The Antarctica Wind Chime 

 

The Antarctica Peninsula  

Click on to animate

  

The Blue Ice is colder, but, the rest of the continent is very warm.

Vostak is coldest at -27 Fahrenheit / 33 degrees Celcius. (click on) The humidity is 44% with virtually little wind at 6 mph / 9 km/h. Conditions over the Blue Ice are clear.

When looking to the lower altitudes of Antarctica there is cloud cover and rain. The temperatures are much higher and the only place where there are any kind of significant winds are in the colder temperate areas, such as Davis 76.05S 65.02E, Antarctica where winds are upto 22 mph / 35 km/h out of the southeast. The reason the winds are higher there is because the hotter air is moving into the colder region at an elevation of 7680 feet / 2343 meters.

The warmest regions are also the lower elevations of 63 feet / 19 meters at Williams Field, Antarctica the temperature is 30.2 Fahrenheit / - 1.0 Celcius. On the peninsula is the warmest of all the regions where Base San Martin is 41 degrees Fahrenheit / 5 degrees Celcius. The peninsula is nearly sea level but with even higher latitudes. The peninsula is effected by sea temperatures as it is only a small strip of land surrounded by Anarctic waters.

Of course the lower elevations also coincide with higher latitudes. So the area at the Very South Pole is the coldest and highest in elevation.

Williams Field is the airfield for McMurdo Station (click on). If one notes the map, McMurdo Stations is not only a higher latitude than the south pole, but, also near the sea. The warmth is from the sea surrounding Antarctica called "The East Wind Drift" (click on). That is significant. The waters surrounding the ice continent are far warmer than they should ever be.

The weather in Antarctica is (Crystal Ice Chime) temperate:

  

The Webcam at Scott Base, New Zealand, Antarctica

  

Morning Papers - concluded

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

Temperature - 34 °F / 1 °C

Conditions - Overcast

Humidity - 81%

Dew Point - 28 degrees Fahrenheit / -2 degrees Celcius

Wind - 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s from the Northwest

Pressure - 30.42 inches / 1030 hPa

Windchill - 29 degrees Fahrenheit / -2 degrees Celcius

Visibility - 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV - 0 out of 16

Clouds - Few 200 feet / 60 meters
Overcast 1300 feet / 396 meters
(Above Ground Level)

Time is of the essence. Don't blame the docs. They rose to the occassion

 

Dr. Ellis whom was to oversee the short duration treatment of the second tumor with a single blast of Gamma Knife has called Patricia at least seven times seeking her cooperation. She isn't going to give it to him. She doesn't apply credibility to any of this mess.

I was able to facilitate a 'second opinion' from a past surgeon, Dr. Janet Bay of Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Bay was the woman that saved Patricia from 'traditional' thoughts regarding astrocytomas. Dr. Bay provided Patricia with a quality of life that now the legal society of North Carolina has failed to uphold in the face of a challenge that would require them to find compassion through law.

For those interested.

Patricia does not want her teeth pulled out of her head. She wants dental work. She has the monies to pay for any dental work she wants. She is not a 'charity' case in the face of Medicare only possiblities. I also find the 'attitude' surrounding her care completely repulsive. If this is the type of attitude the elderly and disabled face in this country than it's very poor care indeed.

Patricia needs to be saved from herself. Her name is Patricia Zambo and there sits somewhere in the office of the North Carolina Attorney Generals Office an envelope containing information from me regarding the vulnerabilities of her decisions and the failings of parents now estranged from their daughter. I opened the hand written letter with the words, "Please save my sister's life." Her father is so out of touch with her needs that he is no longer 'fit' to be her limited guardian.

There is no sense of having guardians that simply wait for the end to come to 'cash in' on monies held in trust for the care of those needing vigilance.

Patricia will cooperate with care when she is made to cooperate. She does not believe she is going to die. She thinks in complete dysfunction of her personality disorder that everyone is being paid off by those now in control of her money. She is a mess.

I have come forth to all parties including our parents, the youngest sibling of this group, Judith whom is a traffic court hearing officer in North Carolina and considered the 'golden haired girl' by parents that deserved at least one daughter truly in PERFECT condition for their 'putting up' with their other two autonomous and liberated daughters.

I have called Ms. Brinkey and while I expected her to be interested in all I had to say now as she did last year, her statement to me was, "I am Tom Zambo's attorney." She dismissed me and all I had to say as easy as the bad weather report on the AM news.

I appealed to local magistrate offices only to have them tell me that Mr. Zambo was to come forward for assistance.

I have talked to police officers whom were called when I insisted on being understood by Mr. Zambo. Their advise was to get copies of the proceedings from Clerk of the Courts and seek legal advocacy.

That is what I did.

I gave up on my family to love their difficult daughters enough. I went to the public records department, got copies of the legal record where the decision was rendered and sent every thing I could come up with including an extensive letter to the State Attorney General.

I don't care what happens to others of my family that see 'an end' as a fiscal reward to negligence and lack of compassion. I want Patricia to have longevity.

My last statement to the State Attorney General of North Carolina in my letter was, "...today at UNC-Chapel Hill they are infusing 'biologicals' (a genetic medicine product) on Step Down Units to prevent lung transplant rejection. That was not a reality a few short months ago. I don't know what the future for Patricia is. The Gamma Knife treatment will provide years if not a decade or more of time to her life and in that time there may be a complete cure for her current malady. But, unless we act to protect her now, that reality will never be hers.

I would never have gone to this exteme if it were not needed. Pat needs to be reevaluated by Drs. Wilson and Ellis at Baptist/Wake Forest Medical Center which was recommended by Dr. Janet Bay. She needs treatment for her tumor, she needs dental work and she needs the dignity of her life returned to her.

Patricia is Roman Catholic and attends as regularly as she can, St. Paul's in Greensboro. If Patricia's remaining coarse in life is death, then she needs to go to Rome at least once in her life and 'kick ass' with the Pope for the remaining days of her life if it can be arranged. But, to allow her to innocently deteriorate in an efficiency at a Suburban Extended Stay until she dies is a complete travesty of law, society and 'so called' compassion that no one ever thought would result to a woman that lived upto every expectation of American standards of success.

Stereotypes in any society are dangerous mired with pitfalls. Patricia and her misguided 'social angles' are proof of same.

Hired hero to the rescue.

 

North Carolina has many stereotypes. At any point in time all one has to do is reach into a magician's hat of identities and come up with one that will work for the occassion.

Enter the scene, a North Carolina attorney called Kathleen Brinkey. Last year, with Patricia now completely estranged from the family, her doctors and basically society living in a one room efficiency at The Suburban Extended Stay; Ms. Brinkey found herself seeking permission to venture into Patricia's privacy by taking control of what might be left of her financial affairs.

