The Seattle Post Intelligencer
2 ships' future is on thin ice
By MIKE BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
ABOARD THE USCGC POLAR SEA -- Although it carries no heavy armament, this U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker is a fighting ship.
During its nearly 30 years of life, the Polar Sea once crushed its way to the southernmost point in Antarctica navigable by sea. Six months later it broke through to the Arctic to become the first American surface ship to reach the North Pole and the first ship to span the most extreme ends of the global ocean.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/212945_icebreaker21.html
'Polar rollers' -- the U.S. lifeline to Antarctica
Icebreakers also act as platforms for scientific studies of depths
By MIKE BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Instead of working pier-side while his ship, Polar Sea, is being repaired, Coast Guard Capt. Bruce Toney would rather be under way in Antarctica, up in the "aloft con."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/212922_icesider21.html
Most Americans ready for woman to be president
Clinton leads group of possible female candidates, poll finds
By ERIC DUGGAN
ALBANY (N.Y.) TIMES UNION
ALBANY, N.Y. -- A majority of Americans say the country is ready to elect a woman as president in 2008 -- and even more said they would vote for one.
The candidate's portrait as painted by 1,125 registered voters in a nationwide Hearst Newspapers/Siena College poll shows that she's likely a Democrat and is viewed as being at least as capable as a man on foreign policy. She's stronger on health care and education, but somewhat weaker as commander in chief of the military.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/212931_womanprez21.html
Storms pummel S. Calif., leave two dead
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A house, that collapsed during an earlier rainstorm, is fenced off as cars pass by Saturday, Feb.19, 2005, in the Studio City section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Phil McCarten)
LOS ANGELES -- California's latest series of storms turned deadly when a rockslide killed a teenage girl in Orange County and a city worker died after plunging into an enormous sinkhole caused by the rain, authorities said Monday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=California%20Storm
BTK killer's writing style has changed
By ROXANA HEGEMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WICHITA, Kan. -- The letters and poems began arriving in 1974. Shot through with spelling and grammatical errors, they alternated between tortured rambling and cold-blooded, gleeful detail. Then, the BTK killer - since linked to eight unsolved killings between 1974 and 1986 - vanished. But he resurfaced last March with new letters to police and media and, although still enigmatic, they have taken a new tone.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=BTK%27s%20Messages
Indonesia-Aceh peace talks to resume
By MATTI HUUHTANEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HELSINKI, Finland -- Separatists from the Aceh region of Indonesia will demand a full withdrawal of the 50,000 Indonesian security forces in the province as part of any negotiated settlement to end their long-running war, a member of the rebel delegation said Monday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Finland%20Indonesia%20Aceh%20Talks
Bangladesh ferry death toll hits 114
By FARID HOSSAIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Rescuers search for victims of a shipwrecked ferry, foreground, that capsized on the Buriganga River, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2005. A Bangladesh ferry capsized and sank during a tropical storm overnight, leaving at least 37 people dead and 150 missing, rescue officials said Sunday. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
DHAKA, Bangladesh -- A double-decker passenger ferry capsized and sank during a tropical storm in Bangladesh, leaving at least 114 people dead and dozens missing, rescue officials said Monday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Bangladesh%20Ferry%20Capsize
Indonesian dump collapses, kills 13
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Thirteen people were killed and dozens were missing Monday after mountains of garbage collapsed onto a neighborhood near the West Java town of Bandung, officials said.
The 30-foot-tall heap collapsed and covered several houses near the municipal dump following days of torrential rains, killing at least 13 people and injuring six others, police Sgt. Asep Sudrajat said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Indonesia%20Garbage%20Slide
Summary: Volunteers want on Ariz. Border
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE SITUATION: The Mexico-Arizona border is the most porous for illegal immigrants seeking to enter the United States.
THE THREAT: Recent intelligence reports say al-Qaida terrorists are likely to use the Mexican border as a gateway for making attacks in the United States.
A REACTION: A private group called the Minuteman Project, to the dismay of federal authorities, plans to patrol a 40-mile stretch of the border, and some members plan to carry weapons.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Border%20Minutemen%20Summary%20Box
CRISIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE !! Try looking for a chef at 'Chili's' or 'The Texas Steak House'
First lady seeks barbecue, Tex-Mex chef
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- Fancy state dinners aren't all the new White House chef will need to do - the Bushes are looking for someone who knows barbecue and other good old American fare.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Laura%20Bush%20Chef
Poor often fall victim to fee on tax refund loans
Seattle imposed disclosure, but state bills would ease it
By CANDACE HECKMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Seattle lawmakers are worried that the disadvantaged working poor of the city will become targets of misleading tax preparers pushing expensive "refund anticipation loans" as the April filing deadline nears.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/212932_taxloans21.html
U.N. refugee chief resigns under pressure
By EDITH M. LEDERER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
UNITED NATIONS -- After months of criticism, Secretary-General Kofi Annan decided that U.N. refugee chief Ruud Lubbers had to go because of the growing controversy over allegations that the former Dutch prime minister had sexually harassed female staffers.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Refugee%20Chief
Plague kills scores in Congo outbreak
By BRYAN MEALER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- A rare form of plague has killed at least 61 people at a diamond mine in the remote wilds of northeast Congo, and authorities fear hundreds more who fled into the forests to escape the contagion are infected and dying, the World Health Organization said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Congo%20Plague
Talks in Vietnam address endemic bird flu
By TINI TRAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TAM VU, Vietnam -- The challenges in eradicating a virus now entrenched in a region crowded with both people and poultry will be the focus of a regional bird flu conference that opens this Wednesday in Ho Chi Minh City.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=Vietnam%20Bird%20Flu%20Fight
Australian airport terminal evacuated
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Passengers were evacuated from an airport terminal in the southern city of Melbourne on Monday after dozens of staff fell ill following a possible chemical or gas leak, officials said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20Airport%20Evacuated
Bush declares American Samoa disaster area
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa -- President Bush on Friday declared American Samoa a major disaster area following Hurricane Olaf, which wiped out nearly all homes in at least one village in the Manua Islands.
