Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Yesterday we saw a 'heat plumb' develop off the equator in less than two hours time.
I was concerned then for the safety of the people along the southern coastal USA. Well, here we are today looking at Florida.
Tues, May 31, 2:35 PMThe thunderstorms from this morning have crossed the state and have emerged into the Atlantic. However, more thunderstorms are out in the Gulf and will make their way towards the Bay area this evening and into the day tomorrow. Where there is sunshine we can expect highs to be in the mid 80s. With a lot of cloud cover this evening we can expect our lows to be mild in the low to mid 70s.
Click on the title to this entry.
Tues, May 31, 2:35 PMThe thunderstorms from this morning have crossed the state and have emerged into the Atlantic. However, more thunderstorms are out in the Gulf and will make their way towards the Bay area this evening and into the day tomorrow. Where there is sunshine we can expect highs to be in the mid 80s. With a lot of cloud cover this evening we can expect our lows to be mild in the low to mid 70s.
Click on the title to this entry.
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History . . .
1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, N.Y., American poet, whose work boldly asserts the worth of the individual and the oneness of all humanity. Whitman’s defiant break with traditional poetic concerns and style exerted a major influence on American thought and literature.
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
1923, Prince Rainier III, prince of Monaco
1930, Clint Eastwood, actor, director, and mayor
1943, Joe Namath, football player
1946, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, film director, writer, and actor
1709, President George Washington signs the first U.S. copyright act into law.
1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.
1910, the Union of South Africa was founded.
1913, the 17th amendment to the Constitution, providing for the popular election of U.S. senators, was declared in effect.
1961: South Africa becomes an independent republic and withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations.
1962, World War II Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Nazi Holocaust.
1977, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed.
1985, 88 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured when 41 tornadoes swept through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada, during an eight-hour period.
1994, the United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.
Missing in Action
1965 PEEL ROBERT D. MEMPHIS TN "02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV (BROADLANDS, IL)" ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 ALBERTSON BOBBY J. ANAHEIM CA ALL CREW DEAD SP ALBERTON-WALL
1966 CASE THOMAS F. THOMSON GA ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/11/86
1966 EDMONDSON WILLIAM R. CASSVILLE MO ALL CREW DEAD
1966 HARWORTH ELROY E. ELIZABETH MN ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86
1966 HERROLD NED R. NEW BRUNSWICK NJ
1966 MC DONALD EMMETT R. BELLEVUE WA ALL CREW DEAD
1966 RAGLAND DAYTON W. KANSAS CITY MO
1966 SHINGLEDECKER ARMON D. LIMA OH ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 1986 REMAINS IDENTIFIED 04/30/98
1966 STEEN MARTIN W. GRAND FORKS ND GOOD CHUTE HARNESS EMPTY
1966 STICKNEY PHILLIP J. MANCHESTER NH ALL CREW DEAD
1966 ZOOK HAROLD J. NEW HOLLAND PA ALL CREW DEAD - REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86
1967 CHAUNCEY ARVIN R. GLENDALE CA 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 FITZGERALD JOSEPH E. NORTHBRIDGE MA REMAINS RETURNED 02/97
1967 JAKOVAC JOHN A. DETRIOT MI REMAINS RETURNED 02/97
1967 MC GAR BRIAN K. CERES CA REMAINS RETURNED 02/97
1968 BERESIK EUGENE PAUL WEBSTER MA
1968 GATEWOOD CHARLES HUE CHICAGO IL
1968 LEONARD EDWARD W. WINLOCK WA 03/28/73 RELEASED BY PL ALIVE IN 98
1970 COLNE ROGER FRANCE NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST.
1970 HANGEN WELLES PROBABLY EXECUTED AFTER CAPTURE REMAINS RETURNED 01/93
1970 SAKAI KOJIRO JAPAN NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS
1970 WAKU YOSHIHIKO JAPAN NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS
1971 BRUNSON JACK W. SINCLAIRVILLE NY
1971 MUSIL CLINTON A. SR. MINNEAPOLIS MN
Journalism at Risk
Romanian Journalist Details Iraq Captivity
From Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian journalist held hostage in Iraq for nearly two months recalled how he and his fellow hostages were confined in a hot cellar, blindfolded and ordered not to speak.
Ovidiu Ohanesian, home after the hostages' release May 22, also said in an interview Sunday that they received new clothes as a parting gift from their captors.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-fg-romanian31may31,0,7580713.story?coll=la-iraq-complete
Journalist held for seeking truth on Tiananmen killings
From Jane Macartney in Beijing
A JOURNALIST considered the doyen of China correspondents has been held in Beijing and could be charged with stealing state secrets after he tried to obtain a copy of interviews with Zhao Ziyang, the Communist leader who was purged after the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1634586,00.html
Iran dissident calls for release of jailed activists
Web posted at: 5/31/2005 2:25:54
Source ::: Reuters
Iran’s most prominent jailed dissident journalist, Akbar Ganji flashes a victory sign next to his wife Masumeh Shafiei after a press conference at his home in Tehran yesterday. Ganji was temporarily released from jail for medical treatment. In 2001, Ganji was sentenced to six years in prison after being charged in relation to articles he wrote linking senior officials, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, to the serial murders of several intellectuals and writers.
TEHRAN: Iran's outspoken investigative journalist Akbar Ganji urged the Islamic republic yesterday to free jailed dissidents immediately.
Iran's hardline judiciary yesterday gave the maverick journalist a few weeks leave from prison on health grounds. Ganji was jailed for 10 years in 2001 on a variety of charges, including spreading lies and insulting top officials.
His sentence was reduced to six years on appeal. "All political prisoners and jailed dissidents should immediately be released," Ganji told journalists who gathered at his home a few hours after he was released.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=May2005&file=World_News2005053122535.xml
Maverick journalist Akbar Ganji granted leave from prison
Tehran, May 30, IRNA
Iran-Journalist-Release
Jailed journalist Akbar Ganji was granted a weeklong leave for medical reasons late Sunday night, subject to a probable extension depending on his medical report, judiciary officials announced Monday.
"If forensic medicine diagnoses Ganji as needing treatment and an operation, the issue of extending the period of his leave will be processed," the deputy head of the Tehran Justice Department, Mohammad Salarkia, said.
Ganji is reportedly suffering from asthma, with several internet news sites recently saying that he had gone on a hunger strike to protest alleged inattention of the jail wardens to his condition.
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0505301122182107.htm
CPJ demands release of jailed journalists
(CPJ/IFEX) - In a 3 December 2001 letter to Eritrean President Asayas Afewerki, CPJ stated that it is deeply troubled by the government's ongoing crackdown on the independent press in Eritrea.
According to CPJ's research, all the country's independent newspapers have now been shut down. Eleven journalists are currently jailed without charges, while the whereabouts of three others are unknown.
On 18 September, Eritrean authorities abruptly banned all non-state print media outlets. According to CPJ sources in the capital, Asmara, security forces sealed off the newsrooms of these publications after removing computers, phones, fax machines, and other equipment.
http://www.ifex.org/fr/content/view/full/15180/
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Happy Birthday
Dear Friends,
26 years ago today, Casey was 6 hours and 49 minutes old. What a joyful day that day was. The birth of our firstborn. He was so wanted and his birth was so highly anticipated. A true bundle of joy.
One year, one month, and 25 days ago (almost to the minute) George Bush and his Crime Cabal killed Casey in Sadr City. One of them, perhaps Condi, Rummy, Bremer, or Cheney, might as well have pulled the trigger that blew off the back of Casey's sweet head.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2825
Moore scholarship winners tout accountability
By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times
SAN MARCOS ----- When Cal State San Marcos junior Julie Bennington took a stand last fall backing the appearance of controversial filmmaker Michael Moore at the university, the only payoff she had in mind was accountability.
"I think that often as students, it's really easy to go along with whatever the administration tells us, because they are in a position of power and we are not," Bennington said last week. "The truth is when someone abuses their power and then thinks they can get away with it simply because they hold the position that they do, you have to hold them accountable."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/05/30/news/inland/51905194159.txt
Unprovoked
RAF bombing raids tried to goad Saddam into war
By Michael Smith / Sunday Times
THE RAF and US aircraft doubled the rate at which they were dropping bombs on Iraq in 2002 in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war, new evidence has shown.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2818
Bush Calls Human Rights Report 'Absurd'
By Terence Hunt / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday dismissed a human rights report as "absurd" for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners "who hate America."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2830
Cheney Offended by Amnesty Int'l Report
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney says he's offended by a human rights group's report criticizing conditions at the prison camp for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
The report Amnesty International released last week said prisoners at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba had been mistreated and called for the prison to be shut down. Cheney derided the London-based group in an interview set to be broadcast Monday night on CNN's "Larry King Live."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2829
AP: Gitmo Detainees Say They Were Sold
By Michelle Faul / Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- They fed them well. The Pakistani tribesmen slaughtered a sheep in honor of their guests, Arabs and Chinese Muslims famished from fleeing U.S. bombing in the Afghan mountains. But their hosts had ulterior motives: to sell them to the Americans, said the men who are now prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2831
The Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns Andersen Conviction
By David G. Savage, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court overturned the criminal conviction of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm today, ruling unanimously that its shredding of 2 tons of Enron-related documents did not prove its intent to obstruct justice.
The memos, notes and drafts were destroyed in October 2001 as Enron was collapsing, but before the government triggered an official investigation of Enron or Andersen, its auditor.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-053105scotus_lat,0,5154732.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Wilderness Site May See Oil Drilling
By Julie Cart, Times Staff Writer
GULFPORT, Miss. — Tucked away in the 96-page emergency military spending bill signed by President Bush this month are four paragraphs that give energy companies the right to explore for oil and gas inside a sprawling national park.
The amendment written by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) codifies Mississippi's claim to mineral rights under federal lands and allows drilling for natural gas under the Gulf Islands National Seashore — a thin necklace of barrier islands that drapes the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gulf31may31,0,3792210.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Forest Service May Sell Some Staff Facilities
The agency proposes to put 20% or more of its buildings on the auction block to raise funds for new construction and deferred maintenance.
By Bettina Boxall, Times Staff Writer
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Wrestling with a long inadequate maintenance budget and facing the prospect of more funding cuts, the U.S. Forest Service is proposing to sell a fifth or more of its staff buildings across the country, including hundreds in California.
A Bush administration plan would allow the Forest Service to go into the real estate business, auctioning staff facilities and the land they sit on to raise cash for upkeep and the construction of new buildings.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-forest31may31,0,4512755.story?coll=la-home-local
Report: Former FBI Official Claims to Be 'Deep Throat'
From Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A former FBI official claims he was "Deep Throat," the long-anonymous source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post, his family said today.
W. Mark Felt, 91, was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s. His claim was revealed today by Vanity Fair magazine, and family members said they believe his account is true.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-053105deep_wr,0,2738981.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Doesn't Amnesty International know the USA is NEVER, EVER supposed to receive criticism. You all want your funding cut or something? What's wrong with you people do you always bite the hand that feeds you ? Everyone in the whole world is supposed to be taking orders from Cheney/Bush, the most morally moronic men on Earth. See, if they were ? smart ? (whatever that means) they wouldn't have any excuses to be international criminals. They like their crony constituency just don't know better and when you try to explain things to them they are confused by the ambivalent language everyone else uses. They 'talk plain' so every a child could understand them, you see.
Bush Calls Criticism of Guantanamo Detainee Treatment Absurd
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — President Bush today brushed aside criticism of the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and questions about whether his domestic agenda was losing momentum, as he sought to push his continued relevancy in a second term facing a recalcitrant Congress and debate about his policies in Iraq.
Speaking at a news conference in the Rose Garden, the president used the word "absurd" four times in the course of a 10-sentence response when asked his reaction to a highly critical report by Amnesty International that challenged the administration's respect for the human rights of detainees in the campaign against terrorism.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-053105bush_lat,0,1384603.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Iraqi Politicians Unite in Criticism of Mistaken Arrest of Sunni Leader
By Jeffrey Fleishman and Louise Roug, Times Staff Writers
BAGHDAD — Iraqi leaders displayed a rare degree of unity today after an American-led arrest threatened to further destabilize the country's fragile political process.
Appearing on national TV, Sunni leader Mohsen Abdel Hamid, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, thanked Shiite and Kurdish politicians for their support after his arrest by U.S. troops, which the Americans called "a mistake."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-053105iraq_lat,0,6807932.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The Korea Herald
Minister Han backs off on 5% growth forecast
Finance Minister Han Duck-soo backed off his forecast of 5-percent economic growth for the first time yesterday as a government data showed an unexpected drop in industrial production.
