Seattle Post Intelligencer

Have city job, will travelMunicipal employees, elected officials are often on the road, with modest oversight
By KATHY MULADYP-I REPORTER
First there was the trip to Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest film and music festival. Next, James Keblas jetted to San Francisco and Hollywood to investigate nightlife. Then it was off to Scotland for Cineposium, an international film industry conference. In January, the director of the Mayor's Office for Film and Music headed to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah for six days.
Records show that Keblas spent almost $11,000 in taxpayer money on travel during his first nine months in office.
He wasn't the only well-traveled city employee.
Last year, hundreds of Seattle employees racked up $2.4 million in out-of-city travel expenses, including $909,000 spent by Seattle City Light, the city-run electric utility. But despite its travel bills, the city has no computerized database or central oversight of employee travel. In fact, travel has not been audited citywide in 10 years.
And that means few expenses are questioned outside of individual departments, leaving the city's nearly 40 department managers to unilaterally OK conference, workshop and training travel -- often in far-flung or fun destinations.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/293277_travelx22.html


State Supreme Court upholds conviction in medical marijuana case
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The state Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Skamania County woman who used marijuana to relieve chronic pain.
In the 6-3 decision today the court said Sharon Lee Tracy failed to prove that she qualified under Washington's medical marijuana law -- Initiative 692, which passed in 1998. She had a California medical marijuana card but it was not entered as part of the evidence.
Tracy was convicted of possession and manufacture of marijuana.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge James Johnson says the court should have recognized voter intent for the compassionate use of marijuana.


Judge: No class-action suit over Vioxx
By JANET MCCONNAUGHEYASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW ORLEANS -- Thousands of federal lawsuits claiming the drug Vioxx caused heart attacks and other conditions that killed or injured people cannot be pooled into one national class action, a judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon, who was appointed to deal with pretrial matters for all federal suits involving Merck & Co.'s withdrawn painkiller, did not rule on the possibility of separate class-actions suits for each state and the District of Columbia.
His 25-page ruling rejected the plaintiffs' proposal to try all of the cases under the laws in New Jersey. They argued that the company should reasonably expect to follow the laws of the state where it is headquartered.
"While this is true, it is just as true that Merck, an international corporation providing its drugs to every state in the nation, should expect to abide by every jurisdiction's laws," Fallon wrote.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/1500AP_Vioxx_Trials.html


Rainier Valley barber shop owner flees U.S.Facing sentencing in plea deal, he phones FBI to say he's in Somalia
By PAUL SHUKOVSKYP-I REPORTER
Ruben Shumpert, who federal agents allege made his Rainier Valley barber shop a kind of "anti-American training ground for Muslims" where children were taught "how to shoot and fight the Americans," has telephoned the FBI to say he won't be going to prison anytime soon.
Shumpert, who faces sentencing on federal counterfeiting and weapons charges, has fled to Somalia.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Shumpert, who is also known as Amir Abdul Muhaimin, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Redkey said. He was to be sentenced Tuesday.
Shumpert -- an African American convert to Islam -- was among more than a dozen, mostly African immigrants from Islamic countries arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force two years ago on a mix of charges, including immigration fraud and bank fraud.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/293279_antiamerican22.html


Yellow rain gear key to hiker's rescueClothing she found helped catch pilot's eye
By HECTOR CASTROP-I REPORTER
They were too big to wear, but a pair of bright yellow rain pants that Cindy Wysocki found during her two days lost in the wilderness proved to be a perfect rescue beacon.
The 31-year-old lawyer, who survived in the Snoqualmie National Forest for two nights and two days, used those yellow pants Monday afternoon to wave down a King County sheriff's helicopter searching for her.
"I was just really glad that they were there, because I was thinking that this next night was going to be a really hard time," Wysocki told KOMO-AM radio reporter Kristin Hanes in an interview the station shared with local

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/293293_hiker22.html


October deadliest month ever in Iraq
By STEVEN R. HURSTASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- At least 101 Iraqis died in the country's unending sectarian slaughter Wednesday, and the U.N. reported that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll of the war and one that is sure to be eclipsed when November's dead are counted.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq also said citizens were fleeing the country at a pace of 100,000 each month, and that at least 1.6 million Iraqis have left since the war began in March 2003.
Life for Iraqis, especially in Baghdad and cities and towns in the center of the country, has become increasingly untenable. Many schools failed to open at all in September, and professionals - especially professors, physicians, politicians and journalists - are falling to sectarian killers at a stunning pace.
Lynchings have been reported as Sunnis and Shiites conduct a merciless campaign of revenge killings. Some Shiite residents in the north Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriyah claim that militiamen and death squads are holding Sunni captives in warehouses, then slaughtering them at the funerals of Shiites killed in the tit-for-tat murders.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iraq.html


Chemical plant explodes near Boston
By GLEN JOHNSONASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DANVERS, Mass. -- A chemical plant outside Boston blew up Wednesday with a roar so thunderous that people thought it was an earthquake or a plane crash, destroying two dozen homes in the tightly packed neighborhood but causing only minor injuries.
The fiery blast flattened the CAI Inc., a manufacturer of solvents and inks, around 3 a.m., knocking buildings off their foundations, shredding roofs and shattering windows in neighboring Salem. The explosion could be heard more than 20 miles away.
"I was in bed and then next thing I knew, I was on my feet. I saw the flames and grabbed my clothes. My first thought was that an airplane crashed," said Paul O'Donnell, an aircraft mechanic, "but then I thought it was too early for that."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Massachusetts_Explosion.html


Calif. cities reject coal-fired power
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Southern California is gambling its future power needs on its constant sunshine, wind and the ability of engineers to effectively harness those and other alternative energy sources.
Officials in Pasadena, Anaheim and several other large cities notified the Intermountain Power Agency this week that they would not be renewing their contracts for cheap, coal-fired power.
Those contracts expire in 2027. That leaves the cities two decades to secure the alternative energy sources they'll need, from wind farms to desert solar power.
"It's a huge change," said Mayor Todd Campbell of Burbank, among the cities that decided Tuesday to not renew its contract. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had already given notice to the Utah-based power agency. Glendale and Riverside also joined the group.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Calif_Clean_Energy.html


Woman, 92, dies in shootout with police
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA -- A police official said narcotics officers were justified in returning fire on a 92-year-old woman they shot to death after she shot them as they tried to serve a warrant at her house.
Neighbors and relatives said it was a case of mistaken identity. But police said the woman, identified as Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in the house at the time and had lived there for about 17 years.
Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in shooting once they were fired upon.
As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_Elderly_Shootout.html


U.S. to implement passport requirement
By BEVERLEY LUMPKINASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Virtually all air travelers entering the United States beginning Jan. 23 will need to show passports - even U.S. citizens, the Homeland Security Department announced Wednesday.
Until now, U.S. citizens, travelers from Canada and Bermuda, and some travelers from Mexico who have special border-crossing cards for frequent visitors were allowed to show other proofs of identification, such as drivers' licenses or birth certificates.
"The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist to carry out an attack," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1155AP_Passports_Air_Travel.html


Some Muslims call airport detention bias
By JOSHUA FREEDASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MINNEAPOLIS -- The police report listed the incident as "Security-Other," but some saw the detention of six imams at the airport here as a case of "Flying while Muslim" - the idea that Muslims come in for extra scrutiny when they fly.
The imams were removed from the flight to Phoenix on Monday night after three of them said their normal evening prayers in the terminal in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport before boarding, said Omar Shahin, president of the North American Imams Federation, who was one of the passengers removed. The passengers were among 150 imams who attended a federation meeting in Minneapolis.
"It's discrimination," Shahin said, calling for a boycott of US Airways.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Passengers_Removed.html


Fusion reactor deal sets stage for energy revolution7 partners hope to mimic sun's power source
By ANGELA CHARLTONTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS -- Physicists have dreamt about it for decades: harnessing the fusion process that powers the sun to make clean, safe and limitless energy. A multinational pact signed Tuesday may bring that dream a step closer to reality.
Seven partners representing half the world's population have agreed to build an experimental fusion reactor in southern France that could revolutionize global energy use for future generations.
Yet it is also just an experiment -- a bold, long-awaited, $12.8 billion experiment -- and it will be decades before scientists are even sure it works.
The ITER project by the United States, the European Union, China, India, Russia, Japan and South Korea will attempt to combat global warming by offering an alternative to fossil fuels. Controlling climate change and finding new energy sources are urgent goals for a growing global population.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/293264_nukefusion22.html


