The process the country is going through at least for those that care to is quite an awakening and for those that like control it is a struggle to maintain the 'image' of the controlling party in a postive light. See, doing the 'right' thing doesn't really matter now because along the Gulf Coast 'the right thing' should have happened long before the storm came ashore.
There is mounting evidence to the abject poverty in the USA and I find it fascinating that not only were the Black Americans is the poorest states in the nation exposed for their reality but also the one aspect of reality that this administration finds bothersome about life, namely Global Warming was revealed along with it's poverty. It is an oxymoron that both the most neglected areas of American policy, domestic and abroad came to roost with one Global Warming storm. Very Ironic. Had this been Florida it would have been completely different and the outcomes entirely estranged from "The Party" but more enhancing it because the federal response to Jeb's Florida would have been 'immediate barring no expense' prior to the storm with services in place for the heroics afterward. The Gulf State hardest hit, Louisiana, has a Democratic governor.
It is really quite amazing to realize as the USA woke to New Orleans and it's SUPERDOME it also woke to the worst storm in the history of this country powered by an Arctic Vortex.
That aside. At least for now.
The Blues, jazz and soul all originated in the south of the USA. It's unique, it's retro, it's negative energy. The music of the south completely reflects the reality of the south. There wasn't any other form of free expression left except music to tell the story of societal neglect and the pain of living everyday in it. It only makes sense that over time new forms of 'entertainment' would come as enlightenment to the rest of the country and the music of the south became marketable and the society that created it would come to love it. It just would not come to love the etiology of it nor the desire to change it.
Fats Domino.
Louie Armstrong. "Satchmo"
Those are only a miniscule two that would come out of the music that was uniquely American to find a place in the hearts of this country. Rarely if ever did the reality of the south come to the forefront with them. It would take a Civil Rights movement fueled by people like Martin Luther King, Jr. to bring poverty to it's pinnacle of recognition but not to the point where the poverty was recognized so much as the racism, bigotry, bias and hatred. With names like Selma and Birmingham the country would come to know poverty with a different name.
Civil Rights grew but oddly the power brokers that still live today still had their covert extremes hidden deep in illiteracy and social isolation out of the camera lens of the media moguls who found it 'good sport' to favor a political party that benefitted them and not regulation. The media industry put into power a political party that would come to the current awareness of the 'under belly' of this nation. The backwards and impoverished and increasing population of the United States of America. The reality that was always there but never recognized for 'the shame' it would hold to the world as a reality. Is there any wonder that now the world in it's compassion for the impoverished of the USA, the neglected of the USA, the underserved of the USA would come to one of it's most powerful cities, New York in distain of the very leader who would offer incredible 'bargains of trade' in order to keep face. Would all that have been offered if there was not such a 'shame' in the USA and such a 'humiliating' response in compassion by the world? Not likely.
I hope President Putin's declaration against terrorism and nuclear proliferation comes to be the Nobel Peace Prize it should be and the end to all that plagues security of nations globally. It will be a feat to get the cooperation of the USA but with it most vulnerable and alone in it's aggression rather than peaceful initiatives there is the best chance with this administration at least for all that to happen. It is obvious by a growing majority in the USA, we want peace and not war. We abhore the very mistakes this administration continues to make on a daily basis manifesting in huge deficits due to their inability to serve the country so much as COVER UP this administration's gross inadequecies.
After Katrina the response by Bush's presidency was the same as 911, slow, insufficient and damaging beyond the initial assault. It shows a political party so mired in corruption with self serving initiatives that four years of budgetary mismanagement clearly has caused the collapse of fiscal sanity sending generations of Americans into their own form of abject poverty in just finding ways to pay back a debt that is supported by a draconian economy. Without an 'flat' economy of blood sucking tax income the USA is set for increased poverty with further loss to it's tax base, rather a overwhelming class of 'needy.'
If this country hasn't learned this time they have made gross errors in 2000 and 2004 sacrificing all in an experiment that would save them by the graces of an evangelical christian god rather than competent leadership than it will never learn. THAT should be a lesson the world needs to 'get their minds around' and come to terms with in the international theater whereby the USA is 'on the loose' against world order and peace at the cost of the quality of life of it's own citizens.
Bush, Cheney and their "Party" have a full characterization now. They feed a political machine that serves to keep 'the image' of it untarnished or so they would believe while it deprives the very neediest of it's citizens from success in education and economic opportunity which are the key elements in movement out of poverty to a tax paying status contributing to the greatness of any nation but especially one that touts democracy and capitalism as examples to personal freedoms. The basis of American freedom that was once coveted by the underclasses of the world IS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY leading to better quality of life and with this Global Warming Storm the very basis of what Bush promotes that started due to his exposure of fraud over Iraq is now seen in living color coming right out of the heart of poverty in the south. If ever there was a god it is more evident today than ever before.
The World now knows the 'truth' far greater than anything Michael Moore could tell of the very people who would seek to bring in covert measures of war in the name of freedom and democracy don't even practice it at home. Irony only god could expose and GREED could create.
It has been a long held LAW that when countries practice war over peace the people within them suffer. The focus of treasuries goes to creating offensive military weaponary as well as defensive measures to counter balance those aggressions. That LAW of international aggression is completely evident here causing human rights abuses all over this country. It is a LAW well known to any leader who truly looks for a better way of life for the people of their country and one that did not need to be validated still again. More than 'the south' is in poverty now. The greed of this administration has cast the entire country into profound debt with little chance of economic recovery and political agendas that are 'fronting' for a political party without answers or insight.
The revealing of America took not world war but simply a Global Warming storm that no one saw coming on the very 'underbelly' that still had a revolution of silence to be revealed.
The most profound picture that Katrina revealed this past week came when rescue workers found a lone black man in his home alive among the rubble to be taken to a health facility for relocation. The man cared not about leaving his home amongst the devastation as his reality was as much a part of the devastation. He was in his home with a bottle of water that sustained him. He was use to being sustained and when the caucasian emergency workers brought him more water and food as well he was content with the helping hand and cared not for the food so much as just enough clean water to see him through a little longer until 'things got better.' The abject poverty of his life was catastrophic and the devastation around him after surviving the worst storm ever to hit the USA was simply 'the next thing' he had to live through. In his way of thinking everything would be okay and he didn't want to impose a need of his on a caucasian society that would rather see him dead than survive. He had survived a lifetime of negligence and this was just 'the next hilltop to climb.' THAT was the most profound story of all.
The World has come to terms with Global Warming long before now. It is finally time for the most profound issue besetting the globe to take it's proper place as the leading concern of this country. But in true corruption and denial of 'the truth' the Bush White House cannot find it's way out a brown paper sack in order to address THE ISSUE so much as throw fist fulls of money one after the other to the bellies of hungry and neglected Ameicans in hopes it's base of oil and gas tycoons goes undisturbed the the DENIAL they breed will keep them alive politically.
Bush’s Legacy: More Than Duct Tape Needed
William Fisher, Arab News
The speech President George W. Bush delivered in New Orleans Thursday evening had the phony ring of a second-term president driven by a single goal: To rebuild what is left of his tattered legacy.
The president still contends he is a “compassionate conservative”, yet conservatives in his own party will find little joy in his huge spending proposals for rebuilding the Gulf Coast. In that sense, his speech could just as well have been made by Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Lyndon Johnson. No legacy there.
Hurricanes are getting stronger, study says
The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years. Image courtesy Peter Webster/Georgia Tech
The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years, even though the total number of hurricanes has dropped since the 1990s, according to a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The shift occurred as global sea surface temperatures have increased over the same period. The research will appear in the September 16 issue of the journal Science, published by the AAAS, the science society, the world’s largest general scientific organization.
Peter Webster, professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, along with NCAR’s Greg Holland and Tech’s Judith Curry and Hai-Ru Chang, studied the number, duration and intensity of hurricanes (also known as typhoons or tropical cyclones) that have occurred worldwide from 1970 to 2004. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
"What we found was rather astonishing," said Webster. "In the 1970’s, there was an average of about 10 Category 4 and 5 hurricanes per year globally. Since 1990, the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled, averaging 18 per year globally."
Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds from 131 to 155 miles per hour; Category 5 systems, such as Hurricane Katrina at its peak over the Gulf of Mexico, feature winds of 156 mph or more. "
Category 4 and 5 storms are also making up a larger share of the total number of hurricanes," said Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech and co-author of the study. " Category 4 and 5 hurricanes made up about 20 percent of all hurricanes in the 1970’s, but over the last decade they account for about 35 percent of these storms."
Putin: U.N. has key role in terror fight
(AP)Updated: 2005-09-15 23:11
The United Nations must shift its focus from just settling disputes between states to coordinating the world's fight against terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the second day of a U.N. summit Thursday.
Hurricane data suggest link to global warming
By MIKE TONERCox News ServiceFriday, September 16, 2005
ATLANTA — The number of major hurricanes like Katrina has nearly doubled worldwide since 1990 — a finding that scientists say coincides with rising sea surface temperatures and seems certain to stoke the debate on global warming as well.
"What we found was rather astonishing," says Peter Webster of Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. "In the 1970s, there was an average of about 10 Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide per year. Since 1990, the number has averaged 18 per year."
Although Webster and his fellow researchers stop short of attributing the increase directly to global warming, they say the worldwide increase in intense storms — like Hurricane Katrina — closely matches the predictions of computer climate models for a warmer world.
"It's impossible to say that a particular hurricane like Katrina, or any other storm, is due to climate change. But storms like Katrina have increased tremendously in all ocean basins of the world, so the trend doesn't appear to be a result of natural variability," says Webster.
Powerful invest $1 billion in Clinton's 'Initiative'
By DAVID HOCox News Service
NEW YORK - Bill Clinton 's summit of world leaders, tycoons and nonprofit groups collected more than $1.25 billion in pledges of money and programs intended to combat global problems, the former president said Saturday.
Katrina shows effect of climate change, says Gore
Hurricane Katrina offered "a taste" of the disasters, and the response to them, that the US could expect as a consequence of climate change, former vice president Al Gore said on Saturday.
He cited recent research that found warmer sea surface temperatures - a result of global warming - had strengthened hurricanes and major storms around the world. Speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, where climate change was one of the key issues under discussion, he also criticised those politicians he said wanted to trim government too far, as weak government was incapable of responding adequately to emergencies.
TO LIVE IN DENIAL IS TO DIE !!!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Summertime sung by Billie Holiday
George and ira gershwin / dubose heyward
Summertime and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is fine
Oh your daddy’s rich and your ma is good lookin’
So hush little baby, don’t you cry
One of these mornings
You’re goin’ to rise up singing
Then you’ll spread your wings
And you’ll take the sky
But till that morning
There’s a nothin’ can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin’ by
Summertime and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is fine
Oh your daddy’s rich and your ma is good lookin’
So hush little baby, don’t you cry
One of these mornings
You’re goin’ to rise up singing
Then you’ll spread your wings
And you’ll take the sky
But till that morning
There’s a nothin’ can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin’ by
"It's like reaching for the moon" sung by Billy Holiday
It's like reaching for the moon
It's like reaching for the sun
It's like reaching for the stars
Reaching for you
You're so far above me
How can I expect than an angel to
It's so refined as you are
It's like flying without wings
Playing fiddle without strings
And a million other things
No one can do
No, my hopes are slender
In my secret heart
I pray you'll surrender soon
No, it's like reaching for the moon
It's like reaching for the sun
It's like reaching for the stars
Reaching for you
You're so far above me
How can I expect than an angel to
It's so refined as you are
It's like flying without wings
Playing fiddle without strings
And a million other things
No one can do
No, my hopes are slender
In my secret heart
I pray you'll surrender soon
No, it's like reaching for the moon
Friday, September 16, 2005
Bush nephew arrested for drunkenness
Jeb Bush's Parenting of "Tough Love" seems to sentence his own children to prison.
