I am trying to remember the year, Nicholas. It was at least 1993 and more likely before that the Senate and Congress started to talk about the short fall of Social Security. At any rate most of us took the call seriously and began investing in 401Ks, 401Bs, IRAs, Keoghs and Roths.
In other words, for a whole of people we are preparing to be on the down side of income when we retire.
We expect to have to supplement our Social Security when the time comes. We expect long worked for pensions to be intact. We expect to work longer if not full time but part time. We expect to want to work longer because our wellness and longevity has increased and 'feeling young' has turned into more like 'being young.'
Oddly, I had expected by now that my sons and I having age difference of minimally 24 years would be worlds apart in values, interests and the like, but, we aren't. You know that was a phenomena my grandmother shared as well. She said when getting very aged in her nineties her greatest asset to aging and longevity was living among the young.
She had 40 grandchildren alone. I dearly don't want that many.
But, Grandma was grandma as well as Catholic from the old school. Not that she didn't believe in birth control, she did, she was just to busy with all the kids to keep the calendar straight. The old broad was something, she once said to her six oldest granddaughters one evening, "Back when I was your age I didn't have a choice but to hop in the sack with Grandpa and get pregnant. But, in reiterating her youth, wifedom and motherhood having never worked a job a day in her life; stated; if she were we she'd be on 'the pill' forever.
But, that is getting off the subject except to say in the year 2005 and looking into the future there is every estimation The Baby Boomers will be happy, healthy and needing wealth for a long time. Realizing that Social Security was never designed to provide 'leisure' money but more 'survival' money on a regular and monthly basis while those we have accumulated in our lives provide leisure, joy and happiness. As people age, the saying "You can't take it with you gathers a very clear meaning.'
The point is I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone else to do it including the government so long as I know what to expect. I DEMAND and EXPECT my full allotment of Social Security as that is my citizen's right. But, I do not expect that to sustain me alone. Nor would I want that. As an example, I met an 84 year old ice scientist in Juneau. His experience and knowledge was nothing any book or even his own research would relay. Follow my meaning? The longer we survive as vital human beings engaged in life the more valuable our clear thinking minds and the engaged we are.
Okay. So what exactly do I expect of the government? Not more than I am entitled to, plain and simple. I recently received a statement from SSI. I never requested it and it is a good guess this is a propaganda campaign by Bush. But, the amounts on that paper seems more than I expected. I think I'll be fine with things just the way they are.
The point is, it's a long held fact SSI will fall into bankruptcy. Is it a fact or more a misnomer. A falsehood.
In theory the bankruptcy is true. In actual practice that could never be true. I believe it is that 'comfort' of knowing the USA always finds a way that is at the center of what keeps the majority of the country from jumping into still another $2 trillion mistake.
We always take care of each other. It's our nature. If it weren't we wouldn't have SSI in the first place. The people that don't believe in SSI aren't less human than we are, it is that they are more in debt than the majority of us. They want ALL their money now as THEY CAN'T TAKE IT WITH THEM and somehow feel cheated that the only thing that stands between them and an eternity of free government money every month is DYING.
So, the question/problem I have with the entire MESS is what about the kids? What kind of issues will they face as I settle into retirement, what ever that means, and what will they be carrying as debt on my behalf. My Grandmother lived a long time receiving checks every month because my Grandfather provided for her in several ways. When I paid into SSI, I knew Grandma was getting some her money every month as well. It has never been too much to ask. It is what is due me as well. I just can't get away from the issue surrounding the burden on my children.
The country is carrying enormous debt. Incredible debt. Add to that another $2 trillion. Then consider the unreasonable cost of the current Medicare Pharmaceutical Bill without the benefit of shopping around outside the USA and without the benefit of the option of generics. Then add the cost of Medicare itself, Medicaid and whatever disability insurances we are paying including the multitudes (Don't take me wrong here.) of returning lifetime disabled Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans. That is a whole lot of debt.
Then consider the number of people working in the USA will be less while the labor they toil at brings them less income compared to our generation. That debt starts looking insurmountable.
The cost of doing war as a pastime for the USA to secure foreign oil is costing this country minimally $105 billion per year. That is a lot of money. Not only that but it is a lot of immorally spent money. Consider the corruption that already exists with Chalabi as an example in Iraq.
I think the picture I am painting is pretty clear and spans the Americana of generations.
We live primarily in a world at peace. There are 'hot spots' and we are the biggest one, but, for the most part the world is at peace looking for solutions and not 'itching' for war. Solutions to HIV/AIDS, drought, hunger, Global Warming, Climate Change, genocide and E-bola like disease. Profoundly, the USA has only the enemies it creates and the war on TERRORISTS belongs to all countries and not just this country.
As a retiring generation we first have to define our retirement and what we expect that to look like. As a 'generation' realizing that answer is different for individuals, but as a generation I don't see us dumping enormous debt on our children. I have never seen that as a reality and won't settle for that now. As a generation, I see us taking 'the bull' by the horns and setting standards we can all live with by paying off the national debt and finding monies and methods to bolster SSI. I sincerely, with all my heart, believe dismantling it piece by piece is the worst thing we can do. I would much rather go into retirement KNOWING I am getting a Social Security Check WE CAN AFFORD to give rather than TAKING a Social Security Check at any cost from those that I already love and want a good and not dismal further for.
I don't see this issue dividing the generations and pitting each against the other, but, more as a team of generations willing to solve the 'disparity' of the system while leaving it intact. This issue is huge. But, it is not huge unto itself alone. It is huge including a lot of bases adding into the future burden of the generations. I don't want my children in slavery to me, nor me hated as a burden. There is a way, but, it isn't by going deeper in debt my lifespan won't see an end to. I can't bring myself to do that to them. I already know I'll be giving them portions of my retirement if I have left them a shambles to deal with because I won't be able to enjoy it otherwise.
This was god-awful long response but I wanted it to reflect the SCOPE I think most Americans find in it. It is far more complex and interwoven into the life families lead than any Repuglican can begin to address. I don't think it can be wrapped up in a package and presented as THE ANSWER.
It is ...
SOCIAL SECURITY...
and that means far more than...
a secured check by society..
.
every month.
I hope everybody 'gets it.'
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Friday, April 29, 2005
Morning Papers
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History…
1429, Joan of Arc, a 17-year-old French peasant convinced she has a divine mission to expel the British from France, leads troops into the besieged city of Orleans.
1945, German dictator Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun.
