Miami Herald
Weaker Paul still may bring flooding to Mexico
Hurricane Paul weakened to a tropical storm off Mexico's Pacific coast, but at least two people died in the storm.
BY MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press
SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico -- Tropical Storm Paul weakened Tuesday as it headed toward the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, still threatening to cause heavy flooding on Mexico's mainland.
A Baja California fisherman died after slipping off seabattered rocks, and rescue workers were searching for an American who they feared had drowned after being swept out to sea by the surging waves.
Paul had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and was moving north at about 13 mph, but was expected to further weaken before slipping just south of Los Cabos early today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Forecasters, however, warned that remnants of the storm could still dump up to 10 inches of rain in the mountains on Mexico's mainland, potentially causing severe flooding.
A 23-year-old Mexican fisherman died Monday after he slipped off rocks pounded by the rough sea in Todos Santos, north of Los Cabos, according to José Gajón, the Baja California Sur state civil defense director.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15841189.htm
Crist, Davis aggressive in first TV debate
In a debate in Davie, gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis said he will stand up to insurers; Republican opponent Charlie Crist hit the Democrat on his House attendance record.
BY BETH REINHARD AND NOAH BIERMAN
Florida's candidates for governor got aggressive in their first head-to-head debate Tuesday night, pushing themes from their television advertisements and knocking each other as feckless leaders.
A lackluster, lopsided race picked up tempo Monday after a surprising poll showed Republican Attorney General Charlie Crist's lead over Democratic Rep. Jim Davis was tightening.
Crist didn't act like a complacent front-runner. He repeatedly took Davis to task for missing votes in Congress, accused him of wanting to raise taxes and called his insurance plan a ''risky scheme.'' He also revived an attack that dominated the Democratic primary: Davis' 1990 vote against restitution for two wrongfully convicted black men.
Crist balanced his sharp attacks with a cheery outlook for Florida's future, marveling at the balmy weather and referring to popular politicians -- even Democrats, including former Gov. Lawton Chiles.
Davis dished out just about as much as he got, accusing Crist of backing ''special interest tax giveaways.'' Referring to Florida's low graduation rates and high insurance costs, he warned voters that Crist wants to ''stay the course'' on such issues.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15841174.htm
Liberty Seven tipster gets 14-month sentence for gun possession
BY JAY WEAVER
A Chicago man who tipped prosecutors to the alleged plans of a local group of suspected terrorists -- the so-called Liberty Seven -- pleaded guilty to gun charges today in a Miami federal court.
Sultan Khanbey, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke to 14 months in prison with credit for the time he has served since his arrest in May.
Khanbey first came to the attention of authorities last April when he was arrested by Miami police after firing a gun inside the alleged terror group's Liberty City warehouse.
Freed on bond, Khanbey was re-arrested the following month by Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents and charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a gun. That's when Khanbey, who had a falling-out with certain members of the group, started cooperating with the terror investigation.
Investigators learned Khanbey was the mentor and teacher of Narseal Batiste, the Liberty Seven's alleged ringleader. Khanbey, who had first met Batiste in Chicago, accused him of allowing government informants to infiltrate the Miami group.
In June, Batiste and six other defendants were indicted on terrorism conspiracy charges in a high-profile case involving two FBI informants of Arabic descent who penetrated the Liberty City organization.
Authorities say the group wanted to blow up the tallest building in the United States -- the Sears Tower in Batiste's native Chicago -- along with the FBI headquarters in North Miami Beach and the federal courthouse complex in downtown Miami.
Seijas faces Dec. 19 recall vote
Voters in Northwest Miami-Dade will vote Dec. 19 on whether to keep a sitting commissioner -- Natacha Seijas -- in office.
BY CHARLES RABIN
crabin@MiamiHerald.com
Natacha Seijas, the pugnacious county commissioner from Northwest Miami-Dade, will face a recall vote a week before Christmas -- the first recall vote of a sitting county commissioner in more than three decades.
Tuesday morning, seated at the dais among her peers, Seijas read from a prepared statement, criticizing the citizens group that gathered signatures supporting a recall and accusing one of its organizers of attempting to take her seat on the commission.
Seijas asked for and received the unanimous support of the 13-member commission to schedule a vote for Dec. 19. Though she charged that hundreds of signatures were obtained fraudulently, she said she had decided to halt any further effort to fight the certified votes in the courts.
''I have come to respect the rulings of our judicial branch, even when I do not agree with them,'' Seijas said. ``Hopefully, the organizers of this fraud will one day be held accountable.''
`AN URGENCY'
Michael Pizzi, the attorney and Miami Lakes town councilman who Seijas believes wants her seat, wouldn't rule out a run for District 13 if Seijas were recalled. But he denied he pushed for the recall as a power grab.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15840956.htm
Danny Rolling is executed for Gainesville killings
BY MARC CAPUTO AND STEPHANIE GARRY
MEMORIAL: Sadie Darnell, who was the police department's spokeswoman at the time of the 1990 murders, looks at a panel on a graffiti wall with the names of the victims in Gainesville.
STARKE - Danny Rolling, the man who murdered five University of Florida students and plunged the city of Gainesville into panic in the summer of 1990 was executed tonight.
The governor's office said Rolling, 52, died around 6:13 p.m.
Rolling didn't give a last word just before he died. Instead he sang a hymn in his haunting Southern drawl. Rolling, who had a Pentecostal advisor minister to him before his execution, repeatedly sang: ``None greater than thee, O Lord, none greater than thee.''
The song also made a reference out of the New Testament book of Corinthians, about about seeing ``through a glass now darkly.''
About 15 members of the victims' families watched the execution, some stone-faced, some shaking their heads, and some grimacing and rubbing their eyes.
The five victims, students who had just arrived at UF after the summer break and were preparing for classes, were mutilated and some of the women sexually assaulted.
Rolling died after a final appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court was unsuccessful.
He pleaded guilty in 1990 to the murders of Sonja Larson, 18, Christi Powell, 17, Crista Hoyt, 18, and Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada, both 23.
During the afternoon today, about 200 people gathered outside Florida State Prison, about evenly divided between pro and anti-death penalty advocates.
Supporters of the death penalty -- among them friends of the victims -- began cheering and whistling when news that the execution had occurred leaked out.
Opponents of the death penalty stood in a circle began singing ``Amazing Grace.''
''It's just justice for the victims. It doesn't bring them back, but at least they know he's going to meet his maker,'' said Tonya Wilson, 34, who was to be the roommate of victims Sonja Larson and Christi Powell. Wilson had not had a chance to move in yet before her fellow students were slain.
Aid to Colombia will stay the same despite rights allegations
The Bush administration pledged to extend Plan Colombia for another two years, but some funding outlays are being delayed over corruption concerns.
BY SIBYLLA BRODZINSKY AND PABLO BACHELET
BOGOTA - The Bush administration plans to keep U.S. aid to the Colombian military at current levels through 2008 despite human rights and corruption scandals that already have delayed some U.S. disbursements, a top official said Tuesday.
''We intend to ask our Congress to maintain the current level of funding'' for 2007 and 2008, said Nicholas Burns, the State Department's acting No. 2 official, with the title of under secretary of political affairs.
But Burns also noted that he would raise the recent allegations of corruption scandals and human rights abuses in the army, reported by the media and non-government organizations (NGOs) here, during his two-day visit.
''We raise these issues when there are allegations made by credible NGOs,'' he told reporters on his arrival, ``and I will be raising them with Colombian officials.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15841191.htm
Family killed on Turnpike buried in Texas ceremony
BY LYNN BREZOSKY
The Associated Press
BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A mariachi group played funeral songs Monday as mourners buried a family of four who were gunned down along Florida's Turnpike after pulling to the side of the road.
About 200 mourners watched as four caskets were placed side-by-side in a single grave. Some wore white T-shirts printed with family photos and the words ``In Memory of the Escobedo Family.''
Investigators believe the family's Jeep was pulled to the side of Florida's Turnpike early Oct. 13 and that someone inside the vehicle shot the family and drove away. Authorities have said the victims appeared to be lying or kneeling when shot.
There have been no arrests, and authorities have not revealed a motive for the slayings of Yessica Guerrero Escobedo, 25; her husband, Jose Luis Escobedo, 28; and the couple's toddler boys, Luis Julian, 4, and Luis Damian, 3. The family had moved from Texas to Florida just four months earlier.
Their bodies were found in a grassy area off the highway in Port St. Lucie. The couple's vehicle was found abandoned 70 miles south in West Palm Beach.
At a funeral service, Deacon Roberto Cano remembered marrying the couple in December 2002. ''They were in love. They were very ready to begin married life, to begin a family,'' he said in Spanish. ``Know that Jose Luis and Jessica are in the realm of God.''
U.N. will slam trade embargo, Cuban predicts
WASHINGTON - (AP) -- American hostility toward Cuba has reached ''unprecedented levels'' under the Bush administration, a senior Cuban official said Tuesday. He predicted that the U.N. General Assembly will deliver a sharp rebuke of U.S. policies in a resolution next month.
Cuba's chief diplomat in Washington, Dagoberto Rodríguez, said the world assembly will denounce the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, as it has each year since the early 1990s.
''The longest running and most ruthless blockade ever known to mankind will be rejected again,'' Rodríguez said, noting that 182 countries voted to end ''this cruel and genocidal policy'' last year.
He said the United States pursues regime change in Cuba and seeks to annex the island.
The Bush administration says it is seeking, through a policy of economic denial and other means, a peaceful transition to democracy on the island.
In response to a question about the possible reinstatement of Fidel Castro, Rodríguez said, ``His health has been improving every day. He will soon be assuming his duties as president.''
A month ago, Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said Castro will take charge on Dec. 2. He relinquished power to his brother, Raúl, on July 31 after reportedly undergoing intestinal surgery.
Industry player: Stacy Frati's Hialeah factory cranks out her Sweet Pea line
BY VALERIE NAHMAD
It is the late 1990s and grunge is all the rage. We're wearing Guess jeans and skorts while watching the first season of MTV's The Real World.
Fashion agent and native New Yorker Stacy Frati has a glaring hole in her closet. She spends her days with industry insiders, but she can't find a reliable, sexy, stylish top to wear with jeans. That elusive flirty shirt nags at her.
Frustrated, ambitious and in love with third-generation Italian textiler Mario Frati, she decides to take matters into her own hands -- and head to Miami.
And so began Sweet Pea by Stacy Frati, today a player in the $92 billion women's apparel business. The popular line of tops and dresses has since permeated the retail market, distinguished by its signature nylon mesh fabric.
Her flouncy baby doll tanks, flirty halter dresses and form-framing tunics hang on racks at Nordstrom, Anthropologie and local boutiques Scarlet and IOS. Frati introduces 25 new styles and patterns each month, steadily churning out a functional, sexy and inherently wearable line.
''The clothes have flavor,'' Frati says. ``They talk to you. They tell you which shoes match, what jewelry goes. You shouldn't have to worry about how to wear them.''
Indeed, a crimson halter dress patterned with bright flowers screams flip-flops and funky necklace, while a black and white tunic calls out for ballet flats and pearls. Frati understands what the clothes say to her customers because she is one.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/15834207.htm
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
Eat your veggies
A big fear of Americans as they get older is the mental decline that often accompanies old age. Now, along comes a new research study that says consuming vegetables helps to stave off this dreaded disability.
Granted, there is no cause-and-effect proof -- yet. But the study reported in yesterday's Miami Herald offers evidence that vegetables are good for the heart and the brain.
Aging baby boomers should heed the study. It says that two vegetable servings a day can improve mental function and deliver a better lifestyle.
The study of 1,946 men and women aged 65 and older was conducted by a Chicago medical center, published in the journal Neurology, and funded by the National Institute on Aging.
All of that just to prove the truth of what Mom used to say -- eat your veggies!
Yes, expand the canal
OUR OPINION: MODERNIZED WATERWAY WILL BE A BOON TO COMMERCE
Without a doubt, the people of Panama made the right choice on Sunday by approving a $5.25 billion plan to modernize the Panama Canal by building a third set of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the waterway. This will ensure that newer container ships, cruise liners and tankers that are too wide for the canal's present dimensions will be able to navigate it in the future.
The project will double the capacity of the 50-mile canal, which remains one of the engineering marvels of the world. If completed in eight years as currently expected, the new locks could be inaugurated in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the canal.
Over the years, the canal has been a mainstay of Panama's economy, providing jobs and revenue. The expansion will ensure that it remains an essential route for seafaring commerce in an age when global business networks are multiplying.
It is important for the United States, as well. Roughly two-thirds of shipping traffic using the canal is destined for or originates in this country. That figure will likely rise even higher after expansion is complete.
About 18 percent of traffic through the canal comes from China, making it the second-biggest user. As a result of the expansion, the impact on Florida -- and anyone living and working on the East Coast of the United States -- will be direct and favorable.
Since taking control of the waterway in 2000, the Panama Canal Authority has run this vital shipping channel safely and efficiently. It expects to pay for the project by gradually increasing tolls, although shippers support the expansion because they see it as a boon to commerce. As U.S. Ambassador to Panama William Eaton said after the vote, transit costs from Asia will be cheaper, ``and that will have an effect on the market.''
Stand against racism
Our community owes a debt of gratitude to Rep. Gus Barreiro for his decision to speak out in what otherwise might seem a conspiracy of silence shrouding the racist epithets state Rep. Ralph Arza allegedly used.
I regret that Barreiro and his family have had to endure threats. Perhaps if there were more of a public outcry among leaders against racist speech and behavior, regardless of the offender's position of power, there would be more safety for the few who choose to do the right thing. Perhaps the few would become the many.
Such an outcry would send the clear signal that we no longer will tolerate hateful speech, not among our neighbors and certainly not among our elected leaders.
JIM HOWE, executive director, Greater Miami Region of The National Conference for Community and Justice, Miami
Blaming `emotions'
It is discouraging to hear public figures such as Ralph Arza, Johnny Winton and Mel Gibson blame alcohol and their ''emotions'' for their embarrassing tirades and actions. In the most recent example, Arza said, ''My emotions got the best of me'' and that this tends to happen when he drinks too much alcohol.
Arza's emotions are a part of who he is; they are not a distinct evil spirit that acts on a helpless person.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/15841208.htm
Seoul Times
http://theseoultimes.com/ST/index.html
UK Deputy PM John Prescott to Visit Seoul
The Right Honourable John Prescott MP, the UK's Deputy Prime Minister since 1997, will arrive in Seoul on Tuesday 24th October on a two-day visit aimed at further strengthening the relationship between the UK and the Republic of Korea.
The visit demonstrates both countries' commitment to the strong bilateral relationship. Reflecting his broad range of responsibilities, the Deputy Prime Minister will pay a series of calls on high-level members of the Korean government. Meetings will be held with Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, Foreign Minister and UN Secretary General designate Ban Ki-moon, Minister for Environment Lee Chi-beom and Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Chong Se-kyeon, to discuss how the two governments can collaborate more closely in a range of areas.
Strong trade and investment ties have long been the hallmark of the bilateral relationship. An increasing number of British companies are doing good business in and with Korea. On the morning of Wednesday 25th the Deputy Prime Minister will mark the arrival in Korea of one of the UK's most respected luxury car marques by opening the first official dealership for Bentley Motors Korea in Seoul.
Recognising some of the more established business relationships between the two countries, later that evening the Deputy Prime Minister will be guest of honour at the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea's (BCCK) annual awards ceremony. The BCCK awards acknowledge excellence in business relationships. The occasion will see the announcement of the winners of the hotly-contested awards in Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade and Investment between Korea and the UK, and Partnership between a Korean and UK organisation.
The visit will also include a reception for some of those who work and contribute to the bilateral relationship and an opportunity for the Deputy Prime Minister to pay his respects to UK servicemen and women who served during the Korean War.
Media Opportunities
7: 30 p.m. Tuesday 24 October. Photo opportunity at reception at Orchid Room, Westin Chosun Hotel.