More babies out of wedlock, but don't blame teensBirth rate among girls ages 10 to 17 falls to record low
By MIKE STOBBETHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA -- Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday.
While out-of-wedlock births have long been associated with teen mothers, the birth rate among girls ages 10 to 17 actually dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in their 20s.
Experts said the overall rise reflects the burgeoning number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married. They said it also reflects the fact that having a child out of wedlock is not necessarily the source of shame it once was.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/293280_births22.html


Rape case has Saudis asking questions about legal systemWoman who says she was raped faces punishment
By DONNA ABU-NASRTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AL-AWWAMIYA, Saudi Arabia -- When the young woman went to the police a few months ago to report that she was gang-raped by seven men, she never imagined that the judge would punish her -- and that she would be sentenced to more lashes than one of her rapists received.
The story of the Girl of Qatif, as the alleged rape victim has been called by the media here, has triggered a rare debate about Saudi Arabia's legal system, in which judges have wide discretion in punishing a criminal, rules of evidence are shaky and sometimes no defense lawyers are present.
The result, critics say, are sentences left to the whim of judges. These include one in which a group of men got heavier sentences for harassing women than the men in the Girl of Qatif rape case or three men who were convicted of raping a boy. In another, a woman was ordered to divorce her husband against her will based on a demand by her relatives.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/293230_saudi22.html


Aerospace Notebook: Bothell company may offer Internet in skies
By JAMES WALLACEP-I REPORTER
[Editor's Note: This story has been altered since it was first published. The company name of Panasonic Avionics was previously misstated.
Plug in your iPod at 36,000 feet and watch the latest downloaded movies or TV shows on the seatback monitor in front of you.
Make calls on your cell phone or BlackBerry, or send and receive text and instant messages.
Use your laptop to surf the Internet with high-speed broadband service.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/293252_air22.html


Puget Sound Energy offers incentive planIt's aimed at those generating electricity on own
By BILL VIRGINP-I REPORTER
Generating more electricity than you know what to do with? Puget Sound Energy might like to buy some of it from you.
There are some catches to the incentive program the Bellevue-based utility announced Tuesday: The electricity has to come from wind, solar or anaerobic digester systems and from customers already connected to Puget's system.
Those consumers, businesses, government organizations, school districts and non-profits that qualify could receive 15 to 54 cents for every kilowatt-hour of power they generate and sell to Puget, with an annual cap of $2,000 per customer.
What price those customers receive depends on whether the electricity was generated with made-in-Washington equipment. The highest level of credit, for example, would go to a customer using solar modules and an inverter, both made in the state.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/293256_pugetenergy22.html



New Zealand Herald

Wary eyes on bushfire near Sydney

Thursday November 23, 2006
SYDNEY - Firefighters battling a huge bushfire burning out of control in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney said it posed a serious threat to property if winds intensified.
The blaze has burned more than 8000ha of bushland across a broad front about 4km north of the township of Blackheath.
Yesterday, it had not pushed through the Grose Valley because predicted strong winds had not eventuated - gusts of up to 70 km/h were expected, but they were blowing at only half that strength.
Forecasters were still warning of gusts up to 45 km/h and temperatures over 30C.
A New South Wales Fire Brigades strike team was sent to Mt Tomah in case the fire broke out towards property in the lower Grose Valley.
They are among more than 400 firefighters fighting the blaze.
A reconnaissance plane was plotting the fire's course, and 15 aircraft were ready to start waterbombing.
Fire crews were trying to consolidate a 35km containment line



Minister: I'm too busy to join a sex club
Thursday November 23, 2006
Investigate magazine claimed last night that Cabinet Minister David Benson-Pope is a member of a sado-masochistic sex club.
The publication said on its website that Mr Benson-Pope was a member of Southern Kinx, which lists itself as a bondage and discipline sado-masochism (BDSM) club.
One club member said that Mr Benson-Pope, MP for Dunedin South, was not a member. Mr Benson-Pope said that he had taken legal advice about Investigate editor Ian Wishart and his lawyer had been in contact with television networks.
"Enough is enough. You've seen my diary. When would I have time for this?" he said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10412063


Doctors warning over immunisation rates
7.45am Thursday November 23, 2006
Doctors have warned of a resurgence of lethal diseases after figures were released showing more than 20 per cent of New Zealand babies miss out on essential vaccinations by five months of age.
The Health Ministry said 95 per cent of children should be vaccinated, but the first figures from the new National Immunisation Register show that while 87 per cent of babies get their first six-week jab, and 84 per cent their second at three months, by five months only 78 per cent are vaccinated.
The Press reported that doctors warned that if immunisations rates got too low, then a range of childhood diseases, including whooping cough and measles, could become more prevalent.
Immunisation Advisory Centre director Dr Nikki Turner told the newspaper the rates were "extremely concerning if they are correct".
She said a national survey last year showed rates of nearly 90 per cent for the third injection.
Rates above 90 per cent were essential to control diseases such as measles, which can lead to pneumonia and permanent brain damage, and whooping cough, she said.



Fewer maths and physics pupils 'danger to NZ economy'
Thursday November 23, 2006By Claire Trevett
Senior secondary students are shying away from core maths and science subjects, with 24 per cent fewer students taking maths with calculus this year than in 2003 and 15 per cent fewer taking physics.
Since the last year of Bursary exams in 2003, the number of NCEA level 3 students sitting maths with calculus has dropped from 10,280 to 7766 this year.
Physics is another casualty, with a drop from 7761 in 2003 to 6611 level 3 students this year, although numbers at level two have increased slightly.
Maths with calculus has been a topic of controversy in the past two years, when the scholarship exam was criticised for being too difficult for even top maths teachers to complete.
Professor Richard Bellamy, dean of science at Auckland University, said many students now believed maths was the hard way to get into university, even though calculus and physics were prerequisites for courses such as medicine and engineering.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10412060



TV3 wants ad ban waiver for Rugby World Cup
7.00am Thursday November 23, 200
TV3 owner Canwest is seeking an exemption to the ban on Sunday morning television advertising during the Rugby World Cup.
With five of the All Blacks' possible seven games in France next year airing on Sunday morning NZ time, Canwest is worried the advertising ban between 6am and midday could hit its earnings. The games include the semifinal and final.


Opus' Malaysian spin-off
Thursday November 23, 2006
Malaysian property management firm Opus International is to list its New Zealand unit, possibly in that country, a Malaysian business weekly reports.
The Edge said a key driver for the listing was to unlock value in the unit, which has been contributing as much as 90 per cent of group profits.


Stadium decision: Legal challenge threatens today's vote
Thursday November 23, 2006By David Eames
Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard is promising to fight an eleventh-hour legal bid to stop tonight's Auckland City Council decision on the waterfront stadium.
"All our legal advice indicates we are totally in the clear in terms of procedure," he said last night.
Auckland lawyer Rodney Harrison, QC, yesterday said he was preparing a High Court injunction "seeking to restrain decision-making in relation to the waterfront stadium by Auckland City Council and Auckland Regional Council".
In a Herald DigiPoll survey, 50 per cent of respondents preferred an upgraded Eden Park to a waterfront stadium.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10412066


U2: From A to NZ

Thursday November 23, 2006

With U2 playing two previously postponed sold-out Auckland concerts we thought it was time to look at the group's 30-year history and examine what they mean now

A is for Adam Clayton

The English-born bass player and the band's non-Christian who after their rise to fame made the most of being a rock star whether he was stepping out with supermodel Naomi Campbell, getting arrested for possession of hash, posing nude for the cover artwork of Achtung Baby, or missing a Sydney concert on the 1993 Zoo TV tour after going on a bender. He stopped drinking after that.

B is for Bono

The man born Paul Hewson in Dublin on May 10, 1960, and whose stage name - Bono Vox was inspired by a sign over a Dublin hearing-aid shop but eventually shortened. Husband of Ali, father of Elijah, Eve, John and Jordan. Neck-risking rock frontman turned human placard turned rock's most respected statesman. Bender of ears of the planet's most powerful figures. Good cop to Bob Geldolf's bad cop when confronting world leaders about Africa.

