Michael Moore Today
Osama Sitting Pretty?
CIA Director Porter Goss is Shocked as George Claims
"We spend everyday gathering information to locate Osama bin Laden..." (Daily Show Video)
George: "...I just don't spend that much time on him..." (F9/11 Video)
FBI's bin Laden Page: Updated November 2001...
Still No Mention of September 11th
Nope, Not Here Either
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
FBI TEN MOSTED WANTED
http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/laden.htm
MOST WANTED TERRORISTS
MURDER OF U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; CONSPIRACY TO MURDER U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; ATTACK ON A FEDERAL FACILITY RESULTING IN DEATH
USAMA BIN LADEN
Aliases:
Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin, Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, the Prince, the Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, the Director
DESCRIPTION
Date of Birth Used:
1957
Hair:
Brown
Place of Birth:
Saudi Arabia
Eyes:
Brown
Height:
6'4" to 6'6"
Sex:
Male
Weight:
Approximately 160 pounds
Complexion:
Olive
Build:
Thin
Citizenship:
Saudi Arabian
Language:
Arabic (probably Pashtu)
Scars and Marks:
None known
Remarks:
Bin Laden is believed to be in Afghanistan. He is left-handed and walks with a cane.
CAUTION
Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people. In addition, Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world.
REWARD
The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association.
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
[ New York Field Office ] [ Most Wanted Terrorists ]
[ FBI Home Page ] [ FBI Field Offices ]
http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/terrorists/terubl.htm
Oh.
Pols' purity XXX'd out
BY Kenneth R. Bazinet / Daily News
WASHINGTON - Some lawmakers who slam porn as a scourge to society got big bucks from corporations that profit from adult videos and phone sex, a watchdog group said yesterday.
Among the biggest recipients of such campaign contributions were some of the best-known champions of moral values, including Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas), according to Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1779
International group of doctors blast official toll of Iraqi civil dead
PARIS (AFP) - A group of top public-health physicians has branded the official toll of civilian dead from the Iraqi war as a serious underestimate and demanded an independent probe to establish the full casualty figures.
Their statement is published this Saturday in the weekly British Medical Journal (BMJ) as the second anniversary of the war looms on March 20.
It marks a fresh attempt by medical campaigners to establish the number of Iraqi civilian casualties after a rough estimate of 100,000 dead, made by epidemiologists last October, was brushed aside by the British government.
"Monitoring casualties is a humanitarian imperative," the statement said.
"Understanding the causes of death is a core public-health responsibility, nationally and internationally.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1788
Social Security Events Belie U.S. Feeling
By Deb Riechmann / Associated Press
SHREVEPORT, La. — In state after state along President Bush's Social Security road campaign, hand-picked audiences cheer him, leaving the impression that the nation wholeheartedly backs his ideas for reform.
The reality is different.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1787
Army, CIA Agreed on 'Ghost' Prisoners
By Josh White / Washington Post
Top military intelligence officials at the Abu Ghraib prison came to an agreement with the CIA to hide certain detainees at the facility without officially registering them, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. Keeping such "ghost" detainees is a violation of international law.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1786
General says weather has hampered Marine Corps' recruiting
By Sandra Jontz / Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON — While neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night keeps the postman away, bad weather apparently kept Marine Corps recruiters from their appointments and routes, said a Marine general Thursday.
The Corps has missed recruiting goals two months running. “It’s easy to say it’s the war in Iraq, but I’m not so sure,” Lt. Gen. Jan. C. Huly, deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, told a gathering of defense writers.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1784
Guantánamo Inmates Face Threat of Even Worse Abuse;
Guantánamo jail switch planned
US inmates face threat of worse abuse under scheme to send them to prisons in their own countries
By Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian
The Pentagon is planning to transfer half the inmates at Guantánamo Bay to prisons in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen, despite fears that they would face even worse human rights abuses than at the US camp.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1794
Democrats Block Ethics Panel Over Rules Tailor-Made for Folks Like Tom DeLay
Democrats Block Ethics Panel Over Rewritten Rules
By Mary Curtius / Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Just as new controversy has erupted over trips taken by congressional Democrats and Republicans — including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) — the workings of the chamber's ethics committee have been brought to a halt.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1793
The Boston Globe
STOLEN BEAUTY: THE GARDNER MUSEUM HEIST -- 15 YEARS LATER
Secrets behind the largest art theft in history
By Stephen Kurkjian, Globe Staff March 13, 2005
As they struggled to remove a heavy-framed Rembrandt from the silk-draped wall of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the two thieves abruptly stopped as a high-pitched alarm beeped from the baseboard.
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/gardner_heist/heist/
Syria gives timetable on leaving Lebanon
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff March 13, 2005
BEIRUT -- Syria's president gave a United Nations Middle East envoy a timetable yesterday for the full withdrawal of his military and intelligence agencies from Lebanese territory, and prodemocracy campaigners applauded the recent major pullback of Syrian troops from northern and central Lebanon.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/13/syria_gives_timetable_on_leaving_lebanon/
19 officers earned over $200,000 in '04
By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff March 12, 2005
Nineteen Boston police officers made more than $200,000 in 2004, earning amounts far beyond their base salaries by working overtime or private-detail shifts, according to city payroll records and city officials.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/12/19_officers_earned_over_200000_in_04/
The $200,000 club
March 12, 2005
19 officers earned over $200,000 in '04 (Today's Globe)
Nineteen Boston police employees earned over $200,000 in 2004. All supplemented their base pay with overtime and other extras. By contrast, Mayor Thomas M. Menino earned $152,885 last year.
Name
Job
Rank Base Rate
2004 Total Pay
Armstrong, Francis W.
Police Captain
$90,561.64
$234,726
Evans, William B.
Police Captain
90,561.64
$224,123
Hosein, Haseeb
Police Lieutenant
74,297.64
$220,231
Kervin, John Edward
Police Captain
86,557.64
$219,513
Kervin, Timothy M.
Police Lieutenant
74,297.64
$218,764
Keeler, Daniel M.
Police Sergeant (Det.)
67,590.64
$218,558
Kraft, Martin B.
Police Sergeant
63,748.36
210,225
Flaherty, Robert M.
Police Captain
90,561.64
209,289
Russell, Paul J.
Police Captain
90,561.64
207,967
Frangie, Ghassoub P.
Police Lieutenant
74,297.64
206,913
Conley, Frederick J.
Police Lieutenant
74,297.64
205,588
Broderick, Michael B.
Police Captain
90,561.64
203,776
Michalosky, Christine M.
Police Captain
90,561.64
202,956
Robertson, J.
Police Sergeant (Det.)
67,590.64
201,824
Feeney, William J.
Police Sergeant(Det)
67,590.64
201,263
King, Peter
Police Lieutenant
74,297.64
201,125
Simmons, Edward D.
Police Lieutenant(Det.)
78,149.76
201,087
Orourke, Bernard P.
Police Captain/DDC
90,561.64
200,955
Vickers, Mark W.
Police Sergeant (Det.)
67,590.64
200,610
SOURCE: City of Boston payroll records
GLOBE STAFF GRAPHIC
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/12/the_200000_club/
This was the weather as noted on March 12, 2005
WINTER STORM WARNING: Rain will change to snow today and become heavy at times, with accumulations of 4-6 inches in the Boston area. A winter storm warning is in effect until 5 p.m., and a coastal flood warning is in effect from noon-5 p.m.
Rain
36° F
At Logan Airport
As of 12:25 PM
RealFeel temp: 22° F
Remembering the Blizzard of 2005
TODAY'S FORECAST SPONSORED BY CREST WHITE STRIPS
http://weather.boston.com/
The fight for open government extends even to small cities and 'regular guys'
March 12, 2005
EDITOR'S NOTE -- The week of March 13 has been declared Sunshine Week by media organizations and other groups pressing for government access, contending information is being withheld more often by officials who cite post-Sept. 11 security concerns. This is the first of a two-part series examining the use of the Freedom of Information Act by U.S. citizens, and the government's willingness to make its records available.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/12/the_fight_for_open_government_extends_even_to_small_cities_and_regular_guys/
Surgeon who tried to save JFK dies at 75
March 12, 2005
DALLAS -- Dr. Charles R. Baxter, one of the surgeons who tried to save President John F. Kennedy after he was shot, has died, a colleague said. He was 75.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/12/surgeon_who_tried_to_save_jfk_dies_at_75/
Racerack blasts AG's preliminary report on license revocation
March 12, 2005
BELMONT, N.H. -- The owners of the Lakes Region Greyhound Park blasted Attorney General Kelly Ayotte for recommending their racing license be revoked before she has finished her investigation.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/03/12/racerack_blasts_ags_preliminary_report_on_license_revocation/
Racerack blasts AG's preliminary report on license revocation
March 12, 2005
BELMONT, N.H. -- The owners of the Lakes Region Greyhound Park blasted Attorney General Kelly Ayotte for recommending their racing license be revoked before she has finished her investigation.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/03/12/racerack_blasts_ags_preliminary_report_on_license_revocation/
A look at victims of courthouse shooting
By The Associated Press March 12, 2005
Brief profiles at the three people shot and killed Friday at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/12/a_look_at_victims_of_courthouse_shooting/
Across U.S., citizens fight for records
By Robert Tanner, AP National Writer March 12, 2005
FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Ed Lambert, Al Lima and Mike Miozza never thought of themselves as activists, just regular guys. Then an energy company announced plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in this small community on the Taunton River. The men -- the mayor, a city planner and an engineer -- had nightmare visions of gas igniting into a huge fireball on the river, and asked for government-held reports that studied the threat to the town if the plant or a tanker were attacked.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/12/across_us_citizens_fight_for_records/
This is not being a friend to the environment.
OPEC May Allow Pumping Above Limits
By Haitham Haddadin March 12, 2005
KUWAIT (Reuters) - OPEC may agree at its meeting next week to allow members informally to pump above official oil output limits to cool scorching prices, the cartel's president said on Saturday.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/12/opec_may_allow_pumping_above_limits/
Hamas to Run Against Moderates in Palestinian Poll
By Atef Sa'ad March 12, 2005
NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - A militant Palestinian group sworn to Israel's destruction announced on Saturday that it would compete in Palestinian parliamentary elections scheduled for July, ending a decade-old boycott.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/12/hamas_to_run_against_moderates_in_palestinian_poll_1110640331/
Bulgaria Says U.S. Admits Fault in Soldier's Death in Iraq
March 12, 2005
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria said on Saturday U.S. forces had admitted they broke their rules of engagement last week when a unit fired on a Bulgarian patrol in Iraq, killing a soldier.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/03/12/bulgaria_says_us_admits_fault_in_soldiers_death_in_iraq/
Express train derails in central Vietnam
March 12, 2005
HANOI, Vietnam -- An express passenger train derailed Saturday in central Vietnam, killing 11 people and injuring dozens, hospital and railway officials said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/03/12/express_train_derails_in_central_vietnam/
Islamic militants scoff at Madrid talks
By Maamoun Youssef, Associated Press Writer March 12, 2005
CAIRO, Egypt -- A militant group calling itself Al-Qaida in Iraq ridiculed an international terrorism conference in Spain held to mark the first anniversary of deadly train bombings in Madrid, telling the nations who participated they "would never be victorious."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/12/islamic_militants_scoff_at_madrid_talks/
Egypt Opposition Leader Nour Freed on Bail
By Edmund Blair March 12, 2005
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt on Saturday released on bail Ayman Nour, an opposition leader detained since the end of January and whose jailing aroused Washington's concern.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/12/egypt_opposition_leader_nour_released_on_bail/
Report: Medicaid paid $1 million in medical bills for dead people
March 12, 2005
QUINCY, Mass. -- Medicaid erroneously paid $1 million in medical bills in the last three years to Massachusetts residents who were already dead, according to the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/12/report_medicaid_paid_1_million_in_medical_bills_for_dead_people/
The Cheney Observer
Oil sales lead to deaths in Sudan
Posted by: Kevin on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 - 09:55 AM PST
Foreign oil companies in Sudan have been complicit in major human rights violations committed by the Sudanese government against the indigenous peoples of the oil-drilling regions in the country's south,
That's according to a massive report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday.
The 750-page document, 'Sudan, Oil and Human Rights', is the most comprehensive effort to date to detail the history of one of Africa's most ruinous civil wars, particularly the role played in it by oil companies, which began pumping crude for export from Sudan in 1999.
