Michael Moore Today
Bush Abandons Push for Miers Nomination
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent 20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Under withering attack from conservatives,
President Bush abandoned his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court and promised a quick replacement Thursday. Democrats accused him of bowing to the "radical right wing of the Republican Party."
The White House said Miers had withdrawn because of senators' demands to see internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. But politics played a larger role: Bush's conservative backers had doubts about her ideological purity, and Democrats had little incentive to help the nominee or the embattled GOP president.
"Let's move on," said Republican Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record) of Mississippi. "In a month, who will remember the name Harriet Miers?"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_on_go_su_co/miers_withdraws
Kerry calls for Bush to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq
By James Kuhnhenn / Knight Ridder
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry called Wednesday for President Bush to withdraw 20,000 U.S. troops from Iraq over the Christmas holidays.
Ultimately, Kerry said, as certain benchmarks of progress are attained in coming months, the United States should be able to bring all troops home by the end of next year.
He made it clear that he thinks the U.S. troop presence is inflaming the violence.
"The insurgency will not be defeated unless our troop levels are drawn down," Kerry, D-Mass., said in a speech at Georgetown University.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4665
Mother of slain US soldier arrested in Iraq war protest
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US police arrested Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq who has become a prominent war opponent, along with two dozen people for demonstrating without authoritization in front of the White House.
Sheehan and the other protestors staged a "die-in" in front of the the White House, lying on the ground to symbolize US soldiers killed in Iraq.
Several dozen sympathizers applauded as Sheehan and others were taken away, while counter-protestors booed the group.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4669
Sunni Ambush Kills 14 Al-Sadr Militiamen
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Arab militants killed 14 Shiite militiamen and a policeman Thursday in a clash southeast of Baghdad — another sign of rising tensions among
Iraq's rival ethnic and religious communities. The U.S. military reported three more American soldiers died in combat.
The Shiite-Sunni fighting occurred after police and militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raided a house in Nahrawan, 15 miles southeast of the capital, to free a militiaman taken hostage by Sunni militants, according to Amer al-Husseini, an aide to al-Sadr.
After freeing the hostage and capturing two militants, the Shiite militiamen were ambushed by the Sunnis on their way out of the religiously mixed town, al-Husseini said. Police Lt. Thair Mahmoud said 14 others — 12 militiamen and two policemen — were wounded.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
October 26
A Message from Cindy Sheehan
"If you believe in what you are doing, give me your stiffest sentence. If you don't, then resign." -- Gandhi
Yesterday, started off with a "bang" when we went to Arlington Cemetery to lay a wreath in the section where the Iraq War dead are buried. In our group yesterday morning were 3 other members of Gold Star Families for Peace. Juan Torres was with us and his son, Juan, was murdered in Afghanistan.
First of all, I was followed all morning by the Park Police. I guess because I am a very dangerous subversive. I would never hurt a flea, but what I am dangerous to is the lies and corruption of our government.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=529
How you can help
HomeFromIraqNow.org is doing something that no other campaign has done before. We are using the ballot initiative process - direct grassroots democracy - to allow people to vote on the war in Iraq. And we're doing it over the Internet.
Our first step is to get our initiative on the ballot in Massachusetts. To do that, we need to have 100,000 signatures of Massachusetts voters in our hands by November 15, 2005. Here's what you can do to make this happen:
Send us your signature
If you are registered to vote in Massachusetts, send us your signature!
http://www.homefromiraqnow.org/help
Rosa Parks' body will lie in repose at Lincoln Memorial
DETROIT (AP) -- The body of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will lie in repose at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington as part of the series of events that will allow the public to pay tribute to her.
The public will be able to pay their respects in the memorial's rotunda Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight, Karen Dumas, a spokeswoman for the Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, said Wednesday night.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4670
Tuskegee march to pay tribute to Rosa Parks
By Samira Jafari / Associated Press
TUSKEGEE — More than 200 students, residents, ministers and dignitaries linked arms and marched through Tuskegee on Wednesday to pay tribute to civil rights activist Rosa Parks, a native of the town who died Monday.
City officials made it a priority to share Parks' significance with the younger members of the audience.