"My gift is that I'm a singer, a songwriter and a performer. I just happened to have learned other skills to protect that gift and those skills seem to suit political activism."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=1501133&objectid=10411964


UK may hand Basra back to Iraq in early 2007
8.15am Thursday November 23, 2006By Sophie Walker
LONDON - The British government says it could hand back Basra province to Iraqi control early next year.
The announcement puts a date on a major step towards reducing Britain's presence in Iraq for the first time.
"The progress of our current operation in Basra gives us confidence that we may be able to achieve transition in that province ... at some point next spring," Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told parliament.
Britain, Washington's biggest ally in the Iraq war, has previously refused to set timetables for withdrawal. But a US defence official said last month Britain hoped to withdraw troops within 12 months to focus on the war in Afghanistan.
With troops in both countries, Britain's forces are stretched, particularly as soldiers in southern Afghanistan are embroiled in a fierce struggle against a revitalised Taleban -- which says it is planning a fresh offensive when winter ends.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10412072


Mourners pay tribute to Lebanon minister
7.55am Thursday November 23, 2006
BEIRUT - Hundreds of Lebanese mourners have pressed to touch the coffin of minister Pierre Gemayel whose assassination, blamed by his allies on Syria, stoked fears of more killings and a surge in factional violence.
Anger and apprehension gripped the country as it prepared to bury Industry Minister Gemayel, a Christian gunned down as he drove through a Beirut suburb on Tuesday. He was the sixth anti-Syrian politician to be killed in nearly two years.
Anti-Syrian Lebanese leaders said Damascus was behind the killing and they expected the murders of more politicians who spearheaded protests that led to Syria's military withdrawal from Lebanon last year.
"It seems the Syrian regime will continue with the assassinations. I expect more assassinations but no matter what they do, we are here and we will be victorious," Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10412071


World condemns Lebanon killing
11.35am Wednesday November 22, 2006By Paul Hughes
LONDON - World leaders have condemned the killing of a Lebanese Christian cabinet minister, with Western powers vowing to do their utmost to prevent the collapse of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's unsteady government.
Pierre Gemayel, shot dead near Beirut, was the fourth outspoken anti-Syrian critic to be killed in Lebanon since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri sparked a period of political upheaval in the country.
US President George W. Bush, speaking in Hawaii, called for a full investigation to "identify those people and those forces behind the killing."
The industry minister's death coincides with sharp differences between Lebanon's anti-Syrian majority and the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, which is determined to topple what it sees as a pro-US government.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411940



London Olympics costs jump 40pc
Thursday November 23, 2006
LONDON - The estimated cost of building sports facilities for the 2012 London Olympics has soared by about 40 per cent.
Sports Minister Tessa Jowell has blamed higher steel prices and transport costs for the rise to £3.3 billion ($9.48 billion) in the official estimate of the cost of building the Olympic Park, the main complex for the Games in east London.
That is £900 million higher than the estimate given in London's bid to host the Games. Some newspaper reports have said the games could cost as much as £10 billion.
The British media has voiced concern over the escalating cost of the Olympics after Jack Lemley resigned last month as chairman of the body responsible for creating infrastructure for the event.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10412047


Papua New Guinea militia chief shot in raid
Thursday November 23, 2006
PORT MORESBY - A notorious conman and leader of a private army has been shot and wounded and four of his bodyguards killed in a raid on their base in Bougainville.
Self-proclaimed king Noah Musingku was wounded in the neck when former combatants in Bougainville's bloody secessionist conflict attacked his Tonu base, Papua New Guinea's two national newspapers said.
The raiders, calling themselves the Bougainville Freedom Fighters, burnt down the camp, killed four bodyguards and wounded Musingku and three of five former Fijian soldiers hired to train his security force, the National reported. One BFF man was killed and two were wounded.
The raid reportedly arose from frustration at the inability of the Autonomous Bougainville Government to arrest Musingku and stop crime in the area.



Disbelief at French judge's claims of war crimes
Thursday November 23, 2006By Alex Duval Smith
PARIS - The Rwandan Government reacted with stupefaction yesterday to a call by a French judge for the country's President, Paul Kagame, to face an international tribunal for his alleged role in triggering the 1994 genocide.
"France is trying to turn the blame around to salve its own very damaged conscience over the genocide and the role of high-ranking French officers in it," said Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Charles Murigande.
Legal experts were puzzled by the move on Tuesday by high profile French judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, to call for arrest warrants to be issued against nine Rwandan officials, including Rwanda's current chief of staff.
Bruguiere also said he would write to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to ask that Kagame be brought before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which tries genocide suspects in Arusha, Tanzania. French law prevents him from attempting to prosecute Kagame because he is a serving head of state.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10412042


Sense of guilt surrounds search for truth
Thursday November 23, 2006By Fergal Keane
Will we ever learn the truth about this genocide? In the months leading up to the explosion of genocide in Rwanda in April 1994, human rights groups, diplomats and United Nations peacekeepers were warning of the danger of large-scale killing.
Human rights organisation Africa Watch wrote: "The perpetrators, high within Government circles, had made meticulous plans. A radio station under their control, Radio Mille Collines, had been whipping up anti-Tutsi hysteria for months. Secret arms caches were kept ready for use by Government soldiers and the party militia, the core cadre of which had been trained in the tactics of slaughter. Lists of Tutsis and their Hutu sympathisers had been compiled for targeting. Only a trigger was needed."
None of this would have escaped the attention of the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, Major General Paul Kagame. He would have been well aware that Rwanda was a tinderbox. Any violent action by a group linked to the Tutsi minority could provoke a terrible response from the Hutu extremists.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10412041


Auckland berth leaves Tauranga at sea
Thursday November 23, 2006By Jenny Keown
The decision by giant container line Maersk to run the bulk of its services through Ports of Auckland puts question marks over the proposed merger with Port of Tauranga and could drive a wedge between the ports.
The Danish shipping line said yesterday that Ports of Auckland would get the "significant" share of its port calls but Tauranga would continue to handle some of Maersk's services.
Port of Tauranga said the decision would cost it $1 million a month in revenue - or around 7 per cent of its annual revenue - and its shares tumbled 50c to close at $5.70.
The two ports announced their plan to merge to form a super-port last October in a move that would have tipped the balance of negotiating power in favour of the ports.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10412020


Follow the rainbow on the beach
Thursday November 23, 2006By Andrew Stone
The Australian coast, you'd think, would be hard to miss. Its treacherous shores with reefs and sharks and stingers sound loud notes of caution. But the captain of the Cherry Venture, a 1600 tonne Singaporean cargo ship bound for Brisbane from Auckland, ran into it in July 1973, driven ashore by a ferocious storm and huge seas.
Without cargo, and with little ballast on board, the ship was at the mercy of wind and tide when it got too close to the lighthouse at Double Island Point, a Sunshine Coast landmark and popular surfing spot.
With 12m swells lifting the ship's propeller clear of the sea and the atrocious weather making a rescue impossible, the Cherry Venture was carried ashore on a king tide, snapping anchor cables dropped in a forlorn bid to hold the ship off the beach.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/7/story.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=10411417


Chinese cyclists in highly charged power struggle
Thursday November 23, 2006By Clifford Coonan
GUANGZHOU - The classic images of Chinese traffic are armies of bicycles jostling for space or thousands of cars filling the sky with smog, but for millions of commuters in the big cities, the electric bike is the only way to travel.
They're cheap, costing between £200 ($568) and £600, use no expensive petrol and are much less polluting than cars, making them the preferred mode of transport of choice for 15 million Chinese.
The sight of electric bicycles beating the traffic by whizzing between the cars is an increasingly common and often hair-raising sight.
Delivery men and office workers swear by them, while they are also popular with retirees lacking pedal power for getting around town.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10412040


Airbus may end up grounded if superjumbo fails to take off
Thursday November 23, 2006By Michael Harrison
PARIS - The superlatives abound. It is wider than a football pitch and almost as long, four times the height of a double-decker bus, and weighs 560 tonnes.
The A380 superjumbo is, in other words, large. Obscenely so, some might say, since the list price is an equally extravagant £166 million ($471.5 million) - enough to build a hospital or three.
Its maker, Airbus, is seeking to reassure the world that the biggest airliner ever to grace the skies will be a commercial success when it enters service.
But when exactly will that be? There could be no more pertinent question for Europe's answer to Boeing and, until recently, a shiningly successful example of cross-Channel industrial co-operation.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10412038


Britain just the job for eastern European workers
Thursday November 23, 2006By Nigel Morris
LONDON - From bus drivers to beauticians and from clowns to civil engineers, the influx of east and central Europeans has had a dramatic impact on the British jobs market.
Everyone has heard of Polish plumbers and Slovak nannies, but new figures disclose that newcomers from former Iron Curtain countries are working in every conceivable capacity across the United Kingdom.
The number of immigrants from the European Union's new member states registering to work has reached half a million for the first time since the EU expanded in May 2004.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411992


Frog kits fail to make cut
Thursday November 23, 2006
NEW YORK - Shoppers at upscale United States menswear and accessory store Jack Spade in Manhattan were hopping mad to see frog dissection kits selling alongside leather file cases and Italian calfskin passport holders.
The US$40 ($60) kit came in a cloth bag complete with a vacuum-sealed formaldehyde-treated frog, scissors, magnifying glass, forceps, probing sticks, ruler, instruction booklet on how to explore the animal's innards, and a moist tissue. After complaints from shoppers and animal activists, the store apologised and said it had removed the kits and would not stock them.