Much of the government's earnings from selling the oil have been used to buy advanced military weaponry with which to prosecute its war against a 21-year-old insurgency, called the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/SPLA), according to the report.
http://www.everyvoice.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=726
Warming Up The Oil Company Boardrooms
Old Man Winter has come to town just a tad early. And is he pissed!
Wind gusting to nearly 100 mph swept across Colorado on Monday, forcing skiers off the slopes, closing highways and peeling the roof of a high school gym while a basketball team practiced inside. Gusts reached 90 mph in Breckenridge and forced the ski resort to shut down a chair lift.
The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning along the heavily populated Front Range after 95 mph winds were reported in Superior. Gusts reached 98 mph at Carter Lake near Berthoud and ranged from 79 mph to 85 mph in Louisville, Boulder and Golden. The winds eased as a cold front began to arrive. Temperatures were expected to drop to about 30 degrees by Tuesday.
Remember that 'cheap' oil we have been having? Me neither!
http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/003388.php
I first heard about the military using depleted uranium for bullets from the Native Americans for a Clean Environment (NACE) in Gore, Oklahoma. Kerr Magee was operating a factory there, and in a liquid waste spill a young man, about twenty-one years old, was sprayed with the mixture and died. Many members of the public were also exposed, and were taken to the University in Oklahoma City for medical examination and feces analysis. It seems that the liquid waste contained primarily uranium and other heavy metals.
Local people had found this factory to be very polluting. When I visited the town to see what was happening and to decide whether or not I could help, they showed me rust marks scattered over the surface of their automobiles where the toxic corrosive spray released from the factory routinely had impacted on the paint. People complained of burning throats and eyes, some with even more serious complaints, but little systematic information which would show that the factory was the source of their problem.
http://www.ccnr.org/bertell_book.html
About this Photo
This photo was taken April 23, 1992, outside the no fly zone established by the FAA. Operated by LL&E, the #3-36 Big Horn se-se 36-39n-91w Fremont County, Wyoming, blew-out at 7:00 A.M. on 4-22-92 at a depth of 23,331’.This test was projected to the Madison at a depth of 25,000’. It’s reported the company took a kick from the Frontier formation at a depth near 20,000' and couldn’t bring it under control. The well started blowing out sweet gas for an hour before igniting itself. No one at the drill site was injured and the Parker Drilling Rig #202 was destroyed. Estimated cost for the drilling of this well prior to the blowout was 20 million dollars. Located within Madden Deep Field, this huge anticline produces the deepest commercial gas from the Mississippian Madison within the Rocky Mountain Region.
The Real Story
From the Horses Mouth-Clarification About Madden Deep Blowout-11 Years Later
Editors note:
We have recently received a letter from Connie Hawkins, who at the time of the blowout was employed by LL&E, and was the company geologist Madden Field. He has set us straight about the events leading up to the blowout and well as some personal, (and humorous) observations regarding what it takes to put out a fire of this size.
We wish to thank Connie for taking the time and effort to clarify this event, which at the time, had industry abuzz about the cause of the Madden Deep blowout.
http://www.rmoj.com/
Haaretz
PM: Evacuation of outposts part of road map obligations
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
The evacuation of illegal settlements is part of Israel's obligations according to the road map peace plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the cabinet on Sunday morning.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551394.html
Hamas and Fatah student supporters brawl in Hebron
By The Associated Press
Hundreds of student supporters of the Hamas group clashed with supporters of Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah party, throwing punches, sticks and stones during a Hamas campaign rally for student council elections in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551463.html
Israel needs to be at a negotiation table with Iran. Iran has weapons that can launch against any ground invasion. Don't let Bush do this to Israel. Bush needs to deploy from Iraq and stop the proliferation of war in the area. Does everyone think Iran will actually launch a nuclear weapon without detection on Israel for no reason, but, just pure hatred? Sincerely. Everyone believes Iran will annihilate Israel with a nuclear weapon just for the sake of it all. I find that hard to believe. I think Iran have a great deal of concern over internal stability with the incredible instability in Iraq. I know there can be the 'hand shake of death' but is that what the world is looking at with Iran? Sincerely. This fear of nuclear launch. If that is the case than I am clearly in disbelief a sovereign country like Iran with burgeoning generations of democracy hopefuls would be that stupid. Israel has nuclear weapons. They also have Patriot Shield Weapons. What would make Iran believe they would be successful before a return strike could be launched and land successfully on them? I think there needs to be sincere diplomatic channels open here to clear the air and find SOLID inroad of trust. It can't possibly be this late. A nuclear strike into Israel includes Palestine. Israel has a built in 'Arab/Islamic Shield.' I trust Prime Minister Sharon, I just hope he is taking everything into consideration and has spoken to all allies including Arabs and Europeans. Would Iran have the Palestinian Nation demised with one nuclear strike on the Eve of it's awakening? Perhaps, but, then Mr. Abbas needs to be open with all parties and loyal to his moral obligations. Russia would see this happen? It would allow an Anti-Semitic Nuclear Weapon explode in Israel affecting every nation in the area including Palestine for the joy of killing? I find that hard to believe. I couldn't be more sincere. Israel is that hated? Israel is that much trouble? We should all die? Won't they die with us? Isn't the world much smaller now? I stand with Prime Minister Sharon. I hope he is cautious and correct without harassment from the USA.
Report: Security cabinet authorizes plan for strike on Iran
By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's security cabinet reportedly gave "initial authorization" last month to a plan for an air and ground attack on Iran if diplomatic efforts do not halt the Islamic republic's nuclear program, according to a report in London's Sunday Times.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551408.html
The Washington Post
Syria Vows Phased Lebanon Exit
Some Personnel to Depart by March 31; U.S. Wants Prompt Final Pullout
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 13, 2005; Page A01
In talks with a top U.N. envoy, Syria promised yesterday to withdraw one-third of its 15,000 troops and 5,000 intelligence agents in Lebanon by the end of March, as the first stage of an operation that would end its 29-year military presence in that country, according to U.S. and U.N. sources.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29389-2005Mar12.html
Rail Deal Could Double Development Near Tysons
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 13, 2005; Page A01
The plan to build a Metrorail line from West Falls Church through Tysons Corner is advanced as a means of easing Northern Virginia's traffic woes. But the rail project is in many ways a monumental real estate deal that some critics say will further develop an already crowded crossroads.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30277-2005Mar12.html
Europeans Investigate CIA Role in Abductions
Suspects Possibly Taken To Nations That Torture
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, March 13, 2005; Page A01
MILAN -- A radical Egyptian cleric known as Abu Omar was walking to a Milan mosque for noon prayers in February 2003 when he was grabbed on the sidewalk by two men, sprayed in the face with chemicals and stuffed into a van. He hasn't been seen since.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30275-2005Mar12.html
Casino Bid Prompted High-Stakes Lobbying
Probe Scrutinizes Efforts Against Tribe
By Susan Schmidt
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 13, 2005; Page A01
When a ragtag band of Louisiana Indians won their governor's support for a casino three years ago, they never could have fathomed the powerful cast of characters who would collaborate to flatten them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30274-2005Mar12.html
'Mildly Pro-Choice' Rice Won't Rule Out Presidential Bid
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 13, 2005; Page A05
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described herself Friday as "mildly pro-choice" and "kind of libertarian" on abortion, and left the door open for a presidential race in 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30282-2005Mar12.html
On Asia Trip, Rice to Nudge Allies on N. Korea
Secretary Seeks to Knit Common Message
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 13, 2005; Page A23
With the crisis over North Korea's nuclear programs looming in the background, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week will dash across Asia, seeking to nudge East Asian allies into a coordinated strategy for confronting the reclusive communist nation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30288-2005Mar12.html
concluding...
Sunday, March 13, 2005
OPINION - The World FINALLY gets to confront the man behind the madness !
The Hawk of all Hawks
John Bolton is THE WORST the USA has to offer in the way of diplomacy and IS the current Neocon/Repuglican Attitude of BUSH/Cheney. "Whatever you say, John, I never wanted to be exposed to the opinion of the world anyway. Only descend on the world with opinion !"
The Mentor of the Neocons
The Rhetoric King of Nuclear Proliferation
The ONE the ONLY John Bolton
John Bolton is THE WORST the USA has to offer in the way of diplomacy and IS the current Neocon/Repuglican Attitude of BUSH/Cheney. "Whatever you say, John, I never wanted to be exposed to the opinion of the world anyway. Only descend on the world with opinion !"
Bolton's high handed gaming has resulted in at least one propaganda piece today, one in the NY Times and I haven't looked further yet today. The information is irrelivant and obviously his best work. The article sighted was well done clearly illustrating the incompetence by this administration for ever carrying out an invasion in the first place. The United Nations since 1991 had done an incredible job at securing the weapons in Iraq and through the Oil for Food Program completely water downed Iraq's ability to carry out but the most meager of defense programs.
The Disrespect for World Order and only abiding by their own ideologies, regardless of the knowledge the United Nations held in relation to the custody of weapons in Iraq, this administration continued with an invasion that unseated world order and security setting up the USA for isolation and ridicule.
The level of disrespect Bolton brings to the United Nations is beyond imagination. I am quite confident he is the best to represent Bush with no doubt the isolation of the USA will continue or risk another RUSH TO WAR. Perhaps Goss will continue his truth telling rather than the former propaganda to proliferate understanding leading to peace rather than lies to cover up crony initiatives for war and human righats abuses.
Bush's live grenade
Bush's choice for the US face at the UN is a 'hawk's hawk' who keeps a toy grenade in his office
New York correspondent David Nason
March 12, 2005
JOHN Bolton, the man US President George W. Bush has picked to represent him at the UN, is an outspoken right-wing ideologue who, for reasons never explained, keeps a toy hand grenade on a table in his office.
...It was a reaction that did not surprise former Malcolm Fraser adviser Owen Harries, who got to know Bolton while working as editor of The National Interest in Washington from 1985 to 2001.
"John's temperament is the antithesis of the conventional diplomat," Harries says. "He is a man of extraordinarily strong views and he believes the essence of the [foreign policy] game is to get what you want without compromise. He also believes that the existing world order has one superpower, which is the US, and that the UN is used by other countries wanting to restrain the US dominance. That largely explains why John has been such a great critic of the UN in the past."
In fact, Bolton's antipathy towards the UN is the stuff of legend. Not only has he urged the US to withdraw its UN funding and taunted supporters of the UN-backed international court of justice as "fuzzy-minded romantics", he has never wasted an opportunity to make the damning claim that much of the UN's recent history in places such as Bosnia and Rwanda, in the oil-for-food program in Iraq and in Sudan and the Congo, has been about finding accommodation with terrorists and murderers.
...Harries, who describes Bolton as "intense and driven" and "not someone you go to for small talk", agrees that in sending Bolton to the UN, Bush has made an emphatic point.
"This is an appointment that clearly says American policy in Bush's second term is going to be no different in practice to his aggressive rhetoric about promoting democracy and freedom and American values to the rest of the world as a way of combating terrorism," Harries says.
If that also means a willingness to set up security mechanisms outside UN authority, Bolton will be perfectly placed to set the wheels in motion. He's the architect of the Proliferation Security Initiative, in which 15 European and Asian nations - including Australia - signed up to curb the international trade in weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related materials using measures such as the interception of suspect shipping on the high seas.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12513927%255E28737,00.html
Morning Papers - concluding
Sydney Morning Herald
Darwin placed on high cyclone alert
March 12, 2005 - 8:37PM
Residents of Darwin, which was battered 30 years ago by Cyclone Tracy, are bracing for an even more powerful storm - being placed tonight on the highest "Cyclone Warning" alert.
The category five Ingrid, which passed over Northern Territory coastal communities earlier today, when it was rated a category four, was now heading for the NT capital and nearby communities, including the Tiwi Islands.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Darwin-placed-on-high-cyclone-alert/2005/03/12/1110567733503.html
Darwin on alert as Ingrid batters coast
March 13, 2005 - 7:24PM
Darwin was on high alert Sunday night as Cyclone Ingrid continued its fierce march across Australia's top end after devastating the tiny community of Croker Island.
Darwin, which only months ago marked the 30th anniversary of the death and destruction Cyclone Tracy delivered, was Sunday night braced for the arrival of a storm of equal power.
Category four Ingrid threw her fury at the community of Croker Island overnight, and was Sunday evening heading straight for the Tiwi Islands, 80km north of Darwin.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Darwin-on-alert-as-Ingrid-batters-coast/2005/03/13/1110649053122.html
Prepare for worst, Darwin residents told
March 13, 2005 - 4:36PM
Darwin police today urged residents to prepare for the worst, but not to panic, as category-four Cyclone Ingrid continued to track towards the city.