Austin, Texas: John Ellis Bush, the youngest son of Florida Governor Jeb Bush, was arrested early today and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest.
Bush, 21, nephew of President George Bush, was arrested by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2.30am yesterday on a corner of a bar district, said sheriff's spokesman Roger Wade.
Bush was released on $US2,500 ($3,285) bond for resisting arrest and personal recognisance bond for the public intoxication charge.
A spokesman for Jeb Bush said the Florida Governor and his wife Columba are concerned about the incident.
"This is a personal family matter which they are dealing with privately," said spokesman Alia Faraj.
Noelle Bush, the Governor's daughter, was arrested in January 2002 and was accused of trying to pass a fraudulent prescription at a Tallahassee pharmacy to obtain an anti-anxiety drug.
She completed a drug rehabilitation program in August 2003 and a judge dismissed the drug charges against her.
Noelle Bush was sent to jail twice for violating rules during her rehab stint.
She was jailed for three days in July 2002 after being caught with prescription pills and served 10 days a month later after being accused of having a small rock of crack cocaine in her shoe.
AP
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History
1810 Charles Remond, first full-time Black lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, is born free in Salem, MA.
1893, hundreds of thousands of settlers swarmed onto a section of land in Oklahoma known as the "Cherokee Strip."
1919, the American Legion was incorporated by an act of Congress.
1923 First Catholic seminary for Black priests is dedicated in Bay St. Louis, MS.
1925 Riley "B.B." King, is born as a sharecropper and raised on a plantation in Mississippi. He will become the ambassador of American blues with his distinctive melodic guitar sound with his release "The Thrill Is Gone"
1950 Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the leading Black intellectuals of his time, is born in Keyser, WV
1974, President Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft-evaders.
1977, Maria Callas, the American-born prima donna famed for her lyric soprano voice and fiery temperament, died in Paris at age 53.
1982, the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children by Lebanese Christian militiamen began in west Beirut's Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps.
Missing in Action
1965 MERRITT RAYMOND J. PORTLAND OR "02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV (SAN GABRIEL, CA)" ALIVE AND WELL 98
1965 RISNER ROBINSON TULSA OK 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 BUCHANAN HUBERT E. INDIANAPOLIS IN 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1966 ROBERTSON JOHN L. SEATTLE WA NVN TOLD SUBJ DIED IN INTERROG
1967 BAGLEY BOBBY R. CUMMING GA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED 12/05/97
1969 TRAMPSKI DONALD J. CHESTERTON IN
1975 BIAGINI FREDERICK J. " RELEASED, DATE UNKNOWN"
The Jerusalem Post
Hamas asserts power in Gaza
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
On Friday afternoon, thousands of masked Hamas gunmen marched in formation at a large victory rally in this empty Jewish settlement Friday, the Islamic terror organization's latest show of strength since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Channel Two news reported Friday night that the islamist terror organization had also taken up military-like positions along the Philadelphi Route, as well as a rumor that the greenhouses still standing for Palestinian use were preserved because Hamas had warned civilians not to harm the valuable asset.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126837397882
PA lawmakers demand cabinet resigns
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Palestinian legislators on Thursday demanded the resignation of the cabinet of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, holding it responsible for the ongoing state of anarchy and lawlessness in Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.
The demand came as Palestinian security officials confirmed on Thursday that large amounts of weapons and drugs were being smuggled into the Gaza Strip since Israel completed its withdrawal from the area. "Drug traffickers and arms dealers are exploiting the chaos at the Rafah border crossing to smuggle lethal and harmful items," said one official. "The Palestinians security forces have seized large amounts of drugs over the past few days."
"The situation is very dangerous, especially in the Gaza Strip," said Rouhi Fattouh, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council. "We are demanding that the Palestinian Authority put an end to security chaos and start collecting illegal weapons. The Palestinian leadership isn't doing enough to impose law and order."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126750770542
Sharon meets with King Abdullah
By HERB KEINON AND JPOST STAFF
United Nations
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Jordan's King Abdullah II at the UN headquarters on Friday morning, just before the king's summit speech in which he called for "zero tolerance" against extremism and said his Arab kingdom is working to promote moderate Islam across the globe.
According to Army Radio, in the course of the meeting, Sharon told Abdullah that Israel opposed Hamas's candidacy in the upcoming Palestinian Authority elections and that the PA now needed help strengthening its economy and building institutions.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126750771024
IDF nabs Palestinian infiltrator
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Security forces caught one of two Palestinians who infiltrated Moshav Netiv Ha'asera early Friday morning after searching for five hours. The infiltrator was found unarmed near Kibbutz Karmia, four kilometers away from Netiv Ha'asera. He was handed over to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for questioning. Meanwhile security forces continued searching for the second infiltrator, who they believed might still have been in the area.
Around 7 a.m., soldiers spotted signs of infiltration from northern Gaza in Moshav Netiv Ha'asera, near its hothouse area. Residents were called to remain in their homes as security forces began scouring the area for the infiltrators.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126837397258
Beirut blast kills one, wounds 23
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT, Lebanon
A bomb exploded in Beirut residential neighborhood late Friday, killing at least one person and wounding 23, police said, in the latest in a string of blasts in the Lebanese capital.
The blast, which went off just before midnight, caused heavy damage to a street in predominantly Christian east Beirut. Several buildings were damaged and at least two cars were completely destroyed. Wounded people could be seen carried to ambulances that rushed to the scene.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126837398458
Take back the holy sites
By MICHAEL FREUND
The scenes from Gaza are as ghastly as they were predictable. Energized by Israel's retreat, thousands of Palestinians wasted little time in descending on abandoned Jewish communities, torching yeshivot and bulldozing synagogues in a frenzy of hate and destruction.
Among those leading the charge was none other than Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who dismissed these places of Jewish prayer and study as "empty structures" and vowed that all such buildings would be destroyed.
Indeed, in the former Jewish community of Netzarim, Palestinian policemen chose not to intervene as rioters assaulted the synagogue, with one Palestinian officer telling a Western journalist: "The people have the right to do what they are doing."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126578007980
The Boston Globe
Off Hanover St., North End comfort food
By Anand Vaishnav, September 15, 2005
Waterfront Cafe
Add your own review
Location: 450 Commercial St., North End / Boston; 617-523-0613
Prices: $4-$14
Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Credit Cards: All major credit cards accepted.
Handicap access: Fully accessible.
Strolling through the North End in search of a place to eat can be a daunting experience. After just a few blocks down Hanover Street, the menus begin to blur, and the lines out the doors are intimidating. The neighborhood serves up some of the city's finest cuisine, but sometimes all you want is a freshly made pizza, a pint of beer, and the Sox game on TV.
So keep walking until Hanover Street ends at the waterfront, turn left, and wander into the Waterfront Cafe. The restaurant/bar sits on the edge of the North End, where the city meets the sea, and has won quiet accolades for its simple Italian-American dishes and relaxed atmosphere.
http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/1188
Romney stands by mosque comments
By Theo Emery, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
BOSTON --Muslim groups and civil libertarians demanded an apology from Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday for his comments about wiretapping mosques and monitoring foreign students. But the governor refused, saying he was only advocating for improved homeland security.
The groups delivered a letter to Romney that said "your desire to wiretap mosques is an affront to the values and principles that make America a great country." The groups include the American Civil Liberties Union and various mosques and Islamic organizations.
After the letter was delivered, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the governor would not apologize or retract his comments.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/09/16/romney_stands_by_mosque_comments/
France names Muslim chaplain for prisons
By Jamey Keaten, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
PARIS --France's main Muslim organization has appointed its first national chaplain for prisons, an effort to root out the causes of deadly religious extremism and prevent the spread of Islamic militancy behind bars.
Speaking to reporters Friday for the first time since his hiring last week, Moulay El Hassan El Alaoui -- a Moroccan-born high school math teacher -- said that Muslims make up about half the 56,000 inmates in French jails and that one of his top priorities will be "teaching about how to interpret the Quran."
The government hopes his selection will help improve religious counseling for imprisoned Muslims, though authorities do not keep figures on the religious affiliation of inmates, in accordance with French laws that guarantee state secularism.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/16/france_names_muslim_chaplain_for_prisons/
Greenland premier calls early elections
September 16, 2005
COPENHAGEN, Denmark --Premier Hans Enoksen called early elections after Greenland's governing coalition collapsed after a scandal over the misuse of public funds forced two cabinet members to quit.
The election of a new 31-member Landsting, Greenland's parliament, will be held Nov. 22, Enoksen said Thursday.
The split between Enoksen's social democratic Siumut party and junior partner Inuit Ataqatigiit stems from a scandal involving the ministers for fisheries and hunting, and for housing and infrastructure.
Both resigned in recent months following allegations they used government funds for personal expenses, including alcohol and dinners. Greenland is a semi-independent Danish territory.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/16/greenland_premier_calls_early_elections/
Flash flood watch issued as Tropical Storm Ophelia heads north
By Boston.com Staff And Wire Reports September 16, 2005
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for extreme southeast Massachusetts until 6 p.m. tonight, as Tropical Storm Ophelia slowly churns its way up the coast.
Torrential downpours of 2 to 4 inches of rain per hour are expected this afternoon over Cape Cod, the islands and Plymouth County.
The weather service warns that flash flooding is very dangerous, particularly for motorists. Officials there say drivers should be careful not to drive over roadways that are covered with water as water depths may be too great to allow cars to pass.
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/09/16/cape_cod_takes_precautions_as_tropical_storm_ophelia_heads_north/
A MODERN DAY WITCH HUNT - THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOULD COME TO MASSACHUSETTS EXCLUSIVELY. THEY COULD HOLD THEIR HEARING IN SALEM !!
Vatican bid to find gays in seminary stirs concern
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff September 16, 2005
An effort by the Vatican to look for evidence of homosexuality in Catholic seminaries is alarming gay rights advocates but is pleasing conservatives, who are hoping that Pope Benedict XVI will soon issue a ban on gay men as future priests.
The planned search for homosexuality is part of a Vatican review prompted by the clergy sexual abuse crisis of 229 American seminaries, theology schools, and other institutions that train priests. It is set to begin this month.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/16/vatican_bid_to_find_gays_in_seminary_stirs_concern/
Hurricane cleanup costs worry conservatives
By Richard Cowan September 16, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill are worried about the growing costs of rebuilding the storm-ravaged U.S. Gulf Coast, and want to pay for it by cutting domestic spending on programs like a new prescription drug benefit for the elderly.
"It's not an exaggeration to say that we're on the verge of a meltdown," said John Hart, a spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who has threatened to hold up emergency spending bills to pay for the reconstruction unless offsetting budget cuts are found.
Fiscal conservatives in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are concerned the costs of rebuilding roads, utilities, businesses and homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina will swell an already large U.S. budget deficit.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/16/hurricane_cleanup_costs_worry_conservatives/
Corruption a worry as Katrina aid flows
By Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
BATON ROUGE, La. --The sudden flow of billions of dollars in hurricane relief aid into New Orleans has raised fears that some of it is going to be lost to graft and sticky fingers in a state with a long and rich history of corruption.
A group of current and former state officials is calling for more safeguards, more transparency in spending and the appointment of independent analysts to avoid corruption and keep the state out of trouble.