Doctors say cause of KGB agent's illness unknown
9.25am Wednesday November 22, 2006By Cahal Milmo
LONDON - Doctors treating the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko have said he is unlikely to have been poisoned with the lethal toxin thallium and the cause of his symptoms is unknown.
Urgent tests are being conducted to try to identify the substance or substances which have left the 43-year-old intelligence officer in an intensive care unit with a crippled immune system.
In a day of further twists to the Cold War-style saga, which is the subject of an international hunt by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, experts raised the possibility that Mr Litvinenko had been attacked with a radioactive chemical.
Early tests had indicated that the former agent, a strident critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was poisoned on November 1 with a thallium salt, known as the "secret agents' poison" because it is tasteless, odourless and deadly in very small quantities.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411921


Eight dead, 15 trapped after Polish mine blast
1.00pm Wednesday November 22, 2006By Wojciech Zurawski
RUDA SLASKA, Poland - A gas explosion killed at least eight miners and trapped around 15 others underground in a deep coal mine in southern Poland on Tuesday, officials said.
A major rescue effort was under way in the town of Ruda Slaska, around 300km southwest of the capital, Warsaw.
A spokesman for the state-run Polish Coal Company said it was impossible to say whether rescuers would be able to reach the rest of the men who were trapped underground after a large explosion, probably caused by methane, at around 4:30pm (0430 NZT).

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411945



Red Cross suspends Gaza field work after abductions
10.45am Wednesday November 22, 2006
GAZA - The Red Cross has suspended its field work in the Gaza Strip following the abductions of two employees, a spokesman said.
"The International Committee of the Red Cross has suspended its field operations in Gaza Strip following the kidnapping of two employees of the Italian Red Cross in Gaza," Iyad Nasir, a spokesman in Gaza for the ICRC, said.
He said Red Cross employees would continue to work in Gaza but inside their offices and would intervene only in "urgent" matters of life and death situations.



Individual Palestinians own '40 per cent of occupied West Bank'
1.00pm Wednesday November 22, 2006By Donald Macintyre
JERUSALEM - Almost 40 per cent of the land used by Israel for its settlements in the occupied West Bank is the private property of Palestinians, the Israeli organisation Peace Now said yesterday on the basis of leaked official maps and other data.
Contrary to official claims that the land used for settlements is state-owned and that private property is only seized temporarily for security reasons, the leak shows that privately owned Palestinian land has been repeatedly used to build and expand settlements.
The potential embarrassment to Israel of the disclosure is all the greater because it suggests that the use of Palestinian private land is especially prevalent in some of the Jewish settlements which successive Israeli governments have made clear they are determined to keep in any final peace deal.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411924



Israel enters deep into Gaza
6.20am Wednesday November 22, 2006
Israeli troops and tanks pushed deep into the Gaza Strip in two raids, clashing with Palestinian gunmen in Gaza City.
A column of about 30 tanks penetrated the heart of Gaza City and entered the Zeitoun district, a known militant stronghold.
There were no reports of any casualties.



Australian woman arrested in Bali on drugs charges
5.20am Wednesday November 22, 2006
An Australian woman has been arrested in Bali, accused of possessing heroin and marijuana.
Michelle Dawn Condon was last night being held at Bali's provincial police headquarters.
Police allege she had 0.2g of crystal methamphetamine.




NZ troops to go on patrol in Tonga but 'not taking sides'
Thursday November 23, 2006
New Zealand troops have been given permission to go on patrol alongside their Tongan colleagues.
Ministers yesterday gave the go-head for the soldiers to do more than than guard the international airport and can now enter the riot-torn streets of the capital Nuku'alofa.
In another development, it was reported that China was preparing to evacuate its nationals from Tonga.
Radio New Zealand quoted a Chinese diplomat in Nuku'Alofa, which was devastated by rioters looting and burning buildings, as saying about 200 people were being cared for at the Chinese embassy or in a hotel. Those who wanted to leave would be repatriated on a charter flight.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the defence force and police acting in the joint force with Australia would help authorities maintain law and order so the reform process could proceed peacefully. He rejected suggestions that New Zealand had effectively sided with the Government by deploying personnel to Tonga.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10412062



New Zealand ponders aid package for Tonga
Wednesday November 22, 2006By Mike Houlahan and Agencies
New Zealand politicians have turned their attention to how to pay for the rebuilding of Nuku'alofa, as residents of the Tongan capital ask who was behind destructive violence that caused an estimated $90 million damage.
Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday said New Zealand was considering what developmental aid could be given to Tonga.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Government was last night still to decide whether soldiers rushed to Tonga over the weekend to secure the airport would have their role expanded to patrolling Nuku'alofa.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411890



Prince Charles on the web
8.20am Wednesday November 22, 2006
Prince Charles has taken a leap into the internet age, posting a day-in-the-life video on his revamped personal website, www.princeofwales.gov.uk
The short film follows the Prince through a typical day.
It shows him working at his London office, carrying out public engagements with the Duchess of Cornwall and flying by helicopter to his country home.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10411907


Borat movie gives Kazakh state website a hit
Thursday November 16, 2006
ALMATY - Visits to the website of Kazakhstan's state news agency have almost doubled in the run-up to the premiere of a film about spoof Kazakh TV reporter Borat.
British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays the boorish and offensive Borat, set up a website to promote his new film, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan".
Styling itself as the "Ministry of Information", Borat's page carries a prominent link to the country's real state news agency Kazinform.
According to data provided by Russian website traffic monitoring service Mail.ru, the number of unique visitors to Kazinform's website has nearly doubled to 27,000 a week in the run-up to the movie's premiere.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10411057


US creates spy share technology
Saturday November 18, 2006
United States officials say they have created their own version of Wikipedia for intelligence agents in a bid to encourage US spy agencies to share information and transcend bureaucratic rivalries.
Launched in April, Intellipedia allows analysts and officials from a range of agencies to add and edit content on intelligence topics in a collaborative manner through a classified internal web.
The office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) says the project will help revolutionise the prevailing culture of the US intelligence community, widely blamed for failing to "connect the dots" before the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The project was greeted initially with "a lot of resistance", says Michael Wertheimer, DNI's chief technology officer in analysis, because it runs counter to past practice that sought to limit the pooling of information.
"There were a lot of analysts who said, 'I'm never going to use this, this is a waste of time'."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10411314

continued ...

Environment chief and food agency target wild-bird trade

Europe should find a way to end the import of wild birds to European zoos and households, according to EU food experts and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

U.N. report: Deep-sea trawling ravaging oceans

Kindly note the humans in comparison to the size of these nets. Marine life of any kind doesn't have a chance. I would like to know how many Marine Mammals are caught in these nets, die and are simply tossed back to the ocean to sink out of sight without accountability.

Experts attribute overfishing to the industrialization of boats like this one, which uses huge nets to catch tuna.

November 14, 2006

Troubled Seas

One report after another over the last decade has documented the degradation of the world's oceans and predicted a catastrophic decline in important fish species. But in terms of sheer gloom none compares to a recent study in the journal Science. It asserts that the progressive unraveling of entire marine ecosystems up and down the food chain could lead to the ''collapse'' of all commercial species, possibly by the middle of this century.

The researchers -- well-known marine scientists from Canada and four other countries -- reached their conclusion after analyzing dozens of ecosystems around the world, 48 marine protected areas, and 53 years worth of fishing data provided by the United Nations. They found that by 2003 -- the last year for which data on commercial fish catches was available -- 29 percent of all species now being fished had collapsed from overfishing, habitat loss or pollution.
The study defined collapse as a 90 percent decline from estimated historical highs.

