequent impact on profitability will be discussed. Add to this a few sessions on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the future of Iraq.
Having said that, PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PWC) annual global CEO survey released here on Wednesday shows CEO confidence at record levels. Almost twice as many chief executives feel confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months compared to five years ago.
Nearly 90% of the 1,100 CEOs surveyed are upbeat about revenue growth in the next 12 months. The optimism stems from stable interest rates globally, oil prices coming down, countries and companies learning to live with high prices that were seen last year, low unemployment levels and booming corporate profitability, the highest in the last seven years.
Interestingly, another recent survey published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) indicates that Indian CEOs are more bullish about the future than their Chinese counterparts. "India-based executives are practically melting with excitement," it says.
Fear of the future, and how ministers hope to avoid it
West Pacific Satellite
· Public debate invited on scientific innovations
· Groups will be invited to discuss scenarios for 2025
James Randerson, science correspondent
Friday January 26, 2007
The Guardian
The government hopes to head off public rows over controversial scientific advances with a project aimed at gauging the public's attitude to future technologies, it was announced yesterday.
The idea is to avoid, or at least anticipate, hostile public reaction such as that seen with GM food and the recent controversy over human-animal hybrids.
"Clearly the GM episode was not a good one in terms of public understanding and public debate," said the minister for science and innovation, Malcolm Wicks, at the launch of the "science horizons" public consultation exercise yesterday. "There's certainly a great difference between well-informed public debate that can affect decision makers and a particular lobby getting organised.
"Some of the biggest issues facing us now have a really strong science and technology dimension. It's actually crucial that that's not just a debate for elites. It's important that we engage a wider public on some of these issues," he said. "Science is too important to leave to the scientists."
He said that climate change and an ageing population would present technological dilemmas for which society must be ready.
The consultation is based on a series of futuristic scenarios set around technologies shaping society in 2025.
The public will be invited to attend open sessions to give their views on a variety of scenarios. The futuristic stories include a man at risk of a heart attack being offered a custom-made replacement organ grown in a lab, a mother agonising over whether she can afford the "premium enhancement" medical package that will turn her daughter into a star athlete, and an in-car computer that tells the driver off for bad driving and can take over the wheel.
The predictions are based on suggestions about likely scientific developments from leading scientists in academia, government and business. The Department of Trade and Industry, which is organising the project, wants small groups of people to discuss the scenarios and respond.
One scenario involves George, a man in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. He is prone to forgetting his way home and getting lost, so his wife has fitted his clothes with tiny GPS tags so that she can find him whenever he goes missing. He also carries his own personal satnav in the form of a cap that gives him directions when he is out. Mr Wicks asked whether these are liberating developments that allow George greater freedom or an infringement of his rights.
In another scenario, Malcolm's new car is fitted with an onboard computer and sensor system that communicates with other cars, smart traffic signals and road-side sensors. It reprimands Malcolm when he drives badly and on certain routes it can take over the wheel altogether. The scenario also raises the possibility that the onboard spy could remove Malcolm's licence altogether if he makes too many driving errors. When he reaches the supermarket, Malcolm's fridge communicates remotely with an electronic display on his trolley that tells him what to buy to satisfy his chosen diet plan without duplicating what is already on his shelves.
In a third case, Rajpal is about to embark on a journey home to India, but doesn't have enough personal carbon credits to get back. He will either have to use some of those allocated to his Indian relatives, or buy some on the international market.
"The public are not stupid. They don't want something forced on them. But equally, they are not the experts, that's why we have scientists," said Martin Earwicker, director of the Science Museum, who is coordinating the consultation.
He said people were often cautious or hostile when faced with new technology. For example, the first cars had to be preceded by a person on foot to stop them going too fast. "The public will accept a certain level of risk so long as there's a corresponding benefit."
DAVOS Consortium set up to standardize co reporting of climate risk - UPDATE
Africa - Europe Satellite
(Updating with comments, company support, funds interest)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFX) - The World Economic Forum (WEF), which is meeting in Davos, Switzerland, has announced the formation of a new international partnership to create a framework for the standardized reporting of climate risk-related issues by corporations.
Members of the partnership, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), will align their core requests for information from companies to ensure that the companies report climate change-related information uniformly in annual reports, WEF said.
This will mean investors, managers and the public can compare and analyse information more easily, WEF said in a statement.
Key climate information to be disclosed in annual reports will be the assessment of physical and regulatory risks of climate change, and the strategic analysis of climate risk and emissions management.