The destructive storm, with winds gusting up to 235 kmh, was this afternoon 160 kilometres northeast of Darwin, and was tracking along the north coast of the Northern Territory.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Prepare-for-worst-Darwin-residents-told/2005/03/13/1110649040186.html?oneclick=true
Distraught family still waiting for body of son killed in Iraq
By Eamonn Duff and Annabel Crabb
March 13, 2005
The Sun-Herald
The shattered father of the first serving Australian killed in Iraq revealed last night he still has no idea when his son's body will be returned home to rest in peace.
RAF Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel died alongside nine British servicemen on January 30 when their RAF C-130 Hercules plane crashed near Baghdad.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/After-Saddam/Family-still-waiting-for-body-of-son-killed-in-Iraq/2005/03/12/1110567751166.html
Growing pains
March 12, 2005
The buzzword is early intervention, and with scant scientific back-up anxious parents are seizing on treatments to keep their children in the race to achieve. Julie Robotham reports.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Growing-pains/2005/03/11/1110417688338.html
Australia's top 100 public intellectuals
Sport and showbiz elites hog the limelight while our great minds struggle for recognition. In a Herald survey, Michael Visontay seeks out the nation's guard of leading thinkers.
Intellectual is an uncomfortable word in Australia, and we live in an age when euphemisms are found for uncomfortable words. These days people tend to be categorised as smart, clever, bright rather than intellectual - the response of a culture driven by speed and solutions rather than inquiry and confrontation; a society that glosses over awkwardness.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Australias-top-100-public-intellectuals/2005/03/11/1110417674077.html
Mystic separates the fad from the divine
Some religious teachers might welcome the media profile that celebrity recruitment brings, but not Rabbi David Cooper, a Kabbalah teacher from the US.
Thanks to Madonna's red thread, Rabbi Cooper concedes Kabbalah, a kind of Jewish mysticism, is going through a faddish and commercial phase.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Mystic-separates-the-fad-from-the-divine/2005/03/11/1110417690878.html
Dollar drifts on cross currents
By Jessica Irvine
March 12, 2005
The dollar's week ended with a sinking feeling as it was weighed down by signs of mounting investor risk aversion and rumours of increased Chinese interest rates.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Dollar-drifts-on-cross-currents/2005/03/11/1110417684681.html
Dollar drifts on cross currents
By Jessica Irvine
March 12, 2005
The dollar's week ended with a sinking feeling as it was weighed down by signs of mounting investor risk aversion and rumours of increased Chinese interest rates.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Dollar-drifts-on-cross-currents/2005/03/11/1110417684681.html
The New Zealand Herald
Ingrid lashes the coast and heads for Darwin
13.03.05 2.20pm
BRISBANE - Coastal communities in the top end of the Northern Territory were being lashed by winds of up to 290km/h today as Cyclone Ingrid continued its destructive path across Croker Island in the Arafura Sea and toward Darwin.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115043
UN report blasts foreshore ruling
13.03.05
A damning report from the United Nations has condemned the Foreshore and Seabed legislation as discriminatory against Maori.
The report, which was released this weekend by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, states that the legislation discriminates against Maori by extinguishing the possibility of establishing Maori customary title over the foreshore and seabed, and by its failure to provide a guaranteed right of redress.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115033
Burglary of tornado victim disgusts Greymouth mayor
13.03.05 6.00pm
Greymouth Mayor Tony Kokshoorn wants to "hang" the person who burgled a tornado victim on the night the twister struck .
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115051
Flu vaccine flaws boost epidemic fears
12.03.05
By REBECCA WALSH
New Zealand's supply of flu vaccine for the coming winter has been delayed after the French manufacturer discovered potential problems with its effectiveness.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10114933
Terror suspect transition as chaotic as Commons marathon
A television monitor shows events inside the House of Commons as anti-terrorism legislation is debated in London. Picture / Reuters
13.03.05 2.00pm
By Sophie goodchild, Andy McSmith, Raymond Whitaker and Steve Bloomfield
LONDON - The transition of Britain's eight foreign terror suspects from prison or secure mental hospital to a new life under "control orders" is proving every bit as chaotic as last week's scenes in Westminster, when Parliament wrangled over what to do with them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115042
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Cloudy
-20.0°
Updated Sunday 13 Mar 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
43 °F / 6 °C
Overcast
Windchill:
41 °F / 5 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
39 °F / 4 °C
Wind:
4 mph / 6 km/h from the SW
Pressure:
30.75 in / 1041 hPa
Visibility:
4.0 miles / 6.4 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Overcast 197 ft / 60 m
end
Darwin placed on high cyclone alert
March 12, 2005 - 8:37PM
Residents of Darwin, which was battered 30 years ago by Cyclone Tracy, are bracing for an even more powerful storm - being placed tonight on the highest "Cyclone Warning" alert.
The category five Ingrid, which passed over Northern Territory coastal communities earlier today, when it was rated a category four, was now heading for the NT capital and nearby communities, including the Tiwi Islands.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Darwin-placed-on-high-cyclone-alert/2005/03/12/1110567733503.html
Darwin on alert as Ingrid batters coast
March 13, 2005 - 7:24PM
Darwin was on high alert Sunday night as Cyclone Ingrid continued its fierce march across Australia's top end after devastating the tiny community of Croker Island.
Darwin, which only months ago marked the 30th anniversary of the death and destruction Cyclone Tracy delivered, was Sunday night braced for the arrival of a storm of equal power.
Category four Ingrid threw her fury at the community of Croker Island overnight, and was Sunday evening heading straight for the Tiwi Islands, 80km north of Darwin.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Darwin-on-alert-as-Ingrid-batters-coast/2005/03/13/1110649053122.html
Prepare for worst, Darwin residents told
March 13, 2005 - 4:36PM
Darwin police today urged residents to prepare for the worst, but not to panic, as category-four Cyclone Ingrid continued to track towards the city.
The destructive storm, with winds gusting up to 235 kmh, was this afternoon 160 kilometres northeast of Darwin, and was tracking along the north coast of the Northern Territory.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Prepare-for-worst-Darwin-residents-told/2005/03/13/1110649040186.html?oneclick=true
Distraught family still waiting for body of son killed in Iraq
By Eamonn Duff and Annabel Crabb
March 13, 2005
The Sun-Herald
The shattered father of the first serving Australian killed in Iraq revealed last night he still has no idea when his son's body will be returned home to rest in peace.
RAF Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel died alongside nine British servicemen on January 30 when their RAF C-130 Hercules plane crashed near Baghdad.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/After-Saddam/Family-still-waiting-for-body-of-son-killed-in-Iraq/2005/03/12/1110567751166.html
Growing pains
March 12, 2005
The buzzword is early intervention, and with scant scientific back-up anxious parents are seizing on treatments to keep their children in the race to achieve. Julie Robotham reports.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Growing-pains/2005/03/11/1110417688338.html
Australia's top 100 public intellectuals
Sport and showbiz elites hog the limelight while our great minds struggle for recognition. In a Herald survey, Michael Visontay seeks out the nation's guard of leading thinkers.
Intellectual is an uncomfortable word in Australia, and we live in an age when euphemisms are found for uncomfortable words. These days people tend to be categorised as smart, clever, bright rather than intellectual - the response of a culture driven by speed and solutions rather than inquiry and confrontation; a society that glosses over awkwardness.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Australias-top-100-public-intellectuals/2005/03/11/1110417674077.html
Mystic separates the fad from the divine
Some religious teachers might welcome the media profile that celebrity recruitment brings, but not Rabbi David Cooper, a Kabbalah teacher from the US.
Thanks to Madonna's red thread, Rabbi Cooper concedes Kabbalah, a kind of Jewish mysticism, is going through a faddish and commercial phase.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Mystic-separates-the-fad-from-the-divine/2005/03/11/1110417690878.html
Dollar drifts on cross currents
By Jessica Irvine
March 12, 2005
The dollar's week ended with a sinking feeling as it was weighed down by signs of mounting investor risk aversion and rumours of increased Chinese interest rates.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Dollar-drifts-on-cross-currents/2005/03/11/1110417684681.html
Dollar drifts on cross currents
By Jessica Irvine
March 12, 2005
The dollar's week ended with a sinking feeling as it was weighed down by signs of mounting investor risk aversion and rumours of increased Chinese interest rates.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Dollar-drifts-on-cross-currents/2005/03/11/1110417684681.html
The New Zealand Herald
Ingrid lashes the coast and heads for Darwin
13.03.05 2.20pm
BRISBANE - Coastal communities in the top end of the Northern Territory were being lashed by winds of up to 290km/h today as Cyclone Ingrid continued its destructive path across Croker Island in the Arafura Sea and toward Darwin.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115043
UN report blasts foreshore ruling
13.03.05
A damning report from the United Nations has condemned the Foreshore and Seabed legislation as discriminatory against Maori.
The report, which was released this weekend by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, states that the legislation discriminates against Maori by extinguishing the possibility of establishing Maori customary title over the foreshore and seabed, and by its failure to provide a guaranteed right of redress.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115033
Burglary of tornado victim disgusts Greymouth mayor
13.03.05 6.00pm
Greymouth Mayor Tony Kokshoorn wants to "hang" the person who burgled a tornado victim on the night the twister struck .
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115051
Flu vaccine flaws boost epidemic fears
12.03.05
By REBECCA WALSH
New Zealand's supply of flu vaccine for the coming winter has been delayed after the French manufacturer discovered potential problems with its effectiveness.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10114933
Terror suspect transition as chaotic as Commons marathon
A television monitor shows events inside the House of Commons as anti-terrorism legislation is debated in London. Picture / Reuters
13.03.05 2.00pm
By Sophie goodchild, Andy McSmith, Raymond Whitaker and Steve Bloomfield
LONDON - The transition of Britain's eight foreign terror suspects from prison or secure mental hospital to a new life under "control orders" is proving every bit as chaotic as last week's scenes in Westminster, when Parliament wrangled over what to do with them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115042
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Cloudy
-20.0°
Updated Sunday 13 Mar 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
43 °F / 6 °C
Overcast
Windchill:
41 °F / 5 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
39 °F / 4 °C
Wind:
4 mph / 6 km/h from the SW
Pressure:
30.75 in / 1041 hPa
Visibility:
4.0 miles / 6.4 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Overcast 197 ft / 60 m
end
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Maybe it's difficult for Mr. Kristoff to assess his situation. This is looking south today, March 12, 2005 from the Historic Park of Fort Lee, Manhattan. We are approaching the Spring Solstice. The temperatures today are low of 30 degrees Fahrenheit, an average of 40 F and a high of 45 F. The windchill takes the high to 40 F with a velocity of nine miles per hour out of the West. With that coming out of the west I already know NYC is out of the heat transfer system from the south so it's mostly the cold air from Canada reaching NYC. There are clear skies, with a dew point of 19, which is below freezing, humidity of 36% and a rising barometer of 29.43 inches. The barometer is rising because the low pressure vortex is stationed with it's circulation center below Greenland. The reason the vortex is there is to COOL the troposphere of Earth. It is doing so at the expense of the Greenland Ice Sheet even though it is not yet Spring and the Arctic Ocean which is the ICE CUBE to the world's oceans which can now be navigated that the sea ice has receded. Above is the Water Vapor Satellite of the North Atlantic Vortex. NOT THE JET STREAM. Live with that reality, Mr. Kristof. 
'I Have a Nightmare'
Mr. Kristof has a nightmare and all of a sudden the landscape of the nation's environmental movement is supposed to change. Perhaps Mr. Kristof needs Ambien.
conti2005 - 3:25 PM ET March 12, 2005 (#19804 of 19804)
Democrats and Independents Get It RIGHT the FIRST TIME
Take a hike, Nicholas. Literally. Maybe you might want to walk the Smokies with Sierra's Ted Synder.
The Enviromental Groups that exist today are among the greatest people alive. Some are even dead due to their 'alarmed' lives of chronic disrespect leading to acts like lying across railroad tracks to stop trains carrying nuclear waste.
What has happened is valid issues are always shelved for the sake of Oil Tycoons and wrongful Oil Barrons like George Walker Bush.
Perhaps you haven't noticed excpetional legislation that came out of the sixites and the seventies.
What started the movement into conservation and appreciation for health from environmental contaminants including a long needed appreciation for stewardship and ecosystem preservation?
