Somehow snowmobiles and Yellowstone National Park don't go together. Snow coaches are more efficient and far more safe. There is no reason for people to get this close to wildlife.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Alternative Fuels NOW !!!!
Alternative Energies !!!
U.S. Farmers May Plant Less Corn, Soybeans as Energy Costs Soar
Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Byron Jones, a farmer near Saybrook, Illinois, said he probably will plant less corn next year because the expense of buying fertilizer for crops and fuel for tractors has risen along with energy prices.
``We're all caught on the same treadmill of increasing costs,'' said Jones, who has grown corn and soybeans on his farm about 150 miles (241 kilometers) south of Chicago since 1961.
The price of anhydrous ammonia, a nitrogen-based fertilizer made with natural gas, has climbed 20 percent from last year and 80 percent from two years ago. Natural gas has almost doubled in the past year and is near a record. Diesel fuel, used to run farm equipment, has climbed 71 percent in the past two years as crude oil has exceeded $70 a barrel in New York trading.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a.noz_4pKMrY&refer=news_index
Seed Money ; Obama Proposes Legislation to Promote Corn-Based Fuel
Justin Powell waited patiently at the Qik-n-EZ on Stevenson Drive to fill his 2004 Ford Ranger pickup with E-85.
The holdup was U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's press conference to announce legislation to provide a federal tax credit to build E-85 fueling stations across the country, and to offer consumers such as Powell a 35-cent-per-gallon tax credit on purchases of the ethanol- based fuel.
Statewide, there are 20 gas stations that offer E-85.
Justin Powell waited patiently at the Qik-n-EZ on Stevenson Drive to fill his 2004 Ford Ranger pickup with E-85.
The holdup was U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's press conference to announce legislation to provide a federal tax credit to build E-85 fueling stations across the country, and to offer consumers such as Powell a 35-cent-per-gallon tax credit on purchases of the ethanol- based fuel.
E-85 is a renewable fuel made from 85 percent corn-based ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Currently, there are about 180,000 gas stations in the United States, but only 400 or so sell E-85. In Springfield, there are five Qik-n-EZ stations offering E-85, as well as Qik-n-EZ outlets in Bloomington, Shelbyville, Lincoln and, soon, Pana.
Statewide, there are 20 gas stations that offer E-85.
"Obviously I'm interested in E-85 because of the price," said Powell, of Springfield, who could fill his tank for $1.69 a gallon compared to the gasoline price of $2.11. "But it's also cleaner. I bought this truck last summer, and I started using E-85 as soon as it was offered."
http://www.aiada.org/article.asp?id=38345
SOME CARS MAY RUN WELL ON CORN BASED FUELS
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Rising gas prices continue to drain drivers wallets. What if there was an alternative form of fuel available that costs less and did not require you to do anything to modify your vehicle?
Drivers around the country are being introduced to E85. It is an ethanol based fuel that could be the answer to the gas crisis. Nevada recently got its first E85 fueling site. Dave Dufort just found out that his minivan can run on ethanol.
About 10,000 cars in Las Vegas can already run on E85, a blend of grain alcohol and gasoline. The bad news for Dave is that he has already filled up with gas. Instead of paying $2.48 cents for gas, he could have only paid $1.99 for E85.
http://www.kfdx.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=9453
Springfield-based gas stations convert to ethanol
August 30, 2005
AGAWAM, Mass. --The owner of a Massachusetts-based gas station chain says he is converting his 16 retail stations to a 10 percent blend of corn-based ethanol, but not because it's cheaper than petroleum-based fuel.
"We aren't doing this because of prices, we are doing this for environmental reasons and because corn is a renewable source of energy," said Robert L. Bolduc, president of Springfield-based Pride, in making the announcement on Monday. "If all gasoline used a 10 percent ethanol blend, it would cut reliance on foreign oil by 10 percent."
He said ethanol is cheaper today, but may not be in the future. He noted that ethanol was 12 cents a gallon higher than refined gasoline prices about a year ago.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/08/30/springfield_based_gas_stations_convert_to_ethanol/
Marysville ethanol; "It's economical“
BY JIM BLOCH
VOICE REPORTER
In the middle of July, a research paper hit the front pages of local and national newspapers claiming that it takes more energy to make ethanol, a corn-based fuel added to gasoline, than ethanol creates.
In Marysville, where a $95 million ethanol plant has been proposed, capable of producing 50 million gallons of ethanol per year, the news was unsettling.
http://www.voicenews.com/stories/083105/loc_ethanol001.shtml
Purdue Plans Extensive Energy R&D Center
August 31, 2005
West Lafayette, Indiana [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Purdue's new Energy Center will focus on research to develop future power sources, including methods that use solar and nuclear energy, bioenergy, wind turbines, and clean-coal technology. The Energy Center will be located at Discovery Park, Purdue's interdisciplinary research hub.
"Current technologies for wind power are based on conventional propeller technology. We are working with the new physics of 'unsteady aerodynamic phenomena.'"
--Sanford Fleeter, professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue
More than 75 Purdue experts will concentrate on development of bio-fuels and clean coal research, and enhance the university's expertise in storage technologies involving hydrogen, batteries, power electronics and renewable energy such as solar cells.
http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=35997
BIODIESEL - THE ALTERNATE, VEGETABLE-BASED FUEL FOR DIESEL ENGINES
OVERVIEW
BIODIESEL:
Is created from soybean or other vegetable oil or from used cooking oil (there are more than 4 billion gallons of waste cooking oil produced annually in the U.S.; enough to replace 10% of fuel expenditures (Source: Greasecar.com)). It can be made from almost any plant-derived oil.
Creating biodiesel from plants that are not grown organically could potentially offset the environmental benefits of this new fuel source due to pollution from pesticides/herbicides/insecticides, soil loss, habitat destruction, and/or damage caused by growing genetically-engineered plants.
Reduces carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide (one of the main causes of acid rain), hydrocarbons, benzene, and particulate matter.
Increases nitrogen oxide levels (unless biodiesel is made from used cooking oil). The biodiesel industry is looking for additives that would reduce nitrogen oxide levels.
Smells like french fries or popcorn when burned.
Can safely be blended with petroleum diesel.
Can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine or the fuel system. On pre-1986 vehicles, it may be necessary to replace any rubber fuel hoses that are not made of modern synthetic materials. Before first time use, it is recommended (but not always necessary - depends on age of car) that the fuel tank be flushed to eliminate sediment and scum. The fuel filter should also be changed during initial use (frequency depends on age of car).
Results in a slight drop in fuel economy.
Currently costs between $2.00 and $3.00 a gallon retail in the U.S.
Can extend the life of diesel engines.
Is biodegradable.
Has been used extensively for over 20 years in Europe. France is the largest user in the world.
Is one of the fastest growing alternative fuels in the U.S.
Has been extensively tested by government agencies, university researchers and private industry in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Would create new jobs and increased income for farmers.
Provides a domestic, renewable energy supply.
Has been approved by the U.S. EPA as an alternative fuel.
Is safer to use than petroleum diesel - it has a flash point of 300 F (vs. 125 F for diesel).
Can also be used as a fuel lubricity additive in diesel fuel.
Is being actively marketed by at least 27 U.S. companies.
http://www.globalstewards.org/biodiesel.htm
US firm markets additive for home-made bio-diesel
17th August 2005
Diesel Secret Energy, LLC (DSE) says it has developed a simple method for creating an alternative diesel fuel from vegetable oil that requires no engine conversion or the use of harsh chemicals associated with making bio-diesel. The cost per gallon to users of the non-EPA approved fuel, assuming free supply of vegetable oil, is quoted at 46 cents per US gallon.
From www.dieselsecret.com/ for $39.95, a buyer receives a manual and video describing how the user can make their own homemade "fuel station" in a few hours plus a bottle of DSE’s additive. The resulting fuel is claimed to be cheaper and safer than making bio-diesel or any other alternative, and emissions on vehicles using this fuel are claimed to “far exceed those using petroleum diesel” – by which DSE can be taken to mean the opposite.
http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/industry_news/17-08-05
In Minnesota soybean country, biodiesel is the next big thing
By BRIAN BAKST Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Tuesday, August 30, 2005
ST. PAUL
As the fall harvest nears, farmer Bob Worth's outlook couldn't be much brighter.
Well-timed rain and abundant heat made for his best soybean crop in years. And this week, state agriculture officials began a 30-day countdown to a first-in-the-nation biodiesel requirement that should drive up demand and prices for his soybeans.
"We've been waiting a long time," said Worth, who has a 3,000-acre farm in Lake Benton and serves as president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. "This is going to be a fantastic day."
http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D8CAD8503
August 31, 2005. Paris, France. Caption :: In this photo released by the Paris Firefighters Brigade, firefighters extinguish a fire in a Paris building early Tuesday Aug. 30, 2005 The fire tore through a rundown Paris apartment building where African immigrants lived, killing seven people including a six-year-old child, firefighters said Tuesday. The latest fire comes just days after a deadly blaze killed 17 Africans in the French capital.
August 31, 2005. Taiwan and Typhoon Talim. Caption :: A Taiwanese man is dwarfed by huge waves driven by approaching typhoon Talim as they crash against the coastline Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005 outside the port city of Keelung, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Taipei, Taiwan. Typhoon Talim had sustained winds of 184 kph (114 mph) at mid afternoon and was located in the Pacific Ocean about 260 kilometers (163 miles) southeast of the coastal city of Hualien. Forecasters expected it to hit land Thursday morning. Typhoons frequently hit Taiwan between June and September, triggering deadly flash floods and landslides on the mountainous and crowded island.
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History
1800 Jack Bowler and Coachman Gabriel Prosser's plans for a slave
revolt in Richmond, Virginia, are betrayed by a pair of house
slaves attempting to save their master. Prosser's plan, which
involved over 1,100 slaves, would have resulted in the death
of all slave-owning whites, but would have spared Quakers,
Frenchmen, elderly women, and children.
1838 The first African American magazine "Mirror of Freedom", begins
publication in New York City by abolitionist David Ruggles.
1843 The Liberty Party has the first African American participation
in a national political convention. Samuel R. Ward leads the
convention in prayer -- Henry Highland Garnet, a twenty-seven-
year-old Presbyterian pastor who calls for a slave revolt and
a general slave strike. Amos G. Beman of New Haven, Connecticut
is elected president of the convention.
1856 Wilberforce University is established in Xenia, Ohio under the
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1863, the
university was transferred to the African Methodist Episcopal
(AME) Church.