CDSB will initially comprise the California Climate Action Registry, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Ceres, The Climate Group, International Emissions Trading Association, World Economic Forum Global Greenhouse Gas Register, and World Resources Institute.
The statement cited support from Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDSA - news - people ), Duke Energy Corp (nyse: DKE - news - people ), JP Morgan Chase, Swiss Re, and top accounting firms.
In news conference comments, CDP's James Cameron said his organisation speaks on behalf of investors with 34 trln usd of funds under management.
Ceres representative Mindy Lubber said firms in the US with a material risk from climate change effects have a legal obligation to file this data, with the SEC wanting to know if they will be sued.
'I think eventually governments will make this mandatory,' she said.
Australian of the Year lashes government on climate change
The Australian government came under attack for its environmental policies from Tim Flannery, the scientist it named as citizen of the year just a day earlier.
The leading environmentalist and author slammed Australia as the "worst of the worst" on global warming, highlighting its failure to sign the Kyoto Protocol.
"There's no doubt this government's been dragging the chain," Flannery told public radio.
"I've said in the past that Australia has been the worst of the worst in terms of addressing climate change ... but I'm hopeful that we'll see over this year some movement."
Flannery said by refusing to ratify the Kyoto agreement on reducing greenhouse emissions, Prime Minister Howard's government had held back the rest of the world.
"We've lost a decade of inaction and we've held the world back really from addressing this issue because we haven't been part of Kyoto. So we need to move doubly swiftly now and this year is the year we need to see that action," Flannery told Sky News.
In his acceptance speech Thursday, Flannery warned he would continue to criticise anyone he thought was pursuing "wrong-headed" policies in this area.
Flannery welcomed Howard's new 10 billion dollar (7.7 billion US) plan to protect Australia's dwindling water supplies but warned that was just part of the environmental jigsaw puzzle.
Howard, who insisted until late last year that there was little evidence for global warming, said he was not embarrassed by the criticism from the Australian of the Year on Australia Day, the country's major holiday.
"Does it embarrass me? No it doesn't," Howard told commercial radio.
"We do live in a democracy and I'm not so thin-skinned and not so desiring in uniformity that I want every Australian of the Year to engage in fullsome praise of the government -- that would be ridiculous."
Although Howard now admits "climate change is occurring", he said he remained unconvinced of Flannery's arguments about the need to back Kyoto.
"We've got to remember that many of the international rules in this whole area particularly Kyoto have been written by Europeans to suit Europeans with scant regard for the interests of countries such as Australia," he said.
North Pole temperature exceeds Boston's
By Michael Grillo, Boston.com Staff | January 26, 2007
Looking to get some relief from today's icy cold temperatures? Take a trip to Anchorage, Alaska or even the North Pole.
Both locations today reached a balmy 24 and 10.5 degrees, respectively, compared to Boston's high of 12 degrees.
Bostonians are feeling the chill of single-digit temperatures with wind chills as low as -15 degrees as an arctic air mass makes its way through the region.
Temperatures in the single-digits swept into many New England cities this morning: 3 in Worcester; 9 in Hartford, Conn.; 3 in Concord, N.H.; and -3 in Bangor, Maine.
International Falls, located near the Canadian border in Minnesota and notorious for some of America's coldest weather, was 23 degrees at about 11 a.m. Even the Arctic was considerably warmer than New England: the temperature in Nuuk, a city on the coast of Greenland, reached 36 degrees today.
In Europe, it was 21 degrees in Prague; 30 in Helsinki, Finland; 28 in Oslo, Norway; and 30 in Geneva, Switzerland.
But if those hot spots don't warm your cockles, check out flights to the Bahamas (73 degrees) or Buenos Aires where it's summer and a pleasant 71.
Analysis: Merkel gives climate change top priority
Praised U.S. commitment to reduce oil consumption
By Stefan Nicola
UPI Germany Correspondent
BERLIN -- Calling them "humanity's two greatest challenges," German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her opening speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, put climate change and energy security on top of the agenda for her European Union and Group of Eight presidencies.
"We want to give impulses for climate protection, strengthen energy efficiency efforts and raise energy security," Merkel told an audience of chief executives and political leaders Wednesday at the Swiss mountain resort. Her audience included, among others, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, British Petroleum Chief Executive Officer John Browne and Zhang Xiaoqiang, the vice chairman of China's National Development Reform Commission, the government's top economic planning agency.