7: 00 p.m. Wednesday 25 October. Photo opportunity and speech at the BCCK annual awards ceremony, Topaz room, Shilla Hotel.
For media enquiries contact Jenny Hong, British Embassy Media Officer on 02 3210 5562,
Who Is John Prescott?
John Prescott was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 1997 and is one of the longest-serving members of Her Britannic Majesty's Government. In May 2006 the Prime Minister asked John Prescott to chair a number of major Cabinet Committees and to oversee the efficient development of Government policy.
He also asked him to continue his international role particularly with regard to China and Eastern Europe and, in recognition of his work in delivering the Kyoto Treaty, to work with the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for the Environment on developing the post Kyoto agenda. This will be Mr Prescott's first visit to Korea.For over 60 years Bentley's factory in Crewe in the north of England has been producing some of the world's most luxurious and desirable cars. The luxury British car manufacturer has established Bentley Motors Korea, its official importership in the Korean market. The opening of their dealership partner Bentley Seoul in Cheongdam-dong will mark the company's first official inroads into the Korean market. The opening ceremony of Bentley Seoul is by invitation only. www.bentleyseoul.com, www.bentleymedia.com
The BCCK annual awards are now in their second year and were presented in 2005 by His Royal Highness The Duke of York. Reflecting their high-profile guests of honour, the awards have developed a reputation for recognising business excellence and highlighting the benefits that foreign investment brings to both the UK and Korea. The awards attract significant interest in the business community and attract a high standard of applications from British and Korean companies. www.bcck.or.krBritain was second only to the United States in the contribution it made to the UN effort during the Korean War. 87,000 British servicemen and women took part in the Korean conflict. 1,109 Britons lost their lives and 2,674 were wounded.
N. Korean leader told China
2nd Nuke Test Hinges on US: Sources
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a Chinese envoy in talks last week that while Pyongyang has no plan at the moment to carry out more nuclear tests, whether it will do so in the future hinges on U.S. policy toward the country, Kyodo News reported on Oct. 22 quoting diplomatic sources in Beijing..
In the meeting with State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Kim also repeated North Korea's position that it will return to the six-party nuclear talks if the United States lifts sanctions on a Macao-based bank suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea, the sources said.
Tang visited North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday as Chinese President Hu Jintao's envoy to help resolve the standoff over North Korea's Oct. 9 nuclear test.
The content of Tang's conversation with Kim has not been made public, although Tang briefed U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about it when they met in Beijing on Friday, and China has discussed it with some other countries.
According to the sources, Kim said that while there is no plan to hold a second nuclear test for the moment, North Korea "would have to respond if the United States continues to pressure" the country.
Kim also said he thinks the United States is trying to crush North Korea by taking a hostile policy against it, and complained about the U.S. financial sanctions, which have been in place since September 2005, the sources said.
He called the financial sanctions "an obstacle" to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, and said that it would be possible for Pyongyang to return to the discussions if there is a guarantee that the sanctions will be lifted, according to the sources.
North Korea does not wish for a deterioration of the situation, but future developments will depend on the actions of the United States, Kim was quoted by the sources as telling Tang.
The six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia have stalled since last November, with North Korea refusing to participate until the United States lifts the financial sanctions.
The United States has rejected that demand, saying the sanctions are a law enforcement issue that should not be linked to the nuclear negotiations.
Kim's comments were made in response to a message from Hu conveyed by Tang, telling North Korea that it is important to achieve a breakthrough in the current situation through the six-party talks, the sources said.
In the talks, Tang urged Pyongyang not to go ahead with a second nuclear test, saying that North Korea should not carry out any acts that would further aggravate the situation, according to the sources.
He also told Kim that North Korea becoming a nuclear power is not beneficial either for North Korea or the East Asia region, according to the sources.
Tang, who visited the United States and Russia before visiting North Korea, conveyed to Kim the U.S. position that North Korea's nuclear test is unacceptable, and that Washington will protect Japan and South Korea in line with its bilateral treaties with the two countries, the sources said.
He also told North Korea that the United States still hopes to resolve the issue through peaceful means, and that the country wants Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks as soon as possible, according to the sources.
In response to the nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Oct. 14 against North Korea, paving the way for economic and diplomatic sanctions against the country.
China takes tough stance on North Korea
An exasperated China took a newly tough approach to communist ally North Korea on Friday, siding with the United States in saying the North must back away from nuclear confrontation, and moving to cut Pyongyang's vital supply of hard currency, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 14 in its Beijing-datedlined dispatch.
Chinese banks have stopped financial transfers to North Korea under government orders, bank employees said Friday. And at an appearance with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, China's foreign minister nudged the North to resume negotiations over its nuclear program and assured Washington that China would carry out United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang.
"We hope all relevant parties will maintain coolheadedness, adopt a prudent and a responsible approach and adhere to peaceful dialogue," Li Zhaoxing said as Rice concluded crisis talks in Asia following the North's Oct. 9 nuclear test blast.
China, which is North Korea's longtime protector, has been reluctant in the past to use economic pressure for fear Kim Jung Il's government might collapse.
But Chinese leaders were stung when the North ignored their warnings not to test-fire missiles over the summer, and again when it defied Beijing by detonating the underground blast this month. China previously had reduced food aid to North Korea amid complaints that Pyongyang had ignored Chinese interests.
The move by China's banks could deal a significant blow to the already impoverished North. China is North Korea's top trading partner — accounting for more than half its total foreign trade of less than $4 billion last year — and is a key conduit for its hard currency.
China's actions are considered key to enforcing U.N. sanctions on the North over the test, and to coaxing the North to back away from the nuclear brink and rejoin talks.
Rice told reporters China has new resolve against the North that shows it has re-evaluated its relationship with Pyongyang. Last week's U.N. Security Council vote to impose sanctions on Pyongyang, which Beijing supported, proves the point, Rice said.
"In this entire 30-year history of the North Korean nuclear program, this is the first time that the international system has been able to actually impose a cost on North Korea for its nuclear behavior," Rice said. "It's able to impose that cost because China has been brought into the process in a way that China never was before."
The U.S.-backed sanctions were watered down partly at China's request, but China's vote in favor of punishment still represents a shift for Beijing.
All four major Chinese state-owned banks and British-owned HSBC Corp. have stopped financial transfers to the North, according to bank employees in Beijing and the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.
China has also been inspecting North Korean trucks at some points along the two nations' 880-mile border, and it dispatched a top envoy to Pyongyang this week to warn the North against a second nuclear test and try to bring it back to the arms talks.
Discussions over Pyongyang's nuclear program have been stalled for a year because of a boycott by the North over U.S. financial sanctions. The talks involve the United States, host China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia.
Beijing was the final and most important stop on Rice's hastily arranged tour of Asian capitals. She continues to Moscow on Saturday for talks on the dual nuclear challenges posed by North Korea and Iran.
In Beijing, Rice appealed to North Korea to return without condition to stalled international talks over its nuclear program. She downplayed differences among the U.S., China and South Korea over the strength and tone of world response to Pyongyang.
The U.N. sanctions ban trade with the North in major weapons and materials that could be used by its ballistic missile and unconventional weapons programs, and in luxury goods enjoyed almost exclusively by elites around Kim.
The U.N. restrictions call for inspections of all cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea, but it is not clear how that will work in practice. Rice has stepped gingerly around that point this week, saying all nations are obligated to enforce the sanctions but leaving the details vague.
Several Defense Department officials said Friday that the U.S. Navy is tracking a North Korean cargo ship that left port and was headed south from the Korean Peninsula. One of the officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said the U.S. does not know what the ship is carrying or its destination.
South Korean news reported Friday that Kim said Pyongyang doesn't plan to carry out any more nuclear tests and expressed regret about the country's first-ever atomic detonation last week. Kim told a visiting Chinese envoy, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, that the North had "no plans for additional nuclear tests," Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Beijing.
Rice met with Tang in Beijing on Friday and later told reporters that he had carried a "strong message to North Korea about the seriousness of what has happened."
Rice would not provide details of Kim's response, but White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters in Washington that the North had not offered to return to six-nation arms talks stalled since late last year.
OPEC to Cut Output by 1.2 Mil bbls Per Day
DOHA (WAM) — In a surprise move, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced Friday that it has decided to cut its oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day to 26.3 million bpd from November 1.
The group took the decision at a consultative meeting held in Doha on Oct.20..
Speaking at a news conference, UAE Energy Minister Mohammad bin Dhaen Al Hamli said: "We are cutting from actual production of 27.5 million. Every country is cutting production .. We are talking about the OPEC 10." The cut is the biggest since 2002 and also the first since December 2004, when oil traded slightly above US$40 a barrel.
Crude futures rose on Thursday as OPEC unexpected cut was announced.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, gained 85 cents to close at 58.50 dollars a barrel. London's Brent North Sea crude for December delivery jumped 1.29 dollars to a settlement of 60.87 dollars a barrel.
The group will meet again in December 14th in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
US Bishops Given Misleading Guidlines
Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick
Catholic bishops have been mislead regarding Vatican guidelines on the reception of Holy Communion by Catholic politicians in the USA. Consider the following:
"It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the magisterium is totally compatible with being a 'good Catholic' and poses no obstacle to the reception of the sacraments. This is a grave error"
- Pope John Paul II (Los Angeles speech to U.S. bishops, Sept. 16, 1987).In June, 2004 Cardinal Ratzinger, (now Pope Benedict XVI) sent a memorandum to Cardinal McCarrick that offered guidelines to bishops for discussing the Communion/abortion issue at their meeting near Denver. However, Cardinal McCarrick did not reveal critical contents of the cover letter to the bishops, but instead suggested each bishop decide for himself the action to be taken.
Some of the key points in that cover letter:
1. In the case of abortion or euthanasia, a Catholic politician manifests "formal cooperation" in grave sins by "consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws."
2. The politician's pastor should "meet with him, instructing him about the Church's teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist."
3. "When these precautionary measures have not had their effect or in which they were not possible, and the person in question, with obstinate persistence, still presents himself to receive the holy Eucharist, the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it."
4. "Nor is the minister of Holy Communion passing judgment on the person's subjective guilt, but rather is reacting to the person's public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin."
Unfortunately, a number of two-faced "Catholic" politicians (especially spiritually warped, permissive liberals in the Democratic Party) are taking advantage of this confusion.
Vincent Bemowski - Writer (U.S. Politics & World Affairs & Veteran, U.S. Army)
1325 Lucerne Dr. Apt. 12Menasha, WI 54952 USAWebsite: Catholic Messages USA http://www.catholicmessagesusa.com/ bemowskivince@sbcglobal.net
World Citizens Reject Torture: Global Poll
Special ContributionBy Doug MillerPresident of GlobeScan Incorporated
A torture scene
A majority of people around the world are opposed to torture even if its purpose is to elicit information that could save innocent lives from terrorism, according to a BBC World Service poll of more than 27,000 people in 25 different countries.
The poll shows 59 percent of the world's citizens are unwilling to compromise on the protection of human rights, however 29 percent think governments should be allowed to use some degree of torture in order to combat terrorism.
Most Americans (58%) are against any use of torture. But opposition to torture in the US is less robust than in Europe and the percentage of Americans favouring the practice in certain cases (36%) is one of the highest among the 25 countries polled.
The survey of 27,407 respondents across 25 countries was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. GlobeScan coordinated fieldwork from May through July 2006.
Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes, notes, "The dominant view around the world is that terrorism does not warrant bending the rules against torture."
GlobeScan President, Doug Miller, adds, "The poll reveals a public opinion climate in which human rights violations by governments are likely to cause outrage, especially in Western Europe."
There is however somewhat less support for outlawing torture in several countries that have suffered terrorism attacks or political violence including India, where slightly more respondents (32%) favour relaxing the rules against torture than not (23%).
The largest percentage endorsing torture was found in Israel. Forty-three percent say some degree of torture should be allowed, though slightly more, (48%) think the practice should be prohibited.
Italians are the most opposed to the use of torture with 81 percent against, followed by three-quarters of respondents in Australia and France, 74 percent in Canada, 72 percent in the UK, and 71 percent in Germany.
Countries polled were Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US.
Respondents were asked the following question:
Most countries have agreed to rules that prohibit torturing prisoners. Which position is closer to yours?
Terrorists pose such an extreme threat that governments should now be allowed to use some degree of torture if it may gain information that saves innocent lives.
Clear rules against torture should be maintained because any use of torture is immoral and will weaken international human rights standards against torture. The poll found strong support for the latter position in favour of upholding the rule against torture with a majority in 19 countries endorsing it, plus another 5 with a plurality. There is however somewhat less support for outlawing torture in several countries that have suffered terrorist attacks or political violence including India, where a slight plurality favours relaxing the rules against torture.
All of the countries surveyed are parties to the Geneva Conventions that contain Article 3 forbidding torture as well as other forms of abuse. All countries surveyed are also parties to the more recent Convention Against Torture that goes further in how explicitly it prohibits torture, except India, which has signed but not yet ratified it.
Italians (81%) are the most opposed to the use of torture in all circumstances and the British are among the highest with 72 percent opposed and 24 percent in favor. Other countries with high numbers favouring a total ban are in Australia and France (75% in both) as well as Canada (74%) and Germany (71%). Only in India do more respondents favour allowing "some degree of torture:" Thirty-two percent say using physical coercion is sometimes permissible—a bit more than the 23 percent who say existing rules should be maintained. Nearly half of Indian respondents (45%) favour neither position or did not answer. India has a long history with terrorism and political violence, including a 2001 attack on its Parliament. This survey was completed before July 11, 2006 when terrorists bombed seven crowded commuter trains in Mumbai. Interestingly, there is no difference in the views of Hindus and Muslims in India on this question.
The largest percentage endorsing torture is found in Israel where 43 percent say that some degree of torture should be allowed, though slightly more (48%) say the practice should be prohibited. Israeli responses vary significantly by religion. A majority of Jewish respondents (53%) favour allowing governments to use torture to obtain information while 39 percent want clear rules against it. In contrast, Muslims in Israel (who represented 16 percent of total responses in that country) are overwhelmingly (87%) against any use of torture. No other country polled has a majority of any major religious subgroup that favours allowing torture.
In addition to India and Israel, there were four other countries where those rejecting torture fell short of a majority: Russia (43% reject torture, 37% accept), Nigeria (49% reject, 39% accept), China (49% reject, 37% accept), and Mexico (50% reject, 24% accept).
In the United States, most Americans (58%) oppose any use of torture. But opposition to torture in the United States is less robust than in Europe and the percentage of Americans favouring the practice in certain cases (36%) is one of the highest among the 25 countries polled.
There is little variation in the worldwide averages by income or education. But support for a ban on torture increases slightly with age: 57 percent of those younger than 35 years old were against torture compared to 61 percent of those 35 and older. Men are five points more likely to accept some use of torture than are women. As for religion, Israel is the only country where statistically significant differences exist between major religious groups on this question.
In total 27,407 citizens in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States were interviewed between 26 May and 6 July 2006. Polling was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan and its research partners in each country. In 7 of the 25 countries, the sample was limited to major urban areas. The margin of error per country ranges from +/-2.5 to 4 percent.
For more details, please see the Methodology section or visit www.globescan.com or www.pipa.org.
For contact: Doug Miller, PresidentGlobeScan Incorporated, London+44 20 7958 1735(Mobile: +44 78 999 77 000)Doug.Miller@GlobeScan.com
The Chicago Tribune
Sensitive CT scanners offer hope to lung cancer patients
By Ronald KotulakTribune staff reporterPublished October 25, 2006, 5:47 PM CDT
A new generation of CT scanners that can detect a cancer in the lungs as small as a grain of rice -- when the tumor is still highly curable -- is raising hopes that screening may dramatically reverse the grim outlook for lung cancer just as mammography did for breast cancer.A major long-term study reported in Wednesday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that at least 88 percent of patients whose early-stage lung cancer was detected through CT screening would survive for 10 years after the tumor was surgically removed.