"She accomplished more than those of us that stand up or attempt to stand up just by sitting down," said Jesse Upshaw, chair of the Macon County Commission.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4671
Michigan woman fired for missing work after seeing husband off to war
CALEDONIA, Mich. (AP) — A woman who took an unpaid leave of absence from work to see her husband off to war has been fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure.
"It was a shock," said Suzette Boler, a 40-year-old mother of three and grandmother of three. "I was hurt. I felt abandoned by people I thought cared for me. I sat down on the floor and cried for probably two hours."
Officials at her former workplace, Benefit Management Administrators Inc., confirmed that Boler was dismissed when she didn't report to work the day after she said goodbye to her husband of 22 years.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4673
Doubts Raised on Saudi Vow for More Oil
By Jeff Gerth / The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 - Last spring, the White House publicly embraced plans by Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production capacity significantly. But privately, some officials and others advising the government are skeptical about some of those Saudi forecasts.
The United States relies on a few producers to maintain enough spare capacity to keep prices and markets stable, even during war or disaster. As oil prices have climbed over the last few years amid surging demand and tight supplies, the Bush administration has looked to the Persian Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to pump extra oil.
But doubts about Saudi Arabia's assurances of how much it can expand capacity - and for how long - have been raised in a secret intelligence report and in a separate analysis by a leading government oil adviser, according to a federal government official and the oil expert.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4672
Rove Aide's Name Appears in Two Washington Inquiries
By Anne E. Kornblut / The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 - At the nexus of two high-profile investigations roiling the nation's capital is an unlikely - and largely anonymous - figure known for fiercely safeguarding her bosses.
Susan B. Ralston, 38, has worked as an assistant and side-by-side adviser to Karl Rove since 2001, helping manage his e-mail, meetings and phone calls from her perch near his office in the West Wing. That has made her an important witness in the C.I.A. leak investigation, as the special prosecutor has sought to determine whether Mr. Rove misled investigators about his contacts with reporters about Valerie Wilson, the undercover operative whose identity was made public in 2003.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4674
The Miami Herald
Death toll climbs; frustration mounts over lack of basics
Weeks of waiting may be in store for some without electricity, especially in hard-hit Broward. Rumor and anxiety created long lines at gasoline stations.
By TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE, WANDA J. DeMARZO, JOHN DORSCHNER AND SCOTT HIAASEN
shiaasen@herald.com
It was another day of tedium and anxiety Wednesday for the millions still without power. Phones remained largely inoperable, and panic set in as gas stations went empty.
The statewide death toll climbed to 10.
In Broward, more than 93 percent of customers who lost power remained in the dark Wednesday evening and the darkness could continue until Nov. 22, FPL officials warned again.
By 8 p.m., just 60,700 customers were back online -- and 802,100 remained without power.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13005126.htm
More than 70 percent of South Florida still without power
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
jdorschner@herald.com
More than a third of all homes darkened by Wilma had power restored as of 10 a.m. today, and considerable progress is starting to be made in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida Power & Light announced Thursday morning.
A third of Miami-Dade -- 344,200 homes out of 956,500 affected by the hurricane -- had come back -- double Wednesday's numbers.
The situation in Broward too had improved considerably, but the area's restoration efforts still lagged considerably behind other areas. As of 10 a.m., 19.4 percent of homes there had been restored -- 167,800 of 862,800.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13011479.htm
Dead man in carbon monoxide incident identified
By WANDA J. DEMARZO
wdemarzo@herald.com
One person is dead and nine -- including three fire-rescue workers -- have been transported to the hospital after they were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in Deerfield Beach.
Cloves Jose Dos Santos, 48, was declared dead in the incident.
All the other victims were transported to North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach.
Rescue workers believe that a generator in the back of a house at 170 Northwest 44th Street caused the accident.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies found a generator on the back patio. It was not operating when they found it, but all the victims had symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning consistent with an improperly ventilated, gas-powered electricity generator.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13011225.htm
Cursing, fighting as quest for gas in Dade frazzles nerves
The hunt for gasoline ruled the day across South Florida as thousands of motorists formed tension-filled lines that sometimes stretched for miles.
BY NICOLE WHITE, CAROLINA ZAMORA AND OSCAR CORRAL
ocorral@herald.com
In South Florida on Wednesday, one mission reigned: Find gas.
The evidence stretched for miles across roadways as people desperate for a few drops of unleaded lined up outside gas stations -- whether they were open or not.