Do to complete cooperation of all family members, a Limited Guardianship was afforded Patricia's father. He would be the one that would see to her well being and the 'trust fund' that remained of her monies. At the time of the proceedings there was found approximately $77,000 given a couple thousand. It was in firms that continued to manage those funds according to the instructions of a woman determined to live a life she was accustomed to, but, at the same time those instructions did not reflect vigilance so much as negligence. Pat had done well. The funds were on the verge of being handed over to the state in lack of contact by it's owner.

As Dad had now the clout to take her back to her doctors, a second tumor was found behind her right ear. She had issues with eyesight that was cleared up with corrective lens. She had dental issues.

Something happened to the 'care' of Patricia. It became less than she ever demanded for herself and she turned away from her 'caregivers.' She felt abused by the decisions of a man that took advise from people less loving of Patricia than I to protect himself from being the one to blame if anything 'went wrong.' Due to that 'attitude' he fell into guardianship of ONLY her monies without even contact with Patty. The relationship with her caregivers diminished in short order and the Schizoid Personality Disorder became a huge wedge to the credibility of her new diagnosis and her consent to care.

Because of Patricia's estrangement from care as she did not 'want to know if it was a cancer' her survival came into question. As the chances of her overcoming even another tumor became less and less due to neglect associated with time her parents turned to the monies left as comfort to an end of her life.

Pitiful is not a word to describe the circumstances of this travesty of the North Carolina legal system. Left out of the provisions to ? protect ? Patricia was a small clause that only someone really dedicated to the real purpose of the litigation would have come up with: 'Clause Infinitem: Should Patricia's wellness ever come into question as to the appropriate outcome due to issues of the tumor as it impacts on her cognitive ability another proceedings will automatically ensue to insure her well being above all other interests.' 

The words of the tumor came in an unexpected way.

"Your daughter has been evicted from her apartment and we wanted the family to have a chance to pack her apartment before we allow the sherriff to take control of the premises. Patricia is at The Good Shepard Homeless Shelter."

Oops. What happened to Pat?

Over the years, and due to a hyperviligance of her parents; Patricia had developed a bit of a "Schizoid" personality disorder. The only way she never heard the words of her tumor was to estrange herself from the people more obsessed with it's presence. To Pat the tumor was conqured and only a remnant of a struggle to maintain her autonomy. Her worst nightmare was waking from any surgery and realizing she would forever live with attendants at a living facility somewhere watching soap operas from morning to night.

When I went to Patty at the Good Shepard my first words to her were, "You having a good time?"

She told me to get lost and if I wanted to help to find out who stole all her money.

No one had stolen her money. She was a brillant accountant and survivor. While still 'with it' she set up accounts with brokerage firms and banks to take care of her bills automatically. Due to that many of her accounts had succumbed to dwindling funds due to lack of vigilance by her keen mind. Over the years the tumor which never spoke louder found comfort in diminished capacity but never daughted the habits of 'the fashion bug.' Her monies had succumbed to good planning of a brilliant survival strategist to the extent she thought someone had stolen everything she had.

Pat was still intact but living in an alternative universe. What happens from here is anyone's guess.

Can she walk? Can she talk? Can she see?

 

Not only did she walk, talk and see but she defied the tumor to stay viable enough to cause problems. She lived a life of her choosing in the face of incredible odds and for nineteens years she lived on her own terms, compromising nothing including her accumulated wealth, although today it is diminished to a meer $55,000.

Today Pat is more a success than ever before.

She stands to prove exactly what neglect by legal professionals in North Carolina can do to kill the most powerful women on Earth today. The woman that made American Medicine perform to a standard they never knew they had. Today, the legal professionals of North Carolina all the way to the Attorney General's office have failed 'THE BEST' of the medical professional allowing the degradation of Patty's integrity and the corruption of her parents, now acting as her guardians. 

My sister's name is Patricia

She is a great woman. At the height of her professional career as a graduate from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey she had a life other envied. In every way. Today, no one would give a plug nickel for her life. She did nothing in her life to neglected by anyone especially a country that promises so much to it's citizens and now falls short of delivering on those promises.

At the vital age of 27 she was diagnosed with an astracytoma in the region of her brain called the pineal gland.

Pat has been misdiagnosed, hauled from professional to professional and now she is literally being abandoned. The worth of 'the mistake.' The permission of the 'unusual.' The reward of 'understanding.' We have it all, she and I. She survived and the game of 'chance' was diminished to 'shame on you.' So much did she find a home at Baptist/Wake Forest Medical Center so the 'guessing' would never happen again, Dr. Wilson, a reknowned neurosurgeon did a global webcast highlighting the success of more than twenty years of success of modern medicine. There is absolutely no doubt that Patty is a success story. The promise of medicine in the USA only required she stay alive long enough until 'the next step' came along.

The journey started in 1985 with the words, "The blurred vision you are experiencing is caused from inflammed nerves. I want you to see a neurologist."

The 'words' of rememberance in her life that made life worth living were spoken by her former spouse. The marriage didn't survive the tumor. He loved her and lived to the height of promise that young professionals are expect.

He is a great man, still today at the other end of a phone knowing how she is doing. He is again married and enjoys the life a professional is promised. But, it is without the girl of his dreams and the life they were promised from the early years of their success together.

The words of remembrance of 'the tumor' came in such reverberating tones as "I am going to have this craniotomy. I am scared to death my life will not be worth living afterward, but, if I have cancer, please don't tell me."

 

It's Sunday Morning, the morning after Saturday Night 

Earth Girls Are Easy by Julie Brown

Is it true what they say about Julie?
There she is, let's ask her.

Julie, did you really go out with an alien?
Uh huh

What was it like?
Real different

By the way, where'd you meet him?
I was nude sunbathing on my patio, and he was checking me out from his UFO

Guess he couldn't take it 'cause he lost his cool, crash landed in my
swimming pool
ooh neat

So he beams over too he starts licking his lips, stroking his antenna and
wiggling his hips
I'm no Albert Einstein but I'm not that dumb, I know lust no matter what
planet it's from

He said earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, know how to please
me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)

Was he cute?
No way, definitely uncute

Total grossarama, slick as a slug, with a shake-and-bake complexion and
eyes like a bug
Wavy on weird I wanted outta there quick, he was a cross between Flipper
and Alan Thick

Ooh
I ran in the house, I locked every lock, I was not gonna party with some
horny little Spock
All of a sudden I screamed in horror, he was groping my leg through the
doggy door

Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, love how they tease me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)

I can't go on.
What happened next is just too personal to put in a pop song.
If it's that bad, you have to.
Promise you won't tell?
Uh huh

His touch was a love drug, I had to have more, the next thing I knew I had
opened the door
Come in space monkey kiss me here, kiss me there, he's still disgusting but
I didn't care

Give us more details
Oh how do I describe it.

Well you know how a blender has 12 speeds?
Well when he got up to puree I thought I would die.
But when he put it on liquefy, I wanted his baby.
Ohhhhh. Oh yes, yes.

Is that your tongue.
One of them
That sure is a big piece of machinery you've got
I made it myself
Oh you space stud, you
There's no ride like this at Disneyland, baby.
Oh synchronize, synchronize, I'm docking Ohhhhhhh.
And to think we did all that without even touching.