Because you mention a WOMAN nowhere in your editorial. You allude to her but don't directly mention her. She was an alarmist and when her alarm went out she died two years later of breast cancer.
The name is Rachel Carson and the book was "Silent Spring."
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp
You'll excuse me for being rude, Mr. Kristof, but, I think you are trying too hard to be 'Bushian' because you are having trouble with your visas and care to denigrade the very INSTITUTIONS that can save your sorry hiney from Global Warming and Climate Change.
Sierra Club, The Natural Resource Defense Council and others are NOT 'Old Kids on the Block' that need repremanding; they are long established institutions in this country that demand respect. The problem here is as it alwsys was, 'DISRESPECT' because you can't see your own best interest right in front of your face.
The nature of Earth today is very sad indeed, Mr. Kristof. You might want to take stock of how long the planet might actually sustain itself to find if that will be the length of your potential longevity.
Alarming as that sounds.
GET OVER IT !!
conti2005 - 3:25 PM ET March 12, 2005 (#19804 of 19804)
Democrats and Independents Get It RIGHT the FIRST TIME
Take a hike, Nicholas. Literally. Maybe you might want to walk the Smokies with Sierra's Ted Synder.
The Enviromental Groups that exist today are among the greatest people alive. Some are even dead due to their 'alarmed' lives of chronic disrespect leading to acts like lying across railroad tracks to stop trains carrying nuclear waste.
What has happened is valid issues are always shelved for the sake of Oil Tycoons and wrongful Oil Barrons like George Walker Bush.
Perhaps you haven't noticed excpetional legislation that came out of the sixites and the seventies.
What started the movement into conservation and appreciation for health from environmental contaminants including a long needed appreciation for stewardship and ecosystem preservation?
Because you mention a WOMAN nowhere in your editorial. You allude to her but don't directly mention her. She was an alarmist and when her alarm went out she died two years later of breast cancer.
The name is Rachel Carson and the book was "Silent Spring."
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp
You'll excuse me for being rude, Mr. Kristof, but, I think you are trying too hard to be 'Bushian' because you are having trouble with your visas and care to denigrade the very INSTITUTIONS that can save your sorry hiney from Global Warming and Climate Change.
Sierra Club, The Natural Resource Defense Council and others are NOT 'Old Kids on the Block' that need repremanding; they are long established institutions in this country that demand respect. The problem here is as it alwsys was, 'DISRESPECT' because you can't see your own best interest right in front of your face.
The nature of Earth today is very sad indeed, Mr. Kristof. You might want to take stock of how long the planet might actually sustain itself to find if that will be the length of your potential longevity.
Alarming as that sounds.
GET OVER IT !!
Bush Job Approval Ratings Remain Unchanged
Haven't visited this site in a while.
George W. Bush's job approval ratings continue to remain unchanged from November according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 49% say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 45% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 42% of Americans say they approve and 51% say they disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 49% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 47% disapprove. As for Bush's handling of the economy, 43% of registered voters approve and 52% disapprove.
Compared to January, Americans are slightly less apt to say that the national economy is getting better (30% in February and 36% in January) and are slightly more apt to say their personal financial situations are getting worse (34% in February and 27% in January). The split based on Bush job approval remains among the responses to questions on the economy.
The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults 18 years and older. The interviews were completed February 14 through 17, 2005. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Overall, 49% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, 45% disapprove, and 6% are undecided.
George W. Bush's job approval ratings continue to remain unchanged from November according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 49% say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 45% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 42% of Americans say they approve and 51% say they disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 49% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 47% disapprove. As for Bush's handling of the economy, 43% of registered voters approve and 52% disapprove.
Compared to January, Americans are slightly less apt to say that the national economy is getting better (30% in February and 36% in January) and are slightly more apt to say their personal financial situations are getting worse (34% in February and 27% in January). The split based on Bush job approval remains among the responses to questions on the economy.
The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults 18 years and older. The interviews were completed February 14 through 17, 2005. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Overall, 49% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, 45% disapprove, and 6% are undecided.
Friday, March 11, 2005
This is the current UNISYS satellite, GOES West 11.3.2005. That is the European notation for date. USA 3.11.2005. The neglect of this issue is an outrage. This is a water vapor satellite and an all new Hemispheric Maximum. It encompasses the entire nation. I put up a regular radar view. You can tell from that. This is Earth grossly imbalanced.
Morning Papers - concluding from postings below. Thank you
The Hindustan Times
Russia will not sell arms to Pak: Defence Minister
Press Trust of India
Moscow,
March 11, 2005
Russia has made it clear that it has not supplied arms to Pakistan in the past and will not do so in the future.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1275678,0005.htm
Two rapes, four murders every hour in India
Murali Krishnan (IANS)
New Delhi,
How crime prone is India? Every hour, 25 violent crimes take place in the country while 59 housewives commit suicide every day.
And two accidental deaths occur every two minutes across this vast country of a billion people.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1275401,0000.htm
Unwanted Pregnancy
Judge Recommends Pharmacist Be Reprimanded for Withholding Birth Control
A judge has ruled that a pharmacist who refused to fill a woman's prescription for birth control on religious grounds should be reprimanded. In July 2002, Neil Noesen, a pharmacist at Kmart, refused to fill a University of Wisconsin student’s oral contraceptive prescription, arguing that it would be a sin under his religion, reports Medical News Today. The patient missed a day of her prescription when Noesen, a Roman Catholic, also refused to transfer the prescription to another pharmacy, reports the Capital Times. Noesen testified that he believes birth control to be "intrinsically evil," and argued that his faith leads him to believe filling such prescriptions would lead to his own personal suffering, according to the Dunn County News.
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8937
After baby - A look at birth control options
Betsy Gartrell-Judd
After nine months or more of thinking of little but pregnancy, your new baby is born. You may be surprised to find that pregnancy is suddenly the furthest thing from your mind. But even while you honeymoon as a newly expanded family, you need to make some important decisions about when you might get pregnant again, if ever.
Knowing what's available
While there are many contraceptives available -- with yet more in development, such as the male birth control pill -- most of the current ones are not 100 percent effective, and all of them have both advantages and drawbacks. In the accompanying table, we've offered a comparison of the most popular methods to assist you in your research and decision-making.
http://pregnancyandbaby.com/read/articles/1015.htm
US bankruptcy overhaul clears abortion vote hurdle
Tue Mar 8, 2005 01:20 PM ET
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - An overhaul of U.S. bankruptcy laws survived a major threat on Tuesday as the Senate rejected an abortion-related amendment that had doomed the legislation in the last Congress.
http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=7841995
Summary Box: GOP wins first abortion test
Associated Press
THE NEWS: In the first abortion-related test of the new Congress, the Senate rejected a Democratic effort to bar anti-abortion protesters from using bankruptcy to avoid payment of court judgment.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/11083556.htm
NO DOUBT RU-486 needs to be reviewed by the NEW Drug Task Force that turned COX2 back on the market.
`Holly's Law' reintroduced to halt FDA approval of abortion pill
BY BONITA BREWER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - (KRT) - The controversial RU-486 abortion pill, which 18-year-old Holly Patterson of Livermore, Calif., took a week before dying of a massive infection in September 2003, would be at least temporarily pulled from U.S. markets under federal legislation reintroduced last week.
Republican lawmakers have reintroduced "Holly's Law," which would suspend Food and Drug Administration approval of RU-486 until the federal Government Accountability Office scrutinizes the process by which the drug came to U.S. markets in 2000.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11076398.htm
Rights commission's call for abortion law to be ignored
Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Government plans to ignore a key recommendation of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) concerning abortion legislation.
In its submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination, published yesterday on the eve of International Women's Day, the IHRC recommended "that the Government should introduce legislation to define the circumstances in which abortion can currently be legally carried out in Ireland".
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/0308/3818828085HM1ABORTION.html
MY VIEW: KLINE CORRECT IN SEEKING ABORTION CLINIC RECORDS
BY CHERYL SULLENGER
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline requested about 90 medical records from two abortion clinics, including those of underage girls who had abortions beyond 22 weeks' gestation. Kline said that he is investigating the matter in order to capture and prosecute sexual predators who may be victimizing young girls. In fact, he is duty sworn to do this.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/news/editorial/11075159.htm
Carlson moves to center on abortion
By David Kranz
dkranz@argusleader.com
published: 03/8/05
During the 2004 political campaigns, abortion became a central theme for sermons by some Catholic priests in the Sioux Falls Diocese as they discussed what their congregation’s responsibility should be as they voted.
Some heard the stern warning: Under no circumstances could anyone vote for a pro-choice candidate. Penalty for the violation would be a mortal sin.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050308/COLUMNISTS02/50308002/1001/NEWS
Arkansas parental consent abortion law signed
Little Rock, Arkansas, Mar. 08 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee signed a new law into effect last Thursday that requires parental consent for girls under 18 years of age before having an abortion.
Pasted from <http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=35735>
Wise choices in pregnancy
Women don't need reproductive propaganda from state
Last update: March 03, 2005
Abortion can be a heart-wrenching decision. It is rarely made lightly. Women facing unwanted pregnancies should know that they have other choices, and be offered support to make the right decision.
But the state should not be spending money specifically to dissuade women from abortion -- especially if leaders choose a campaign that incorporates misinformation and ignores the best and most effective ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/03OpOPN13030305.htm
Don't fund abortion propaganda
• The state of Florida should not use taxpayer money to support organizations that try to persuade women not to get abortions. The state should work to ensure that women get professional counseling on all their legal choices, not propaganda.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050308/OPINION/503080375/1015
Adoption vs. abortion
State should provide whole story
Imagine a student at a public high school who goes to a guidance counselor seeking advice about her future. Should she attend a university? Try community college first? Join the military? Opt for technological training, or jump into the working world right after graduation?
If the guidance counselor does justice to the student's inquiry, he will provide information about the pros and cons of each option - possibly providing advice, but sending the clear message that the decision belongs to the student and her family.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/11033324.htm
Bush plan proposes abortion counseling
Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings is promoting the program, which is modeled after one in Pennsylvania.
By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writer
Published March 1, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - Seeking to reduce abortions in Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush wants to spend $4-million in tax money to counsel pregnant women and promote alternatives, such as adoption.
The proposal was unveiled Monday by Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, the most visible woman in the Bush administration and a likely candidate for governor in a 2006 Republican contest in which abortion could play a big role.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/03/01/State/Bush_plan_proposes_ab.shtml
THIS IS VIOLATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT IS INVASION OF A WOMAN'S PRIVACY. The government wants to deny funding for clinics but not entrapment motivations into pregnancy. Reverend Jeb Bush is overstepping his boundaries again. This is a decision between a woman and he doctor. $4 million is nothing to the cost of this program unless it is being limited to a selected population if they are going to be finding housing, clothing and the like.This is a give away program to churches. Some congregations already have housing projects for the elderly. Those same housing projects could be turned into parenting centers and a trap for women for the rest of their child bearing years with an adoption center on the grounds when the women are ready to give up their babies. This could literally become a self supporting maternal money making franchise for any church that is willing to turn a profit. All they have to do is recruit pregnant women, give them dorm housing until they are ready to deliver or sign the papers which ever comes first or last and then send them on their way to do it all over again. This is not a healthy way of handling issues of abortion decisions.
The organizations -- which would receive state grants and could include religious organizations -- would provide services for pregnant women, including helping to find shelter, maternity clothing and infant supplies and providing information about adoption. The program also would provide pregnancy support services, state-funded individual counseling for women up to one year after giving birth and parental skill development classes. In addition, the program would promote abstinence as the best way to prevent unplanned pregnancies (Kerr, Florida Times-Union, 3/1). Program funding, which Bush included in his proposed 2005 budget, must be approved by the state Legislature, which reconvenes next week. Jennings -- who was joined by several Republican lawmakers and leaders of Florida Right to Life, the Florida Catholic Conference, Interfaith of Northeast Florida and the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville -- said, "We must create as many avenues as possible for pregnant women to be informed of their options other than abortion because we know that these decisions have a profound impact on their families and our community as a whole" (Mussenden, Orlando Sentinel, 3/1). The Florida program is modeled after a similar Pennsylvania program, known as Real Alternatives (St. Petersburg Times, 3/1).
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=2&DR_ID=28409
Calls for cultural training for foreign doctors
By PM's Matt Henger
There are calls for better medical and cultural training for foreign doctors coming in to Australia to reduce the problem of unwanted teenage pregnancies.