"If we don't do this properly, we're going to see the second looting of areas impacted by this horrible storm," said Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/16/corruption_a_worry_as_katrina_aid_flows/
Katrina Bush Highlights
By The Associated Press September 16, 2005
Summaries of some of the major proposals President Bush has put forward to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina:
The administration will ask Congress for a $2.6 billion package to cover the costs of educating an estimated 372,000 students whose schools were destroyed by Katrina. The administration wants the money to compensate public school districts and private schools that take in evacuated students. The proposal to compensate private schools is certain to re-ignite the "school voucher" battle over providing public money to private schools.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/16/summaries_of_bushs_katrina_proposals/
Ukraine honors journalist slain in 2000
By Natasha Lisova, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
KIEV, Ukraine --Ukraine marked the fifth anniversary Friday of the unsolved murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, whose abduction and beheading sparked the biggest scandal of former President Leonid Kuchma's rule.
Journalists, politicians and activists gathered at the forest edge outside the capital where Gongadze's headless body was found in 2000, 50 days after he disappeared.
"People must know the whole truth about the crime. ... Then they will trust the new authorities," said Oleksandr Moroz, lawmaker and leader of the Socialist Party.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/16/ukraine_remembers_journalists_abduction/
Kashmir enjoying a peaceful summer
By Neelesh Misra and Mujtaba Ali Ahmad, Associated Press Writers September 16, 2005
SRINAGAR, India --Of all the signs the India-Pakistan peace process is producing tangible results, one stands out: Kashmir is running low on chickens.
Chickens are the key ingredient in the traditional Kashmiri wedding feast, and with the region experiencing its most peaceful summer since the start of its Islamic insurgency in 1989, this year's wedding season is among the most festive in years.
Kashmir lies at the heart of the India-Pakistan rivalry -- the neighbors have fought two wars over the predominantly Muslim region, which is split between them but claimed by both.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/09/16/kashmir_enjoying_a_peaceful_summer/
U.S. Marine killed in explosion in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq --A U.S. Marine was killed in an explosion in the volatile western province of al-Anbar, the military said Friday.
The Marine, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed Thursday in an "indirect fire explosion" in Forward Operating Base Camp Ramadi, Iraq, the military said in a statement. His identity was not released pending notification of next of kin.
The latest death raises to 1,898 the number of U.S. troops killed since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,473 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The figures include five military civilians.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/09/16/us_marine_killed_in_explosion_in_iraq/
The Cheney Observer
Rove: Remember That Story?
Submitted by editor on September 15, 2005 - 1:46pm.
By Matthew Wheeland
Source: AlterNet
Over at DailyKos, Congressman John Conyers, who has long been one of the most outspoken voices calling for accountability in the Bush Administration, has new developments in the Rove-Plame scandal.
Starting tomorrow and stretching through next week, 4 House Committees are expected to vote on resolutions addressing the Valerie Plame leak. Specifically, these resolutions demand information from the Bush Administration on the outing of Valerie Plame in apparent retaliation for Ambassador Wilson's truth telling concerning weapons of mass destruction. The Bush Administration refuses to police itself in the midst of criminal and ethical misconduct and it is time for Congress to exercise its duty to oversee the Executive Branch.
Conyers also lists times and websites where you can watch and listen to these discussions, and explains why this is a crucial step:
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/1021
Will we allow more of the same?
By Deborah E. Gauthier/ News Staff Writer
Thursday, September 15, 2005
George W. Bush has done a lot of damage in the five short years he's been president. A wiser man would recognize his shortcomings and resign, but Bush is not a wise man.
What good would his resignation do at this point, anyway? Next in line for the presidency is Dick Cheney, the man who holds the strings to puppet Bush, a man held in high regard by oilmen and warlords who are making a fortune through Bush/Cheney policies.
And where is our second-in-command? Cheney hasn't said one word about the ongoing disaster on the Gulf Coast. He hasn't made one personal appearance to assure victims of Hurricane Katrina that there is help. He hasn't been seen on CNN defending the federal government's slow response to the hurricane disaster.
http://www.townonline.com/shrewsbury/opinion/view.bg?articleid=322851
Follow the money for the real story
Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate
Published September 15, 2005
AUSTIN, Texas -- Here's a good idea: Consumer groups and progressive congressfolks have joined in an effort to stop hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina from being further harmed by the new bankruptcy law, scheduled to take effect Oct. 17. This law was written of, by and for the consumer credit industry and is particularly onerous for the poor.
The bill was passed with massive support from the Republican leadership in Congress and from a disgusting number of sellout Democrats. While it was being considered in committee earlier this year, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) offered an amendment to protect victims of natural disasters. It was defeated, without debate, on a party-line vote.
Now, Congress has a chance to rethink some of the most punitive parts of the bill. Katrina victims who were planning to file before the new law goes into effect are out of luck--where are they gonna find a lawyer, let alone an open courthouse?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0509150092sep15,1,3603154.story?coll=chi-opinionfront-hed
Senate Democrats to investigate Halliburton
by PageOneQ
United States Senator Byrond Dorgan of North DaKota has announced that the Senate's Democratic Policy Committee will meet to examine the demotion of an emloyee of Halliburon, the large government contracting company formerly headed by ce President Dick Cheney.
In a report released by the Equality Forum, Halliburton was cited as just one of 8% of companies in the Fortune 500 to not have a policy protectting employees from descrimination within the company on the basis of sexual orientation. (PageOneQ: Wendys and Halliburton among small percentage of Fortune 500 companies not protecting gays.
http://pageoneq.com/news/2005/Halliburton_091505.html
Peace activist from Texas may have to pay for his deportation
SYDNEY, Australia -- An American peace activist who was removed from Australia after being labeled a security threat may have to pay more than 11,000 Australian dollars, or $8,435 in U.S. dollars, for his deportation, his lawyer said Friday.
Scott Parkin, of Houston, was removed from Australia on Thursday after he was arrested five days earlier and told his tourist visa had been canceled because he posed a threat to national security.
http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3857396
Cashing in on the blame
YOU KNOW THE world is out of whack when it takes resume inflation to finally move Michael Brown out of his job running FEMA.
You'd think letting thousands of people suffer and die over four days without food, water, medicine or airlifts would have prompted President Bush to declare, "Brownie, you're fired." Instead, it wasn't until Time magazine reported that Brown's bio listed him as assistant city manager rather than assistant to the city manager that Brown was given the heave-ho from running Katrina operations on Sept. 9. He resigned from FEMA three days later.
But the world is really strange when the person responsible finally accepts responsibility and that's headline news. "Bush Accepts Blame for Slow Hurricane Response," heralded the Los Angeles Times, and congratulations to the president were all over TV. You'd think he had said he was going to get rid of anyone on whose watch those 34 invalids at St. Rita's Nursing Home died.
Hardly, but Bush has realized that stubborn denial coupled with boyish mannerisms aren't enough when we can see the bodies floating in black water and feel the misery of people who trusted the government to help them.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-carlson15sep15,0,3539272.column
Kuwait Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Hands $25 Million Check to Former U.S. Presidents Co-Chairing Katrina Fund
9/15/2005 4:53:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Dr. Fatma Al-Khalifa of the Kuwait Information Office, 202-338-021l ext. 210 or 207 or kio@kuwait-info.org
NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- This morning Kuwait's Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah presented former President George Herbert Walker Bush and former President Bill Clinton a $25 million (US dollars) check for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. The check was the first payment toward fulfilling the State of Kuwait's historic $500 million (USD) pledge toward post-Katrina relief and reconstruction.
This pledge is the largest such gift to date, and today the first part of it was presented by the Prime Minister on behalf of Kuwait's Emir or leader, Shaikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The size and swiftness of Kuwait's pledge caused President Clinton to express "profound appreciation" to Kuwait, saying that the donation testifies to "the depth of relationships" between the two countries.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=53444
DeLay's Sick Joke
Leadership: When House Majority Leader Tom DeLay declared "ongoing victory" over spending and suggested there's nothing much left to cut, we thought he was kidding. As it turns out, he wasn't. So the joke's on us.
Perhaps it's a sign of Washington's corrupting influence on someone who seemed like a pretty common-sense guy. But DeLay's comments beggar the imagination.
Does he really think nothing else can be cut from a budget that's exploded in recent years? Does he really believe the GOP, the party in power since 1995, has been a good steward of the public's scarce resources, when you look at 2005 spending and see nearly 14,000 individual pork projects totaling $27.3 billion?
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&issue=20050915
Why the Leak Probe Matters
For all the complexities of the Valerie Plame case, this story is about how easy it was to get into Iraq, and how hard it will be to get out.
By Jonathan Alter
July 25 issue - Like a lot of President Bush's critics, I supported the Iraq war at first. Because of the evidence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction laid out by Colin Powell, I agreed that we needed to disarm Saddam Hussein. I even think it's possible that 25 years from now, historians will conclude that the Iraq war helped accelerate the modernizing of the Middle East, even if it doesn't fully democratize it.
But if that happens, Bush might not get as much credit as he hopes, and not just because most historians, as Richard Nixon liked to say, are liberals. Bush may look bad because his leadership on Iraq has been a fiasco. He didn't plan for it: the early decisions that allowed the insurgency to get going were breathtakingly incompetent. He didn't pay for it: Bush is the first president in history to cut taxes during a war, this one now costing nearly $1 billion a week. And most important of all, he didn't tell the American people the truth about it: taking a nation to war is the most solemn duty of a president, and he'd better make certain there's no alternative and no doubt about the evidence.
http://www.wnymedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=35
Bush Corporate Government Seizes Katrina Opportunity
By Greg Tarpinian
Related Stories: Capitalism
9-15-05, 8:36 am
With people still stranded on rooftops and bodies floating in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration did what it has always done best: it moved with lightning speed to dole out lucrative contracts to private corporations.
The corporate community has always understood that its interests come first in the nation created by the Bush administration. Stock prices for Halliburton and Baker Hughes soared when the levees broke in New Orleans. Helicopters were in the air assessing the damage to oil rigs while people below were drowning in their homes.
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/1843/1/120/
Editorial: Corporate looters
Shaw Group, Fluor, Bechtel, Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR are flocking like vultures to feast on the $62 billion or more in federal contracts to rebuild the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina. These “no bid” contracts are nothing less than a looting of the public till.
Bush is sweetening the pot by suspending the Davis-Bacon Act for the region. The act requires contractors to pay the prevailing wage for any project funded by the federal government. The savings will flow into the coffers of these huge corporations, all heavy contributors to the Bush-Cheney campaigns and the Republican Party.
Already, KBR has grabbed a $500 million Pentagon contract to clean up damage done to Navy shipyards in Mississippi. Shaw was granted a $100 million to build temporary housing for some of the million homeless victims of Katrina. FEMA refuses to release any details on how these contracts have been negotiated.
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/7729/1/286
Workers to sample nuclear hot spot
Radioactive site set for excavation after testing
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
September 15, 2005
OAK RIDGE - Workers will take samples from a troublesome hot spot next month in hopes of excavating the radioactive site - smack dab in the middle of Oak Ridge National Laboratory - next summer.
Bechtel Jacobs Co. plans to remove an empty 4,000-gallon waste tank and 200 cubic yards of highly contaminated soil from an area associated with the lab's early nuclear operations. Bechtel Jacobs is the U.S. Department of Energy's environmental manager in Oak Ridge.
Officials said they hope the cleanup will eliminate an environmental hazard that's been under study for more than a decade.
The project is sometimes referred to as Corehole 8. That's a reference to a test well drilled years ago that identified an underground plume of radioactive materials in the groundwater not far from the lab's cafeteria.