1861 General John C. Fremont issues an order confiscating the property
of Confederates and emancipating their slaves. The order causes
wide-spread protest and is revoked by President Lincoln.
1881 1st US tennis championships (Newport, RI)
1886 1st major earthquake recorded in eastern US, at Charleston, SC
1887 Thomas A Edison patents Kinetoscope, (produces moving pictures)
1892 S. R. Scottron patents a curtain rod.
1895 1st pro football game (QB John Brallier paid $10 & won 12-0)
1901 Roy Wilkins is born in St. Louis, Missouri. He will become a civil
rights leader, assistant executive secretary of the NAACP under
Walter White and editor of the Crisis Magazine for 15 years. He
will become Executive Secretary of the NAACP in 1955, a post he
will hold for 22 years. During his tenure, he will be a champion
of civil rights committed to using constitutional arguments to help
obtain full citizenship rights for all African Americans.
1902 Split skirt 1st worn by Mrs Adolph Landeburg (horse rider)
1903 Joe McGinnity wins his 3rd doubleheader of the month
1907 England, Russia & France form the Triple Entente
1919 Communist Labor Party of America formed in Chicago
1919 Petlyura's Ukranian Army kills 35 members of a Jewish defense group
1931 Carrie Saxon Perry is born in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1987, she
will be elected mayor of Hartford, becoming the first African
American mayor of a major eastern United States city.
1935 FDR signs an act prohibiting export of US arms to belligerents
1953 Robert Parish is born. He will become a professional basketball
player and will star as a center for the Boston Celtics.
1954 Census Bureau established
1955 1st microwave TV station operated (Lufkin, Tx)
1955 1st sun-powered automobile demonstrated, Chicago, Ill
1956 A white mob prevents the enrollment of blacks at Mansfield High
School in Texas.
1960 Agricultural Hall of Fame established
1961 James Benton Parsons is confirmed as the first African American
judge of a United States District Court in the continental United
States (Northern Illinois). He had been appointed by President
John F. Kennedy on April 18, 1961.
1965 House of Reps joins Senate establish Dept of Housing & Urban Develop
1967 Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American justice
on the U.S. Supreme Court. He had been appointed by President
Lyndon Johnson on June 13, 1967.
1968 Private Eye magazine reports a John Lennon & Yoko Ono album will have a picture of them nude on the cover
1969 25,000 attend New Orleans Pop Festival
1969 Racially motivated civil disturbances occur in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida.
1970 Lonnie McLucas, a Black Panther activist, convicted
1971 Dave Scott becomes 1st person to drive a car on the Moon
1972 Olga Korbut, USSR, wins olympic gold medal in gymnastics
1978 Symbionese Liberation Army founders William & Emily Harris plead guilty to 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst
1979 Comet Howard-Koomur-Michels collides with the Sun
1979 Donald McHenry named to succeed Andrew Young as UN ambassador
1980 Poland's Solidarity labor union founded
1983 Edwin Moses of USA sets the 400m hurdle record (47.02) in Koblenz
1983 Lt. Colonel Guion S. Bluford is the first African American in space
when he serves as a mission specialist on the Challenger space
shuttle. The space shuttle, launched from Kennedy Space Center in
Florida, stayed in orbit almost six days. This was the Challenger's
third flight into space.
1985 "Prakas" sets trotting mile record of 1:53.4 at Du Quoin, Ill
1985 Night Stalker suspect that terrorized S Calif captured in East LA
1987 Ben Johnson of Canada runs 100 meters in world record time of 9.83
seconds.
1987 Curtis Strange sets golf's earning for the year record ($697,385)
1988 5-day power blackout of downtown Seattle begins
1990 Ken Griffey & Ken Griffey, Jr. become the first father & son to play
on the same professional sports team (Seattle Mariners). Both
single in the first inning.
Missing in Action
1967 CAREY DAVID J. JEANNETTE PA 03/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 PERRY RICHARD C. CARLIN NV REMAINS RETURNED 11/26/86
1967 STAFFORD HUGH A. CAMBRIDGE MD 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1968 BARTOCCI JOHN E. NEW YORK NY
I Always Loved Horses as a Kid
Preakness Newcomers Facing Long Odds
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
Published May 19, 2005, 3:18 PM CDT
BALTIMORE -- If Giacomo didn't win the Kentucky Derby, Barry Rose would have stayed home this week instead of bringing Hal's Image to Pimlico. Giacomo came in as a 50-1 underdog, which led Rose to believe that his horse had as good a chance as anyone to win the Preakness -- even though Hal's Image has two wins in 16 career starts.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-ap-rac-preakness-new-contenders,1,3296822.story?coll=sns-ap-sports-headlines
What to look for in horses regarding West Nile Virus:
The Tribune
Signs and symptoms
Horses afflicted with West Nile virus experience muscle twitching, clumsiness, paralysis, loss of appetite and lethargy. They'll sometimes sit like a dog or not be able to stand up. The disease usually lasts for several weeks, but some symptoms can persist for longer. If left untreated, the disease can lead to convulsions, coma or death.
How to protect your horse
Call your veterinarian and ask to have your horse vaccinated against West Nile virus. Some trainers recommend using fly spray and sheets.
To find out more about West Nile Virus, see the California West Nile Virus Homepage at http://www.westnile.ca.gov.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/12508238.htm
16 New Cases of West Nile Virus in Horses
August 30th, 2005 @ 11:36am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Tests conducted have confirmed 16 new cases of West Nile virus in horses.
There are seven cases in Utah County, four in Salt Lake County, two in Weber County, one in Uintah County, one in Duchesne County and one in Washington County. This brings the total number of West Nile virus cases in horses this year in Utah to 24.
The virus is not transmissible from horses to humans.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has been advising horse owners to give their animals two vaccination shots for the past several weeks. Now, it's advisable to give a booster shot for added protection.
Utah now joins Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and Idaho as states reporting the virus in horses.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=100133
Saskatchewan horses find home in Chester
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
By BRYAN ROY
broy@repub.com
WILBRAHAM - Three days before a group of displaced horses was slated to be slaughtered thousands of miles from Western Massachusetts, Donna French took matters into her own hands.
French learned of the horses' fate in mid-January when a friend, Kristina Mitchell, was online and came across a Web site that identified four mares scheduled to be destroyed Jan. 20. The horses - about 2,100 miles away in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, one of Canada's western provinces - were posted on a PMU Adoption and Rescue Web site, devoted to finding owners for horses involved in the PMU mare industry's struggles.
http://www.masslive.com/metroeastplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1125388265303790.xml&coll=1
For the Love of Horses
8/30/2005 6:11 PM
By: Ivanhoe Newswire
Champ and Alyssa Hapgood
(EDMOND, Okla.) -- Love for a malnourished, mistreated horse inspires a young teenager to launch a love for science and save her four-legged friend.
Step-by-step, Champ is regaining his strength. Just a few months ago Alyssa Hapgood saved him from death. "He was really malnourished. And you can see his hip bones, and his ribs were all showing, but I was still really proud to own him because he was my baby," Hapgood said.
It is was her love for horses and science that helped to solve a big problem. "I needed to figure out what his weight was currently so I could feed him the proper amount to get him back to a healthy weight."
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=73900&SecID=2
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
The Tour is Underway
http://www.bringthemhomenowtour.org/
Support the Bus Tour
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/vetsforpeace/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=882
Offer Housing
http://bringthemhomenowtour.org//modinput4.php?modin=51
Sponsor a Tour Stop
http://bringthemhomenowtour.org//modinput4.php?modin=52
Bring Them Home Now Tour (Central Route), Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
Central Route: Dallas, Texas
3:00pm – Appointment at Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s office
7:30pm – Join us for a rally at North Haven United Methodist Church: 11211 Preston Road
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3924
Bring Them Home Now Tour (Northern Route), Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
Northern Route: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
5:00pm - Oklahoma City (Whistle Stop) to Wichita
6pm - Vigil/Rally, Capitol Steps: 2300 North Lincoln Blvd
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3925
Bring Them Home Now Tour (Southern Route), Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
Southern Route: Austin, Texas
5:30pm – Buses arrive at the State Capitol Building: 1100 Congress Ave, March to City Hall
6:00pm – Arrive at City Hall: 124 West 8th Street
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3926
Camp Casey goes to Washington
As America’s most famous antiwar activist takes her crusade on the road, supporters pack up their banners and rosary beads and promise Crawford will always remember "Sheehan’s stand."
By Rob Patterson / Salon
CRAWFORD, Texas -- On Cindy Sheehan's last Sunday in Crawford, Texas, the president finally came to Camp Casey II to meet and even pray with her. Not President Bush, which comes as no surprise, but TV President Jed Bartlet of "The West Wing," Martin Sheen.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3927
The Peaceful Occupation of Crawford (Day 25)
It Was the Oil, Stupid
-- a message from Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, TX
"If Zarqawi and bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks," Bush said. "They'd seize oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could recruit more terrorists by claiming a historic victory over the United States and our coalition."(George Bush, August 30, 2005 in San Diego.)
So it is official, Casey had his blood shed in Iraq for OIL. He died so we could pay over 3.00/gallon for gas. Like I suspected all along, my dear, sweet son: almost 1900 others; and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis died so the oil fields wouldn't "fall into the hands of terrorists" and so George and his immoral band of greedy robber barons could become wealthier. Like I have said all along: how can these people sleep at night and how can they choke down their food knowing it is purchased off of the flesh and blood of others? We have found our "Noble Cause." And it is OIL. This man and his handlers need to be stopped.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=485
The Peace Occupation of Crawford - Day One - Video
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/cindyonbus.mov
Slight Majority Say Bush Should Meet With Sheehan
By Richard Morin / Washington Post
Slightly more than half of the country says President Bush should meet with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed last year in Iraq, who is leading a protest against the war outside Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex., according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey found that 52 percent of the public says Bush should talk to Sheehan, who has repeatedly asked for a meeting with the president, while 46 percent said he should not. Fifty-three percent support what she is doing while 42 percent oppose her actions, according to the poll.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3914
Iraq war tests resolve of a patriotic U.S. soldier
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sergeant James Connolly volunteered for the U.S. army on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. He served a year in Iraq and took part in the operation that killed Saddam Hussein's sons in July 2003.