The 10-year survival rate for people diagnosed with stage-one lung cancer is usually about 70 percent. But many tumors are not detected until they are more advanced and difficult to treat.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-061025lungcancer,1,6362802.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
New trial ordered in 1997 attack
By Maurice PossleyTribune staff reporterPublished October 25, 2006, 5:30 PM CDT
A federal judge has ordered a new trial for a man serving a 30-year prison term for a 1997 attack on a woman who was slashed in the face with a box cutter while waiting for a bus near Michael Reese Hospital.A jury convicted Robert Wilson, 51, in the Feb. 28, 1997, attack on June Siler as she stood in a bus shelter at 29th Street and King Drive.
But in a ruling signed last Friday, U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo declared that Criminal Court Judge Kenneth Wadas had erroneously prohibited Wilson's defense lawyers from presenting evidence that another man had confessed to five similar slashing attacks in the same area. Jerryco Wagner confessed to the other attacks, which occurred shortly after Siler was slashed, saying, "God had ordered him to kill each of the victims because they were white," according to the ruling. Wagner was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and sent to a mental institution.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-061025wilson,1,7543811.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Agents: Elmo Doll Used to Hide Drugs
By COLLEEN SLEVINAssociated Press WriterPublished October 25, 2006, 2:31 PM CDT
DENVER -- Authorities said Wednesday that they have broken up a methamphetamine ring that shipped the drug in toys including an Elmo doll. Agents said 19 people were in custody, including the alleged leader of the northern Colorado drug ring, and that they seized more than 45 pounds of what they described as high-quality methamphetamine.
Officials released photos of an Elmo doll found in a car in Barstow, Calif., with a caption saying 4 pounds of methamphetamine was found inside. Eid said he could not discuss what happened because the doll of the "Sesame Street" character was evidence in the case. Authorities said other toys also were used to hide drugs but did not elaborate. Other photos showed drugs shipped in a suitcase and tucked inside a tire. U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said the alleged ringleader, Rigoverto Valle-Sierra, was arrested Tuesday in Greeley after a yearlong investigation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-meth-ring,1,4523478.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Boeing income tumbles, stock loses ground
By Julie JohnssonTribune staff reporterPublished October 25, 2006, 11:23 AM CDT
Shares of Boeing Co. fell 3 percent in trading this morning after the aerospace company said its third quarter net income tumbled 31 percent to $694 million, or 89 cents a share.Contributing to the drop in profit: Boeing took a $280 million charge to shutter Connexion, its inflight broadband service, and also paid $615 million to the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve criminal and civil allegations that it rigged bids for federal contracts.Both moves had previously been disclosed by the Chicago-based company.Quarterly revenue rose 19 percent to $14.7 billion.Boeing continues to benefit as competitor Airbus SAS struggles to resolve production issues with its A380 jumbo jet.It booked 243 aircraft orders during the quarter and 730 for the first nine months of 2006. Revenues at its commercial aircraft business soared 45 percent to $6.7 billion from a year ago.Boeing expects its commercial aircraft business to buoy 2007 results, as well. The company boosted its earnings guidance for next year, saying it now expects to earn between $4.45 and $4.65, per share. That's 20 cents a share higher than its previous estimates.Jjohnsson@tribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-061025boeing,0,2654629.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes to Wed in Italy
By Associated PressPublished October 24, 2006, 4:42 PM CDT
NEW YORK -- Hollywood's most high-profile engaged couple have finally set a wedding date. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes will marry in Italy on Nov. 18, Cruise's representative, Arnold Robinson, confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Holmes will wear a dress designed by Giorgio Armani, Robinson also confirmed.
The wedding date was reported by Us Weekly magazine on its Web site. Holmes, 27, and Cruise, 44, became engaged in June 2005. Their daughter, Suri, was born April 18. She made her debut on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine last month. The photo showed Suri peeking out of a jacket worn by Cruise with Holmes looking on. Cruise and Holmes were first photographed together in Rome in April 2005. Two months later, the "Mission: Impossible" actor announced he had proposed to Holmes atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Holmes, who starred in TV's "Dawson's Creek," was previously engaged to actor Chris Klein. Cruise, previously married to Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman, also had a high-profile romance with Penelope Cruz.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-ap-people-cruise-holmes-wedding,1,1690667.story?coll=chi-entertainmentfront-hed
Madonna blames media for baby furor
Published October 25, 2006
Madonna told Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday that she was surprised by the firestorm surrounding her efforts to adopt a 13-month-old boy from the African country of Malawi. And she blamed the media for it.The interview, taped via satellite from London, was to air Wednesday. It was the first time she'd spoken in depth about her adoption of David Banda.
According to a member of the "Oprah" audience, Madonna said she was startled by press reports about the boy's father, Yohane Banda, who was quoted last week as saying that he didn't realize he was signing away custody "for good.""She said she met with the father, she looked him in the eye," audience member Sheryl Lewis recounted. Madonna, Lewis added, said she acted according to the law and had "oral and written approval . . . and now the press have gotten to him."In an interview posted Tuesday on Time magazine's Web site, Banda said he will not contest the adoption."I don't want my child, who is already gone, to come back," he said. "I will be killing his future if I accept that."
continued ...
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Seoul Unwilling to Abandon Geumgang Tourism (click on)
Mt. Geumgang or Diamond Mountain in North Korea
South Korea is unwilling to give up its tourism project under way at North Korea's Mount Geumgang despite some concerns that the inter-Korean project may undermine international efforts to terminate the North's nuclear weapons program, Yonhap News quoted a top aide to South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun as having indicated on Oct. 18.
Song Min-soon, chief presidential secretary for security, said the government will consider implementing systematic changes for the tours and an inter-Korean industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong in accordance with the U.N. weapons and economic sanctions on the communist state, according to Yonhap.
"We'll heed demands from the international community in seeking to change operational methods for the Geumgang and Kaesong projects," Song said at a security forum in Seoul. "But the government has never expressed an intention to shut down the Kaesong and Geumgang projects."
Song's remarks came one day after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill indirectly urged the South Korean government to abandon the Mount Geumgang tourism project.
On arriving in Seoul Tuesday, Hill said the tourism project seemed to be "more designed to give money to the North Korean authorities."
However, the U.S. official said the industrial project in Kaesong, where South Koreans have opened plants to take advantage of cheap North Korean labor, represents Seoul's efforts toward economic reform in the communist North. He also made clear that North Korea would have to pay for going ahead with its nuclear test despite international objections.
Commenting on Hill's remarks, Song said, "We are not simply swayed by other countries' opinions. We'll have to maintain balance and direction in circumstances to play an important role in the international society."
Referring to Washington's move to press Seoul to more actively participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a measure aimed at interdicting vessels believed to be carrying weapons of mass destruction or related materials, Song said the government will consider expanding its participation in the PSI "to an appropriate and necessary level" in accordance with the U.N. sanctions.
"The participation of South Korea and China in the PSI will have different meaning for the (U.S.-led) nonproliferation initiative. Thus we'll closely examine the contents of the PSI and inter-Korean maritime accords before finalizing our stance," he said.
Song was asked about North Korea's reported move to conduct another nuclear test but refused to give a clear answer. He also said that the government will continue to push ahead with the "common and broad approach" towards North Korean problems, as the new approach is believed to comprise efforts to resume the six-party talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Seoul Thursday for meetings with President Roh, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and other government officials.
She is expected to ask the South Korean government to take stronger measures against North Korea in line with the U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on the communist state for its declared nuclear bomb test.
A surreal scene - It's a true photograph
October 23, 2006
Berkley, California
Photographer states :: Fog City - Taken from Tilden in the East Bay hills
Morning Papers - continued
Sydney Morning Herald
Govt might consider nuclear subsidies
The government would consider subsidising nuclear power to make it affordable, Environment Minister Ian Campbell has indicated.
Senator Campbell said the government would not penalise coal-burning power stations in order to make their energy more expensive and bring it on a par with nuclear-generated energy.
Asked on ABC television whether nuclear power would be uneconomic unless coal-fired power stations were penalised for polluting the atmosphere, Senator Campbell said the government preferred incentives over penalties and taxes.
"When you realise that Australia is 1.46 per cent of global (carbon dioxide) emissions, creating policy measures in Australia that put up the price of energy ... that is the Labor way of doing things," Senator Campbell told ABC television.
"The other way is to create incentives.
"Whenever you want to create an energy source that is more expensive to create infrastructure-wise than what we are doing at the moment, you will need some sort of subsidy."
The government announced a $75 million subsidy for a solar industry project, for example, Senator Campbell said.
Solar Systems Generation received $125 million in federal and state grants to build its proposed solar concentrator using photovoltaic cells in north-west Victoria.
The $420 million solar power project is expected to pump electricity into the national grid equivalent to the annual needs of 45,000 homes, with no greenhouse gas emissions.
Senator Campbell said solar power was still massively more expensive than current energy technology and was not the "silver bullet" solution.
"I don't want to mislead people by thinking that solar is the only answer. Nuclear is certainly not the only answer, nor is solar," Senator Campbell said.
"It is going to require this portfolio approach."
But the government would move to replace coal-fired power stations with solar generation if its price could be reduced below fossil-fuel generated power, Senator Campbell said.
"There is no reason why you wouldn't ... You'd be mad not to," he said.
"If the sums add up, that's what could happen."
Meanwhile, Senator Campbell said the government would be unlikely to regulate to make new carbon capture technology mandatory even if a demonstration project in Victoria proved successful.
The government announced $50 million to clean up the Hazelwood coal power station through carbon dioxide capture and storage.
The scheme has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 80 per cent.
"I don't think you want to legislate to make any particular technology the requirement," Senator Campbell said.
"You can't wreck the economy if you want to solve this problem.
"If you kill either the Australian economy or the global economy by taking those measures, you kill the opportunity to make the investment required for these multi-trillion dollar technological deployments," he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Govt-might-consider-nuclear-subsidies/2006/10/26/1161749216078.html
Green Governator 'targets Bush'
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained about the US Government's environmental policy in a letter sent to President George W Bush, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The Hollywood action hero and Republican politician criticised the "lack of a coherent federal policy" to stop global warming in the letter to Bush, the Times report said, further distancing himself from the Republican leadership ahead of November 7 polls.
Schwarzenegger, who is expected to be re-elected in next month's elections, has made the environment one of his biggest priorities and in September announced radical plans to slash carbon dioxide emissions 25 per cent by 2020.
The plan gives California the toughest clean-air legislation of any US state, but conflicts sharply with more modest targets set by Washington.
On the campaign trail at the weekend, Schwarzenegger took a sideswipe at Bush and congressional leaders over efforts to fight global warming and phase out reliance on Middle East oil, the Times reported.
"The sad story is that nationally, we don't have great leadership on that," Schwarzenegger said.
In the letter to Bush, Schwarzenegger noted that California's request for a federal waiver to set vehicle emissions standards had been "ignored with no explanation", despite a personal letter from the governor to Bush in April.
Schwarzenegger has been careful to distance himself from Bush in the build-up to elections in Democrat-dominated California, where his opponents have sought to tie him closely to the Republican leadership.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/governator-to-bush-cool-it/2006/10/26/1161749215563.html
Oil jumps $2 on OPEC cuts, US stock draw
Oil prices leapt more than three per cent to over $US61 on Wednesday after other OPEC members followed Saudi Arabia's lead in enforcing output cuts and US fuel stocks unexpectedly fell.
Prices also drew strength from news of fresh strife in Nigeria, where militant unrest has shut in more than a quarter of the OPEC member's production capacity.
US light crude settled up $2.05, or 3.45 per cent, to $US61.40 a barrel, the biggest one-day percentage gain since March 17. London Brent was $US2.19 higher at $US62.05 a barrel.
US crude had already risen 54 US cents on Tuesday after Abu Dhabi's state oil firm told major customers it would cut crude exports by about five per cent in November.
On Wednesday, an Iranian official said Iran had also informed customers it was cutting supplies by 176,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Oil-jumps-2-on-OPEC-cuts-US-stock-draw/2006/10/26/1161749215939.html
Kyoto denial costs farmers $2.5b in carbon trade cash
DURING the worst drought on record, farmers are losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of potential income because of the Federal Government's refusal to take part in carbon trading schemes, a climate change report says.
Current prices for carbon mean reductions in land clearing could provide farmers with income worth $1.8 billion between 2008-2012 under the Kyoto Protocol, analysis by the Climate Institute says.
Domestic emissions trading could have provided a further $700 million to $900 million over the same period for farmers keeping carbon in forests, according to a report commissioned by the National Farmers Federation earlier this year.
"These two studies together suggest that ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and implementing a national emissions trading scheme could provide farmers with an income stream of $2.5 billion over five years," said the institute's chief executive, Corin Millais.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/kyoto-denial-costs-farmers-25b-in-carbon-trade-cash/2006/10/25/1161749190647.html
Timor in chaos as leader murdered
SECURITY forces in East Timor fear violence will dramatically escalate in Dili after the execution of a leader of one of East Timor's biggest gangs.
The martial arts gang leader was shot in the head on a Dili street, where for weeks rival gangs have fought fiercely.
An Australian soldier was also involved in a shooting incident yesterday, the Australian Defence Force says, amid violence in Dili in which at least two people died and dozens were injured.
East Timor's army is also preparing to address the nation declaring its troops should no longer be confined to barracks because of the lawlessness, sources in Dili said last night.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/timor-in-chaos-as-leader-murdered/2006/10/25/1161749189170.html
All action, no talk at Pacific gathering
FOR three days the three prime ministers rubbed shoulders at the Denarau Island resort - posing for photos together in floral shirts, sitting across from each other at meetings, and going to the same dinners and lunches.
Yet despite although John Howard came to the Pacific Islands Forum with a host of outstanding issues with his Papua New Guinean and Solomon Islands counterparts, Sir Michael Somare and Manasseh Sogavare, the three managed to part ways with barely a word being exchanged between them.
Mr Howard flew out of Fiji yesterday afternoon, saying he had chosen not to meet his Solomons and PNG counterparts personally because "I thought those matters were best dealt with in the context of the forum".
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/all-action-no-talk-at-pacific-gathering/2006/10/25/1161749189164.html
Controversial paintings of Abu Ghraib
25 October 2006
Duration 01:26
Artist Fernando Botero struggles to exhibit paintings in the U.S.A. depicting U.S. soldiers' torture of detainees in Abu Ghraib.
http://media.smh.com.au/?sy=smh&category=bulletin&rid=22987&source=smh.com.au%2F&t=7L2076&ie=1&player=wm7&rate=240&flash=1
G-string grannies a hit in Poland
25 October 2006
Duration 00:52
Lace is so important to the women of Koniakow in southern Poland that after World War II they convinced the communist authorities to provide the towns with electricity so that they could produce more tablecloths and doilies. But times are changing and the famous lacework of Koniakow is changing with it.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22987f&ie=1&rid=22985&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&t=7L2076&flash=1
French social and racial tension builds
26 October 2006
Duration 01:52
As the first anniversary of last year's riots approaches, authorities are being warned that similar scenes could return to the poorest suburbs of Paris. Despite positive moves to improve poverty and unemployment, many youths remain disaffected and some have turned to violence.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22985f&ie=1&rid=22996&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&flash=1&t=7L2076
Putin fields questions in phone-in
26 October 2006
Duration 01:13
President Putin has been grilled by viewers live on state television in Russia. Yet, despite more than two hours on air, his future role remains unconfirmed.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22996f&ie=1&rid=22995&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&t=7L2076&flash=1
Putin to retain influence over Russia after leaving office
President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that he would not try to run for the presidency again but would retain influence even after leaving office in 2008 as required by the constitution.
"Even having lost the powers and the levers of presidential power and not tailoring the basic law according to my personal interests, I will manage to retain the most important thing that a person involved in politics must cherish - your trust," Putin said in a televised question-and-answer session.
"And using that, you and I will be able to exert influence on the life of our country and guarantee its development."