An attempt to remove the old tank in 2001 was called off after workers encountered unexpectedly high radiation fields during the digging.
John Owsley, the state's environmental oversight chief in Oak Ridge, said the area contains a number of radioactive elements, including plutonium, americium, curium, uranium, cesium and strontium.
The fact that nuclear waste is in contact with the groundwater in the middle of the ORNL complex is unacceptable, he said.
"The state's position is that the material should be in a geologic repository," Owsley said.
Some of the excavated materials will be transported to New Mexico for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The underground tank at ORNL was used decades ago to hold nuclear fuel leftover from reactor tests. The fuel mix was drained in the 1980s and put into cans for storage in the adjacent Building 3019-A.
According to a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, "The contaminated soil resulted from leakage from a damaged joint in feed piping to the tank."
During the aborted cleanup effort four years ago, radiation was measured at levels as high as 20 rads per hour, board staffers reported. They said safety controls are being developed for the upcoming sampling program to limit the radioactivity of materials brought to the surface at any one time.
Owsley said DOE, as part of the Federal Facilities Agreement in Oak Ridge, is required to submit plans in January 2006 that will outline the cleanup activities and disposal of nuclear wastes.
"We expect them to begin excavation in May," the state official said. "We've been working on this for quite some time."
Although the location and extent of the contamination is a concern, Owsley said the situation is stable at present.
"The contaminated soil was covered in such a way that it didn't continue to leach into the environment," he said.
Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs, said workers plan to sample soils around the tank in early October to better characterize what radioactive isotopes are present and their concentrations.
Those samples will help determine where the excavated wastes will be disposed, Hill said.
The so-called transuranic wastes, long-lived radioactive materials such as plutonium and americium, will be sent to WIPP, a deep-underground waste repository. The radioactive materials categorized as low-level waste will be transported to the nuclear landfill on DOE's Oak Ridge reservation.
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_4081489,00.html
Refugee’ vs. ‘evacuee’: Words do hurt
Delores MCCain
The effects of Hurricane Katrina, a natural disaster, has the whole world talking. And it appears there is enough blame to go around, particularly when it comes to our U.S. government. In addition to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama becoming victims of this natural disaster, another nightmare began after the hurricane passed out of the gulf coast. People of the gulf states were now being referred to as "refugees," as if they were not American citizens.
http://austinweeklynews.1upsoftware.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=316&TM=46285.03
continued …
"Okeydoke"
History
1810 Charles Remond, first full-time Black lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, is born free in Salem, MA.
1893, hundreds of thousands of settlers swarmed onto a section of land in Oklahoma known as the "Cherokee Strip."
1919, the American Legion was incorporated by an act of Congress.
1923 First Catholic seminary for Black priests is dedicated in Bay St. Louis, MS.
1925 Riley "B.B." King, is born as a sharecropper and raised on a plantation in Mississippi. He will become the ambassador of American blues with his distinctive melodic guitar sound with his release "The Thrill Is Gone"
1950 Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the leading Black intellectuals of his time, is born in Keyser, WV
1974, President Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft-evaders.
1977, Maria Callas, the American-born prima donna famed for her lyric soprano voice and fiery temperament, died in Paris at age 53.
1982, the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children by Lebanese Christian militiamen began in west Beirut's Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps.
Missing in Action
1965 MERRITT RAYMOND J. PORTLAND OR "02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV (SAN GABRIEL, CA)" ALIVE AND WELL 98
1965 RISNER ROBINSON TULSA OK 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 BUCHANAN HUBERT E. INDIANAPOLIS IN 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1966 ROBERTSON JOHN L. SEATTLE WA NVN TOLD SUBJ DIED IN INTERROG
1967 BAGLEY BOBBY R. CUMMING GA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED 12/05/97
1969 TRAMPSKI DONALD J. CHESTERTON IN
1975 BIAGINI FREDERICK J. " RELEASED, DATE UNKNOWN"
The Jerusalem Post
Hamas asserts power in Gaza
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
On Friday afternoon, thousands of masked Hamas gunmen marched in formation at a large victory rally in this empty Jewish settlement Friday, the Islamic terror organization's latest show of strength since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Channel Two news reported Friday night that the islamist terror organization had also taken up military-like positions along the Philadelphi Route, as well as a rumor that the greenhouses still standing for Palestinian use were preserved because Hamas had warned civilians not to harm the valuable asset.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126837397882
PA lawmakers demand cabinet resigns
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Palestinian legislators on Thursday demanded the resignation of the cabinet of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, holding it responsible for the ongoing state of anarchy and lawlessness in Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.
The demand came as Palestinian security officials confirmed on Thursday that large amounts of weapons and drugs were being smuggled into the Gaza Strip since Israel completed its withdrawal from the area. "Drug traffickers and arms dealers are exploiting the chaos at the Rafah border crossing to smuggle lethal and harmful items," said one official. "The Palestinians security forces have seized large amounts of drugs over the past few days."
"The situation is very dangerous, especially in the Gaza Strip," said Rouhi Fattouh, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council. "We are demanding that the Palestinian Authority put an end to security chaos and start collecting illegal weapons. The Palestinian leadership isn't doing enough to impose law and order."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126750770542
Sharon meets with King Abdullah
By HERB KEINON AND JPOST STAFF
United Nations
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Jordan's King Abdullah II at the UN headquarters on Friday morning, just before the king's summit speech in which he called for "zero tolerance" against extremism and said his Arab kingdom is working to promote moderate Islam across the globe.
According to Army Radio, in the course of the meeting, Sharon told Abdullah that Israel opposed Hamas's candidacy in the upcoming Palestinian Authority elections and that the PA now needed help strengthening its economy and building institutions.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126750771024
IDF nabs Palestinian infiltrator
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Security forces caught one of two Palestinians who infiltrated Moshav Netiv Ha'asera early Friday morning after searching for five hours. The infiltrator was found unarmed near Kibbutz Karmia, four kilometers away from Netiv Ha'asera. He was handed over to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for questioning. Meanwhile security forces continued searching for the second infiltrator, who they believed might still have been in the area.
Around 7 a.m., soldiers spotted signs of infiltration from northern Gaza in Moshav Netiv Ha'asera, near its hothouse area. Residents were called to remain in their homes as security forces began scouring the area for the infiltrators.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126837397258
Beirut blast kills one, wounds 23
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT, Lebanon
A bomb exploded in Beirut residential neighborhood late Friday, killing at least one person and wounding 23, police said, in the latest in a string of blasts in the Lebanese capital.
The blast, which went off just before midnight, caused heavy damage to a street in predominantly Christian east Beirut. Several buildings were damaged and at least two cars were completely destroyed. Wounded people could be seen carried to ambulances that rushed to the scene.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126837398458
Take back the holy sites
By MICHAEL FREUND
The scenes from Gaza are as ghastly as they were predictable. Energized by Israel's retreat, thousands of Palestinians wasted little time in descending on abandoned Jewish communities, torching yeshivot and bulldozing synagogues in a frenzy of hate and destruction.
Among those leading the charge was none other than Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who dismissed these places of Jewish prayer and study as "empty structures" and vowed that all such buildings would be destroyed.
Indeed, in the former Jewish community of Netzarim, Palestinian policemen chose not to intervene as rioters assaulted the synagogue, with one Palestinian officer telling a Western journalist: "The people have the right to do what they are doing."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126578007980
The Boston Globe
Off Hanover St., North End comfort food
By Anand Vaishnav, September 15, 2005
Waterfront Cafe
Add your own review
Location: 450 Commercial St., North End / Boston; 617-523-0613
Prices: $4-$14
Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Credit Cards: All major credit cards accepted.
Handicap access: Fully accessible.
Strolling through the North End in search of a place to eat can be a daunting experience. After just a few blocks down Hanover Street, the menus begin to blur, and the lines out the doors are intimidating. The neighborhood serves up some of the city's finest cuisine, but sometimes all you want is a freshly made pizza, a pint of beer, and the Sox game on TV.
So keep walking until Hanover Street ends at the waterfront, turn left, and wander into the Waterfront Cafe. The restaurant/bar sits on the edge of the North End, where the city meets the sea, and has won quiet accolades for its simple Italian-American dishes and relaxed atmosphere.
http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/1188
Romney stands by mosque comments
By Theo Emery, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
BOSTON --Muslim groups and civil libertarians demanded an apology from Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday for his comments about wiretapping mosques and monitoring foreign students. But the governor refused, saying he was only advocating for improved homeland security.
The groups delivered a letter to Romney that said "your desire to wiretap mosques is an affront to the values and principles that make America a great country." The groups include the American Civil Liberties Union and various mosques and Islamic organizations.
After the letter was delivered, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the governor would not apologize or retract his comments.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/09/16/romney_stands_by_mosque_comments/
France names Muslim chaplain for prisons
By Jamey Keaten, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
PARIS --France's main Muslim organization has appointed its first national chaplain for prisons, an effort to root out the causes of deadly religious extremism and prevent the spread of Islamic militancy behind bars.
Speaking to reporters Friday for the first time since his hiring last week, Moulay El Hassan El Alaoui -- a Moroccan-born high school math teacher -- said that Muslims make up about half the 56,000 inmates in French jails and that one of his top priorities will be "teaching about how to interpret the Quran."
The government hopes his selection will help improve religious counseling for imprisoned Muslims, though authorities do not keep figures on the religious affiliation of inmates, in accordance with French laws that guarantee state secularism.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/16/france_names_muslim_chaplain_for_prisons/
Greenland premier calls early elections
September 16, 2005
COPENHAGEN, Denmark --Premier Hans Enoksen called early elections after Greenland's governing coalition collapsed after a scandal over the misuse of public funds forced two cabinet members to quit.
The election of a new 31-member Landsting, Greenland's parliament, will be held Nov. 22, Enoksen said Thursday.
The split between Enoksen's social democratic Siumut party and junior partner Inuit Ataqatigiit stems from a scandal involving the ministers for fisheries and hunting, and for housing and infrastructure.
Both resigned in recent months following allegations they used government funds for personal expenses, including alcohol and dinners. Greenland is a semi-independent Danish territory.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/16/greenland_premier_calls_early_elections/
Flash flood watch issued as Tropical Storm Ophelia heads north
By Boston.com Staff And Wire Reports September 16, 2005
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for extreme southeast Massachusetts until 6 p.m. tonight, as Tropical Storm Ophelia slowly churns its way up the coast.
Torrential downpours of 2 to 4 inches of rain per hour are expected this afternoon over Cape Cod, the islands and Plymouth County.
The weather service warns that flash flooding is very dangerous, particularly for motorists. Officials there say drivers should be careful not to drive over roadways that are covered with water as water depths may be too great to allow cars to pass.
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/09/16/cape_cod_takes_precautions_as_tropical_storm_ophelia_heads_north/
A MODERN DAY WITCH HUNT - THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOULD COME TO MASSACHUSETTS EXCLUSIVELY. THEY COULD HOLD THEIR HEARING IN SALEM !!
Vatican bid to find gays in seminary stirs concern
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff September 16, 2005
An effort by the Vatican to look for evidence of homosexuality in Catholic seminaries is alarming gay rights advocates but is pleasing conservatives, who are hoping that Pope Benedict XVI will soon issue a ban on gay men as future priests.
The planned search for homosexuality is part of a Vatican review prompted by the clergy sexual abuse crisis of 229 American seminaries, theology schools, and other institutions that train priests. It is set to begin this month.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/16/vatican_bid_to_find_gays_in_seminary_stirs_concern/
Hurricane cleanup costs worry conservatives
By Richard Cowan September 16, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill are worried about the growing costs of rebuilding the storm-ravaged U.S. Gulf Coast, and want to pay for it by cutting domestic spending on programs like a new prescription drug benefit for the elderly.