Adding to the bleaker outlook, the Bank of Korea said that the nation posted a current account deficit of $909.5 million in April, compared with a revised surplus of $1.11 billion a month earlier.
It was the first deficit in two years in April 2003, when the country had a $210 million deficit largely due to the dividends payments.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310035.asp
Signals from Washington?
Many here and in the United States attach much significance to Washington's decision last week to suspend a Pentagon program to recover the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War. The withdrawal from North Korea of a U.S. excavation team could be a precursor to an extreme measure to resolve the nuclear stalemate with North Korea. Or, it is a gesture to indicate Washington's readiness to launch a military attack on the North as a gambit to bring the North back to the conference table.
The departure of the 27-member team, which has unearthed 220 sets of remains in nine years, may also simply be U.S. reaction to the exorbitant price charged by Pyongyang authorities for the project. We do not know how many million dollars Washington has paid the North for the labor and other costs in the dig but there were complaints that the U.S. POW/MIA program funneled too much money to the North Korean military for often getting dubious sets of bones.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310013.asp
Solving Japan-China problems
After the April 23 meeting in Jakarta between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao, the storm of anti-Japanese demonstrations that had taken place in many urban centers in China earlier in the moth appeared to have passed. But the abrupt departure of Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi before her scheduled meeting with Koizumi and the heated reaction on the part of some Japanese have further mired Sino-Japanese relations in the emotional quicksands of "saving face."
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310011.asp
China to scrap export tariffs on 81 types of textiles
China said on Monday it would abolish export tariffs on 81 lines of clothing and textiles, keeping its promise to roll back the taxes if Western countries threw up barriers against its goods.
The European Union on Friday formally requested talks with China over surging shipments of T-shirts and flax yarn.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310010.asp
Rockets fired at Zaytun unit in Iraq
For the first time since its deployment to Iraq in September, the 3,500-member South Korean Zaytun contingent Sunday was the target of rocket attacks. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that no casualties or injuries were eported.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310033.asp
Top nuclear negotiator travels to U.S.
Seoul's key foreign policy and security officials leave for Washington today to meet U.S. counterparts to discuss the North Korean nuclear standoff and to prepare for the June Korean-U.S. summit.
Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Adviser Kwon Chin-ho make a four-day visit a week before the planned summit between Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush on June 10.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310031.asp
continued. . .
"Okeydoke"
History . . .
1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, N.Y., American poet, whose work boldly asserts the worth of the individual and the oneness of all humanity. Whitman’s defiant break with traditional poetic concerns and style exerted a major influence on American thought and literature.
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
1923, Prince Rainier III, prince of Monaco
1930, Clint Eastwood, actor, director, and mayor
1943, Joe Namath, football player
1946, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, film director, writer, and actor
1709, President George Washington signs the first U.S. copyright act into law.
1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.
1910, the Union of South Africa was founded.
1913, the 17th amendment to the Constitution, providing for the popular election of U.S. senators, was declared in effect.
1961: South Africa becomes an independent republic and withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations.
1962, World War II Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Nazi Holocaust.
1977, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed.
1985, 88 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured when 41 tornadoes swept through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada, during an eight-hour period.
1994, the United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.
Missing in Action
1965 PEEL ROBERT D. MEMPHIS TN "02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV (BROADLANDS, IL)" ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 ALBERTSON BOBBY J. ANAHEIM CA ALL CREW DEAD SP ALBERTON-WALL
1966 CASE THOMAS F. THOMSON GA ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/11/86
1966 EDMONDSON WILLIAM R. CASSVILLE MO ALL CREW DEAD
1966 HARWORTH ELROY E. ELIZABETH MN ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86
1966 HERROLD NED R. NEW BRUNSWICK NJ
1966 MC DONALD EMMETT R. BELLEVUE WA ALL CREW DEAD
1966 RAGLAND DAYTON W. KANSAS CITY MO
1966 SHINGLEDECKER ARMON D. LIMA OH ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 1986 REMAINS IDENTIFIED 04/30/98
1966 STEEN MARTIN W. GRAND FORKS ND GOOD CHUTE HARNESS EMPTY
1966 STICKNEY PHILLIP J. MANCHESTER NH ALL CREW DEAD
1966 ZOOK HAROLD J. NEW HOLLAND PA ALL CREW DEAD - REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86
1967 CHAUNCEY ARVIN R. GLENDALE CA 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 FITZGERALD JOSEPH E. NORTHBRIDGE MA REMAINS RETURNED 02/97
1967 JAKOVAC JOHN A. DETRIOT MI REMAINS RETURNED 02/97
1967 MC GAR BRIAN K. CERES CA REMAINS RETURNED 02/97
1968 BERESIK EUGENE PAUL WEBSTER MA
1968 GATEWOOD CHARLES HUE CHICAGO IL
1968 LEONARD EDWARD W. WINLOCK WA 03/28/73 RELEASED BY PL ALIVE IN 98
1970 COLNE ROGER FRANCE NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST.
1970 HANGEN WELLES PROBABLY EXECUTED AFTER CAPTURE REMAINS RETURNED 01/93
1970 SAKAI KOJIRO JAPAN NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS
1970 WAKU YOSHIHIKO JAPAN NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS
1971 BRUNSON JACK W. SINCLAIRVILLE NY
1971 MUSIL CLINTON A. SR. MINNEAPOLIS MN
Journalism at Risk
Romanian Journalist Details Iraq Captivity
From Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian journalist held hostage in Iraq for nearly two months recalled how he and his fellow hostages were confined in a hot cellar, blindfolded and ordered not to speak.
Ovidiu Ohanesian, home after the hostages' release May 22, also said in an interview Sunday that they received new clothes as a parting gift from their captors.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-fg-romanian31may31,0,7580713.story?coll=la-iraq-complete
Journalist held for seeking truth on Tiananmen killings
From Jane Macartney in Beijing
A JOURNALIST considered the doyen of China correspondents has been held in Beijing and could be charged with stealing state secrets after he tried to obtain a copy of interviews with Zhao Ziyang, the Communist leader who was purged after the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1634586,00.html
Iran dissident calls for release of jailed activists
Web posted at: 5/31/2005 2:25:54
Source ::: Reuters
Iran’s most prominent jailed dissident journalist, Akbar Ganji flashes a victory sign next to his wife Masumeh Shafiei after a press conference at his home in Tehran yesterday. Ganji was temporarily released from jail for medical treatment. In 2001, Ganji was sentenced to six years in prison after being charged in relation to articles he wrote linking senior officials, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, to the serial murders of several intellectuals and writers.
TEHRAN: Iran's outspoken investigative journalist Akbar Ganji urged the Islamic republic yesterday to free jailed dissidents immediately.
Iran's hardline judiciary yesterday gave the maverick journalist a few weeks leave from prison on health grounds. Ganji was jailed for 10 years in 2001 on a variety of charges, including spreading lies and insulting top officials.
His sentence was reduced to six years on appeal. "All political prisoners and jailed dissidents should immediately be released," Ganji told journalists who gathered at his home a few hours after he was released.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=May2005&file=World_News2005053122535.xml
Maverick journalist Akbar Ganji granted leave from prison
Tehran, May 30, IRNA
Iran-Journalist-Release
Jailed journalist Akbar Ganji was granted a weeklong leave for medical reasons late Sunday night, subject to a probable extension depending on his medical report, judiciary officials announced Monday.
"If forensic medicine diagnoses Ganji as needing treatment and an operation, the issue of extending the period of his leave will be processed," the deputy head of the Tehran Justice Department, Mohammad Salarkia, said.
Ganji is reportedly suffering from asthma, with several internet news sites recently saying that he had gone on a hunger strike to protest alleged inattention of the jail wardens to his condition.
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0505301122182107.htm
CPJ demands release of jailed journalists
(CPJ/IFEX) - In a 3 December 2001 letter to Eritrean President Asayas Afewerki, CPJ stated that it is deeply troubled by the government's ongoing crackdown on the independent press in Eritrea.
According to CPJ's research, all the country's independent newspapers have now been shut down. Eleven journalists are currently jailed without charges, while the whereabouts of three others are unknown.
On 18 September, Eritrean authorities abruptly banned all non-state print media outlets. According to CPJ sources in the capital, Asmara, security forces sealed off the newsrooms of these publications after removing computers, phones, fax machines, and other equipment.
http://www.ifex.org/fr/content/view/full/15180/
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Happy Birthday
Dear Friends,
26 years ago today, Casey was 6 hours and 49 minutes old. What a joyful day that day was. The birth of our firstborn. He was so wanted and his birth was so highly anticipated. A true bundle of joy.
One year, one month, and 25 days ago (almost to the minute) George Bush and his Crime Cabal killed Casey in Sadr City. One of them, perhaps Condi, Rummy, Bremer, or Cheney, might as well have pulled the trigger that blew off the back of Casey's sweet head.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2825
Moore scholarship winners tout accountability
By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times
SAN MARCOS ----- When Cal State San Marcos junior Julie Bennington took a stand last fall backing the appearance of controversial filmmaker Michael Moore at the university, the only payoff she had in mind was accountability.
"I think that often as students, it's really easy to go along with whatever the administration tells us, because they are in a position of power and we are not," Bennington said last week. "The truth is when someone abuses their power and then thinks they can get away with it simply because they hold the position that they do, you have to hold them accountable."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/05/30/news/inland/51905194159.txt
Unprovoked
RAF bombing raids tried to goad Saddam into war
By Michael Smith / Sunday Times
THE RAF and US aircraft doubled the rate at which they were dropping bombs on Iraq in 2002 in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war, new evidence has shown.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2818
Bush Calls Human Rights Report 'Absurd'
By Terence Hunt / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday dismissed a human rights report as "absurd" for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners "who hate America."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2830
Cheney Offended by Amnesty Int'l Report
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney says he's offended by a human rights group's report criticizing conditions at the prison camp for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
The report Amnesty International released last week said prisoners at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba had been mistreated and called for the prison to be shut down. Cheney derided the London-based group in an interview set to be broadcast Monday night on CNN's "Larry King Live."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2829
AP: Gitmo Detainees Say They Were Sold
By Michelle Faul / Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- They fed them well. The Pakistani tribesmen slaughtered a sheep in honor of their guests, Arabs and Chinese Muslims famished from fleeing U.S. bombing in the Afghan mountains. But their hosts had ulterior motives: to sell them to the Americans, said the men who are now prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2831
The Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns Andersen Conviction
By David G. Savage, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court overturned the criminal conviction of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm today, ruling unanimously that its shredding of 2 tons of Enron-related documents did not prove its intent to obstruct justice.
The memos, notes and drafts were destroyed in October 2001 as Enron was collapsing, but before the government triggered an official investigation of Enron or Andersen, its auditor.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-053105scotus_lat,0,5154732.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Wilderness Site May See Oil Drilling
By Julie Cart, Times Staff Writer
GULFPORT, Miss. — Tucked away in the 96-page emergency military spending bill signed by President Bush this month are four paragraphs that give energy companies the right to explore for oil and gas inside a sprawling national park.
The amendment written by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) codifies Mississippi's claim to mineral rights under federal lands and allows drilling for natural gas under the Gulf Islands National Seashore — a thin necklace of barrier islands that drapes the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gulf31may31,0,3792210.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Forest Service May Sell Some Staff Facilities
The agency proposes to put 20% or more of its buildings on the auction block to raise funds for new construction and deferred maintenance.
By Bettina Boxall, Times Staff Writer
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Wrestling with a long inadequate maintenance budget and facing the prospect of more funding cuts, the U.S. Forest Service is proposing to sell a fifth or more of its staff buildings across the country, including hundreds in California.
A Bush administration plan would allow the Forest Service to go into the real estate business, auctioning staff facilities and the land they sit on to raise cash for upkeep and the construction of new buildings.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-forest31may31,0,4512755.story?coll=la-home-local
Report: Former FBI Official Claims to Be 'Deep Throat'
From Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A former FBI official claims he was "Deep Throat," the long-anonymous source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post, his family said today.