Merkel, a former environment minister, as of today leads Europe's biggest economy, the 27-member EU and the G8; she used her clout to call on companies and governments of the world to join forces to reduce greenhouse gases in a bid to avoid catastrophic effects of climate change, which are sure to descend onto the world once the yearly temperature increase surpasses 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Merkel praised the commitment issued by U.S. President George W. Bush in his State of the Union speech to cut U.S. oil consumption over the next decade by 20 percent; she also spoke positively about the proposals by the European Commission to set post-Kyoto emission cuts to 30 percent by 2020.
Yet "politics by itself cannot prevent climate change," she said. "We need a binding climate regime that involves all major greenhouse emitters. Of the overall Co2 emissions we (the EU) have 15 percent. Eighty-five percent of those emissions come from somewhere else and the share of Europe is going to go down, so it is a global responsibility."
The German chancellor said energy security was becoming increasingly important for the EU, and said she and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to improve direct communication "in the case of difficulties," a clear reference to the brief interruption of Russian westward oil flow after a gas price row with Belarus.
Developing nations dig in heels on climate issue
DAVOS: Developing countries stand to suffer the worst effects of global warming, and should not have to pay for a problem created mainly by the rich, executives and experts said on Thursday.
At a gathering of 2,400 of the world’s most powerful people at Davos, a ski resort in the Swiss Alps, leaders from emerging nations said they wanted the United States, European Union and others in the West to be more accountable for the heat-trapping emissions their cars and factories produce.
They also asserted their right to stoke their own economies, even if greenhouse gas levels rise as a result.
“We, as a billion people, are going to be consuming a lot of services and goods that will create emissions. We will need technology, we will need money,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of the telecommunications company Bharti Enterprises.
On the World Economic Forum’s opening day on Wednesday, with freezing temperatures ending a balmy start to the Swiss winter, participants voted climate change as most likely to have an impact on the world in years ahead, as well as the issue global leaders are least ready for.
Leaders from rich countries have acknowledged the need for action to address the impacts of global warming for emerging nations, but made no major commitments to help during the World Economic Forum sessions.
Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam Britain, said the poor were particularly squeezed by growing calls to limit use of fossil fuels, which trap solar rays in the atmosphere and contribute to severe storms and ecological damage.
They are also most vulnerable to global warming’s effects, including irregular rainfall, floods and droughts that have decimated fertile lands and made subsistence farming difficult in much of Africa, as well as Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere.
World: Conference Focuses On Terror Potential Of Abrupt Climate Change
26 January 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Much of the attention devoted recently to global climate change has focused, understandably, on its causes and possible prevention. But a group of international experts gathered on January 24 for a conference, organized by a think tank focused on security issues, on the potential for extremists to use the effects of climate change to their own advantage.
Attendees at the conference focused on the large-scale security threats that could accompany catastrophic climate change.
It is an aspect of the challenge facing governments, in particular, as the impact of global warming becomes more clear.
"The reason we're doing it now is that the science behind climate change is now reaching a very strong consensus that we have got a real problem -- many challenges ahead of us," says Rear Admiral Richard Cobbold, the director of Britain's Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, which organized the conference. "What I think is quite new is that these challenges are bringing with them security challenges. And that's what our business is."
Cobbold says obstacles could include catastrophic shortages of water, food, and energy resources that might threaten all of mankind. There might also be loss of life and mass human migrations as a result of flooding or drought that climate change threatens to bring.
Extremist Threat
Authorities fear that some of those events could be exploited by terrorists.
Cobbold makes a hypothetical example of Bangladesh. Just a slight rise in sea level would plunge roughly half of that country underwater, forcing perhaps 17 million people to seek refuge in neighboring India. But India is constructing a 3,000-kilometer fence along its border with Bangladesh, and could hardly feed or shelter such a huge influx of people.
Difficulties are multiplied in cases when gaps in prosperity are even greater between those countries, according to Sir Crispin Tickell, the director of policy foresight at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization at Oxford University.
"The reactions to climate change can fall into many categories," Tickell says. "But I think there's going to be a lot of defensive ones in the case of states which are relatively well endowed and can cope with the problems created by climate change [while there will be] offensive reactions of those who feel themselves to be the sufferers and who would like very much to take an advantage of the resources that seem to be just over the fence."
Tickell stresses that disputes could be over water rights -- use of a river that flows through two neighboring countries -- or about greener pastures in a border area affected by differences in rainfall. Such tensions could trigger regional conflicts. If they then involve major energy resources -- such as oil or gas -- security implications would become immediately clear.