1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp; the same day, Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker, and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz his successor.the following day Hitler and Braun were found dead.
1946, 28 former Japanese leaders were indicted as war criminals.
1974, President Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of some secretly made White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
1980, British-born director Alfred Hitchcock, best known for psychological suspense films such as Psycho, dies at 80.
1983, Harold Washington was sworn in as the first black mayor of Chicago.
1984, Britain announces that its administration of Hong Kong will cease in 1997, when it will return the colony to China.
1992, deadly rioting erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley, Calif., acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
1996, former CIA Director William Colby was presumed drowned by authorities in Maryland after an apparent boating accident; his body was later recovered.
Born…
1818, Alexander II, emperor of Russia
1863, William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and political figure, who built up the country's largest chain of newspapers.
1899, Duke Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, considered the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. Unlike other great bandleaders, Ellington personally created most of the music played by his orchestra. With musical insight and sensitivity, he wrote pieces designed for specific players in his band. By writing highly personal harmonies, by concerning himself with new musical forms (ways of ordering and presenting musical ideas), and by creatively using tone color (quality of sounds), he created a body of innovative and original music.
1901, Hirohito, emperor of Japan
1936, Zubin Mehta, conductor
Missing in Action
1965 SHELTON CHARLES E. OWENSBORO KY RADIO CONTACT / REPORTED DIED AS POW
1966 BOSTON LEO S. CANON CITY CO
1966 BROWN THOMAS E. DANVILLE IL
1966 BRUCH DONALD W. JR. MONTCLAIR NJ
1966 EGAN WILLIAM P. FORT WORTH TX
1966 MULLEN WILLIAM F. BROCKTON MA
1966 RUNYAN ALBERT E. OAKLAND CA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1967 POLLIN GEORGE J. LAVALLETTE NJ POSS DIED CRASH EJECTION SEAT NEARBY REMAINS RETURNED I.D.12/20/90
1967 SIGLER GARY R. TABLE GROVE IL 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 STEPHENSEN MARK L. SALT LAKE CITY UT REMAINS RETURNED 03/06/88 / ID 08/88
1967 TORKELSON LOREN H. CROSBY ND 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED
1970 BISHOP EDWARD J. JR. HARTFORD CT
1975 COOPER WILLIAM G. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 COWAN KENNETH
1975 DANIEL LEON 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 DAWSON ALAN 09/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 EDIGER MAX 05/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 ESPER GEORGE 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 FAIGAN LARRY 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FILLER FONG DUONG 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FORSYTHE JULIA 10/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FRANJOLA MATT 05/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 GULDEN FREDERICK 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HEUBECK ELMER K. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HORTON PAUL L. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUGHES JOSEPH 08/12/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUGHES RICHARD 08/07/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUNTLEY CHAD 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 KAJI ANDREW T. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KALSSEN JAMES 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KIEN CUONG TRIEU 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KIEN NAM BAO
1975 KIEN NGIEP TRIEU 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KING JOHN S. 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KISTNER MITCHELL 08/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KRISH CLAUDIA 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LAFFIE GEORGE
1975 LAFFIE LINA MARLINE
1975 LAURIE JAMES 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 LECORNEC JOHN GILBERT CLEARLAKE OAKS CA REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85 A/C TECHNICIAN NOT ON LISTS UNTIL REM RET
1975 LINH DAM 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUNDGREEN KIM DUNG 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUNDGREEN KIM THO 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUSK ANDRE 08/75 LEFT SAIGON WITH FAKE PASSPORT
1975 MIELKE MADELINE XUAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIELKE RICHARD M. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIELNE MISTY S. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIKYO MAI LAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MOSLEY MONIQUE C.
1975 MOSS JAMES
1975 NGUYEN THI THI CHIN
1975 NGUYEN VAN CHIEN
1975 NGUYEN XWAN ANH-TRU
1975 POLARD PERRY 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 POSNER GERALD 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 QUINN JUDGE SOPHIE 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RANDOLPH CLIFFORD 05/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REED THERESA 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REGAN JOHN D. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REGAN LON THI 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RIOS JOSE 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RIVERA FREDERICK 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RODILL DANIEL 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 SMITH WILLIAM J. 06/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 STARNER FRANCES 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 STEVENS F.
1975 THOMAS FERNANDO K.
1975 THOMASON FORD W. 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 THUY NHIEN TRIEU
1975 TO BAO 06/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 TOOP PARTICIA 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 UNDERWOOD F.
1975 VOGEL PAUL 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 WILLIAMS DANNY MUY
1975 YEE LEONG CHING 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 ZIMINSKE TOM 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 AGOR VICTOR
1975 BENNETT SHERMAN H. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BERARD ARAM J. 08/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BANHAM MAURICE J. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BRICKMAN JOSEPH 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BRINTON KEITH 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BORDEN HOWARD A.
1975 BAKER JACKY D. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BAILEY MICHAEL RELEASED
1975 CANTON SUZAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 CHUNG YEN BINH 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HEUBECK NIBRIT H.
1975 JUDGE DARWIN LEE MARSHALTOWN IA 02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1975 MC MAHON CHARLES JR. WOBURN MA 02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1975 NYSTUL WILLIAM CRAIG CORONODO CA "KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"
1975 SHEA MICHAEL J. EL PASO TX "KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"
Michael Moore Today
"Resistance is Fertile"
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
High School Students Help College Students Shut Down Army Recruitment at Carnegie Mellon University
April 29th, 2005 12:03 am
Protesters target U.S. Army recruiters at CMU
By Gabrielle Banks / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
About 13 anti-war protesters blocked off an Army Reserves recruiting table in Carnegie Mellon University's student union during the lunchtime rush yesterday.
Campus police officers responded to a call from the University Center about 45 minutes after the protesters had arrived, but made no arrests.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2432
Alameda County Board of Education Unanimously Passes Resolution on Recruiting;
Parents will be told how to protect children's privacy
County board OKs resolution on recruiting
Parents should be told how they can exercise their right to withhold information about children from military, declaration says
By Katy Murphy / Inside Bay Area
HAYWARD — The Alameda County Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night urging school districts across the county to inform parents of the right to withhold their children's personal information from military recruiters.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2406
Counter-recruitment Trainings and Workshops
Peer Counselor Training Workshops
Peer Counselor Training Workshops for
Young People on Enlistment Issues
Every year, thousands of young people are faced with the difficult challenge of figuring out what to do with their lives. For various reasons, some of them end up considering joining the armed forces. Many of those who sign up begin questioning this decision because of their experiences with the military (including recruiters) or other developments in their lives. Few resources are available to assist young people at the pre-enlistment or early post-sign up stages. Little outreach is done to these young people.
http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/training.htm
Militarism & Youth
A clip from the training video
Requires Windows Media Player to view.