W. Mark Felt, 91, was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s. His claim was revealed today by Vanity Fair magazine, and family members said they believe his account is true.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-053105deep_wr,0,2738981.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Doesn't Amnesty International know the USA is NEVER, EVER supposed to receive criticism. You all want your funding cut or something? What's wrong with you people do you always bite the hand that feeds you ? Everyone in the whole world is supposed to be taking orders from Cheney/Bush, the most morally moronic men on Earth. See, if they were ? smart ? (whatever that means) they wouldn't have any excuses to be international criminals. They like their crony constituency just don't know better and when you try to explain things to them they are confused by the ambivalent language everyone else uses. They 'talk plain' so every a child could understand them, you see.
Bush Calls Criticism of Guantanamo Detainee Treatment Absurd
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — President Bush today brushed aside criticism of the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and questions about whether his domestic agenda was losing momentum, as he sought to push his continued relevancy in a second term facing a recalcitrant Congress and debate about his policies in Iraq.
Speaking at a news conference in the Rose Garden, the president used the word "absurd" four times in the course of a 10-sentence response when asked his reaction to a highly critical report by Amnesty International that challenged the administration's respect for the human rights of detainees in the campaign against terrorism.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-053105bush_lat,0,1384603.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Iraqi Politicians Unite in Criticism of Mistaken Arrest of Sunni Leader
By Jeffrey Fleishman and Louise Roug, Times Staff Writers
BAGHDAD — Iraqi leaders displayed a rare degree of unity today after an American-led arrest threatened to further destabilize the country's fragile political process.
Appearing on national TV, Sunni leader Mohsen Abdel Hamid, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, thanked Shiite and Kurdish politicians for their support after his arrest by U.S. troops, which the Americans called "a mistake."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-053105iraq_lat,0,6807932.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The Korea Herald
Minister Han backs off on 5% growth forecast
Finance Minister Han Duck-soo backed off his forecast of 5-percent economic growth for the first time yesterday as a government data showed an unexpected drop in industrial production.
Adding to the bleaker outlook, the Bank of Korea said that the nation posted a current account deficit of $909.5 million in April, compared with a revised surplus of $1.11 billion a month earlier.
It was the first deficit in two years in April 2003, when the country had a $210 million deficit largely due to the dividends payments.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310035.asp
Signals from Washington?
Many here and in the United States attach much significance to Washington's decision last week to suspend a Pentagon program to recover the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War. The withdrawal from North Korea of a U.S. excavation team could be a precursor to an extreme measure to resolve the nuclear stalemate with North Korea. Or, it is a gesture to indicate Washington's readiness to launch a military attack on the North as a gambit to bring the North back to the conference table.
The departure of the 27-member team, which has unearthed 220 sets of remains in nine years, may also simply be U.S. reaction to the exorbitant price charged by Pyongyang authorities for the project. We do not know how many million dollars Washington has paid the North for the labor and other costs in the dig but there were complaints that the U.S. POW/MIA program funneled too much money to the North Korean military for often getting dubious sets of bones.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310013.asp
Solving Japan-China problems
After the April 23 meeting in Jakarta between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao, the storm of anti-Japanese demonstrations that had taken place in many urban centers in China earlier in the moth appeared to have passed. But the abrupt departure of Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi before her scheduled meeting with Koizumi and the heated reaction on the part of some Japanese have further mired Sino-Japanese relations in the emotional quicksands of "saving face."
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310011.asp
China to scrap export tariffs on 81 types of textiles
China said on Monday it would abolish export tariffs on 81 lines of clothing and textiles, keeping its promise to roll back the taxes if Western countries threw up barriers against its goods.
The European Union on Friday formally requested talks with China over surging shipments of T-shirts and flax yarn.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310010.asp
Rockets fired at Zaytun unit in Iraq
For the first time since its deployment to Iraq in September, the 3,500-member South Korean Zaytun contingent Sunday was the target of rocket attacks. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that no casualties or injuries were eported.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310033.asp
Top nuclear negotiator travels to U.S.
Seoul's key foreign policy and security officials leave for Washington today to meet U.S. counterparts to discuss the North Korean nuclear standoff and to prepare for the June Korean-U.S. summit.
Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Adviser Kwon Chin-ho make a four-day visit a week before the planned summit between Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush on June 10.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310031.asp
continued. . .
May 30, 2005. This was the Wind Speed and Direction May from the National Weather Service. If one looks closely the blue area is surrounded by 'wind indicators' that point in all directions. If one connects the direction it is a circle. That was a vortex or from these pictures a hurricane of kind that dropped a lot of water over a large area. It is not a far reach to understand the least water would be at the center of that storm rotation while the periphery which probably reached all the way to Mississippi carried the most rain. 
Morning Papers - continued...
The New York Times
Vow? Since when has that ever meant anything?
Despite Vow, Drug Makers Still Withhold Data
By ALEX BERENSON
Published: May 31, 2005
When the drug industry came under fire last summer for failing to disclose poor results from studies of antidepressants, major drug makers promised to provide more information about their research on new medicines. But nearly a year later, crucial facts about many clinical trials remain hidden, scientists independent of the companies say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/business/31trials.html?hp
For Train Riders, Middle Seat Isn't the Center of Attention
Susan Stava for The New York Times
Because commuters would rather stand than occupy a middle seat, transit systems are reworking trains’ seating arrangements.
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: May 31, 2005
Before the 5:19 p.m. train headed north out of Grand Central Terminal last week, some passengers were already sitting on the floor, surrounded by the scuffed shoes and stuffed briefcases of people leaning against the walls.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/nyregion/31seat.html?hp&ex=1117598400&en=cb2e80254d49d798&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: May 31, 2005
New love can look for all the world like mental illness, a blend of mania, dementia and obsession that cuts people off from friends and family and prompts out-of-character behavior - compulsive phone calling, serenades, yelling from rooftops - that could almost be mistaken for psychosis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/health/psychology/31love.html?hp
Woman Makes History at Indy 500 Without Checkered Flag
Kurt Bauer/Associated Press
Danica Patrick, who finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, had led with 10 laps to go.
By DAVE CALDWELL
Published: May 30, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS, May 29 - Danica Patrick, a 23-year-old rookie who does not drive like one, rocketed into the lead with 10 laps left Sunday in the 89th Indianapolis 500, chasing away earlier misfortune and storming toward a first with each left-hand turn.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/sports/othersports/30indy.html?8hpib
Khodorkovsky Found Guilty of Fraud
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 31, 2005
Filed at 4:53 a.m. ET
MOSCOW (AP) -- A court on Tuesday declared tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty of an array of charges including fraud and tax evasion, and sentenced him to nine years in prison minus time served.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-Khodorkosky.html?hp
C.I.A. Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise of Charter Flights
Pavel Horejsi for The New York Times
A Casa 235 about to take off from Ruzyne Airport in Prague on a flight to Afghanistan operated by the C.I.A.-connected Aero Contractors.
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: May 31, 2005
This article was reported by Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams and written by Mr. Shane.
SMITHFIELD, N.C. - The airplanes of Aero Contractors Ltd. take off from Johnston County Airport here, then disappear over the scrub pines and fields of tobacco and sweet potatoes. Nothing about the sleepy Southern setting hints of foreign intrigue. Nothing gives away the fact that Aero's pilots are the discreet bus drivers of the battle against terrorism, routinely sent on secret missions to Baghdad, Cairo, Tashkent and Kabul.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/national/31planes.html?hp&ex=1117598400&en=8e93dc2aa23dd421&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Anti-Semitism
Christian Zionism
Letter from an Ex-Presbyterian Withdrawing from the PCUSA
IHC Abstract
The cost of standing with Israel as Zionist Christians in these truth-distorted times may mean increasingly the disruption of fellowship with church leaders and members who are blind to basic Biblical truths. Richard Stoecker in this moving letter addressed to his pastor takes his stand against Presbyterian Church leaders and their expressed pro-Palestinian sympathies. He writes: “The biggest single reason for my withdrawal [from the Presbyterian Church] is that I do not want to be complicit in antisemitism or anti-Zionism . . . By its actions, the 2004 General Assembly placed itself in direct opposition to God, thus making the PCUSA an apostate and heretical church.” He continues “I can no longer in good conscience remain in the Presbyterian Church USA, and my conscience must be my guide.” Stoecker is to be commended for his decision to disconnect from those who align themselves against Israel. No doubt the stakes will continue to be higher and increasingly more costly for those faithful friends of God’s chosen people in their endeavor to cling tenaciously to their God-given inheritance, the Land of Israel.
Dear Pastor,
I sent you a letter like this before, a letter expressing my decision to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church. I tried to make an attempt to remain in the church, but I cannot. Even as I am writing, I know that evil forces in the Muslim world are no doubt plotting new ways to try to destroy Israel. If something happens to the Israelis, I don’t know if I could live with myself, belonging as I do to a church that in its national leadership has attempted to hamper Israel’s ability to defend itself. Pope Benedict XVI has reached out to Israel in good will. Baptist churches generally support Israel. Why can’t we Presbyterians see that after 2000 years of persecution of Jews, our attitude toward Jews should be one of atonement and support, not hostility. The same thing I say of Presbyterians is true of other ‘mainline’ churches, in actuality becoming ‘marginal-line’ churches, since most of these churches have been experiencing significant losses of membership for years. The Presbyterians have been losing 40,000 members a year for a long time.
The biggest single reason for my withdrawal is that I do not want to be complicit in antisemitism or anti-Zionism. The 216th General Assembly of 2004 made statements about Israel, the homeland of God’s chosen people, that clearly showed their sympathies rest with Palestinian Muslim terrorists and ultra-Leftists against the Jews, a group of whom it can be said they enjoy the special favor of God - the chosen people. The Psalms say, “If I forget thee, o Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning.” I need the use of my right hand for all kinds of things.
By its actions, the 2004 General Assembly placed itself in direct opposition to God, thus making the PCUSA an apostate and heretical church. Other churches in the World Council of Churches, like lemmings, followed the same unfortunate and extremely misguided path. The WCC, with its many member denominations - more than 340 - has chosen the path of heresy, and it will not be to their benefit, although it may be pleasing to anti-Zionist atheist professors.
Every day I remain in this church as a member, I am supporting the evil of antisemitism, which gives itself the respectable and socially acceptable covering of anti-Zionism. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism, I have concluded, are the same, except in very rare exceptions. If we cannot do anything to help Israel, we should at least, as doctors say, “at first do no harm.” Neutrality would be better than opposition, but support is the best of all.
I am a Christian Zionist, which means I support the nation of Israel and any actions the government of Israel deems necessary to defend itself against the wicked forces that have attempted to destroy it for so long. The Bible clearly indicates the Jews in Israel are there in fulfillment of ancient prophecies in the Bible, which is the word of God.
The Presbyterian Church has been too reluctant to identify Islam as what it is, a false, violent, intolerant, heretical and vicious religion. Indeed, Islam does not even deserve to call itself a religion - it is a kind of fascism disguised as a religion. Suicide bombing is the most evil phenomenon I have ever seen. Islamic countries have the worst human-rights records in the world on a wide range of measures. This is well-documented and well-known.
I have tried to speak out against the sins of the 216th General Assembly regarding Israel, but I am only one person, and too many roadblocks are thrown in my way in terms of getting permission from authorities to make short addresses of protest. When I have addressed the elders of our church and the General Council, concentrating on Israel, it is impossible to tell whether others agree with me or not. It is not enough to convince anybody that the Bible predicted the return of the Jews to Israel Many seem not to realize that the Bible is a unique book. My pastor has tried to help me, but I cannot always follow his directions, and I feel an urgency about this issue.
The problems of the Presbyterian Church USA all boil down to one central problem - we have drifted too far from the Bible, God’s revelation to Man. When we ignore the Bible, or say it is no different from the Koran or any other religious document, we have no guidelines but half-baked theories from liberal seminaries, subjective feelings and impulses.
I can no longer in good conscience remain in the Presbyterian Church USA, and my conscience must be my guide. A Christian church must stand for the eternal principles derived from the Jewish Ten Commandments and the directions we received from Jesus and the other writers of the New Testament.
I left the church I attended before because they taught truth, but not combined with love. Perhaps the Presbyterians teach love without enough truth. A church needs both, and I am not a very social person anyway, so it is a struggle for me to go to any church. For 13 years there was a minister in my town who was a fundamentalist, like me, a better man than me, who knew how to teach both truth and love. He died in 2000. He was followed by ministers who essentially lacked compassion, although they believed in the Bible. One of them disrespected me, and at my age I can’t handle that well. He disrespected me repeatedly.
