Morning Papers - It's Origins

Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"

In history on January 13...

...1854, Anthony Faas of Pennsylvania patents the accordion.

"It's understandable why the accordian was invented today. It is one of those days in history when very little of significance happened."

An accordion, a hand-held musical instrument consisting of a bellows attached to two oblong frames, on which buttons and, in some types, pianolike keys are mounted. A person plays the accordion by drawing (stretching) and pushing (compressing) the bellows, causing air to pass over metal tabs called reeds. This airflow makes the reeds vibrate, which produces sounds. A player produces the various notes by depressing the buttons and keys. The reeds and buttons that control bass notes are on the player's left-hand side of the bellows, and the reeds and buttons or keys that control treble notes are on the right-hand side.

"Also known as a squeeze box."

For all those that love accordians more than "Morning Papers" like The Accordian Guy, read this.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761579072

The Jakarta Post

Australia backs RI restrictions on foreign aid workers, journalists in Aceh
CANBERRA (AP): Australia's prime minister on Wednesday supported the Indonesian government's demand that foreign aid workers and journalists report their movements outside tsunami-battered Aceh's provincial capital.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112183228&irec=0

Paris Club meets to discuss moratorium on debt of tsunami-hit nations
PARIS (AP): Officials from the world's top creditor nations met in Paris on Wednesday to discuss a proposed moratorium on debt repayments by countries hit by the Asian tsunami.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112125813&irec=8

Foreign troops told to leave Aceh by the end of March

JAKARTA (Antara): Foreign troops helping with aid relief efforts in Indonesia's tsunami-stricken Aceh province should leave by the end of March, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday.

..."Three months are enough. The sooner (they leave) the better," said Kalla, when asked how long should foreign troops should stay in Aceh.

When asked about long-term relief efforts, he said: "We don't need foreign troops."

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112175956&irec=1

Paris Club to freeze debt repayments for three tsunami-hit states: France

PARIS (AFP): The Paris Club, an informal creditor group of the world's 19 wealthiest nations, is set to agree on freezing debt repayments for tsunami-hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles, French Finance Minister Herve Gaymard said on Wednesday.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112171014&irec=3

The Los Angeles Times

As 4 More Victims Are Found, La Conchita Ponders Its Future

State and county officials cleared the way Wednesday for residents of the tiny town of La Conchita to eventually return home, even as the mud from Monday's landslide gave up the bodies of four more victims — a mother and her three daughters — and geologists said the site remained dangerous.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-laconchita13jan13,0,7743692.story?coll=la-home-headlines

More Bush Crony Pork Barrel Spending. The people of this country are being 'rolled' for money left and right.

New FBI Software May Be Unusable
A central feature of the agency’s $581-million computer overhaul aimed at coordinating anti-terrorism efforts is reportedly inadequate.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fbi13jan13,0,1621416.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Daily News (Sri Lanka)

US companies to continue Lankan garment contracts

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Most US companies involved in the textile industry will continue their contracts with Sri Lankan suppliers in the future despite the phasing out of the Multi fibre agreement (MFA) this month, said the visiting United States Congressional delegation Senator Sen. John Corzine.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/13/new01.html

Rebuilding nation action plan already launched three days after disaster

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga notes that her Government began its action plan for the reconstruction of the nation on 29th December three days after the tsunami disaster and have already set definite targets to complete the work.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/13/pol01.html

President to receive rebuilding plan today

An overall plan for rebuilding all sectors devastated by the tsunami disaster will be presented to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga today, January 13 for her recommendations and observations.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/13/new11.html

Sri Lanka Relief Website

http://www.cnosrilanka.org/

Situation Maps as well.

http://www.cnosrilanka.org/reports/present1.ppt

Michael Moore is always on the mark.
He is an amazing journalist/documentarian. He needs to love himself as much as he loves us and live forever. Love you, Michael. Group hug.

"The President of Fabricated Crisis:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/index_main.php

January 12th, 2005 4:33 pm

President of Fabricated Crises

By Harold Meyerson / Washington Post

Some presidents make the history books by managing crises. Lincoln had Fort Sumter, Roosevelt had the Depression and Pearl Harbor, and Kennedy had the missiles in Cuba. George W. Bush, of course, had Sept. 11, and for a while thereafter -- through the overthrow of the Taliban -- he earned his page in history, too.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=932

Protesters Plan to Mark Bush Inauguration

By Andy Sullivan / Reuters
Protesters will march through Washington, stage a "die in" across from the White House and turn their backs on President Bush's limousine during his inaugural celebration next week, organizers said on Wednesday.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=934

I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
The search for WMD ended last month. The White House is looking forward to Iraq's imperfect democracy.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php

"Do the people not think about people like him when they are voting?"

From: O.G.Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 12:17 AMTo: soldiers@michaelmoore.comSubject: W.