OPT-OUT
http://www.militaryfreezone.org/opt_out
April 28th, 2005 1:45 pm
Pentagon Releases Hundreds More War Casualty Homecoming Images
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT FORCES OPENING OF 360 NEW PHOTOS; CONFIRMS WAR CASUALTY HONOR CEREMONY IMAGES BELONG IN PUBLIC
National Security Archive
Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005 - In response to Freedom of Information Act requests and a lawsuit, the Pentagon this week released hundreds of previously secret images of casualties returning to honor guard ceremonies from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and other conflicts, confirming that images of their flag-draped coffins are rightfully part of the public record, despite its earlier insistence that such images should be kept secret.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2423
continued...
"Okeydoke"
History…
1429, Joan of Arc, a 17-year-old French peasant convinced she has a divine mission to expel the British from France, leads troops into the besieged city of Orleans.
1945, German dictator Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun.
1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp; the same day, Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker, and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz his successor.the following day Hitler and Braun were found dead.
1946, 28 former Japanese leaders were indicted as war criminals.
1974, President Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of some secretly made White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
1980, British-born director Alfred Hitchcock, best known for psychological suspense films such as Psycho, dies at 80.
1983, Harold Washington was sworn in as the first black mayor of Chicago.
1984, Britain announces that its administration of Hong Kong will cease in 1997, when it will return the colony to China.
1992, deadly rioting erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley, Calif., acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
1996, former CIA Director William Colby was presumed drowned by authorities in Maryland after an apparent boating accident; his body was later recovered.
Born…
1818, Alexander II, emperor of Russia
1863, William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and political figure, who built up the country's largest chain of newspapers.
1899, Duke Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, considered the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. Unlike other great bandleaders, Ellington personally created most of the music played by his orchestra. With musical insight and sensitivity, he wrote pieces designed for specific players in his band. By writing highly personal harmonies, by concerning himself with new musical forms (ways of ordering and presenting musical ideas), and by creatively using tone color (quality of sounds), he created a body of innovative and original music.
1901, Hirohito, emperor of Japan
1936, Zubin Mehta, conductor
Missing in Action
1965 SHELTON CHARLES E. OWENSBORO KY RADIO CONTACT / REPORTED DIED AS POW
1966 BOSTON LEO S. CANON CITY CO
1966 BROWN THOMAS E. DANVILLE IL
1966 BRUCH DONALD W. JR. MONTCLAIR NJ
1966 EGAN WILLIAM P. FORT WORTH TX
1966 MULLEN WILLIAM F. BROCKTON MA
1966 RUNYAN ALBERT E. OAKLAND CA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1967 POLLIN GEORGE J. LAVALLETTE NJ POSS DIED CRASH EJECTION SEAT NEARBY REMAINS RETURNED I.D.12/20/90
1967 SIGLER GARY R. TABLE GROVE IL 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 STEPHENSEN MARK L. SALT LAKE CITY UT REMAINS RETURNED 03/06/88 / ID 08/88
1967 TORKELSON LOREN H. CROSBY ND 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED
1970 BISHOP EDWARD J. JR. HARTFORD CT
1975 COOPER WILLIAM G. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 COWAN KENNETH
1975 DANIEL LEON 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 DAWSON ALAN 09/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 EDIGER MAX 05/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 ESPER GEORGE 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 FAIGAN LARRY 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FILLER FONG DUONG 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FORSYTHE JULIA 10/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FRANJOLA MATT 05/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 GULDEN FREDERICK 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HEUBECK ELMER K. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HORTON PAUL L. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUGHES JOSEPH 08/12/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUGHES RICHARD 08/07/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUNTLEY CHAD 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 KAJI ANDREW T. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KALSSEN JAMES 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KIEN CUONG TRIEU 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KIEN NAM BAO
1975 KIEN NGIEP TRIEU 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KING JOHN S. 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KISTNER MITCHELL 08/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KRISH CLAUDIA 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LAFFIE GEORGE
1975 LAFFIE LINA MARLINE
1975 LAURIE JAMES 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 LECORNEC JOHN GILBERT CLEARLAKE OAKS CA REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85 A/C TECHNICIAN NOT ON LISTS UNTIL REM RET
1975 LINH DAM 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUNDGREEN KIM DUNG 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUNDGREEN KIM THO 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUSK ANDRE 08/75 LEFT SAIGON WITH FAKE PASSPORT
1975 MIELKE MADELINE XUAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIELKE RICHARD M. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIELNE MISTY S. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIKYO MAI LAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MOSLEY MONIQUE C.
1975 MOSS JAMES
1975 NGUYEN THI THI CHIN
1975 NGUYEN VAN CHIEN
1975 NGUYEN XWAN ANH-TRU
1975 POLARD PERRY 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 POSNER GERALD 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 QUINN JUDGE SOPHIE 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RANDOLPH CLIFFORD 05/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REED THERESA 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REGAN JOHN D. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REGAN LON THI 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RIOS JOSE 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RIVERA FREDERICK 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RODILL DANIEL 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 SMITH WILLIAM J. 06/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 STARNER FRANCES 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 STEVENS F.
1975 THOMAS FERNANDO K.
1975 THOMASON FORD W. 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 THUY NHIEN TRIEU
1975 TO BAO 06/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 TOOP PARTICIA 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 UNDERWOOD F.
1975 VOGEL PAUL 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 WILLIAMS DANNY MUY
1975 YEE LEONG CHING 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 ZIMINSKE TOM 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 AGOR VICTOR
1975 BENNETT SHERMAN H. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BERARD ARAM J. 08/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BANHAM MAURICE J. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BRICKMAN JOSEPH 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BRINTON KEITH 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BORDEN HOWARD A.
1975 BAKER JACKY D. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BAILEY MICHAEL RELEASED
1975 CANTON SUZAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 CHUNG YEN BINH 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HEUBECK NIBRIT H.