Slow:
Now I'm back to my senses and he's light years away, if he's listening in
space I have something to say
I took the lock off the doggie door, so come back moon doggie when you're
ready for more

Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, know how to please me
Earth girls, earth girls are (sleazey)
Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, love how they tease me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)
Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, love how they tease me
Earth girls, earth girls are (very easy)
Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, know how to please me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)

 

If there isn't anything worse than a message of doom, it is a false prophet with no answer to the problem presented. If I thought for one minute there was no answer for the circumstances the brave of the brave confronted at Davos in regard to Human Induced Global Warming, I dearly would have been very careful regarding the subject in what 'hope' actually remains.

I have a plan to save Earth from the ravages of greedy and stupid men. I will discuss this over the next few weeks. Earth's circumstances require EVERY effort of humans to stop and REVERSE the effects of decades of negligence in the delicate balance of Earth's tropospheric gases, especially those of Greenhouse Gases. The efforts to save Earth's biotic life includes alternative energy sources at every turn without exception. City mayors need to pass ordinances that require industry and citizens/taxpayers to exhaust every effort to prevent emissions of carbon dioxide. Kindly remember, before humans burned carbon for fuel there were always other sources of these atmospheric gases, so the concept of taking conservation of emissions TOO FAR is nothing than "fiction." Humans can't be TOO conservative in their approach to stopping the emissions of Greenhouse Gases.

But, first, I have a personal focus regarding one life. Not the life of an entire planet of people just yet. I have a sister that is facing a life threatening brain tumor. I have written about her before. I face more than a tumor in an attempt to keep her alive while keeping her quality of life intact, I have a 'stupid' situation with the State of North Carolina and it's hideous laws that will allow her to die out of her own inability to grapple with her, now two tumors, that can be remedied with simple Gamma Knife Treatment at Baptist/Wake Forest Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Anyone interested in reading this won't believe it. I nearly don't believe it myself.

Government dysfunction in a Red State. That is the next topic for "It's Saturday Night." I more than likely won't be able to address it here until Sunday Morning.

Saving Earth's populous seems more simple to me than saving my sister's life. Incredible reality. One life is as important as the lives of all others. That is a philosophy not only expressed repeatedly here, but, in philosophies for millenium.

Thank you for your sincere interest in my blog here. Again a sincere thank you to the greatest of global leaders in regard to Human Induced Global Warming at Davos. The work is just beginning. 

Morning Papers - It's Origins

 

The Rooster 

Morning Papers

Michael Moore Today

Escalate Yourself This Weekend!

Anti-War Groups Plan Surge on Washington
By Aaron Glantz / IPS
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 - Peace activists from around the United States will converge on Washington Saturday for what organisers hope will be the largest demonstration to date against the Iraq war.
"We expect a turnout in the six figures," said Tom Andrews, a former Democratic congressman who now runs the group Win Without War, which is organising the march along with True Majority, Working Assets, the RainbowPUSH Coalition, the National Organisation for Women and the national umbrella group United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).
UFPJ's Leslie Cagan told IPS that the level of energy in the antiwar movement has spiked since the November election, when voters ended Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
"The voters of this country figured out that they could use the November elections as a vehicle to voice their opposition to the war," Cagan said. "What happened there was that the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9079

"...the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."

"The 110th Congress must stand up to the president."

United for Peace and Justice

March on Washington, January 27, 2007

Assemble on the National Mall,
between 3rd and 7th Streets, at 11 am.
Rally 11am-1pm.
March will kick off at 1pm.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
MARCH ROUTE, MAPS & LOGISTICS
Weather: Predicted to be 48 F and sunny! However, because there might be some precipitation in Washington, DC, before Saturday, the Mall could be a little muddy. So you may wish to wear boots, or at least bring an extra pair of socks.
Confirmed speakers: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Reps. Kucinich, Waters, and Woolsey, Bob Watada, and more ...

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/


Transportation Center for January 27

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ride.php


Have Housing

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/housing.php

Spread the Word About the January 27th Mobilization!
On Jan. 27, 2007, we are bringing the Mandate for Peace to Washington DC. You can help ensure that the new Congress gets the message by spreading the word far and wide. Help us make this the biggest and loudest demonstration for peace possible!
Here's how you can get involved:

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3437


Jan. 27-29 Schedule of Events
Below is a schedule for the events of the Jan. 27-29 mobilization in Washington DC. Further details will be added as they are finalized, so please keep checking back here.
EVENTS ORGANIZED BY UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE (Please scroll down for information on the Interfaith Service, the Veterans For Peace action on Thursday, CodePink's Walk in Their Shoes installation, and other actions being organized during the weekend.)

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3489

Jan. 27 March Route, Parking, Logistics, What to Bring, Etc.
Scroll down and look to the right-hand side of the page for a link to a printer-friendly version of this page.)

MAP OF ASSEMBLY AREA

Click here to download a map of the assembly area on the Mall, and contingent formation locations.


MARCH ROUTE

After an arduous and long process of negotiating with the U.S. Capitol Police, a final route for the march on Jan. 27th has been agreed to. Here are the details:

1 pm -- March steps off from 3rd Street and Jefferson Drive, NW. We will take 3rd Street north to Constitution, the east on Constitution to 1st Street, NE, then south to East Capital Street. At that point we will make a U-turn in the street and head north on 1st Street to Constitution. The march will proceed west on Constitution to 1st Street, NW, where we will head south, passing between the Reflecting Pool and the West Lawn of the Capitol. The march will pick up Maryland Ave., heading west until it intersects with Independence and then going west to 4th Street. We will then turn north on 4th and end up back on the Mall.

Yes, the march will double back on itself. This means that unlike other marches, most of us will have a chance to see and be inspired by the stream of contingents from all over the nation. We will be on three sides of the Capitol building sending our message loud and clear: This war must end now!

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3499


Democratic senators won't join Iraq war protest in Washington
By Jeff Zeleny / International Herald Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for the largest anti-war march since Democrats gained control of Congress, staging the first of several protests to persuade lawmakers to do more than simply speak out against President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq.
But do not look for senators to be standing among the protesters on the National Mall. Despite the consensus building around a resolution to oppose sending more troops to Iraq, even the most liberal among Democratic senators do not appear eager to align themselves with a traditional anti-war protest.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9087


Cheney increasingly on the defensive
By Ron Hutcheson / McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney, often considered the hidden power behind the White House throne, is increasingly out in the open and on the defensive.
He's scheduled to testify at the perjury trial of his former top aide; congressional Democrats want to probe his role in the White House; and his unprecedented clout may be waning. Once widely considered a source of wisdom and experience in the White House, the vice president has become a frequent target of criticism.
On Wednesday, a testy Cheney sparred with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer over Iraq and al-Qaida and insisted that Bush administration policies have succeeded in both cases. While he's acknowledged mistakes in Iraq, he bristled when Blitzer suggested that Cheney had lost credibility because of blunders there.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9070