Creating A Referee
A former senior aide to the European Commission's Presidency and U.K. representative to the UN, Tickell advocates the creation of an arbiter. He likens such a "new, strong international body" -- which he calls the World Environment Organization -- to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in trade affairs.
William K. P. Kucera, a strategic planner for energy and environment at the international consulting firm Mott MacDonald and a delegate to the London conference, says there is a precedent for such an arbiter -- it's known as the Environment and Security Initiative.
"It's jointly run by NATO, OSCE, [the UN Development Program (UNDP)] and [the UN Environment Program (UNEP)]," Kucera says. "It started in 2003 and it currently operates in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, or Southeastern Europe. It basically maps areas first at the environmental level, looking at environmental degradation, different aspects, and then it also maps them from a security perspective."
Kucera explains that the organization focuses on preventing security headaches in the future that might resemble the hypothetical Bangladesh-India mentioned by Cobbold.
Russian Preparations
The attitude of energy-rich Russia also makes some experts uneasy. They think Moscow should be diversifying for the future, but is not doing so.
"Russia is probably the worst possible example of a country that should take a direct interest in this issue but does not for the moment," says Jonathan Eyal, the director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute. "Clearly, as a major energy producer, it should be worried about the discussion, whose entire purpose is to diversify away from the use of energy in the way that it is being used now."
As for the other former Soviet republics, Eyal says those with their own energy resources should start diversifying -- devoting proceeds to securing future food and water needs. Their pipeline connections to energy-hungry China should then lay foundations for future energy security and stability to the east.
Eyal suggests that countries like Georgia and Ukraine -- which lack resources and are being strong-armed by Russia -- should not despair.
"It may be that Russian blackmail is doing these countries a favor by forcing them -- at a much earlier stage -- to concentrate on a real economic model and one that moves away from high energy dependency," Eyal says.
World Economic Forum - 'London must take lead on climate change'
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone will say in Davos today that he aims to make London the world's leading centre for research and financial development on climate change over the next five years. The Mayor is in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum. He will be concentrating today (Thursday) on how government and business can work with cities to accelerate global emissions reductions. London established the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group - to accelerate emissions reductions in the world's largest cities. Last August the Mayor announced a partnership with the Bill Clinton's Foundation to take this forward.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Mayor of London Ken Livingstone will say in Davos today that he aims to make London the world's leading centre for research and financial development on climate change over the next five years.
The Mayor is in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum. He will be concentrating today ( Thursday ) on how government and business can work with cities to accelerate global emissions reductions.
Ken Livingstone said today:
?The challenge of climate change requires immediate action across governments and business to effect change.
'Cities produce 75 per cent of global carbon emissions and it is therefore in cities that the battle against climate change will have to be won.
'To win this battle three things are required.
'First, determination to tackle climate change and not denial of its reality or consequences.
'Second, the most sophisticated financial institutions to respond to carbon trading and investment in new technologies.
'Third, state of the art scientific and technical research facilities to develop the technological solutions of the future.
'A number of cities have parts of this solution. But London is the only one that brings together all three. My administration is totally focused on this.
'That is why I am setting the target that in the next five years London should become the undisputed world leader in research and financial development on climate change.
'Climate change is a tremendous challenge to humanity. But for London it is also a tremendous opportunity. The world is shifting to a new technical and financial system in which we do not produce and waste energy, in the form of carbon, but must conserve it. London has the potential to be at the centre of this shift and intends to work with all the other great world cities to achieve it. That is why London established the C40 group of major world cities on climate change.'
ENDS
Notes to Editors
London established the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group - to accelerate emissions reductions in the world's largest cities. Last August the Mayor announced a partnership with the Bill Clinton's Foundation to take this forward.
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organisation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. WEF is expecting over 2,000 leaders from business, politics, academia, the media and civil society to attend.
A plane takes off for the North Pole in 1937.
The image, captured by Soviet photographer Vladislav Mikosha, went on display this week in an exhibition called "The Arctic Is Our Home."
Organized by the Moscow House of Photography, the exhibition tells the story of Russian exploration of the Arctic.
It especially stresses the 1930s, a time when Arctic explorers - or polyarniki - basked in attention from both the public and the official media, much like cosmonauts a generation later.
The exhibition runs to Feb. 18 in the Manezh Exhibition Hall, located at 1 Manezh Square.