"It's not an exaggeration to say that we're on the verge of a meltdown," said John Hart, a spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who has threatened to hold up emergency spending bills to pay for the reconstruction unless offsetting budget cuts are found.
Fiscal conservatives in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are concerned the costs of rebuilding roads, utilities, businesses and homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina will swell an already large U.S. budget deficit.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/16/hurricane_cleanup_costs_worry_conservatives/
Corruption a worry as Katrina aid flows
By Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
BATON ROUGE, La. --The sudden flow of billions of dollars in hurricane relief aid into New Orleans has raised fears that some of it is going to be lost to graft and sticky fingers in a state with a long and rich history of corruption.
A group of current and former state officials is calling for more safeguards, more transparency in spending and the appointment of independent analysts to avoid corruption and keep the state out of trouble.
"If we don't do this properly, we're going to see the second looting of areas impacted by this horrible storm," said Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/16/corruption_a_worry_as_katrina_aid_flows/
Katrina Bush Highlights
By The Associated Press September 16, 2005
Summaries of some of the major proposals President Bush has put forward to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina:
The administration will ask Congress for a $2.6 billion package to cover the costs of educating an estimated 372,000 students whose schools were destroyed by Katrina. The administration wants the money to compensate public school districts and private schools that take in evacuated students. The proposal to compensate private schools is certain to re-ignite the "school voucher" battle over providing public money to private schools.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/16/summaries_of_bushs_katrina_proposals/
Ukraine honors journalist slain in 2000
By Natasha Lisova, Associated Press Writer September 16, 2005
KIEV, Ukraine --Ukraine marked the fifth anniversary Friday of the unsolved murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, whose abduction and beheading sparked the biggest scandal of former President Leonid Kuchma's rule.
Journalists, politicians and activists gathered at the forest edge outside the capital where Gongadze's headless body was found in 2000, 50 days after he disappeared.
"People must know the whole truth about the crime. ... Then they will trust the new authorities," said Oleksandr Moroz, lawmaker and leader of the Socialist Party.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/16/ukraine_remembers_journalists_abduction/
Kashmir enjoying a peaceful summer
By Neelesh Misra and Mujtaba Ali Ahmad, Associated Press Writers September 16, 2005
SRINAGAR, India --Of all the signs the India-Pakistan peace process is producing tangible results, one stands out: Kashmir is running low on chickens.
Chickens are the key ingredient in the traditional Kashmiri wedding feast, and with the region experiencing its most peaceful summer since the start of its Islamic insurgency in 1989, this year's wedding season is among the most festive in years.
Kashmir lies at the heart of the India-Pakistan rivalry -- the neighbors have fought two wars over the predominantly Muslim region, which is split between them but claimed by both.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/09/16/kashmir_enjoying_a_peaceful_summer/
U.S. Marine killed in explosion in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq --A U.S. Marine was killed in an explosion in the volatile western province of al-Anbar, the military said Friday.
The Marine, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed Thursday in an "indirect fire explosion" in Forward Operating Base Camp Ramadi, Iraq, the military said in a statement. His identity was not released pending notification of next of kin.
The latest death raises to 1,898 the number of U.S. troops killed since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,473 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The figures include five military civilians.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/09/16/us_marine_killed_in_explosion_in_iraq/
The Cheney Observer
Rove: Remember That Story?
Submitted by editor on September 15, 2005 - 1:46pm.
By Matthew Wheeland
Source: AlterNet
Over at DailyKos, Congressman John Conyers, who has long been one of the most outspoken voices calling for accountability in the Bush Administration, has new developments in the Rove-Plame scandal.
Starting tomorrow and stretching through next week, 4 House Committees are expected to vote on resolutions addressing the Valerie Plame leak. Specifically, these resolutions demand information from the Bush Administration on the outing of Valerie Plame in apparent retaliation for Ambassador Wilson's truth telling concerning weapons of mass destruction. The Bush Administration refuses to police itself in the midst of criminal and ethical misconduct and it is time for Congress to exercise its duty to oversee the Executive Branch.
Conyers also lists times and websites where you can watch and listen to these discussions, and explains why this is a crucial step:
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/1021
Will we allow more of the same?
By Deborah E. Gauthier/ News Staff Writer
Thursday, September 15, 2005
George W. Bush has done a lot of damage in the five short years he's been president. A wiser man would recognize his shortcomings and resign, but Bush is not a wise man.
What good would his resignation do at this point, anyway? Next in line for the presidency is Dick Cheney, the man who holds the strings to puppet Bush, a man held in high regard by oilmen and warlords who are making a fortune through Bush/Cheney policies.
And where is our second-in-command? Cheney hasn't said one word about the ongoing disaster on the Gulf Coast. He hasn't made one personal appearance to assure victims of Hurricane Katrina that there is help. He hasn't been seen on CNN defending the federal government's slow response to the hurricane disaster.
http://www.townonline.com/shrewsbury/opinion/view.bg?articleid=322851
Follow the money for the real story
Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate
Published September 15, 2005
AUSTIN, Texas -- Here's a good idea: Consumer groups and progressive congressfolks have joined in an effort to stop hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina from being further harmed by the new bankruptcy law, scheduled to take effect Oct. 17. This law was written of, by and for the consumer credit industry and is particularly onerous for the poor.
The bill was passed with massive support from the Republican leadership in Congress and from a disgusting number of sellout Democrats. While it was being considered in committee earlier this year, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) offered an amendment to protect victims of natural disasters. It was defeated, without debate, on a party-line vote.
Now, Congress has a chance to rethink some of the most punitive parts of the bill. Katrina victims who were planning to file before the new law goes into effect are out of luck--where are they gonna find a lawyer, let alone an open courthouse?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0509150092sep15,1,3603154.story?coll=chi-opinionfront-hed
Senate Democrats to investigate Halliburton
by PageOneQ
United States Senator Byrond Dorgan of North DaKota has announced that the Senate's Democratic Policy Committee will meet to examine the demotion of an emloyee of Halliburon, the large government contracting company formerly headed by ce President Dick Cheney.
In a report released by the Equality Forum, Halliburton was cited as just one of 8% of companies in the Fortune 500 to not have a policy protectting employees from descrimination within the company on the basis of sexual orientation. (PageOneQ: Wendys and Halliburton among small percentage of Fortune 500 companies not protecting gays.
http://pageoneq.com/news/2005/Halliburton_091505.html
Peace activist from Texas may have to pay for his deportation
SYDNEY, Australia -- An American peace activist who was removed from Australia after being labeled a security threat may have to pay more than 11,000 Australian dollars, or $8,435 in U.S. dollars, for his deportation, his lawyer said Friday.
Scott Parkin, of Houston, was removed from Australia on Thursday after he was arrested five days earlier and told his tourist visa had been canceled because he posed a threat to national security.
http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3857396
Cashing in on the blame
YOU KNOW THE world is out of whack when it takes resume inflation to finally move Michael Brown out of his job running FEMA.
You'd think letting thousands of people suffer and die over four days without food, water, medicine or airlifts would have prompted President Bush to declare, "Brownie, you're fired." Instead, it wasn't until Time magazine reported that Brown's bio listed him as assistant city manager rather than assistant to the city manager that Brown was given the heave-ho from running Katrina operations on Sept. 9. He resigned from FEMA three days later.
But the world is really strange when the person responsible finally accepts responsibility and that's headline news. "Bush Accepts Blame for Slow Hurricane Response," heralded the Los Angeles Times, and congratulations to the president were all over TV. You'd think he had said he was going to get rid of anyone on whose watch those 34 invalids at St. Rita's Nursing Home died.
Hardly, but Bush has realized that stubborn denial coupled with boyish mannerisms aren't enough when we can see the bodies floating in black water and feel the misery of people who trusted the government to help them.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-carlson15sep15,0,3539272.column
Kuwait Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Hands $25 Million Check to Former U.S. Presidents Co-Chairing Katrina Fund
9/15/2005 4:53:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Dr. Fatma Al-Khalifa of the Kuwait Information Office, 202-338-021l ext. 210 or 207 or kio@kuwait-info.org
NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- This morning Kuwait's Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah presented former President George Herbert Walker Bush and former President Bill Clinton a $25 million (US dollars) check for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. The check was the first payment toward fulfilling the State of Kuwait's historic $500 million (USD) pledge toward post-Katrina relief and reconstruction.
This pledge is the largest such gift to date, and today the first part of it was presented by the Prime Minister on behalf of Kuwait's Emir or leader, Shaikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The size and swiftness of Kuwait's pledge caused President Clinton to express "profound appreciation" to Kuwait, saying that the donation testifies to "the depth of relationships" between the two countries.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=53444
DeLay's Sick Joke
Leadership: When House Majority Leader Tom DeLay declared "ongoing victory" over spending and suggested there's nothing much left to cut, we thought he was kidding. As it turns out, he wasn't. So the joke's on us.
Perhaps it's a sign of Washington's corrupting influence on someone who seemed like a pretty common-sense guy. But DeLay's comments beggar the imagination.
Does he really think nothing else can be cut from a budget that's exploded in recent years? Does he really believe the GOP, the party in power since 1995, has been a good steward of the public's scarce resources, when you look at 2005 spending and see nearly 14,000 individual pork projects totaling $27.3 billion?
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&issue=20050915
Why the Leak Probe Matters
For all the complexities of the Valerie Plame case, this story is about how easy it was to get into Iraq, and how hard it will be to get out.
By Jonathan Alter
July 25 issue - Like a lot of President Bush's critics, I supported the Iraq war at first. Because of the evidence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction laid out by Colin Powell, I agreed that we needed to disarm Saddam Hussein. I even think it's possible that 25 years from now, historians will conclude that the Iraq war helped accelerate the modernizing of the Middle East, even if it doesn't fully democratize it.
But if that happens, Bush might not get as much credit as he hopes, and not just because most historians, as Richard Nixon liked to say, are liberals. Bush may look bad because his leadership on Iraq has been a fiasco. He didn't plan for it: the early decisions that allowed the insurgency to get going were breathtakingly incompetent. He didn't pay for it: Bush is the first president in history to cut taxes during a war, this one now costing nearly $1 billion a week. And most important of all, he didn't tell the American people the truth about it: taking a nation to war is the most solemn duty of a president, and he'd better make certain there's no alternative and no doubt about the evidence.
http://www.wnymedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=35
Bush Corporate Government Seizes Katrina Opportunity
By Greg Tarpinian
Related Stories: Capitalism
9-15-05, 8:36 am
With people still stranded on rooftops and bodies floating in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration did what it has always done best: it moved with lightning speed to dole out lucrative contracts to private corporations.
The corporate community has always understood that its interests come first in the nation created by the Bush administration. Stock prices for Halliburton and Baker Hughes soared when the levees broke in New Orleans. Helicopters were in the air assessing the damage to oil rigs while people below were drowning in their homes.
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/1843/1/120/
Editorial: Corporate looters
Shaw Group, Fluor, Bechtel, Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR are flocking like vultures to feast on the $62 billion or more in federal contracts to rebuild the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina. These “no bid” contracts are nothing less than a looting of the public till.
Bush is sweetening the pot by suspending the Davis-Bacon Act for the region. The act requires contractors to pay the prevailing wage for any project funded by the federal government. The savings will flow into the coffers of these huge corporations, all heavy contributors to the Bush-Cheney campaigns and the Republican Party.