Hey now,
Michael, I just read 17 pretty good reasons why I shouldn't slit my wrists. I want to say thank you man. This country has been done a great service by you and those like you (Stern, Franken and the like) who are not afraid to buck-up to the right wingers.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/willtheyevertrustusagain/index.php?id=16

The Australian

Research at Oxford is tortureRuth GledhillJanuary 13, 2005
PEOPLE are to be tortured in laboratories at Oxford University in a US-funded experiment to determine if belief in God is effective in relieving pain.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11923314^601,00.html

Dollar climbs higher

January 13, 2005
THE dollar climbed higher overnight after a much wider-than-expected US trade deficit sent the US dollar lower across the board.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11927822^1702,00.html

Out of the Bay, far from freeRoy Eccleston

January 13, 2005
THREE years to the day after the first hooded and shackled prisoners began arriving at Guantanamo Bay, a US naval base on a dry and dusty patch of Cuba, Australian inmate Mamdouh Habib was digesting some surprising news.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11922868^28737,00.html

The Chicago Tribune

Torrential Storm Tears Up Western States

By KEN RITTER
Associated Press Writer
Published January 12, 2005, 10:48 PM CST
OVERTON, Nev. -- The torrential storm that caused the deadly mudslide in California is leaving a path of destruction in other Western states, bringing flooding that has gobbled up houses and roads and forced hundreds of people to flee.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top11jan12,1,5017783.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Temperatures to plunge
Wednesday's warm weather is expected to be replaced by freezing temperatures Thursday.

Thursday...Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Windy. Much colder. Highs around 30. Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph.

http://weather.chicagotribune.com/US/IL/Chicago/KORD.html?main=1

Bush is a coward and AWOL from his duties. What else is there to say, except the people Dan Rather is defending are heroes for refocusing the issue and at least trying bringing their clout with them. YES !!

Rather has praise for 4 dismissed from CBS

By John Cook
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 12, 2005
Dan Rather came to the defense of his former colleagues on Tuesday, praising four employees who were dismissed by CBS News in the wake of a scathing independent report into a flawed "60 Minutes" segment on President Bush's National Guard service.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0501120261jan12,1,3545513.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Kraft to Curb Some Snack Food Advertising

By Associated Press
Published January 12, 2005, 3:29 PM CST
NORTHFIELD, Ill. -- Kraft Foods Inc., the nation's biggest food manufacturer, said Wednesday it plans to curb its advertising of Oreo cookies, regular Kool-Aid and other popular snack foods to children under 12 as part of an effort to encourage better eating habits.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-kraft-marketing,1,393520.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Environmentalists Protest Apple's 'iWaste'

By RACHEL KONRAD
AP Technology Writer
Published January 12, 2005, 7:33 AM CST
SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Computer Corp. has become the darling of the technology sector for its wildly popular digital music player. But scorching iPod sales have also made it the target of an aggressive environmental coalition, which is trashing Apple as rotten to the core.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/sns-ap-macworld-protest,1,2443666.story?coll=chi-business-hed

The Moscow Times

Putin's Reforms Duma's Priority

By Oksana Yablokova Staff Writer

The State Duma, which reconvenes Wednesday after the holiday break, will delve into hundreds of bills, including steps to clamp down on terrorism, moonshine and nudity on television, but it will give priority to President Vladimir Putin's controversial political reforms, Speaker Boris Gryzlov said Tuesday.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/01/12/001.html

Ukraine may expect US investments after stabilization - ambassador

Interfax. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, 9:51 PM Moscow Time

KYIV. Jan 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) - American ambassador to Kyiv John Herbst has said that if the new Ukrainian government succeeds in restoring stability, it can expect an influx of new US investments. During a TV linkup between Ukrainian parliament members and US Congress members he voiced confidence that there will be a regular flow of capital from the West, including the United States, if the new government restores order. He expected fundamental improvement in bilateral relations following the more or less honest elections

http://www.con-cap.com/doc1.doc

Putin Misses Diaspora Opportunities

By Alexei Bayer

I was recently invited by a Russian-language television channel in Israel to participate in an on-air class reunion. Alumni of a Moscow high school, we were brought to Jerusalem from France, Canada and the United States to join others who now live in Israel. In a way, we were a microcosm of the Russian diaspora.

Arms shipments contracts with Indonesia may be postponed - source

Interfax. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, 7:51 PM Moscow Time

MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Over the next several years, Indonesia will probably not be able to purchase a new shipment of weapons from Russia, a source in the Russian defense industry told Interfax. "Due to the large economic damage that was dealt to Indonesia by the tsunami, Jakarta will probably postpone its plans to purchase Su military airplanes and other weapons from Russia. We understand this decision of the Indonesian authorities and will be ready to renew the contracts at a more convenient time," the source said

Jailed Journalists

OPINION :

Freedom of information won veto battle 30 years ago

Jan/11/2005
By Thomas S. Blanton
Knight Ridder/Tribune
Journalists across the nation are celebrating the 30-year anniversary of a bitter Washington battle that led to the passage of the modern Freedom of Information Act over presidential veto. But new threats to this landmark law mount as its leading opponents from 1974 now dominate the Vice Presidency, Supreme Court and Pentagon, and are using their influence to push for more governmental secrecy.

http://www.southend.wayne.edu/modules/news/article.php?storyid=741

Zimbabwe press regulations under fire

The United States has condemned new media laws in Zimbabwe that will see unlicensed journalists jailed for up to two years.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1280449.htm

Zimbabwe tightens media laws

Published in: Legalbrief Today
Date: Mon 10 January 2005
Category: Legislation
Issue No: 1250
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has enacted changes to media laws that will see unlicensed journalists jailed for up to two years, according to a report on the News24 site.

http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20050110095813743

One thing journalists don't respect from time to time, especially in Muslim nations, is that the government seeks to control a great deal simply by the fact there are terrorist networks that seek to undermine their sovereignty.