Curse words spewed. Tempers flared. Punches
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13005267.htm
Wealthy spared hurricane's worst
Despite the close landfall of Hurricane Wilma, Naples saw relatively little damage, with the exception of broken water lines.
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD
ebolstad@herald.com
NAPLES - Linda Hoban cleared palm fronds Wednesday with her golden retrievers frolicking around her. She wore diamond stud earrings, Versace sunglasses and a coral-and-peach striped featherweight cashmere sweater to ward off the low 60s chill of the unseasonably cool October morning.
''I don't want it to sit there,'' Hoban said of the fronds, scattered across the vast lawn of a neighbor's home on Gulf Shore Drive in Naples and within view of her home across the street. ``If everybody picked up their little spot in the street, it would be fine.''
Insulated by wealth and privilege -- and the luxury of new housing built to exacting construction standards -- Naples and its millionaires carried an air of satisfaction just 48 hours after the storm.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13005367.htm
Cash is king during power outages
Area banks said they had plenty of cash on hand to service South Florida's post-storm cash-based economy. Branch locations are opening and ATMs are coming on line with power restoration.
BY MONICA HATCHER
mhatcher@herald.com
The good, old-fashioned greenback is making a comeback in South Florida.
Knocked powerless by Hurricane Wilma, scores of grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other retail outlets are operating on a cash-only basis. People are pulling the almighty dollar from their wallets again, instead of the almighty credit card, and heading en masse to the nearest ATM, which needs electricity to spit out 10s and 20s.
It's an unusual scenario in a society long-sold on the convenience of plastic. But banks in South Florida said they were ready to handle the largely cashed-based economy in the potentially powerless weeks ahead.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13005624.htm
Bush abandons push for Miers nomination
TERENCE HUNT
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Under withering attack from conservatives, President Bush abandoned his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court and promised a quick replacement Thursday. Democrats accused him of bowing to the "radical right wing of the Republican Party."
The White House said Miers had withdrawn because of senators' demands to see internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. But politics played a larger role: Bush's conservative backers had doubts about her ideological purity, and Democrats had little incentive to help the nominee or the embattled GOP president.
"Let's move on," said Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi. "In a month, who will remember the name Harriet Miers?"
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13010797.htm
Wilma harms Mexico's economic forecast
Hurricane Wilma's slow trek over the Yucatan Peninsula did enough damage to prompt experts to lower Mexico's annual gross domestic product forecast.
BY BENEDICT MANDER
Financial Times
MEXICO CITY - The paralysis of Mexico's world famous tourist resorts on the Yucatan peninsula caused by the devastating passage of Hurricane Wilma may slow the country's economic growth in 2005 by up to a quarter of a percentage point.
The region, which accounts for 35 percent of Mexico's income from tourism, will take at least three to four months to recover, according to hotel owners.
Local government officials estimate that 98 percent of the tourist infrastructure and 75 percent of the population of the state of Quintana Roo, which includes the resorts of Cancún, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres, has been damaged.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13005628.htm
Clarify state death law
OUR OPINION: EXECUTION SHOULD REQUIRE UNANIMOUS VOTES BY JURIES
Among the 39 states that use the death penalty, Florida is the only one that requires a simple majority of jurors to vote to impose execution. All the other states require a unanimous jury vote to put someone on Death Row. To protect the integrity of Florida's death penalty laws and make sure that they are administered as fairly as possible, the Florida Supreme Court has asked the Legislature to act to require the unanimous vote. At least two South Florida legislators agree with the court and, commendably, are acting on its request.
Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, and Rep. Jack Seiler, D-Wilton Manors, have asked legislative staff to craft a bill proposal. The Legislature should follow up and adopt the unanimous-vote provision in the 2006 session.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/13012445.htm
The death penalty
OUR OPINION: PATRIOT ACT DEVELOPING DECIDEDLY UN-AMERICAN TILT
In the name of fighting terror, some lawmakers have gone overboard with amendments to the U.S.A. Patriot Act. For example, U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, would let federal prosecutors shop for another jury if the first panel deadlocked on a death sentence. The very notion is absurd -- jury shopping for death -- and the amendment should be stripped from the Patriot Act reauthorization bill.