The immensely popular Putin is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term, but supporters and various regional groups, including in Chechnya, have called for a referendum on amending the country's basic law to allow Putin to stay in power.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/putin-to-retain-influence-over-russia-after-leaving-office/2006/10/25/1161749189215.html
Iraqi PM rejects US timetable
26 October 2006
Duration 01:14
Nuri al-Maliki says a US 'timeline' to end sectarian violence will not be imposed upon the Iraqi government. The Iraqi prime minister's comments appear to contradict a US announcement on Tuesday that suggested Iraqi leaders had agreed to a timetable of steps over the next year aimed at reducing sectarian violence that would enable American troops to begin pulling out.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22995f&ie=1&rid=22994&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&flash=1&t=7L2076
Senate fight about race a strain on southern comfort
The Republicans are deploying dirty tricks in a key election contest, writes Michael Gawenda.
THE blonde, bare-shouldered woman smiles into the camera, holds up her hand as if she is speaking into a phone, winks and purrs: "Harold, call me."
Before her come-on-Harold moment, a guy with slicked-back hair says: "Harold accepts money from the pornography industry? Doesn't everyone?"
This is part of a 30-second, Republican-funded political ad, playing every half hour on television in Tennessee - part of a US election campaign marked by bitter rhetoric that would shock even Australia's seasoned political apparatchiks.
The Harold getting the come-on is Harold Ford, the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Tennessee. The ad has caused a national storm, because Ford is black. Rights organisations have accused the Republicans of playing the race card in a state with a history of lynching blacks for looking at white women, and the suggestion of inter-racial sex remains shocking.
Ford was incensed. He confronted Bob Corker, 54, his Republican rival, on a Nashville street and demanded something be done. "Bob Corker is going personal," Ford said. "If I had a dog, he'd be kicking him too."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/strain-on-southern-comfort/2006/10/25/1161749189185.html
Middle-class Mexicans pay to see how other half escapes
On the run… Mexican tourists in a park north of Mexico City race for cover in the darkness as they simulate illegally crossing the US border.James Hider in Valle de MezquitalOctober 26, 2006
THE red and blue lights from a patrol car flash through the dark and a voice calls out to the young Mexicans lurking in the bushes.
"Do not try to cross the river, do not trust the people you are following. We have food and water, we have burritos. We want to help you." As a shot rings out, three men dressed in the uniform of the border police chase a young man and wrestle him to the ground.
It could be any night on the Mexican-American border, but the mud-spattered wretches huddling in the dark are more than 1600 kilometres from the frontier - and only pretending to be migrants.
They are in fact middle-class Mexicans trying to understand the plight of 400,000 of their countrymen who make the illegal crossing into the US every year. They have paid about $25 each to spend the night being bitten by mosquitoes, running along muddy river banks and cowering in corn fields.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/middleclass-mexicans-pay-to-see-how-other-half-escapes/2006/10/25/1161749189188.html
For sale: Queen's desperate plea that changed course of history
IT IS the kind of letter that momentarily stops the hearts of manuscript experts. A moving three-page plea by Catherine of Aragon for help in trying to uphold her marriage to Henry VIII will be auctioned by Sotheby's.
Arguably, the letter played a part in changing English history - the split from Rome. The queen - Henry's first wife - miserable and at her wit's end, asks for help from her nephew Charles V, the Holy Roman emperor.
"There is no need for my relating to Your Highness the sufferings that I and my daughter undergo, as well in the treatment of our lives, as in the surprises and affronts which every day the King's Council puts upon us, for our troubles are matters of universal notoriety …"
Catherine wants Charles to use his influence to get Pope Clement VII to uphold her marriage.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/for-sale-queens-desperate-plea-that-changed-course-of-history/2006/10/25/1161749189182.html
More mothers are junking junk foods
October 26, 2006
Healthier … is it one Weet-Bick?Photo: David Tease
AUSTRALIAN mothers are finally getting the message about feeding their kids junk food, according to a Newspoll survey which shows nearly half claim to have cut back their children's intake of high-sugar breakfast cereals and a third saying their kids are consuming fewer chips, burgers, pies and fizzy drinks.
The survey, funded by Sanitarium, has triggered counter-claims from leading cereal makers, with Sanitarium, the maker of Weet-Bix, saying many food producers continued to deliberately confuse consumers with their nutritional claims.
"Those companies are really focused on the short term and have a vested interest in keeping the products they already have in the market," said Sanitarium's group brand manager for cereals, Andrew Hewson.
Mr Hewson said the high level of public mistrust of food marketing and health claims was working in Sanitarium's favour but fuzzy marketing and nutritional claims by the food sector was intensifying public cynicism. He said many companies were simply isolating a single nutritional claim for a product to make it appear healthy.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/more-mothers-are-junking-junk-foods/2006/10/25/1161749189331.html
This iPod user rocks
Stephen HutcheonOctober 25, 2006 - 12:40PM
Google Earth spotters have discovered a strange rock formation in the prairies of central Canada that resembles a native American in headdress listening to an iPod.
The rock formation is in Alberta, Canada about 300km southeast of Calgary, near the border with Saskatchewan.
Dubbed the Alberta Indian, the formation was discovered by a Google Earth spotter nicknamed Supergranny.
The area is situated in one of Canada's key gas fields. The nearest urban centre is Medicine Hat, a town of 56,000 known as "The Gas City" which claims to be Canada's sunniest spot.
The rock formation's "face" measures about 255m across and its about 225m long.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/this-ipod-user-rocks/2006/10/25/1161743788326.html
Past PM charged over law firm raid
THE former Solomon Islands prime minister Sir Allan Kemakeza, who invited Australian police into the country three years ago, was himself arrested yesterday and charged over a raid on a law firm, Sol-Law.
Australian partners of the firm were allegedly warned to leave the country.
One of the militiamen allegedly involved in the raid is also charged with the murder in late 2004 of an Australian police officer, Adam Dunning.
Kemakeza was prime minister from 2001 until April this year. He co-operated with Australian authorities and faced no charges in that period. He is now the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
Apparently to blunt claims that Australia is interfering in domestic politics, local police carried out yesterday's arrest. Kemakeza was charged over the alleged demanding of money with menaces, intimidation and larceny involving the former militiamen Chris Mae, Benedict Idu, James Tatau and Moses Su'u on May 24, 2002.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/past-solomons-pm-charged-over-law-firm-raid/2006/10/25/1161749189167.html
Washington Post
Iraqi Prime Minister Lambastes U.S.
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, October 25, 2006; 2:20 PM
BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lashed out at the United States Wednesday, saying his popularly elected government would not bend to U.S.-imposed benchmarks and timelines and criticizing a U.S. and Iraqi military operation in a Shiite slum of Baghdad that left at least five people dead and 20 wounded.
Maliki's comments came a day after U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the prime minister had agreed to timelines for accomplishing several critical goals, including developing plans to deal with militias, amend the constitution and equitably distribute Iraq's oil revenues.
"I affirm that this government represents the will of the people and no one has the right to impose a timetable on it," Maliki said Wednesday at a nationally televised news conference. "The Americans have the right to review their policies, but we do not believe in a timetables."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501138.html
Bush Acknowledges Discontent on Iraq
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 4:52 PM
President Bush said today he shares the American public's dissatisfaction with the situation in Iraq, but he warned against succumbing to "disillusionment" about the U.S. purpose there, asserted that "absolutely, we're winning," and expressed confidence in both Iraq's prime minister and his own defense secretary.
In a White House news conference, Bush also said he was sure his fellow Republicans would retain control of Congress in midterm elections on Nov. 7 because voters would base their decisions on national security and the economy. While some pundits are treating Republican losses as a foregone conclusion, Bush said, he sees a different picture on the campaign trail.
"You know, we've got some people dancing in the end zone here in Washington, D.C., measuring their drapes," he said. "But the American people are going to decide, and they're going to decide this race based upon who best to protect the American people and who best to keep the taxes low."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500342.html
The GOP Leans on A Proven Strategy
White House Courts Conservative Base
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; Page A01
Beset by discouraging polls and division within ideological ranks, the White House is accelerating efforts to woo back disaffected conservatives and energize the Republican base in a reprise of a strategy that succeeded in the last two campaign cycles.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney have given multiple interviews to conservative journalists, senior adviser Karl Rove has telephoned religious and social activists, and the White House has staged signing ceremonies for legislation cracking down on terrorism and illegal immigration. Two weeks before Election Day, Bush aides invited dozens of radio talk show hosts for a marathon broadcast from the White House yesterday to reach conservative listeners.
The message that Bush and others are sending to alienated supporters is that, no matter how upset they have been about various policies or political missteps over the past couple of years, life would be far worse under the Democrats. They name liberal lawmakers who would take charge of key committees and warn conservatives that taxes would go up and protection against terrorists would go down. And they cite, in particular, the confirmation of two conservative Supreme Court justices who might have been blocked by a Democratic Senate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401563.html
Congressional Countdown
Watching the Battle for Control in the House and Senate -- Oct. 25, 2006
A slew of new statewide polls hit the streets yesterday and today and, as we continue the Countdown to Election Day, the surveys foreshadow a wild finish to a very competitive battle for control of the Senate.
Mason-Dixon Political & Media Research conducted nine separate polls for MSNBC and McClatchy newspapers, while the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg did surveys in five of the nine states.
The polls confirmed that two incumbent Republican senators -- Ohio’s Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum -- are in deep trouble. DeWine trails Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown in polls by both news groups. Only Mason-Dixon polled in Pennsylvania, and that showed that Santorum, long considered the most vulnerable incumbent senator in the country, is running behind state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. in the Mason-Dixon survey. by 51 percent to 39 percent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign06/countdown.html
Fight For the Senate: Dole vs. Schumer
In the final stretch of any campaign year, the two national parties engage in a seemingly endless war of words -- fighting for even the smallest of rhetorical edges.Sen. Schumer says Democrats are "on the edge" of retaking the Senate. (AP)
An event today at the National Press Club was no exception. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Elizabeth Dole (N.C.) appeared on the same stage to offer remarkably similar arguments about the coming elections. Needless to say, they drew very different conclusions about the likely results.
"Republican candidates have nowhere to turn," said Schumer. "They are in a little room where all the doors are locked."
Dole, doing a bit of preelection damage control, said repeatedly that the difficult political environment had complicated her job almost from the start. It has been "very tough for Republicans for many months," she added.
Both Schumer and Dole agreed that the war in Iraq was the single biggest issue for voters in states with targeted Senate races. Schumer noted that Democrats running in Republican-leaning states like Virginia and Tennessee are airing political ads calling for a change of direction in Iraq. In contrast, he said, you'll see no GOP candidates mentioning the conflict in their ads.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/
Report Warns of Potential Voting Problems in 10 States
By Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; Page A03
Two weeks before the midterm elections, at least 10 states, including Maryland, remain ripe for voting problems, according to a study released yesterday by a nonpartisan clearinghouse that tracks electoral reforms across the United States.
The report by Electionline.org says those states, and possibly others, could encounter trouble on Election Day because they have a combustible mix of fledgling voting-machine technology, confusion over voting procedures or recent litigation over election rules -- and close races.
The report cautions that the Nov. 7 elections, which will determine which political party controls the House and Senate, promise "to bring more of what voters have come to expect since the 2000 elections -- a divided body politic, an election system in flux and the possibility -- if not certainty -- of problems at polls nationwide."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401168.html
NJ Court Stops Short of Gay Marriage OK
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:09 PM
TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey's Supreme Court opened the door to gay marriage Wednesday, ruling that homosexuals are entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals, but leaving it to lawmakers to legalize same-sex unions.
The high court gave lawmakers 180 days to rewrite marriage laws to either include same-sex couples or create a new system of civil unions for them.
The ruling is similar to the 1999 decision in Vermont that led to civil unions there, which offer the benefits of marriage, but not the name.
"Although we cannot find that a fundamental right to same-sex marriage exists in this state, the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state Constitution," Justice Barry T. Albin wrote for the 4-3 majority's decision.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500174.html
Putin Says He'll Retain Influence After Presidency
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, October 25, 2006; 1:34 PM
MOSCOW, Oct. 25 -- With his trademark indefatigability and command of detail, President Vladimir Putin fielded questions from ordinary Russians for nearly three hours Wednesday, in an annual televised session that has become a ritual of presidential stagecraft here.
Putin, who has sworn off amending the constitution to allow himself a third term, reiterated his determination to step down in 2008, but said he would continue to influence the country's direction.
"Even having lost the powers and the levers of presidential power and not tailoring the basic law according to my personal interests, I will manage to retain the most important thing that a person involved in politics must cherish -- your trust," said Putin. "And using that, you and I will be able to exert influence on the life of our country and guarantee its development."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501079.html
Former Iran Leader Wanted in Argentina
By OSCAR SERRAT
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:15 PM
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentine prosecutors asked a federal judge on Wednesday to order the arrest of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center that killed scores of people.
The decision to attack the center "was undertaken in 1993 by the highest authorities of the then-government of Iran," prosecutor Alberto Nisman said at a news conference.
He said the actual attack was entrusted to the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.
The worst terrorist attack ever on Argentine soil, the bombing of the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires killed 85 people and injured more than 200 when an explosive-laden vehicle detonated near the building.
Iran's government has vehemently denied any involvement in the attack following repeated accusations by Jewish community and other leaders here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501231.html
New Candidate May Be Sought for Deadlocked U.N. Election
By Bill Brubaker
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:10 PM
Guatemala and Venezuela may pull out of their contentious race for a United Nations Security Council seat to negotiate a compromise candidate, diplomats said today.
Foreign ministers from the two Latin American nations plan to meet in New York tomorrow morning to discuss alternative candidates for the two-year seat, wire services reported this afternoon.
"They accept in principal that they will withdraw their candidacies. But they are not set on a third country," Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Sardenberg said, according to the Reuters news agency. "We encouraged them to reach a solution quickly, and we expressed our willingness to go for a consensus."
The two countries have been slugging it out for two weeks, to no avail. Guatemala has consistently attracted the most votes from the 192-member General Assembly, but it has not achieved the two-thirds majority required to win the prized seat.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501057.html
GM and Chrysler Report Earnings Losses
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 3:44 PM
General Motors Corp. and the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler AG reported losses today as automakers try to steer through a harsh period of high costs and sharp competition in the U.S. market.
GM, the world's largest automaker, reported a loss of $115 million in the third quarter, an improvement from the same quarter a year ago when the company lost $1.7 billion. While GM is showing signs of recovery, its American rivals are suffering.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501267.html
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged
By Nell Henderson
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 3:00 PM
Federal Reserve policymakers decided to hold short-term interest rates steady today, but left the door open to raising them in coming months if inflation stays too high.
"Some inflation risks remain," the central bank's policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after a two-day meeting.
The group noted that economic growth has slowed this year, partly because of the sharp downturn in the housing market. But the policymakers also said they expect the economy to "expand at a moderate pace" going forward.
Stock prices rose shortly after the Fed's announcement, as investors concluded interest-rate policy will remain on hold for some time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500229.html
Gov't Panel Recommends Shingles Vaccine
By GREG BLUESTEIN
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:09 PM
ATLANTA -- An influential government advisory panel voted Wednesday to recommend routine vaccines to protect older adults against shingles.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the vaccine for adults 60 and over. The committee's recommendations usually are accepted by federal health officials, and they influence insurance coverage for vaccinations.
Shingles is a painful, blistering skin rash that is most common in people 60 and older. It usually goes away after four weeks, but one in five shingles sufferers develops excruciating long-term nerve pain known as postherpetic neuralgia. Complications also can include scarring and loss of vision or hearing.
Antiviral medications are only of limited help, and some doctors say they do not prevent shingles from progressing into postherpetic neuralgia.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500654.html
Study Finds Flu Shots Are Safe for Kids
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 7:47 AM
CHICAGO -- The biggest study ever to look at the side effects of flu shots in children confirmed that the vaccine is safe for babies and toddlers.
Researchers studied 45,000 U.S. children and found almost no side effects requiring medical treatment during the six weeks after the youngsters were vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 90 children under 5 die of the flu each season.
Flu vaccine has a good safety record, the researchers wrote, though some formulations have been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare paralyzing disorder.