What happened in Myanmar?

By Moira MacDonald -- For the Toronto Sun

We take news coverage of natural disasters so much for granted that our biggest complaint may be that there is too much of it, rather than not enough.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Moira_MacDonald/2005/01/10/877179.html

The Miami Herald

Prisoners from Mariel win release

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Mariel refugees and other foreign nationals never 'technically' admitted into the country cannot be held indefinitely.
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@herald.com
About 2,000 foreign nationals in indefinite detention around the country, including 700 to 1,000 Mariel refugees from Cuba, must be released as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision Wednesday.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10631503.htm

Courthouse faces death sentence

The chief judge for the Southern District of Florida is considering eliminating Broward's federal courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale to save money.
By SAMUEL P. NITZE AND SARA OLKON
solkon@herald.com
In a bid to dramatically cut costs, South Florida's chief federal judge has proposed closing the U.S. courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and splitting its caseload between Miami and West Palm Beach.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10631515.htm

The Times - London

Indonesian army accused of executing tsunami victimsBy Richard Lloyd Parry in Banda Aceh
Refugees from the tsunami say that two members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and seven unarmed villagers were executed by Indonesian soldiers last week.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18690-1436908,00.html

The Boston Globe

Second right whale in two days found dead in East Coast waters

January 12, 2005
BOSTON -- Marine scientists spotted a dead North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Georgia on Wednesday, the second found off the eastern seaboard in 24 hours and the fourth in six weeks.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/01/12/second_right_whale_in_two_days_found_dead_in_east_coast_waters/

Former Klansmen freed on bond in Miss.

By Shelia Byrd, Associated Press Writer January 12, 2005
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. -- The reputed Ku Klux Klansman charged with the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers was freed Wednesday on $250,000 bail.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/01/12/former_klansmen_freed_on_bond_in_miss/

Protesters get prime spot along inauguration parade route

By Sam Hananel, Associated Press, 1/12/2005 18:10

WASHINGTON (AP) The National Park Service has agreed to give thousands of anti-war demonstrators a prime spot along President Bush's inaugural parade route that will allow them to protest during the procession.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/012/wash/Protesters_get_prime_spot_alon:.shtml

The World According to Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart's China operation a study in contrasts

Workers at many of the factories that supply goods to the stores can't afford to shop there
Vanessa Hua, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Dongguan, China -- Inside this toy factory in southern China, childhood memories are born. Cuddly bears, soft pastel bibs, blankets are midwifed by migrant workers who see their own babies but once a year.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/12/29/BUG4IAI7MH1.DTL

East Side Wal-Mart managers charged with felony after shooting and killing stray cat

By MARK WILSON, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7417 or mwilson@evansville.net
December 29, 2004
Two Wal-Mart Supercenter employees in Evansville told Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s deputies that the store’s general manager, Darrel Weitzel, instructed them to shoot and kill a cat on store property.

http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/local_news/article/0,1626,ECP_745_3432473,00.html

The Women of Wal-Mart

By Geri L. Dreiling, AlterNet. Posted September 16, 2004.
A gender discrimination lawsuit offers a glimpse inside the nation's largest private employer and its treatment of women. It ain't pretty.
Story Tools

When Melissa Howard joined the Wal-Mart store in New Castle, Ind., in 1992, she received a blue vest, a red, white and-blue nametag, six bucks an hour, and the title of "electronics department manager." Howard hoped to climb the corporate ladder, accept greater responsibility and take home a fatter paycheck.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/19901/

Wal-Mart is evacuated

By Mark Agee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
MANSFIELD - A Wal-Mart Supercenter was evacuated for three hours Tuesday afternoon after a bomb threat was made and police found a suspicious package inside the store.
Someone called the Wal-Mart near U.S. 287 and Walnut Creek Drive at 4 p.m. and told employees that there was a bomb in the store, police said.
Police spokesman Thad Penkala did not know how many customers were inside at the time. Many of them waited on a grassy bank on the edge of the parking lot.
A bomb squad from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives removed the package but hadn't determined whether it was a bomb, Penkala said Tuesday.
Investigators were working to determine where the call came from but did not have a suspect, he said.
Police said the caller could face a felony count of making a terroristic threat, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/10521067.htm

Police arrest men for Wal-Mart thefts

Forum staff reports, The Forum
Published Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Two men who police believe were responsible for thefts at Wal-Mart stores in Fargo and Dilworth Monday and Tuesday were arrested in connection with the incidents, police said.