Rep. Carter's measure would allow prosecutors to empanel a second jury and argue for death if at least one person on the original jury voted for the death penalty. Thus, an 11-1 vote recommending life in prison instead of death could be rejected in order to empanel another jury to give the prosecutorone more chance to win a death sentence. This measure would do little to actually help fight terrorism. Yet it would undermine a feature that strengthens U.S. jurisprudence and makes our system an international model.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/13012442.htm
The Pakistan Times
Winter poses Perils: UN doubles aid for Pakistan Quake Victims
By Margrate Miglena - PakistanTimes.net Foreign Correspondent
GENEVA (Switzerland): Taking an instant and serious notice of the awful plight of Quake victims in Pakistan, the United Nations Wednesday almost doubled its appeal target for the South Asia earthquake to 580 US dollars.
More resources are urgently needed to save the lives of more than three million people in remote mountain villages who lack food and shelter in Pakistan as well as in diverse vicinities of Azad Kashmir, most of which are still inaccessible, the UN said.
Speaking at the Donors’ Conference in Geneva, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that a "winter without pity" was looming for survivors.
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/top.htm
Biggest NATO airlift arrives Pakistan as UNHCR steps up relief Work
By Aziz Malik - PakistanTimes.net Federal Bureau chief
ISLAMABAD: The largest NATO airlift of UNHCR relief
supplies to date arrived here Wednesday, carrying 87 tonnes of relief items to supplement supplies for Pakistan’s earthquake survivors.
The Boeing 747 flight touched down at Islamabad’s Chaklala military airbase, bringing 42 pallets of tents, blankets and stoves from UNHCR’s warehouse in southern Turkey.
The now-daily Boeing 747 arrivals will boost the speed of aid delivery, complementing the ongoing C-130 NATO flights that started on October-19.
The supplies are being rushed to earthquake victims in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province and Azad Kashmir.
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/top3.htm
Tents supplied to 98 % homeless in NW Pakistan
Pakistan Times National News Desk
BALAKOT: Pakistan Army said relief operations have geared up in the earthquake-affected territories and tents were provided to 98 percent quake homeless in Balakot and Kaghan Valley.
In-charge Army relief camp in Balakot Col. Saeed talking with Geo said Pak Army’s relief operations have geared up in Balakot and Kaghan Valley, while the troops will also reach to the un-accessed areas within next 48 hours.
He said the army has established relief camps in the area and provided relief items, while relief goods also being dispatched to other quake-hit territories in the forward area.
He said the army was providing full security to the NGOs working in the affected areas and guides them about relief needs of different areas in routine daily meetings.●
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/national2.htm
Clinton to introduce Pakistan's Mukhtar Mai in US
By Khalida Mazhar - PakistanTimes.net Foreign Correspondent
WASHINGTON (US): Mukhtar Mai, who arrived in Chicago Sunday night is all set to travel to New York in the next few days to accept the ‘Woman of the Year’ award from Glamour magazine.
Former US President Bill Clinton will introduce her to the star-studded event at Lincoln Centre on November-2.
Mukhtar Mai said on Wednesday that she would donate $5,000 of the $20,000 prize for earthquake relief, while the rest would be spent to expand the two schools she runs for girls in Meerwala, a remote village in southern Punjab.
“I’ve gained a lot of strength from building the school. I would not be alive today if I had not gained this strength, and I have more faith in Pakistan because of this,” she said.
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/top7.htm
Quake may have shifted thousands of Kashmir Landmines
Pakistan Times Kashmir Desk
SRINAGAR (IHK): The devastating October-8 earthquake may have shifted thousands of landmines planted by Indian and Pakistani troops along the Line of Control [LoC] in the Himalayan State of Jammu & Kashmir, a group warned on Friday.
“We are very concerned,” said Shafaat Hussain of Global Green Peace, a non-governmental organisation that has worked since 1998 to persuade India and Pakistan to de-mine the are.
“There are thousands of mines out there threatening to take human lives.” Hussain said that areas along the the LoC, are “heavily mined” on both sides.
“As the earthquake triggered massive landslides along the Line of Control, it must have surely relocated these mines,” said Hussain.
“We are told that respective armies do keep a proper map of the planted mines, but those maps will not help, given the devastation.”