The Boston Globe

North Pole temperature exceeds Boston's
By Michael Grillo
Boston.com Staff
January 26, 2007
Looking to get some relief from today's icy cold temperatures? Take a trip to Anchorage, Alaska or even the North Pole.
Both locations today reached a balmy 24 and 10.5 degrees, respectively, compared to Boston's high of 12 degrees.
Bostonians are feeling the chill of single-digit temperatures with wind chills as low as -15 degrees as an arctic air mass makes its way through the region.
Temperatures in the single-digits swept into many New England cities this morning: 3 in Worcester; 9 in Hartford, Conn.; 3 in Concord, N.H.; and -3 in Bangor, Maine.
International Falls, located near the Canadian border in Minnesota and notorious for some of America's coldest weather, was 23 degrees at about 11 a.m. Even the Arctic was considerably warmer than New England: the temperature in Nuuk, a city on the coast of Greenland, reached 36 degrees today.
In Europe, it was 21 degrees in Prague; 30 in Helsinki, Finland; 28 in Oslo, Norway; and 30 in Geneva, Switzerland.
But if those hot spots don't warm your cockles, check out flights to the Bahamas (73 degrees) or Buenos Aires where it's summer and a pleasant 71.

http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2007/01/26/north_pole_temperature_exceeds_bostons/?p1=MEWell_Pos1


Troops died after, not in, sneak attack

By Steven R. Hurst and Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Associated Press Writers
January 26, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Four American soldiers were abducted during a sophisticated sneak attack last week in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and their bodies were found up to 25 miles away, according to new information obtained by The Associated Press.
The brazen assault, 50 miles south of Baghdad on Jan. 20, was conducted by nine to 12 militants posing as an American security team. They traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles -- the type used by U.S. government convoys -- had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues, and spoke English.
In a written statement, the U.S. command reported at the time that five soldiers were killed while "repelling the attack." Now, two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials say four of the five were captured and taken from the governor's compound alive. Three of them were found dead and one mortally wounded later that evening in locations as far as 25 miles east of the governor's office.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/us_soldiers_not_killed_in_sneak_attack/


Cold turns boiling water to snow and keeps the MBTA up all night
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
On days as cold as today on the top of Mount Washington, a pan of boiling water thrown into the air will turn to snow before it hits the ground.
Crowbars used to clear ice off meteorological instruments snap in half like twigs.
Neil Lareau, the weather observer on duty today atop the mountain, wore three ski-masks, a pair of goggles, and a Gore-Tex hood just to step outside to take the temperature.
That's because a new record low for Jan. 26 was set today at the Mount Washington Observatory when it stayed 32.5 degrees below zero for more than four hours this morning. Add sustained winds of 67 mph, and the wind chill at the summit hit minus 83 degrees.
"We live for days like today," said Lareau, 26, who is one of six people stationed at the observatory this week. "We kind of thrive on having this reputation for the world's worst weather."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/cold_turns_boil.html


Hamas rallies across West Bank and Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip --In the year since Islamic Hamas swept parliamentary elections, Palestinians have sunk deeper into poverty, their government has been ostracized by the international community and hundreds have died in violence.
Yet the militant movement remains popular and its chief rival, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reluctant to force a showdown, either by disbanding the government or setting a date for early elections.
Hamas marked the one-year anniversary of its upset victory in Palestinian elections on Friday with celebrations that were dramatically scaled back after a new outbreak of deadly factional violence, including a deadly attack on a group of Hamas militiamen on Thursday night and retaliation that spilled over into Friday, killing nine people.
Tensions were so high that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas bowed out of a planned appearance at a rally in Jebaliya, apparently fearing it would be too dangerous to travel there. In the end, only several thousand Hamas supporters gathered in Jebaliya to celebrate Hamas' ascent to power.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/hamas_rally_across_west_bank_and_gaza/


Calif. bans toxic dry-cleaning chemical
By Samantha Young
Associated Press Writer
January 26, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --By 2023, California will completely ban the most common chemical used by dry cleaners. Under the newly enacted ban, perchloroethylene is to be phased out starting next year. The state is still debating what the alternative will be. Dry cleaning businesses are upset.
The regulation by the California Air Resources Board begins to phase out the toxic chemical next year, banning dry cleaners from buying machines that rely on the solvent. State officials say the fluid causes a variety of cancers.
The state's 3,400 dry cleaners who now use it must get rid of machines that are 15 years or older by July 2010.
"That's the wave of the future -- nontoxic, non-smog forming," said Annette Kondo, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Clean Air, a California environmental group. "We think this is going to ripple down to other states across the country."
Environmental and health advocates embraced the new rule, though they had urged the air board to accelerate the ban because of the chemical's health effects as a potential carcinogen. The solvent has contaminated one in 10 wells in California.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/01/26/california_bans_dry_cleaning_chemical/



Mass. housing market ends worst year in decade
Prices, sales tumble in December; condos are sole bright spot
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007

Massachusetts house prices tumbled 5.4 percent in December, in a sour endnote to the worst year for the state's housing market in a decade.

Amid new evidence the state is still struggling to emerge from the housing downturn, economists said it is likely prices for single-family houses will continue to decline this year. Single-family sales for 2006 were 41,593, which was the lowest total since 1996, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which released its monthly market report yesterday.

"We're working through the correction," said Larissa Duzhansky, an economist with Global Insight, a Lexington economics and consulting firm. She predicted, "We're going to see home prices going down in 2007."

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/01/26/mass_housing_market_ends_worst_year_in_decade/?p1=MEWell_Pos2


Bob Seger
He's a father now, but triumphant return shows he's still a

By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
When Bob Seger laughs, it sounds exactly as you might it imagine it would.
It's a deep, rusty chuckle that starts in his belly and fights its way through the nicotine-coated throat famous for a whole mess of songs familiar to anyone who has ever listened to a classic-rock station or seen a truck commercial.
At 61, Seger is a jolly soul who laughs often. At his good fortune -- more than 50 million albums sold, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acclaim, a concert tour drawing rave reviews that comes to the TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow and the DCU Center on Tuesday. At the senior moments, he and his manager of 40 years, "Punch" Andrews, have been experiencing lately. At his ability, after an 11-year hiatus, to record an album as rock solid as his recently released "Face the Promise." And, unlike a lot of artists his age, at hearing his songs on the radio with his kids in the car.
"Oh yeah," he says in his friendly bellow on the phone from his home in Detroit. "I know every nook and cranny of all of 'em, and it's fun to hear 'em on the radio, we usually turn it up every time!"