1975 JUDGE DARWIN LEE MARSHALTOWN IA 02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1975 MC MAHON CHARLES JR. WOBURN MA 02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1975 NYSTUL WILLIAM CRAIG CORONODO CA "KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"
1975 SHEA MICHAEL J. EL PASO TX "KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"
Michael Moore Today
"Resistance is Fertile"
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
High School Students Help College Students Shut Down Army Recruitment at Carnegie Mellon University
April 29th, 2005 12:03 am
Protesters target U.S. Army recruiters at CMU
By Gabrielle Banks / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
About 13 anti-war protesters blocked off an Army Reserves recruiting table in Carnegie Mellon University's student union during the lunchtime rush yesterday.
Campus police officers responded to a call from the University Center about 45 minutes after the protesters had arrived, but made no arrests.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2432
Alameda County Board of Education Unanimously Passes Resolution on Recruiting;
Parents will be told how to protect children's privacy
County board OKs resolution on recruiting
Parents should be told how they can exercise their right to withhold information about children from military, declaration says
By Katy Murphy / Inside Bay Area
HAYWARD — The Alameda County Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night urging school districts across the county to inform parents of the right to withhold their children's personal information from military recruiters.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2406
Counter-recruitment Trainings and Workshops
Peer Counselor Training Workshops
Peer Counselor Training Workshops for
Young People on Enlistment Issues
Every year, thousands of young people are faced with the difficult challenge of figuring out what to do with their lives. For various reasons, some of them end up considering joining the armed forces. Many of those who sign up begin questioning this decision because of their experiences with the military (including recruiters) or other developments in their lives. Few resources are available to assist young people at the pre-enlistment or early post-sign up stages. Little outreach is done to these young people.
http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/training.htm
Militarism & Youth
A clip from the training video
Requires Windows Media Player to view.
OPT-OUT
http://www.militaryfreezone.org/opt_out
April 28th, 2005 1:45 pm
Pentagon Releases Hundreds More War Casualty Homecoming Images
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT FORCES OPENING OF 360 NEW PHOTOS; CONFIRMS WAR CASUALTY HONOR CEREMONY IMAGES BELONG IN PUBLIC
National Security Archive
Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005 - In response to Freedom of Information Act requests and a lawsuit, the Pentagon this week released hundreds of previously secret images of casualties returning to honor guard ceremonies from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and other conflicts, confirming that images of their flag-draped coffins are rightfully part of the public record, despite its earlier insistence that such images should be kept secret.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2423
continued...
In this image provided by Barclay's Capital the Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition Team plants their national flags upon successfully reaching the North Pole, Tuesday, April 26, 2005. The five-person team traveling with huskies and wooden sledges reached the North Pole on Tuesday, completing a 37-day trek that matched the time taken by American explorer Robert E. Peary for the same journey in 1909, according to a Web site tracking the team. From left to right are: George Wells, Matty McNair, Tom Avery, Hugh Dale-Harris and Andrew Gerber. (AP Photo/Barclay's Capital)
Morning Papers - continued...
Seattle Post Intelligencer
School closures may not save money
Officials admit restructuring plan could worsen, not help, budget
By JESSICA BLANCHARD
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A hotly contested Seattle Public Schools restructuring plan that calls for shuttering schools and reducing operating costs would likely deepen the district's capital budget deficit by millions of dollars, officials acknowledged yesterday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222191_schoolsbudget29.html
City in for big electrical bill
South Lake Union will need its own $100 million substation, utility says
By KATHY MULADY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
If booming growth projections for South Lake Union hold, the city will have to pay for a new $100 million electrical substation in 10 years.
How it would be paid for, exactly where it would be built and precisely when it would have to be operating are all unknown, but yesterday a Seattle City Light official gave City Council members an update on growing energy needs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222177_light29.html
County: 648 felons voted
Number is pivotal in GOP's attack on governor election
By GREGORY ROBERTS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Working from lists provided to them in the aftermath of the troubled 2004 election, King County prosecutors have identified 648 felons illegally registered to vote, officials said yesterday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222211_election29.html
Monorail project should be rebid, contractors say
Call comes after major construction firm drops out of the consortium
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Now that another major construction firm is dropping out of Seattle's monorail project, there are renewed calls to reopen the bidding on the $1.7 billion line.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/222196_monorail29.html
Sound Transit adjusts future expansion plan
By JANE HADLEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The Sound Transit board added the option yesterday to extend light rail to cities such as Burien, Renton and Bothell but also emphasized that first priority for any added light rail would be to connect Tacoma, Everett and Bellevue to Seattle.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/222200_transit29.html
Alaskan village grieves forwhale victims
By RACHEL D'ORO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Residents of a remote Eskimo village Thursday grieved the loss of four people whose walrus-skin boat capsized in the Bering Sea during a whale hunt, and waited for calmer seas to head out in boats to look for the missing - including two children.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Missing%20Whalers
PCs seized in missing Ga. bride-to-be case
By KRISTEN WYATT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
John Mason, fiance of Jennifer Wilbanks, speaks with friends and family in front of his home in Duluth, Ga., Thursday, April 28, 2005. Wilbanks was reported missing Tuesday night five hours after Mason said she had gone on her nightly jog through her neighborhood in this northeastern Atlanta suburb.Volunteers and authorities continue to search in the area for the missing Wilbanks. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)
DULUTH, Ga. -- Investigators have taken several computers from the home of a missing bride-to-be to examine e-mails for clues to her disappearance, police said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Missing%20Bride
DIA: N. Korea can arm missile with nuke
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The Defense Intelligence Agency chief says North Korea is able to arm a missile with a nuclear weapon, but hasn't said whether it has done so or if such a missile could reach the United States.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=US%20Koreas%20Nuclear
Top U.S. envoy warns N.Korea on nuke tests
By BO-MI LIM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SEOUL, South Korea -- A top U.S. diplomat on Friday joined South Korea in warning the communist North against conducting a nuclear test, following reports that it may be preparing its first such trial.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Koreas%20Nuclear
Negroponte takes over daily Bush briefings
By KATHERINE SHRADER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
President Bush pushes for Congress to act on his proposals for Social Security reforms, during a prime-time press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 28, 2005. With soaring oil and gasoline prices beginning to take a toll on U.S. economic growth and his approval ratings, Bush also wants action from Capitol Hill on his long-delayed energy agenda. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON -- For the first time, new national intelligence director John Negroponte stepped into the Oval Office this week to present President Bush with his classified daily intelligence briefing.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Briefing%20Bush
Prominent Tamil journalist slain