Now, facing a second lengthy deployment by the end of the year, Connolly wants out. He says he will do his duty to the best of his ability, but he feels he has fulfilled his commitment to the military and the nation and he does not believe the Iraq operation is worth dying for.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3933
Iraq war costs more per month than Vietnam - report
By Alan Elsner / Reuters
The U.S. war in Iraq now costs more per month than the average monthly cost of military operations in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
The report, entitled "The Iraq Quagmire" from the Institute for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy in Focus, both liberal, anti-war organizations, put the cost of current operations in Iraq at $5.6 billion per month. This breaks down to almost $186 million a day.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3932
Bush: U.S. Must Protect Iraq From Terror
By Jennifer Loven / Associated Press
CORONADO, Calif. - President Bush on Tuesday answered growing anti-war protests with a fresh reason for American troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields that he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.
Bush, standing against a backdrop of the imposing USS Ronald Reagan, the newest aircraft carrier in the Navy's fleet, said terrorists will be denied their goal.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3929
States Sue White House Over Forest Plan
By Terence Chea / Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- California, New Mexico and Oregon sued the Bush administration Tuesday over the government's decision to allow road building, logging and other commercial ventures on more than 90,000 square miles of untouched forests.
In the lawsuit, attorneys general for the three states challenged the U.S. Forest Service's repeal of the Clinton administration's "roadless rule" that banned development on 58.5 million acres of national forest, mostly in western states.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3930
New Rules Could Allow Power Plants to Pollute More
By Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post
The Bush administration has drafted regulations that would ease pollution controls on older, dirtier power plants and could allow those that modernize to emit more pollution, rather than less.
The language could undercut dozens of pending state and federal lawsuits aimed at forcing coal-fired plants to cut back emissions of harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, said lawyers who worked on the cases.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3931
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Waterfront marina on fire in Gig Harbor
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GIG HARBOR -- A downtown marina was engulfed in flame early Wednesday, spewing billowing black smoke as 50 boats burned to the waterline.
Gig Harbor Fire Department spokeswoman Penny Hulse said no injuries had been reported. One person living aboard a boat fled the covered marina, but his boat was charred, she said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/238766_marinafire31ww.html
Boeing's 'final offer' ridiculed
Union leadership says no; rank and file vote Thursday
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER AEROSPACE REPORTER
The Boeing Co. made its final contract offer Tuesday to its Machinists, but the union leadership quickly rejected it, setting the stage for a possible strike as soon as Friday.
The union has not struck Boeing since 1995. That walkout lasted 69 days
Machinists march past one of The Boeing Co.'s hangar doors during a rally Tuesday morning at the Everett plant. One worker in Everett said there is support for a walkout.
"We remain miles apart," Mark Blondin, president of District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Tuesday night after reviewing the company's final offer.
The union represents some 18,300 workers, about 16,500 of whom are in Boeing plants in the Puget Sound region. It also represents about 900 Boeing workers near Portland and about 900 at Boeing's military operations in Wichita, Kan.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/238697_boeunion31.html
FDA official quits over Plan B pill delay
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP MEDICAL WRITER
WASHINGTON -- A high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official resigned Wednesday in protest of the agency's refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception.
Susan Wood, director of FDA's Office of Women's Health, announced her resignation in an e-mail to colleagues at the agency. The e-mail was released by contraception advocates.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Morning%20After%20Pill
Census: Pay down, poverty up in King County
By PAUL NYHAN, CECILIA KANG AND CAROL SMITH
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
The local economy regained momentum last year, but those on the bottom didn't necessarily share in the benefits, as more people slipped into poverty and the region's median income fell.
In 2004, King County was among only a handful of large areas across the nation where pay dropped and poverty rates jumped, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual survey of income, poverty and health care coverage. At the same time, the ranks of the wealthy grew and the percentage of those in the middle shrank.
The census report outlined a Seattle-area economy that was out of step with the nation last year. Nationally, the poverty rate rose only slightly from 12.5 percent in 2003 to 12.7 percent in 2004, and real median household income was unchanged at $44,389.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/238741_countingpoor31.html
Tropical Storm Lee forms in Atlantic
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Lee formed Wednesday in the central Atlantic, but posed no threat to land, forecasters said.
At 5 p.m. EDT, Lee was about 900 miles east of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. On this track, the five-day forecast projected the storm would stay far from land.
The tropical storm had top sustained winds of 40 mph, just above the 39 mph threshold to be classified as a tropical storm.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Tropical%20Weather
Tamil Tiger rebels reject Sri Lanka talks
By SHIMALI SENANAYAKE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Tamil Tiger rebels on Wednesday rejected a government offer to hold crucial talks inside Sri Lanka, officials said, dealing a blow to efforts to revive the island's stalled peace process.
The rebels' rejection of the offer came a week after the government refused Norway as the venue for the talks to review an increasingly fragile truce, arguing the rebels would use a foreign location to promote their autonomy bid.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Sri%20Lanka%20Peace%20Talks
Typhoon passes through Mariana Islands
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAGATNA, Guam -- Typhoon Nabi passed through the Northern Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific, hitting the capital of Saipan with wind gusts up to 75 mph, forecasters said Wednesday.
Officials had opened emergency evacuation shelters on Saipan as a precaution. About 600 people found shelter in public schools, as crews worked to restore electrical power and water service to most of the island, officials said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Typhoon%20Nabi
Typhoon Talim approaches Taiwan
By STEPHAN GRAUWELS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
A Taiwanese man is dwarfed by huge waves driven by approaching typhoon Talim as they crash against the coastline Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005 outside the port city of Keelung, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Taipei, Taiwan. Typhoon Talim had sustained winds of 184 kph (114 mph) at mid afternoon and was located in the Pacific Ocean about 260 kilometers (163 miles) southeast of the coastal city of Hualien. Forecasters expected it to hit land Thursday morning. Typhoons frequently hit Taiwan between June and September, triggering deadly flash floods and landslides on the mountainous and crowded island. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
KEELUNG, Taiwan -- Typhoon Talim approached Taiwan late Wednesday, bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds, and expedited preparations to secure the island from extensive damage.
As of early evening, Talim was centered in the Pacific Ocean about 110 miles east of the Taiwanese port of Hualien, the Central Weather Bureau said, but Taipei, the capital, was already being buffeted by torrential showers and high velocity gusts.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Taiwan%20Typhoon
Indian PM seeks Kashmir peace talks
By RAJESH MAHAPATRA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW DELHI -- India's prime minister on Wednesday invited Kashmir's separatists for peace talks - a move that could boost efforts to end the decades-old dispute between India and Pakistan over the Himalayan region.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to hold talks Sept. 5 with the moderate faction of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said Sanjaya Baru, the prime minister's spokesman.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Kashmir
Two members of Congress lose homes
By JIM ABRAMS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- An oak tree may be the only remains of the home where Sen. Trent Lott raised his family and joined other political leaders for a rocking chair view of the sea.
Lott, R-Miss., learned from neighbors and relatives that the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina, rising as high as 30 feet, leveled his Pascagoula home along the Gulf coast of Mississippi near the Alabama border.
Lott's press secretary, Susan Irby, said Lott and his wife were driving to Pascagoula Wednesday to search for personal effects that may have survived the storm. "He's among the many who have losses and it has been a very emotional thing," she said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Katrina%20Congress
Description of Shiite ceremony in Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Shiite Muslim ceremony that pilgrims were marking Wednesday when the Baghdad bridge disaster occurred commemorates the death of the seventh imam, one of 12 imams revered in the Shiite branch of Islam.
That imam, Imam Moussa ibn Jaafar al-Kadhim, died in the year 799.
Each year, on the date on the Islamic calendar that marks his death, devout Shiites gather at the site of a mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah that is believed to sit atop his tomb.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20The%20Ceremony
Key events involving huge Shiite deaths
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some major events, primarily attacks by insurgents, in which large numbers of Shiite Muslims have been killed in Iraq:
- Aug. 31, 2005: Shiite worshippers stampede on Baghdad bridge during commemoration of a Shiite saint's death. More than 700 are killed.
- March 10, 2005: A suicide bomber blows himself up at a Shiite mosque during a funeral in Mosul, killing at least 47 people and wounding more than 100.
- Feb. 28, 2005: A suicide car bomber targets mostly Shiite police and National Guard recruits in Hillah, killing 125 and wounding more than 140. Some of the casualties are at a nearby market.
- Feb. 18, 2005: Two suicide bombers attack two mosques, leaving 28 people dead, while an explosion near a Shiite ceremony kills two other people.
- Dec. 19, 2004: Car bombs tear through a Najaf funeral procession and Karbala's main bus station, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 in the two Shiite holy cities.
- Aug. 26, 2004: A mortar barrage slams into a mosque filled with Iraqis preparing to march on Najaf, killing 27 people and wounding 63.
- March 2, 2004: Coordinated blasts from suicide bombers, mortars and planted explosives strike Shiite Muslim shrines in Karbala and Baghdad, killing at least 181 and wounding 573.
- Aug. 29, 2003: A car bomb explodes outside a mosque in Najaf, killing more than 85 people, including Shiite leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. Although officials never gave a final death toll, there were suspicions it may have been higher.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Shiite%20Deaths
Chirac orders urgent measures on housing
By NATHALIE SCHUCK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
In this photo released by the Paris Firefighters Brigade, firefighters extinguish a fire in a Paris building early Tuesday Aug. 30, 2005 The fire tore through a rundown Paris apartment building where African immigrants lived, killing seven people including a six-year-old child, firefighters said Tuesday. The latest fire comes just days after a deadly blaze killed 17 Africans in the French capital. (AP Photo/Julien Pichot/BSPP)
PARIS -- President Jacques Chirac said France must build more public housing and renovate crumbling apartment buildings, an urgent response to three fires that recently burned through run-down Paris lodgings and killed scores of African immigrants.
Police, meanwhile, were preparing to evacuate the capital's most dilapidated apartment buildings and havens for squatters this week.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=France%20Paris%20Fire
Report: Russian students await help in La.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW -- A group of about 30 Russian university students were on a New Orleans rooftop, awaiting help after being stranded in a building flooded by Hurricane Katrina, Russian media reported Wednesday.