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2007/01/26/bob_seger/


God's gay child
January 15, 2007
LOVE AND let love.
God gave me a gift, a wonderful son who happens to be gay. God does not give inferiors gifts. God does not make mistakes. This little boy that God gave to me is now a fine young man. But my son is treated like a second-class citizen by my church. Maybe my state constitution will treat him likewise. I pray that it will not.
If you had a gay loved one in your family you would be a better person. You would be sensitive to the discrimination gays endure. You would realize that they, too, are entitled to mutual love.
God will continue to send gay babies. We must take them into our hearts and our lives. That would please God.
DOROTHY DONAHUE
Norwell


Old Romney debate clip is now a hit on the Web
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff
January 11, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A video recording of former Governor Mitt Romney expressing liberal views became an Internet sensation in the political world yesterday, prompting Romney to call a conservative webcast to say that he has "grown a bit wiser" in the past 13 years
He also accused opponents of his nascent presidential campaign of attacking him because of his record fighting for conservative causes.
The five-minute clip from an October 1994 debate against Senator Edward M. Kennedy shows Romney endorsing a series of liberal viewpoints and includes statements of support for abortion rights and gay rights. The clip was viewed more than 12,000 times on Youtube.com yesterday by 10 p.m.
Last night, Romney called in to the conservative Internet broadcast "The Glenn and Helen Show" to react to the distribution of what his presidential exploratory committee called "ancient footage."
"I'm grayer, I'm a little heavier, and I hope I've grown a bit wiser as well," Romney said. "Of course, I was wrong on some issues back then. I'm not embarrassed to admit that. I think most of us learn with experience. I know I certainly have."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/11/old_romney_debate_clip_is_now_a_hit_on_the_web/


Patrick highlights black heritage more as governor

By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | January 26, 2007
BOSTON --Deval Patrick was on the cusp of becoming the first black governor of Massachusetts, yet during his campaign last year he was reluctant to talk about such a groundbreaking prospect.

Since then, the Democrat has been far more willing to publicly embrace his African-American heritage.
When a woman told him on his way into his inaugural ball it was the most integrated event she had ever seen in Boston, Patrick told the crowd of 15,000 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, "Get used to that!"
Patrick's transformation began even before he took the oath of office. It started when he placed his left hand on a Bible as he raised his right to be sworn in.
The book used at the inauguration was the so-called Mendi Bible, which slaves who commandeered the ship "Amistad" gave to former President John Quincy Adams for securing their freedom after he argued their case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1841.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/patrick_highlights_black_heritage_more_as_governor/


Sculpture lovely to look at, and thought-provoking, too

By Ken Johnson, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
Would you like to see a miracle? I'm talking about a 1-foot square slab of marble whose surface has been transformed into a vision of the Virgin Mary seated in the clouds with her infant son in her lap and cherubic angels in fluttering attendance. It's carved in low relief with breathtaking delicacy, and it looks as though the stone had melted away, leaving only this dreamy, uncannily luminous mirage.
Made between 1425 and 1435 by Donatello, who was, next to Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, "Madonna of the Clouds" welcomes visitors right at the start of "Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston," an excellent, medium-size exhibition.
For the show, curators dusted off and gathered together almost every piece of Italian Renaissance sculpture the museum owns, including works in stone, bronze, wood, and clay. It also borrowed some items from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and, from a private collection, a fascinating array of tabletop-scale bronzes.

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/01/26/sculpture_lovely_to_look_at_and_thought_provoking_too/


R.I. newspapers to be sold for $7.6m

Journal Register Co. agreed to sell three daily newspapers and its weekly newspaper group in Rhode Island for $7.6 million.
The Pennsylvania company publishes 27 daily newspapers including the New Haven Register and 368 non-daily publications.
The company identified the buyer as R.I.S.N. Operations Inc. A phone number for R.I.S.N. supplied by the Journal Register Co. belongs to Horizon Publications of Marion, Ill., which owns and operates daily and weekly publications in 16 states and two Canadian provinces, including the Newport Daily Express of Newport, Vt., according to Horizon's website. A spokesman at Horizon declined comment.
Properties in the sale included the Call of Woonsocket, the Times of Pawtucket, Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick, and its weekly group, the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/ri_newspapers_s.html


Priest defrocked after rape conviction
January 26, 2007
BOSTON --A Roman Catholic priest who's in prison for raping a teenage boy in the 1980s has been defrocked by the Vatican, the Boston Archdiocese said Friday.
Paul William Hurley, of Sandwich, can no longer perform public ministry, except for offering absolution to the dying, and will not receive financial support from the archdiocese, the archdiocese said in a statement.
Hurley was placed on administrative leave in 2001 after the allegation of sexual misconduct. He was convicted in June of repeatedly raping a 15-year-old South Boston boy in 1987 and 1988 in the rectory of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Cambridge, where Hurley was assigned.
Hurley was sentenced in July to four years in prison.
Church law requires that priests be permanently removed from ministry if an act of sexual abuse of a minor is admitted or proven through a church investigation.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/priest_defrocked_after_rape_conviction/


Norway may ease ban on stem cell study
January 26, 2007
OSLO, Norway --Norway's government on Friday proposed lifting a national ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research, saying the change might help find cures to a broad range of diseases.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any tissue in the body, leading scientists to see them as a possible source of medical breakthroughs.
Current Norwegian law, from 2003, bars use of fertilized eggs or stem cells taken from them in research and requires eggs left over after assisted pregnancies to be destroyed.
The proposed law would allow research on such eggs under strict legal and ethical limits, including consent from the parents and approval from a national ethics panel, the government proposal said.
"The government believes if is important to use the opportunities offered by science to gain knowledge that can be used to treat serious illnesses in the future," Minister of Health and Care Services Silvia Brustad said in presenting the legislation.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/01/26/norway_may_ease_stem_cell_research_ban/


Standard Register to close Vermont plant
January 26, 2007
DAYTON, Ohio --Standard Register Co., a provider of document services, on Friday said it will close a facility in Middlebury, Vt., and transfer equipment and production operations to three other U.S. plants.
The Middlebury plant, which employs about 112 people and produces business forms, will continue to perform limited production through March.
Standard Register is providing all affected employees with severance and job-finding assistance. Most workers will be able to apply for open positions at other facilities, with relocation assistance.
The redistribution of manufacturing assets to its Murfreesboro, Tenn., York, Pa. and Fayetteville, Ark. plants will move production closer to customers' locations, Standard Register said.
Shares of Standard Register rose 10 cents to $12.64 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.