With the shots now recommended for all children younger than 5, the findings are reassuring, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the study.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500274.html
ZoneAlarm's New Auto-Updater Prompts Confusion
While I was out in San Diego for a security conference last month, I struck up a conversation with a guy from Check Point Technologies, which makes the popular ZoneAlarm line of firewall products. I asked him whether the company had considered adding an auto-update feature to help users stay on top of new versions of the software that it seems to ship about once every month or two.
The guy I met forwarded my query to Laura Yecies, vice president and general manager of CheckPoint's consumer and small business division. Turns out that sometime in June an update the company shipped to the (free and pay) 6.5.x versions of ZoneAlarm allows the program to silently download and install fixes on its own. Yecies said the company switched on the auto-update for two reasons.
"One was just the convenience feature, where we can do bug fixes or security improvements with just a patch and that saves the customer the inconvenience of having to install a whole new product," Yecies said, though she acknowledged that customers will from time to time still be prompted to install new versions of ZoneAlarm. "The other reason is that in emergency situations where we're concerned that vulnerability exists in our product, we can ship a security patch quickly."
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/
Hip-Hop Editor Wins Suit Over Her Firing
By Peter Carlson
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; Page C01
After a tumultuous two-week trial, Kimberly Osorio, a former editor in chief of the Source magazine, won a workplace lawsuit against the popular hip-hop monthly, and a Manhattan jury awarded her $15.5 million.
"This is a victory for women in hip-hop," Osorio told the hip-hop Web site SOHH.com after the verdict Monday night. "I stood up and I won."
Osorio, who was fired by the Source last year, sued the magazine and its founders, David Mays and Raymond Scott, alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination, defamation, retaliatory discharge and maintaining a hostile work environment. The defendants responded that Osorio was fired in March 2005 for "poor performance," including her decision to publish a cover photo of rapper Nelly without his posse and running a negative review of a CD by rapper Fat Joe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401500.html
New Zealand Herald
MP accused of scaremongering over vaccination
Thursday October 26, 2006By Paula Oliver
The Government is being forced to defend its meningococcal vaccination programme after new figures showed that ACC has accepted 33 claims for adverse reactions to the jab.
One of the claims - highlighted by National's health spokesman Tony Ryall - is from an 8-year-old girl who developed a severe blood disorder.
The girl's specialist had concluded that she had developed the disorder as a result of the vaccine, Mr Ryall said.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson admitted during Parliament's question time yesterday that he was unaware of the Accident Compensation Corporation claims when he said last week that there were no significant adverse events associated with the meningococcal B vaccine.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407654
Tribe puts a stop on logging in state forest
Thursday October 26, 2006By Anne Beston
A Maori tribe has blocked logging in a state-owned forest claiming the presence of sacred burial sites, which it cannot identify.
Crown Forestry has given up its legal battle to harvest pines on four blocks of the Waiuku State Forest on the northern banks of the Waikato River after losing an Environment Court appeal against a Waikato Regional Council decision not to allow logging because of Maori concerns.
Crown Forestry operations manager Warwick Foran said: "We won't appeal. The judge has ruled the effects on Maori are greater than the benefit of allowing harvesting."
He could not put a figure on what the harvesting would have been worth.
Ngati Te Ata told the Environment Court all four blocks over an area of 305ha were waahi tapu, or sacred, and it was not willing to identify particular sites.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407665
US takes time out to focus on Pacific
Thursday October 26, 2006By Ruth Berry
NADI - The United States is taking a renewed interest in the Pacific, partly because of the valuable votes Pacific Island states have in the United Nations General Assembly, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill revealed in Fiji yesterday.
Mr Hill has been busy trying to help resolve the crisis caused by North Korean nuclear testing but took time out to attend his second annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting.
His boss, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had also wanted him to attend, "although in light of the situation in Korea I know a lot of my colleagues were wondering what I was doing down here," he said.
"But I think you know in general I'd like to see us do more in the Pacific Island states. Each of them has the same number of votes as the United States has in the UN General Assembly.
"We're very aware of that. I think that this is the kind of place that if you pay some attention to it and show interest that can really pay dividends."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407622
Government looks at fishing quota for amateur anglers
Thursday October 26, 2006By Mike Houlahan
Commercial fishers may receive compensation under a plan to entrench the rights of recreational fishers and Maori.
Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton yesterday released a discussion document on proposals for managing shared fisheries - sea life caught by recreational, commercial and customary fishers, such as snapper, blue cod, kahawai, paua and rock lobster.
One proposal would see the Government maintain and protect a minimum tonnage of some species for amateur fishers, which would have priority over the commercial take. Tonnages would be reduced only if the species was no longer commercially fished and it was becoming unsustainable.
If such a change significantly affected commercial fishers' economic interests the Government would look at compensation, Mr Anderton said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407620
Volcano joins in test run for lahar emergency
Thursday October 26, 2006By Juliet Rowan
An exercise to test emergency services' response to a lahar was held at Mt Ruapehu yesterday amid real rumblings beneath the active volcano.
Hundreds of people from several agencies were involved in the exercise, which began with the artificial triggering of the lahar warning system.
The Eastern Ruapehu Lahar Warning System was triggered for real on October 4, when a small eruption sent 6m waves across the crater lake.
Yesterday's exercise was planned before the eruption, and has been held annually for the past six years.
But GNS Science said it followed two small volcanic earthquakes under the mountain on Tuesday.
Duty geohazards officer Ken Gledhill said the earthquakes measured about magnitude 2 on the Richter scale, and indicated that volcanic activity was "happening at depth".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407581
Tsunami alert works, MPs told
Thursday October 26, 2006By Mike Houlahan
Civil Defence will be able to give timely warnings of impending tsunamis in most situations, MPs were told yesterday.
New Zealand's tsunami alert system has been under review since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami killed tens of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and Africa. The country's preparedness came under further scrutiny in May after the BBC reported a tsunami heading for New Zealand.
At the Government administration select committee yesterday, Labour MP Dover Samuels sought a reassurance from Internal Affairs department chief executive Christopher Blake that if a tsunami were to strike his isolated Northland community he would have received sufficient warning to evacuate.
Mr Blake said since the May scare, when a communications breakdown saw local media carry the BBC story unaware that the tsunami alert had been withdrawn, an agreement had been reached with radio stations about carrying emergency warnings, and a similar agreement with television channels was close to being signed off.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407579
Owners of leaky homes face ruin
Thursday October 26, 2006
Homeowners have appealed to MPs to help "average Kiwis" affected by the leaky homes debacle.
In May the Government brought legislation before Parliament to improve the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service.
The service was established in 2002 to resolve disputes between owners of leaky homes and developers, but has struggled to resolve disputes.
Janet Pawson told Parliament's social services select committee yesterday that she and her husband were facing a $250,000 repair bill on their "dream family home".
"Someone in authority needs to ensure that your house has been built properly," she said.
Mrs Pawson and her husband also own a 24-unit leaky apartment building . Because both buildings were built more than 10 years ago they are not eligible for mediation services.
Mrs Pawson said they had already spent $40,000 filing compensation claims at the High Court and expected to spend several thousand more.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407597
US signals a move out of Iraq possible in 12 to 18 months
Thursday October 26, 2006By Rupert Cornwell and Colin Brown
In the firmest indication yet of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, America's most senior general there and its top civilian official in the US have drawn the outlines of a political and military plan that could see a substantial pullout of United States troops within 12 to 18 months.
Yesterday's announcement looked like a strategy change, although President George W. Bush's aides deny any "dramatic shifts" in policy.
It came after Bush's spokesman acknowledged that the President had cut and run from his signature promise that America would "stay the course" in Iraq.
In a joint press conference in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador, laid out a series of political steps that he claimed had been agreed to by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, including a crackdown on militias, a peace offer to insurgents and a plan for sharing oil revenues.
The measures, to be taken over the next year, would amount to a new "national compact" between the Iraqi factions, he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10407628
Violence closes Dili airport as two die in gang clashes
Thursday October 26, 2006By Lirio Da Fonseca
DILI - Two people died in renewed violence in Dili yesterday in clashes that closed the East Timorese capital's airport.
Youth gangs armed with guns, bows and arrows and rocks fought battles near the airport and burned 12 houses.
The first clash happened late on Tuesday on a main road leading to the airport, with one person shot dead. Another clash broke out early yesterday, killing another resident.
Australian troops guarding the airport opened fire on an armed man who approached them in a threatening way, a spokesman for Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said. The man fled and it was unclear whether he was wounded.
The closure of the airport highlights the fragile security in the fledging nation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407663
Not being Republican enough to sway voters
Thursday October 26, 2006By Rupert Cornwell
WASHINGTON - Independent voters are flocking to the Democrats ahead of next month's mid-term Congressional elections, strengthening the prospect of a resounding victory by the party in the House of Representatives, and boosting hopes that it could capture the Senate as well.
According to a devastating poll in the Washington Post, self-proclaimed independents - who account for about a third of the electorate - now say they will vote for Democrats rather than Republicans in their congressional district by a margin of 59 per cent to 31 per cent, usually citing disillusion with the war in Iraq as the prime reason.
However, the change of heart reflects no great surge in affection for the Democrats. Half of independents who had changed their minds said their vote would be in protest at Republican policies. Only 22 per cent said they were enthusiastically embracing the Democrats.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407606
Ousted rulers masters of a wide area in Afghanistan
Thursday October 26, 2006By David Loyn
HELMAND PROVINCE - Racing at high speed across the desert in the north of Helmand province, our convoy was kicking up a dust-storm that could be seen from space.
A couple of saloon cars and four trucks, with fighters dangling their legs over the side.
The Taleban were demonstrating their control over a wide region.
These are the same Taleban that Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of British forces in the region, said were "practically defeated" in Helmand.
Instead, they are confident and well-armed, all with AK 47s, and many carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers, which they use with lethal effect against helicopters as well as armoured vehicles and supply convoys.
We shot past the burned-out remains of a Spartan armoured personnel carrier, destroyed on August 1 with the loss of three British lives.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407621
Evidence of CIA jails in Europe
Thursday October 26, 2006
BERLIN - The German Government was yesterday alleged to have received first-hand evidence that the CIA had begun torturing terrorist suspects at secret prisons in Europe shortly after the September 11 attacks despite claims that it only knew about such sites through the media.
Stern magazine quoted a leaked German intelligence report which said that only weeks after September 11, two of its agents and a translator had visited a United States military prison at the American "Eagle Base" in the Bosnian town of Tuzla, where they witnessed a torture victim.
The German intelligence report said US interrogators at the base had beaten a 70-year-old terrorist suspect with rifle butts and that "his injuries meant that he had to be given 20 stitches to the head wound he sustained". The report added the American interrogator responsible "appeared to be proud" of his actions.
Stern said the German agents had also been given access to documents confiscated by the Americans which were "smeared with blood". One agent was said to have compared the actions of the US interrogators to Serbian war criminals during the break up of Yugoslavia. "The Serbs ended up before the international court in the Hague for this kind of thing."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407626
Down in the polls and he didn't even vote for Bush
Thursday October 26, 2006By Jason Szep
PROVIDENCE - Lincoln Chafee, the only Republican US senator to vote against the Iraq war, often breaks ranks with his party to survive in one of the nation's most liberal states.
But Rhode Island may break ranks with Chafee, ousting one of the most moderate Republican voices and handing the Democrats one of six key seats needed to seize control of the Senate.
Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse is casting the November 7 election as a referendum on President George W. Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, saying not just Rhode Island's future but the direction of the country is at stake.
Trailing in recent polls, Chafee is stressing his unique brand of Republicanism - from championing environmental issues to fighting Bush's tax cuts, pressing for direct talks with Iran and even voting against Bush in the 2004 election.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407605
Cold reality of Chinese occupation
Thursday October 26, 2006By Justin Huggler
A few minutes of jerky video footage shot by a Romanian cameraman on a mountaineering trip brought the plight of Tibetans under Chinese rule into Western living rooms this month.
For once, the world was able to watch the cruelty of occupation as it played out. In the video, a Chinese border guard calmly opens fire from a mountain ridge on a group of unarmed, defenceless Tibetans below, as they struggled through the snow to escape from occupied Tibet.
Two figures drop to the ground.
"They're shooting them like, like dogs," says an incredulous voice, one of the other mountaineers standing beside the cameraman. And then the camera trains on the dead body of one of the Tibetans in the distance.
It was a moment that changed the way the world looks at China. In recent years, all the talk has been of a liberalised China, the world's fastest growing economy that has put the worst excesses of its totalitarian past behind it. But this was a rare glimpse of another China, and of a modern-day Iron Curtain.
For once, there were witnesses.
Now the full story of what happened that day in the Himalayas has emerged. Survivors have spoken out in Delhi this week, and their accounts can be pieced together with those of the mountaineers who witnessed the shooting.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407604
UK wants Iraq pullout in a year, US official says
2.40pm Wednesday October 25, 2006By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON - The British military hopes to withdraw troops from Iraq within about a year and London wants to focus on the war in Afghanistan, a US defence official said on Tuesday.
British officials had told US counterparts the British military was "near the breaking point" due to long deployments in Iraq and weak retention of personnel, said the official, asking not to be identified.
The official's comments offered the first hint Britain's military may have a timetable for withdrawal in mind.
"It's about a year, give or take a few months," the official said.
But another US defence official played down the withdrawal issue, and no immediate comment was available from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government.
The official said British discussions about troop levels were part of regular, internal military reviews and that the British government had not approached senior US officials with adjustment plans or timetables.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407558
South Korea's minister on North to resign, reports say
2.25pm Wednesday October 25, 2006
SEOUL - South Korea's point man on North Korea has offered to resign, South Korean media reported on Wednesday, the third national security minister to be replaced soon if the offer is accepted.
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, a North Korean expert, has been criticised for not being tough enough against Pyongyang, which conducted its first nuclear test on October 9 defying international warnings and shocking the world.
Lee made the offer to resign to President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday, the reports said. The presidential Blue House and Unification Ministry declined to immediately confirm the reports or comment on whether Roh would accept the offer.
South Korean Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung has also offered to resign, a Blue House official said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is expected to be replaced soon after being selected the next secretary-general of the United Nations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407555
EU warns Beijing over trade disputes
2.20pm Wednesday October 25, 2006
The European Commission has warned Beijing it will haul China before the World Trade Organisation if future trade disputes can't be resolved through talks.
Unveiling a new strategy for EU-China trade relations, the European Commission said China would face a political backlash in Europe if it did not play by the rules of international commerce.
The EU trade chief, Peter Mandelson, told a news conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg that China had reached a stage in its development when the rest of the world was entitled to ask for more compliance.
Laying out Europe's demands, the British commissioner said the EU wanted China to fulfill its WTO obligations and continue to open its markets and liberalise trade in services and investment.
Since it joined the WTO in 2001, China's economy has been gradually opening up to European and other foreign exporters.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407542
Scientists denounce Libya for jailing health workers
1.20pm Wednesday October 25, 2006By Steve Connor
Leading Aids scientists have denounced Libya for the wrongful imprisonment and torture of six foreign healthcare workers who are accused of deliberately infecting 400 Libyan children with HIV.
In a letter to the journal Science, the scientists claim that studies have proved beyond doubt that the Aids virus was present in the Al Fateh Benghazi Children's Hospital before the arrival of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor.
The letter is signed by Luc Montagnier, formerly of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and Robert Gallo, formerly of the National Cancer Institute in Washington, who shared the credit for discovering HIV more than 20 years ago.
"The examination of hospital records showed that without question HIV-infected children were admitted to several wards of the Al Fateh Benghazi Children's Hospital in 1997 and early 1998...before the arrival in Libya of the six accused," the letter says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407511
Sogavare says leaders back him on Ramsi
UPDATED 1.55pm Wednesday October 25, 2006
NADI, Fiji - The Solomon Islands prime minister today claimed as a victory a decision by Pacific leaders to review the Australian-led Ramsi peace mission in his country.
The Pacific Islands Forum yesterday undertook to review the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Island (Ramsi).