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=79163§ion=News

Wal-Mart, school issues dominant headlines of 2004

By Jeremy Rue
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
It seems just like yesterday the world was celebrating the birth of a new millennium, and the start of the next decade.
Now, as we pass into the year 2005, it's hard to believe that this decade is just about half over -- or for the optimist, perhaps it's just half started.

http://www.selmaenterprise.com/articles/2004/12/28/news/news03.txt

Wal-Mart to News Agency: No Comment on Turkey Rumor

12/29/04 11:18:16 AM
By Arkansas Business staff, Arkansasbusiness.com Daily Report

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville told the Reuters news service that it would not comment on reports Wednesday that the retailer is considering cooperating with Turkey’s leading retailer, supermarket chain Migros.

Migros is controlled by Turkish conglomerate Koc Holdings.
Speculation of some deal between Wal-Mart and Migros began after the Turkish Anka News Agency quoted Koc Honorary Chairman Rahmi Koc as saying Migros and Wal-Mart were in talks.

Wal-Mart has partnerships with other retailers throughout the world. Most notably, it owns about a 37 percent stake in Japanese retailer Seiyu. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart and other investors said on Friday they would inject $42 million into Seiyu to boost its weak capital base. Seiyu is Japan's fourth-largest supermarket chain with about 400 stores.
Shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) were trading higher at $53.42 on Wednesday after closing at $53.23 on Tuesday.

http://arkansasbusiness.com/news/headline_article.asp?aid=39514

Wal-Mart Evacuated Following In-Store Bank Robbery

Robber Leaves Suspicious Package Behind

POSTED: 11:22 am CST December 29, 2004
UPDATED: 11:34 am CST December 29, 2004

PLANO, Texas -- Police in Plano evacuated a Wal-Mart after a robbery at a bank inside the store on Tuesday.
Investigators told NBC 5 the robber demanded money inside the store at Coit Road and Highway 190.
The robber then left the store, leaving behind a suspicious package.
Police cleared the store and secured the area but experts later determined the package was not an explosive.

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/4032887/detail.html

Bomb Scare Evacuates Wal-Mart
POSTED: 12:50 am CST December 29, 2004
UPDATED: 11:27 am CST December 29, 2004
DALLAS -- A suspicious package was spotted at the Wal-Mart Tuesday on Walnut Creek Road, near Highway 287, and police evacuated the store immediately.
The bomb squad moved in after someone called Wal-Mart threatening to blow the store up.
One law enforcement source said the caller demanded that money be put in a bag and placed in a nearby park.
Officers searched the store and found what looked like a pipe bomb, complete with a crude switch.
Federal ATF agents determined it was a hoax and an investigator carried it out of the store.
An ATF agent said the bomb scare was unusual because someone went to a lot of effort to make it seem real.
After about three hours the store reopened and customers and employees were allowed back in.
Investigators now plan to go through videotapes from the store's surveillance cameras to identify who did it.

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/4031651/detail.html

NEW: Helotes residents to hear from Wal-Mart tonight
Web Posted: 01/12/2005 11:55 AM CST
MySanAntonio.com
Wal-Mart representatives will get the chance to make their case to skeptical Helotes residents at a public hearing tonight.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA011205.helotes.online.a145f760.html

Wal-Mart Lists On The Go's Heinz Baby Basics Tumbler as Part of Their Product Line
CONCORD, ON -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/12/2005 -- On the Go Healthcare, Inc. (OTC BB: OGHC) ("the Company"), a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of innovative baby products and computer hardware, software and supplies VAR, today announced that Wal-mart Canada has listed another of the Company product sku's in its inventory. The product, Baby's First Tumbler from the Heinz Baby Basics feeding accessory line, will be featured alongside other Company infant products in the department store's roster, and is expected to ship shortly upon its national store launch.

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=78967

Teen Sought In Siloam Springs Wal-Mart Shooting
Police Say 16-Year-Old Boy To Be Charged With Attempted Murder
POSTED: 10:37 am CST January 12, 2005
UPDATED: 6:38 pm CST January 12, 2005
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Police said Wednesday that they have an arrest warrent for a 16-year-old boy in connection with a weekend shooting in Siloam Springs.

http://www.thehometownchannel.com/news/4075211/detail.html

USA: Apparel ‘Next Growth Segment’ For Wal-Mart – Analyst

12 Jan 2005
Source: just-style.com

Moody's Investors Service is predicting that the next “big growth segment” being targeted by Wal-Mart Stores Inc is clothing and accessories.

http://www.just-style.com/news_detail.asp?art=36349

Wal-Mart Announces $1 Billion Debt Offering

JANUARY 12, 2005 -- BENTONVILLE, AR — Wal-Mart Stores announced the launch of a proposed offering of $1 billion principal amount of notes due 2010.
The offering is expected to be priced on Wednesday, January 12, 2005.
The lead underwriters for the offering are Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

http://www.retail-merchandiser.com/retailmerchandiser/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000750959

The Irish Times

North and west bear brunt of violent winds, flooding

Violent winds in excess of 90 m.p.h. were recorded by Met Eireann last night, while waves of up to 40ft battered the north and west coasts, bringing hazardous sea conditions and localised flooding, write James Fitzgerald, Lorna Siggins and Joe Humphreys

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/0112/1950613059HM1STORM.html