As Australia struggles to fill doctor vacancies in regional and rural areas, there has been a concerted effort in recent years to attract overseas GPs.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1320410.htm
Campus groups divided over free condoms
By Keith Joseph Zukas/The Daily Cardinal
Today sex is everywhere, and with it follow methods of disease protection and birth control. Turning on the television, one can "Talk Sex" with an old, but perky, Sue Johanson. Walk into a local store and one might find a bowl of free condoms on the counter. On the radio are depressing advertisements from girls who unwisely relied on the pull-out method.
http://www.dailycardinal.com/news/2005/03/10/News/Campus.Groups.Divided.Over.Free.Condoms-890835.shtml
House approves tighter restrictions on abortion clinics
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The House passed legislation Thursday that would tighten restrictions on abortion clinics despite the objections of some who contend it could force some clinics to close.
The abortion bill, sent to the Senate on a 122-31 vote, would heighten standards for Missouri abortion clinics by requiring physicians to have clinical privileges at a hospital within 30 miles from where they perform abortions in Missouri.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/11101991.htm>
US: Abortion collides with bankruptcy in Senate
11 Hours,3 minutes Ago
[US News]: Schumer fails at effort to pass provision aimed at violent protesters
The ultimate values issue, abortion, collided Tuesday in the United States Senate with one of the ultimate money issues, bankruptcy.
On Tuesday the Senate voted 53-46 to reject a proposal, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., that would have stopped violent protesters, whether at abortion clinics or any other lawful business or service, from using bankruptcy law to avoid paying court-ordered fines.
In this, the first battle over abortion in the new Congress, two Democrats, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, joined with 51 Republicans in voting to scuttle the Schumer amendment.
http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=144792
Kan. AG emerges as leading abortion foe
JOHN HANNA
Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. - Phill Kline added another L to his first name years ago so that people would not confuse him with another politician with the same name. But no one is likely to make that mistake anymore.
The Kansas attorney general has emerged as one of the nation's staunchest foes of abortion.
In the latest move in a career that has generated both loyalty and loathing, the conservative Republican is demanding two abortion clinics turn over the medical files of about 90 women and girls, saying he needs the material for an investigation into child rape and potentially illegal late-term abortions.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/11101630.htm
New Hampshire State House Rejects Abortion Information
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2005
Concord, NH (LifeNews.com) -- New Hampshire state legislators have rejected legislation that would have provided women considering abortions with information about abortion's risks and alternatives. The measure would also allow women to receive information depicting the development of their unborn children at the time of the abortion.
Opponents of the bill claimed it placed an undue burden on women by giving them 24 hours to take a look at the information given to them.
http://www.lifenews.com/state947.html
New Jersey Bill Would Force Pharmacists to Dispense Abortion Pill
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2005
Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) -- Legislation in the state of New Jersey would force pharmacists there to dispense all drugs available at the pharmacy -- including drugs that act as abortion agents. The measure is backed by abortion advocates who say pharmacists should not be allowed to opt out of drugs that violate their moral beliefs.
http://www.lifenews.com/state946.html
House rejects 24-hour wait for women seeking abortion
Bill would require a 'reflection period'
By DANIEL BARRICK
Monitor staff
March 10. 2005 8:00AM
The House overwhelmingly rejected a bill yesterday that would have required women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours before having the procedure. The bill would have also required doctors to provide such women with facts on fetal development and a series of medically disputed information, such as claims of a link between abortions and increased risks of breast cancer.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050310/REPOSITORY/503100324/1001/NEWS01
Michigan Bill Would Require Ultrasound for Women Considering Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 9, 2005
Lansing, MI (LifeNews.com) -- When women who visit a pregnancy center see an ultrasound image of their unborn child, more than 90 percent decide against an abortion. Michigan lawmakers are hoping the same thing will happen if women visiting abortion facilities are shown one.
State Rep. Dave Robertson, a Republican, sponsored legislation he says is similar to an Alabama law that requires abortion businesses to provide women with an opportunity to see the development of their unborn child through an ultrasound.
http://www.lifenews.com/state943.html
Abortion consent bill fails in House
By Chris Dornin
Special to the Herald
CONCORD - The House voted 133-77 to defeat a bill requiring the informed consent of a woman and a 24-hour waiting period before she could get an abortion.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/03102005/news/69037.htm
House denies 24-hour waiting period for abortion
By Colin Manning
N.H. Statehouse Writer
cmanning@fosters.com
CONCORD — Lawmakers plowed through dozens of bills on Wednesday, but the issues of abortion and audiotaping children on school buses received the most debate.
The House killed a bill which would have required women who seek an abortion to wait 24 hours as well as receive information regarding alternatives to the procedure first.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050310/NEWS0202/50310121
From Cambodia to Sudan: Breaking Down Wall of Apathy
By ELIE WIESEL
March 11, 2005
The international community had just learned the cruel truth about the large-scale massacres of innocent people by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The press had done its job: No one could say we didn't know about it.
I was invited by the International Rescue Committee as part of a delegation to go on site. We spent some time at the Thai border in an enormous refugee camp. One day during the journey, I needed to observe yahrzeit for my father. Where, I wondered, was I going to find nine men to recite the Kaddish? By some miracle, I was able to gather a minyan. I was not, however, the only one saying a prayer for the dead: A young Jewish doctor from Toulouse joined me and repeated it word for word.
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=wiesel200503091025
The Washington Times
Bill Clinton on occassion has visited the Pandas at The National Zoo. What I am wondering, is it possible China has frozen sperm for insemination? Perhaps that method is out of the question with species Panda?
Pandas 'Out of Sync' In Attempts to Mate
Artificial Insemination Planned Today
By . Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page B03
The National Zoo's giant pandas made several attempts to mate yesterday, even as animal care staff prepared to turn to artificial means to try to achieve a panda cub birth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25057-2005Mar10.html?sub=AR
Blogging Clicks With Colleges
Interactive Web Pages Changing Class Participation
By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page B01
First the Internet turned colleges upside down, extending classrooms and changing the way people learned. Next came Napster and other file-sharing tools, then Web logs. Now blogs are morphing into the next big thing on campus: wikis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25305-2005Mar10.html
U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
Secret Team Helped Find Dioxin Poisoning
By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A01
A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25430-2005Mar10.html
U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
Secret Team Helped Find Dioxin Poisoning
By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A01
A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25430-2005Mar10.html
BUSH IS PREMATURE IN THE SEVERITY OF HIS ULTIMATUM. Bush fails in his International Agenda because he is 'Here and Now' and that is far too confrontation for effective communication. Israel has more insight into the Syrian issue and needs to be verbal regarding it's position in this situation.
U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
Secret Team Helped Find Dioxin Poisoning
By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A01
A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25430-2005Mar10.html
The Moscow Times
Cleric Is Picked as Rebel Leader
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer Reuters
Anzor Maskhadov in Baku on Thursday
Little-known Chechen cleric Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev will take over as interim rebel leader after Aslan Maskhadov's death earlier this week, rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev said Thursday. Analysts said, however, that the announcement was probably an attempt by radical warlord Shamil Basayev to buy time as he figures out his next move.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/001.html
Kremlin Mulls Ditching United Russia
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Worried about United Russia's falling popularity after its approval of controversial social reforms, senior Kremlin officials are planning to create a new party of power and ditch the Kremlin-controlled party ahead of the 2007 parliamentary elections, two sources familiar with the situation said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/002.html
'Stem Cell' Treatment Arrives, But at a Price
By Maria Danilova
The Associated Press
A nurse preparing to perform an injection at the Cellulait clinic, one of dozens of clinics and beauty salons in Moscow that claim to offer a range of "stem cell" treatments.
When Svetlana Galiyeva found a clinic offering to treat her multiple sclerosis with embryonic stem cells, she grabbed the opportunity. Five hundred and sixty thousand rubles ($20,000) later she is still in a wheelchair and desperate.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/003.html
Kozak Says Regions to Have New Powers
By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer
Presidential envoy Dmitry Kozak has proposed that regional leaders be given oversight of social and environmental issues, as well as some control over natural resources currently held by federal government bodies.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/011.html
The Night Shift
Raisa Belousova met assorted freaks and criminals while driving her taxi -- and turned the discussions into a book.
By Anna Malpas
Published: March 11, 2005
Picking up passengers on Moscow's streets night after night, Raisa Belousova wasn't just earning money. She was gathering material. From prostitutes to hired killers to government officials, the people who hailed her gypsy cab told her stories that she has now turned into an anecdote-filled book titled "The Night Taxi Driver" (Nochnaya Taksistka).
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/101.html
For City, Spring Is on Hold
The Moscow Times
A man clearing snow off a sidewalk near the Aeroport metro station Thursday.
This spring had a much frostier start than usual, and snow will not begin melting before the end of next week, Moscow's weather bureau said Thursday.
Daytime air temperatures are on average 3.6 degrees Celsius lower than the standard for this time of year -- a new record, the bureau said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/012.html
The Chicago Tribune
Did Ross know Hail? Did they meet in a court waiting room? Is this a sympathy killing for Hale? Or was this man so desperate to make a statement about his life this was the chosen way to it?
Decade of despair boiled over to paranoia
By Hal Dardick and Carlos Sadovi
Tribune staff reporters.
Published March 11, 2005
Bart Ross spent nearly a decade waiting to be heard, living with a face disfigured by cancer surgery, in constant pain, sinking deeper and deeper into a state of paranoia and growing ever more convinced the medical and judicial systems were out to get him.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110282mar11,1,1068984.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
No. The Hale Supporters are wrong. It was reasonable speculation. Hale is a nasty man. What was Hale doing calling the judges home? The entire White Supremist Movement is a blight on this country. No way. No apologies. Live good lives and stay out of prison, integrate and people won't think about them in this way. No way.
Hale's parents relieved; his backers seek apology
By Ray Long and Brett McNeil
Tribune staff reporters
Published March 11, 2005
EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- White supremacist Matthew Hale's parents on Thursday expressed a mixture of relief and anger about news that a disgruntled Chicago man with no apparent ties to their son has been identified as the likely killer of a federal judge's husband and mother.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110238mar11,1,1134521.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=2&cset=true
Illinois cuts testing on 1 of 3 R's
ISAT drops writing, plus social studies
By Diane Rado
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 11, 2005
For the first time in more than a decade, Illinois students no longer have to take substantive writing exams or tests measuring their knowledge of fundamental principles of U.S. government and history--the result of some of the most severe state testing cutbacks in the nation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110251mar11,1,7299501.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=3&cset=true
Obama slams Bush for linking accounts to blacks' life span
Social Security pitch `stunning,' he says
By Jeff Zeleny, Washington Bureau. Tribune news services contributed to this report
Published March 11, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday called President Bush's suggestion that African-Americans could reap greater rewards from overhauling Social Security a "stunning" argument that ignored the true health issues facing blacks in this country.
As the president launched a two-day tour through the South to build support for his controversial plan to revamp Social Security, Democrats challenged a White House assertion that blacks would particularly gain from Bush's proposed private retirement accounts because they have fewer years to collect benefits considering they die younger.
"It is puzzling to me that we are even having this debate about whether Social Security is good or not for African-Americans," said Obama, an Illinois Democrat. "I frankly found the statement that the president made somewhat offensive."
While Bush argued his case that the future of the Social Security program was in peril without substantial changes like creating private investment accounts, Senate Democratic leaders tapped Obama to rebut the argument about overhauling Social Security.
Before the president arrived in Montgomery, Ala., Obama, the only black member of the Senate, conducted satellite interviews there from Washington.
"There is no doubt a disparity in the lifetime opportunities between white America and black America," Obama said. "The notion that we would cynically use those disparities as a rationale for dismantling Social Security as opposed to talking about how are we going to close the health disparities gap that exists, and make sure that African-American life expectancy is as long as the rest of this nation ... is stunning to me."
The administration and conservative scholars have quietly suggested that blacks may be more inclined to support the Social Security changes because, on average, whites live to age 78 and blacks to 72. So blacks, after contributing to Social Security their whole lives, are more likely to die before collecting their fair share.
"African-American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people," Bush said this year at a forum on Social Security. "And that needs to be fixed."
The president campaigned in Louisville and Montgomery to try to ease anxiety among retirees and give political cover to Republican lawmakers facing voters in midterm elections. Bush did not use the African-American argument in either stop on Thursday.
Bush repeatedly has reassured those age 55 and over that the Social Security checks they receive, or look forward to getting, won't be touched.