The 16 members of the forum decided to leave Australia's lead role largely intact, instead agreeing to set up two mechanisms to monitor Ramsi's performance.
However, Solomons Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare - who had sought to reduce Australia's role in Ramsi- said he was pleased with the outcome and claimed his five-point plan had been adopted.
"It was on the basis of that concern that the leaders decided to send a taskforce to the Solomon Islands," he told reporters in Nadi today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407533
Nicaragua's 'grand canal' dream in sight
1.00pm Wednesday October 25, 2006By Catherine Bremer
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Five centuries after Spain's King Carlos V first thought of cutting a canal through Nicaragua to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the tiny nation has a date in sight for a "Grand Canal" to dwarf Panama's.
As Panama prepares to widen its congested 92-year-old waterway to squeeze through more of today's bigger ships, Nicaragua plans to build a bigger, deeper canal by 2019 to cater to the supersized freighters of the future.
An international tender for a consortium of private companies to build and operate the canal, which would generate much-needed royalties for the impoverished nation, could be launched by the end of 2007, planners say.
"We are not competing with Panama. We are complementary. We are doing different things," said Mario Alonso, president of the Central American nation's canal commission and a former central bank chief.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407500
Senior US Republican testifies in sex scandal probe
10.20am Wednesday October 25, 2006
WASHINGTON - The top Republican in the US House of Representatives went before investigators on Tuesday in the Capitol Hill sex scandal that has rocked his party as it tries to keep control of Congress in the November 7 elections.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois went behind closed doors with the bipartisan congressional ethics panel for what was expected to be at least a few hours of questioning about what he knew and what he did about the troublesome behaviour by disgraced Representative Mark Foley toward teenage interns.
Foley, a Florida Republican, abruptly resigned last month following disclosure he sent lurid electronic messages to teenage boys.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407491
Low-tech filter turns muck to drinking water
Thursday October 26, 2006By Jarrod Booker
A water purification device developed in New Zealand that can operate without electricity could bring widespread benefits around the world.
Christchurch inventor Russell Kelly has also caught the eye of Nasa, which has been so impressed with his invention it has allowed him to use its iodine technology (used for treating waste) and Certified Space Foundation brand - as it believes the devices will have a "significant beneficial impact on mankind".
"I didn't realise what a big deal it was at the time," said Mr Kelly, who set out four years ago to create filter systems that could be used in remote areas with badly polluted water supplies.
Although still in production, the devices are already engendering a buzz worldwide. The Kenyan Government wants them to supply to its nomadic Masai tribes and several global aid agencies are planning to work with Mr Kelly to get the systems to those most in need.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10407641
Health officials target workplace vending machines
Thursday October 26, 2006By Errol Kiong
Workplace food-vending machines are the next target in the battle against obesity.
Health officials want to restrict their contents, and say they could use health and safety legislation as a way to improve what people eat.
A university nutritionist has welcomed the idea, but says it would be impossible to enforce.
The 1992 Health and Safety in Employment Act could be applied to staff food supplies, says the Law Society, although making an employer responsible for what employees ate would be difficult.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10407661
MP accused of scaremongering over vaccination
Thursday October 26, 2006By Paula Oliver
The Government is being forced to defend its meningococcal vaccination programme after new figures showed that ACC has accepted 33 claims for adverse reactions to the jab.
One of the claims - highlighted by National's health spokesman Tony Ryall - is from an 8-year-old girl who developed a severe blood disorder.
The girl's specialist had concluded that she had developed the disorder as a result of the vaccine, Mr Ryall said.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson admitted during Parliament's question time yesterday that he was unaware of the Accident Compensation Corporation claims when he said last week that there were no significant adverse events associated with the meningococcal B vaccine.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407654
continued ...
Govt might consider nuclear subsidies
The government would consider subsidising nuclear power to make it affordable, Environment Minister Ian Campbell has indicated.
Senator Campbell said the government would not penalise coal-burning power stations in order to make their energy more expensive and bring it on a par with nuclear-generated energy.
Asked on ABC television whether nuclear power would be uneconomic unless coal-fired power stations were penalised for polluting the atmosphere, Senator Campbell said the government preferred incentives over penalties and taxes.
"When you realise that Australia is 1.46 per cent of global (carbon dioxide) emissions, creating policy measures in Australia that put up the price of energy ... that is the Labor way of doing things," Senator Campbell told ABC television.
"The other way is to create incentives.
"Whenever you want to create an energy source that is more expensive to create infrastructure-wise than what we are doing at the moment, you will need some sort of subsidy."
The government announced a $75 million subsidy for a solar industry project, for example, Senator Campbell said.
Solar Systems Generation received $125 million in federal and state grants to build its proposed solar concentrator using photovoltaic cells in north-west Victoria.
The $420 million solar power project is expected to pump electricity into the national grid equivalent to the annual needs of 45,000 homes, with no greenhouse gas emissions.
Senator Campbell said solar power was still massively more expensive than current energy technology and was not the "silver bullet" solution.
"I don't want to mislead people by thinking that solar is the only answer. Nuclear is certainly not the only answer, nor is solar," Senator Campbell said.
"It is going to require this portfolio approach."
But the government would move to replace coal-fired power stations with solar generation if its price could be reduced below fossil-fuel generated power, Senator Campbell said.
"There is no reason why you wouldn't ... You'd be mad not to," he said.
"If the sums add up, that's what could happen."
Meanwhile, Senator Campbell said the government would be unlikely to regulate to make new carbon capture technology mandatory even if a demonstration project in Victoria proved successful.
The government announced $50 million to clean up the Hazelwood coal power station through carbon dioxide capture and storage.
The scheme has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 80 per cent.
"I don't think you want to legislate to make any particular technology the requirement," Senator Campbell said.
"You can't wreck the economy if you want to solve this problem.
"If you kill either the Australian economy or the global economy by taking those measures, you kill the opportunity to make the investment required for these multi-trillion dollar technological deployments," he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Govt-might-consider-nuclear-subsidies/2006/10/26/1161749216078.html
Green Governator 'targets Bush'
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained about the US Government's environmental policy in a letter sent to President George W Bush, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The Hollywood action hero and Republican politician criticised the "lack of a coherent federal policy" to stop global warming in the letter to Bush, the Times report said, further distancing himself from the Republican leadership ahead of November 7 polls.
Schwarzenegger, who is expected to be re-elected in next month's elections, has made the environment one of his biggest priorities and in September announced radical plans to slash carbon dioxide emissions 25 per cent by 2020.
The plan gives California the toughest clean-air legislation of any US state, but conflicts sharply with more modest targets set by Washington.
On the campaign trail at the weekend, Schwarzenegger took a sideswipe at Bush and congressional leaders over efforts to fight global warming and phase out reliance on Middle East oil, the Times reported.
"The sad story is that nationally, we don't have great leadership on that," Schwarzenegger said.
In the letter to Bush, Schwarzenegger noted that California's request for a federal waiver to set vehicle emissions standards had been "ignored with no explanation", despite a personal letter from the governor to Bush in April.
Schwarzenegger has been careful to distance himself from Bush in the build-up to elections in Democrat-dominated California, where his opponents have sought to tie him closely to the Republican leadership.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/governator-to-bush-cool-it/2006/10/26/1161749215563.html
Oil jumps $2 on OPEC cuts, US stock draw
Oil prices leapt more than three per cent to over $US61 on Wednesday after other OPEC members followed Saudi Arabia's lead in enforcing output cuts and US fuel stocks unexpectedly fell.
Prices also drew strength from news of fresh strife in Nigeria, where militant unrest has shut in more than a quarter of the OPEC member's production capacity.
US light crude settled up $2.05, or 3.45 per cent, to $US61.40 a barrel, the biggest one-day percentage gain since March 17. London Brent was $US2.19 higher at $US62.05 a barrel.
US crude had already risen 54 US cents on Tuesday after Abu Dhabi's state oil firm told major customers it would cut crude exports by about five per cent in November.
On Wednesday, an Iranian official said Iran had also informed customers it was cutting supplies by 176,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Oil-jumps-2-on-OPEC-cuts-US-stock-draw/2006/10/26/1161749215939.html
Kyoto denial costs farmers $2.5b in carbon trade cash
DURING the worst drought on record, farmers are losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of potential income because of the Federal Government's refusal to take part in carbon trading schemes, a climate change report says.
Current prices for carbon mean reductions in land clearing could provide farmers with income worth $1.8 billion between 2008-2012 under the Kyoto Protocol, analysis by the Climate Institute says.
Domestic emissions trading could have provided a further $700 million to $900 million over the same period for farmers keeping carbon in forests, according to a report commissioned by the National Farmers Federation earlier this year.
"These two studies together suggest that ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and implementing a national emissions trading scheme could provide farmers with an income stream of $2.5 billion over five years," said the institute's chief executive, Corin Millais.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/kyoto-denial-costs-farmers-25b-in-carbon-trade-cash/2006/10/25/1161749190647.html
Timor in chaos as leader murdered
SECURITY forces in East Timor fear violence will dramatically escalate in Dili after the execution of a leader of one of East Timor's biggest gangs.
The martial arts gang leader was shot in the head on a Dili street, where for weeks rival gangs have fought fiercely.
An Australian soldier was also involved in a shooting incident yesterday, the Australian Defence Force says, amid violence in Dili in which at least two people died and dozens were injured.
East Timor's army is also preparing to address the nation declaring its troops should no longer be confined to barracks because of the lawlessness, sources in Dili said last night.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/timor-in-chaos-as-leader-murdered/2006/10/25/1161749189170.html
All action, no talk at Pacific gathering
FOR three days the three prime ministers rubbed shoulders at the Denarau Island resort - posing for photos together in floral shirts, sitting across from each other at meetings, and going to the same dinners and lunches.
Yet despite although John Howard came to the Pacific Islands Forum with a host of outstanding issues with his Papua New Guinean and Solomon Islands counterparts, Sir Michael Somare and Manasseh Sogavare, the three managed to part ways with barely a word being exchanged between them.
Mr Howard flew out of Fiji yesterday afternoon, saying he had chosen not to meet his Solomons and PNG counterparts personally because "I thought those matters were best dealt with in the context of the forum".
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/all-action-no-talk-at-pacific-gathering/2006/10/25/1161749189164.html
Controversial paintings of Abu Ghraib
25 October 2006
Duration 01:26
Artist Fernando Botero struggles to exhibit paintings in the U.S.A. depicting U.S. soldiers' torture of detainees in Abu Ghraib.
http://media.smh.com.au/?sy=smh&category=bulletin&rid=22987&source=smh.com.au%2F&t=7L2076&ie=1&player=wm7&rate=240&flash=1
G-string grannies a hit in Poland
25 October 2006
Duration 00:52
Lace is so important to the women of Koniakow in southern Poland that after World War II they convinced the communist authorities to provide the towns with electricity so that they could produce more tablecloths and doilies. But times are changing and the famous lacework of Koniakow is changing with it.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22987f&ie=1&rid=22985&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&t=7L2076&flash=1
French social and racial tension builds
26 October 2006
Duration 01:52
As the first anniversary of last year's riots approaches, authorities are being warned that similar scenes could return to the poorest suburbs of Paris. Despite positive moves to improve poverty and unemployment, many youths remain disaffected and some have turned to violence.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22985f&ie=1&rid=22996&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&flash=1&t=7L2076
Putin fields questions in phone-in
26 October 2006
Duration 01:13
President Putin has been grilled by viewers live on state television in Russia. Yet, despite more than two hours on air, his future role remains unconfirmed.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22996f&ie=1&rid=22995&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&t=7L2076&flash=1
Putin to retain influence over Russia after leaving office
President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that he would not try to run for the presidency again but would retain influence even after leaving office in 2008 as required by the constitution.
"Even having lost the powers and the levers of presidential power and not tailoring the basic law according to my personal interests, I will manage to retain the most important thing that a person involved in politics must cherish - your trust," Putin said in a televised question-and-answer session.
"And using that, you and I will be able to exert influence on the life of our country and guarantee its development."
The immensely popular Putin is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term, but supporters and various regional groups, including in Chechnya, have called for a referendum on amending the country's basic law to allow Putin to stay in power.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/putin-to-retain-influence-over-russia-after-leaving-office/2006/10/25/1161749189215.html
Iraqi PM rejects US timetable
26 October 2006
Duration 01:14
Nuri al-Maliki says a US 'timeline' to end sectarian violence will not be imposed upon the Iraqi government. The Iraqi prime minister's comments appear to contradict a US announcement on Tuesday that suggested Iraqi leaders had agreed to a timetable of steps over the next year aimed at reducing sectarian violence that would enable American troops to begin pulling out.
http://media.smh.com.au/?source=int22995f&ie=1&rid=22994&player=wm7&rate=240&sy=smh&category=bulletin&flash=1&t=7L2076
Senate fight about race a strain on southern comfort
The Republicans are deploying dirty tricks in a key election contest, writes Michael Gawenda.
THE blonde, bare-shouldered woman smiles into the camera, holds up her hand as if she is speaking into a phone, winks and purrs: "Harold, call me."
Before her come-on-Harold moment, a guy with slicked-back hair says: "Harold accepts money from the pornography industry? Doesn't everyone?"
This is part of a 30-second, Republican-funded political ad, playing every half hour on television in Tennessee - part of a US election campaign marked by bitter rhetoric that would shock even Australia's seasoned political apparatchiks.
The Harold getting the come-on is Harold Ford, the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Tennessee. The ad has caused a national storm, because Ford is black. Rights organisations have accused the Republicans of playing the race card in a state with a history of lynching blacks for looking at white women, and the suggestion of inter-racial sex remains shocking.
Ford was incensed. He confronted Bob Corker, 54, his Republican rival, on a Nashville street and demanded something be done. "Bob Corker is going personal," Ford said. "If I had a dog, he'd be kicking him too."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/strain-on-southern-comfort/2006/10/25/1161749189185.html
Middle-class Mexicans pay to see how other half escapes
On the run… Mexican tourists in a park north of Mexico City race for cover in the darkness as they simulate illegally crossing the US border.James Hider in Valle de MezquitalOctober 26, 2006
THE red and blue lights from a patrol car flash through the dark and a voice calls out to the young Mexicans lurking in the bushes.
"Do not try to cross the river, do not trust the people you are following. We have food and water, we have burritos. We want to help you." As a shot rings out, three men dressed in the uniform of the border police chase a young man and wrestle him to the ground.
It could be any night on the Mexican-American border, but the mud-spattered wretches huddling in the dark are more than 1600 kilometres from the frontier - and only pretending to be migrants.
They are in fact middle-class Mexicans trying to understand the plight of 400,000 of their countrymen who make the illegal crossing into the US every year. They have paid about $25 each to spend the night being bitten by mosquitoes, running along muddy river banks and cowering in corn fields.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/middleclass-mexicans-pay-to-see-how-other-half-escapes/2006/10/25/1161749189188.html
For sale: Queen's desperate plea that changed course of history
IT IS the kind of letter that momentarily stops the hearts of manuscript experts. A moving three-page plea by Catherine of Aragon for help in trying to uphold her marriage to Henry VIII will be auctioned by Sotheby's.
Arguably, the letter played a part in changing English history - the split from Rome. The queen - Henry's first wife - miserable and at her wit's end, asks for help from her nephew Charles V, the Holy Roman emperor.
"There is no need for my relating to Your Highness the sufferings that I and my daughter undergo, as well in the treatment of our lives, as in the surprises and affronts which every day the King's Council puts upon us, for our troubles are matters of universal notoriety …"
Catherine wants Charles to use his influence to get Pope Clement VII to uphold her marriage.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/for-sale-queens-desperate-plea-that-changed-course-of-history/2006/10/25/1161749189182.html
More mothers are junking junk foods
October 26, 2006
Healthier … is it one Weet-Bick?Photo: David Tease
AUSTRALIAN mothers are finally getting the message about feeding their kids junk food, according to a Newspoll survey which shows nearly half claim to have cut back their children's intake of high-sugar breakfast cereals and a third saying their kids are consuming fewer chips, burgers, pies and fizzy drinks.