"They have no cell phones, and the land line turns on only occasionally," Yelena Andreyeva, the mother of one of the students from the Ural Mountains region of Perm, told Rossiya state television.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Russia%20US%20Katrina%20Ready1
U.N. agency: Bird flu likely to spread
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Veterinary workers give a lethal injection to chickens at a small farm affected by bird flu in the Siberian village of Oktyabrskoye, some 170 km (106 miles) southeast of the Siberian town of Chelyabinsk, Russia in this Aug. 22, 2005 file photo as a police officer, right, looks on. The bird flu virus that has hit several Asian countries is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the U.N. food agency warned Wednesday, urging nations at risk to step up surveillance and prepare national emergency plans. In Russia, the outbreak has killed about 11,000 birds and prompted officials to slaughter 127,000 others to halt the virus' spread. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev/File)
ROME -- The bird flu virus that has hit several Asian countries is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the U.N. food agency warned on Wednesday, urging nations at risk to step up surveillance and prepare national emergency plans.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=UN%20Bird%20Flu
U.N. peacekeeper killed in Ivory Coast
By PAULINE BAX
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- A U.N. peacekeeper was killed Wednesday in a knife attack in a northern rebel stronghold of the war-divided country, the first violent death among the world body's troops in the West African nation, a U.N. official said.
Investigators are looking into the attack on the Moroccan soldier shortly after midnight in the city of Bouake, according to U.N. spokesman Capt. Renald Boismoreau.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Ivory%20Coast%20Peacekeeper%20Killed
S. Africa urged to rethink Zimbabwe ties
By CLARE NULLIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The Zimbabwean parliament's approval of constitutional restrictions on civil liberties has fueled calls here for President Thabo Mbeki to reconsider his policy of gentle diplomacy with his northern neighbor.
Despite mounting concerns that Zimbabwe could face an economic and social meltdown, the opposition Democratic Alliance has pushed for Mbeki to withdraw an offer to loan the country money to avoid expulsion from the International Monetary Fund for falling behind on loan payments.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=South%20Africa%20Zimbabwe
Survey tracks South Africa farm evictions
By CLARE NULLIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- More workers have been evicted from South African farms since the advent of multiracial democracy in 1994 than in the 10 years before that, according to a new survey presented to parliament Tuesday.
The survey said that 1.7 million people - nearly all uneducated blacks with little knowledge of their legal rights - had been thrown off farms where housing often came with jobs in the past 20 years: 737,114 people between 1984 and 1994; and 942,303 people in the subsequent decade.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=South%20Africa%20Evictions
Africans prefer European ghettos to home
By TODD PITMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
People react during a demonstration after a fire tore through a rundown Paris apartment building where African immigrants lived, killing seven people including three children, Tuesday Aug. 30, 2005. The latest fire comes just days after a deadly blaze killed 17 Africans in the French capital. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
DAKAR, Senegal -- Rundown buildings housing African immigrants in Paris have proven to be deadly fire traps. But from the vantage point of struggling Africans, they are appealing nevertheless - at least compared to the deep poverty and insecurity of home.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Africans%20Paris%20Fires
Bodyguards remove woman who nears Chavez
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, right, gestures while U.S. rev. Jesse Jackson prepares to start a news conference at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela -- A woman who rushed up on a stage to hand President Hugo Chavez a note was pulled away by bodyguards on Tuesday, and the Venezuelan leader urged supporters to remember there have been threats against his life.
The incident occurred while Chavez was addressing thousands of supporters in a Caracas convention center.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Venezuela%20Chavez
Families angry ahead of Beslan anniversary
By MIKE ECKEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BESLAN, Russia -- Anguished relatives of children killed in a school siege a year ago said Wednesday the government has failed to learn from the tragedy and they warned persistent corruption has left Russia vulnerable to similar attacks in the future.
"If this isn't corrected, there will be another terrorist attack like Beslan," said Susanna Dudiyeva, whose son was among more than 330 people killed. "We are fighting for the truth."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Russia%20Beslan%20Anniversary
Unsecured radioactive material discovered
By ROD MCGUIRK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SYDNEY, Australia -- Australian researchers have found large amounts of radioactive material in two Southeast Asian countries at unsecured sites such as abandoned warehouses, a senior nuclear scientist said Monday.
Australia is involved in an international effort to ensure radioactive material used in medicine and industry is stored securely and systems are set up to track it.
Ron Cameron, chief of operations at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, said researchers from the government-funded group have been scouring the region for material usually used in medicine that could be turned into a so-called dirty bomb.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20Radioactive%20Material
Cheney Observer
"Okeydoke"
History
1800 Jack Bowler and Coachman Gabriel Prosser's plans for a slave
revolt in Richmond, Virginia, are betrayed by a pair of house
slaves attempting to save their master. Prosser's plan, which
involved over 1,100 slaves, would have resulted in the death
of all slave-owning whites, but would have spared Quakers,
Frenchmen, elderly women, and children.
1838 The first African American magazine "Mirror of Freedom", begins
publication in New York City by abolitionist David Ruggles.
1843 The Liberty Party has the first African American participation
in a national political convention. Samuel R. Ward leads the
convention in prayer -- Henry Highland Garnet, a twenty-seven-
year-old Presbyterian pastor who calls for a slave revolt and
a general slave strike. Amos G. Beman of New Haven, Connecticut
is elected president of the convention.
1856 Wilberforce University is established in Xenia, Ohio under the
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1863, the
university was transferred to the African Methodist Episcopal
(AME) Church.
1861 General John C. Fremont issues an order confiscating the property
of Confederates and emancipating their slaves. The order causes
wide-spread protest and is revoked by President Lincoln.
1881 1st US tennis championships (Newport, RI)
1886 1st major earthquake recorded in eastern US, at Charleston, SC
1887 Thomas A Edison patents Kinetoscope, (produces moving pictures)
1892 S. R. Scottron patents a curtain rod.
1895 1st pro football game (QB John Brallier paid $10 & won 12-0)
1901 Roy Wilkins is born in St. Louis, Missouri. He will become a civil
rights leader, assistant executive secretary of the NAACP under
Walter White and editor of the Crisis Magazine for 15 years. He
will become Executive Secretary of the NAACP in 1955, a post he
will hold for 22 years. During his tenure, he will be a champion
of civil rights committed to using constitutional arguments to help
obtain full citizenship rights for all African Americans.
1902 Split skirt 1st worn by Mrs Adolph Landeburg (horse rider)
1903 Joe McGinnity wins his 3rd doubleheader of the month
1907 England, Russia & France form the Triple Entente
1919 Communist Labor Party of America formed in Chicago
1919 Petlyura's Ukranian Army kills 35 members of a Jewish defense group
1931 Carrie Saxon Perry is born in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1987, she
will be elected mayor of Hartford, becoming the first African
American mayor of a major eastern United States city.
1935 FDR signs an act prohibiting export of US arms to belligerents
1953 Robert Parish is born. He will become a professional basketball
player and will star as a center for the Boston Celtics.
1954 Census Bureau established
1955 1st microwave TV station operated (Lufkin, Tx)
1955 1st sun-powered automobile demonstrated, Chicago, Ill
1956 A white mob prevents the enrollment of blacks at Mansfield High
School in Texas.
1960 Agricultural Hall of Fame established
1961 James Benton Parsons is confirmed as the first African American
judge of a United States District Court in the continental United
States (Northern Illinois). He had been appointed by President
John F. Kennedy on April 18, 1961.
1965 House of Reps joins Senate establish Dept of Housing & Urban Develop
1967 Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American justice
on the U.S. Supreme Court. He had been appointed by President
Lyndon Johnson on June 13, 1967.
1968 Private Eye magazine reports a John Lennon & Yoko Ono album will have a picture of them nude on the cover
1969 25,000 attend New Orleans Pop Festival
1969 Racially motivated civil disturbances occur in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida.
1970 Lonnie McLucas, a Black Panther activist, convicted
1971 Dave Scott becomes 1st person to drive a car on the Moon
1972 Olga Korbut, USSR, wins olympic gold medal in gymnastics
1978 Symbionese Liberation Army founders William & Emily Harris plead guilty to 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst
1979 Comet Howard-Koomur-Michels collides with the Sun
1979 Donald McHenry named to succeed Andrew Young as UN ambassador
1980 Poland's Solidarity labor union founded
1983 Edwin Moses of USA sets the 400m hurdle record (47.02) in Koblenz
1983 Lt. Colonel Guion S. Bluford is the first African American in space
when he serves as a mission specialist on the Challenger space
shuttle. The space shuttle, launched from Kennedy Space Center in
Florida, stayed in orbit almost six days. This was the Challenger's
third flight into space.
1985 "Prakas" sets trotting mile record of 1:53.4 at Du Quoin, Ill
1985 Night Stalker suspect that terrorized S Calif captured in East LA
1987 Ben Johnson of Canada runs 100 meters in world record time of 9.83
seconds.
1987 Curtis Strange sets golf's earning for the year record ($697,385)
1988 5-day power blackout of downtown Seattle begins
1990 Ken Griffey & Ken Griffey, Jr. become the first father & son to play
on the same professional sports team (Seattle Mariners). Both
single in the first inning.
Missing in Action
1967 CAREY DAVID J. JEANNETTE PA 03/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 PERRY RICHARD C. CARLIN NV REMAINS RETURNED 11/26/86
1967 STAFFORD HUGH A. CAMBRIDGE MD 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1968 BARTOCCI JOHN E. NEW YORK NY
I Always Loved Horses as a Kid
Preakness Newcomers Facing Long Odds
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
Published May 19, 2005, 3:18 PM CDT
BALTIMORE -- If Giacomo didn't win the Kentucky Derby, Barry Rose would have stayed home this week instead of bringing Hal's Image to Pimlico. Giacomo came in as a 50-1 underdog, which led Rose to believe that his horse had as good a chance as anyone to win the Preakness -- even though Hal's Image has two wins in 16 career starts.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-ap-rac-preakness-new-contenders,1,3296822.story?coll=sns-ap-sports-headlines
What to look for in horses regarding West Nile Virus:
The Tribune
Signs and symptoms
Horses afflicted with West Nile virus experience muscle twitching, clumsiness, paralysis, loss of appetite and lethargy. They'll sometimes sit like a dog or not be able to stand up. The disease usually lasts for several weeks, but some symptoms can persist for longer. If left untreated, the disease can lead to convulsions, coma or death.
How to protect your horse
Call your veterinarian and ask to have your horse vaccinated against West Nile virus. Some trainers recommend using fly spray and sheets.
To find out more about West Nile Virus, see the California West Nile Virus Homepage at http://www.westnile.ca.gov.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/12508238.htm
16 New Cases of West Nile Virus in Horses
August 30th, 2005 @ 11:36am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Tests conducted have confirmed 16 new cases of West Nile virus in horses.