When I first began attending your church, it was such a relief to be around people who were polite. I thank you for the times you have tried to help me and your willingness to listen, but I feel led to leave this church because what the highest levels of leadership say reflect on me as a person, and there are too many barriers between the members and the national leadership to change their direction. I know some anti-divestment Presbyterians in other parts of the country who have other anti-divestment Presbyterians working with them for change, but I seem to be almost completely isolated in my views among Presbyterians in this area and I cannot, and no longer want to, carry the torch of reform by myself. It is too much of a strain and causes me too much stress.
I think your own interpretation of the Bible is probably considerably different from mine, and there needs to be a certain level of agreement on basic issues in a church. Jesus prayed that Christians would be one. That does not mean lockstep conformity, but a respect for the sanctity of life, support for Israel, acceptance of the Bible as God’s word and basic moral standards and reverence for the Bible seem necessary to me in a church.
I’m sorry if this is too blunt, but you already know I feel this way anyway. I wish you well in your Christian journey, and trust that God will find new ways for me to follow his leading.
Richard Stoecker
May 20, 2005
http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=6/c/300520051
RAI Novosti
Khodorkovsky sentenced to 9 years, 1 less than prosecutors demanded
MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - The Meshchansky court has sentenced former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and his business partner Menatep head Platon Lebedev to nine years in prison. They will serve their sentence in a general security prison. Volna CEO Andrei Krainov's five-year sentence was suspended. Prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin had sought the 10-year maximum sentence for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev and 5.5-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period for Krainov.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were also ordered to pay 17.395 billion rubles (some $600 million) to the federal tax service.
The court recommended levying 15 million-ruble and 62 million-ruble lawsuits against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev respectively.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40447529.html
WORLD'S NO. 1 BATTLE TANK PRODUCER TO BE PRIVATIZED
MOSCOW, May 30. (RIA Novosti) - Uralvagonzavod, the world's biggest producer of battle tanks, will be privatized in 2006, said Eduard Rossel, governor of Russia's Sverdlovsk region.
The company will initially be 100% state-owned, but then all shares, save the controlling stake, will be offered to investors, Biznes, a daily, reported today.
The current state-run Uralvagonzavod, Rossel said, will give way to the Ural Railway Car Holding Company made up of Uraltransmash, which produces self-propelled guns, and mine layers and dispensers, Zavod No 9, towed field guns, and ChTZ-Uraltrak, a civil engineering company.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050530/40438961.html
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OPEN FOR DIALOGUE WITH VATICAN - PATRIARCH
MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Orthodox Church is open for dialogue with the Vatican, Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia said on Monday. "We are open for dialogue, for overcoming difficulties which hamper our cooperation and for improving relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches," Alexis II said.
We should start a dialogue, he added.
The patriarch expressed hope that "the new Pope will open dialogue with Orthodox Churches" as he had stated recently. "We hail such statements," Alexis II said.
"We should overcome difficulties hampering our dialogue and cooperation," he added.
http://en.rian.ru/society/20050530/40442720.html
US, RUSSIA AND EU TO DEVELOP NEW SPACECRAFT
MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kislyakov)
By developing new-generation spacecraft for resupplying the International Space Station (ISS), the United States, Russia and the European Union have launched another space race.
At first glance, the issue seems to be the following: Will U.S. space shuttles resume flights to the ISS this year? Moscow is optimistic on this score. "We hope that space shuttles will fly because the multinational project will otherwise have to be revised," Anatoly Perminov, chief of the Federal Space Agency, said in mid-May.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40440801.html
SCIENCE FICTION WRITER SHECKLEY TO FLY HOME
KIEV, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - The famous American science fiction writer Robert Sheckley, who has spent a month in a private hospital in Kiev, will fly home today.
His doctors in Kiev said he had a serious respiratory disease and his current state was not satisfactory, but he can take the flight back home to the US.
Sheckley was to fly on Thursday but the departure was delayed by problems with the plane.
http://en.rian.ru/culture/20050527/40428770.html
ARE IRAN'S ARGUMENTS MORE CONVINCING FOR THE EU THAN U.S. FEARS?
MOSCOW. (Pyotr Goncharov, RIA Novosti commentator) -- The talks held last week between the EU and Tehran in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program looked like they had been thoroughly orchestrated and it will be interesting to see what happens now.
The next episode is expected either on June 13, when the IAEA Board of Governors will meet, or after a new Cabinet is formed in Iran following the June 17 presidential elections.
At the concluding round of talks in Geneva, the EU proposed that Tehran submit for its consideration a general project of EU-Iran cooperation covering various aspects, including nuclear technology cooperation, within two months. The proposal, it must be admitted, was unexpected and contradicted the logic of the talks held in the past.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40442902.html
New Chechen mufti to fight against Wahhabism
GROZNY, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - New Chechen Mufti Sultan Mirzayev, 40, said that his key task was "ideological fight against Wahhabism and active promotion of traditional Islam."
"Imams and religious figures should explain the danger of the Wahhabite ideology, give balanced arguments and refer to the Koran," the mufti said in a RIA Novosti interview on Tuesday. The work with young people is a priority task. "In addition to radical Islamic trends, Chechnya has many other problems, including drug addiction. Clergymen should use their weapons to fight this evil," the mufti said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40447852.html
Japan to receive most Sakhalin-II natural gas
MOSCOW, May 31. (RIA Novosti) - Sakhalin Energy, which operates the Sakhalin-II oil and natural gas project, signed another long-term contract on the sale of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Monday. Vedomosti, a leading business daily, reported today that the company had found a buyer for 70% of the LNG, about half of which would go to Japan.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20050531/40447072.html
PRESIDENT PUTIN'S VISIT TO JAPAN TO PROMOTE PARTNERSHIP
TOKYO, May 31. (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan will be a significant move for promoting bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said upon his arrival in Tokyo.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40444802.html
RUSSIA WOULD LIKE EUROPE TO HAVE A CONSTITUTION
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov) - France's "Non" vote to a common constitution for the European Union has disappointed Moscow.
The Russian leaders commiserate with the failure of President Jacques Chirac, who took a considerable risk urging his fellow citizens to vote for the constitution and now the future of his rightwing-centrist Cabinet has been put into question. If Chirac goes, Russian President Vladimir Putin will lose a reliable ally in Old Europe, a man whose understanding of the role of Europe in the global lineup of forces is very similar to his own.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40439787.html
RUSSIA TO DESIGN NEW BOEING AIRCRAFT
MOSCOW, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - The incomplete Boeing B-787 Dreamliner passenger plane design has been unveiled in Moscow while about 300 Russian engineers help design its components, Vremya Novostei reported.
On May 16, Boeing Russia-CIS President Sergei Kravchenko said that the company had decided to include Moscow in an extremely limited list of cities where B-787-s will be unveiled. His decision is motivated by Russia's considerable contribution to the R&D effort.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20050517/40366347.html
Number of drug addicts grows in Chechnya
GROZNY, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Drug addiction and peddling are becoming "catastrophic" in Chechnya, said Rudnik Dudayev, secretary of the Chechen Security Council.
Dudayev said at the session of the republican interdepartmental commission on drugs that the increasing involvement of women, who act as couriers, is especially dangerous.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40448710.html
Russia needs national plan of action for children's protection
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Olga Sobolevskaya) - On June 1, the International Day of Children's Protection, it is traditional to announce statistic data.
Like this: about one third of little Russians, over 400,000, are born out of wedlock, every seventh child is raised in a broken family. Last year, 65,000 children were taken away from their parents, who lost parental rights.
"The Russian family looks simply depressing," said recently Yekaterina Lakhova, chairman of the Russian parliament's Committee for Women's Issues, the Families and Youth.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050531/40447525.html
RUSSIA NEEDS A STABLE CAUCASUS
MOSCOW (Sergei Markedonov for RIA Novosti) - The Russian military presence in Georgia has become the key issue of the Caucasian Big Game in the last few months.
Discussions of the timeframe and speed of their withdrawal from Georgia overshadowed the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050526/40422755.html
RUSSIA, U.S. DESTINED TO COOPERATE IN CENTRAL ASIA
MOSCOW (Sergei Markedonov, for RIA Novosti) - Many people in Russia see America's presence in the post-Soviet (Eurasian) area as virtually an attempt to end Russia's national sovereignty.
Alexander Dugin, a prominent theoretician of Russian traditionalism, recently said the United States was trying to penetrate the "canonical territory" of Russian diplomacy. However, the military-political presence of the world's No.1 superpower in some ex-Soviet republics might become an important stabilizing factor.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40442546.html
Global Warming and Climate Change
Brussels focuses on effort to tackle climate change
By Fiona Harvey in London
Published: May 30 2005 16:33 Last updated: May 30 2005 16:33
The European Commission will step up attempts to tackle climate change this week amid concern that international progress is again being stalled by the US.
Uninterrupted by France's No vote, the European Union's executive will also consider prospects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation as part of “Green Week”, which this year will concentrate on climate change.
Stavros Dimas, the European Union's environment commissioner, said: “Climate change is one of our biggest environmental challenges and a major threat to our economies. Our aim in bringing together key players and stakeholders during Green Week is not only to listen but also to try to move towards workable and cost-effective solutions, particularly in view of the further efforts that will be needed to achieve global reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.”
But Green Week, timed to lead up to the United Nations World Environment Day this Sunday, when mayors from around the world will adopt measures to create greener cities, will take place against a backdrop of uncertainty over the prospects for international action on climate change.
Tony Blair, the UK prime minister, is visiting leaders of EU member states and the Group of Eight industrialised nations over the next few weeks in preparation for the UK's presidency of the EU from July and the G8 summit in Gleneagles on July 6. He will discuss climate change, which he has made one of his twin priorities for the G8 this year, along with Africa. But the leak of a memo purporting to be the draft text of a G8 statement on climate change, to be issued at Gleneagles, dismayed some environmental campaigners. The document lacked any reference to specific targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the US has long and consistently refused to be tied to targets for emissions reduction such as those imposed by the UN-brokered Kyoto protocol on climate change.
Another sensitive area surrounds plans to deal with climate change beyond 2012, when the main provisions of the Kyoto protocol expire. Business leaders in the UK called last week for the government to provide “greater certainty” to businesses by extending emissions reduction targets to 2025.
But the US is adamantly opposed to discussions of actions beyond 2012. Senior US officials have said such discussions would be “premature” and repeated this view at a meeting of Kyoto countries in Bonn earlier this month. The G8 meeting is more likely to see agreement on the importance of investing in research and development into technologies that will help reduce emissions, such as renewable energy sources and the capture and storage of carbon. The US spends more than $5bn $5bn (€4bn, £2.8bn) a year on technologies and research related to climate change.
http://financialtimes.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=FT.com+%2F+International+economy+-+Brussels+focuses+on+effort+to+tackle+climate+change&expire=&urlID=14394223&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F12448cfa-d120-11d9-9c1d-00000e2511c8%2Cft_acl%3D%2Cs01%3D1.html&partnerID=1744
Small species back-up giant marsupial climate change extinction claim
Thinking small in a time when everything was big has helped Queensland researchers to unearth new evidence that climate change, instead of humans, was responsible for wiping out Australian giant marsupials or megafauna 40,000 years ago.
Instead of only excavating 'trophy specimens' such as giant kangaroos and wombats, the researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Queensland Museum performed the first systematic analysis of a site in the fossil rich Darling Downs region of south-eastern Queensland.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/ra-ssb052705.php
Climate Change Threatens Crop Losses, More Hunger
Monday, 30 May 2005, 11:37 am
Press Release: United Nations
Climate Change Threatens Crop Losses, More Hungry People - UN
New York, May 26 2005 1:00PM
Climate change threatens to increase crop losses, increase the number of people facing malnutrition, or worse, and may change the development patterns of animal diseases and plant pests, the United Nations agricultural agency says in a new report.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), has developed the Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology, a worldwide spatial soil and climate suitability database for use in quantifying regional impacts and geographical shifts in agricultural land and productivity potentials.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00456.htm
Panel launched for climate change
The Ministry of Environment announced yesterday an intergovernmental panel to oversee the assessment of scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant to climate change on Korean Peninsula.
The Korea Panel on Climate Change, which comprises a group of experts and government officials from the ministry and the Korean Meteorological Administration, will also be tasked with making both long-term and short-term policy recommendations based on the assessment.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310002.asp
continued. . .
Vow? Since when has that ever meant anything?