The Seattle Times

Gregoire sworn in as Washington governor

By David Ammons
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Christine Gregoire, winner of the closest governor's race in Washington history, was inaugurated today, but faces an immediate court challenge that could make it a short-lived honor.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002148856_webgovernor12.html

Body retrievals keep crews busy

BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

The search for bodies continues in Meulaboh, Indonesia, where many tsunami victims lie decaying beneath the rubble. Retrieved bodies are bagged, then buried in mass graves.
MEULABOH, Indonesia — Gurun Reinanto is a slender young man from Jakarta with a shy giggle that makes him seem much younger than his 25 years. In normal times, he would be back home in Indonesia's capital city, hunting for work after graduating with a civil-engineering degree.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002148534_tsunami13m.html

Judge rules out ballot fight on land-use rules

By Jim Downing
Seattle Times Eastside bureau
A King County Superior Court judge yesterday ruled that the county's new and controversial critical-areas ordinances, designed to protect habitat and water quality and reduce flooding in rural areas, cannot be challenged by voter referendums filed by rural East King County residents.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002148481_critareas12m.html

UW proposes biolab to study terror agents

By Bob Young and Sharon Pian Chan
Seattle Times staff reporters

The University of Washington has proposed building a laboratory that could study bioterrorism agents such as anthrax.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002148530_biolab12m.html

Iraq weapons hunt is officially over

By Seattle Times news services
The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley, Va.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002148445_iraq12.html

The Japan Times

North Korea boycott sees some impactCheap suits easy target, not seafood
By ERIC JOHNSTONStaff writer

OSAKA -- As the government continues to debate whether to impose economic sanctions on Pyongyang, nongovernmental organizations that believe the North is still holding Japanese abductees are leading a nationwide call for a voluntary boycott of North Korean-made goods.
... Another boycott issue isn't consumer-oriented.

In October, 10 construction companies announced they intended to send a mission to North Korea, ostensibly to see what they could do to help the country with various civil engineering projects in the event that Tokyo someday establishes diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
But the proposed trip reminded many of the late Liberal Democratic Party kingmaker Shin Kanemaru's trip to North Korea in 1990.

Several in Kanemaru's delegation who represented construction firms were interested in procuring sand from North Korean riverbeds, because it was nearly salt-free and perfect for making high-quality cement.

After a public backlash in the more recent case, the 10 companies announced they were shelving their trip. Since then, supporters of the boycott have also been calling for the contractors to be banned from bidding on public works projects.

Such a move will probably prove extremely difficult.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050112f1.htm

Habitat destruction, work gear and photosBy ANGELA JEFFSA distressing end to 2004 . . . off to a resilient and positive start in 2005.

Lost habitat

SM writes in a state of upset from Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture: "Recently I went through the park at Hachiman-gu in Kamakura. I love to sit by the lakeside, where the many water birds, which nest on the two islands, are my favorites.

"To my great shock I realized that all the trees (on the islands) had been cut. The smaller trees seemed to be gone completely and the big ones looked like broomsticks.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20050111aj.htm

U.S. has self to blame for weaker dollar
By CHRISTOPHER LINGLE
Special to The Japan TimesUBUD, Bali -- Earth to China-bashers: Beijing should not be blamed for America's trade deficits or for the weakness of the dollar. Those that believe so are confusing symptoms with causes. Other elements of conventional wisdom have it that there is some choice as to whether the exchange value of the dollar will rise or fall.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?eo20050110a1.htm

Mr. Gonzales and Abu Ghraib

The nomination of Mr. Alberto Gonzales as U.S. attorney general in the second Bush administration has focused attention once again on revelations that the United States has used torture on terror suspects. Since the first photographs of those misdeeds were made public last summer, there has been a steady drip of additional incidents. The damage that has been done to the U.S. mission in Iraq, and its image around the world, is incalculable.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?ed20050110a1.htm

Financial Times

Sharp rise in November’s US deficit hits dollar

By Christopher Swann in WashingtonPublished
January 12 2005 14:05 Last updated: January 12 2005 14:05

The US trade deficit widened sharply in November to a record $60.3bn, renewing pressure on the ailing dollar and causing economists to scale back their forecasts for economic growth. The gap between imports and exports grew by $4.3bn over the month and has now risen by almost $10bn since September.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e455cdfc-64a2-11d9-9f8b-00000e2511c8.html

Airbus seeks €1bn aid for A350 airliner
By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent in Paris, and Peter Spiegel in London Published: January 12 2005 20:00 Last updated: January 12 2005 20:00

Airbus has applied to four European governments for launch aid totalling around €1bn to help finance the estimated €4bn development of its planned A350 long-range airliner, Noël Forgeard, Airbus chief executive, said on Wednesday.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/791e69f4-64d4-11d9-9f8b-00000e2511c8.html

Supreme Court rejects federal sentencing guidelines
By Patti Waldmeir in New YorkPublished: January 12 2005 16:54 Last updated: January 12 2005 16:54

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday freed judges from the system of mandatory criminal sentencing guidelines that has prevailed in America for nearly 20 years, in a ruling that threatens to create chaos in the criminal justice system, legal experts said.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/96bcc272-64ba-11d9-9f8b-00000e2511c8.html