There are seven cases in Utah County, four in Salt Lake County, two in Weber County, one in Uintah County, one in Duchesne County and one in Washington County. This brings the total number of West Nile virus cases in horses this year in Utah to 24.
The virus is not transmissible from horses to humans.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has been advising horse owners to give their animals two vaccination shots for the past several weeks. Now, it's advisable to give a booster shot for added protection.
Utah now joins Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and Idaho as states reporting the virus in horses.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=100133
Saskatchewan horses find home in Chester
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
By BRYAN ROY
broy@repub.com
WILBRAHAM - Three days before a group of displaced horses was slated to be slaughtered thousands of miles from Western Massachusetts, Donna French took matters into her own hands.
French learned of the horses' fate in mid-January when a friend, Kristina Mitchell, was online and came across a Web site that identified four mares scheduled to be destroyed Jan. 20. The horses - about 2,100 miles away in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, one of Canada's western provinces - were posted on a PMU Adoption and Rescue Web site, devoted to finding owners for horses involved in the PMU mare industry's struggles.
http://www.masslive.com/metroeastplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1125388265303790.xml&coll=1
For the Love of Horses
8/30/2005 6:11 PM
By: Ivanhoe Newswire
Champ and Alyssa Hapgood
(EDMOND, Okla.) -- Love for a malnourished, mistreated horse inspires a young teenager to launch a love for science and save her four-legged friend.
Step-by-step, Champ is regaining his strength. Just a few months ago Alyssa Hapgood saved him from death. "He was really malnourished. And you can see his hip bones, and his ribs were all showing, but I was still really proud to own him because he was my baby," Hapgood said.
It is was her love for horses and science that helped to solve a big problem. "I needed to figure out what his weight was currently so I could feed him the proper amount to get him back to a healthy weight."
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=73900&SecID=2
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
The Tour is Underway
http://www.bringthemhomenowtour.org/
Support the Bus Tour
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/vetsforpeace/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=882
Offer Housing
http://bringthemhomenowtour.org//modinput4.php?modin=51
Sponsor a Tour Stop
http://bringthemhomenowtour.org//modinput4.php?modin=52
Bring Them Home Now Tour (Central Route), Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
Central Route: Dallas, Texas
3:00pm – Appointment at Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s office
7:30pm – Join us for a rally at North Haven United Methodist Church: 11211 Preston Road
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3924
Bring Them Home Now Tour (Northern Route), Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
Northern Route: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
5:00pm - Oklahoma City (Whistle Stop) to Wichita
6pm - Vigil/Rally, Capitol Steps: 2300 North Lincoln Blvd
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3925
Bring Them Home Now Tour (Southern Route), Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
Southern Route: Austin, Texas
5:30pm – Buses arrive at the State Capitol Building: 1100 Congress Ave, March to City Hall
6:00pm – Arrive at City Hall: 124 West 8th Street
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3926
Camp Casey goes to Washington
As America’s most famous antiwar activist takes her crusade on the road, supporters pack up their banners and rosary beads and promise Crawford will always remember "Sheehan’s stand."
By Rob Patterson / Salon
CRAWFORD, Texas -- On Cindy Sheehan's last Sunday in Crawford, Texas, the president finally came to Camp Casey II to meet and even pray with her. Not President Bush, which comes as no surprise, but TV President Jed Bartlet of "The West Wing," Martin Sheen.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3927
The Peaceful Occupation of Crawford (Day 25)
It Was the Oil, Stupid
-- a message from Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, TX
"If Zarqawi and bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks," Bush said. "They'd seize oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could recruit more terrorists by claiming a historic victory over the United States and our coalition."(George Bush, August 30, 2005 in San Diego.)
So it is official, Casey had his blood shed in Iraq for OIL. He died so we could pay over 3.00/gallon for gas. Like I suspected all along, my dear, sweet son: almost 1900 others; and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis died so the oil fields wouldn't "fall into the hands of terrorists" and so George and his immoral band of greedy robber barons could become wealthier. Like I have said all along: how can these people sleep at night and how can they choke down their food knowing it is purchased off of the flesh and blood of others? We have found our "Noble Cause." And it is OIL. This man and his handlers need to be stopped.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=485
The Peace Occupation of Crawford - Day One - Video
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/cindyonbus.mov
Slight Majority Say Bush Should Meet With Sheehan
By Richard Morin / Washington Post
Slightly more than half of the country says President Bush should meet with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed last year in Iraq, who is leading a protest against the war outside Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex., according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey found that 52 percent of the public says Bush should talk to Sheehan, who has repeatedly asked for a meeting with the president, while 46 percent said he should not. Fifty-three percent support what she is doing while 42 percent oppose her actions, according to the poll.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3914
Iraq war tests resolve of a patriotic U.S. soldier
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sergeant James Connolly volunteered for the U.S. army on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. He served a year in Iraq and took part in the operation that killed Saddam Hussein's sons in July 2003.
Now, facing a second lengthy deployment by the end of the year, Connolly wants out. He says he will do his duty to the best of his ability, but he feels he has fulfilled his commitment to the military and the nation and he does not believe the Iraq operation is worth dying for.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3933
Iraq war costs more per month than Vietnam - report
By Alan Elsner / Reuters
The U.S. war in Iraq now costs more per month than the average monthly cost of military operations in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
The report, entitled "The Iraq Quagmire" from the Institute for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy in Focus, both liberal, anti-war organizations, put the cost of current operations in Iraq at $5.6 billion per month. This breaks down to almost $186 million a day.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3932
Bush: U.S. Must Protect Iraq From Terror
By Jennifer Loven / Associated Press
CORONADO, Calif. - President Bush on Tuesday answered growing anti-war protests with a fresh reason for American troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields that he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.
Bush, standing against a backdrop of the imposing USS Ronald Reagan, the newest aircraft carrier in the Navy's fleet, said terrorists will be denied their goal.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3929
States Sue White House Over Forest Plan
By Terence Chea / Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- California, New Mexico and Oregon sued the Bush administration Tuesday over the government's decision to allow road building, logging and other commercial ventures on more than 90,000 square miles of untouched forests.
In the lawsuit, attorneys general for the three states challenged the U.S. Forest Service's repeal of the Clinton administration's "roadless rule" that banned development on 58.5 million acres of national forest, mostly in western states.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3930
New Rules Could Allow Power Plants to Pollute More
By Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post
The Bush administration has drafted regulations that would ease pollution controls on older, dirtier power plants and could allow those that modernize to emit more pollution, rather than less.
The language could undercut dozens of pending state and federal lawsuits aimed at forcing coal-fired plants to cut back emissions of harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, said lawyers who worked on the cases.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3931
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Waterfront marina on fire in Gig Harbor
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GIG HARBOR -- A downtown marina was engulfed in flame early Wednesday, spewing billowing black smoke as 50 boats burned to the waterline.
Gig Harbor Fire Department spokeswoman Penny Hulse said no injuries had been reported. One person living aboard a boat fled the covered marina, but his boat was charred, she said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/238766_marinafire31ww.html
Boeing's 'final offer' ridiculed
Union leadership says no; rank and file vote Thursday
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER AEROSPACE REPORTER
The Boeing Co. made its final contract offer Tuesday to its Machinists, but the union leadership quickly rejected it, setting the stage for a possible strike as soon as Friday.
The union has not struck Boeing since 1995. That walkout lasted 69 days
Machinists march past one of The Boeing Co.'s hangar doors during a rally Tuesday morning at the Everett plant. One worker in Everett said there is support for a walkout.
"We remain miles apart," Mark Blondin, president of District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Tuesday night after reviewing the company's final offer.
The union represents some 18,300 workers, about 16,500 of whom are in Boeing plants in the Puget Sound region. It also represents about 900 Boeing workers near Portland and about 900 at Boeing's military operations in Wichita, Kan.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/238697_boeunion31.html
FDA official quits over Plan B pill delay
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP MEDICAL WRITER
WASHINGTON -- A high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official resigned Wednesday in protest of the agency's refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception.
Susan Wood, director of FDA's Office of Women's Health, announced her resignation in an e-mail to colleagues at the agency. The e-mail was released by contraception advocates.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Morning%20After%20Pill
Census: Pay down, poverty up in King County
By PAUL NYHAN, CECILIA KANG AND CAROL SMITH
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
The local economy regained momentum last year, but those on the bottom didn't necessarily share in the benefits, as more people slipped into poverty and the region's median income fell.
In 2004, King County was among only a handful of large areas across the nation where pay dropped and poverty rates jumped, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual survey of income, poverty and health care coverage. At the same time, the ranks of the wealthy grew and the percentage of those in the middle shrank.
The census report outlined a Seattle-area economy that was out of step with the nation last year. Nationally, the poverty rate rose only slightly from 12.5 percent in 2003 to 12.7 percent in 2004, and real median household income was unchanged at $44,389.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/238741_countingpoor31.html
Tropical Storm Lee forms in Atlantic
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Lee formed Wednesday in the central Atlantic, but posed no threat to land, forecasters said.
At 5 p.m. EDT, Lee was about 900 miles east of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. On this track, the five-day forecast projected the storm would stay far from land.
The tropical storm had top sustained winds of 40 mph, just above the 39 mph threshold to be classified as a tropical storm.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Tropical%20Weather
Tamil Tiger rebels reject Sri Lanka talks
By SHIMALI SENANAYAKE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Tamil Tiger rebels on Wednesday rejected a government offer to hold crucial talks inside Sri Lanka, officials said, dealing a blow to efforts to revive the island's stalled peace process.
The rebels' rejection of the offer came a week after the government refused Norway as the venue for the talks to review an increasingly fragile truce, arguing the rebels would use a foreign location to promote their autonomy bid.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Sri%20Lanka%20Peace%20Talks
Typhoon passes through Mariana Islands
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAGATNA, Guam -- Typhoon Nabi passed through the Northern Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific, hitting the capital of Saipan with wind gusts up to 75 mph, forecasters said Wednesday.