By SHIMALI SENANAYAKE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TALANGAMA, Sri Lanka -- A top Tamil journalist whose articles favored the mainstream Tamil rebels over a breakaway faction was fatally shot hours after being seized by attackers at a restaurant in the capital, police and colleagues said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Sri%20Lanka%20Journalist
9 die in Philippines helicopter crash
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philippine Air Force rescuers bring down body bags containing charred bodies of passengers as it arrives at a military air base in suburban Manila Thursday, April 28, 2005. At least nine people were killed, including former Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology chief Raymundo Punongbayan, when a U.S.-made UH-1H air force chopper crashed en route to an aerial inspection of a northeastern province that was ravaged last year by landslides and flash floods. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
MANILA, Philippines -- A military helicopter crashed into a wooded ravine on a northern Philippine mountain Thursday, killing all nine people on board, officials said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Philippines%20Helicopter%20Crash
Number of lions rising in western India
By RUPAK SANYAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
GANDHINAGAR, India -- A campaign against wildlife poaching in the western Indian Gujarat state appears to have paid off with the number of Asiatic lions rising by 32 over the last four years, officials reported Thursday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Lions
Bush's Social Security plan cuts benefits
By DEB RIECHMANN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
President Bush pushes for Congress to act on his proposals for Social Security reforms, during a prime-time press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 28, 2005. With soaring oil and gasoline prices beginning to take a toll on U.S. economic growth and his approval ratings, Bush also wants action from Capitol Hill on his long-delayed energy agenda. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON -- After nearly 60 days on the road pitching Social Security changes, President Bush is offering a new plan to fix its finances by cutting benefits of more prosperous future retirees. Democrats still aren't buying it.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Bush
Congress passes budget that cuts Medicaid
By JIM ABRAMS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Representatives Mike Pence, R-Ind. and Jeff Flake, R-Az speak with reporters outside the White House after meeting with President Bush, Wednesday, April 27, 2005, in Washington. President Bush met with several members of congress to talk about his Social Security agenda. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
WASHINGTON -- A $2.6 trillion budget outline barely approved by Congress will cut projected spending on Medicaid for the poor, lock in tax cuts and - Republicans claim - put the country on a path toward lower federal deficits.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Congress%20Spending
AP: EPA releases mercury pollution report
By JOHN HEILPRIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- An internal Environmental Protection Agency report estimates the Southeast alone could reap up to $2 billion a year in benefits from reducing mercury pollution - far greater than the $50 million in benefits the agency projected publicly for the entire nation.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1155&slug=EPA%20Mercury
Putin bar a tribute to Russian leader
By KRISTEN STEVENS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Regular clients of the Putin nightclub, decorated with photos and caricatures of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, gather in this bar in downtown Jerusalem Tuesday April 26, 2005. Dozens of immigrants from former Soviet republics exchanged colorful, if divergent, views about the Russian president on the eve of his visit to Israel in their regular Putin pub. Vladimir Putin arrived in Israel Wednesday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
JERUSALEM -- The walls of the smoky "Putin" bar in Jerusalem are a pictorial tribute to the Russian president.
One photo shows Vladimir Putin working a pottery wheel. Another has him clamping a judo hold on a helpless comrade. Other pictures, rattled by blaring Russian pop music, project Putin's likeness onto a portrait of a czar and a statue of a pagan idol.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Israel%20Putin%20Bar
I thought the Pope was in Italy.
Pope plans first pilgrimage to Italy
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI will make his first pilgrimage in Italy on May 29, a day trip to a religious congress in the southern city of Bari, officials said Friday.
The late Pope John Paul II had been hoping to make the trip but in January named a cardinal to represent him because of his frail condition, officials said at the time.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Pope%20Trip
Ark. man recalls finding rare woodpecker
By MELISSA NELSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Gene Sparling was kayaking when he spotted a large black-and-white bird. It looked like an ivory-billed woodpecker, last spotted in North America 60 years ago.
His eyes must be playing tricks, he thought. Maybe it was a common pileated woodpecker.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Woodpecker%20Found%20Discoverer
Reports: Berlusconi may contradict U.S.
By AIDAN LEWIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, drinks water during a confidence vote at the Italian Senate, in Rome, Thursday, April 28, 2005. Premier Silvio Berlusconi's new government won a vote of confidence in the Italian Senate, a day after winning approval in the lower chamber house of parliament. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
ROME -- Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that Italy might not endorse U.S. findings on the shooting of an Italian agent by American forces at a checkpoint last month in Iraq, news reports said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Italy%20Berlusconi
Explorers claim record retracing expedition
By BETH DUFF-BROWN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
In this image provided by Barclay's Capital the Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition Team plants their national flags upon successfully reaching the North Pole, Tuesday, April 26, 2005. The five-person team traveling with huskies and wooden sledges reached the North Pole on Tuesday, completing a 37-day trek that matched the time taken by American explorer Robert E. Peary for the same journey in 1909, according to a Web site tracking the team. From left to right are: George Wells, Matty McNair, Tom Avery, Hugh Dale-Harris and Andrew Gerber. (AP Photo/Barclay's Capital)
TORONTO -- Five explorers using huskies and wooden sleds reached the North Pole on Tuesday, setting a world record by coming in several hours earlier than a 37-day trek by American explorer Robert E. Peary for the same journey in 1909, the expedition team said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apcanada_story.asp?category=1101&slug=Arctic%20Expedition
U.N. tribunal gives Rwandan life sentence
By SUKHDEV CHHATBAR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ARUSHA, Tanzania -- A U.N. tribunal sentenced a former local government official in western Rwanda to prison for the rest of his life for shooting to death and raping mostly Tutsi victims during the 1994 genocide.
Judge Khalida Rashid Khan said the tribunal found beyond any reasonable doubt that Mika Muhimana, who was a councilor in the province of Kibuye, shot mostly Tutsi victims, raped several Tutsi women and encouraged other men to rape in the town of Gishyita.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Rwanda%20Genocide%20Tribunal
Zimbabwe re-elected to human rights body
By LEYLA LINTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
UNITED NATIONS -- Zimbabwe was re-elected Wednesday to the Human Rights Commission, drawing scathing protests from the United States and other countries charging that the African nation is one of the world's worst rights violators.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=UN%20Human%20Rights
U.S. warns Nicaragua aid may be in danger
By FILADELFO ALEMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- The U.S. government has warned that aid and investment in Nicaragua could be threatened by a proposed property law that is part of a political struggle between this nation's president and Congress.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Nicaragua%20US%20Aid
Canberra condemned over death penalty case
By MIKE CORDER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia abolished the death penalty in 1973, but its government is under fire for helping Indonesia catch nine suspected Australian heroin smugglers who could face a firing squad on the Indonesian island of Bali.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20Indonesia%20Death%20Penalty
U.S. Senate: Tyranny of the majority
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Political talking points must sound convincing. Accuracy is a nice bonus, but not essential if the sales pitch is working.