The Korea Times

Personal Bankruptcy Filings Hit Record High

By Lee Jin-wooStaff Reporter

The number of personal bankruptcy filings hit a record high of 14,921 last year, showing a fourfold rise from 2003. The surge was attributed to the prolonged economic slump.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200501/kt2005011215171910230.htm

Government Approves Hwang's Stem Cell Research

By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter

The Korean government has approved the embryonic stem cell research of Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk for the first time under the newly-enforced bioethics law.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200501/kt2005011214512210220.htm

Diabetes Leads to Higher Risk of Cancer, Study Says

By Bae Keun-minStaff Reporter

Diabetes can raise the risk of developing and dying from several types of cancer, especially pancreatic cancer, according to a study conducted by a local medical team.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200501/kt2005011217370911960.htm

Sri Lankan Mayor Thanks Roh for Relief Work

By Yoon Won-supStaff Reporter

A Sri Lankan mayor sent an e-mail of appreciation to President Roh Moo-hyun and Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak last week for South Korean relief efforts in the tsunami-affected region, a rescue organization said Wednesday.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200501/kt2005011214582411950.htm

The Asian Times

India finds a $40bn friend in Iran

By M K Bhadrakumar

India's oil diplomacy took a giant leap forward on Friday when New Delhi unveiled a multibillion-dollar deal with Iran and Russia that will be crucial to India's long-term energy security, and took the initiative the same week to host the first-ever conference on regional cooperation among Asian oil-producing and consuming countries.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA11Df07.html

The devastation of Iraq

By Dahr Jamail

The devastation of Iraq? Where do I start? After working seven of the past 12 months in Iraq, I'm still overwhelmed by even the thought of trying to describe this. The illegal war and occupation of Iraq was waged for three reasons, according to the administration of US President George W Bush. First for weapons of mass destruction, which have yet to be found. Second, because the regime of Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda, which Bush has personally admitted have never been proved. The third reason - embedded in the very name of the invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom - was to liberate the Iraqi people. So Iraq is now a liberated country.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GA11Ak01.html

Musharraf ups the ante on Kashmir
By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI

A US-backed peace initiative in South Asia began more than a year ago. Apart from several confidence-building measures, several new ideas were floated in an attempt to resolve the half-century Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA08Df05.html

Musharraf blusters as Balochistan boils

By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI

A battle lasting several hours on Tuesday between Pakistani security forces and insurgent tribals in Balochistan province's Sui region, famous for its natural-gas reserves, is likely to turn into a full-scale insurgency as all the powerful oligarchs of Baloch society support this insurgency. Although President General Pervez Musharraf, speaking on a local television channel, gave a clear warning of a major military operation in retaliation, this is likely only to lead to further troubles.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA13Df01.htm

THE NAKED HEGEMONPart 1

Why the emperor has no clothes

By Andre Gunder Frank

Uncle Sam has reneged and defaulted on up to 40% of its trillion-dollar foreign debt, and nobody has said a word except for a line in The Economist. In plain English that means Uncle Sam runs a worldwide confidence racket with his self-made dollar based on the confidence that he has elicited and received from others around the world, and he is a also a deadbeat in that he does not honor and return the money he has received.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GA06Dj01.html

THE NAKED HEGEMONPART 2

The center of the doughnutBy Andre Gunder Frank All Ponzi schemes build a financial pyramid. Many who pay into them also live in a financial world themselves, but others need to derive their in-payment through earnings from production in the real world. In today's world of financial transactions that every day are a hundredfold more than all payments for real goods and services put together, the financial ones put the real ones into the shadow behind their brilliance.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GA07Dj01.html

Satellites later.

Check in with Michael Moore during the day for pertinent updates.

The South Pole Vortex

I chronically refer to the vortexes at the poles of Earth when I discuss the Global Warming patterns. The polar vortexes or vortices, which ever you perfer, are the dominate 'wind' controlling weather and affecting Climate Change. The polar vortices have not always been there. The original 'super cells' or vortices showed up on October 4, 2002 with one in the North Atlantic and one in the North Pacific. It could have easily been argued by science then that these were manifestations of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the North Pacific Oscillation but instead agencies choose to call it El Nino. The fact of the matter these 'super cells' were never really identified by agencies like NOAA because in fact they have never manifested before in multiples at a time and certainly not addition to all other known climate events known to current knowledge including El Nino. If one were to look into 'popular magazines and culture' two years ago NOAA was even pulling out names of climate events out of virtually nowhere and stating these were like the 'grandparents' of El Nino. "W"rong. This is Global Warming.

This is to validate that in fact these vortices do exist. They are a 'climate' pattern resulting from Human Induced Global Warming.

When 'looking/evaluating' these systems realize this satellite reflects the 'geographic' pole and the circulating peripheral 'fans' that reach to the Equator. The most distant 'reach' of each the South Polar Vortex and North Polar Vortex when looking at this satellite view go all the way to the Equator.

Why they are degrading the 'ice' is because they 'spin' and the 'periphery' brings the heat to the cap as it swings around the planet. When 'discussing' these phenomena they are viewed as the face of a clock.