Novell gets second warning from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. of Waltham received a second noncompliance letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to its late fiscal 2006 annual report.
Novell received the first noncompliance notice in September because it didn't file its third-quarter report. Novell delayed filing both reports pending the completion of the view of historical stock-based compensation practices.
In January, Novell had a hearing before the Nasdaq panel regarding the first noncompliance letter. The panel granted the company's request for continued listing as long as on or before March 1, Novell provides information regarding the stock-option review, and on or before March 13, the company files its quarterly report and any necessary restatements.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/novell_gets_sec.html


Examining the path to YouTube stardom
By Jake Coyle
AP Entertainment Writer
January 26, 2007
NEW YORK --So you want to be a viral video star.
Now that web sites like YouTube have created a democratized platform for celebrity, anyone who uploads a video has a chance to become a sensation. And we've seen deals follow with TV networks and record labels.
Sounds easy, right? Except that more than 70 million videos are watched on YouTube daily. In that enormous digital wilderness, most videos fall without a sound.
To reach the pinnacle of YouTube celebrity, your video must generally rank among either the most-viewed or most-subscribed lists, which each include only 100 videos, arranged daily, weekly, monthly and by all-time.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/01/26/examining_the_path_to_youtube_stardom/


Googling YouTube
Source: Ars Technica
When Google bought YouTube last fall you may have wondered, what happens to Google Video? Well here's an answer. Go on Google Video today and do a search and you'll get both Google and YouTube videos in your search results (often mostly YouTube). Google is aiming to make Google Video be the place you'll go to "search for the world's online video content, irrespective of where it may be hosted." Ars Technica says it's only a matter of time before GooTube tells copyright holders "Hey, why don't you sell your video on the same pages as these uploaded clips." Instant upsell.

http://www.boston.com/business/blog/filter/


N.Y. scanners spark union cries of "geoslavery"
By Michelle Nichols | January 26, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every morning Dennis Colson, a surveyor at New York City's Department of Design and Construction, begins his work day by placing his hand on a scanner to log his time and attendance at the office.
The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student dining hall in 1974.
But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" and assertions that technology developed for security will be used to track, label and control workforces.
"It's frustrating, it's kind of an insult," Colson, 53, told Reuters. "They are talking about going to voice and retina scanners and that's an invasion of privacy in that they can track you wherever you go."

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/01/26/ny_scanners_spark_union_cries_of_geoslavery/


'God' references are removed from movie

By Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press Writer | January 25, 2007
ATLANTA --So much for God and country, at least during some in-flight showings of the Oscar-nominated movie "The Queen." That's because all mentions of God are bleeped out of a version of the film given to some commercial airlines.
Even in these politically correct times, censoring references to God in the film wasn't a statement of some kind. Rather, it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.
The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities -- including any blasphemy -- for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/25/god_references_are_removed_from_movie/


Mistrial after lawyer falters at closing
January 26, 2007
FARMVILLE, Va. --A judge declared a mistrial in an attempted-murder case after the defense lawyer said he couldn't continue his closing statement because he had lost his train of thought. Judge Ernest P. Gates Sr. also suggested that attorney James E. Sheffield seek medical help.
Gates declared the mistrial Thursday in the case of a man accused of shooting a police officer in the leg in 2005.
Sheffield, 74, a former judge, returned from a recess to say that he could not continue the closing argument.
Russell Smith, charged with attempted capital murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm, offered to finish the job himself.
"This is about me," he told Gates.
The judge warned against it, and Smith requested the mistrial.


Drunk man goes for unexpected train ride
January 26, 2007
FARGO, N.D. --A drunk man who tried to climb over a freight train stopped at a downtown crossing ended up going for a ride when the train took off. The 23-year-old man called 911 from his cell phone early Friday when the train reached the Casselton area west of Fargo because he was cold and wanted off, said Cass County Deputy Sheriff Shawn Getz.
Dispatchers called BNSF Railway, which alerted the train conductor.
"A few miles west of Casselton they were able to stop the train and (the man) got off," Getz said.
Authorities said the man did not require any medical treatment, and the railroad did not press charges. The man was taken to a detox center, Getz said.


Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event
January 26, 2007
ONTARIO, N.Y. --It's not your typical church breakfast. An event billed as "Porn and Pancakes" is being hosted by a church in rural upstate New York.
The breakfast discussion on the pornography industry in America is planned next month at the Living Word Assembly of God Church in the town of Ontario, about ten miles east of Rochester.
A billboard advertisement near the church shows the words "Porn and Pancakes" written in syrup on a stack of flapjacks.
Organizers told a Rochester TV station that the event on February 10th will be an honest discussion about pornography and its impact on society. The discussion will be led by Triple-X Church, a group of youth ministers who travel the country talking about porn and the porn industry.
The pastor of the Wayne County church and churches from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have asked about hosting "Porn and Pancakes" events.
On the Net:
http://www.livingwordag.com/

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/26/church_hosts_porn_and_pancakes_event/


Polite nude jogger shocks hikers, bikers
January 25, 2007
SARATOGA, Calif. --Who was that undressed man? That's the question startled hikers, bikers and horseback riders are asking about a jogger seen streaking through an open space preserve wearing nothing but sneakers, glasses and a black tam hat.
"He passed me and said `Good evening,'" said equestrian Sue Bowdoin, who spotted the naked man, middle-aged and sporting a pale paunch, while riding her horse, Randy, on a trail in Fremont Older Open Space Preserve last summer. "I thought: Ugh!"
Although numerous park users have reported seeing the exhibitionist over the last year-and-a-half, rangers have been unable to identify and arrest him for exposing himself, said Gordon Baillie of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
By most accounts, the man is polite and does nothing other than run in the buff.
A woman who saw him said he looked scared and backed away after she cornered him with her horse and told him he was offending people.
People who use the park regularly have not reported recent sightings in the cold weather, but they theorize he may be incognito because he is clothed. With dark hair, sweaty red skin and lack of body hair, he is easily recognizable, Bowdoin said.
"He's frumpy. Plain. Not in good physical shape," Bowdoin said. "It's not a pretty sight.'


Scientist develops caffeinated doughnuts
January 26, 2007
DURHAM. N.C. --That cup of coffee just not getting it done anymore? How about a Buzz Donut or a Buzzed Bagel? That's what Doctor Robert Bohannon, a Durham, North Carolina, molecular scientist, has come up with. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee.
While the product is not on the market yet, Bohannon has approached some heavyweight companies, including Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks about carrying it.


Twins give birth to sons within hours
January 25, 2007
AUBURN, Ind. --Nicole Cramer had little idea when she went to the hospital to see her twin sister's newborn son that within hours, she would give birth to a son of her own.
Her sister, Naomi Sale, had scheduled a Caesarean section on Tuesday morning and gave birth to Ethan Alexander at 8:29 a.m. Cramer, also nine months pregnant, visited Sale and her new nephew in the hospital but was having contractions and didn't stay long.
"I thought, after I did the C-section, on my way home, 'I wonder if her sister would go into labor?'" said Dr. Thaddeus Weghorst, the obstetrician for both women.
Within hours, Cramer was in the delivery room of DeKalb Memorial Hospital.
After a 1 1/2-hour labor, Cramer delivered Carter Nathaniel Birchfield.
"This solidifies the theory on the bond between twins," Weghorst said. "Even their uteri have a bond."
Cramer and Sale celebrate their 23rd birthdays Jan. 29. They were due to give birth within a day of each other at the end of January, but Weghorst's office didn't figure out they were twins until they were eight months along.
The sisters explained, in unison, that they usually had their appointments on the same day, but at different times.
Weghorst, who has been in practice for eight years, said the close deliveries were a first for him.
"I've delivered two sets of twins in the same day, but never this," he said.