Consider the Republican hoo-hah about the "unprecedented" use of filibusters to block presidential nominations, especially of judges. To listen to them, Republicans are simply shocked that Democrats have invented such a nasty tactic.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/221870_fibed.asp
The Moscow Times
Putin Defends Missile Sale to Syria
By Steve Gutterman
The Associated Press
Itar-Tass / AP
Putin and Katsav, right, unveiling a monument by Tsereteli, left, in Jerusalem on Thursday. The sculpture is in memory of the Jews killed in the Holocaust.
JERUSALEM — President Vladimir Putin faced down Israeli criticism Thursday, saying that Russia's planned sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and supply of nuclear components to Iran does not threaten Israel's security.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/001.html
Protesters of All Stripes to March on May Day
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Tens of thousands of Communists, liberals, nationalists and human rights activists will take to central streets to stage protests Sunday on the May Day holiday, which this year coincides with Orthodox Easter.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/002.html
Easter Rebirth for Grozny Church
By Timur Aliev
Special to The Moscow Times
For MT
A view of the Archangel Mikhail Church in Grozny. The church will host its first Easter services in years this Sunday.
GROZNY -- The dilapidated building on a central Grozny street is easy to miss. Its stands behind a tall brick fence, and scaffolding hides some of its plastered walls. Only a thin, metal cross on the roof signals that it is a church -- the only Russian Orthodox house of worship in the Chechen capital.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/011.html
Confidence Vote Affirms Berlusconi
Reuters
ROME -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a final vote of confidence in his new government Thursday, but the talk in Italy was of how much longer he might survive as head of a fractious center-right alliance.
The debate goes beyond the fate of the new Cabinet, which even some of its own members believe may only last a few months, to the question of whether Berlusconi -- now 68 -- will remain in politics.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/252.html
Belarussian President Tightens Security
The Associated Press
MINSK -- President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered security to be tightened in Belarus, citing strong Western criticism of his rule.
Moscow police, meanwhile, briefly detained Yabloko deputy head Sergei Mitrokhin during an anti-Lukashenko rally, and Ukraine harshly criticized Belarus for detaining five Ukrainian activists at a rally in Minsk.
"Belarus as before is being exposed to severe outside pressure, and therefore questions of security and strengthening the defense capabilities of our state take on a special significance in the current situation," Lukashenko said during a meeting on defense issues.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/013.html
Microsoft Comes Under Fire for Dropping Gay Rights Bill
The Associated Press
SEATTLE -- Microsoft, one of the earliest companies to extend benefits to gay employees, now finds itself in the crosshairs of angry activists for rescinding support for gay rights legislation in its home state.
Critics say the world's No. 1 software maker caved to pressure from an NFL linebacker-turned-local pastor who had threatened to launch a nationwide boycott, and tried to tiptoe away from a bill it had previously supported. Last week, the measure failed in Washington state's Senate by a single vote.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/256.html
Togo Violence Dashes Hopes for Beacon of Peaceful Reform
The Associated Press
LOME, Togo -- Angry young Togolese lobbed stones and Molotov cocktails in deadly riots after the son of their late dictator was declared the winner of presidential elections, and opposition leaders called for more defiance.
At least six people -- three civilians and three soldiers -- died and scores were reported injured in the post-election bloodshed that has destroyed any hope this tiny West African country could be a model for peaceful reform in the region.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/253.html
Haitian Police Fire on Protesters
By Michael Weissenstein
The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Police opened fire on a crowd of apparently peaceful protesters demanding the release of detainees loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and at least five people were killed, UN officials and witnesses said.
Wednesday's shooting came as the U.S. State Department has confirmed it plans to waive an arms embargo to allow sales of thousands of arms for the Haitian police, whom critics accuse of brutality, summary executions and persecution of pro-Aristide loyalists.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/254.html
A Mix of Emotions About Putin's Visit
By Steve Gutterman
The Associated Press
President Vladimir Putin talking with a little girl during a visit to a Russian Orthodox Church mission in Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM -- The mall in Pisgat Zeev is just off the road dividing the Jewish suburb on Jerusalem's edge from a Palestinian neighborhood, but the language heard echoing off its tiles most often along with Hebrew is not Arabic -- it is Russian, a tongue spoken by more than a million Israelis with origins in the former Soviet Union.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/015.html
continued...
School closures may not save money
Officials admit restructuring plan could worsen, not help, budget
By JESSICA BLANCHARD
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A hotly contested Seattle Public Schools restructuring plan that calls for shuttering schools and reducing operating costs would likely deepen the district's capital budget deficit by millions of dollars, officials acknowledged yesterday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222191_schoolsbudget29.html
City in for big electrical bill
South Lake Union will need its own $100 million substation, utility says
By KATHY MULADY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
If booming growth projections for South Lake Union hold, the city will have to pay for a new $100 million electrical substation in 10 years.