India's Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Vijay Batra played down the risk. “Landmines were planted along the LoC and army posts some 58 years ago. “Wherever a bit of damage has taken place to the minefields due to landslides, it is not affecting the civilians as no mines have drifted or shifted towards civilian areas,” he contended.
Yet, the Red Cross says that in the heat of war, mines are often not mapped or monitored and can shift depending on the weather and soil type, sometimes travelling kilometres if washed out by heavy rain.●
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/kashmir1.htm
Pakistan's National Assembly Kashmir Committee visits AJK
Pakistan Times National News Desk
MUZAFFARABAD (AJK): National Assembly’s Kashmir Committee delegation visited the quake-hit areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The seven-member delegation of the Committee led by its Chairman, Hamid Nasir Chatta also met here AJK Prime Minister, Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan and exchanged views on the relief works underway for quake-stricken people.
The delegation comprised of Hamid Nasir Chatta, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Liaquat Baloch, Mushahid Hussain Syed, senator Moheem Khan Baloch, Shirin Rahman and Professor Mohammad Saeed Siddiqui.
The Kashmir Committee delegation later left for district Bagh after taking a round of the devastated areas here.●
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/national4.htm
Geologists arrive in Battgram to hold seismic survey in NW Pakistan
Pakistan Times National News Desk
BATTGRAM: A team of two experts from the Geological Survey of Pakistan Tuesday reached Battgram for seismic survey of the Allai valley.
Two experts from the Geological Survey of Pakistan Naseer Ali Khan and Abdul Majid have been taken to Battgram this morning to hold seismic survey of the Allai valley, higher military sources told a private TV Channel.
The people of the area had reported various government departments about aftershocks and emission of blue smoke from the mountains and constant blasts.
The government decided to hold a survey after these reports.
The geologists will submit their report to the government of Pakistan today, sources added.
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/10/27/national3.htm
The Washington Post
Tropical Storm Alpha Kills 26 in Haiti, Dominican Republic
Reuters
Thursday, October 27, 2005; Page A05
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Oct. 26 -- Tropical Storm Alpha brought torrential rains that killed 26 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week, days after Hurricane Wilma also caused death and destruction in the countries, officials said Wednesday.
Alpha, the 22nd named tropical cyclone of the Atlantic hurricane season, drenched the two countries, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, on Monday and caused flash floods that swept away people, houses and animals.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102602163.html
Presidents Past Inspire Bush's Damage Control
By Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 25, 2005; Page A01
Facing a convergence of crises threatening his administration, President Bush and his team are devising plans to salvage the remainder of his presidency by applying the lessons of past two-term chief executives and refocusing attention on the president's larger economic and foreign policy goals.
Rarely has a president confronted as many damaging developments that could all come to a head in this week. A special counsel appears poised to indict one or more administration officials within days. Pressure is building on Bush from within his own party to withdraw the faltering Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. And any day the death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq will pass the symbolically important 2,000 mark.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/24/AR2005102402000.html
Grand Jury Hears Summary of Case On CIA Leak Probe
Decision on Charges May Come Friday
By Carol D. Leonnig and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 27, 2005; Page A01
The prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation presented a summary of his case to a federal grand jury yesterday and is expected to announce a final decision on charges in the two-year-long probe tomorrow, according to people familiar with the case.
Even as Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald wrapped up his case, the legal team of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has been engaged in a furious effort to convince the prosecutor that Rove did not commit perjury during the course of the investigation, according to people close to the aide. The sources, who indicated that the effort intensified in recent weeks, said Rove still did not know last night whether he would be indicted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102600532.html?sub=AR
AOL Hires Cheney Daughter
By Yuki Noguchi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 27, 2005; Page D05
America Online Inc. hired Mary Cheney, the 36-year-old daughter of Vice President Cheney, to offer advice on building up Web site businesses, a company spokesman said yesterday.
Cheney starts the job later this year and will work primarily with longtime AOL executive Ted Leonsis, who as president of AOL's Audience Business focuses on increasing viewership of its Web sites, said Nicholas Graham, a spokesman for the Dulles-based company. He declined to disclose additional details about her position.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102602339.html
Buenos Aires Herald
Torture ‘a matter of debate’
US ambassador makes security and safety of society a priority in controversial issue.
"(Torture) is an issue that a democratic society should debate and it is up to the representatives of the people in Congress to decide on it," said Gutiérrez in a radio interview.