Already, KBR has grabbed a $500 million Pentagon contract to clean up damage done to Navy shipyards in Mississippi. Shaw was granted a $100 million to build temporary housing for some of the million homeless victims of Katrina. FEMA refuses to release any details on how these contracts have been negotiated.
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/7729/1/286
Workers to sample nuclear hot spot
Radioactive site set for excavation after testing
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
September 15, 2005
OAK RIDGE - Workers will take samples from a troublesome hot spot next month in hopes of excavating the radioactive site - smack dab in the middle of Oak Ridge National Laboratory - next summer.
Bechtel Jacobs Co. plans to remove an empty 4,000-gallon waste tank and 200 cubic yards of highly contaminated soil from an area associated with the lab's early nuclear operations. Bechtel Jacobs is the U.S. Department of Energy's environmental manager in Oak Ridge.
Officials said they hope the cleanup will eliminate an environmental hazard that's been under study for more than a decade.
The project is sometimes referred to as Corehole 8. That's a reference to a test well drilled years ago that identified an underground plume of radioactive materials in the groundwater not far from the lab's cafeteria.
An attempt to remove the old tank in 2001 was called off after workers encountered unexpectedly high radiation fields during the digging.
John Owsley, the state's environmental oversight chief in Oak Ridge, said the area contains a number of radioactive elements, including plutonium, americium, curium, uranium, cesium and strontium.
The fact that nuclear waste is in contact with the groundwater in the middle of the ORNL complex is unacceptable, he said.
"The state's position is that the material should be in a geologic repository," Owsley said.
Some of the excavated materials will be transported to New Mexico for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The underground tank at ORNL was used decades ago to hold nuclear fuel leftover from reactor tests. The fuel mix was drained in the 1980s and put into cans for storage in the adjacent Building 3019-A.
According to a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, "The contaminated soil resulted from leakage from a damaged joint in feed piping to the tank."
During the aborted cleanup effort four years ago, radiation was measured at levels as high as 20 rads per hour, board staffers reported. They said safety controls are being developed for the upcoming sampling program to limit the radioactivity of materials brought to the surface at any one time.
Owsley said DOE, as part of the Federal Facilities Agreement in Oak Ridge, is required to submit plans in January 2006 that will outline the cleanup activities and disposal of nuclear wastes.
"We expect them to begin excavation in May," the state official said. "We've been working on this for quite some time."
Although the location and extent of the contamination is a concern, Owsley said the situation is stable at present.
"The contaminated soil was covered in such a way that it didn't continue to leach into the environment," he said.
Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs, said workers plan to sample soils around the tank in early October to better characterize what radioactive isotopes are present and their concentrations.
Those samples will help determine where the excavated wastes will be disposed, Hill said.
The so-called transuranic wastes, long-lived radioactive materials such as plutonium and americium, will be sent to WIPP, a deep-underground waste repository. The radioactive materials categorized as low-level waste will be transported to the nuclear landfill on DOE's Oak Ridge reservation.
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_4081489,00.html
Refugee’ vs. ‘evacuee’: Words do hurt
Delores MCCain
The effects of Hurricane Katrina, a natural disaster, has the whole world talking. And it appears there is enough blame to go around, particularly when it comes to our U.S. government. In addition to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama becoming victims of this natural disaster, another nightmare began after the hurricane passed out of the gulf coast. People of the gulf states were now being referred to as "refugees," as if they were not American citizens.
http://austinweeklynews.1upsoftware.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=316&TM=46285.03
continued …
August 31, 2005. Sister Mt. 10150 foot summit. The pool is actually the bottom of a melting glacier. As the melting glacier fills the bowl it runs off over the sides of the cliff. One can easily discern the small riverbed in the ice leading to the cliff. Odd set of discriptors of a glacier, "River Bed."
President Putin blasts USA for attack into Iraq without UN approval - report page down
September 15, 2005.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin addressed the United Nations. He was compelling. He is annoyed with the United States to say the least. The United States needs to engage with every other country in the world in Non-Proliferation.
Morning Papers - continued ...
China Daily
Hu calls for a harmonious world at summit
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-16 05:59
NEW YORK: Multilateralism, mutually beneficial co-operation and the sprit of inclusiveness should be upheld in realizing common security and prosperity and in building a harmonious world, President Hu Jintao said yesterday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478349.htm
US envoy: Nuke talks still 'in business'
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 17:03
BEIJING - The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart in an effort to break a stalemate. Afterward he declared the negotiations still "in business."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478554.htm
China offers revised disarmament proposal
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 18:47
The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart as host China proposed a compromise aimed at ending a stalemate, the Associated Press reported.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478565.htm
More commitment for poverty alleviation
China Daily Updated: 2005-09-16 06:00
President Hu Jintao on Wednesday announced China's five-component package to aid less-developed nations at the summit on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.
The package, which included tariff-free trade, debt relief, preferential credits as well as medical support and personnel training, is much bigger and more comprehensive than the programmes China had allocated itself for the same purposes.
As a developing country, China, despite declining numbers, still has a large population living in poverty, and it is therefore offering what it can in this regard.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478373.htm
China's economic miracle will continue - OECD
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 15:49
China's 25-year economic miracle is likely to be sustained for "some time" and its booming economy should grow by 9.0 percent this year and 9.2 percent in 2006, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report says.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478536.htm
Concord Monitor
Family, friends mourn EEE victim
She's first in state to die this year
By JOELLE FARRELL
Monitor staff
September 13. 2005 4:15PM
Kelly Labell, 20, a receptionist at a Stratham Honda dealership, called in sick on Sept. 2, but she ended up coming in anyway to cover for an ill coworker. Her body ached with what she thought was the flu, and her head hurt so much that she cried a little, said Jim Lurvey, the general manager of the dealership, the Honda Barn and Nissan of Stratham.
A week later, Labell was dead. The Newton woman was the first person in the state to die this year from Eastern equine encephalitis, or Triple E, a mosquito-borne illness that kills about a third of the people it infects. Four other people contracted the disease this summer, but all, including a Concord man and a 4-year-old Goffstown boy, recovered.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/REPOSITORY/509130370/1221
Curb appeal? Not exactly
City admits gaffe in Mountain Road work
By ERIC MOSKOWITZ
Monitor staff
September 15. 2005 8:00AM
fter the paving crew departed Mountain Road this summer, the residents on the stretch south of Concord Country Club found that the gravel shoulders had been eliminated, with asphalt curbing left in their place. The curbs cut off passage for the pedestrians and bicyclists who had long relied on the shoulder for safety. They also ran across driveways, prohibited on-street parking and forced residents to step into the roadway to reach their mailboxes, which the city had moved close to the curb. Suffice it to say, people were upset.
But after surprising residents with the project, officials have mended relations with them. A series of front-lawn meetings led to a proposal to remove the curbs and extend the sidewalk on Mountain Road as far as Concord Country Club. The $120,000 plan, endorsed by the city administration, is awaiting approval by the city council.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050915/REPOSITORY/509150366/1031
British Authorities Detain Seven Men
By ED JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- British authorities detained seven foreigners Thursday for deportation as threats to national security, and the government backed a police proposal to hold terror suspects for up to three months without charge.
Civil rights activists condemned the idea of increasing detentions from the current 14 days, which was in legislation unveiled by Home Secretary Charles Clarke to toughen anti-terrorism laws after the deadly July 7 bombing attacks on London commuters.
If approved by Parliament, the Counter-Terrorism Bill also would outlaw "indirect incitement" of terrorism and "glorifying" violence - provisions aimed at extremist Islamic clerics accused of seducing youths into militant activities.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITAIN_TERROR_LAWS?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
FBI Experts Testify at Trial in Ireland
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press Writer
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Arabic-language plans for a bomb hidden in a baby's milk bottle could produce an explosion strong enough to destroy an airliner, U.S. experts testified Wednesday in the trial of an Algerian man accused of links to al-Qaida.
Abbas Boutrab, 32, was arrested near Belfast in 2003 with 25 computer disks filled with instructions on building compact bombs and other weapons and on smuggling them onto a plane. He denies any terrorism links, insisting he downloaded the material from the Internet out of curiosity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NIRELAND_AL_QAIDA_SUSPECT?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
World Leaders Sign Nuke Terrorism Treaty
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- World leaders began signing a global treaty Wednesday making it a crime to possess radioactive material or weapons with the intention of committing a terrorist act or to damage a nuclear facility.
The Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism was the 13th anti-terrorism treaty to be adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but the first since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country sponsored the seven-year effort leading to the treaty's adoption by consensus in April, was the first leader to sign the document Wednesday morning at a desk in a makeshift hall on the sidelines of the U.N. summit.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Main Points of Nuclear Terrorism Treaty
Main points of International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism:
-Outlaws possession of radioactive material with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone or of causing substantial damage property or the environment.
-Makes it illegal to use or damage a nuclear facility with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone, substantially damaging the environment, or coercing a person, organization or a state to do something.
-Does not cover nuclear attacks committed within a single state by citizens of that nation and no victim is from another country. Also excludes activities of military forces during armed conflict.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM_GLANCE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Ice Cream Shop Terror Suspect Trial Starts
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Yemeni immigrant ice cream shop owner accused of illegally funneling $21.9 million overseas successfully fought to keep prosecutors from introducing evidence allegedly linking him to terrorist groups as his trial began Tuesday.
Abad Elfgeeh, 50, is accused of transmitting money around the world without a license from a dozen bank accounts linked to his Brooklyn storefront. Prosecutors have said his business was used by a Yemeni cleric convicted earlier this year of a scheme to fund al-Qaida and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_WAR_ICE_CREAM_SHOP?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Two Plead Not Guilty to Terrorism Charges
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Two men pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging they planned terrorist attacks against military facilities, the Israeli Consulate and other targets in the Los Angeles area.
Levar Haley Washington, 25, and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, were ordered held without bail after their pleas in U.S. District Court.
"In the name of Allah, I plead not guilty," Washington said before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato.
Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana, 21, at the behest of Kevin James, an inmate of the California State Prison, Sacramento. James, 29, founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERRORISM_PROBE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
International Herald Tribune
Democrats question Roberts on his candor
WASHINGTON Judge John Roberts Jr., the prospective chief justice of the United States, tried Thursday to win over wary Senate Democrats who questioned his candor and the depth of his commitment to minority rights.
Judge Roberts told one of the Democrats, a skeptical Senator Edward Kennedy, at his confirmation hearing that he did indeed believe in affirmative action, as demonstrated in part by his work as a private lawyer to guide minority students through the rigors of law school
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/scotus.php
Schröder assails his foe's tax proposals
NUREMBERG Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lit into his conservative opponents on Thursday as Germany's national campaign entered its final days, promising to balance the need to continue economic reform with the attention to equality and social justice that is popular among his Social Democrats.
In a wide-ranging stump speech that garnered the heartiest cheers when he promised to keep Germany out of war, Schröder hammered away at a proposal by the conservative Christian Democrats to sweep away deductions in favor of a simplified tax system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/schroder.php
Bush Takes Responsibility; Evacuees Claim They Were Shot At
By Kevin Harris
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
President Bush will address the nation from Louisiana on Thursday and offer a public already unsatisfied with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, an updated assessment on recovery efforts in the region, the White House announced yesterday.
The announcement came one day after Mike Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), resigned from his post amid a flurry of accusations from lawmakers and the public who said he and other state and local government officials were to slow in responding to the hurricane.