Officials had opened emergency evacuation shelters on Saipan as a precaution. About 600 people found shelter in public schools, as crews worked to restore electrical power and water service to most of the island, officials said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Typhoon%20Nabi
Typhoon Talim approaches Taiwan
By STEPHAN GRAUWELS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
A Taiwanese man is dwarfed by huge waves driven by approaching typhoon Talim as they crash against the coastline Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005 outside the port city of Keelung, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Taipei, Taiwan. Typhoon Talim had sustained winds of 184 kph (114 mph) at mid afternoon and was located in the Pacific Ocean about 260 kilometers (163 miles) southeast of the coastal city of Hualien. Forecasters expected it to hit land Thursday morning. Typhoons frequently hit Taiwan between June and September, triggering deadly flash floods and landslides on the mountainous and crowded island. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
KEELUNG, Taiwan -- Typhoon Talim approached Taiwan late Wednesday, bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds, and expedited preparations to secure the island from extensive damage.
As of early evening, Talim was centered in the Pacific Ocean about 110 miles east of the Taiwanese port of Hualien, the Central Weather Bureau said, but Taipei, the capital, was already being buffeted by torrential showers and high velocity gusts.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Taiwan%20Typhoon
Indian PM seeks Kashmir peace talks
By RAJESH MAHAPATRA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW DELHI -- India's prime minister on Wednesday invited Kashmir's separatists for peace talks - a move that could boost efforts to end the decades-old dispute between India and Pakistan over the Himalayan region.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to hold talks Sept. 5 with the moderate faction of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said Sanjaya Baru, the prime minister's spokesman.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Kashmir
Two members of Congress lose homes
By JIM ABRAMS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- An oak tree may be the only remains of the home where Sen. Trent Lott raised his family and joined other political leaders for a rocking chair view of the sea.
Lott, R-Miss., learned from neighbors and relatives that the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina, rising as high as 30 feet, leveled his Pascagoula home along the Gulf coast of Mississippi near the Alabama border.
Lott's press secretary, Susan Irby, said Lott and his wife were driving to Pascagoula Wednesday to search for personal effects that may have survived the storm. "He's among the many who have losses and it has been a very emotional thing," she said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Katrina%20Congress
Description of Shiite ceremony in Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Shiite Muslim ceremony that pilgrims were marking Wednesday when the Baghdad bridge disaster occurred commemorates the death of the seventh imam, one of 12 imams revered in the Shiite branch of Islam.
That imam, Imam Moussa ibn Jaafar al-Kadhim, died in the year 799.
Each year, on the date on the Islamic calendar that marks his death, devout Shiites gather at the site of a mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah that is believed to sit atop his tomb.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20The%20Ceremony
Key events involving huge Shiite deaths
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some major events, primarily attacks by insurgents, in which large numbers of Shiite Muslims have been killed in Iraq:
- Aug. 31, 2005: Shiite worshippers stampede on Baghdad bridge during commemoration of a Shiite saint's death. More than 700 are killed.
- March 10, 2005: A suicide bomber blows himself up at a Shiite mosque during a funeral in Mosul, killing at least 47 people and wounding more than 100.
- Feb. 28, 2005: A suicide car bomber targets mostly Shiite police and National Guard recruits in Hillah, killing 125 and wounding more than 140. Some of the casualties are at a nearby market.
- Feb. 18, 2005: Two suicide bombers attack two mosques, leaving 28 people dead, while an explosion near a Shiite ceremony kills two other people.
- Dec. 19, 2004: Car bombs tear through a Najaf funeral procession and Karbala's main bus station, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 in the two Shiite holy cities.
- Aug. 26, 2004: A mortar barrage slams into a mosque filled with Iraqis preparing to march on Najaf, killing 27 people and wounding 63.
- March 2, 2004: Coordinated blasts from suicide bombers, mortars and planted explosives strike Shiite Muslim shrines in Karbala and Baghdad, killing at least 181 and wounding 573.
- Aug. 29, 2003: A car bomb explodes outside a mosque in Najaf, killing more than 85 people, including Shiite leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. Although officials never gave a final death toll, there were suspicions it may have been higher.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Shiite%20Deaths
Chirac orders urgent measures on housing
By NATHALIE SCHUCK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
In this photo released by the Paris Firefighters Brigade, firefighters extinguish a fire in a Paris building early Tuesday Aug. 30, 2005 The fire tore through a rundown Paris apartment building where African immigrants lived, killing seven people including a six-year-old child, firefighters said Tuesday. The latest fire comes just days after a deadly blaze killed 17 Africans in the French capital. (AP Photo/Julien Pichot/BSPP)
PARIS -- President Jacques Chirac said France must build more public housing and renovate crumbling apartment buildings, an urgent response to three fires that recently burned through run-down Paris lodgings and killed scores of African immigrants.
Police, meanwhile, were preparing to evacuate the capital's most dilapidated apartment buildings and havens for squatters this week.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=France%20Paris%20Fire
Report: Russian students await help in La.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW -- A group of about 30 Russian university students were on a New Orleans rooftop, awaiting help after being stranded in a building flooded by Hurricane Katrina, Russian media reported Wednesday.
"They have no cell phones, and the land line turns on only occasionally," Yelena Andreyeva, the mother of one of the students from the Ural Mountains region of Perm, told Rossiya state television.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Russia%20US%20Katrina%20Ready1
U.N. agency: Bird flu likely to spread
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Veterinary workers give a lethal injection to chickens at a small farm affected by bird flu in the Siberian village of Oktyabrskoye, some 170 km (106 miles) southeast of the Siberian town of Chelyabinsk, Russia in this Aug. 22, 2005 file photo as a police officer, right, looks on. The bird flu virus that has hit several Asian countries is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the U.N. food agency warned Wednesday, urging nations at risk to step up surveillance and prepare national emergency plans. In Russia, the outbreak has killed about 11,000 birds and prompted officials to slaughter 127,000 others to halt the virus' spread. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev/File)
ROME -- The bird flu virus that has hit several Asian countries is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the U.N. food agency warned on Wednesday, urging nations at risk to step up surveillance and prepare national emergency plans.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=UN%20Bird%20Flu
U.N. peacekeeper killed in Ivory Coast
By PAULINE BAX
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- A U.N. peacekeeper was killed Wednesday in a knife attack in a northern rebel stronghold of the war-divided country, the first violent death among the world body's troops in the West African nation, a U.N. official said.
Investigators are looking into the attack on the Moroccan soldier shortly after midnight in the city of Bouake, according to U.N. spokesman Capt. Renald Boismoreau.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Ivory%20Coast%20Peacekeeper%20Killed
S. Africa urged to rethink Zimbabwe ties
By CLARE NULLIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The Zimbabwean parliament's approval of constitutional restrictions on civil liberties has fueled calls here for President Thabo Mbeki to reconsider his policy of gentle diplomacy with his northern neighbor.
Despite mounting concerns that Zimbabwe could face an economic and social meltdown, the opposition Democratic Alliance has pushed for Mbeki to withdraw an offer to loan the country money to avoid expulsion from the International Monetary Fund for falling behind on loan payments.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=South%20Africa%20Zimbabwe
Survey tracks South Africa farm evictions
By CLARE NULLIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- More workers have been evicted from South African farms since the advent of multiracial democracy in 1994 than in the 10 years before that, according to a new survey presented to parliament Tuesday.
The survey said that 1.7 million people - nearly all uneducated blacks with little knowledge of their legal rights - had been thrown off farms where housing often came with jobs in the past 20 years: 737,114 people between 1984 and 1994; and 942,303 people in the subsequent decade.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=South%20Africa%20Evictions
Africans prefer European ghettos to home
By TODD PITMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
People react during a demonstration after a fire tore through a rundown Paris apartment building where African immigrants lived, killing seven people including three children, Tuesday Aug. 30, 2005. The latest fire comes just days after a deadly blaze killed 17 Africans in the French capital. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
DAKAR, Senegal -- Rundown buildings housing African immigrants in Paris have proven to be deadly fire traps. But from the vantage point of struggling Africans, they are appealing nevertheless - at least compared to the deep poverty and insecurity of home.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Africans%20Paris%20Fires
Bodyguards remove woman who nears Chavez
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, right, gestures while U.S. rev. Jesse Jackson prepares to start a news conference at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela -- A woman who rushed up on a stage to hand President Hugo Chavez a note was pulled away by bodyguards on Tuesday, and the Venezuelan leader urged supporters to remember there have been threats against his life.
The incident occurred while Chavez was addressing thousands of supporters in a Caracas convention center.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Venezuela%20Chavez
Families angry ahead of Beslan anniversary
By MIKE ECKEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BESLAN, Russia -- Anguished relatives of children killed in a school siege a year ago said Wednesday the government has failed to learn from the tragedy and they warned persistent corruption has left Russia vulnerable to similar attacks in the future.
"If this isn't corrected, there will be another terrorist attack like Beslan," said Susanna Dudiyeva, whose son was among more than 330 people killed. "We are fighting for the truth."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Russia%20Beslan%20Anniversary
Unsecured radioactive material discovered
By ROD MCGUIRK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SYDNEY, Australia -- Australian researchers have found large amounts of radioactive material in two Southeast Asian countries at unsecured sites such as abandoned warehouses, a senior nuclear scientist said Monday.
Australia is involved in an international effort to ensure radioactive material used in medicine and industry is stored securely and systems are set up to track it.
Ron Cameron, chief of operations at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, said researchers from the government-funded group have been scouring the region for material usually used in medicine that could be turned into a so-called dirty bomb.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20Radioactive%20Material
Cheney Observer
IT is time for CORN BASED gasolines and VEGETABLE based Diesel.
Top Official Urged Change in How Parks Are Managed
By FELICITY BARRINGER
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 - A high-ranking appointee at the Interior Department proposed fundamentally changing the way national parks are managed, putting more emphasis on recreational use and loosening protections against overuse, noise and damage to the air, water, wildlife or scenery. But a group of senior National Park Service employees rejected the proposal at a meeting this month.
The 194 pages of revisions to the park service's basic policy document suggested by Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary of the department, could have opened up new opportunities for off-road use of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles throughout the park system, including Yellowstone National Park, whose roads the Interior Department has kept open to snowmobiles.
Mr. Hoffman's proposals often involved seemingly minor word changes but their effect was nonetheless sweeping. Illegal uses, Mr. Hoffman proposed, must "irreversibly" harm park resources, instead of just harming them. Instead of obligating managers to eliminate impairments to park resources, he proposed that they should "adequately mitigate or eliminate" the problems.
The draft was part of an effort to re-evaluate the park service's core mission and illustrated the continuing tension between the need to preserve park resources and the desire to make them available to the broadest possible public.
The draft would also have added potential hurdles to the procedures for designating new parks. And in its discussion of park service system resources and educational programs, it would have eliminated virtually every reference to the theory of evolution.