The survey, funded by Sanitarium, has triggered counter-claims from leading cereal makers, with Sanitarium, the maker of Weet-Bix, saying many food producers continued to deliberately confuse consumers with their nutritional claims.
"Those companies are really focused on the short term and have a vested interest in keeping the products they already have in the market," said Sanitarium's group brand manager for cereals, Andrew Hewson.
Mr Hewson said the high level of public mistrust of food marketing and health claims was working in Sanitarium's favour but fuzzy marketing and nutritional claims by the food sector was intensifying public cynicism. He said many companies were simply isolating a single nutritional claim for a product to make it appear healthy.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/more-mothers-are-junking-junk-foods/2006/10/25/1161749189331.html
This iPod user rocks
Stephen HutcheonOctober 25, 2006 - 12:40PM
Google Earth spotters have discovered a strange rock formation in the prairies of central Canada that resembles a native American in headdress listening to an iPod.
The rock formation is in Alberta, Canada about 300km southeast of Calgary, near the border with Saskatchewan.
Dubbed the Alberta Indian, the formation was discovered by a Google Earth spotter nicknamed Supergranny.
The area is situated in one of Canada's key gas fields. The nearest urban centre is Medicine Hat, a town of 56,000 known as "The Gas City" which claims to be Canada's sunniest spot.
The rock formation's "face" measures about 255m across and its about 225m long.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/this-ipod-user-rocks/2006/10/25/1161743788326.html
Past PM charged over law firm raid
THE former Solomon Islands prime minister Sir Allan Kemakeza, who invited Australian police into the country three years ago, was himself arrested yesterday and charged over a raid on a law firm, Sol-Law.
Australian partners of the firm were allegedly warned to leave the country.
One of the militiamen allegedly involved in the raid is also charged with the murder in late 2004 of an Australian police officer, Adam Dunning.
Kemakeza was prime minister from 2001 until April this year. He co-operated with Australian authorities and faced no charges in that period. He is now the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
Apparently to blunt claims that Australia is interfering in domestic politics, local police carried out yesterday's arrest. Kemakeza was charged over the alleged demanding of money with menaces, intimidation and larceny involving the former militiamen Chris Mae, Benedict Idu, James Tatau and Moses Su'u on May 24, 2002.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/past-solomons-pm-charged-over-law-firm-raid/2006/10/25/1161749189167.html
Washington Post
Iraqi Prime Minister Lambastes U.S.
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, October 25, 2006; 2:20 PM
BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lashed out at the United States Wednesday, saying his popularly elected government would not bend to U.S.-imposed benchmarks and timelines and criticizing a U.S. and Iraqi military operation in a Shiite slum of Baghdad that left at least five people dead and 20 wounded.
Maliki's comments came a day after U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the prime minister had agreed to timelines for accomplishing several critical goals, including developing plans to deal with militias, amend the constitution and equitably distribute Iraq's oil revenues.
"I affirm that this government represents the will of the people and no one has the right to impose a timetable on it," Maliki said Wednesday at a nationally televised news conference. "The Americans have the right to review their policies, but we do not believe in a timetables."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501138.html
Bush Acknowledges Discontent on Iraq
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 4:52 PM
President Bush said today he shares the American public's dissatisfaction with the situation in Iraq, but he warned against succumbing to "disillusionment" about the U.S. purpose there, asserted that "absolutely, we're winning," and expressed confidence in both Iraq's prime minister and his own defense secretary.
In a White House news conference, Bush also said he was sure his fellow Republicans would retain control of Congress in midterm elections on Nov. 7 because voters would base their decisions on national security and the economy. While some pundits are treating Republican losses as a foregone conclusion, Bush said, he sees a different picture on the campaign trail.
"You know, we've got some people dancing in the end zone here in Washington, D.C., measuring their drapes," he said. "But the American people are going to decide, and they're going to decide this race based upon who best to protect the American people and who best to keep the taxes low."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500342.html
The GOP Leans on A Proven Strategy
White House Courts Conservative Base
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; Page A01
Beset by discouraging polls and division within ideological ranks, the White House is accelerating efforts to woo back disaffected conservatives and energize the Republican base in a reprise of a strategy that succeeded in the last two campaign cycles.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney have given multiple interviews to conservative journalists, senior adviser Karl Rove has telephoned religious and social activists, and the White House has staged signing ceremonies for legislation cracking down on terrorism and illegal immigration. Two weeks before Election Day, Bush aides invited dozens of radio talk show hosts for a marathon broadcast from the White House yesterday to reach conservative listeners.
The message that Bush and others are sending to alienated supporters is that, no matter how upset they have been about various policies or political missteps over the past couple of years, life would be far worse under the Democrats. They name liberal lawmakers who would take charge of key committees and warn conservatives that taxes would go up and protection against terrorists would go down. And they cite, in particular, the confirmation of two conservative Supreme Court justices who might have been blocked by a Democratic Senate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401563.html
Congressional Countdown
Watching the Battle for Control in the House and Senate -- Oct. 25, 2006
A slew of new statewide polls hit the streets yesterday and today and, as we continue the Countdown to Election Day, the surveys foreshadow a wild finish to a very competitive battle for control of the Senate.
Mason-Dixon Political & Media Research conducted nine separate polls for MSNBC and McClatchy newspapers, while the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg did surveys in five of the nine states.
The polls confirmed that two incumbent Republican senators -- Ohio’s Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum -- are in deep trouble. DeWine trails Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown in polls by both news groups. Only Mason-Dixon polled in Pennsylvania, and that showed that Santorum, long considered the most vulnerable incumbent senator in the country, is running behind state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. in the Mason-Dixon survey. by 51 percent to 39 percent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign06/countdown.html
Fight For the Senate: Dole vs. Schumer
In the final stretch of any campaign year, the two national parties engage in a seemingly endless war of words -- fighting for even the smallest of rhetorical edges.Sen. Schumer says Democrats are "on the edge" of retaking the Senate. (AP)
An event today at the National Press Club was no exception. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Elizabeth Dole (N.C.) appeared on the same stage to offer remarkably similar arguments about the coming elections. Needless to say, they drew very different conclusions about the likely results.
"Republican candidates have nowhere to turn," said Schumer. "They are in a little room where all the doors are locked."
Dole, doing a bit of preelection damage control, said repeatedly that the difficult political environment had complicated her job almost from the start. It has been "very tough for Republicans for many months," she added.
Both Schumer and Dole agreed that the war in Iraq was the single biggest issue for voters in states with targeted Senate races. Schumer noted that Democrats running in Republican-leaning states like Virginia and Tennessee are airing political ads calling for a change of direction in Iraq. In contrast, he said, you'll see no GOP candidates mentioning the conflict in their ads.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/
Report Warns of Potential Voting Problems in 10 States
By Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; Page A03
Two weeks before the midterm elections, at least 10 states, including Maryland, remain ripe for voting problems, according to a study released yesterday by a nonpartisan clearinghouse that tracks electoral reforms across the United States.
The report by Electionline.org says those states, and possibly others, could encounter trouble on Election Day because they have a combustible mix of fledgling voting-machine technology, confusion over voting procedures or recent litigation over election rules -- and close races.
The report cautions that the Nov. 7 elections, which will determine which political party controls the House and Senate, promise "to bring more of what voters have come to expect since the 2000 elections -- a divided body politic, an election system in flux and the possibility -- if not certainty -- of problems at polls nationwide."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401168.html
NJ Court Stops Short of Gay Marriage OK
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:09 PM
TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey's Supreme Court opened the door to gay marriage Wednesday, ruling that homosexuals are entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals, but leaving it to lawmakers to legalize same-sex unions.
The high court gave lawmakers 180 days to rewrite marriage laws to either include same-sex couples or create a new system of civil unions for them.
The ruling is similar to the 1999 decision in Vermont that led to civil unions there, which offer the benefits of marriage, but not the name.
"Although we cannot find that a fundamental right to same-sex marriage exists in this state, the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state Constitution," Justice Barry T. Albin wrote for the 4-3 majority's decision.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500174.html
Putin Says He'll Retain Influence After Presidency
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, October 25, 2006; 1:34 PM
MOSCOW, Oct. 25 -- With his trademark indefatigability and command of detail, President Vladimir Putin fielded questions from ordinary Russians for nearly three hours Wednesday, in an annual televised session that has become a ritual of presidential stagecraft here.
Putin, who has sworn off amending the constitution to allow himself a third term, reiterated his determination to step down in 2008, but said he would continue to influence the country's direction.
"Even having lost the powers and the levers of presidential power and not tailoring the basic law according to my personal interests, I will manage to retain the most important thing that a person involved in politics must cherish -- your trust," said Putin. "And using that, you and I will be able to exert influence on the life of our country and guarantee its development."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501079.html
Former Iran Leader Wanted in Argentina
By OSCAR SERRAT
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:15 PM
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentine prosecutors asked a federal judge on Wednesday to order the arrest of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center that killed scores of people.
The decision to attack the center "was undertaken in 1993 by the highest authorities of the then-government of Iran," prosecutor Alberto Nisman said at a news conference.
He said the actual attack was entrusted to the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.
The worst terrorist attack ever on Argentine soil, the bombing of the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires killed 85 people and injured more than 200 when an explosive-laden vehicle detonated near the building.
Iran's government has vehemently denied any involvement in the attack following repeated accusations by Jewish community and other leaders here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501231.html
New Candidate May Be Sought for Deadlocked U.N. Election
By Bill Brubaker
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:10 PM
Guatemala and Venezuela may pull out of their contentious race for a United Nations Security Council seat to negotiate a compromise candidate, diplomats said today.
Foreign ministers from the two Latin American nations plan to meet in New York tomorrow morning to discuss alternative candidates for the two-year seat, wire services reported this afternoon.
"They accept in principal that they will withdraw their candidacies. But they are not set on a third country," Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Sardenberg said, according to the Reuters news agency. "We encouraged them to reach a solution quickly, and we expressed our willingness to go for a consensus."
The two countries have been slugging it out for two weeks, to no avail. Guatemala has consistently attracted the most votes from the 192-member General Assembly, but it has not achieved the two-thirds majority required to win the prized seat.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501057.html
GM and Chrysler Report Earnings Losses
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 3:44 PM
General Motors Corp. and the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler AG reported losses today as automakers try to steer through a harsh period of high costs and sharp competition in the U.S. market.
GM, the world's largest automaker, reported a loss of $115 million in the third quarter, an improvement from the same quarter a year ago when the company lost $1.7 billion. While GM is showing signs of recovery, its American rivals are suffering.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501267.html
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged
By Nell Henderson
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; 3:00 PM
Federal Reserve policymakers decided to hold short-term interest rates steady today, but left the door open to raising them in coming months if inflation stays too high.
"Some inflation risks remain," the central bank's policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after a two-day meeting.
The group noted that economic growth has slowed this year, partly because of the sharp downturn in the housing market. But the policymakers also said they expect the economy to "expand at a moderate pace" going forward.
Stock prices rose shortly after the Fed's announcement, as investors concluded interest-rate policy will remain on hold for some time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500229.html
Gov't Panel Recommends Shingles Vaccine
By GREG BLUESTEIN
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 5:09 PM
ATLANTA -- An influential government advisory panel voted Wednesday to recommend routine vaccines to protect older adults against shingles.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the vaccine for adults 60 and over. The committee's recommendations usually are accepted by federal health officials, and they influence insurance coverage for vaccinations.
Shingles is a painful, blistering skin rash that is most common in people 60 and older. It usually goes away after four weeks, but one in five shingles sufferers develops excruciating long-term nerve pain known as postherpetic neuralgia. Complications also can include scarring and loss of vision or hearing.
Antiviral medications are only of limited help, and some doctors say they do not prevent shingles from progressing into postherpetic neuralgia.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500654.html
Study Finds Flu Shots Are Safe for Kids
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated PressWednesday, October 25, 2006; 7:47 AM
CHICAGO -- The biggest study ever to look at the side effects of flu shots in children confirmed that the vaccine is safe for babies and toddlers.
Researchers studied 45,000 U.S. children and found almost no side effects requiring medical treatment during the six weeks after the youngsters were vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 90 children under 5 die of the flu each season.
Flu vaccine has a good safety record, the researchers wrote, though some formulations have been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare paralyzing disorder.
With the shots now recommended for all children younger than 5, the findings are reassuring, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the study.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500274.html
ZoneAlarm's New Auto-Updater Prompts Confusion
While I was out in San Diego for a security conference last month, I struck up a conversation with a guy from Check Point Technologies, which makes the popular ZoneAlarm line of firewall products. I asked him whether the company had considered adding an auto-update feature to help users stay on top of new versions of the software that it seems to ship about once every month or two.
The guy I met forwarded my query to Laura Yecies, vice president and general manager of CheckPoint's consumer and small business division. Turns out that sometime in June an update the company shipped to the (free and pay) 6.5.x versions of ZoneAlarm allows the program to silently download and install fixes on its own. Yecies said the company switched on the auto-update for two reasons.
"One was just the convenience feature, where we can do bug fixes or security improvements with just a patch and that saves the customer the inconvenience of having to install a whole new product," Yecies said, though she acknowledged that customers will from time to time still be prompted to install new versions of ZoneAlarm. "The other reason is that in emergency situations where we're concerned that vulnerability exists in our product, we can ship a security patch quickly."
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/
Hip-Hop Editor Wins Suit Over Her Firing
By Peter Carlson
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, October 25, 2006; Page C01
After a tumultuous two-week trial, Kimberly Osorio, a former editor in chief of the Source magazine, won a workplace lawsuit against the popular hip-hop monthly, and a Manhattan jury awarded her $15.5 million.
"This is a victory for women in hip-hop," Osorio told the hip-hop Web site SOHH.com after the verdict Monday night. "I stood up and I won."
Osorio, who was fired by the Source last year, sued the magazine and its founders, David Mays and Raymond Scott, alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination, defamation, retaliatory discharge and maintaining a hostile work environment. The defendants responded that Osorio was fired in March 2005 for "poor performance," including her decision to publish a cover photo of rapper Nelly without his posse and running a negative review of a CD by rapper Fat Joe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401500.html
New Zealand Herald
MP accused of scaremongering over vaccination
Thursday October 26, 2006By Paula Oliver
The Government is being forced to defend its meningococcal vaccination programme after new figures showed that ACC has accepted 33 claims for adverse reactions to the jab.
One of the claims - highlighted by National's health spokesman Tony Ryall - is from an 8-year-old girl who developed a severe blood disorder.
The girl's specialist had concluded that she had developed the disorder as a result of the vaccine, Mr Ryall said.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson admitted during Parliament's question time yesterday that he was unaware of the Accident Compensation Corporation claims when he said last week that there were no significant adverse events associated with the meningococcal B vaccine.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407654
Tribe puts a stop on logging in state forest
Thursday October 26, 2006By Anne Beston
A Maori tribe has blocked logging in a state-owned forest claiming the presence of sacred burial sites, which it cannot identify.
Crown Forestry has given up its legal battle to harvest pines on four blocks of the Waiuku State Forest on the northern banks of the Waikato River after losing an Environment Court appeal against a Waikato Regional Council decision not to allow logging because of Maori concerns.
Crown Forestry operations manager Warwick Foran said: "We won't appeal. The judge has ruled the effects on Maori are greater than the benefit of allowing harvesting."
He could not put a figure on what the harvesting would have been worth.
Ngati Te Ata told the Environment Court all four blocks over an area of 305ha were waahi tapu, or sacred, and it was not willing to identify particular sites.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407665
US takes time out to focus on Pacific
Thursday October 26, 2006By Ruth Berry
NADI - The United States is taking a renewed interest in the Pacific, partly because of the valuable votes Pacific Island states have in the United Nations General Assembly, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill revealed in Fiji yesterday.
Mr Hill has been busy trying to help resolve the crisis caused by North Korean nuclear testing but took time out to attend his second annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting.