"The question is this: what if a terrorist has information that could save the lives of thousands and does not want to speak up? There are some people who believe those methods should be used to save lives," added the ambassador, referring to torture techniques.
"I know it is a debate that does not sound very Christian and elegant," he acknowledged. "Torture is inhuman and degrading, but sometimes these moral issues crop up and a democratic society has to debate them."
Led by Vice-President Dick Cheney, the George Bush administration is reportedly floating a proposal to exclude overseas clandestine counterterrorism operations by agencies other than the Pentagon from a Senate-approved ban on torturing detainees in US custody. The bill, drafted by Republican Senator John McCain, now stands before the House
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=219559&hideIntro=true
US anti-war rallies to bring troops home
Anti-war activists said their movement was rapidly growing in strength and now spoke for a majority in the United States who now thought Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was a mistake.
"We’re seeing rapid changes in public opinion in favour of ending the war and bringing back the troops and it’s beginning to be reflected in Congress," said Phyllis Bennis of the anti-war Institute for Policy Studies.
"The anti-war position is no longer held exclusively for activists. It is beginning to give voice to the majority in this country," she said.
The death on Saturday of a soldier wounded in combat in Samarra, Iraq, on October 17 pushed the toll to 2,000. More than 15,000 US troops have also been wounded in combat in the war that began March 200
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=219564&hideIntro=true
First human case outside Asia?
"These three people who all travelled to Thailand had visited a bird zoo where they had come into contact with birds," French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said of the tourists who had since returned home to the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. "Initial tests resulted positive," he said, but further results would only be ready today.
In Europe, Croatia confirmed H5N1 had killed swans found dead by a pond there last week, taking further into Europe the lethal strain that surfaced in South Korea two years ago and has since spread to Turkey, Romania and Russia. Germany and Greece were also testing dead birds.
Britain said an imported parrot that died of H5N1 might not have been the only bird in quarantine to have had the virus, and others were being tested.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=219569&hideIntro=true
Journalism at Risk, For those that take the profession seriously and not as a tool and extension of government.
Reporting on press freedom
20/10/2005 15:24 - (SA)
Paris - Press freedom is being eroded in parts of the Western world, failing to advance in Iraq, but making progress in states emerging from repression, the watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported on Thursday.
Its 2005 annual press freedom index again puts North Korea at the bottom of the list in 167th position, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland share top spot.
The top 10 countries are all European. New Zealand (12), Trinidad and Tobago (12), Benin (25) and South Korea (34) are the highest-ranked countries in other continents.
The Paris-based watchdog reports that Middle Eastern countries (Iran 164, Iraq 157, Saudi Arabia 154, Syria 145) are among states where journalists have the toughest time and where government repression or armed groups prevent the media from operating freely.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1820204,00.html
US Senate Committee considers measures to protect journalists
Washington: In the wake of imprisonment of a New York Times reporter who refused to reveal her source, the US lawmakers are considering legislation that would legally protect journalists from revealing their confidential sources.
The legislation is getting overwhelming attention in the Senate here after a New York Times reporter Judith Miller chose to go to prison rather than reveal her source with federal prosecutors investigating the disclosure of Central Intelligence Agency operative Valerie Plame's identity.
According to media reports here, President George W Bush's top political adviser Karl Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby are at the center of a federal investigation into who leaked the identity of Ms Plame, whose diplomat husband Joseph Wilson challenged the administration's pre-war intelligence on Iraq.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=38230
Journalists walk off job
October 27, 2005
STAFF at The Sydney Morning Herald have walked off the job tonight to protest a plan to axe 68 jobs.
More than 250 workers tonight "overwhelming" voted to go on strike at least until tomorrow morning.
Earlier this week the newspaper's publisher, John Fairfax Holdings, said it would cut 7.5 per cent of its staff across its major publications - the SMH, The Age and the Australian Financial Review.
Fairfax said under the $100 million cost cutting plan, it would target staff for redundancy if they failed to volunteer.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17056394%255E1702,00.html
International News Safety Institute
Two US soldiers killed in Iraq
Updated at 06h12 GMT
BAGHDAD, Oct 27 (AFP) - Two US soldiers were killed by a makeshift bomb in eastern Baghdad, the military said Thursday.