The Jordan Times

Improper use of heaters leads to rise in fatalities, injuries

By Rana Husseini

AMMAN — The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of improper use of gas, wood and kerosene heaters has risen dramatically this year with officials warning of a further rise if safety measures are not properly applied by citizens.

Lieutenant Colonel Farid Shareh, head of the Public Relations Department at the Civil Defence Department (CDD), said the majority of incidents were a direct result of the public’s failure to abide by safety procedures.

During the Eid holiday, seven people, including three children, died in separate gas heater incidents in Amman and other governorates. Reports of fatalities continued after the 9-day vacation with incidents of individuals dying in their sleep because they left these heaters on overnight without proper ventilation.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews4.htm



4 dead in Beirut cast shadow over aid pledges
Paris conference pledges $7.6 billion
BEIRUT (Reuters) — Four people were shot dead in clashes between pro- and anti-government activists in Lebanon on Thursday, overshadowing a $7.6 billion aid deal by international donors to shore up the US-backed government.
Two opposition students and two other people were shot dead and 100 were injured, many by gunfire, at Beirut's Arab University, security sources said.
The Lebanese army declared a night curfew in Beirut after the clashes and leaders of both sides appealed for calm.
A campaign led by Hizbollah and Shiite and Christian allies against the government, which is struggling to recover from last year's war with Israel, has raised tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon, still recovering from a 1975-90 civil war.
Fighting started between students with sticks and stones on the university campus then spilled into nearby streets. It developed into exchanges of gunfire from assault rifles and pistols involving students and residents from both sides.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news1.htm


Israel, Jordan, Palestinians agree on economic zone — Peres

DAVOS (AP) — Israel's foreign minister reached out to the Palestinian president in an emotional speech Thursday as he sat next to her at the World Economic Forum, saying lasting peace is the dream of her people and promising that a future Palestinian state is "not an illusion... It's achievable". Tzipi Livni made clear, however, that her government would not compromise on its need for security and urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to compromise with extremists, a reference to the Hamas government's refusal to disavow its call for Israel's destruction.
But Livni, turning to face Abbas, also made a personal and impassioned plea for dialogue to begin.
"I would like to negotiate, to speak, to meet, to talk," she said. On finding peace, she said: "There is nothing I want more ... this is part of our dream, this is part of our goal." Abbas, for his part, said he was confident that the peace process could be put back on track. "We are ready as of now to start serious negotiations," he said during the public session. Afterward, the two warmly shook hands. They are to meet one-on-one at a hotel near the forum on Friday. "We are creating this momentum ... to put the train on the track and push it after that," Abbas told the Associated Press.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news2.htm


Young Global Leaders brief Queen Rania on dignity project
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania joined Young Global Leaders (YGL) for a briefing on their recent projects, including the launch of the Global Dignity Project, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.
Discussions focused on the YGLs' role in using their expertise and experience in helping their local communities as well as the global community.
One project recently launched by the YGLs is the dignity project, which seeks to raise global awareness of the universal right of every human being to lead a dignified life, and compel people around the globe to move to action in implementing these rights.
People from all over the world are welcome to sign the Dignity Principles on their website (http://www.globaldignity.org).
The Dignity Principles are based on both ethics and enlightened self-interest, the YGLs told the Queen.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews2.htm


34 killed, but Maliki vows to pursue gunmen
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Bombs killed at least 34 people in Baghdad on Thursday but Iraq's prime minister vowed a crackdown in the capital would leave gunmen nowhere to hide.
In a speech to parliament, Nouri Maliki urged politicians on all sides to support his security plan, backed by 17,000 US reinforcements and seen by many as a last chance to halt sectarian violence in the capital.
"There will be no safe haven — no school, no home, no [Sunni] mosque or Shiite mosque. They will all be raided if they are turned into a launchpad for terrorism, even the headquarters of political parties," he said.
Maliki said his determination had already borne fruit.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news3.htm


As Iraq war drags on, comparisons with Vietnam grow
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another Vietnam? Defenders of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war policy have long shrugged off such comparisons. But as the war heads towards the four-year mark and a newly-empowered Democratic Congress takes aim at presidential spending for more troops, the comparisons are becoming more frequent.
Despite Bush’s State of the Union appeal for Congress to give his new war strategy a chance, congressional Democrats joined by some Republicans are forging ahead with a resolution opposing Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.
Congress has clear constitutional authority to declare war and set spending levels. Yet limiting troops or war spending has never been easy. In Vietnam, it took years.
Nine years after Congress in its Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorised President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the Vietnam War, Congress voted in 1973 to cut off remaining funds for combat operations in Southeast Asia. By then, President Richard Nixon had already withdrawn most ground troops.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news9.htm


On winning the peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Jonathan Power
Pervez Musharraf, president and military strongman of Pakistan, opened his eyes wide, sat bolt upright on his sofa, and said: “I never thought of that.” He repeated the phrase and looked, I dare suggest, a little bewildered.
In many years of interviewing top leaders I have never before felt the sensation of catching someone totally off balance. Yet all I had asked was: “Why don’t you talk to your enemies, the Taleban and Al Qaeda?”
In two hours of conversation there was no effort, as is usual with senior Pakistani officials, to persuade me that the Taleban and Al Qaeda were being defeated or that the war in Afghanistan was going well. Indeed, there was an absence of bravado and a receptivity to new, so far unconsidered, ideas.
Pakistan is the hub of the Anglo-American/NATO war against Al Qaeda and the Taleban. The British have here their largest embassy in the world. The city is full to the brim with American secret agents and senior military people. But the truth is the war in Afghanistan is going badly. The Taleban are gaining the upper hand, financially fuelled by proceeds from growing poppy, which they now encourage in a reverse of policy when they were in power, when they ruled that it was un-Islamic. Al Qaeda, too, high up in the mountains of Pakistan, is rebuilding its strength.


Katsav — Israel’s bland president facing disgrace
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli President Moshe Katsav, whose leave of absence over a looming rape indictment was approved by parliament on Thursday, is a bland bureaucrat who rose from impoverished origins as an immigrant from Iran to assume the nation's top job.
After more than four hours of debate, a Knesset committee approved by a vote of 13 to 11 that Katsav be suspended from office for three months because of the allegations — the most serious ever levelled against an Israeli leader.
Katsav requested the leave of absence after the attorney general said on Tuesday that he intended to indict him on a slew of charges including rape, sexual harassment and abuse of power.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news5.htm


Mortars hit Somalia’s international airport, killing 2

MOGADISHU (AP) — Gunmen launched mortars on Mogadishu International Airport, killing at least two people a day after powerful troops from neighbouring Ethiopia began withdrawing from this chaotic nation.
Also Wednesday, US defence officials said the United States launched an air strike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets — the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news7.htm