The Park Service's ability to influence events outside park borders would have been curtailed under the draft. For instance, it would have been more difficult for park officials to call for the Environmental Protection Agency's aid in reducing haze and air pollution in parks.
David Barna, a spokesman for the park service, said Thursday that 16 senior employees of the service met in Santa Fe, N.M., on Aug. 8 to discuss the suggested changes and decided to scrap them in favor of a more modest rewrite. "We did not take his document and try to rewrite it," Mr. Barna said. He added, "We're looking at how we've doing business in the 21st century," with an emphasis on public participation and efficient management.
Mr. Hoffman, a former executive director of a local Chamber of Commerce in Wyoming and an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney when Mr. Cheney was a congressman in the 1980's, was appointed to his current post in 2002. The Park Service's director, Fran Mainella, also a political appointee, ranks below Mr. Hoffman in the Interior Department.
The draft, which had been closely held until this week, was given to The New York Times by park advocates who opposed the proposed changes.
Asked how park employees junior to Mr. Hoffman could summarily reject his proposals, Mr. Barna said that Mr. Hoffman "has been very comfortable with us saying, 'Well, not so fast.' " He added, "Our view of that was he was playing devil's advocate: Gee, Park Service, tell us why you shouldn't do this."
Tina Kreisher, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, referred calls about the issue to Mr. Barna.
Bill Wade, a former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park who now directs the executive council of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, said that prohibiting only damage considered "irreversible" meant that taking it "to its extreme, I suppose you could do anything to a wildlife population as long as you preserved the last breeding pair."
The issue of motorized recreation in parks has been an area of sharp controversy in recent years, crystallized in the dispute over continuing snowmobile use in Yellowstone after the Clinton administration's decision to phase it out.
The draft said "the variety of motorized equipment and mechanized modes of travel are diverse, and improved technology has increased the frequency of their use and makes their use more feasible in larger areas of the parks." It noted that some uses of these vehicles "may cause impairment of resources or values."
A sentence in the existing policy saying "the Service will strive to preserve or restore the natural quiet and natural sounds associated with" the physical and biological resources of the parks was eliminated in the proposal, as was mention of natural sounds like "waves breaking on the shore, the roar of a river or the call of a loon."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/26/politics/26park.html?pagewanted=print
Lansdowne joins national war protest
By Phyllis Edwards, STAFF WRITER
08/25/2005
LANSDOWNE - A rally organized to support Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who is seeking a meeting with President George Bush, attracted an all ages crowd to a Lansdowne street corner last Wednesday.
"Most of the people here want the war to be over. I feel the issue is the President has lied to us," rally organizer Rev. Marie deYoung said while toting a guitar and handing out song sheets to those gathered on the corner of Lansdowne and Baltimore avenues.
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Women with signs reading "Moms for Peace" and men carrying placards declaring, "Vets for Peace," mingled with children and teens in the muggy evening heat. The glow cast by candles in glass jars lined along the curb highlighted the night. A constant flow of traffic provided a background din from motorists honking horns in support of the protesters' message.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15095804&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id=45529&rfi=6
Goose-stepping lemmings
I was a military wife for 12 years, spent two tours with my husband overseas, and am a registered Republican. I think Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is the best kind of hero.
He is standing up for our troops instead of worrying if he will look patriotic or not. He is risking his job and his standing in the community to save the lives of our loyal men and women fighting in Iraq.
Americans have to quit waving their flags and puffing out their chests and start using the good sense that God gave them. How many times do they have to hear that they were lied to? How many times do they have to hear the war in Iraq has nothing to do with Sept. 11? How much money do Halliburton and the oil companies get to put in their pockets before Americans open their eyes to see this is no mission of honor?
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_2970858
The Center for Public Integrity
A comprehensive look at lobbying in the 50 states. State Parties. An investigation
of the players and money in state politics. Iraq/Afghanistan Contracts ...
Chevron paid agents who destroyed villages
COMPANY DENIES RESPONSIBILITY FOR NIGERIAN DEATHS OR INJURIES, SAYING IT PAID ONLY FOR GENERAL SECURITY SERVICES
By Elise Ackerman
Mercury News
The bodies of the dead Nigerian villagers had not yet grown cold when the Nigerian navy captain presented Chevron with a bill: 15,000 naira, or $165 for responding to ``attacks from Opia village against security agents.''
Within 24 hours Chevron paid up. It would be years before the San Ramon-based energy company would acknowledge the role it played in the destruction of Opia and another small village called Ikenyan in Nigeria's oil-rich delta in January 1999.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12285441.htm
1st Amendment alive and well
Robertson, Cheney prove that it works
The First Amendment gives people the right to make fools of themselves by saying incredibly stupid things.
Pat Robertson provided an example about a week ago, suggesting the United States assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. As stupid as the remark was - Robertson later apologized - the TV preacher had every right to make it.
Now we have Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who went on a verbal rampage against Vice President Dick Cheney a few days ago. Rangel, displaying some apparent medical knowledge and inside information, said Cheney was a sick man unfit to be a national leader.
"Sometimes I don't think Cheney is awake enough to know what's going on," Rangel said. "He's a sick man, you know. He's got heart disease, but the disease is not restricted to that part of his body. He grunts a lot so you never really know what he's thinking."
http://www.chronicle-tribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050830/OPINION01/508300329/1014/OPINION
Associate of DeLay's pleads not guilty
Lobbyist is accused of fraud in casino deal
By JAY WEAVER
The Miami Herald
MIAMI - Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a key figure in ethics investigations involving U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he defrauded lenders in a casino cruise line deal.
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Abramoff, charged along with a New York business partner in an alleged scheme to defraud lenders in the $147 million purchase of SunCruz Casinos, did not appear at his arraignment.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3330356
House Dems should attack GOP corruption
By NAOM SCHEIBER
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 2:22 PM CDT
If New Jersey Rep. Bob Menendez isn't the cause of the House Democrats' problems, he's certainly a glaring symptom. According to a recent New York Times report, Menendez, the House's third-ranking Democrat, has steered hundreds of thousands of dollars in lucrative consulting contracts to a former aide. Not surprisingly, the relationship has piqued the interest of Republicans. As Bob Novak reported last week, Republicans see an ethically compromised Menendez as a deterrent to future attacks on ethically challenged and embattled Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
http://www.decaturdailydemocrat.com/articles/2005/08/30/news/opinion/editorial03.txt
BuzzFlash.com Launches Petition Drive; 'Either the Bush Kids Put Their Lives on the Line for George's 'Noble War' or the Troops Come Home'
8/30/2005 9:42:00 AM
To: National Desk
Contact: Mark Karlin of BuzzFlash.com, 312-474-0461 or 312-719-4228, Web: http://BuzzFlash.com
CHICAGO, Aug. 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- BuzzFlash is urging George W. Bush to prove that his "noble war" is not just for poor, middle class and rural Americans to die in. Of ten eligible offspring of the children of George Herbert Walker and Barbara Bush, not one is serving in the armed forces, let alone in Iraq.
BuzzFlash.com is urging Americans to sign a petition that reads: "I demand that George W. Bush's daughters, and his eligible nieces and nephews, serve in Iraq to prove their support of Bush's 'noble war for a noble cause.' If the Bush family does not believe in 'sacrificing' for the war and is not willing to put their lives on the line, then Bush must bring the troops of middle class, rural and poor Americans home now."
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=52254
The real Iraq reality
One of the 1,600 candlelight vigils supporting Cindy Sheehan Aug. 17 was at Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church of Germantown - Celeste Zappala's church.
Zappala is a co-founder, with Sheehan, of Gold Star Families for Peace. She earned the unenviable title gold star mother when her son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.
After a welcome from the church's pastor, Zappala spoke briefly, supported by her two surviving sons and daughter-in-law. At one point, she pointed to a spot in the center aisle: "Sherwood was baptized right there," she said.
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/12510824.htm
Court says Bush Interior Dept. wrong to pull lizard protection, restores proposed listing rule for flat-tailed horned lizard.
Contact: Daniel R. Patterson, Desert Ecologist 520.623.5252 x306
PHOENIX -- Conservation groups and scientists won an important victory today for the flat-tailed horned lizard, an attractive lizard that looks like a mini-dinosaur and lives in the US in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, California.
Federal judge Neil Wake, a Bush appointee, ruled Bush’s Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s “withdrawal of the proposed rule violated the Endangered Species Act and the Ninth Circuit’s remand order by failing to evaluate the lizard’s lost habitat…” Wake struck down Norton’s withdrawl of a proposed rule to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species, therefore the lizard is again proposed for much needed and overdue Endangered Species Act listing to help it survive and recover.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/lizard8-30-05.html
DataPoints: Scattershot
August 30 '05
Published: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 10:31 AM EDT
- Amount of unpaid taxes by federal contractors, 2002: $3 billion (Government Accountability Office)
- Amount of money the liberal 527 Americans Coming Together has raised in the 2006 election cycle: $4.4 million (Center for Responsive Politics)
- Amount of money Americans Coming Together has spent in the 2006 election cycle: $6.6 million (CRP)
- Number of conservative 527s in the top 10 fundraising 527s for the 2006 election cycle: 3
- Number of conservative 527s in the top 10 spending 527s for the 2006 election cycle: 5
- Number of sensitive records that have been made vulnerable to potential fraud and/or identity theft: 50 million (eWeek, via CRP)
- Number of months in a row that the Army has hit its recruiting goals: 3 (press reports)
- Percentage by which the Army is expected to miss its annual recruiting goal: 10 (press reports)
http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/08/30/opinion/politics/71politics30datapoints.txt
Gov. Bush Urges Floridians To Conserve Gasoline
POSTED: 5:11 pm EDT August 30, 2005
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Governor Jeb Bush is still urging Floridians to conserve gasoline until the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and the oil refineries along the coast begin operating again. The potential damage to oil platforms, refineries and pipelines that remain closed along the Gulf Coast drove energy prices to new highs Tuesday.
Crude oil futures briefly topped 70 dollars a barrel and wholesale gasoline costs surged to levels that could lead to prices at the gas pump reaching 3 dollars a gallon in some markets.
"I think it's driven by lack of supply. The supply line has been curtailed because the largest importer, the port at New Orleans is shut down. The refineries are shut down. The Gulf Coast drilling is shut down, I would think that's the principal reason," Gov. Bush said Tuesdsay. "It's important for people to conserve, to not take more than what you need to get through your daily life."