Olaf, a Category 5 hurricane, hit Wednesday with sustained winds of 160 mph and gusts up to 190 mph. Waves up to 40 feet high hit some islands.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Hurricane%20Olaf
Off the deep end
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Terror, as the Northwest knows all too well, is not only a foreign import; it is a domestic product, too.
Two strains of made-in-America extremism seeped back into view last week. In both instances, authorities appear to have done a commendable job of paying attention to longstanding dangers even in the face of the newer emphasis on al-Qaida and other international terror groups.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/212696_terrored.asp
The Australian
ASIO clears Aussies of Hariri killing
Trudy Harris
February 19, 2005
SIX Australians accused by Lebanese authorities of being suspects in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri have been cleared by ASIO of any involvement.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12299127%255E601,00.html
Three killed in Aceh violence
From correspondents in Banda Aceh
February 21, 2005
AN Indonesian soldier and two civilians have been killed in the latest violence in Aceh, even as government and rebels began a second round of peace talks in Finland, the military said today.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12332029%255E1702,00.html
Penis retrieved from toilet
From correspondents in Anchorage
February 21, 2005
A 44-year-old Alaskan man had his penis surgically reattached after it was cut off by an angry girlfriend and flushed down a toilet, police said today.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12328833%255E1702,00.html
Two dead in Sri Lankan blast
February 21, 2005
TWO people have been killed and 11 seriously injured in a bomb blast at a court house in southern Sri Lanka, as former US presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton tour the region.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12325421%255E1702,00.html
Near miss between RAAF plane, jet
February 21, 2005
AN air force plane and passenger jet had a near miss just south of Darwin last year, a report revealed today.
Investigations by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Air Services Australia found the traffic controller of that sector monitored the situation inadequately, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12325321%255E1702,00.html
The Sydney Morning Herald
Exxon becomes most valuable US firm
February 21, 2005 - 10:15PM
Buoyed by rising profits from lofty oil prices, Exxon Mobil passed General Electric Co. Friday to become the largest US corporation by stock market value.
The two Goliaths traded places after Exxon Mobil shares gained more than 2 per cent - having surged 43 per cent from a year ago - while GE's stock slipped.
That vaulted Exxon Mobil ahead of GE in market capitalisation, topping $US383 billion ($A485 billion) compared with about $US379 billion ($A480 billion) for GE.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Exxon-becomes-most-valuable-US-firms/2005/02/21/1108834731969.html
The New Zealand Herald
Nineteen arrested in child porn crackdown
UPDATE - School teachers and sports coaches were among 48 people interviewed by police in a crackdown on child pornography and abuse over the last two days.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10112014
Autonomy plan the basis for Aceh talks says mediator
21.02.05 1.00pm
HELSINKI - Jakarta's offer of limited autonomy for its restive Aceh province will provide a basis for peace talks this week between Indonesia and Aceh separatists, the talks' mediator Martti Ahtisaari said on Sunday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10112003
Baby improving after doctors remove second head
BENHA, Egypt - Egyptian doctors said a 10-month-old girl suffering from one of the rarest birth defects was in a serious but improving condition after they removed her second head in an operation on Saturday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10112005
WHERE IS 'KITTY KELLY' when you need her?
New tapes say Bush may have smoked marijuana
21.02.05 10.30am
WASHINGTON - President George W Bush indicated in interviews secretly taped by a friend before he became president that he had used marijuana but would not admit it for fear of setting a bad example for children.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10111999
Bush tries charm offensive in Europe
21.02.05
By Catherine Field
PARIS - There will be soothing words. But will there also be substance?
After four years of bluntness and division in relations with Europe, President George W. Bush this week will try a different tack - charm.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10111900
Storm-damaged Sydney drenched by more rain
21.02.05
SYDNEY - An Irish tourist struck by lightning during wild electrical storms in Sydney remains in intensive care.
The 29-year-old man was standing on Bondi Beach about 5pm AEDT (7pm NZT) when he was hit by lightning at the height of Saturday's storm.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10111946
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Snow
-15.0°
Updated Monday 21 Feb 9:59PM