Example: At 9:30 there is a midlatitude vortex that is well defined.

The New Zealand Herald

Tramper sacrificed his life for partner

Wanaka Alpine Cliff Rescue team members and trampers united to lift Helen McClemmens to safety after a fall on the Cascade Saddle that claimed the life of her boyfriend Donal Deery.

A tramper who was killed in a 250m fall on the Cascade Saddle died saving the life of his partner.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10006527

Indonesia sets aid deadline

Foreign troops in Indonesia have been given a time limit and the UN says restrictions on workers could hinder efforts. Picture / Reuters

The international relief effort for Asian tsunami victims has run into trouble on two fronts.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10006526

In the ashes of a firestorm

PORT LINCOLN - The two women stand in what was the front yard of a home. Now, it is a crumpled pile of brick and corrugated iron. A light breeze whips up small eddies of ash.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10006514

Tsunami stories: UN agency aims to set up warning system

The United Nations scientific agency will lead efforts to set up a provisional tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean within 18 months at a cost of more than US$30 million ($43 million).

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10006511

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Cloudy

0.0 degrees C

Updated Friday 14 Jan 3:59AM

The North Pole Vortex

This satellite is a bit comical as The Weather Channel has added The North Pole, literally. But the discussions are the same of this OCEAN of ice whereas Antarctica is a CONTINENT of ice .

Example:

Currently there is a central vortex over the North Pole with peripheral circulation to the Equator. There are a minimum of five, possibly six on closer examination, peripheral 'fans' that reach to the equatorial areas from the center of this vortex. Closer look really is more confirming of six 'fans' or 'Heat Transfer Systems.'

The locations of the Heat Transfer Systems are at 12 o'clock, 2, 3:30, 4:30, 8 and 9 with one possibly at 10:30. That would actually make seven with 10:30 very questionably reaching all the way to the cap.

The Arctic Ocean Vortex dominates the weather patterns of this hemisphere of Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere it now causes the Jet Stream to be 'overrun' by the velocity and dynamics of the vortex winds. And the 'Trade Winds' have ceased. As a result, if this 'Climate Change Pattern' continues there will be no hurricanes moving into the East Coast of North America from Africa next season (2005) but only from the Gulf of Mexico. Then they come off the Gulf Coast the hurricanes will bemanifest quickly. The storms will high velocity and very little warning to the people living along the Gulf Coasts.

The above satellites are from today January 13, 2005 as noted at the bottom of the picture. It is noted the North Polar Cap (The Arctic Ocean) and extending from it the peripheral circulation of the vortex system. In this and the following

The weather in Los Angeles, California (Crystal Wind Chime):

49 °F / 9 °C Clear

Humidity:
59%

Dew Point:
35 °F / 2 °C

Wind:
Calm

Pressure:
30.23 in / 1024 hPa

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV:
0 out of 12

Clouds (AGL):
Clear -


The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

12 °F / -11 °C Overcast

Windchill:
6 °F / -14 °C

Humidity:
85%

Dew Point:
9 °F / -13 °C

Wind:
4 mph / 6 km/h from the NNW

Pressure:
30.52 in / 1033 hPa

Visibility:
5.0 miles / 8.0 kilometers

UV:
0 out of 12

Clouds (AGL):
Overcast 3200 ft /

end

Where the Wrath of Earth is felt out of Neglect 

Where Civilization Never Thought It Would Happen 

Where Civilization is Unprepared 

Where Civilization Ends 

California's Land Avalanches from the Los Angeles Times today.

Some Concerns:

I think California needs to have geologists assess the stability of the rest of that hillside.

Also the torrential rains have brought high velocity rivers and streams. It appears the velocity of these rivers are a profound challenge to well trained Rescuers. Those techniques need to be evaluated and bolstered with better equipment or changed to accomodate these events. It is my estimation these issues will not go away but only get worse.

Morning Papers - It's Origins

Morning Papers

Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do."

The Los Angeles Times

SOUTHLAND'S RECORD RAINFALL
Skies Clear, but Storms' Toll MountsThe number of dead hits 15 -- six of them at La Conchita, where a dozen are still missing. Damage in L.A. County is pegged at nearly $30 million

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rain12jan12,0,3764222.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Bush's New Nominee Is a Surprise
Michael Chertoff would inherit a massive and relatively new agency struggling with multiple missions, high turnover and sagging morale.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-chertoff12jan12,0,5700793.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Rain Overwhelms Sewage System
Massive amounts of runoff cause wastewater to overflow from pipes and treatment plants, fouling Southland waterways and beaches.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sewage12jan12,0,5898174.story?coll=la-home-local

Social Security Debate Gets Personal
In talk-show-style chats and phone interviews, Bush and Democratic foes seek to win public support in the battle over a restructuring.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-social12jan12,0,7815231.story?coll=la-home-nation

THE MAJORITY OF the world's population does subsist on approximately $1.00 per day as this editorial points out. That has been true for a very long time. As a matter of fact this issue has been embraced by The Women's Movement in the USA for decades.