Despite Vow, Drug Makers Still Withhold Data
By ALEX BERENSON
Published: May 31, 2005
When the drug industry came under fire last summer for failing to disclose poor results from studies of antidepressants, major drug makers promised to provide more information about their research on new medicines. But nearly a year later, crucial facts about many clinical trials remain hidden, scientists independent of the companies say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/business/31trials.html?hp
For Train Riders, Middle Seat Isn't the Center of Attention
Susan Stava for The New York Times
Because commuters would rather stand than occupy a middle seat, transit systems are reworking trains’ seating arrangements.
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: May 31, 2005
Before the 5:19 p.m. train headed north out of Grand Central Terminal last week, some passengers were already sitting on the floor, surrounded by the scuffed shoes and stuffed briefcases of people leaning against the walls.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/nyregion/31seat.html?hp&ex=1117598400&en=cb2e80254d49d798&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: May 31, 2005
New love can look for all the world like mental illness, a blend of mania, dementia and obsession that cuts people off from friends and family and prompts out-of-character behavior - compulsive phone calling, serenades, yelling from rooftops - that could almost be mistaken for psychosis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/health/psychology/31love.html?hp
Woman Makes History at Indy 500 Without Checkered Flag
Kurt Bauer/Associated Press
Danica Patrick, who finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, had led with 10 laps to go.
By DAVE CALDWELL
Published: May 30, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS, May 29 - Danica Patrick, a 23-year-old rookie who does not drive like one, rocketed into the lead with 10 laps left Sunday in the 89th Indianapolis 500, chasing away earlier misfortune and storming toward a first with each left-hand turn.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/sports/othersports/30indy.html?8hpib
Khodorkovsky Found Guilty of Fraud
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 31, 2005
Filed at 4:53 a.m. ET
MOSCOW (AP) -- A court on Tuesday declared tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty of an array of charges including fraud and tax evasion, and sentenced him to nine years in prison minus time served.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-Khodorkosky.html?hp
C.I.A. Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise of Charter Flights
Pavel Horejsi for The New York Times
A Casa 235 about to take off from Ruzyne Airport in Prague on a flight to Afghanistan operated by the C.I.A.-connected Aero Contractors.
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: May 31, 2005
This article was reported by Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams and written by Mr. Shane.
SMITHFIELD, N.C. - The airplanes of Aero Contractors Ltd. take off from Johnston County Airport here, then disappear over the scrub pines and fields of tobacco and sweet potatoes. Nothing about the sleepy Southern setting hints of foreign intrigue. Nothing gives away the fact that Aero's pilots are the discreet bus drivers of the battle against terrorism, routinely sent on secret missions to Baghdad, Cairo, Tashkent and Kabul.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/national/31planes.html?hp&ex=1117598400&en=8e93dc2aa23dd421&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Anti-Semitism
Christian Zionism
Letter from an Ex-Presbyterian Withdrawing from the PCUSA
IHC Abstract
The cost of standing with Israel as Zionist Christians in these truth-distorted times may mean increasingly the disruption of fellowship with church leaders and members who are blind to basic Biblical truths. Richard Stoecker in this moving letter addressed to his pastor takes his stand against Presbyterian Church leaders and their expressed pro-Palestinian sympathies. He writes: “The biggest single reason for my withdrawal [from the Presbyterian Church] is that I do not want to be complicit in antisemitism or anti-Zionism . . . By its actions, the 2004 General Assembly placed itself in direct opposition to God, thus making the PCUSA an apostate and heretical church.” He continues “I can no longer in good conscience remain in the Presbyterian Church USA, and my conscience must be my guide.” Stoecker is to be commended for his decision to disconnect from those who align themselves against Israel. No doubt the stakes will continue to be higher and increasingly more costly for those faithful friends of God’s chosen people in their endeavor to cling tenaciously to their God-given inheritance, the Land of Israel.
Dear Pastor,
I sent you a letter like this before, a letter expressing my decision to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church. I tried to make an attempt to remain in the church, but I cannot. Even as I am writing, I know that evil forces in the Muslim world are no doubt plotting new ways to try to destroy Israel. If something happens to the Israelis, I don’t know if I could live with myself, belonging as I do to a church that in its national leadership has attempted to hamper Israel’s ability to defend itself. Pope Benedict XVI has reached out to Israel in good will. Baptist churches generally support Israel. Why can’t we Presbyterians see that after 2000 years of persecution of Jews, our attitude toward Jews should be one of atonement and support, not hostility. The same thing I say of Presbyterians is true of other ‘mainline’ churches, in actuality becoming ‘marginal-line’ churches, since most of these churches have been experiencing significant losses of membership for years. The Presbyterians have been losing 40,000 members a year for a long time.
The biggest single reason for my withdrawal is that I do not want to be complicit in antisemitism or anti-Zionism. The 216th General Assembly of 2004 made statements about Israel, the homeland of God’s chosen people, that clearly showed their sympathies rest with Palestinian Muslim terrorists and ultra-Leftists against the Jews, a group of whom it can be said they enjoy the special favor of God - the chosen people. The Psalms say, “If I forget thee, o Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning.” I need the use of my right hand for all kinds of things.
By its actions, the 2004 General Assembly placed itself in direct opposition to God, thus making the PCUSA an apostate and heretical church. Other churches in the World Council of Churches, like lemmings, followed the same unfortunate and extremely misguided path. The WCC, with its many member denominations - more than 340 - has chosen the path of heresy, and it will not be to their benefit, although it may be pleasing to anti-Zionist atheist professors.
Every day I remain in this church as a member, I am supporting the evil of antisemitism, which gives itself the respectable and socially acceptable covering of anti-Zionism. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism, I have concluded, are the same, except in very rare exceptions. If we cannot do anything to help Israel, we should at least, as doctors say, “at first do no harm.” Neutrality would be better than opposition, but support is the best of all.
I am a Christian Zionist, which means I support the nation of Israel and any actions the government of Israel deems necessary to defend itself against the wicked forces that have attempted to destroy it for so long. The Bible clearly indicates the Jews in Israel are there in fulfillment of ancient prophecies in the Bible, which is the word of God.
The Presbyterian Church has been too reluctant to identify Islam as what it is, a false, violent, intolerant, heretical and vicious religion. Indeed, Islam does not even deserve to call itself a religion - it is a kind of fascism disguised as a religion. Suicide bombing is the most evil phenomenon I have ever seen. Islamic countries have the worst human-rights records in the world on a wide range of measures. This is well-documented and well-known.
I have tried to speak out against the sins of the 216th General Assembly regarding Israel, but I am only one person, and too many roadblocks are thrown in my way in terms of getting permission from authorities to make short addresses of protest. When I have addressed the elders of our church and the General Council, concentrating on Israel, it is impossible to tell whether others agree with me or not. It is not enough to convince anybody that the Bible predicted the return of the Jews to Israel Many seem not to realize that the Bible is a unique book. My pastor has tried to help me, but I cannot always follow his directions, and I feel an urgency about this issue.
The problems of the Presbyterian Church USA all boil down to one central problem - we have drifted too far from the Bible, God’s revelation to Man. When we ignore the Bible, or say it is no different from the Koran or any other religious document, we have no guidelines but half-baked theories from liberal seminaries, subjective feelings and impulses.
I can no longer in good conscience remain in the Presbyterian Church USA, and my conscience must be my guide. A Christian church must stand for the eternal principles derived from the Jewish Ten Commandments and the directions we received from Jesus and the other writers of the New Testament.
I left the church I attended before because they taught truth, but not combined with love. Perhaps the Presbyterians teach love without enough truth. A church needs both, and I am not a very social person anyway, so it is a struggle for me to go to any church. For 13 years there was a minister in my town who was a fundamentalist, like me, a better man than me, who knew how to teach both truth and love. He died in 2000. He was followed by ministers who essentially lacked compassion, although they believed in the Bible. One of them disrespected me, and at my age I can’t handle that well. He disrespected me repeatedly.
When I first began attending your church, it was such a relief to be around people who were polite. I thank you for the times you have tried to help me and your willingness to listen, but I feel led to leave this church because what the highest levels of leadership say reflect on me as a person, and there are too many barriers between the members and the national leadership to change their direction. I know some anti-divestment Presbyterians in other parts of the country who have other anti-divestment Presbyterians working with them for change, but I seem to be almost completely isolated in my views among Presbyterians in this area and I cannot, and no longer want to, carry the torch of reform by myself. It is too much of a strain and causes me too much stress.
I think your own interpretation of the Bible is probably considerably different from mine, and there needs to be a certain level of agreement on basic issues in a church. Jesus prayed that Christians would be one. That does not mean lockstep conformity, but a respect for the sanctity of life, support for Israel, acceptance of the Bible as God’s word and basic moral standards and reverence for the Bible seem necessary to me in a church.
I’m sorry if this is too blunt, but you already know I feel this way anyway. I wish you well in your Christian journey, and trust that God will find new ways for me to follow his leading.
Richard Stoecker
May 20, 2005
http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=6/c/300520051
RAI Novosti
Khodorkovsky sentenced to 9 years, 1 less than prosecutors demanded
MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - The Meshchansky court has sentenced former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and his business partner Menatep head Platon Lebedev to nine years in prison. They will serve their sentence in a general security prison. Volna CEO Andrei Krainov's five-year sentence was suspended. Prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin had sought the 10-year maximum sentence for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev and 5.5-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period for Krainov.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were also ordered to pay 17.395 billion rubles (some $600 million) to the federal tax service.
The court recommended levying 15 million-ruble and 62 million-ruble lawsuits against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev respectively.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40447529.html
WORLD'S NO. 1 BATTLE TANK PRODUCER TO BE PRIVATIZED
MOSCOW, May 30. (RIA Novosti) - Uralvagonzavod, the world's biggest producer of battle tanks, will be privatized in 2006, said Eduard Rossel, governor of Russia's Sverdlovsk region.
The company will initially be 100% state-owned, but then all shares, save the controlling stake, will be offered to investors, Biznes, a daily, reported today.
The current state-run Uralvagonzavod, Rossel said, will give way to the Ural Railway Car Holding Company made up of Uraltransmash, which produces self-propelled guns, and mine layers and dispensers, Zavod No 9, towed field guns, and ChTZ-Uraltrak, a civil engineering company.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050530/40438961.html
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OPEN FOR DIALOGUE WITH VATICAN - PATRIARCH
MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Orthodox Church is open for dialogue with the Vatican, Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia said on Monday. "We are open for dialogue, for overcoming difficulties which hamper our cooperation and for improving relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches," Alexis II said.
We should start a dialogue, he added.
The patriarch expressed hope that "the new Pope will open dialogue with Orthodox Churches" as he had stated recently. "We hail such statements," Alexis II said.
"We should overcome difficulties hampering our dialogue and cooperation," he added.
http://en.rian.ru/society/20050530/40442720.html
US, RUSSIA AND EU TO DEVELOP NEW SPACECRAFT
MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kislyakov)
By developing new-generation spacecraft for resupplying the International Space Station (ISS), the United States, Russia and the European Union have launched another space race.
At first glance, the issue seems to be the following: Will U.S. space shuttles resume flights to the ISS this year? Moscow is optimistic on this score. "We hope that space shuttles will fly because the multinational project will otherwise have to be revised," Anatoly Perminov, chief of the Federal Space Agency, said in mid-May.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40440801.html
SCIENCE FICTION WRITER SHECKLEY TO FLY HOME
KIEV, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - The famous American science fiction writer Robert Sheckley, who has spent a month in a private hospital in Kiev, will fly home today.
His doctors in Kiev said he had a serious respiratory disease and his current state was not satisfactory, but he can take the flight back home to the US.
Sheckley was to fly on Thursday but the departure was delayed by problems with the plane.
http://en.rian.ru/culture/20050527/40428770.html
ARE IRAN'S ARGUMENTS MORE CONVINCING FOR THE EU THAN U.S. FEARS?
MOSCOW. (Pyotr Goncharov, RIA Novosti commentator) -- The talks held last week between the EU and Tehran in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program looked like they had been thoroughly orchestrated and it will be interesting to see what happens now.
The next episode is expected either on June 13, when the IAEA Board of Governors will meet, or after a new Cabinet is formed in Iran following the June 17 presidential elections.
At the concluding round of talks in Geneva, the EU proposed that Tehran submit for its consideration a general project of EU-Iran cooperation covering various aspects, including nuclear technology cooperation, within two months. The proposal, it must be admitted, was unexpected and contradicted the logic of the talks held in the past.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40442902.html
New Chechen mufti to fight against Wahhabism
GROZNY, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - New Chechen Mufti Sultan Mirzayev, 40, said that his key task was "ideological fight against Wahhabism and active promotion of traditional Islam."