The study builds upon previous studies in three important respects. Earlier work had documented a 90 percent decline in a few commercially important species like cod, tuna and swordfish; the new study includes many more species. Second, the study provides elaboration of how entire ecosystems fall apart, with the decline of one species triggering the decline of another. Third, it puts the day of reckoning right around the corner -- 2048, to be precise. ''Our children will see a world without seafood if we don't change things,'' said the lead author, Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

The study says that the situation is not hopeless, but only if the world moves quickly to reduce overfishing and other threats. Two opportunities for change lie immediately at hand. One is a proposal now before the United Nations that would end unregulated bottom trawling on the high seas. Bottom trawling -- essentially the strip-mining of the ocean floor by heavily subsidized foreign fleets -- is incredibly destructive. The United Nations banned fishing with huge drift nets years ago; it should do the same with bottom trawling now.

The second is the pending reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act regulating fishing practices in U.S. waters. The Senate has approved a bill that strengthens the act in important ways. It should be an early order of business for the new Congress.

Intelligence Of Dolphins Cited in Fight Against Hunt

Japan's annual dolphin hunt, shown in this 2003 photo, has faced opposition for years. A group of scientists and administrators of zoos and aquariums is asking Japan to put tighter restrictions on the government-sanctioned event.

Manhattan Reefs - interesting website - no cost to join

Zoos

New zoo director in Duluth working to restore accreditation
The new director of Duluth's zoo is in a tight spot.Attendance is down at the Lake Superior Zoo, it's losing money, and it has lost the accreditation of the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Reindeer hooves were tearing up the hill in their display. Roaming packs of turkeys and peacocks are too big.New director Ryan Gulker said he has to find ways to bring in more revenue without asking the city for more money, save money on labor without cutting a staff that is already bare-bones, and avoid raising ticket prices. It's a tall order, although the reindeer are already gone.Meanwhile, the zoo expects to see fewer than 108,000 visitors this year, down from 128,000 five years ago.Gulker said it's unclear how much it will cost to get the zoo back in shape. With money from the Lake Superior Zoological Society, he has ordered an $8,500 rapid business assessment. He said he wants to reapply for accreditation in 2008.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=139293


Are Zoos Safe for Animals?
Many animals in wildlife have difficulty surviving due to their abiotic means. I feel that those animals that are endangered or experiencing starvation should be kept in zoos. Therefore in this context, zoos can be somewhat of a safe haven for many animals. Sometimes it is more endangering to leave animals in their wildlife environments. When an animal is removed it should be with the idea that there new home will be as relatable as their old without the endangerment. In a sense, it is not much of a difference than would be an adopted child or foster child.

http://niketanikol.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!D94B2717E0034175!143.entry


Elephant is healthy, but retains unborn calf
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - An elephant at the St. Louis Zoo remains healthy, even though she has retained an unborn calf for about a year, zoo officials said.
The elephant Sri's fetus died on Nov. 19 last year after a 22-month pregnancy.
The animal is being monitored and all signs are good. She requires no medical intervention, said Martha Fischer, who manages the elephant program.
Elephants in a similar medical situation usually expel the fetus in the first year, though in some instances it takes much longer. In rare cases, a mother's system can reabsorb the calf, animal experts said.
Opponents of captive-breeding programs point out that in North American zoos, 14 pregnancies since 2001 have ended in stillbirths.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/16018328.htm


ZOO'S NEWEST ELEPHANT
Baby Mac is likely to be breeding heavyweightRecord Asian pachyderm may help sire the next generation
By SALATHEIA BRYANTCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Captive African elephants as of September: 21 males and 127 females in 49 Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities.
Asian elephants: 25 males and 117 females in 42 AZA facilities
As Houston Zoo officials unfurled a banner to display the newly selected name for its baby elephant, the precocious pachyderm was putting on a show of his own, bulling his way through the thick cables surrounding the elephant exhibit and rumbling after the adult females.
Perhaps his show of strength illustrates why he's being named Mac — as in Mack truck.
Since his Oct. 1 birth, he has gained 91 pounds, tipping the scale at 474 pounds. Officials say Mac is the largest Asian elephant born at a U.S. zoo.
Weight aside, he also is special for his genetics.
In the world of captive breeding, where females outnumber males by more than 4 to 1, he likely will be one of the super studs for the next generation of Asian elephants.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4338588.html


Proposal sows seeds of dissent
Agriculture businesses in Washington Twp. say rule is too tough
Edward L. Cardenas / The Detroit News
David Coates / The Detroit News
Sylvia Orozco moves apples at Westview. The proposed ordinance is intended to regulate farm amenities, such as petting zoos and corn mazes, and to protect the township from lawsuits.
Marylyn Meitzner shops at Westview. The proposal will be reviewed further due to the community's concerns.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- The future of farming and agricultural business in Washington Township is important to small business owner Linda Rundles.
Rundles, who owns a specialty confection shop called Juliet Chocolates, looks forward to selling caramel apples during harvest time when visitors flock to the orchards in this northern Macomb County community.
But because the apples come from a nearby farm, she's worried about a new "agritourism" ordinance being considered by the Washington Township Planning Commission that could restrict how orchards do business.
The ordinance is intended to regulate some of the amenities offered at local farms, such as petting zoos, farm stands and corn mazes. No such laws currently exist; officials say that leaves the township open to lawsuits because there are no laws to regulate those offshoot businesses and protect visitors.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061116/METRO03/611160326/1014


Korat zoo joins the safari bandwagon
KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
Night safari in Chiang Mai has inspired other zoos, latest being the one in Nakhon Ratchasima. — AFP
The zoo in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) recently introduced night safari, giving the visiting public a chance to admire the 2,000 or so animals featured at its sprawling 545 rai compound after dark.
Situated in Muang district of the province, the zoo houses animals native to Asia and Africa, including the big five attractions - the African elephant, lions, leopards, white rhinoceros and wild buffaloes.
Called the "Safari of I-San", it is only available on weekends and public holidays between 7-9pm. Visitors can watch the animals via an hour-long 80-seater tram ride along a circuitous five-kilometre route.
The fare is 20 baht for children and 80 baht for adults, while for foreigners the rates are 50 and 100 baht respectively.
For more information, call 044-934-531/2.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/161106_Horizons/16Nov2006_hori003.php


The problem with zoos
I think the biggest problem with zoos is animal visibility. The last time I was there, I could only find the animal roughly a third of the time. That's exactly like going to the supermarket to buy groceries and only being able to find a third of your groceries. Unacceptable.My plan for improvement is 3-fold:1) Make the cages smaller.2) Remove all sight obstructions. No silly overhangs or "caves" or trees....and the key improvement:3) Install green LEDs on the animals so that when a customer presses a button placed outside the cage two things happen. First, all lights are extinguished. Second, the green LED attached to the animal lights up nice and bright. Bingo.I know what you are thinking. Forget the lights. Why not attach a rope to the animal so that when the customer presses a button, a winch is activated and the animal is quickly pulled and pressed right against the side of the cage or glass wall for easy viewing. Not a bad idea at all. In fact, I like how you think. But, the majority of enclosures can be viewed from 360 degrees. Which side of the enclosure does the animal get pressed against? Do you provide multiple buttons and ropes? How would that work? Do multiple button presses get queued? Too complex, overall.Of course, I'm not serious. They should use red LEDs. Easier to see.

http://kneecarrot.livejournal.com/7600.html


The Best Zoo in the World!”
Anna & Josh's Ratings

The Elephant Gate
This zoo is awesome!
I am not generally a fan of zoos, as I think they are cruel, keeping animals in small, confined ares.
But Berlin Zoo is different- there is ample space for animals to wander, and they all seem quite happy.
We even saw a Panda- it was absolutely gorgeous! And we saw the Lions mating! hehe...scary sound effects.
http://realtravel.com/berlin-reviews-a2844020.html


Elephants HaveAn Achilles' Heel,And It's Their Feet
Zoo Confinement AggravatesTicklish Pedicure Issue;A Keeper's Gentle Touch
By BARRY NEWMANNovember 17, 2006; Page A1

Watch video of elephant keeper Willie Theison giving Natasha the elephant a pedicure.