How it would be paid for, exactly where it would be built and precisely when it would have to be operating are all unknown, but yesterday a Seattle City Light official gave City Council members an update on growing energy needs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222177_light29.html
County: 648 felons voted
Number is pivotal in GOP's attack on governor election
By GREGORY ROBERTS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Working from lists provided to them in the aftermath of the troubled 2004 election, King County prosecutors have identified 648 felons illegally registered to vote, officials said yesterday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222211_election29.html
Monorail project should be rebid, contractors say
Call comes after major construction firm drops out of the consortium
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Now that another major construction firm is dropping out of Seattle's monorail project, there are renewed calls to reopen the bidding on the $1.7 billion line.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/222196_monorail29.html
Sound Transit adjusts future expansion plan
By JANE HADLEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The Sound Transit board added the option yesterday to extend light rail to cities such as Burien, Renton and Bothell but also emphasized that first priority for any added light rail would be to connect Tacoma, Everett and Bellevue to Seattle.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/222200_transit29.html
Alaskan village grieves forwhale victims
By RACHEL D'ORO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Residents of a remote Eskimo village Thursday grieved the loss of four people whose walrus-skin boat capsized in the Bering Sea during a whale hunt, and waited for calmer seas to head out in boats to look for the missing - including two children.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Missing%20Whalers
PCs seized in missing Ga. bride-to-be case
By KRISTEN WYATT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
John Mason, fiance of Jennifer Wilbanks, speaks with friends and family in front of his home in Duluth, Ga., Thursday, April 28, 2005. Wilbanks was reported missing Tuesday night five hours after Mason said she had gone on her nightly jog through her neighborhood in this northeastern Atlanta suburb.Volunteers and authorities continue to search in the area for the missing Wilbanks. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)
DULUTH, Ga. -- Investigators have taken several computers from the home of a missing bride-to-be to examine e-mails for clues to her disappearance, police said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Missing%20Bride
DIA: N. Korea can arm missile with nuke
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The Defense Intelligence Agency chief says North Korea is able to arm a missile with a nuclear weapon, but hasn't said whether it has done so or if such a missile could reach the United States.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=US%20Koreas%20Nuclear
Top U.S. envoy warns N.Korea on nuke tests
By BO-MI LIM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SEOUL, South Korea -- A top U.S. diplomat on Friday joined South Korea in warning the communist North against conducting a nuclear test, following reports that it may be preparing its first such trial.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Koreas%20Nuclear
Negroponte takes over daily Bush briefings
By KATHERINE SHRADER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
President Bush pushes for Congress to act on his proposals for Social Security reforms, during a prime-time press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 28, 2005. With soaring oil and gasoline prices beginning to take a toll on U.S. economic growth and his approval ratings, Bush also wants action from Capitol Hill on his long-delayed energy agenda. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON -- For the first time, new national intelligence director John Negroponte stepped into the Oval Office this week to present President Bush with his classified daily intelligence briefing.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Briefing%20Bush
Prominent Tamil journalist slain
By SHIMALI SENANAYAKE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TALANGAMA, Sri Lanka -- A top Tamil journalist whose articles favored the mainstream Tamil rebels over a breakaway faction was fatally shot hours after being seized by attackers at a restaurant in the capital, police and colleagues said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Sri%20Lanka%20Journalist
9 die in Philippines helicopter crash
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philippine Air Force rescuers bring down body bags containing charred bodies of passengers as it arrives at a military air base in suburban Manila Thursday, April 28, 2005. At least nine people were killed, including former Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology chief Raymundo Punongbayan, when a U.S.-made UH-1H air force chopper crashed en route to an aerial inspection of a northeastern province that was ravaged last year by landslides and flash floods. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
MANILA, Philippines -- A military helicopter crashed into a wooded ravine on a northern Philippine mountain Thursday, killing all nine people on board, officials said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Philippines%20Helicopter%20Crash
Number of lions rising in western India
By RUPAK SANYAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
GANDHINAGAR, India -- A campaign against wildlife poaching in the western Indian Gujarat state appears to have paid off with the number of Asiatic lions rising by 32 over the last four years, officials reported Thursday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Lions
Bush's Social Security plan cuts benefits
By DEB RIECHMANN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
President Bush pushes for Congress to act on his proposals for Social Security reforms, during a prime-time press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 28, 2005. With soaring oil and gasoline prices beginning to take a toll on U.S. economic growth and his approval ratings, Bush also wants action from Capitol Hill on his long-delayed energy agenda. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON -- After nearly 60 days on the road pitching Social Security changes, President Bush is offering a new plan to fix its finances by cutting benefits of more prosperous future retirees. Democrats still aren't buying it.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Bush
Congress passes budget that cuts Medicaid
By JIM ABRAMS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Representatives Mike Pence, R-Ind. and Jeff Flake, R-Az speak with reporters outside the White House after meeting with President Bush, Wednesday, April 27, 2005, in Washington. President Bush met with several members of congress to talk about his Social Security agenda. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
WASHINGTON -- A $2.6 trillion budget outline barely approved by Congress will cut projected spending on Medicaid for the poor, lock in tax cuts and - Republicans claim - put the country on a path toward lower federal deficits.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Congress%20Spending
AP: EPA releases mercury pollution report
By JOHN HEILPRIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- An internal Environmental Protection Agency report estimates the Southeast alone could reap up to $2 billion a year in benefits from reducing mercury pollution - far greater than the $50 million in benefits the agency projected publicly for the entire nation.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1155&slug=EPA%20Mercury
Putin bar a tribute to Russian leader
By KRISTEN STEVENS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Regular clients of the Putin nightclub, decorated with photos and caricatures of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, gather in this bar in downtown Jerusalem Tuesday April 26, 2005. Dozens of immigrants from former Soviet republics exchanged colorful, if divergent, views about the Russian president on the eve of his visit to Israel in their regular Putin pub. Vladimir Putin arrived in Israel Wednesday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
JERUSALEM -- The walls of the smoky "Putin" bar in Jerusalem are a pictorial tribute to the Russian president.
One photo shows Vladimir Putin working a pottery wheel. Another has him clamping a judo hold on a helpless comrade. Other pictures, rattled by blaring Russian pop music, project Putin's likeness onto a portrait of a czar and a statue of a pagan idol.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Israel%20Putin%20Bar
I thought the Pope was in Italy.
Pope plans first pilgrimage to Italy
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI will make his first pilgrimage in Italy on May 29, a day trip to a religious congress in the southern city of Bari, officials said Friday.
The late Pope John Paul II had been hoping to make the trip but in January named a cardinal to represent him because of his frail condition, officials said at the time.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Pope%20Trip
Ark. man recalls finding rare woodpecker
By MELISSA NELSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Gene Sparling was kayaking when he spotted a large black-and-white bird. It looked like an ivory-billed woodpecker, last spotted in North America 60 years ago.
His eyes must be playing tricks, he thought. Maybe it was a common pileated woodpecker.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Woodpecker%20Found%20Discoverer
Reports: Berlusconi may contradict U.S.