Still, seniors--a group that votes in greater numbers than the nation's youth--are wary about what will happen to the 70-year-old government retirement system if lawmakers tinker with it.
Facing an uphill battle to enact changes, Republicans in Congress recently have begun to emphasize the solvency problems of Social Security over the controversial private retirement accounts.
On his road trip, Bush did too. But while he is focusing on solvency, the president is not letting up on his push for private accounts.
"I'm saying to members of the United States Congress, `Let's fix this system permanently--no Band-Aids,'" Bush said in Montgomery. "Woe be to the politician who doesn't come to the table and try to come up with a solution."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110180mar11,1,7758254.story?coll=chi-news-hed
The New Zealand Herald
Spain marks train bombings with bells and tributes
A commuter train speeds by candles and flowers placed near a Madrid railway station. Picture / Reuters
11.03.05 10.35pm
By Elisabeth O'Leary
MADRID - Spain solemnly commemorated the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings today with church bells and silent tributes to the 191 people who died in al Qaeda's worst attack in Europe.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114901
Tourist drowns in kayaking accident
11.03.05 8.50pm
A tourist has died after his kayak capsized at Lake Te Anau in Fiordland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10114866
Surplus grows and grows
Michael Cullen
11.03.05 11.00am
The latest crown accounts today confirmed the Government's surplus continues to exceed expectations, swelling to $5.27 billion just seven months into the financial year.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10114779
Britain to free terror detainees, Blair bill deadlocked
11.03.05 1.00pm
LONDON - A British judge said today he would free all terrorism suspects held under emergency post-Sept. 11 powers, even as Prime Minister Tony Blair battled to replace the laws before they expire next week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114802
The New Zealanders have upheld their veteran's claims regarding not only Agent Orange but also the other chemical exposure of the military. This is incomprehensible a nation like the USA allows rejection of a service man or woman's claim. It is an outrage. The documentation of this chemical from the Vietnam era is more than substantiated.
Federal judge dismisses Agent Orange case in New York
11.03.05 1.00pm
NEW YORK - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused chemical companies of committing war crimes by supplying the US military with Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, saying they did not violate US or international law.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114781
Kosovo leader Haradinaj charged with murder, rape
Ramush Haradinaj
11.03.05 1.00pm
AMSTERDAM - Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj faces charges of murder, rape and the deportation of Serb civilians from his time as a leader of ethnic Albanian rebels, the UN tribunal said today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114777
On our Treasury Money. So mush for Drip Trickle.
Forbes list shows the rich get richer
11.03.05 1.00pm
By Rupert Cornwell
WASHINGTON - The rich, they say, just get richer - and the new list of the world's near-700 billionaires compiled by the financial magazine Forbes indicates the old adage is truer than ever.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114765
Homes Of The Billionaires 2005
http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/10/cx_sc_bill05_0310home.html?partner=lifestyle_newsletter
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Some cloud
-18.0°
Updated Saturday 12 Mar 2:59AM
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/tools/weather/international.cfm?intlareaID=10
Global Warming/Climate Change
Global climate change campaign hits the city streets
Catherine Brahic
08-03-2005 / 2 March 2005 / The British Council announced the launch yesterday (1 March) of a global campaign to raise public awareness of climate change. The campaign will focus on cities — their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and practical ways they can reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
http://www.newbrainframes.org/journal/art.php?dis_id=1567
Overfishing and climate change are biggest threats to UK marine life (published on 4-Mar-2005)
Fishing and climate change have been identified as the biggest threats to marine life in a new report published this week.
Charting Progress - an integrated assessment of the state of UK seas found that, while much of the open sea is not affected by pollution from monitored contaminants, in some areas fishing, diffuse pollution and the invasion of non-native species is having an effect. Rising sea temperatures and increased acidification caused by climate change are compounding these problems.
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=9619&channel=0
NPA calls for improvements to climate change scheme
UK - NPA has called for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the climate change scheme for pig producers.
NPA is active on members' behalf in Brussels & Whitehall, and with processors, supermarkets & caterers - fighting for the growth and pros-perity of the UK pig industry.
It deplores the way Milestone One carbon allowances were retired, even though pig producers in the scheme had passed their Milestone One target. And it condemns government for inadequate management and communication of the scheme, which has disincentivised producers from increasing their efforts to save energy.
http://www.thepigsite.com/LatestNews/Default.asp?AREA=LatestNews&Display=9046
More Councils fighting Climate Change
Wednesday, 9 March 2005, 5:39 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government
9 March 2005
More Councils fighting Climate Change
Increasing numbers of City, Regional and District Councils are signing up to a programme that should help them protect our environment at the same time as delivering efficiency and financial gains from taking action on climate change.
The Communities for Climate Protection programme helps councils audit their energy use, transport provisions and waste management arrangements. It then helps them draw up and implement a plan to improve efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0503/S00190.htm
ENVIRONMENT:
Climate Change Dealt a New Wild Card
Stephen Leahy
BROOKLIN, Canada, Mar 8 (IPS) - New Canadian research shows that forest fires are becoming larger and more intense due to the effects of climate change and are adding enormous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Fires in the northern hemisphere's boreal forest and peatlands are of particular concern because the region holds 40 percent of the planet's terrestrial carbon. That's almost twice the amount in the world's tropical forests.
http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=27778
Searching for sustainable climate change policy
Thursday, March 10, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
Submit Your Thoughts
Email This Article To A Friend Print This Article Go Back
D r. Robert Kates' attack (BDN, March 8) on proposed legislation to require that the benefits and costs of regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions be clearly stated is a sign that the battle for an
honest, prudent and bipartisan climate change
policy is at least under way.
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=110249&z=35
Nobel Prize winner warns severe global climate change
www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-10 13:30:13
BANGKOK, March 10 (Xinhuanet) -- A visiting Nobel Prize winner has warned people of the increasing severity of global climate change and called on governments to reinforce the efforts to cut fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emission.
The earth is still under grave threat of global warning caused by intensified fossil fuel use although the chlorofluoro carbons level in atmosphere had been dropping for the past 30 years, MarioJ. Molina, Nobel Prize Laureate in chemistry was quoted by BangkokPost newspaper as saying here on Thursday.
Mario won the prestigious prize in 1995 for the development of "CFC-ozone depletion theory," which found that continued release of CFCs into the atmosphere could lead to significant depletion ofozone layer, which shields the earth's surface from the damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
He said the best way to cope with global warning is a shift of energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable energy, installationof carbon-capture technology in coal-fired power plants and development of energy-saving transport system.
Fossil fuel and greenhouse gases are two main causes of global warming.
Mario urged industrialized countries to work closely with developing countries in transferring energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas-capture technologies.
He also called on the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States to commit themselves to cut their emission to help protect atmosphere. Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/10/content_2677895.htm
Climate change forum
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Clean Water Action, Clean Power Now and Cape Clean Air are sponsoring a public forum entitled "Climate Change, What it Means for Massachusetts and What is Being Done About It," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at St. Mary's Church in Barnstable.
The panelists are John Anderson of the New England Aquarium, Dr. Richard Clapp of the Boston University School of Public Health, and David Cash of the Massachusetts Executive Office for Environmental Affairs.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jed Thorpe at Clean Water Action 617-338-8131 or Matt Palmer at Clean Power Now 508- 775-7796.
http://www2.townonline.com/barnstable/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=200663
Oh. Wait. People have gone to divinity school and knows there is a limit to how ON YOUR SIDE God actually is? Amazing. People who believe in STEWARDSHIP. Well, I'll be.
Evangelical Leaders Swing Influence Behind Effort to Combat Global Warming
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: March 10, 2005
A core group of influential evangelical leaders has put its considerable political power behind a cause that has barely registered on the evangelical agenda, fighting global warming.
These church leaders, scientists, writers and heads of international aid agencies argue that global warming is an urgent threat, a cause of poverty and a Christian issue because the Bible mandates stewardship of God's creation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/national/10evangelical.html?ex=1111122000&en=9320be60ebb6e427&ei=5070
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
37 °F / 3 °C
Overcast
Windchill:
34 °F / 1 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
34 °F / 1 °C
Wind:
5 mph / 7 km/h from the ESE
Pressure:
30.06 in / 1018 hPa (Rising)
Visibility:
9.0 miles / 14.5 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Scattered Clouds 1600 ft / 487 m
Mostly Cloudy 2500 ft / 762 m
Overcast 6500 ft / 1981 m
Have a good day.
Other postings below.
That concludes today's news.
end
Russia will not sell arms to Pak: Defence Minister
Press Trust of India
Moscow,
March 11, 2005
Russia has made it clear that it has not supplied arms to Pakistan in the past and will not do so in the future.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1275678,0005.htm
Two rapes, four murders every hour in India
Murali Krishnan (IANS)
New Delhi,
How crime prone is India? Every hour, 25 violent crimes take place in the country while 59 housewives commit suicide every day.
And two accidental deaths occur every two minutes across this vast country of a billion people.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1275401,0000.htm
Unwanted Pregnancy
Judge Recommends Pharmacist Be Reprimanded for Withholding Birth Control
A judge has ruled that a pharmacist who refused to fill a woman's prescription for birth control on religious grounds should be reprimanded. In July 2002, Neil Noesen, a pharmacist at Kmart, refused to fill a University of Wisconsin student’s oral contraceptive prescription, arguing that it would be a sin under his religion, reports Medical News Today. The patient missed a day of her prescription when Noesen, a Roman Catholic, also refused to transfer the prescription to another pharmacy, reports the Capital Times. Noesen testified that he believes birth control to be "intrinsically evil," and argued that his faith leads him to believe filling such prescriptions would lead to his own personal suffering, according to the Dunn County News.
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8937
After baby - A look at birth control options
Betsy Gartrell-Judd
After nine months or more of thinking of little but pregnancy, your new baby is born. You may be surprised to find that pregnancy is suddenly the furthest thing from your mind. But even while you honeymoon as a newly expanded family, you need to make some important decisions about when you might get pregnant again, if ever.
Knowing what's available
While there are many contraceptives available -- with yet more in development, such as the male birth control pill -- most of the current ones are not 100 percent effective, and all of them have both advantages and drawbacks. In the accompanying table, we've offered a comparison of the most popular methods to assist you in your research and decision-making.
http://pregnancyandbaby.com/read/articles/1015.htm
US bankruptcy overhaul clears abortion vote hurdle
Tue Mar 8, 2005 01:20 PM ET
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - An overhaul of U.S. bankruptcy laws survived a major threat on Tuesday as the Senate rejected an abortion-related amendment that had doomed the legislation in the last Congress.
http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=7841995
Summary Box: GOP wins first abortion test
Associated Press
THE NEWS: In the first abortion-related test of the new Congress, the Senate rejected a Democratic effort to bar anti-abortion protesters from using bankruptcy to avoid payment of court judgment.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/11083556.htm
NO DOUBT RU-486 needs to be reviewed by the NEW Drug Task Force that turned COX2 back on the market.
`Holly's Law' reintroduced to halt FDA approval of abortion pill
BY BONITA BREWER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - (KRT) - The controversial RU-486 abortion pill, which 18-year-old Holly Patterson of Livermore, Calif., took a week before dying of a massive infection in September 2003, would be at least temporarily pulled from U.S. markets under federal legislation reintroduced last week.
Republican lawmakers have reintroduced "Holly's Law," which would suspend Food and Drug Administration approval of RU-486 until the federal Government Accountability Office scrutinizes the process by which the drug came to U.S. markets in 2000.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11076398.htm
Rights commission's call for abortion law to be ignored
Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Government plans to ignore a key recommendation of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) concerning abortion legislation.
In its submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination, published yesterday on the eve of International Women's Day, the IHRC recommended "that the Government should introduce legislation to define the circumstances in which abortion can currently be legally carried out in Ireland".
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/0308/3818828085HM1ABORTION.html
MY VIEW: KLINE CORRECT IN SEEKING ABORTION CLINIC RECORDS
BY CHERYL SULLENGER
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline requested about 90 medical records from two abortion clinics, including those of underage girls who had abortions beyond 22 weeks' gestation. Kline said that he is investigating the matter in order to capture and prosecute sexual predators who may be victimizing young girls. In fact, he is duty sworn to do this.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/news/editorial/11075159.htm
Carlson moves to center on abortion
By David Kranz
dkranz@argusleader.com
published: 03/8/05
During the 2004 political campaigns, abortion became a central theme for sermons by some Catholic priests in the Sioux Falls Diocese as they discussed what their congregation’s responsibility should be as they voted.