PITTSBURGH -- The Animal and Plant Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking advice from the public on what to do about problem feet in elephants.
The deadline for sending in ideas is Dec. 11. Hundreds have already arrived. Such as: "Elephants' feet are being destroyed by their confined environment." "They should be able to walk on grass, not concrete." "Some elephants never need their toenails trimmed and some elephants need them continuously trimmed."
Or, as Willie Theison, head elephant keeper here at the Pittsburgh Zoo, suggests: "If you wash the barn, you have to dry the floor. Otherwise, you get athlete's foot in elephants."
Federal warmblooded-animal rules aren't, a spokesman notes, "elephant specific" as yet. But zoo elephants have died this year from complications of sore feet in Oregon, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and at the National Zoo in Washington. Some activists say zoos, by nature, are the cause. They prodded the government -- which has taken no stand on this -- to publish a notice in the Federal Register in August calling for public views on potential elephant-foot action under federal animal-protection laws.
The zoo industry, like many others, prefers to self-police. To head off the feds, it is setting a major pachyderm shift in motion.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB116373280920625942-lMyQjAxMDE2NjEzNzcxMzcyWj.html

or

tinyurl.com/y82pdn.


USDA Seeking Public Comments on Captive Elephants
Animal advocates have long spoken out against the conditions under which elephants are kept in zoos and circuses as being far from natural and often painful and cruel. From lack of stimulation to lack of space, there are issues-a-plenty when it comes to the care of captive elephants.Fortunately, zoos in cities such Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit, where elephant exhibits have been closed, as well as the United States Depart of Agriculture (USDA) are wising up to these shortcomings. Following the submission of a citizen petition by the group In Defense of Animals, the USDA is now asking for public commentary on the issue.Between now and December 11th, the USDA will be accepting commentary from the public and In Defense of Animals has put together a helpful page for those seeking to send in their thoughts.

http://www.supervegan.com/blog/entry.php?id=532


Collapsed bald eagle nest in Dallam County needed rebuilding
Wildlife Conservationists Partner To Restore Bald Eagle Nest
FORT WORTH, Texas — Wednesday, a bald eagle nest located in the northern Texas Panhandle received a much needed restoration thanks to a statewide partnership of university and state wildlife experts and zoos. The group partnered to build an artificial nest and perch for a pair of bald eagles that has made the area home for the past several years. Biologists feared that if the nest was not restored, the eagle pair, which mates for life, would lose this nesting habitat.
The nest was discovered in 2004 by Texas Tech University Research Biologist and Associate Professor Dr. Clint Boal. Since then, the two adult eagles have produced five eaglets. The tree holding the nest slowly deteriorated, and was found collapsed in October.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20061113b


Crimes against apes
Regardless of stiff international regulations, a chimpanzee cartel thrives on the back of demand from private zoos and leading hotels.

http://www.care2.com/news/member/393209835/223549



Scientists fight Japan’s dolphin hunt
Others defend value of tradition
A coalition of marine scientists has launched a campaign to halt Japan's annual "dolphin drive," in which thousands of bottlenose dolphins are herded into shallow coves to be slaughtered with knives and clubs.
The government-sanctioned event, which extends through the fall and winter, has been under fire for years from environmental and animal rights activists.
But in a potentially influential escalation of that battle, mainstream scientists and administrators of zoos and aquariums -- some of whom have been criticized for buying surviving dolphins for use in their shows -- have united to condemn the practice.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15791885/


The fishing stops here: California shields coast
Marine reserves praised by activists, criticized by commercial fishermen
MONTEREY, Calif. - Flying over California’s rugged Central Coast, Mike Sutton pointed to kelp forests and rocky reefs just below the water’s surface that will soon be off-limits to fishing under one of the nation’s most ambitious plans to protect marine life.
“We’re trying to make sure our oceans are protected as our land,” said Sutton, a marine expert at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Despite intense opposition from many fishermen, California wildlife regulators are creating the nation’s most extensive network of “marine protected areas” — stretches of ocean where fishing will be banned or severely restricted.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15813396/


Florida bans fishing off part of southwest coast
Action creates largest marine reserve in North America
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The final element needed to complete the largest marine reserve in North America off Florida's southwest coast won approval Tuesday from Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Cabinet.
The panel voted 3-1 for a management plan banning fishing in a 61 square-mile section of Dry Tortugas National Park in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits about 75 miles west of Key West.
The new Research Natural Area will be added to the existing Tortugas Ecological Reserve, where fishing has been prohibited since 2001. Combined the two areas will prohibit fishing in 261 square miles.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15730950/


Cooperative Eyes
By olivier, Monday 20 November 2006 :: Evolutionary Psychology :: #118 :: rss
The Journal of Human Evolution prepares an issue on the evolution of human eyes; two articles are already downloadable on line; one of them by Michael Tomasello and his team. It defends a "cooperative eyes" hypothesis, according to which human eyes evolved to be white around the pupil, because it made our conspecifics' gaze more conspicuous, and hence allowed for increased cooperation in tasks involving joint attention. The function of human eyes would not only be seeing, but also sharing visual information. I offer a dissenting view on this remarkable experiment.

http://www.cognition.ens.fr/~alphapsy/blog/?2006/11/20/118-cooperative-eyes
Environment chief and food agency target wild-bird trade


Europe should find a way to end the import of wild birds to European zoos and households, according to EU food experts and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.
A temporary ban on trade in wild birds was introduced last October to prevent the spread of the pathogenic bird virus avian flu. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked to look into the animal welfare and health risks of lifting the ban, which expires at the end of December.
The final EFSA report published on Monday (13 November) concludes that “it would be preferable to breed birds in captivity with high welfare standards rather than import birds captured in the wild which are often subject to poor conditions.”

http://www.araproject.nl/2006/11/20/environment-chief-and-food-agency-target-wild-bird-trade/


Scientists call for Japan to stop 'inhumane' dolphin hunting
By Associated Press Writer, Edtfonmrssfl November 20, 2006
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --In Japanese villages each year, local fishermen hunt for large numbers of dolphins by herding them into shallow coves and then, scientists say, attacking them with knives and even eviscerating them alive.
Now, a broad-based coalition including marine scientists and aquarium workers is demanding that the Japanese end these government-sanctioned dolphin drives, which opponents criticize as an inhumane annual practice that targets an intelligent and self-aware species.
"They're dying this sort of long, slow, painful, excruciating death," said Dr. Paul Boyle, the former director of the New York Aquarium and current chairman and chief executive of The Ocean Project, a Providence-based coalition that is helping coordinate the effort.
The group is sponsoring an online petition that asks the government to halt the huntings.
The Japanese say the practice is a long-standing cultural and commercial tradition. Takumi Fukuda, fisheries attache for the Japanese embassy in Washington, said fishermen have tried to quicken the dolphins' deaths to lessen their suffering and to maintain the quality of meat.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/11/20/scientists_call_for_japan_to_stop_inhumane_dolphin_hunting/


Four Cheetah Cubs Born at the St. Louis Zoo
Officials at the St. Louis Zoo report four Cheetah cubs were born at the zoo November 10th.
Their mom, Lucia, is a first time mother, and is taking care of her cubs in her maternity den that’s off display at the Zoo’s cheetah exhibit.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the birth of the cheetah cubs," says Dr. Jeffrey P. Bonner, president of the St. Louis Zoo. "And we're really excited that this young cheetah mother is doing a terrific job of rearing them."
Lucia is three years old, on loan to the St. Louis Zoo from White Oak Conservation Center, a wildlife sanctuary in Florida. The first-time father is Shanto, a five-year-old who was brought to St. Louis from the Wassenaar Breeding Center in The Netherlands four years ago.

http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=1545202&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1


Baby boom hits primate house at Lincoln Park Zoo
The Helen Brach primate house at Lincoln Park Zoo has turned into a monkey maternity ward. It has been new baby after new baby for the past several weeks. So far, the moms and dads and all the little ones are doing just fine.
The Lincoln Park Zoo primate house is in the process of procreating more primates. Five monkeys have been born in five weeks.
"It shows we're doing something right. We're give them the right environment the right social conditions Sue Margulis, Curator of Primates Lincoln Park Zoo.
An Allen's swamp monkey was born over five weeks ago. Then, three weeks ago, a one pound Debrazza's monkey was introduced by mom. And, last week, a Goeldi's monkey was born. Finally, twins were born to a Marmaset's monkey mom yesterday.
"We've had a baby boom in the last six weeks. We've had five infants born since early October. We knew the females were expecting but it's a little unusual to have them all so close together. But the stars were in alignment and that's just they way it worked out," said Margulis.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=4780880


Arctic chill coming to Zoo exhibit
Louisville Zoo officials and Mayor Jerry Abramson will update plans for a major new Arctic-themed exhibit called Glacier Run at a news conference at the zoo Tuesday morning.The main part of the exhibit is scheduled to open in 2009 and have polar bears, seals, sea lions, sea otters, sea eagles, Arctic fox, reindeer, snowy owls and other denizens of the frozen climes. The officials will outline a $25 million fund-raising campaign to raise the money needed to build Glacier Run, along with a water park and an animal sanctuary. A fund drive chairman also will be announced.