President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that some of the blame should fall on his shoulders. "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a news conference from the White House. "To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."
http://www.thehilltoponline.com/media/paper590/news/2005/09/14/NationWorld/Bush-Takes.Responsibility.Evacuees.Claim.They.Were.Shot.At-984156.shtml
My Rebuttal
"THE PRESIDENCY OF CONS"
Mr. Bush in New Orleans
Time enough has gone by and the natives have complained enough. It is time to set down the 'acceptable' ground rules that fuels "The Party" and not the nation.
A huge spending program in the very place that is so confused whom is on their side they keep voting RED.
Governor Haley Barbour is the worst person to oversee any reconstruction effort of Mississippi as he is a PRACTICED BUBBA who will feed the 'Good Ole Boy' network without caring for the very people who were neglected in the first place.
Senator Obama has proposed an Oversight Committee to INSURE the best outcome for the people and not "The Party." Senator Vitter knows all too well how a corrupt system within a state can cause and enforce poverty and he has already spoken out against it. I applaud both of them to realize the country who cares has to work with the very government that DIDN'T act in the best interest of the people of the Gulf Coast.
Bush is a horrible president. Ophelia is a Global Warming Storm and one of the reasons he is dumping huge amounts of money into the PRIVATE sector is that the oil companies of the Lousiana Gulf needs to rebuild. Little of interest is the people EXCEPT from the selling point of the politics.
The USA is between a rock and a hard place. It has placed in leadership THE MOST EXPLOITIVE government it could have elected on the basis of fear. The fear they feel is nurtured and harvested by Bush on a regular basis. This is one of those times.
The people of the Gulf Coast does not need people who walk all over their polluted Mississippi Mud they need people who will rebuild the wetlands and levees as well as a 'shining' new 'gold plated' city fit for a Neocon King !
"Turning the funds over to state and local governments isn't the answer, either. F.D.R. actually made a point of taking control away from local politicians; then as now, patronage played a big role in local politics."
The Red States are among the most corrupt. This gives a chance for preceding Democrats to come to the forefront to take charge and any program that comes the way of the victims work in their favor. By making the governments 'toe the line' doing what is best for the people of the Gulf Coast including rebuilding the wetlands and levees they will make friends all along the way.
The Democrats have had to find ways of working with Red State Corruption and this is finally their chance to purge these states of it. It is what sends 'shivers' down the spine of the president and his veep and is what caused 'the staging' to 'His Base' yesterday evening. Every Southern Bubba loves the look of a Plantation house !
In developing a new economy for The Gulf Coast realizing the oil industry drilling sunk New Orleans in the first place they can firt contemplate the new 'idea' DC is circulating; what does one do with all that refuse? I can't get it out of my mind that the first plans anyone has for these areas is to first create a foundation for a huge landfill by bulldozing the ruins and filling in atop of all that.
It's a scary thought when one realizes Alabama already has the largest toxic landfills in the country while also realizing Bush has no respect for the environment at all. Literally what could happen here is to turn the Gulf Coast into a huge landfill to benefit the fifty states and providing an income trucking in tons upon tons of refuse only to leach to the Gulf Coast waters.
Realizing this is Bush compliments of every Southern and Bigoted Bubba via Rove anything is possible and probably will be.
The Moscow Times
Putin Calls Terror a Threat to Rights
Combined Reports
Rick Wilking / Reuters
President Vladimir Putin addressing the UN Assembly in New York on Thursday. He said the UN Security Council should focus on counter-terrorism efforts.
(image placeholder)
UNITED NATIONS -- Terrorism is the main threat to human rights and development, and the UN Security Council must be at the center of global efforts to fight it, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his address to a United Nations summit.
But governments alone are not enough to counter the threat, Putin said. Religious and civic groups as well as media, cultural and humanitarian organizations must all play a role, he said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/001.html
Russia Today Television Misses Launch Date
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
Sergey Ponomarev / AP
Yury Novosyolov, left, Margarita Simonyan and Michael Alexander speaking at Russia Today's offices on Thursday.
(image placeholder)
Russia Today, the state-funded English-language satellite television station, missed its planned launch date Thursday, and the station's directors worked to put a positive spin on what was instead the start of a round-the-clock technical rehearsal.
"Today, we're beginning the technical broadcast, but we don't want to give a definite date for the full launch now because of problems we may still encounter," Margarita Simonyan, Russia Today's 25-year-old editor, told reporters during a tour of the station's headquarters at the RIA-Novosti state news agency.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/002.html
Moscow will help Afghanistan whatever the election outcome - parliamentarian
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:43 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will continue its assistance to Afghanistan regardless of the outcome of the September 18 parliamentary election, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament said Friday.
Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign relations committee in the Federation Council, said the elections would legitimize democratic processes in Afghanistan, but would not bring "absolute stability."
It is unlikely that terrorist groups will stop operating in the country anytime soon, and its highland areas will remain a threat to regional security, Margelov said. This is why "the need for Russian involvement in Afghan internal processes will remain" in the years to come.
Margelov said Russia's objectives included hunting down remnants of the Taliban, preventing drug trafficking, and restoring stability to the country and the surrounding region
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Ex-President Yeltsin to have sutures removed Monday
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:05 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - First Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who underwent surgery for a hip fracture last week, will have sutures removed Monday, Valery Zolotov, chief physician at the Kremlin hospital, said Friday.
Yeltsin is expected to be discharged from the hospital early next week.
Zolotov said the former president was in "quite a satisfactory condition" and in "good spirits."
The doctor said Yeltsin was exercising and could walk with the help of crutches several times a day.
Yeltsin broke his hip while on vacation in Italy September 7
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Yukos Gets Bankruptcy Notification
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Judit Polner / Bloomberg
Cars lining up for gas in Samara in August 2004. Yukos received a letter from a Gazprom unit declaring it bankrupt.
(image placeholder)
Lawyers for Yukos were scrambling on Thursday to confirm whether a Gazprom subsidiary had filed a bankruptcy suit against the embattled oil major.
Gazprom subsidiary Orenburggeofizika said that Yukos had been declared bankrupt for nonpayment of debts, according to a letter to Yukos dated Sept. 14, a copy of which was obtained by The Moscow Times.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/041.html
Challenging Taboos
The first Russian staging of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" prompts some strong reactions from the audience.
By John Freedman
Published: September 16, 2005
I am of two sharply conflicted minds about Joel Lehtonen's production of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues." On one hand it strikes me as one of the lamest pieces of theater I have seen in some time; on the other I was appalled, even indignant, about the reception many afforded it on opening night last week.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/109.html
Field of Dreams
The organizers of a Kremlin-backed exhibition devoted to contemporary Russian sculpture hope to see more such works in Moscow's public places.
By Brian Droitcour
Published: September 16, 2005
Don't let the horses out to graze: There's contemporary art in that there field. For "ArtPole," an exhibition organized by Aidan Gallery, two dozen sculptures have been arranged in a grassy 500-square-meter field belonging to the First Stud Farm, 25 kilometers outside of Moscow along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse. Kremlin support for the exhibition has given hope to its organizers and sympathizers, who lament the lack of contemporary art in Moscow's public places and want their city to have something like the sculpture-filled fountain in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/102.html
Training Girls for Victory
A U.S.-made documentary profiles the dilapidated club that gave rise to Russia's reigning female tennis stars.
By Anna Malpas
Published: September 16, 2005
When Philip Johnston made his documentary "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis," he geared it to appeal to viewers in his native United States. But the film, which traces the careers of players such as Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova, has now been picked up by a Russian television channel and will be shown this weekend.
The 51-minute film is due to air on Ren-TV Saturday, the same day that the national team begins playing in the final of the international women's team competition, the Fed Cup. In his documentary, Johnston focuses on the fact that three team members -- Anastasia Myskina, Yelena Dementyeva and Dinara Safina -- trained together with Kournikova as children at the same dilapidated Moscow club, Spartak.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/107.html
continued …
Hu calls for a harmonious world at summit
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-16 05:59
NEW YORK: Multilateralism, mutually beneficial co-operation and the sprit of inclusiveness should be upheld in realizing common security and prosperity and in building a harmonious world, President Hu Jintao said yesterday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478349.htm
US envoy: Nuke talks still 'in business'
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 17:03
BEIJING - The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart in an effort to break a stalemate. Afterward he declared the negotiations still "in business."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478554.htm
China offers revised disarmament proposal
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 18:47
The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart as host China proposed a compromise aimed at ending a stalemate, the Associated Press reported.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478565.htm
More commitment for poverty alleviation
China Daily Updated: 2005-09-16 06:00
President Hu Jintao on Wednesday announced China's five-component package to aid less-developed nations at the summit on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.
The package, which included tariff-free trade, debt relief, preferential credits as well as medical support and personnel training, is much bigger and more comprehensive than the programmes China had allocated itself for the same purposes.
As a developing country, China, despite declining numbers, still has a large population living in poverty, and it is therefore offering what it can in this regard.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478373.htm
China's economic miracle will continue - OECD
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 15:49
China's 25-year economic miracle is likely to be sustained for "some time" and its booming economy should grow by 9.0 percent this year and 9.2 percent in 2006, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report says.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478536.htm
Concord Monitor
Family, friends mourn EEE victim
She's first in state to die this year
By JOELLE FARRELL
Monitor staff
September 13. 2005 4:15PM
Kelly Labell, 20, a receptionist at a Stratham Honda dealership, called in sick on Sept. 2, but she ended up coming in anyway to cover for an ill coworker. Her body ached with what she thought was the flu, and her head hurt so much that she cried a little, said Jim Lurvey, the general manager of the dealership, the Honda Barn and Nissan of Stratham.
A week later, Labell was dead. The Newton woman was the first person in the state to die this year from Eastern equine encephalitis, or Triple E, a mosquito-borne illness that kills about a third of the people it infects. Four other people contracted the disease this summer, but all, including a Concord man and a 4-year-old Goffstown boy, recovered.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/REPOSITORY/509130370/1221
Curb appeal? Not exactly
City admits gaffe in Mountain Road work
By ERIC MOSKOWITZ
Monitor staff
September 15. 2005 8:00AM
fter the paving crew departed Mountain Road this summer, the residents on the stretch south of Concord Country Club found that the gravel shoulders had been eliminated, with asphalt curbing left in their place. The curbs cut off passage for the pedestrians and bicyclists who had long relied on the shoulder for safety. They also ran across driveways, prohibited on-street parking and forced residents to step into the roadway to reach their mailboxes, which the city had moved close to the curb. Suffice it to say, people were upset.
But after surprising residents with the project, officials have mended relations with them. A series of front-lawn meetings led to a proposal to remove the curbs and extend the sidewalk on Mountain Road as far as Concord Country Club. The $120,000 plan, endorsed by the city administration, is awaiting approval by the city council.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050915/REPOSITORY/509150366/1031
British Authorities Detain Seven Men
By ED JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- British authorities detained seven foreigners Thursday for deportation as threats to national security, and the government backed a police proposal to hold terror suspects for up to three months without charge.
Civil rights activists condemned the idea of increasing detentions from the current 14 days, which was in legislation unveiled by Home Secretary Charles Clarke to toughen anti-terrorism laws after the deadly July 7 bombing attacks on London commuters.
If approved by Parliament, the Counter-Terrorism Bill also would outlaw "indirect incitement" of terrorism and "glorifying" violence - provisions aimed at extremist Islamic clerics accused of seducing youths into militant activities.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITAIN_TERROR_LAWS?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
FBI Experts Testify at Trial in Ireland
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press Writer
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Arabic-language plans for a bomb hidden in a baby's milk bottle could produce an explosion strong enough to destroy an airliner, U.S. experts testified Wednesday in the trial of an Algerian man accused of links to al-Qaida.