Some heard the stern warning: Under no circumstances could anyone vote for a pro-choice candidate. Penalty for the violation would be a mortal sin.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050308/COLUMNISTS02/50308002/1001/NEWS
Arkansas parental consent abortion law signed
Little Rock, Arkansas, Mar. 08 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee signed a new law into effect last Thursday that requires parental consent for girls under 18 years of age before having an abortion.
Pasted from <http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=35735>
Wise choices in pregnancy
Women don't need reproductive propaganda from state
Last update: March 03, 2005
Abortion can be a heart-wrenching decision. It is rarely made lightly. Women facing unwanted pregnancies should know that they have other choices, and be offered support to make the right decision.
But the state should not be spending money specifically to dissuade women from abortion -- especially if leaders choose a campaign that incorporates misinformation and ignores the best and most effective ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/03OpOPN13030305.htm
Don't fund abortion propaganda
• The state of Florida should not use taxpayer money to support organizations that try to persuade women not to get abortions. The state should work to ensure that women get professional counseling on all their legal choices, not propaganda.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050308/OPINION/503080375/1015
Adoption vs. abortion
State should provide whole story
Imagine a student at a public high school who goes to a guidance counselor seeking advice about her future. Should she attend a university? Try community college first? Join the military? Opt for technological training, or jump into the working world right after graduation?
If the guidance counselor does justice to the student's inquiry, he will provide information about the pros and cons of each option - possibly providing advice, but sending the clear message that the decision belongs to the student and her family.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/11033324.htm
Bush plan proposes abortion counseling
Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings is promoting the program, which is modeled after one in Pennsylvania.
By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writer
Published March 1, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - Seeking to reduce abortions in Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush wants to spend $4-million in tax money to counsel pregnant women and promote alternatives, such as adoption.
The proposal was unveiled Monday by Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, the most visible woman in the Bush administration and a likely candidate for governor in a 2006 Republican contest in which abortion could play a big role.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/03/01/State/Bush_plan_proposes_ab.shtml
THIS IS VIOLATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT IS INVASION OF A WOMAN'S PRIVACY. The government wants to deny funding for clinics but not entrapment motivations into pregnancy. Reverend Jeb Bush is overstepping his boundaries again. This is a decision between a woman and he doctor. $4 million is nothing to the cost of this program unless it is being limited to a selected population if they are going to be finding housing, clothing and the like.This is a give away program to churches. Some congregations already have housing projects for the elderly. Those same housing projects could be turned into parenting centers and a trap for women for the rest of their child bearing years with an adoption center on the grounds when the women are ready to give up their babies. This could literally become a self supporting maternal money making franchise for any church that is willing to turn a profit. All they have to do is recruit pregnant women, give them dorm housing until they are ready to deliver or sign the papers which ever comes first or last and then send them on their way to do it all over again. This is not a healthy way of handling issues of abortion decisions.
The organizations -- which would receive state grants and could include religious organizations -- would provide services for pregnant women, including helping to find shelter, maternity clothing and infant supplies and providing information about adoption. The program also would provide pregnancy support services, state-funded individual counseling for women up to one year after giving birth and parental skill development classes. In addition, the program would promote abstinence as the best way to prevent unplanned pregnancies (Kerr, Florida Times-Union, 3/1). Program funding, which Bush included in his proposed 2005 budget, must be approved by the state Legislature, which reconvenes next week. Jennings -- who was joined by several Republican lawmakers and leaders of Florida Right to Life, the Florida Catholic Conference, Interfaith of Northeast Florida and the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville -- said, "We must create as many avenues as possible for pregnant women to be informed of their options other than abortion because we know that these decisions have a profound impact on their families and our community as a whole" (Mussenden, Orlando Sentinel, 3/1). The Florida program is modeled after a similar Pennsylvania program, known as Real Alternatives (St. Petersburg Times, 3/1).
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=2&DR_ID=28409
Calls for cultural training for foreign doctors
By PM's Matt Henger
There are calls for better medical and cultural training for foreign doctors coming in to Australia to reduce the problem of unwanted teenage pregnancies.
As Australia struggles to fill doctor vacancies in regional and rural areas, there has been a concerted effort in recent years to attract overseas GPs.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1320410.htm
Campus groups divided over free condoms
By Keith Joseph Zukas/The Daily Cardinal
Today sex is everywhere, and with it follow methods of disease protection and birth control. Turning on the television, one can "Talk Sex" with an old, but perky, Sue Johanson. Walk into a local store and one might find a bowl of free condoms on the counter. On the radio are depressing advertisements from girls who unwisely relied on the pull-out method.
http://www.dailycardinal.com/news/2005/03/10/News/Campus.Groups.Divided.Over.Free.Condoms-890835.shtml
House approves tighter restrictions on abortion clinics
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The House passed legislation Thursday that would tighten restrictions on abortion clinics despite the objections of some who contend it could force some clinics to close.
The abortion bill, sent to the Senate on a 122-31 vote, would heighten standards for Missouri abortion clinics by requiring physicians to have clinical privileges at a hospital within 30 miles from where they perform abortions in Missouri.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/11101991.htm>
US: Abortion collides with bankruptcy in Senate
11 Hours,3 minutes Ago
[US News]: Schumer fails at effort to pass provision aimed at violent protesters
The ultimate values issue, abortion, collided Tuesday in the United States Senate with one of the ultimate money issues, bankruptcy.
On Tuesday the Senate voted 53-46 to reject a proposal, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., that would have stopped violent protesters, whether at abortion clinics or any other lawful business or service, from using bankruptcy law to avoid paying court-ordered fines.
In this, the first battle over abortion in the new Congress, two Democrats, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, joined with 51 Republicans in voting to scuttle the Schumer amendment.
http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=144792
Kan. AG emerges as leading abortion foe
JOHN HANNA
Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. - Phill Kline added another L to his first name years ago so that people would not confuse him with another politician with the same name. But no one is likely to make that mistake anymore.
The Kansas attorney general has emerged as one of the nation's staunchest foes of abortion.
In the latest move in a career that has generated both loyalty and loathing, the conservative Republican is demanding two abortion clinics turn over the medical files of about 90 women and girls, saying he needs the material for an investigation into child rape and potentially illegal late-term abortions.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/11101630.htm
New Hampshire State House Rejects Abortion Information
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2005
Concord, NH (LifeNews.com) -- New Hampshire state legislators have rejected legislation that would have provided women considering abortions with information about abortion's risks and alternatives. The measure would also allow women to receive information depicting the development of their unborn children at the time of the abortion.
Opponents of the bill claimed it placed an undue burden on women by giving them 24 hours to take a look at the information given to them.
http://www.lifenews.com/state947.html
New Jersey Bill Would Force Pharmacists to Dispense Abortion Pill
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2005
Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) -- Legislation in the state of New Jersey would force pharmacists there to dispense all drugs available at the pharmacy -- including drugs that act as abortion agents. The measure is backed by abortion advocates who say pharmacists should not be allowed to opt out of drugs that violate their moral beliefs.
http://www.lifenews.com/state946.html
House rejects 24-hour wait for women seeking abortion
Bill would require a 'reflection period'
By DANIEL BARRICK
Monitor staff
March 10. 2005 8:00AM
The House overwhelmingly rejected a bill yesterday that would have required women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours before having the procedure. The bill would have also required doctors to provide such women with facts on fetal development and a series of medically disputed information, such as claims of a link between abortions and increased risks of breast cancer.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050310/REPOSITORY/503100324/1001/NEWS01
Michigan Bill Would Require Ultrasound for Women Considering Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 9, 2005
Lansing, MI (LifeNews.com) -- When women who visit a pregnancy center see an ultrasound image of their unborn child, more than 90 percent decide against an abortion. Michigan lawmakers are hoping the same thing will happen if women visiting abortion facilities are shown one.
State Rep. Dave Robertson, a Republican, sponsored legislation he says is similar to an Alabama law that requires abortion businesses to provide women with an opportunity to see the development of their unborn child through an ultrasound.
http://www.lifenews.com/state943.html
Abortion consent bill fails in House
By Chris Dornin
Special to the Herald
CONCORD - The House voted 133-77 to defeat a bill requiring the informed consent of a woman and a 24-hour waiting period before she could get an abortion.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/03102005/news/69037.htm
House denies 24-hour waiting period for abortion
By Colin Manning
N.H. Statehouse Writer
cmanning@fosters.com
CONCORD — Lawmakers plowed through dozens of bills on Wednesday, but the issues of abortion and audiotaping children on school buses received the most debate.
The House killed a bill which would have required women who seek an abortion to wait 24 hours as well as receive information regarding alternatives to the procedure first.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050310/NEWS0202/50310121
From Cambodia to Sudan: Breaking Down Wall of Apathy
By ELIE WIESEL
March 11, 2005
The international community had just learned the cruel truth about the large-scale massacres of innocent people by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The press had done its job: No one could say we didn't know about it.
I was invited by the International Rescue Committee as part of a delegation to go on site. We spent some time at the Thai border in an enormous refugee camp. One day during the journey, I needed to observe yahrzeit for my father. Where, I wondered, was I going to find nine men to recite the Kaddish? By some miracle, I was able to gather a minyan. I was not, however, the only one saying a prayer for the dead: A young Jewish doctor from Toulouse joined me and repeated it word for word.
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=wiesel200503091025
The Washington Times
Bill Clinton on occassion has visited the Pandas at The National Zoo. What I am wondering, is it possible China has frozen sperm for insemination? Perhaps that method is out of the question with species Panda?
Pandas 'Out of Sync' In Attempts to Mate
Artificial Insemination Planned Today
By . Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page B03
The National Zoo's giant pandas made several attempts to mate yesterday, even as animal care staff prepared to turn to artificial means to try to achieve a panda cub birth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25057-2005Mar10.html?sub=AR
Blogging Clicks With Colleges
Interactive Web Pages Changing Class Participation
By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page B01
First the Internet turned colleges upside down, extending classrooms and changing the way people learned. Next came Napster and other file-sharing tools, then Web logs. Now blogs are morphing into the next big thing on campus: wikis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25305-2005Mar10.html
U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
Secret Team Helped Find Dioxin Poisoning
By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A01
A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25430-2005Mar10.html
U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
Secret Team Helped Find Dioxin Poisoning
By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A01
A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25430-2005Mar10.html
BUSH IS PREMATURE IN THE SEVERITY OF HIS ULTIMATUM. Bush fails in his International Agenda because he is 'Here and Now' and that is far too confrontation for effective communication. Israel has more insight into the Syrian issue and needs to be verbal regarding it's position in this situation.
U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
Secret Team Helped Find Dioxin Poisoning
By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A01
A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25430-2005Mar10.html
The Moscow Times
Cleric Is Picked as Rebel Leader
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer Reuters
Anzor Maskhadov in Baku on Thursday
Little-known Chechen cleric Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev will take over as interim rebel leader after Aslan Maskhadov's death earlier this week, rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev said Thursday. Analysts said, however, that the announcement was probably an attempt by radical warlord Shamil Basayev to buy time as he figures out his next move.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/001.html
Kremlin Mulls Ditching United Russia
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Worried about United Russia's falling popularity after its approval of controversial social reforms, senior Kremlin officials are planning to create a new party of power and ditch the Kremlin-controlled party ahead of the 2007 parliamentary elections, two sources familiar with the situation said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/002.html
'Stem Cell' Treatment Arrives, But at a Price
By Maria Danilova
The Associated Press
A nurse preparing to perform an injection at the Cellulait clinic, one of dozens of clinics and beauty salons in Moscow that claim to offer a range of "stem cell" treatments.
When Svetlana Galiyeva found a clinic offering to treat her multiple sclerosis with embryonic stem cells, she grabbed the opportunity. Five hundred and sixty thousand rubles ($20,000) later she is still in a wheelchair and desperate.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/003.html
Kozak Says Regions to Have New Powers
By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer
Presidential envoy Dmitry Kozak has proposed that regional leaders be given oversight of social and environmental issues, as well as some control over natural resources currently held by federal government bodies.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/011.html
The Night Shift
Raisa Belousova met assorted freaks and criminals while driving her taxi -- and turned the discussions into a book.
By Anna Malpas
Published: March 11, 2005
Picking up passengers on Moscow's streets night after night, Raisa Belousova wasn't just earning money. She was gathering material. From prostitutes to hired killers to government officials, the people who hailed her gypsy cab told her stories that she has now turned into an anecdote-filled book titled "The Night Taxi Driver" (Nochnaya Taksistka).