By AIDAN LEWIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, drinks water during a confidence vote at the Italian Senate, in Rome, Thursday, April 28, 2005. Premier Silvio Berlusconi's new government won a vote of confidence in the Italian Senate, a day after winning approval in the lower chamber house of parliament. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
ROME -- Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that Italy might not endorse U.S. findings on the shooting of an Italian agent by American forces at a checkpoint last month in Iraq, news reports said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Italy%20Berlusconi
Explorers claim record retracing expedition
By BETH DUFF-BROWN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
In this image provided by Barclay's Capital the Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition Team plants their national flags upon successfully reaching the North Pole, Tuesday, April 26, 2005. The five-person team traveling with huskies and wooden sledges reached the North Pole on Tuesday, completing a 37-day trek that matched the time taken by American explorer Robert E. Peary for the same journey in 1909, according to a Web site tracking the team. From left to right are: George Wells, Matty McNair, Tom Avery, Hugh Dale-Harris and Andrew Gerber. (AP Photo/Barclay's Capital)
TORONTO -- Five explorers using huskies and wooden sleds reached the North Pole on Tuesday, setting a world record by coming in several hours earlier than a 37-day trek by American explorer Robert E. Peary for the same journey in 1909, the expedition team said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apcanada_story.asp?category=1101&slug=Arctic%20Expedition
U.N. tribunal gives Rwandan life sentence
By SUKHDEV CHHATBAR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ARUSHA, Tanzania -- A U.N. tribunal sentenced a former local government official in western Rwanda to prison for the rest of his life for shooting to death and raping mostly Tutsi victims during the 1994 genocide.
Judge Khalida Rashid Khan said the tribunal found beyond any reasonable doubt that Mika Muhimana, who was a councilor in the province of Kibuye, shot mostly Tutsi victims, raped several Tutsi women and encouraged other men to rape in the town of Gishyita.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Rwanda%20Genocide%20Tribunal
Zimbabwe re-elected to human rights body
By LEYLA LINTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
UNITED NATIONS -- Zimbabwe was re-elected Wednesday to the Human Rights Commission, drawing scathing protests from the United States and other countries charging that the African nation is one of the world's worst rights violators.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=UN%20Human%20Rights
U.S. warns Nicaragua aid may be in danger
By FILADELFO ALEMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- The U.S. government has warned that aid and investment in Nicaragua could be threatened by a proposed property law that is part of a political struggle between this nation's president and Congress.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Nicaragua%20US%20Aid
Canberra condemned over death penalty case
By MIKE CORDER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia abolished the death penalty in 1973, but its government is under fire for helping Indonesia catch nine suspected Australian heroin smugglers who could face a firing squad on the Indonesian island of Bali.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20Indonesia%20Death%20Penalty
U.S. Senate: Tyranny of the majority
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Political talking points must sound convincing. Accuracy is a nice bonus, but not essential if the sales pitch is working.
Consider the Republican hoo-hah about the "unprecedented" use of filibusters to block presidential nominations, especially of judges. To listen to them, Republicans are simply shocked that Democrats have invented such a nasty tactic.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/221870_fibed.asp
The Moscow Times
Putin Defends Missile Sale to Syria
By Steve Gutterman
The Associated Press
Itar-Tass / AP
Putin and Katsav, right, unveiling a monument by Tsereteli, left, in Jerusalem on Thursday. The sculpture is in memory of the Jews killed in the Holocaust.
JERUSALEM — President Vladimir Putin faced down Israeli criticism Thursday, saying that Russia's planned sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and supply of nuclear components to Iran does not threaten Israel's security.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/001.html
Protesters of All Stripes to March on May Day
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Tens of thousands of Communists, liberals, nationalists and human rights activists will take to central streets to stage protests Sunday on the May Day holiday, which this year coincides with Orthodox Easter.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/002.html
Easter Rebirth for Grozny Church
By Timur Aliev
Special to The Moscow Times
For MT
A view of the Archangel Mikhail Church in Grozny. The church will host its first Easter services in years this Sunday.
GROZNY -- The dilapidated building on a central Grozny street is easy to miss. Its stands behind a tall brick fence, and scaffolding hides some of its plastered walls. Only a thin, metal cross on the roof signals that it is a church -- the only Russian Orthodox house of worship in the Chechen capital.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/011.html
Confidence Vote Affirms Berlusconi
Reuters
ROME -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a final vote of confidence in his new government Thursday, but the talk in Italy was of how much longer he might survive as head of a fractious center-right alliance.
The debate goes beyond the fate of the new Cabinet, which even some of its own members believe may only last a few months, to the question of whether Berlusconi -- now 68 -- will remain in politics.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/252.html
Belarussian President Tightens Security
The Associated Press
MINSK -- President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered security to be tightened in Belarus, citing strong Western criticism of his rule.
Moscow police, meanwhile, briefly detained Yabloko deputy head Sergei Mitrokhin during an anti-Lukashenko rally, and Ukraine harshly criticized Belarus for detaining five Ukrainian activists at a rally in Minsk.
"Belarus as before is being exposed to severe outside pressure, and therefore questions of security and strengthening the defense capabilities of our state take on a special significance in the current situation," Lukashenko said during a meeting on defense issues.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/013.html
Microsoft Comes Under Fire for Dropping Gay Rights Bill
The Associated Press
SEATTLE -- Microsoft, one of the earliest companies to extend benefits to gay employees, now finds itself in the crosshairs of angry activists for rescinding support for gay rights legislation in its home state.
Critics say the world's No. 1 software maker caved to pressure from an NFL linebacker-turned-local pastor who had threatened to launch a nationwide boycott, and tried to tiptoe away from a bill it had previously supported. Last week, the measure failed in Washington state's Senate by a single vote.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/256.html
Togo Violence Dashes Hopes for Beacon of Peaceful Reform
The Associated Press
LOME, Togo -- Angry young Togolese lobbed stones and Molotov cocktails in deadly riots after the son of their late dictator was declared the winner of presidential elections, and opposition leaders called for more defiance.
At least six people -- three civilians and three soldiers -- died and scores were reported injured in the post-election bloodshed that has destroyed any hope this tiny West African country could be a model for peaceful reform in the region.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/253.html
Haitian Police Fire on Protesters
By Michael Weissenstein
The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Police opened fire on a crowd of apparently peaceful protesters demanding the release of detainees loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and at least five people were killed, UN officials and witnesses said.
Wednesday's shooting came as the U.S. State Department has confirmed it plans to waive an arms embargo to allow sales of thousands of arms for the Haitian police, whom critics accuse of brutality, summary executions and persecution of pro-Aristide loyalists.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/254.html
A Mix of Emotions About Putin's Visit
By Steve Gutterman
The Associated Press
President Vladimir Putin talking with a little girl during a visit to a Russian Orthodox Church mission in Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM -- The mall in Pisgat Zeev is just off the road dividing the Jewish suburb on Jerusalem's edge from a Palestinian neighborhood, but the language heard echoing off its tiles most often along with Hebrew is not Arabic -- it is Russian, a tongue spoken by more than a million Israelis with origins in the former Soviet Union.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/29/015.html
continued...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)