"Imams and religious figures should explain the danger of the Wahhabite ideology, give balanced arguments and refer to the Koran," the mufti said in a RIA Novosti interview on Tuesday. The work with young people is a priority task. "In addition to radical Islamic trends, Chechnya has many other problems, including drug addiction. Clergymen should use their weapons to fight this evil," the mufti said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40447852.html
Japan to receive most Sakhalin-II natural gas
MOSCOW, May 31. (RIA Novosti) - Sakhalin Energy, which operates the Sakhalin-II oil and natural gas project, signed another long-term contract on the sale of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Monday. Vedomosti, a leading business daily, reported today that the company had found a buyer for 70% of the LNG, about half of which would go to Japan.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20050531/40447072.html
PRESIDENT PUTIN'S VISIT TO JAPAN TO PROMOTE PARTNERSHIP
TOKYO, May 31. (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan will be a significant move for promoting bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said upon his arrival in Tokyo.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40444802.html
RUSSIA WOULD LIKE EUROPE TO HAVE A CONSTITUTION
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov) - France's "Non" vote to a common constitution for the European Union has disappointed Moscow.
The Russian leaders commiserate with the failure of President Jacques Chirac, who took a considerable risk urging his fellow citizens to vote for the constitution and now the future of his rightwing-centrist Cabinet has been put into question. If Chirac goes, Russian President Vladimir Putin will lose a reliable ally in Old Europe, a man whose understanding of the role of Europe in the global lineup of forces is very similar to his own.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40439787.html
RUSSIA TO DESIGN NEW BOEING AIRCRAFT
MOSCOW, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - The incomplete Boeing B-787 Dreamliner passenger plane design has been unveiled in Moscow while about 300 Russian engineers help design its components, Vremya Novostei reported.
On May 16, Boeing Russia-CIS President Sergei Kravchenko said that the company had decided to include Moscow in an extremely limited list of cities where B-787-s will be unveiled. His decision is motivated by Russia's considerable contribution to the R&D effort.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20050517/40366347.html
Number of drug addicts grows in Chechnya
GROZNY, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Drug addiction and peddling are becoming "catastrophic" in Chechnya, said Rudnik Dudayev, secretary of the Chechen Security Council.
Dudayev said at the session of the republican interdepartmental commission on drugs that the increasing involvement of women, who act as couriers, is especially dangerous.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050531/40448710.html
Russia needs national plan of action for children's protection
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Olga Sobolevskaya) - On June 1, the International Day of Children's Protection, it is traditional to announce statistic data.
Like this: about one third of little Russians, over 400,000, are born out of wedlock, every seventh child is raised in a broken family. Last year, 65,000 children were taken away from their parents, who lost parental rights.
"The Russian family looks simply depressing," said recently Yekaterina Lakhova, chairman of the Russian parliament's Committee for Women's Issues, the Families and Youth.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050531/40447525.html
RUSSIA NEEDS A STABLE CAUCASUS
MOSCOW (Sergei Markedonov for RIA Novosti) - The Russian military presence in Georgia has become the key issue of the Caucasian Big Game in the last few months.
Discussions of the timeframe and speed of their withdrawal from Georgia overshadowed the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050526/40422755.html
RUSSIA, U.S. DESTINED TO COOPERATE IN CENTRAL ASIA
MOSCOW (Sergei Markedonov, for RIA Novosti) - Many people in Russia see America's presence in the post-Soviet (Eurasian) area as virtually an attempt to end Russia's national sovereignty.
Alexander Dugin, a prominent theoretician of Russian traditionalism, recently said the United States was trying to penetrate the "canonical territory" of Russian diplomacy. However, the military-political presence of the world's No.1 superpower in some ex-Soviet republics might become an important stabilizing factor.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050530/40442546.html
Global Warming and Climate Change
Brussels focuses on effort to tackle climate change
By Fiona Harvey in London
Published: May 30 2005 16:33 Last updated: May 30 2005 16:33
The European Commission will step up attempts to tackle climate change this week amid concern that international progress is again being stalled by the US.
Uninterrupted by France's No vote, the European Union's executive will also consider prospects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation as part of “Green Week”, which this year will concentrate on climate change.
Stavros Dimas, the European Union's environment commissioner, said: “Climate change is one of our biggest environmental challenges and a major threat to our economies. Our aim in bringing together key players and stakeholders during Green Week is not only to listen but also to try to move towards workable and cost-effective solutions, particularly in view of the further efforts that will be needed to achieve global reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.”
But Green Week, timed to lead up to the United Nations World Environment Day this Sunday, when mayors from around the world will adopt measures to create greener cities, will take place against a backdrop of uncertainty over the prospects for international action on climate change.
Tony Blair, the UK prime minister, is visiting leaders of EU member states and the Group of Eight industrialised nations over the next few weeks in preparation for the UK's presidency of the EU from July and the G8 summit in Gleneagles on July 6. He will discuss climate change, which he has made one of his twin priorities for the G8 this year, along with Africa. But the leak of a memo purporting to be the draft text of a G8 statement on climate change, to be issued at Gleneagles, dismayed some environmental campaigners. The document lacked any reference to specific targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the US has long and consistently refused to be tied to targets for emissions reduction such as those imposed by the UN-brokered Kyoto protocol on climate change.
Another sensitive area surrounds plans to deal with climate change beyond 2012, when the main provisions of the Kyoto protocol expire. Business leaders in the UK called last week for the government to provide “greater certainty” to businesses by extending emissions reduction targets to 2025.
But the US is adamantly opposed to discussions of actions beyond 2012. Senior US officials have said such discussions would be “premature” and repeated this view at a meeting of Kyoto countries in Bonn earlier this month. The G8 meeting is more likely to see agreement on the importance of investing in research and development into technologies that will help reduce emissions, such as renewable energy sources and the capture and storage of carbon. The US spends more than $5bn $5bn (€4bn, £2.8bn) a year on technologies and research related to climate change.
http://financialtimes.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=FT.com+%2F+International+economy+-+Brussels+focuses+on+effort+to+tackle+climate+change&expire=&urlID=14394223&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F12448cfa-d120-11d9-9c1d-00000e2511c8%2Cft_acl%3D%2Cs01%3D1.html&partnerID=1744
Small species back-up giant marsupial climate change extinction claim
Thinking small in a time when everything was big has helped Queensland researchers to unearth new evidence that climate change, instead of humans, was responsible for wiping out Australian giant marsupials or megafauna 40,000 years ago.
Instead of only excavating 'trophy specimens' such as giant kangaroos and wombats, the researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Queensland Museum performed the first systematic analysis of a site in the fossil rich Darling Downs region of south-eastern Queensland.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/ra-ssb052705.php
Climate Change Threatens Crop Losses, More Hunger
Monday, 30 May 2005, 11:37 am
Press Release: United Nations
Climate Change Threatens Crop Losses, More Hungry People - UN
New York, May 26 2005 1:00PM
Climate change threatens to increase crop losses, increase the number of people facing malnutrition, or worse, and may change the development patterns of animal diseases and plant pests, the United Nations agricultural agency says in a new report.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), has developed the Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology, a worldwide spatial soil and climate suitability database for use in quantifying regional impacts and geographical shifts in agricultural land and productivity potentials.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00456.htm
Panel launched for climate change
The Ministry of Environment announced yesterday an intergovernmental panel to oversee the assessment of scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant to climate change on Korean Peninsula.
The Korea Panel on Climate Change, which comprises a group of experts and government officials from the ministry and the Korean Meteorological Administration, will also be tasked with making both long-term and short-term policy recommendations based on the assessment.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/05/31/200505310002.asp
continued. . .
February 11, 2005. As if the dust storms of the USA weren't bad enough already, let's hope they never get this bad. From The Australian "Sandstorm" a World Press Photo winner.. The sandstorm in Chad. Note the wind carried the sand all the way to the top of the wind column next to the leading clouds.
Morning Papers - continued...
The Boston Globe
Iraqi Air Force aircraft crashes in eastern Iraq
May 30, 2005
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi Air Force aircraft crashed northeast of Baghdad close to the Iranian border on Monday with four U.S. military personnel and an Iraqi on board, the U.S. military said in a statement.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/05/30/iraqi_air_force_aircraft_crashes_in_eastern_iraq/
A Cuban conundrum
May 30, 2005
THE CASE of Luis Posada Carriles, the anti-Castro Cuban terrorist who was on the CIA payroll, has become a dramatic test of President Bush's credibility as leader of a war on terrorism. If he allows Posada to avoid answering in a court of law for his terrorist acts -- acts about which Posada has boasted openly -- Bush will not only discredit his own public stance against terrorism; he will make US efforts to enlist others in antiterrorist actions appear selective and hypocritical.
,,, Posada has been implicated by CIA and FBI documents in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. He took credit in an interview with The New York Times for a fatal bomb attack at tourist sites in Havana in 1997. These were crimes equal in cruelty, if not scale, to the crimes of Al Qaeda.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/05/30/a_terror_conundrum/
A foreign STD sets off worry in Hub
May signal return of risky sex habits
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff May 30, 2005
A sexually transmitted disease rarely seen in recent decades in the United States has reemerged in Boston and other American cities in the past six months, fostering fears that it could herald a new wave of infections of an even more dangerous disease, AIDS.
The return of lymphogranuloma venereum, known as LGV, to North America also illustrates the increasing globalization of infectious diseases in an era of rapid air transit and frequent travel for work and pleasure, disease specialists said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/30/a_foreign_std_sets_off_worry_in_hub/
Body pulled from Blackstone River
May 30, 2005
WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- Kayakers discovered a dead body floating in the Blackstone River behind Woonsocket's wastewater treatment facility on Monday, police said.
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The body is that of a white man, and was found tangled in logs and sticks, said Woonsocket police Capt. Luke Gallant. Police said his identity and the cause of death would be announced Tuesday.
Police and the Cumberland fire personnel pulled the body from the river at 5 p.m. It was taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/05/30/body_pulled_from_blackstone_river/
Two teens walk out of woods
May 30, 2005
LOW AND BURBANK'S GRANT, N.H. -- Two 17-year-old boys disoriented by a rainstorm atop Mount Madison were helped out of the White Mountain National Forest after spending the night in the wilderness.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/30/two_teens_walk_out_of_woods/
Push on to clarify rights for detainees
Specter wants hearing to establish legal order
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff May 31, 2005
WASHINGTON -- A key Republican senator plans to push Congress to take on the issue of rights and treatment of enemy combatants captured and held indefinitely in the war on terrorism, a step that could bring greater legal order to scores of challenges and accusations surrounding the inmates at the Guantanamo Bay military prison and beyond.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/05/31/push_on_to_clarify_rights_for_detainees/
Uzbek opposition activists detained in new crackdown
By Aziz Nuritov, Associated Press Writer May 30, 2005
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Uzbek police are rounding up activists in a new crackdown on dissent, opposition leaders said Monday, and three Republican U.S. senators, including John Sununu of New Hampshire, repeated demands for an inquiry into this month's violent uprising.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/05/30/uzbek_opposition_activists_detained_in_new_crackdown/
Paris Hilton engaged to Paris - People
May 30, 2005
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ubiquitous socialite Paris Hilton is engaged to marry her boyfriend of five months, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, People magazine reported on its Web site on Monday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/05/31/paris_hilton_engaged_to_paris___people/
Canada troubled U.S. sent suspect to Syria
By Beth Duff-Brown, Associated Press Writer May 30, 2005
TORONTO -- Defense Minister Bill Graham testified Monday he was upset Washington did not consult Canada's leaders before deporting a Canadian citizen to Syria for questioning on suspicious of terrorism.