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/101.html
For City, Spring Is on Hold
The Moscow Times
A man clearing snow off a sidewalk near the Aeroport metro station Thursday.
This spring had a much frostier start than usual, and snow will not begin melting before the end of next week, Moscow's weather bureau said Thursday.
Daytime air temperatures are on average 3.6 degrees Celsius lower than the standard for this time of year -- a new record, the bureau said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/11/012.html
The Chicago Tribune
Did Ross know Hail? Did they meet in a court waiting room? Is this a sympathy killing for Hale? Or was this man so desperate to make a statement about his life this was the chosen way to it?
Decade of despair boiled over to paranoia
By Hal Dardick and Carlos Sadovi
Tribune staff reporters.
Published March 11, 2005
Bart Ross spent nearly a decade waiting to be heard, living with a face disfigured by cancer surgery, in constant pain, sinking deeper and deeper into a state of paranoia and growing ever more convinced the medical and judicial systems were out to get him.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110282mar11,1,1068984.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
No. The Hale Supporters are wrong. It was reasonable speculation. Hale is a nasty man. What was Hale doing calling the judges home? The entire White Supremist Movement is a blight on this country. No way. No apologies. Live good lives and stay out of prison, integrate and people won't think about them in this way. No way.
Hale's parents relieved; his backers seek apology
By Ray Long and Brett McNeil
Tribune staff reporters
Published March 11, 2005
EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- White supremacist Matthew Hale's parents on Thursday expressed a mixture of relief and anger about news that a disgruntled Chicago man with no apparent ties to their son has been identified as the likely killer of a federal judge's husband and mother.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110238mar11,1,1134521.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=2&cset=true
Illinois cuts testing on 1 of 3 R's
ISAT drops writing, plus social studies
By Diane Rado
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 11, 2005
For the first time in more than a decade, Illinois students no longer have to take substantive writing exams or tests measuring their knowledge of fundamental principles of U.S. government and history--the result of some of the most severe state testing cutbacks in the nation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110251mar11,1,7299501.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=3&cset=true
Obama slams Bush for linking accounts to blacks' life span
Social Security pitch `stunning,' he says
By Jeff Zeleny, Washington Bureau. Tribune news services contributed to this report
Published March 11, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday called President Bush's suggestion that African-Americans could reap greater rewards from overhauling Social Security a "stunning" argument that ignored the true health issues facing blacks in this country.
As the president launched a two-day tour through the South to build support for his controversial plan to revamp Social Security, Democrats challenged a White House assertion that blacks would particularly gain from Bush's proposed private retirement accounts because they have fewer years to collect benefits considering they die younger.
"It is puzzling to me that we are even having this debate about whether Social Security is good or not for African-Americans," said Obama, an Illinois Democrat. "I frankly found the statement that the president made somewhat offensive."
While Bush argued his case that the future of the Social Security program was in peril without substantial changes like creating private investment accounts, Senate Democratic leaders tapped Obama to rebut the argument about overhauling Social Security.
Before the president arrived in Montgomery, Ala., Obama, the only black member of the Senate, conducted satellite interviews there from Washington.
"There is no doubt a disparity in the lifetime opportunities between white America and black America," Obama said. "The notion that we would cynically use those disparities as a rationale for dismantling Social Security as opposed to talking about how are we going to close the health disparities gap that exists, and make sure that African-American life expectancy is as long as the rest of this nation ... is stunning to me."
The administration and conservative scholars have quietly suggested that blacks may be more inclined to support the Social Security changes because, on average, whites live to age 78 and blacks to 72. So blacks, after contributing to Social Security their whole lives, are more likely to die before collecting their fair share.
"African-American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people," Bush said this year at a forum on Social Security. "And that needs to be fixed."
The president campaigned in Louisville and Montgomery to try to ease anxiety among retirees and give political cover to Republican lawmakers facing voters in midterm elections. Bush did not use the African-American argument in either stop on Thursday.
Bush repeatedly has reassured those age 55 and over that the Social Security checks they receive, or look forward to getting, won't be touched.
Still, seniors--a group that votes in greater numbers than the nation's youth--are wary about what will happen to the 70-year-old government retirement system if lawmakers tinker with it.
Facing an uphill battle to enact changes, Republicans in Congress recently have begun to emphasize the solvency problems of Social Security over the controversial private retirement accounts.
On his road trip, Bush did too. But while he is focusing on solvency, the president is not letting up on his push for private accounts.
"I'm saying to members of the United States Congress, `Let's fix this system permanently--no Band-Aids,'" Bush said in Montgomery. "Woe be to the politician who doesn't come to the table and try to come up with a solution."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503110180mar11,1,7758254.story?coll=chi-news-hed
The New Zealand Herald
Spain marks train bombings with bells and tributes
A commuter train speeds by candles and flowers placed near a Madrid railway station. Picture / Reuters
11.03.05 10.35pm
By Elisabeth O'Leary
MADRID - Spain solemnly commemorated the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings today with church bells and silent tributes to the 191 people who died in al Qaeda's worst attack in Europe.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114901
Tourist drowns in kayaking accident
11.03.05 8.50pm
A tourist has died after his kayak capsized at Lake Te Anau in Fiordland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10114866
Surplus grows and grows
Michael Cullen
11.03.05 11.00am
The latest crown accounts today confirmed the Government's surplus continues to exceed expectations, swelling to $5.27 billion just seven months into the financial year.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10114779
Britain to free terror detainees, Blair bill deadlocked
11.03.05 1.00pm
LONDON - A British judge said today he would free all terrorism suspects held under emergency post-Sept. 11 powers, even as Prime Minister Tony Blair battled to replace the laws before they expire next week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114802
The New Zealanders have upheld their veteran's claims regarding not only Agent Orange but also the other chemical exposure of the military. This is incomprehensible a nation like the USA allows rejection of a service man or woman's claim. It is an outrage. The documentation of this chemical from the Vietnam era is more than substantiated.
Federal judge dismisses Agent Orange case in New York
11.03.05 1.00pm
NEW YORK - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused chemical companies of committing war crimes by supplying the US military with Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, saying they did not violate US or international law.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114781
Kosovo leader Haradinaj charged with murder, rape
Ramush Haradinaj
11.03.05 1.00pm
AMSTERDAM - Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj faces charges of murder, rape and the deportation of Serb civilians from his time as a leader of ethnic Albanian rebels, the UN tribunal said today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114777
On our Treasury Money. So mush for Drip Trickle.
Forbes list shows the rich get richer
11.03.05 1.00pm
By Rupert Cornwell
WASHINGTON - The rich, they say, just get richer - and the new list of the world's near-700 billionaires compiled by the financial magazine Forbes indicates the old adage is truer than ever.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10114765
Homes Of The Billionaires 2005
http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/10/cx_sc_bill05_0310home.html?partner=lifestyle_newsletter
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Some cloud
-18.0°
Updated Saturday 12 Mar 2:59AM
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/tools/weather/international.cfm?intlareaID=10
Global Warming/Climate Change
Global climate change campaign hits the city streets
Catherine Brahic
08-03-2005 / 2 March 2005 / The British Council announced the launch yesterday (1 March) of a global campaign to raise public awareness of climate change. The campaign will focus on cities — their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and practical ways they can reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
http://www.newbrainframes.org/journal/art.php?dis_id=1567
Overfishing and climate change are biggest threats to UK marine life (published on 4-Mar-2005)
Fishing and climate change have been identified as the biggest threats to marine life in a new report published this week.
Charting Progress - an integrated assessment of the state of UK seas found that, while much of the open sea is not affected by pollution from monitored contaminants, in some areas fishing, diffuse pollution and the invasion of non-native species is having an effect. Rising sea temperatures and increased acidification caused by climate change are compounding these problems.
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=9619&channel=0
NPA calls for improvements to climate change scheme
UK - NPA has called for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the climate change scheme for pig producers.
NPA is active on members' behalf in Brussels & Whitehall, and with processors, supermarkets & caterers - fighting for the growth and pros-perity of the UK pig industry.
It deplores the way Milestone One carbon allowances were retired, even though pig producers in the scheme had passed their Milestone One target. And it condemns government for inadequate management and communication of the scheme, which has disincentivised producers from increasing their efforts to save energy.
http://www.thepigsite.com/LatestNews/Default.asp?AREA=LatestNews&Display=9046
More Councils fighting Climate Change
Wednesday, 9 March 2005, 5:39 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government
9 March 2005
More Councils fighting Climate Change
Increasing numbers of City, Regional and District Councils are signing up to a programme that should help them protect our environment at the same time as delivering efficiency and financial gains from taking action on climate change.
The Communities for Climate Protection programme helps councils audit their energy use, transport provisions and waste management arrangements. It then helps them draw up and implement a plan to improve efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0503/S00190.htm
ENVIRONMENT:
Climate Change Dealt a New Wild Card
Stephen Leahy
BROOKLIN, Canada, Mar 8 (IPS) - New Canadian research shows that forest fires are becoming larger and more intense due to the effects of climate change and are adding enormous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Fires in the northern hemisphere's boreal forest and peatlands are of particular concern because the region holds 40 percent of the planet's terrestrial carbon. That's almost twice the amount in the world's tropical forests.
http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=27778
Searching for sustainable climate change policy
Thursday, March 10, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
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D r. Robert Kates' attack (BDN, March 8) on proposed legislation to require that the benefits and costs of regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions be clearly stated is a sign that the battle for an
honest, prudent and bipartisan climate change
policy is at least under way.
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=110249&z=35
Nobel Prize winner warns severe global climate change
www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-10 13:30:13
BANGKOK, March 10 (Xinhuanet) -- A visiting Nobel Prize winner has warned people of the increasing severity of global climate change and called on governments to reinforce the efforts to cut fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emission.
The earth is still under grave threat of global warning caused by intensified fossil fuel use although the chlorofluoro carbons level in atmosphere had been dropping for the past 30 years, MarioJ. Molina, Nobel Prize Laureate in chemistry was quoted by BangkokPost newspaper as saying here on Thursday.
Mario won the prestigious prize in 1995 for the development of "CFC-ozone depletion theory," which found that continued release of CFCs into the atmosphere could lead to significant depletion ofozone layer, which shields the earth's surface from the damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
He said the best way to cope with global warning is a shift of energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable energy, installationof carbon-capture technology in coal-fired power plants and development of energy-saving transport system.
Fossil fuel and greenhouse gases are two main causes of global warming.
Mario urged industrialized countries to work closely with developing countries in transferring energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas-capture technologies.
He also called on the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States to commit themselves to cut their emission to help protect atmosphere. Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/10/content_2677895.htm
Climate change forum
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Clean Water Action, Clean Power Now and Cape Clean Air are sponsoring a public forum entitled "Climate Change, What it Means for Massachusetts and What is Being Done About It," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at St. Mary's Church in Barnstable.
The panelists are John Anderson of the New England Aquarium, Dr. Richard Clapp of the Boston University School of Public Health, and David Cash of the Massachusetts Executive Office for Environmental Affairs.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jed Thorpe at Clean Water Action 617-338-8131 or Matt Palmer at Clean Power Now 508- 775-7796.
http://www2.townonline.com/barnstable/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=200663
Oh. Wait. People have gone to divinity school and knows there is a limit to how ON YOUR SIDE God actually is? Amazing. People who believe in STEWARDSHIP. Well, I'll be.
Evangelical Leaders Swing Influence Behind Effort to Combat Global Warming
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: March 10, 2005
A core group of influential evangelical leaders has put its considerable political power behind a cause that has barely registered on the evangelical agenda, fighting global warming.
These church leaders, scientists, writers and heads of international aid agencies argue that global warming is an urgent threat, a cause of poverty and a Christian issue because the Bible mandates stewardship of God's creation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/national/10evangelical.html?ex=1111122000&en=9320be60ebb6e427&ei=5070
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
37 °F / 3 °C
Overcast
Windchill:
34 °F / 1 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
34 °F / 1 °C
Wind:
5 mph / 7 km/h from the ESE
Pressure:
30.06 in / 1018 hPa (Rising)
Visibility:
9.0 miles / 14.5 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Scattered Clouds 1600 ft / 487 m
Mostly Cloudy 2500 ft / 762 m
Overcast 6500 ft / 1981 m
Have a good day.
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That concludes today's news.
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