UK consultancy to provide technical assistance for water management
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday signed a 1.175-million euro agreement with the European Commission for improving management of water and wastewater services in the country.
Under the deal, signed by Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem and Head of the European Commission Delegation in Amman Patrick Renauld, the Ian Pope Associates (IPA) Energy + Water Consulting will provide the ministry with technical assistance for the project.
As part of the EU-funded agreement, an audit unit to monitor the water sector’s performance will be created if approved by the government.
In addition, the British consulting company will provide technical assistance to the programme management unit (PMU) at the ministry to help it implement all water-related projects, Renauld said during the signing ceremony.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews6.htm


The new cold war — Middle East style
Rami G. Khouri
Lebanon and Palestine are the most dramatic examples of the new ideological battle that now defines much of the Middle East, where local players and medium-strength regional powers often interact with one another in parallel with foreign powers’ interests and goals.
While tensions were increasing in Beirut last weekend in anticipation of the January 23 national strike by the Hizbollah-led opposition against the Siniora-Hariri-led government, in nearby Damascus, the leaders of the two major Palestinian political groups, Hamas and Fateh, were meeting under Syrian auspices to try and solve their dispute over who rules Palestine and defines its foreign policy vis-à-vis Israel.
If you were too young to remember the cold war between the American- and Soviet-led global camps, study this dynamic closely, because it is a miniature regional version of the former global contest. It is possible that the Middle East-anchored new cold war we are living through these days may persist for many years, or it may be over in two or three years, depending on how both sides harness and use their competitive assets. For now, we can only identify some of the new rules and realities of the regional confrontation.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion2.htm

The troposphere today is grossly out of balance.

When is the last time anyone reading this has seen a 'straight' line of demarcation moving from the Equator to the North Pole as if drawn with a straight edge?

Yet, in the satellite image below at 8 o'clock and in the satellite images of UNYSIS that is exactly what is occuring over the Pacific Ocean and off the west coast of the North American continent.

This is profoundly dangerous. It is important the leaders of the free world are taking the initiative to aggressively 'take care of Earth.'

A sincere thank you to all of them.

On brink of climate disaster

  


GLOBAL warming has accelerated and the carbon emitted this century will continue to warm the Earth for more than a thousand years, according to the scientific advice commissioned by the world's governments.

Officials from about 180 governments, including Australia, will meet in Paris next week for the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in six years.

Confidential research to go to the meeting predicts rainfall will increase in the tropics over this century. But it is likely rainfall will diminish in the regions near the tropics, which includes most of the inhabited parts of Australia.

The reductions in rainfall due to global warming could be as much as 20 per cent under some of the scenarios the working group finds plausible.

The updated expert scientific advice for the meeting is considerably more confident that global warming is caused by man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. The best assessment for the last climate change panel meeting put the likelihood at more than 66 per cent that human activity was to blame. But the scientists now assert it is more than a 90 per cent likelihood, say sources familiar with the confidential advice.

The likelihood of a continuing global trend to more warm days and fewer cold ones is rated greater than 99 per cent.

Research on the physical science of climate change, prepared by 49 of the foremost experts, finds warming caused by carbon emissions increased by 20 per cent in the past 10 years, the fastest in at least 500 years.

The scientists predict that the average global temperature will rise by 0.2 degrees in each of the next two decades, double the rate of warming that would have occurred if greenhouse outputs had been stabilised at 2000 levels.

The advice to the governments says man-made carbon dioxide emissions already under way in the 21st century - even if they were to cease at the end of the century - will continue to exert a warming effect for more than a thousand years because it takes time for the gas to leave the Earth.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday brushed off an accusation from the Australian of the Year, Tim Flannery, that his Government had dragged the climate change chain. Mr Howard said he was not "bowled over by some of the doomsday scenarios".

Among other effects the scientists predict are that sea ice will shrink in the Arctic and Antarctic under all plausible scenarios, extremes including heatwaves will continue to become more frequent and snow cover will contract. There are projected to be fewer tropical cyclones, but their intensity will grow.

In a projection less troubling than the previous report, the scientists now believe the rise in the sea level will be smaller. The scientists are uncertain of the strength of the feedback effects that will accompany global warming - that is, its propensity to be self-perpetuating.

The findings will be the basis for debate and negotiations over measures governments might take to address global warming.

Eastern Cape swelters in near-hazardous heat

  


The Eastern Cape had temperatures so high on Friday that they were almost hazardous to health, the South African Weather Service said.

"Both Port Elizabeth and East London are at around a discomfort index of 107," said spokesperson Garth Sampson, adding that an index of 110 is hazardous to health.

When temperature and humidity are both high, the body cannot cool itself adequately by sweating. The discomfort index is a measure of this.

"People should not engage in vigorous outdoor activities as some areas along the coast might have reached 110 already. Special care should be taken to keep the sick and elderly people cool," said Sampson.

In Uitenhage, the temperature was 40,2 degrees Celsius, while Somerset East recorded 40,7. In East London and Port Elizabeth, the temperatures were above 35 degrees Celsius.

"The good news is the wind should turn west by 3pm, bringing instant relief in Port Elizabeth.

"But East Londoners will have to wait until around 5pm when the wind will change in that area, bringing the temperatures down," Sampson said.

Meanwhile, the Herald newspaper reported on Friday that dozens of fires had destroyed large tracts of veld in the Nelson Mandela metropolitan area as a result of the heat wave.

The high temperatures are wreaking havoc on agricultural production, with farmers saying if good rains do not come soon, a crippling drought is imminent.

"The blistering heat has caused a string of veld fires in the past two days, with firefighters, in Nelson Mandela Bay in particular, working around the clock fighting runaway fires sparked by the heat and dry weather."

At least 55 veld fires have been reported in and around the city in the past two days, the newspaper reported.

Weather officials said it is normal at this time of the year to experience hot conditions and very little rain. The rest of the country has also been experiencing hot conditions, Sampson said, adding that it will be cooler on Friday night.

"On Saturday it would be warm with maximum temperatures in most parts of the country at 25 degrees Celsius."

He said the temperatures are expected to rise in the whole country by Sunday.

"The temperatures had been high in the country for the past week, with Cape Town also reaching 40 degrees Celsius. The heat will cool off tomorrow [Saturday] but start heating up again on Sunday." -- Sapa

Terror, climate are CEOs' big worries today (if clicked on there are a lot of pop ups from India)

  

ARE THESE PEOPLE IN TOUCH WITH REALITY?

Not surprisingly, this year's event has 17 sessions in which the impact of climate change and its subsequent impact on profitability will be discussed. Add to this a few sessions on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the future of Iraq.

Having said that, PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PWC) annual global CEO survey released here on Wednesday shows CEO confidence at record levels. Almost twice as many chief executives feel confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months compared to five years ago.

Nearly 90% of the 1,100 CEOs surveyed are upbeat about revenue growth in the next 12 months. The optimism stems from stable interest rates globally, oil prices coming down, countries and companies learning to live with high prices that were seen last year, low unemployment levels and booming corporate profitability, the highest in the last seven years.

Interestingly, another recent survey published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) indicates that Indian CEOs are more bullish about the future than their Chinese counterparts. "India-based executives are practically melting with excitement," it says.