Mahar Arar, who was arrested by U.S. authorities and deported to Syria, takes part in an inquiryl related to his arrest in Ottawa on Monday May 30, 2005. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham testified Monday that he was upset that Washington did not consult Ottawa before deporting Arar, Canadian citizen to Syria for questioning on suspicious of terrorism. Arar maintains that, once imprisoned in Damascus, he was tortured into making false confessions of terrorist activity. (AP Photo/CP, Fred Chartrand)
http://www.boston.com/news/world/canada/articles/2005/05/30/canada_troubled_us_sent_suspect_to_syria/
Canadian ceremony honors U.S. 1812 dead
May 30, 2005
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- The lives of nearly 200 American soldiers who died while prisoners of the British during the War of 1812 were remembered Monday at the site where many of them lie in shallow, unmarked graves.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/canada/articles/2005/05/30/canadian_ceremony_honors_us_1812_dead/
Japan pulls diplomats from Philippines
By Oliver Teves, Associated Press Writer May 30, 2005
GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines -- Japanese diplomats left the southern Philippines on Monday after four days of unsuccessfully trying to verify reports that two former soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army had survived in the mountains since World War II.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/05/30/japan_pulls_diplomats_from_philippines/
Civilian casualties of Iraq war noted
Musicians mark Memorial Day
By Associated Press May 31, 2005
On a day when Americans honor the sacrifices made by soldiers, dozens of musicians gathered on Boston's City Hall Plaza for a Memorial Day tribute to civilians killed in Iraq.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/31/civilian_casualties_of_iraq_war_noted/
New spin on rugby
Quadriplegic athletes take sport to the extreme with wheelchair version
By Stan Grossfeld, Globe Staff May 31, 2005
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- James DuBose, 33, became a quadriplegic in 1992 when a deer cut in front of his pickup truck and he was thrown from the vehicle. But that hasn't stopped him from being an athlete.
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/05/31/new_spin_on_rugby/
Romney's focus on China fuels political guessing
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff May 31, 2005
Governor Mitt Romney recently told a congressional panel that China's economic growth is ''one of the great developments of our time." He warned a crowd of Michigan Republicans in March that ''our government has to get serious about the Chinese." And he tapped the governor of Utah, who speaks Mandarin Chinese, to write a report on China for him.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/05/31/romneys_focus_on_china_fuels_political_guessing/
Apology in L.A. shooting rare from police
By Jeremiah Marquez, Associated Press Writer May 31, 2005
COMPTON, Calif. -- Residents in this community were still fixing shattered windows and bullet-pocked walls when a lawyer issued an apology from sheriff's deputies who fired 120 rounds at an unarmed driver in a Compton neighborhood.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/05/31/apology_in_la_shooting_rare_from_police/
Alcoholism
State Increases Funding For Gambling Problems
(Albany, NY) AP 05/30/05 -- State efforts to help problem gamblers have been consolidated this year in the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services with an increased budget.
Previously shared with state office of Mental Health, program funding rose from $2.3 million last year to $3.3 million for the 2005-2006 fiscal year that began in April.
http://www.wokr13.tv/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=B8C2A00E-C82A-4F60-A40D-DD4CD1F41C75
Stone Arrested on Drunk Driving and Drugs Charges
By WENN
............................................
Controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone has been arrested for drunk driving and possession of drugs in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Oscar-winning director was stopped at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard on Friday night, where cops allegedly found unspecified illegal substances during a search of his Mercedes car.
Stone, 58, was released on $15,000 bail on Saturday morning.
The legendary director, whose movies include Platoon, J.F.K. and Natural Born Killers, underwent a rehabilitation program in 1999 after admitting similar offences.
http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/article/2440960
Milwaukee girl killed by suspected drunk driver
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - A suspected drunken driver struck and killed a 5-year-old girl as she waited for a bus with her aunt, police said.
Ameria Sandidge was killed at 4 p.m. Sunday about a block from her home, police said. The car drove into oncoming traffic, hit a pole and then struck the girl.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/11772090.htm
Elderly Sisters Victims of Drunk Driving Crash
Meredith Ter Haar
Created: 5/30/2005 12:53:23 PM
Updated: 5/30/2005 5:13:42 PM
Lake County- Two elderly Baldwin sisters are dead after an accident in Lake County.
Police say three Grand Rapids nineteen-year-olds face charges in connection with the accident that involved alcohol.
It happened yesterday morning on M-37 and 72nd Street just south of Baldwin.
Police say the victim's car was rear-ended... pushing it into the Pere Marquette River.
Seventy-year-old Bernice Huzel died on the scene, her 82-year-old sister Virginia Mc Caughey later died from her injuries.
The women were headed to Kentwood for their great-nephew's graduation party.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=40411
Drunk Driving Blamed For Collision
LTVNEWS Staff
LTVNews.com
Monday, May 30 2005, 7:07AM
65-year old Laurier Pelletier (male) of 4161 Second Line West was arrested on May 29th and charged with one count of impaired driving and one count of fail to provide a breath sample in relation to a motor vehicle collision that occurred on Wellington St. West at Patrick Street.
It is alleged that on May 29th around 8 pm the accused was behind the wheel of a car parked on Wellington Street West at Patrick Street. A car operated by Colleen Poll of 105 Hood Street pulled up behind the Pelletier vehicle. It is alleged that Mr. Pelletier than began to reverse, striking the Poll vehicle and left the
http://www.ltvnews.com/viewarticle.php?id=1574
Police Stepping Up Patrols
Burlington, Vermont - May 29, 2005
A tip for drivers this Memorial Day.
Law enforcement officials in Vermont say they will be out in full force. They will be cracking down on speeding, and checking for drunk drivers and people not wearing seat belts.
Meanwhile, in observance of Memorial Day many federal, state and local government offices will be closed.
There will be no postal service today either.
Also, CCTA buses will not be running.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=3407798&nav=4QcSaRf9
The New Zealand Herald
French saboteurs appeal to stop TV showing trial video
31.05.05
By Derek Cheng
The two French agents jailed over the Rainbow Warrior bombing 20 years ago have appealed against a High Court decision to allow TVNZ to show footage of their trial.
The ruling last week allowed the network to screen court footage never before seen of Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, who were convicted of wilful damage and the manslaughter of Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira in 1985.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128352
Winter arrives right on cue with snowstorms
31.05.05
By Anne Beston
The weather took a vicious turn yesterday, with snow, thunderstorms and plummeting temperatures gripping parts of the country a day before winter's official kick-off.
But forecasters were offering Queen's Birthday holidaymakers a ray of hope that conditions would ease by Sunday in the North Island at least.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128346
Warriors hooker contrite after nightclub arrest
Lance Hohaia
31.05.05
Warriors hooker Lance Hohaia was arrested for disorderly behaviour outside an Auckland nightclub in the early hours of yesterday.
The rugby league club would not reveal details of the incident that led to the arrest.
Warriors chief executive Mick Watson said Hohaia, 22, would be fined $5000 and miss the team's next match, against St George Illawarra on Saturday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128353
NZ team abandon Everest attempt
31.05.05
By Anne Beston
In one of the worst seasons in recent times, a New Zealand expedition has abandoned its attempt on Mt Everest but yesterday other teams had pushed on to the top.
Around three dozen climbers successfully made it to Everest's 8848m summit from the south (Nepal) side yesterday morning NZT. Other climbers were leaving or were preparing to do so, frustrated by vicious winds that have hampered attempts during a season that officially ends today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128342
Bali nine investigation almost finished
01.06.05
DENPASAR, Bali - Indonesian police plan to make nine Australians accused of smuggling heroin re-enact the final hours before their arrest in Bali last month.
The suspects will be taken from their jail cells and made to retrace the steps they took in in the final hours before their arrests on April 17.
Bali police said the re-enactment was a final part of their investigation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328430
$44.7m profit for EDS
01.06.05 6.40am
EDS, New Zealand's biggest IT services provider, has posted a profit of $44.7 million, up from a loss of $79.2 million a year earlier.
Revenue on the year increased 25.6 per cent to $411.7 million, as money started to flow in from a seven-year outsourcing deal signed with Fonterra.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10328436
Heads roll after blow to Chirac
01.06.05
By John Lichfield
French President Jacques Chirac named loyalist Dominique de Villepin as his new Prime Minister last night in a shake-up of the Government after his crushing defeat over the European Union's constitution.
Villepin replaces Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who was made a scapegoat for Sunday's referendum defeat.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328379
Dashing new PM led fight against Iraq war
01.06.05
The silver-haired and elegant Dominique de Villepin, the new Prime Minister of France, was the face of French opposition to the Iraq war.
The career diplomat, intellectual, poet and author, was last night named to the post by French President Jacques Chirac in a shake-up of the Government after the crushing defeat over the EU constitution.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328411
Schapelle 'bearing up well' in prison
01.06.05
DENPASAR, Bali - Schapelle Corby is "bearing up really well" as she starts her 20-year jail term for drug smuggling, according to Australian officials who visited her today.
At her request, Corby's family and legal team stayed away from Bali's Kerobokan prison today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328375
Ban on grazing 'killing' The Man from Snowy River
01.06.05
By Nick Squires
They are the inheritors of a 170-year-old tradition that has been celebrated in poetry and film, but the cattlemen of the Snowy Mountains fear their distinctive way of life is heading for extinction.
Renowned for their horsemanship, the cattlemen have grazed their herds in the rugged hills and valleys of Victoria's high country since it was settled by British convicts and colonists in the 1830s.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328367
Indonesia to vaccinate 6.4m children for polio
01.06.05
JAKARTA - Mothers carrying babies and dragging toddlers by the hand flocked to clinics yesterday as Indonesia launched a massive polio vaccination drive to halt an outbreak of the disease that has crippled 16 children.
Officials want to immunise 6.4 million children across the provinces of West Java and Banten, as well as Jakarta, during the free but compulsory campaign for children under 5.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328370
Sudan arrests aid agency head for report on rapes
31.05.05 2.05pm
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM - Sudan has arrested the local head of an international aid agency over a report into hundreds of rapes in Darfur.
It is the first such action against a top relief worker since a rebellion in the area began in 2003.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10228363
Indonesia dampens hopes of prison transfer for Corby
31.05.05 3.10pm
CANBERRA - A prisoner transfer agreement between Australia and Indonesia is far from a certainty, a senior Indonesian official says.
Australia will send a team of negotiators to Indonesia next week to thrash out a deal which could allow Schapelle Corby to serve part of her sentence on home soil.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10228366
Drought help for Australian farmers
31.05.05
CANBERRA - Australia’s farmers, battling the worst drought in a century, received an extra A$250 million ($269.71 million) in government support on Monday as residents in the nation’s biggest city braced for tougher water restrictions.
After three years of low rainfall in some of the nation’s farming districts, Prime Minister John Howard announced increased interest-rate subsidies and extra income support to stop farmers walking away from their properties.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10128331
concluding...
Iraqi Air Force aircraft crashes in eastern Iraq
May 30, 2005
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi Air Force aircraft crashed northeast of Baghdad close to the Iranian border on Monday with four U.S. military personnel and an Iraqi on board, the U.S. military said in a statement.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/05/30/iraqi_air_force_aircraft_crashes_in_eastern_iraq/
A Cuban conundrum
May 30, 2005
THE CASE of Luis Posada Carriles, the anti-Castro Cuban terrorist who was on the CIA payroll, has become a dramatic test of President Bush's credibility as leader of a war on terrorism. If he allows Posada to avoid answering in a court of law for his terrorist acts -- acts about which Posada has boasted openly -- Bush will not only discredit his own public stance against terrorism; he will make US efforts to enlist others in antiterrorist actions appear selective and hypocritical.
,,, Posada has been implicated by CIA and FBI documents in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. He took credit in an interview with The New York Times for a fatal bomb attack at tourist sites in Havana in 1997. These were crimes equal in cruelty, if not scale, to the crimes of Al Qaeda.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/05/30/a_terror_conundrum/
A foreign STD sets off worry in Hub
May signal return of risky sex habits
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff May 30, 2005
A sexually transmitted disease rarely seen in recent decades in the United States has reemerged in Boston and other American cities in the past six months, fostering fears that it could herald a new wave of infections of an even more dangerous disease, AIDS.
The return of lymphogranuloma venereum, known as LGV, to North America also illustrates the increasing globalization of infectious diseases in an era of rapid air transit and frequent travel for work and pleasure, disease specialists said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/30/a_foreign_std_sets_off_worry_in_hub/
Body pulled from Blackstone River
May 30, 2005
WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- Kayakers discovered a dead body floating in the Blackstone River behind Woonsocket's wastewater treatment facility on Monday, police said.
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The body is that of a white man, and was found tangled in logs and sticks, said Woonsocket police Capt. Luke Gallant. Police said his identity and the cause of death would be announced Tuesday.