Nothing Says Love Like a Walrus
When Moscow lawyer Ilya Krasavin went to the Moscow Zoo on his birthday last year, he was surprised to see his name emblazoned on the raccoon's enclosure.
It wasn't a practical joke -- instead, the plaque was recognition of a sponsorship deal his wife had arranged as a birthday present.
"I'd never had such a wonderful present before," said Krasavin, 28. "I think it was a great idea. I pay 3,000 rubles a month and I don't regret it."
For the Moscow Zoo, maintaining its vast menagerie is, not surprisingly, an expensive task. To help cover the costs, 11 years ago it started the "Take Care of an Animal" program, under which individuals and organizations are invited to sponsor a creature of their choice. The donated funds cover maintenance and food costs. In return, sponsors receive a free unlimited entry pass and invitations for two to three family members -- for corporate sponsors, free entry for large groups by advance arrangement -- as well as the option of a name plaque on the animal's enclosure.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/11/21/021.html


‘Audible Petting Zoo’ at StrathmoreCounty
2nd-graders attend National Philharmonic performances at Strathmore as part of an educational enrichment program.
…MAESTRO Piotr Gajewski led the Philharmonic through a variety of selections, including the works of American icon Leonard Bernstein, Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and others. The performance was complete with an audible “petting zoo,” as Bill Curry of Strathmore termed it, as composer Russel Peck guided the children through a musical tour of all of the instrumental sections….

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=74322&paper=70&cat=104


Some of the zoo bears miss their own party
Associated Press
Article Last Updated:11/20/2006 02:38:57 PM AKST
Some of the bears at the Alaska zoo missed their own party. They were busy napping. The zoo Sunday held its first hibernation celebration so that zoo goers could learn more about how bears spend the winter. The only problem was that the zoo's black and brown bears were a no-show. They spent the time napping on beds of hay in their concrete dens.
The polar bears were the crowd pleasers. That's because they don't hibernate. The event was designed to draw more visitors to the zoo in the winter. The zoo gets about 200,000 visitors a year, and most of them are during the summer.
Kaye Jamison, 87; co-founder of nonprofit Greater L.A. Zoo Assn.
Kaye Jamison, 87, a founder of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. who also helped choose the location to which the zoo moved 40 years ago this month, died of cancer Thursday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, said her husband, Max."She was the driving force of private-sector assistance for the establishment of the zoo," said Connie Morgan, president of the group that Jamison helped set up in 1963. The private, nonprofit group immediately set to work building a membership base that could raise money to expand the zoo's collection. Jamison, of North Hollywood, served as the group's president from 1968 to 1972.In 1970, she co-chaired the group's first Beastly Ball with Gloria Stewart, wife of actor Jimmy Stewart. Jamison also established the zoo's docent and travel programs.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-passings21.4nov21,1,5455895.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true



A sad day for Reykjavík Farm Animal Zoo
Almost all poultry was killed in Reykjavík Farm Animal Zoo yesterday on the orders of the Agricultural Authority of Iceland out of fear for bird flu.
Halldór Runólfsson, head vet of the Agricultural Authority, told RÚV that these measures had been necessary because some of the Zoo’s birds had been diagnosed with the H5N2 and H5N9 branches of bird flu.
Close to 60 birds of seven different species were killed yesterday: Geese, ducks, pheasants, Icelandic hens, several kinds of doves and a golden plover.
The lives of three birds were spared, of two hawks and the wild eagle Sigurörn, who has been in the Zoo’s care since last summer. He will be released soon.
The cages where the infected birds were kept are being sterilized and can be used again after three months.
The type of bird flu found in the Farm Animal Zoo is not dangerous to humans.

New zoo director named, will bring years of experience
Terrence DeRosa is a manager at zoo in San Antonio.JAMIE LOOTribune Staff WriterSOUTH BEND -- Terrence DeRosa has been named the new director for Potawatomi Zoo.Phil St. Clair made the announcement at the Board of Parks Commissioners meeting on Monday. St. Clair said the Potawatomi Zoological Society was "extremely helpful" in the process of finding a new director, reviewing many applications and bringing DeRosa to South Bend for an interview."We're real excited to have a first-rate director be the head of Potawatomi Zoo," he said.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/News01/611210350/-1/NEWS01



Zoo releases photos of lion cubs
N.C. Zoo photo by Beth McChesney
Lion cub triplets, born at the North Carolina Zoo on Oct. 24, explore their new surroundings in their off-exhibit holding area.The triplets are the second lion-cub birthing at the park since 1983 and the first since two female cubs were born there in July 2004.It will be about two to three weeks before the sex of the cubs can be determined.

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/NEWSREC0101/61121007


National Zoo's Only Giraffe Leaves for Florida
Wednesday November 15, 2006 2:05 pm
The National Zoo's only giraffe is gone. The four-year-old giraffe, known as "Randle," boarded a trailer for his new home at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida, where he will join four other male giraffes. The National Zoo moved Randle in preparation for the renovation and expansion of its Asian elephant exhibit, where the giraffe has lived since 2003. Although construction isn't scheduled to begin until the spring, zoo officials say they relocated Randle now so that he could avoid D.C.'s winter weather. Other animals at the zoo's elephant exhibit also will be moved over the next year, including a hippo, two pygmy hippos and two capybaras.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1106/374824.html



The ZOO Has Cat Troubles
For the second time in less than a week, The ZOO in Gulf Breeze has had difficulties with its large cats.
Tuesday afternoon the compound was closed after two cougars escaped from their pens for several hours. During the shutdown, about 30 visitors had to move to secured areas while a search was conducted.
On Monday, an African leopard bit a zookeeper. The woman suffered cuts on her hand, but she is expected to return to work this week.

http://community.emeraldcoast.com/navarre/news/article.showarticle.db.php?a=6218



Littlle Rock Zoo Received $775,000 Donation for Two New Exhibits
Eighty-year-old Little Rock Zoo received a $775,000 donation for naming rights to two exhibits by the Laura P. Nichols Foundation, announced by the Arkansas Zoological Foundation on Tuesday. The first installment of $300,000 will give naming rights for a new African Penguin habitat at the zoo while the second payment of $300,000 will give naming rights to a new cheetah exhibit. The rest of the money($150,000) will be spend on conservation education programs.Mike Blakely, Zoo’s director said:

http://www.ecotourismblog.com/entry/littlle-rock-zoo-received-775000-donation-for-two-new-exhibits/


Lincoln Children’s Zoo picks up award
BY ERIN ANDERSEN / Lincoln Journal StarOne of this year’s six prestigious National Awards for Museum and Library Service will go to Lincoln’s Children’s Zoo.The highly competitive $10,000 national award honors three museums and three libraries in the United States for extraordinary public service, including social, educational, environmental and economic contributions to the community.The zoo is considered a museum because it is a curator of various collections.“Our mission ‘to enrich lives through first-hand interaction with living things’ is relevant and even more important today as our society has changed and childhood discovery of the living world is shrinking at a rapid rate,” said Children’s Zoo Executive Director John Chapo.

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/11/15/local/doc455b9a8fb000c775829970.txt


Veterinarians give lioness her bite back at Virginia Zoo
NORFOLK - Cats' mouths are pretty much the same, no matter the breed.
So performing a root canal on a 345-pound lion at the Virginia Zoo was almost routine for a team of veterinary professionals Wednesday.
Only this cat's broken tooth was about 3 inches long, compared with a typical house cat's tooth that measures a fraction of an inch. And the veterinarian and dentist, Paul West, had to get his hands on special equipment to handle lion-size chompers.
Yet it wasn't at all routine for the zookeepers, several of whom wanted to get in on the action, whether by hoisting the sedated lioness onto the operating table or just peeking through the bars of the holding area where the surgery took place.