His boss, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had also wanted him to attend, "although in light of the situation in Korea I know a lot of my colleagues were wondering what I was doing down here," he said.
"But I think you know in general I'd like to see us do more in the Pacific Island states. Each of them has the same number of votes as the United States has in the UN General Assembly.
"We're very aware of that. I think that this is the kind of place that if you pay some attention to it and show interest that can really pay dividends."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407622
Government looks at fishing quota for amateur anglers
Thursday October 26, 2006By Mike Houlahan
Commercial fishers may receive compensation under a plan to entrench the rights of recreational fishers and Maori.
Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton yesterday released a discussion document on proposals for managing shared fisheries - sea life caught by recreational, commercial and customary fishers, such as snapper, blue cod, kahawai, paua and rock lobster.
One proposal would see the Government maintain and protect a minimum tonnage of some species for amateur fishers, which would have priority over the commercial take. Tonnages would be reduced only if the species was no longer commercially fished and it was becoming unsustainable.
If such a change significantly affected commercial fishers' economic interests the Government would look at compensation, Mr Anderton said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407620
Volcano joins in test run for lahar emergency
Thursday October 26, 2006By Juliet Rowan
An exercise to test emergency services' response to a lahar was held at Mt Ruapehu yesterday amid real rumblings beneath the active volcano.
Hundreds of people from several agencies were involved in the exercise, which began with the artificial triggering of the lahar warning system.
The Eastern Ruapehu Lahar Warning System was triggered for real on October 4, when a small eruption sent 6m waves across the crater lake.
Yesterday's exercise was planned before the eruption, and has been held annually for the past six years.
But GNS Science said it followed two small volcanic earthquakes under the mountain on Tuesday.
Duty geohazards officer Ken Gledhill said the earthquakes measured about magnitude 2 on the Richter scale, and indicated that volcanic activity was "happening at depth".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407581
Tsunami alert works, MPs told
Thursday October 26, 2006By Mike Houlahan
Civil Defence will be able to give timely warnings of impending tsunamis in most situations, MPs were told yesterday.
New Zealand's tsunami alert system has been under review since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami killed tens of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and Africa. The country's preparedness came under further scrutiny in May after the BBC reported a tsunami heading for New Zealand.
At the Government administration select committee yesterday, Labour MP Dover Samuels sought a reassurance from Internal Affairs department chief executive Christopher Blake that if a tsunami were to strike his isolated Northland community he would have received sufficient warning to evacuate.
Mr Blake said since the May scare, when a communications breakdown saw local media carry the BBC story unaware that the tsunami alert had been withdrawn, an agreement had been reached with radio stations about carrying emergency warnings, and a similar agreement with television channels was close to being signed off.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407579
Owners of leaky homes face ruin
Thursday October 26, 2006
Homeowners have appealed to MPs to help "average Kiwis" affected by the leaky homes debacle.
In May the Government brought legislation before Parliament to improve the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service.
The service was established in 2002 to resolve disputes between owners of leaky homes and developers, but has struggled to resolve disputes.
Janet Pawson told Parliament's social services select committee yesterday that she and her husband were facing a $250,000 repair bill on their "dream family home".
"Someone in authority needs to ensure that your house has been built properly," she said.
Mrs Pawson and her husband also own a 24-unit leaky apartment building . Because both buildings were built more than 10 years ago they are not eligible for mediation services.
Mrs Pawson said they had already spent $40,000 filing compensation claims at the High Court and expected to spend several thousand more.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407597
US signals a move out of Iraq possible in 12 to 18 months
Thursday October 26, 2006By Rupert Cornwell and Colin Brown
In the firmest indication yet of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, America's most senior general there and its top civilian official in the US have drawn the outlines of a political and military plan that could see a substantial pullout of United States troops within 12 to 18 months.
Yesterday's announcement looked like a strategy change, although President George W. Bush's aides deny any "dramatic shifts" in policy.
It came after Bush's spokesman acknowledged that the President had cut and run from his signature promise that America would "stay the course" in Iraq.
In a joint press conference in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador, laid out a series of political steps that he claimed had been agreed to by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, including a crackdown on militias, a peace offer to insurgents and a plan for sharing oil revenues.
The measures, to be taken over the next year, would amount to a new "national compact" between the Iraqi factions, he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10407628
Violence closes Dili airport as two die in gang clashes
Thursday October 26, 2006By Lirio Da Fonseca
DILI - Two people died in renewed violence in Dili yesterday in clashes that closed the East Timorese capital's airport.
Youth gangs armed with guns, bows and arrows and rocks fought battles near the airport and burned 12 houses.
The first clash happened late on Tuesday on a main road leading to the airport, with one person shot dead. Another clash broke out early yesterday, killing another resident.
Australian troops guarding the airport opened fire on an armed man who approached them in a threatening way, a spokesman for Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said. The man fled and it was unclear whether he was wounded.
The closure of the airport highlights the fragile security in the fledging nation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407663
Not being Republican enough to sway voters
Thursday October 26, 2006By Rupert Cornwell
WASHINGTON - Independent voters are flocking to the Democrats ahead of next month's mid-term Congressional elections, strengthening the prospect of a resounding victory by the party in the House of Representatives, and boosting hopes that it could capture the Senate as well.
According to a devastating poll in the Washington Post, self-proclaimed independents - who account for about a third of the electorate - now say they will vote for Democrats rather than Republicans in their congressional district by a margin of 59 per cent to 31 per cent, usually citing disillusion with the war in Iraq as the prime reason.
However, the change of heart reflects no great surge in affection for the Democrats. Half of independents who had changed their minds said their vote would be in protest at Republican policies. Only 22 per cent said they were enthusiastically embracing the Democrats.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407606
Ousted rulers masters of a wide area in Afghanistan
Thursday October 26, 2006By David Loyn
HELMAND PROVINCE - Racing at high speed across the desert in the north of Helmand province, our convoy was kicking up a dust-storm that could be seen from space.
A couple of saloon cars and four trucks, with fighters dangling their legs over the side.
The Taleban were demonstrating their control over a wide region.
These are the same Taleban that Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of British forces in the region, said were "practically defeated" in Helmand.
Instead, they are confident and well-armed, all with AK 47s, and many carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers, which they use with lethal effect against helicopters as well as armoured vehicles and supply convoys.
We shot past the burned-out remains of a Spartan armoured personnel carrier, destroyed on August 1 with the loss of three British lives.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407621
Evidence of CIA jails in Europe
Thursday October 26, 2006
BERLIN - The German Government was yesterday alleged to have received first-hand evidence that the CIA had begun torturing terrorist suspects at secret prisons in Europe shortly after the September 11 attacks despite claims that it only knew about such sites through the media.
Stern magazine quoted a leaked German intelligence report which said that only weeks after September 11, two of its agents and a translator had visited a United States military prison at the American "Eagle Base" in the Bosnian town of Tuzla, where they witnessed a torture victim.
The German intelligence report said US interrogators at the base had beaten a 70-year-old terrorist suspect with rifle butts and that "his injuries meant that he had to be given 20 stitches to the head wound he sustained". The report added the American interrogator responsible "appeared to be proud" of his actions.
Stern said the German agents had also been given access to documents confiscated by the Americans which were "smeared with blood". One agent was said to have compared the actions of the US interrogators to Serbian war criminals during the break up of Yugoslavia. "The Serbs ended up before the international court in the Hague for this kind of thing."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407626
Down in the polls and he didn't even vote for Bush
Thursday October 26, 2006By Jason Szep
PROVIDENCE - Lincoln Chafee, the only Republican US senator to vote against the Iraq war, often breaks ranks with his party to survive in one of the nation's most liberal states.
But Rhode Island may break ranks with Chafee, ousting one of the most moderate Republican voices and handing the Democrats one of six key seats needed to seize control of the Senate.
Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse is casting the November 7 election as a referendum on President George W. Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, saying not just Rhode Island's future but the direction of the country is at stake.
Trailing in recent polls, Chafee is stressing his unique brand of Republicanism - from championing environmental issues to fighting Bush's tax cuts, pressing for direct talks with Iran and even voting against Bush in the 2004 election.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407605
Cold reality of Chinese occupation
Thursday October 26, 2006By Justin Huggler
A few minutes of jerky video footage shot by a Romanian cameraman on a mountaineering trip brought the plight of Tibetans under Chinese rule into Western living rooms this month.
For once, the world was able to watch the cruelty of occupation as it played out. In the video, a Chinese border guard calmly opens fire from a mountain ridge on a group of unarmed, defenceless Tibetans below, as they struggled through the snow to escape from occupied Tibet.
Two figures drop to the ground.
"They're shooting them like, like dogs," says an incredulous voice, one of the other mountaineers standing beside the cameraman. And then the camera trains on the dead body of one of the Tibetans in the distance.
It was a moment that changed the way the world looks at China. In recent years, all the talk has been of a liberalised China, the world's fastest growing economy that has put the worst excesses of its totalitarian past behind it. But this was a rare glimpse of another China, and of a modern-day Iron Curtain.
For once, there were witnesses.
Now the full story of what happened that day in the Himalayas has emerged. Survivors have spoken out in Delhi this week, and their accounts can be pieced together with those of the mountaineers who witnessed the shooting.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407604
UK wants Iraq pullout in a year, US official says
2.40pm Wednesday October 25, 2006By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON - The British military hopes to withdraw troops from Iraq within about a year and London wants to focus on the war in Afghanistan, a US defence official said on Tuesday.
British officials had told US counterparts the British military was "near the breaking point" due to long deployments in Iraq and weak retention of personnel, said the official, asking not to be identified.
The official's comments offered the first hint Britain's military may have a timetable for withdrawal in mind.
"It's about a year, give or take a few months," the official said.
But another US defence official played down the withdrawal issue, and no immediate comment was available from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government.
The official said British discussions about troop levels were part of regular, internal military reviews and that the British government had not approached senior US officials with adjustment plans or timetables.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407558
South Korea's minister on North to resign, reports say
2.25pm Wednesday October 25, 2006
SEOUL - South Korea's point man on North Korea has offered to resign, South Korean media reported on Wednesday, the third national security minister to be replaced soon if the offer is accepted.
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, a North Korean expert, has been criticised for not being tough enough against Pyongyang, which conducted its first nuclear test on October 9 defying international warnings and shocking the world.
Lee made the offer to resign to President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday, the reports said. The presidential Blue House and Unification Ministry declined to immediately confirm the reports or comment on whether Roh would accept the offer.
South Korean Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung has also offered to resign, a Blue House official said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is expected to be replaced soon after being selected the next secretary-general of the United Nations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407555
EU warns Beijing over trade disputes
2.20pm Wednesday October 25, 2006
The European Commission has warned Beijing it will haul China before the World Trade Organisation if future trade disputes can't be resolved through talks.
Unveiling a new strategy for EU-China trade relations, the European Commission said China would face a political backlash in Europe if it did not play by the rules of international commerce.
The EU trade chief, Peter Mandelson, told a news conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg that China had reached a stage in its development when the rest of the world was entitled to ask for more compliance.
Laying out Europe's demands, the British commissioner said the EU wanted China to fulfill its WTO obligations and continue to open its markets and liberalise trade in services and investment.
Since it joined the WTO in 2001, China's economy has been gradually opening up to European and other foreign exporters.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407542
Scientists denounce Libya for jailing health workers
1.20pm Wednesday October 25, 2006By Steve Connor
Leading Aids scientists have denounced Libya for the wrongful imprisonment and torture of six foreign healthcare workers who are accused of deliberately infecting 400 Libyan children with HIV.
In a letter to the journal Science, the scientists claim that studies have proved beyond doubt that the Aids virus was present in the Al Fateh Benghazi Children's Hospital before the arrival of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor.
The letter is signed by Luc Montagnier, formerly of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and Robert Gallo, formerly of the National Cancer Institute in Washington, who shared the credit for discovering HIV more than 20 years ago.
"The examination of hospital records showed that without question HIV-infected children were admitted to several wards of the Al Fateh Benghazi Children's Hospital in 1997 and early 1998...before the arrival in Libya of the six accused," the letter says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407511
Sogavare says leaders back him on Ramsi
UPDATED 1.55pm Wednesday October 25, 2006
NADI, Fiji - The Solomon Islands prime minister today claimed as a victory a decision by Pacific leaders to review the Australian-led Ramsi peace mission in his country.
The Pacific Islands Forum yesterday undertook to review the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Island (Ramsi).
The 16 members of the forum decided to leave Australia's lead role largely intact, instead agreeing to set up two mechanisms to monitor Ramsi's performance.
However, Solomons Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare - who had sought to reduce Australia's role in Ramsi- said he was pleased with the outcome and claimed his five-point plan had been adopted.
"It was on the basis of that concern that the leaders decided to send a taskforce to the Solomon Islands," he told reporters in Nadi today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407533
Nicaragua's 'grand canal' dream in sight
1.00pm Wednesday October 25, 2006By Catherine Bremer
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Five centuries after Spain's King Carlos V first thought of cutting a canal through Nicaragua to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the tiny nation has a date in sight for a "Grand Canal" to dwarf Panama's.
As Panama prepares to widen its congested 92-year-old waterway to squeeze through more of today's bigger ships, Nicaragua plans to build a bigger, deeper canal by 2019 to cater to the supersized freighters of the future.
An international tender for a consortium of private companies to build and operate the canal, which would generate much-needed royalties for the impoverished nation, could be launched by the end of 2007, planners say.
"We are not competing with Panama. We are complementary. We are doing different things," said Mario Alonso, president of the Central American nation's canal commission and a former central bank chief.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407500
Senior US Republican testifies in sex scandal probe
10.20am Wednesday October 25, 2006
WASHINGTON - The top Republican in the US House of Representatives went before investigators on Tuesday in the Capitol Hill sex scandal that has rocked his party as it tries to keep control of Congress in the November 7 elections.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois went behind closed doors with the bipartisan congressional ethics panel for what was expected to be at least a few hours of questioning about what he knew and what he did about the troublesome behaviour by disgraced Representative Mark Foley toward teenage interns.
Foley, a Florida Republican, abruptly resigned last month following disclosure he sent lurid electronic messages to teenage boys.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10407491
Low-tech filter turns muck to drinking water
Thursday October 26, 2006By Jarrod Booker
A water purification device developed in New Zealand that can operate without electricity could bring widespread benefits around the world.
Christchurch inventor Russell Kelly has also caught the eye of Nasa, which has been so impressed with his invention it has allowed him to use its iodine technology (used for treating waste) and Certified Space Foundation brand - as it believes the devices will have a "significant beneficial impact on mankind".
"I didn't realise what a big deal it was at the time," said Mr Kelly, who set out four years ago to create filter systems that could be used in remote areas with badly polluted water supplies.
Although still in production, the devices are already engendering a buzz worldwide. The Kenyan Government wants them to supply to its nomadic Masai tribes and several global aid agencies are planning to work with Mr Kelly to get the systems to those most in need.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10407641
Health officials target workplace vending machines
Thursday October 26, 2006By Errol Kiong
Workplace food-vending machines are the next target in the battle against obesity.
Health officials want to restrict their contents, and say they could use health and safety legislation as a way to improve what people eat.
A university nutritionist has welcomed the idea, but says it would be impossible to enforce.
The 1992 Health and Safety in Employment Act could be applied to staff food supplies, says the Law Society, although making an employer responsible for what employees ate would be difficult.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10407661
MP accused of scaremongering over vaccination
Thursday October 26, 2006By Paula Oliver
The Government is being forced to defend its meningococcal vaccination programme after new figures showed that ACC has accepted 33 claims for adverse reactions to the jab.
One of the claims - highlighted by National's health spokesman Tony Ryall - is from an 8-year-old girl who developed a severe blood disorder.
The girl's specialist had concluded that she had developed the disorder as a result of the vaccine, Mr Ryall said.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson admitted during Parliament's question time yesterday that he was unaware of the Accident Compensation Corporation claims when he said last week that there were no significant adverse events associated with the meningococcal B vaccine.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10407654
continued ...
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