Police and the Cumberland fire personnel pulled the body from the river at 5 p.m. It was taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/05/30/body_pulled_from_blackstone_river/
Two teens walk out of woods
May 30, 2005
LOW AND BURBANK'S GRANT, N.H. -- Two 17-year-old boys disoriented by a rainstorm atop Mount Madison were helped out of the White Mountain National Forest after spending the night in the wilderness.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/30/two_teens_walk_out_of_woods/
Push on to clarify rights for detainees
Specter wants hearing to establish legal order
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff May 31, 2005
WASHINGTON -- A key Republican senator plans to push Congress to take on the issue of rights and treatment of enemy combatants captured and held indefinitely in the war on terrorism, a step that could bring greater legal order to scores of challenges and accusations surrounding the inmates at the Guantanamo Bay military prison and beyond.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/05/31/push_on_to_clarify_rights_for_detainees/
Uzbek opposition activists detained in new crackdown
By Aziz Nuritov, Associated Press Writer May 30, 2005
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Uzbek police are rounding up activists in a new crackdown on dissent, opposition leaders said Monday, and three Republican U.S. senators, including John Sununu of New Hampshire, repeated demands for an inquiry into this month's violent uprising.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/05/30/uzbek_opposition_activists_detained_in_new_crackdown/
Paris Hilton engaged to Paris - People
May 30, 2005
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ubiquitous socialite Paris Hilton is engaged to marry her boyfriend of five months, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, People magazine reported on its Web site on Monday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/05/31/paris_hilton_engaged_to_paris___people/
Canada troubled U.S. sent suspect to Syria
By Beth Duff-Brown, Associated Press Writer May 30, 2005
TORONTO -- Defense Minister Bill Graham testified Monday he was upset Washington did not consult Canada's leaders before deporting a Canadian citizen to Syria for questioning on suspicious of terrorism.
Mahar Arar, who was arrested by U.S. authorities and deported to Syria, takes part in an inquiryl related to his arrest in Ottawa on Monday May 30, 2005. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham testified Monday that he was upset that Washington did not consult Ottawa before deporting Arar, Canadian citizen to Syria for questioning on suspicious of terrorism. Arar maintains that, once imprisoned in Damascus, he was tortured into making false confessions of terrorist activity. (AP Photo/CP, Fred Chartrand)
http://www.boston.com/news/world/canada/articles/2005/05/30/canada_troubled_us_sent_suspect_to_syria/
Canadian ceremony honors U.S. 1812 dead
May 30, 2005
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- The lives of nearly 200 American soldiers who died while prisoners of the British during the War of 1812 were remembered Monday at the site where many of them lie in shallow, unmarked graves.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/canada/articles/2005/05/30/canadian_ceremony_honors_us_1812_dead/
Japan pulls diplomats from Philippines
By Oliver Teves, Associated Press Writer May 30, 2005
GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines -- Japanese diplomats left the southern Philippines on Monday after four days of unsuccessfully trying to verify reports that two former soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army had survived in the mountains since World War II.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/05/30/japan_pulls_diplomats_from_philippines/
Civilian casualties of Iraq war noted
Musicians mark Memorial Day
By Associated Press May 31, 2005
On a day when Americans honor the sacrifices made by soldiers, dozens of musicians gathered on Boston's City Hall Plaza for a Memorial Day tribute to civilians killed in Iraq.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/31/civilian_casualties_of_iraq_war_noted/
New spin on rugby
Quadriplegic athletes take sport to the extreme with wheelchair version
By Stan Grossfeld, Globe Staff May 31, 2005
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- James DuBose, 33, became a quadriplegic in 1992 when a deer cut in front of his pickup truck and he was thrown from the vehicle. But that hasn't stopped him from being an athlete.
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/05/31/new_spin_on_rugby/
Romney's focus on China fuels political guessing
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff May 31, 2005
Governor Mitt Romney recently told a congressional panel that China's economic growth is ''one of the great developments of our time." He warned a crowd of Michigan Republicans in March that ''our government has to get serious about the Chinese." And he tapped the governor of Utah, who speaks Mandarin Chinese, to write a report on China for him.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/05/31/romneys_focus_on_china_fuels_political_guessing/
Apology in L.A. shooting rare from police
By Jeremiah Marquez, Associated Press Writer May 31, 2005
COMPTON, Calif. -- Residents in this community were still fixing shattered windows and bullet-pocked walls when a lawyer issued an apology from sheriff's deputies who fired 120 rounds at an unarmed driver in a Compton neighborhood.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/05/31/apology_in_la_shooting_rare_from_police/
Alcoholism
State Increases Funding For Gambling Problems
(Albany, NY) AP 05/30/05 -- State efforts to help problem gamblers have been consolidated this year in the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services with an increased budget.
Previously shared with state office of Mental Health, program funding rose from $2.3 million last year to $3.3 million for the 2005-2006 fiscal year that began in April.
http://www.wokr13.tv/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=B8C2A00E-C82A-4F60-A40D-DD4CD1F41C75
Stone Arrested on Drunk Driving and Drugs Charges
By WENN
............................................
Controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone has been arrested for drunk driving and possession of drugs in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Oscar-winning director was stopped at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard on Friday night, where cops allegedly found unspecified illegal substances during a search of his Mercedes car.
Stone, 58, was released on $15,000 bail on Saturday morning.
The legendary director, whose movies include Platoon, J.F.K. and Natural Born Killers, underwent a rehabilitation program in 1999 after admitting similar offences.
http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/article/2440960
Milwaukee girl killed by suspected drunk driver
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - A suspected drunken driver struck and killed a 5-year-old girl as she waited for a bus with her aunt, police said.
Ameria Sandidge was killed at 4 p.m. Sunday about a block from her home, police said. The car drove into oncoming traffic, hit a pole and then struck the girl.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/11772090.htm
Elderly Sisters Victims of Drunk Driving Crash
Meredith Ter Haar
Created: 5/30/2005 12:53:23 PM
Updated: 5/30/2005 5:13:42 PM
Lake County- Two elderly Baldwin sisters are dead after an accident in Lake County.
Police say three Grand Rapids nineteen-year-olds face charges in connection with the accident that involved alcohol.
It happened yesterday morning on M-37 and 72nd Street just south of Baldwin.
Police say the victim's car was rear-ended... pushing it into the Pere Marquette River.
Seventy-year-old Bernice Huzel died on the scene, her 82-year-old sister Virginia Mc Caughey later died from her injuries.
The women were headed to Kentwood for their great-nephew's graduation party.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=40411
Drunk Driving Blamed For Collision
LTVNEWS Staff
LTVNews.com
Monday, May 30 2005, 7:07AM
65-year old Laurier Pelletier (male) of 4161 Second Line West was arrested on May 29th and charged with one count of impaired driving and one count of fail to provide a breath sample in relation to a motor vehicle collision that occurred on Wellington St. West at Patrick Street.
It is alleged that on May 29th around 8 pm the accused was behind the wheel of a car parked on Wellington Street West at Patrick Street. A car operated by Colleen Poll of 105 Hood Street pulled up behind the Pelletier vehicle. It is alleged that Mr. Pelletier than began to reverse, striking the Poll vehicle and left the
http://www.ltvnews.com/viewarticle.php?id=1574
Police Stepping Up Patrols
Burlington, Vermont - May 29, 2005
A tip for drivers this Memorial Day.
Law enforcement officials in Vermont say they will be out in full force. They will be cracking down on speeding, and checking for drunk drivers and people not wearing seat belts.
Meanwhile, in observance of Memorial Day many federal, state and local government offices will be closed.
There will be no postal service today either.
Also, CCTA buses will not be running.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=3407798&nav=4QcSaRf9
The New Zealand Herald
French saboteurs appeal to stop TV showing trial video
31.05.05
By Derek Cheng
The two French agents jailed over the Rainbow Warrior bombing 20 years ago have appealed against a High Court decision to allow TVNZ to show footage of their trial.
The ruling last week allowed the network to screen court footage never before seen of Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, who were convicted of wilful damage and the manslaughter of Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira in 1985.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128352
Winter arrives right on cue with snowstorms
31.05.05
By Anne Beston
The weather took a vicious turn yesterday, with snow, thunderstorms and plummeting temperatures gripping parts of the country a day before winter's official kick-off.
But forecasters were offering Queen's Birthday holidaymakers a ray of hope that conditions would ease by Sunday in the North Island at least.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128346
Warriors hooker contrite after nightclub arrest
Lance Hohaia
31.05.05
Warriors hooker Lance Hohaia was arrested for disorderly behaviour outside an Auckland nightclub in the early hours of yesterday.
The rugby league club would not reveal details of the incident that led to the arrest.
Warriors chief executive Mick Watson said Hohaia, 22, would be fined $5000 and miss the team's next match, against St George Illawarra on Saturday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128353
NZ team abandon Everest attempt
31.05.05
By Anne Beston
In one of the worst seasons in recent times, a New Zealand expedition has abandoned its attempt on Mt Everest but yesterday other teams had pushed on to the top.
Around three dozen climbers successfully made it to Everest's 8848m summit from the south (Nepal) side yesterday morning NZT. Other climbers were leaving or were preparing to do so, frustrated by vicious winds that have hampered attempts during a season that officially ends today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10128342
Bali nine investigation almost finished
01.06.05
DENPASAR, Bali - Indonesian police plan to make nine Australians accused of smuggling heroin re-enact the final hours before their arrest in Bali last month.
The suspects will be taken from their jail cells and made to retrace the steps they took in in the final hours before their arrests on April 17.
Bali police said the re-enactment was a final part of their investigation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328430
$44.7m profit for EDS
01.06.05 6.40am
EDS, New Zealand's biggest IT services provider, has posted a profit of $44.7 million, up from a loss of $79.2 million a year earlier.
Revenue on the year increased 25.6 per cent to $411.7 million, as money started to flow in from a seven-year outsourcing deal signed with Fonterra.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10328436
Heads roll after blow to Chirac
01.06.05
By John Lichfield
French President Jacques Chirac named loyalist Dominique de Villepin as his new Prime Minister last night in a shake-up of the Government after his crushing defeat over the European Union's constitution.
Villepin replaces Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who was made a scapegoat for Sunday's referendum defeat.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328379
Dashing new PM led fight against Iraq war
01.06.05
The silver-haired and elegant Dominique de Villepin, the new Prime Minister of France, was the face of French opposition to the Iraq war.
The career diplomat, intellectual, poet and author, was last night named to the post by French President Jacques Chirac in a shake-up of the Government after the crushing defeat over the EU constitution.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328411
Schapelle 'bearing up well' in prison
01.06.05
DENPASAR, Bali - Schapelle Corby is "bearing up really well" as she starts her 20-year jail term for drug smuggling, according to Australian officials who visited her today.
At her request, Corby's family and legal team stayed away from Bali's Kerobokan prison today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328375
Ban on grazing 'killing' The Man from Snowy River
01.06.05
By Nick Squires
They are the inheritors of a 170-year-old tradition that has been celebrated in poetry and film, but the cattlemen of the Snowy Mountains fear their distinctive way of life is heading for extinction.
Renowned for their horsemanship, the cattlemen have grazed their herds in the rugged hills and valleys of Victoria's high country since it was settled by British convicts and colonists in the 1830s.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328367
Indonesia to vaccinate 6.4m children for polio
01.06.05
JAKARTA - Mothers carrying babies and dragging toddlers by the hand flocked to clinics yesterday as Indonesia launched a massive polio vaccination drive to halt an outbreak of the disease that has crippled 16 children.
Officials want to immunise 6.4 million children across the provinces of West Java and Banten, as well as Jakarta, during the free but compulsory campaign for children under 5.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10328370
Sudan arrests aid agency head for report on rapes
31.05.05 2.05pm
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM - Sudan has arrested the local head of an international aid agency over a report into hundreds of rapes in Darfur.
It is the first such action against a top relief worker since a rebellion in the area began in 2003.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10228363
Indonesia dampens hopes of prison transfer for Corby
31.05.05 3.10pm
CANBERRA - A prisoner transfer agreement between Australia and Indonesia is far from a certainty, a senior Indonesian official says.
Australia will send a team of negotiators to Indonesia next week to thrash out a deal which could allow Schapelle Corby to serve part of her sentence on home soil.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10228366
Drought help for Australian farmers
31.05.05
CANBERRA - Australia’s farmers, battling the worst drought in a century, received an extra A$250 million ($269.71 million) in government support on Monday as residents in the nation’s biggest city braced for tougher water restrictions.
After three years of low rainfall in some of the nation’s farming districts, Prime Minister John Howard announced increased interest-rate subsidies and extra income support to stop farmers walking away from their properties.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10128331
concluding...
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