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=114473&ran=39428


County Commission approves zoo tax
Written by THOMAS P. MORGAN
County, Lansing have until June 30 to finalize lease
Persuading Ingham County voters to approve regionalizing the Potter Park Zoo was the easy part — it passed Nov. 7 by a 2-1 margin.
But getting the city of Lansing and Ingham County to agree on how to transfer control of the city-owned zoo to the county is proving to be a bit more difficult.

The Ingham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to levy the 0.46-mill property tax increase needed to fund the zoo, but the city and the zoo have yet to finalize a lease agreement.
The Council was expected to vote the previous night on the county’s proposed lease agreement, but the city and the county had not at that point been able to come to an agreement on the labor aspect of the lease.

http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=640&Itemid=29


Prayer, an amendment and relieved zoo officials
Attraction gets extra funds from county
Irons said zoo staff are ready for the challenge.
"The work starts tomorrow morning at 8," Irons said Wednesday night.

Thursday, Nov 16, 2006
By Elizabeth Cooper
Observer-Dispatchecooper@utica.gannett.com
UTICA — Utica Zoo Executive Director Beth Irons said she'd gotten on her knees and prayed Tuesday night that the Oneida County Board of Legislators would provide an extra $150,000 to help the zoo continue operating.
Wednesday, she got her wish when the board approved the added funding as part of the 2007 Oneida County budget.
After Irons got her wish, she said she felt "very good, obviously."
"It's a very positive vote of confidence that we can address things completely and professionally over the next few months and turn the corner and get the zoo on the right course," Irons said.
The zoo has faced funding shortfalls based in large part on the loss of federal funds. In February 2005, the zoo closed for one month because of its financial difficulties.

http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061116/NEWS/611160323/1001


Romping Reindeer at the LA Zoo

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" may be one of the most popular holiday stories, but it's not often that you get to see a live reindeer in Southern California. This holiday season, the L.A. Zoo will have reindeer to see up close and a display of reindeer antlers, you can learn how antlers shed and grow back each year.On weekends from Nov. 23 through the end of the year, there will be holiday entertainment and fun crafts for the family. Santa Claus also will be on hand for photographs for a nominal fee. During "Reindeer Romp," the L.A. Zoo Choo Choo will be available daily to give young visitors train rides for a nominal fee.The Zoo is in Griffith Park at the junction of the Ventura (134) and Golden State (5) freeways. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 2 to12. Zoo hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (closed Dec. 25). Most "Reindeer Romp" activities are free with paid admission. For more information, visit the Zoo website at www.lazoo.org or call 323-644-4200.


Send your greetings to Zoo Atlanta's giant panda cub and win a chance to meet her!
Honor the ancient Chinese tradition of the red envelope and send your wishes to the giant panda cub by bringing your red envelope to Zoo Atlanta!
Red envelopes will be available in the November 16th edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and at all participating Atlanta area Panda Express locations. Red envelopes will carry a $3 off admission coupon to the Zoo. You may deliver your envelope by redeeming this coupon at the Zoo Atlanta gate or by placing it in the official drop box at the Zoo entrance. All red envelopes must be returned to Zoo Atlanta by December 31, 2006!
Participants in the Red Envelope campaign will be entered in a grand-prize drawing to win a behind-the-scenes visit with the giant panda cub! A single winner will be drawn at Zoo Atlanta’s Noon Year’s Eve celebration on December 31, 2006. The winner need not be present to win.

http://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/story/2006/11/16/1753red-envelope.shtml



Lion's Sexy Secret: It's in the Mane
Given the choice, a female lion is more likely to be attracted to a shaggy male from Chicago than a well-groomed guy from Houston.
Chicago lions simply got more game.
Scientists measured the size and fullness of lions' manes in northern and southern zoos and found that cats living in colder climates had heartier hairstyles, a key attractant to female lions.
Nutrition, social factors, and genetics have previously been considered important factors affecting mane quality, but the new finding suggests that up to one-half of the mane's length and density is determined by temperature.
The study is detailed in the April 13 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy.
Keep it cool
A thick mane retains heat in a hot, dry climate—like wearing a fur hat or wool scarf—and can cause a big cat to overheat.
Average temperatures in the parks that were studied— spanning 2,000 miles from Illinois to Texas —varied from 20 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit in January and 65 to 87 degrees in July.

http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060412_lion_manes.html


Meet to evolve zoo master plan
PRABUDDHA S. JAGADEB
Bhubaneswar, April 12: There are only two gharials in the wild in Orissa despite hundreds of the reptile having been successfully bred at the Tikarpada sanctuary.
Keeping this in mind, there is not only a need for captive breeding of endangered species, but to re-
introduce them to the wild, said Dr B.C. Chaudhuri, head of department of endangered species management, Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Otherwise, the gharials may soon find a place in the list of highly endangered animals of IUCN, he feared.
Chaudhuri, who is here to attend the training programme for zoo directors for evolving a master plan for zoos, said a nationally coordinated breeding plan of tigers was started two years ago , of which the Nandankanan zoo was a part.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060413/asp/jamshedpur/story_6090925.asp

continued ...

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG

Visitors take photos of a polar bear which swims above them at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The zoo has unveiled a $14 million exhibit for the animals that includes a waterfall, a freshwater stream and a 150,000-gallon pool chilled to between 50 and 55 degrees. It also features a yard where they can play or nap. (Source: Dayoo.com)

Click on to animate

November 20, 2006. 6:00 AM

Antarctica

Scott Base is at 6 o'clock with a reading below that is accurate (click on). The majority of the continent designated 'east' which is the right hand side of the picture is grossly out of proportion in heat.

The surface temperatures still lean to the freezing side of temperate but alarmingly Vostok is -36 C (click on) while the humidity climbs across the continent. The humidity rise is due to sublimation of the ice. I've never noted Vostok to be that warm as silly as that sounds. The reason the temperatures are still this cold is because very cold air is heavy and sinks to the surface. As the ice cools the hot air the surface temperatures reflect that cooling.

If one is still living in denial of this reality, look at the humidity map (click on) and the dew point as well (click here).

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Conditions : Snow

Temperature : -11.0°

Updated Monday 20 Nov 9:15PM

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Observed at: Gustavus, Alaska

Elevation: 33 ft / 10 m Temperatures : 23 °F / -5 °C

Weather : Overcast

Humidity: 80%

Dew Point: 18 °F / -8 °C Wind: 10 mph / 17 km/h from the North

Pressure: 29.44 in / 997 hPa

Windchill: 12 °F / -11 °C

Visibility: 3.0 miles / 4.8 kilometers UV: 0 out of 16

Clouds: Mostly Cloudy 100 ft / 30 m

Overcast 1100 ft / 335 m

(Above Ground Level)

November 18, 2006

Virginia Beach, Virginia

The Traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial at night. These men went to die in the defense of their country. Over 58,000 died. I don't know about you, but, I don't believe any of them died so that a world could melt down and become dangerous with absolutely nothing being done in Washington, DC. Everyone knows the lesson of Vietnam and the exploitation of honor, loyal, country. Do we live in a country where we are dictated to by people that basically don't care about what our will actually is? In many ways, we do. It gives a perspective on national defense rarely approached in the media.

If a person has a conscience to believe 'the good fight' means the 'best fight' then it includes the best fight humanity can bring to all others as well, not, just a definition assigned by the wealthy and powerful. The virtues of the USA we defend are among the most valiant, but, when it interprets into misuse of our military and the destruction of humanity we have to reassess as a nation of voters whom indeed we trust with this precious commodity of ability of a nation now two hundred years on. If Global Environmentalism isn't a part of our national conscience then we won't have a world to protect or a nation worthy of protection.

In many ways by impoverishing so many in this country, the current White House has done us a favor. We are already deprived and settle for far less than we should, so to reclaim our country in rebuilding our Middle Class we can make the best and moral decisions without cowering to the wealthy that would be given potential to exploit again. I'm willing to sustain our will against exploitation so that when we rebuild America this time it stands in moral character for us all and sustains any blow exploitation might place demands on.

November 19, 2006

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Photographer states :: I was able to visit the Traveling Vietnam Wall in Virginia Beach. An awesome experience. Sorry the pictures aren't as good as I would like--the sun was setting behing the Wall.