The production and distribution of oil and gas remained severely disrupted by the shutdown of a key oil import terminal off the coast of Louisiana and by the Gulf region's widespread loss of electricity, which is needed to power pipelines and refineries.
http://www.wftv.com/news/4916507/detail.html
THIS ADMINISTRATION WAS 'WARNED' BY EVERY SCIENTIST ON THE PLANET. THEY NEVER PREPARED !!! It's atrocious to realize the Repuglicans would use this as a political issue. They need to apologize for this entire episode of the USA. My concern is that young people will want to help the victims and New Orleans and sign up in recruitment. That would be exploitation and the recruiters are completely capable of it. The disease of the affected area, the devastation and any effort to replace the cities and home need to be addressed by professionals and not good hearted kids who don't know where they will actually end up after they sign up. The neglect to Preparedness is not to be UNDERSTATED. Bush was on vacation while a killer storm approached the Gulf Coast. He was and has been asleep at the wheel. We need our National Guard Troops at home more than ever. The regular military has to finish Afghanistan and bring Osama bin Laden to justice.
Carnival: Feds Ask About Using Cruise Ships In Katrina Relief
POSTED: 2:41 pm EDT August 31, 2005
MIAMI -- Carnival Cruise Lines said Wednesday that the federal government has asked whether cruise ships could be used as emergency shelters or help in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in some other way.
The world's largest cruise line said that although "to undertake such an endeavor would involve many complicated issues, we are actively taking a look at it."
Carnival operates 21 ships, each of which holds anywhere from about 1,500 to 3,000 passengers.
"It is our intention to work with federal officials to determine the feasibility of moving a ship into the area if that is their desire," the Miami-based company said.
Carnival is owned by Carnival Corp.
http://www.wftv.com/news/4920677/detail.html
Will the peace caravan make it to the Houston area?
Chris Elam called attention to a weekend Reuters (?!) report in the Chronicle that Cindy Sheehan might pay a visit to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's local office:
Sheehan has been demanding a [second] meeting with Bush to discuss the U.S. presence in Iraq, where her son Casey was killed in 2004.
She plans to launch a bus tour Thursday from Bush's ranch to the White House to campaign for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
One of DeLay's Houston-area district offices likely would be the first stop, she said.
"I think our first stop might be Tom DeLay's office" in the Houston area, she said., surrounded by supporters. "I just wanted to let him know so he'll be in his office when we get there."
http://www.bloghouston.net/item/1764/catid/1
US Army auditor who attacked Halliburton deal is fired
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
Published: 30 August 2005
An American government whistleblower who denounced the decision to give billions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction contracts to a subsidiary of Vice-President Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton has been fired from her job, ostensibly because of poor performance.
Bunnatine Greenhouse, a senior civilian auditor of military contracts for the Army Corps of Engineers, went public last year with her concerns about a no-bid contract given to Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR). She told a congressional hearing that the decision was "the most blatant and improper abuse I have witnessed" in 20 years as a government contract supervisor.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article309072.ece
UPI Energy Watch
United Press International - USA
One of Iran's largest private oil companies, linked to Halliburton, lost a contract to drill for natural gas following bribery allegations. ...
New Book On Social Security...
A Must Read For Every Household
'Social Security — The Attempt To Kill It'
What Every Baby Boomer Should Know
By W. Leon Smith
PUBLISHER, LONE STAR ICONOCLAST
August 29, 2005
CRAWFORD — In February, The Lone Star Iconoclast published an interview with author Allen W. Smith, Ph.D., who had written a book entitled “The Looting of Social Security.”
Since that time, he has written a follow-up book, “Social Security — The Attempt To Kill It,” which could easily be considered the best book on the subject yet.
Smith’s latest book is to Social Security what Strunk & White’s “Elements of Style” is to English.
The book is a fast read because of its compelling nature. This book explains how the Social Security system works in layman’s terms and delves into ways that members of the government have whittled away at the trust fund that was intended to take care of baby boomers throughout their years of need.
Allen Smith earned his Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University and spent 30 years teaching economics to university students. He has appeared on national television and has been interviewed on more than 150 talk shows.
The author has given The Iconoclast consent to publish excerpts from the preface and chapter one of the new book to give readers an idea of what it is all about.
http://198.65.14.85/News/2005/35-36/35news06.htm
Protests leave Crawford residents weary, frustrated
By Bill Whitaker Tribune-Herald city editor
Monday, August 29, 2005
CRAWFORD – Newly crowned anti-war icon Cindy Sheehan has occasionally spoken of her affection for Central Texas, where she's mounted her controversial, month-long peace vigil, but many townfolks here are still ready to see her go.
Their reservations about Sheehan have as much to do with quality-of-life issues as plain politics.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/08/29/20050829wacCRAWFORD.html
Republican Senator Rick Santorum and Treasurer Bob Casey: Quiet vs. Quipster
Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press Writer
08/29/2005
ASPINWALL, Pa. - Determined to take down conservative Sen. Rick Santorum, Democrats recruited a candidate who resembles him in many ways.
Like Santorum, Bob Casey Jr. is Roman Catholic, in his 40s and opposed to abortion.
But Casey is nowhere near as outspoken as Santorum, and that appears to be helping him the most in a race that is sure to be one of the most expensive and hard-fought elections in 2006.
Casey has produced better early poll numbers by largely remaining out of the spotlight this summer, leaving Santorum to do the talking - and writing.
http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15112580&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478663&rfi=6
Hurricane Katrina Moves Onshore, Weaker but Still Threatening Havoc
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER
and KATE ZERNIKE
Published: August 29, 2005
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 29 - Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast with devastating force at daybreak on Monday, sparing New Orleans the catastrophic hit that had been feared but inundating parts of the city and heaping damage on neighboring Mississippi, where it tossed boats, ripped away scores of roofs and left many of the major coastal roadways impassable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/29/national/30stormcnd.html
CHAIN-SAW DIPLOMACY
Look who's coming to dinner
The leader of the free world was clearing brush at his ranch when he heard the news.
He turned off his chain saw, flipped up his safety goggles, and wiped sweat from his brow.
"What?" he hollered, his ears still ringing from noise. "What did you say?"
All of Crawford fell silent.
Protesters stopped chanting. Secret Service agents stopped whispering into their lapels. A team of White House gardeners -- poised to rush in and replace the brush that the president had just cut down -- stood frozen in midstep.
Karl Rove moved in closer and quietly delivered the news a second time: A few days earlier, Pat Robertson had called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez.
"Which one is he again?" the president thundered.
Rove explained. The president of Venezuela. Big oil exporter. Provides roughly 13 percent of the U.S. supply.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050829/COLUMNIST33/508290421
[Karl Rove is so effective at manipulating public perception, so radically unprincipled and so abysmally cynical, that it's difficult to believe he isn't controlling whatever the headlines say is happening to him. Maybe the 21st Century Watergate is just Karl's latest grand operetta, designed to distract us all from the savageries "our troops" are committing in the Persian Gulf as you read this. In that case, some legal technicality is even now being incubated inside Mr. Fitzgerald's briefcase, ready to hatch at the right moment and send us all back to business as usual.
Or maybe this Watergate, like the last one, is a creature of the CIA. All those years ago, Dick Helms may well have instructed one of Nixon's burglars (namely, CIA employee Bernard Barker) to sabotage his own burglary by leaving behind the strip of tape on the door-lock. That way, when the burglars were caught, all their orders would point backward to Nixon except that one, which pointed not to Helms but to sheer incompetence. Goodbye, Nixon. If this were being repeated, the Agency will have somehow contrived to trap Rove and his bosses into outing Valerie Plame, while using the Downing Street leaks as a lever to force the White House into jeopardy.
This time, however, the CIA is not being run by someone like Dick Helms, a veteran werewolf whom President Nixon inherited. It is run by Porter Goss, whom Bush (i.e., Cheney) appointed as part of a long war against the agency.
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/072705_rovegate.shtml
Did Time Intentionally Deceive its Readers in Plame Case?
8/29/2005 1:39:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Melissa Salmanowitz of Media Matters for America, 202-756-4109 or MSalmanowitz@mediamatters.org; Web: http://www.mediamatters.org
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- For some time, the central mystery in the Valerie Plame saga was which members of the White House staff leaked the undercover CIA operative's identity to reporters. Although there are still many unanswered questions, at least part of the mystery has been solved: Time magazine correspondent Matthew Cooper has testified that he was told about Plame by White House senior adviser Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Yet while Cooper and his editors at Time spent two years keeping Rove and Libby's -- and their own -- role a secret, they published articles that reported, without challenge, a statement from the White House that they knew to be false.
The issue of Time's actions over the past two years was revived by an August 25 Los Angeles Times article stating that the magazine did not pursue a waiver from Rove allowing Cooper to testify in part because "Time editors were concerned about becoming part of such an explosive story in an election year." While the favor this "concern" did for the Bush re-election effort has been criticized, Time's lack of disclosure about its own role in the affair has gone largely unnoticed.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=52218
Letter: Support our troops - Impeach Bush/Cheney now
Thursday, August 25, 2005
To the Editor:
If we want to stop the use of our troops as fire fodder for the oil companies and corrupt corporations like Haliburton, then we must impeach Bush/Cheney now, as they are the commanders of our military.
If we want to stop the wars for oil and empire building from spreading into Iran and engulfing the entire Middle East, then we must impeach Bush/Cheney now, as they are the primary puppets of the oil companies and the military-industrial complex.
If we want to stop the killing and work for peace and justice, then we must impeach Bush/Cheney now, to show the world - and future presidents - that the American people will not support invasions, torture and corporate domination of our government.
http://www2.townonline.com/barnstable/opinion/view.bg?articleid=311725
A CIA Cover Blown, a White House Exposed
Submitted by editor on August 25, 2005 - 2:13pm.
By Tom Hamburger and Sonni Efron
Source: LA Times
WASHINGTON — Toward the end of a steamy summer week in 2003, reporters were peppering the White House with phone calls and e-mails, looking for someone to defend the administration's claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
About to emerge as a key critic was Joseph C. Wilson IV, a former diplomat who asserted that the administration had manipulated intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion.
At the White House, there wasn't much interest in responding to critics like Wilson that Fourth of July weekend. The communications staff faced more pressing concerns — the president's imminent trip to Africa, growing questions about the war and declining ratings in public opinion polls.
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/749
continued ...
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