"Two Task Force Baghdad Soldiers were killed Wednesday when their convoy struck an improvised explosive device in east Baghdad," a statement said.
The death brought to 2,003 US military losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, according to an AFP tally based on the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count website (icasualties.org).
However, the official Pentagon count, last updated on Wednesday, remained at 1,994 military personnel killed and more than 15,000 wounded since the start of the war.
http://www.newssafety.com/english/english/topics/journalisme/051027061227.3rc6qi15.html
Need for new world laws to protect journalists? Better reporting makes journalists safer?
Top newsmen debate safety
The world needed new global laws to protect journalists from killers who silenced open reporting and escaped justice, a major meeting on news safety heard.
A panel of top journalists, gathered in New York to discuss the rising toll of journalists killed for doing their jobs, heard there was a need for governments and news organisations to act to defend free reporting.
Journalists themselves could help by raising their standards and attracting more respect, speakers said.
The panel discussion, entitled “Finding Solutions for Journalist Safety”, was the latest in a series of safety discussions supported by the International News Safety Institute as part of its global inquiry into journalist deaths. It was moderated by John Roberts, Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News.
http://www.newssafety.com/aboutus/documents/New%20York%20Debate.doc
Rumsfeld to address reporters' safety in Iraq
September 29, 2005 By Alan Elsner
WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A senior Republican lawmaker won a commitment on Thursday from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to address concerns about the increased detentions and accidental shootings by U.S. forces of reporters trying to cover the Iraq conflict.
Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Senate armed services committee , raised the issue at a hearing with Rumsfeld and top U.S. generals after receiving letters from Reuters and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and a telephone call from Paul Steiger, CPJ chairman and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal.
"I raised the question of the safety of the press in Iraq and their ability to carry out the very important function of reporting to the American people," Warner told reporters after the hearing.
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/reuters/rumsfeld30.htm
I THOUGHT AFGHANISTAN HAD FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
Afghanistan: Editor's Arrest On Blasphemy Charges Highlights Difficulties Facing Journalists
By Golnaz Esfandiari
The arrest of the editor in chief of an Afghan women's magazine is causing concern and fear among journalists in the country. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab ran the respected monthly magazine called "Women's Rights" (Hoquq-e Zan). He was arrested earlier this month for publishing articles deemed blasphemous and anti-Islamic. His arrest has been condemned by organizations defending press freedoms inside Afghanistan and also by international media rights groups, such as Reporters Without Borders and the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Prague, 20 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- One of the stories published in "Women's Rights" questioned the harsh punishment under Shari'a law for women found guilty of adultery, such as stoning. Another article argued that giving up Islam is not a crime.
The magazine's editor, Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, was arrested on 1 October following a complaint made to the Supreme Court by a religious adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/10/DFA1A44F-C89B-49A8-9F42-9F6ABCF83EDB.html
FROM BBC MONITORING SERVICE
Afghan journalist said killed in "pre-meditated attack"
Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website
Kabul, 24 October: Journalists in the southeastern Province of Khost on Monday [24 October] condemned the killing of a radio journalist in a roadside bomb explosion [on 22 October].
They also stressed the need for fair treatment of Haqooq-i-Zan magazine Editor Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, who was handed down a sentence of two years in jail for publishing blasphemous articles.
The Khost Independent Union of Journalists flayed the killing of the Solh-i-Paigham (Voice of Peace) radio reporter Maiwand, who lost his life while accompanying Afghan National Army soldiers in the countryside.
At a meeting, chaired by Mohammad Ghafoor Mehdi, the reporters claimed Maiwand was deliberately killed in a pre-meditated attack. They urged the government to track down the culprits and bring them to justice as soon as possible.
The journalists accused the government of maltreating the jailed editor of the Haqooq-i-Zan magazine. They demanded that the judiciary be manned by professionally competent and qualified people.
Source: Pajhwok Afghan News website, Kabul, in English 1130 gmt 24 Oct 05
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/bbc/afghanistan24.htm
FROM BBC MONITORING SERVICE
Taleban fighters seek leader's permission to kill Afghan, Western journalists
Some 100 Taleban supporters in various provinces of Afghanistan have signed an open letter addressed to Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taleban leader, seeking his permission to kill Afghan and Western journalists in the wake of the recent arrest of the Taleban spokesman in Pakistan.