Abbas Boutrab, 32, was arrested near Belfast in 2003 with 25 computer disks filled with instructions on building compact bombs and other weapons and on smuggling them onto a plane. He denies any terrorism links, insisting he downloaded the material from the Internet out of curiosity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NIRELAND_AL_QAIDA_SUSPECT?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
World Leaders Sign Nuke Terrorism Treaty
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- World leaders began signing a global treaty Wednesday making it a crime to possess radioactive material or weapons with the intention of committing a terrorist act or to damage a nuclear facility.
The Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism was the 13th anti-terrorism treaty to be adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but the first since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country sponsored the seven-year effort leading to the treaty's adoption by consensus in April, was the first leader to sign the document Wednesday morning at a desk in a makeshift hall on the sidelines of the U.N. summit.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Main Points of Nuclear Terrorism Treaty
Main points of International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism:
-Outlaws possession of radioactive material with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone or of causing substantial damage property or the environment.
-Makes it illegal to use or damage a nuclear facility with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone, substantially damaging the environment, or coercing a person, organization or a state to do something.
-Does not cover nuclear attacks committed within a single state by citizens of that nation and no victim is from another country. Also excludes activities of military forces during armed conflict.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM_GLANCE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Ice Cream Shop Terror Suspect Trial Starts
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Yemeni immigrant ice cream shop owner accused of illegally funneling $21.9 million overseas successfully fought to keep prosecutors from introducing evidence allegedly linking him to terrorist groups as his trial began Tuesday.
Abad Elfgeeh, 50, is accused of transmitting money around the world without a license from a dozen bank accounts linked to his Brooklyn storefront. Prosecutors have said his business was used by a Yemeni cleric convicted earlier this year of a scheme to fund al-Qaida and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_WAR_ICE_CREAM_SHOP?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Two Plead Not Guilty to Terrorism Charges
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Two men pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging they planned terrorist attacks against military facilities, the Israeli Consulate and other targets in the Los Angeles area.
Levar Haley Washington, 25, and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, were ordered held without bail after their pleas in U.S. District Court.
"In the name of Allah, I plead not guilty," Washington said before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato.
Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana, 21, at the behest of Kevin James, an inmate of the California State Prison, Sacramento. James, 29, founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERRORISM_PROBE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
International Herald Tribune
Democrats question Roberts on his candor
WASHINGTON Judge John Roberts Jr., the prospective chief justice of the United States, tried Thursday to win over wary Senate Democrats who questioned his candor and the depth of his commitment to minority rights.
Judge Roberts told one of the Democrats, a skeptical Senator Edward Kennedy, at his confirmation hearing that he did indeed believe in affirmative action, as demonstrated in part by his work as a private lawyer to guide minority students through the rigors of law school
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/scotus.php
Schröder assails his foe's tax proposals
NUREMBERG Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lit into his conservative opponents on Thursday as Germany's national campaign entered its final days, promising to balance the need to continue economic reform with the attention to equality and social justice that is popular among his Social Democrats.
In a wide-ranging stump speech that garnered the heartiest cheers when he promised to keep Germany out of war, Schröder hammered away at a proposal by the conservative Christian Democrats to sweep away deductions in favor of a simplified tax system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/schroder.php
Bush Takes Responsibility; Evacuees Claim They Were Shot At
By Kevin Harris
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
President Bush will address the nation from Louisiana on Thursday and offer a public already unsatisfied with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, an updated assessment on recovery efforts in the region, the White House announced yesterday.
The announcement came one day after Mike Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), resigned from his post amid a flurry of accusations from lawmakers and the public who said he and other state and local government officials were to slow in responding to the hurricane.
President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that some of the blame should fall on his shoulders. "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a news conference from the White House. "To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."
http://www.thehilltoponline.com/media/paper590/news/2005/09/14/NationWorld/Bush-Takes.Responsibility.Evacuees.Claim.They.Were.Shot.At-984156.shtml
My Rebuttal
"THE PRESIDENCY OF CONS"
Mr. Bush in New Orleans
Time enough has gone by and the natives have complained enough. It is time to set down the 'acceptable' ground rules that fuels "The Party" and not the nation.
A huge spending program in the very place that is so confused whom is on their side they keep voting RED.
Governor Haley Barbour is the worst person to oversee any reconstruction effort of Mississippi as he is a PRACTICED BUBBA who will feed the 'Good Ole Boy' network without caring for the very people who were neglected in the first place.
Senator Obama has proposed an Oversight Committee to INSURE the best outcome for the people and not "The Party." Senator Vitter knows all too well how a corrupt system within a state can cause and enforce poverty and he has already spoken out against it. I applaud both of them to realize the country who cares has to work with the very government that DIDN'T act in the best interest of the people of the Gulf Coast.
Bush is a horrible president. Ophelia is a Global Warming Storm and one of the reasons he is dumping huge amounts of money into the PRIVATE sector is that the oil companies of the Lousiana Gulf needs to rebuild. Little of interest is the people EXCEPT from the selling point of the politics.
The USA is between a rock and a hard place. It has placed in leadership THE MOST EXPLOITIVE government it could have elected on the basis of fear. The fear they feel is nurtured and harvested by Bush on a regular basis. This is one of those times.
The people of the Gulf Coast does not need people who walk all over their polluted Mississippi Mud they need people who will rebuild the wetlands and levees as well as a 'shining' new 'gold plated' city fit for a Neocon King !
"Turning the funds over to state and local governments isn't the answer, either. F.D.R. actually made a point of taking control away from local politicians; then as now, patronage played a big role in local politics."
The Red States are among the most corrupt. This gives a chance for preceding Democrats to come to the forefront to take charge and any program that comes the way of the victims work in their favor. By making the governments 'toe the line' doing what is best for the people of the Gulf Coast including rebuilding the wetlands and levees they will make friends all along the way.
The Democrats have had to find ways of working with Red State Corruption and this is finally their chance to purge these states of it. It is what sends 'shivers' down the spine of the president and his veep and is what caused 'the staging' to 'His Base' yesterday evening. Every Southern Bubba loves the look of a Plantation house !
In developing a new economy for The Gulf Coast realizing the oil industry drilling sunk New Orleans in the first place they can firt contemplate the new 'idea' DC is circulating; what does one do with all that refuse? I can't get it out of my mind that the first plans anyone has for these areas is to first create a foundation for a huge landfill by bulldozing the ruins and filling in atop of all that.
It's a scary thought when one realizes Alabama already has the largest toxic landfills in the country while also realizing Bush has no respect for the environment at all. Literally what could happen here is to turn the Gulf Coast into a huge landfill to benefit the fifty states and providing an income trucking in tons upon tons of refuse only to leach to the Gulf Coast waters.
Realizing this is Bush compliments of every Southern and Bigoted Bubba via Rove anything is possible and probably will be.
The Moscow Times
Putin Calls Terror a Threat to Rights
Combined Reports
Rick Wilking / Reuters
President Vladimir Putin addressing the UN Assembly in New York on Thursday. He said the UN Security Council should focus on counter-terrorism efforts.
(image placeholder)
UNITED NATIONS -- Terrorism is the main threat to human rights and development, and the UN Security Council must be at the center of global efforts to fight it, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his address to a United Nations summit.
But governments alone are not enough to counter the threat, Putin said. Religious and civic groups as well as media, cultural and humanitarian organizations must all play a role, he said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/001.html
Russia Today Television Misses Launch Date
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
Sergey Ponomarev / AP
Yury Novosyolov, left, Margarita Simonyan and Michael Alexander speaking at Russia Today's offices on Thursday.
(image placeholder)
Russia Today, the state-funded English-language satellite television station, missed its planned launch date Thursday, and the station's directors worked to put a positive spin on what was instead the start of a round-the-clock technical rehearsal.
"Today, we're beginning the technical broadcast, but we don't want to give a definite date for the full launch now because of problems we may still encounter," Margarita Simonyan, Russia Today's 25-year-old editor, told reporters during a tour of the station's headquarters at the RIA-Novosti state news agency.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/002.html
Moscow will help Afghanistan whatever the election outcome - parliamentarian
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:43 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will continue its assistance to Afghanistan regardless of the outcome of the September 18 parliamentary election, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament said Friday.
Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign relations committee in the Federation Council, said the elections would legitimize democratic processes in Afghanistan, but would not bring "absolute stability."
It is unlikely that terrorist groups will stop operating in the country anytime soon, and its highland areas will remain a threat to regional security, Margelov said. This is why "the need for Russian involvement in Afghan internal processes will remain" in the years to come.
Margelov said Russia's objectives included hunting down remnants of the Taliban, preventing drug trafficking, and restoring stability to the country and the surrounding region
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Ex-President Yeltsin to have sutures removed Monday
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:05 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - First Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who underwent surgery for a hip fracture last week, will have sutures removed Monday, Valery Zolotov, chief physician at the Kremlin hospital, said Friday.
Yeltsin is expected to be discharged from the hospital early next week.
Zolotov said the former president was in "quite a satisfactory condition" and in "good spirits."
The doctor said Yeltsin was exercising and could walk with the help of crutches several times a day.
Yeltsin broke his hip while on vacation in Italy September 7
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Yukos Gets Bankruptcy Notification
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Judit Polner / Bloomberg
Cars lining up for gas in Samara in August 2004. Yukos received a letter from a Gazprom unit declaring it bankrupt.
(image placeholder)
Lawyers for Yukos were scrambling on Thursday to confirm whether a Gazprom subsidiary had filed a bankruptcy suit against the embattled oil major.
Gazprom subsidiary Orenburggeofizika said that Yukos had been declared bankrupt for nonpayment of debts, according to a letter to Yukos dated Sept. 14, a copy of which was obtained by The Moscow Times.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/041.html
Challenging Taboos
The first Russian staging of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" prompts some strong reactions from the audience.
By John Freedman
Published: September 16, 2005
I am of two sharply conflicted minds about Joel Lehtonen's production of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues." On one hand it strikes me as one of the lamest pieces of theater I have seen in some time; on the other I was appalled, even indignant, about the reception many afforded it on opening night last week.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/109.html
Field of Dreams
The organizers of a Kremlin-backed exhibition devoted to contemporary Russian sculpture hope to see more such works in Moscow's public places.
By Brian Droitcour
Published: September 16, 2005
Don't let the horses out to graze: There's contemporary art in that there field. For "ArtPole," an exhibition organized by Aidan Gallery, two dozen sculptures have been arranged in a grassy 500-square-meter field belonging to the First Stud Farm, 25 kilometers outside of Moscow along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse. Kremlin support for the exhibition has given hope to its organizers and sympathizers, who lament the lack of contemporary art in Moscow's public places and want their city to have something like the sculpture-filled fountain in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/102.html
Training Girls for Victory
A U.S.-made documentary profiles the dilapidated club that gave rise to Russia's reigning female tennis stars.
By Anna Malpas
Published: September 16, 2005
When Philip Johnston made his documentary "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis," he geared it to appeal to viewers in his native United States. But the film, which traces the careers of players such as Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova, has now been picked up by a Russian television channel and will be shown this weekend.
The 51-minute film is due to air on Ren-TV Saturday, the same day that the national team begins playing in the final of the international women's team competition, the Fed Cup. In his documentary, Johnston focuses on the fact that three team members -- Anastasia Myskina, Yelena Dementyeva and Dinara Safina -- trained together with Kournikova as children at the same dilapidated Moscow club, Spartak.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/107.html
continued …
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