Economy of Somalia
Gunmen Kill Ethiopian Soldier in Somalia
By NASTEEX DAHIR FARAH Associated Press Writer
January 25,2007 | KISMAYO, Somalia -- Gunmen attacked Ethiopian soldiers stationed in southern Somalia on Thursday, killing one and wounding another with a gunshot to the chest, witnesses said. The violence, an apparent sign of tensions between Ethiopian military forces and Somali civilians, broke out in the currency exchange market in Kismayo, said Abdullahi Hassan, a money changer.
"The gunmen used pistols. ... They have taken the Ethiopian soldiers' AK-47s," Hassan said.
Ethiopian troops, whose military strength was crucial to helping Somalia's government drive out a radical Islamic militia, began their withdrawal earlier this week. It was not clear when it would be complete.
Many Somalis resent the presence of Ethiopian troops here; the two countries fought a war in 1977. But without Ethiopia's tanks and fighter jets, the Somali government could barely assert control outside one town and couldn't enter the capital, Mogadishu, which was ruled by fighters loyal to the Council of Islamic Courts. The U.S. accused the group of having ties to al-Qaida.
The withdrawal of Ethiopia, which says it cannot afford to maintain troops in Somalia, has begun in advance of the arrival of a proposed African peacekeeping force. The African Union has approved a plan to send about 8,000 peacekeepers for a six-month mission that would eventually be taken over by the U.N.
Meanwhile, a businessman who financed Somalia's ousted Islamic movement pleaded guilty Thursday in a Nairobi courtroom to being in Kenya illegally, but his attorney argued he shouldn't be deported because he was fleeing for his life.
Abukar Omar Aden, 72, a well-known commodities trader in the Somali capital Mogadishu, was charged along with his son, Omar Abukar Omar, who served as a finance official for the Council of Islamic Courts. The son said he had a visa for Kenya and denied entering the country illegally.
http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8MSC8AO3.html
Ethiopia: No Security Vacuum in Somalia
Ethiopia said its phased troop withdrawal from Somalia would not create a security vacuum as has been suggested by some. Bereket Simon, an advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, said Ethiopia has also achieved almost all of its goals for going into Somalia.
“Absolutely! In fact, we have achieved a lot more by sending our troops to Somalia. Our first goal was to ensure that the threat that was posed to Ethiopia was overcome, and with the defeat of the extremes in the Islamic Courts, we have succeeded in achieving our goal. In addition to this, we have been able to bring about peace and stability in most parts of Somalia, including Mogadishu. We have been able also to disarm the warlords and incorporate their militias with the federal army,” he said.
Simon dismissed suggestions by some that a quick Ethiopian withdrawal from Somalia may create a security vacuum there.
http://www.huliq.com/8088/ethiopia-no-security-vacuum-in-somalia
Somalia: Libya Will Provide Financial Support to the AU Forces
Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
January 26, 2007
Posted to the web January 26, 2007
Mogadishu
The Libyan leader and summit host Moamer Kadhafi held talks on Wednesday with some of the leaders of the African states comprising the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the official JANA news agency said.
CEN-SAD, which held the summit in the town of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast east of Tripoli, was formed in 1998 to promote regional economic integration and has its headquarters in the Libyan capital.
The Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman said "Libya will provide financial support to the the Africa Union force for Somalia."
The Somali people's eyes will be on the Ethiopian capital over the next few days as Africa's heads of state prepare to gather for the full summit which starts on Monday to help the the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops but warned if peacekeepers were not deployed soon the situation on the ground could deteriorate.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200701260355.html
Libya hosts African leaders gathering
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi chaired a meeting of African presidents and other top officials on Thursday to prepare for an African Union summit, officials said.
"The next AU summit is very important. The leaders met today to coordinate and narrow their positions and standpoints so that they go to the summit united and speaking in one voice," Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam told reporters.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was among the 11 heads of state and eight government representatives attending the meeting of the Sahel and Sahara African grouping, most of whose members are instrumental players in the AU which holds its next summit in Ethiopia in July.
"The meeting in Sirte focused on ways to strengthen the AU Commission further and the possibility of setting up an AU government supervising defence, foreign affairs, foreign trade and telecommunications ministries," Shalgam added.
Groups Head to Capital to Step Up Antiwar Drive
Members of the Veterans for Peace gathered for an antiwar rally Thursday on Capitol Hill. A major antiwar march is planned this weekend.
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