"We resolutely demand that we should be given the permission to kill all domestic and foreign workers of the Western media," the letter said.
The letter - a copy of which was published by the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press - also calls on staff of Western media outlets to use their influence to ensure the release of Taleban Spokesman Latifollah Hakimi from the "claws of their masters".
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/bbc/afghan13.htm
IFJ urges authorities to fast track inquiry into missing reporter
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned for the safety of abducted Berita Sore reporter, Elyuddin Telaumbanua, after two months of police investigations have failed to make any progress.
Telaumbanua was reported missing on August 22 after he failed to make contact with his editors while on assignment in the district of Teluk Dalam, in Southern Nias.
The IFJ, a global organisation representing over 500,000 journalists in more than 110 countries, is concerned that police investigations have stalled and hold grave concerns for Teaumbanua's life.
The IFJ has written to the Indonesian Head of Police calling for a rapid and thorough investigation into Telaumbanua's abduction to ensure that justice prevails.
"The IFJ calls on the Indonesian Government to instruct the appropriate authorities to fast track the injury into Telaumbanua's disappearance, as any delay in this case could be a matter of life and death," said IFJ president Christopher Warren.
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/ifj/indonesia24.htm
Ewen MacAskill, Angelique Chrisafis and Ian Prior in Dublin
Friday October 21, 2005
Rory Carroll, the Guardian journalist kidnapped in Baghdad on Wednesday, was freed last night after 36 hours in captivity in a dark underground cell.
Carroll phoned the Guardian to confirm that his captors, whom he described as Shia opportunists, had released him into the hands of the Iraqi government.
The end came when one of his captors received a mobile phone call and unbolted the door to the cell, telling him he was free to go. "He put me in the boot of his car and drove me alone and dropped me in the middle of Baghdad," Carroll said.
Last night he was under the protection of the Iraqi government in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/guardian/iraq21.htm
Freed journalist wants to stay in Iraq
21.10.05 1.00pm
BAGHDAD - Irish journalist Rory Carroll, freed on Thursday after 36 hours in the hands of Baghdad kidnappers, said he wanted to go on reporting on Iraq.
"The next move is unclear but I would like to report on Iraq in the future," the 33-year-old correspondent for London's Guardian said shortly after his release.
He said he did not know who was responsible for snatching him on Wednesday. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi was present when he was released after a day-and-a-half in darkness.
"I don't know who took me," Carroll said. "I was released about an hour ago. I'm fine. I was treated reasonably well," he added.
"I spent the last 36 hours in the dark. I was released into the hands of Dr Chalabi."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10351371
Four held over kidnap of Guardian journalist
Ewen MacAskill and Vikram Dodd
Friday October 21, 2005
Iraqi police have arrested four men in connection with the kidnapping of the Guardian journalist Rory Carroll in Baghdad. The police are looking for a further four suspects.
Carroll, 33, who has been on assignment in Iraq for nine months, was freed on Thursday night after being held for 36 hours. He is due to fly back to his family's home in Dublin tomorrow.
The Iraqi police have seldom been proactive in hostage situations. But diplomats praised them for following a trail that started with the head of the family who Carroll interviewed in Sadr City. The trail led to a group of men who visited the home during the interview.
Carroll was released unharmed after intensive diplomatic negotiations behind the scenes. The Irish foreign minister, Dermot Ahern, disclosed today that his government had been helped by the British, French and Italian governments. Although Carroll is an Irish citizen, the Irish government, which opposed the war, has no diplomatic presence in Baghdad.
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/guardian/iraq21b.htm
Chinese traffic police beat editor of party paper over report
Text of report by Minnie Chan entitled: "Police beat editor of party paper over report", published by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post website on 22 October
Dozens of traffic policemen stormed a party newspaper office in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, and beat up an editor because they were dissatisfied with a report about unreasonable traffic licence charges.
Wu Xianghu, a deputy editor at the Taizhou Evening News, was taken to the city's No1 People's Hospital on Thursday [20 October] afternoon to be treated for severe injuries suffered in the beating, a newspaper employee confirmed yesterday.
"Mr Wu is still in the hospital and weak after receiving medical treatment," said Yang Nengyong .
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/bbc/china22.htm
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