The Silent Disaster of World Poverty
By John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge
John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge work for the Economist. They are the co-authors of "The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America" (Penguin, 2004).
January 10, 2005
Could 2005 be the year in which mankind finally conquers extreme poverty?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-micklethwait10jan10,0,3263485,print.story

The Jakarta Post

Majority of tsunami victims fishermen
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (Antara): Of the more than 105,000 people who perished in the Dec. 26 disaster in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, at least 90,500 are believed to have been fishermen and their families.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112154544&irec=0

Paris Club meets to discuss moratorium on debt of tsunami-hit nations
PARIS (AP): Officials from the world's top creditor nations met in Paris on Wednesday to discuss a proposed moratorium on debt repayments by countries hit by the Asian tsunami.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112125032&irec=4

The Wisdom of the United Nations shown through again as they guide the Relief Effort to command security for The Effort as well as the survivors.

UN says new Aceh rules not hampering aid work
UNITED NATIONS (AFP): A senior UN official on Tuesday downplayed new restrictions on tsunami relief workers imposed by the Indonesian military in the restive province of Aceh.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050112125032&irec=5

Foreign aid workers must register: TNI
The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Jakarta
The government on Tuesday slapped tough restrictions on foreign aid workers currently in Aceh, citing security fears, and creating yet another setback in relief operations.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20050112.@01&irec=0

Survivors shaken by trauma
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Since his arrival early last week at a social agency-sponsored shelter in Medan, North Sumatra, Sandi Chandra Putra, 15, a native of Banda Aceh, has frequently burst into tears or screamed for no particular reason.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20050112.@02&irec=1

Michael Moore Today

Appropriately Celebrating his Winning Film. First Cannes and now and not surprising The People's Choice.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Inauguration to Get Unprecedented Security
By Katherine Pfleger Shrader / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Security for President Bush's inauguration — the first swearing-in since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — will be unprecedented with some 6,000 law enforcement personnel, canine bomb teams and close monitoring of transportation.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=921

Williams' Conduct Raises Questions About Whole Cadre of Rightwing Pundits

Armstrong Williams: I Am Not Alone

By David Corn / The Nation
It was a rare moment of talk-show unanimity. On the set of the Fox News Washington bureau, host Tony Snow, fellow guest Linda Chavez (a conservative pundit), and I were slamming Armstrong Williams, a rightwing columnist and talk show host. USA Today had reported--as you probably know--that Williams had been paid nearly a quarter of a million dollars by the Bush administration to promote its No Child Left Behind education bill. And Williams, who supported the legislation in his column and as a cable news talking head, had not bothered to inform his audiences or the folks who book him at CNN, Fox, and MSNBC that he was a shill on the Bush payroll.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=918

Prime minister says it may not be safe to vote in some areas of Iraq
By Hamza Hendawi / Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Prime Minister Ayad Allawi publicly acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that parts of Iraq probably won't be safe enough for people to vote in the Jan. 30 elections, and he announced plans to boost the size of the country's army from 100,000 to 150,000 men by year's end.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=916

Schumer sours on nominee after answers
By Ken Fireman / Newsday
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Charles Schumer is now uncertain whether he can vote to confirm Alberto Gonzales as attorney general because of what Schumer calls Gonzales' "lack of candor" at his confirmation hearing.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=915

Ukraine Announces Pullout of Iraq Force; Statement Follows Blast That Killed 8
By Jackie Spinner / Washington Post
BAGHDAD, Jan. 10 -- The government of Ukraine, acting a day after an explosion killed eight of its soldiers in Iraq, announced Monday that it would withdraw its 1,650-member force by the middle of 2005.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=914

The Daily (Sri Lanka)

Germany will help rebuild Lanka: Fischer
Berlin is ready to promote tourism and push for debt relief and free access to European markets to help tsunami-battered Sri Lanka get back on its feet, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said yesterday.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new01.html

US marines arrive on rescue mission
by Chandani Jayatillake
The Southern coastline near Koggala Airbase was a hive of activity on Monday evening as a group of US marines were bringing ashore a range of heavy engineering equipment from a US ship.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new02.html

Uncle seeks niece aged four lost in tsunami, offers over Rs. 100,000 cash reward
A loving uncle is desperately searching for his four-year-old niece Sachini Vithana Seneviratne missing since the December 26 tsunami disaster.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new03.html

Shell donates Rs. 50 m for disaster relief
The Shell Group has pledged Rs. 50 million disaster relief in Sri Lanka.
Country Chairman Hassan Madani who called on President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on Monday handed over a cheque for Rs. 25 million as a preliminary donation for immediate relief which will be credited to the President's Disaster Relief Fund, the Office of the President said in a release yesterday.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new12.html

Good attendance in schools not hit by tsunami
The first term for the new year commenced on Monday with a very good attendance in schools not affected by the tsunami, the Education Ministry said in a release yesterday.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new11.html

Pakistan Naval ships arrive here with relief
Two Pakistan Naval ships carrying relief goods containing tents, medicines, rice and other dry ration arrived in Colombo, a Pakistan High Commission release said yesterday.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new14.html

Clinton's visit New York Buddhist Viharaya
by Manjula Fernando

Former US President Bill Clinton and Wife Hillary at the New York Buddhist Temple where they appealed Americans to contribute tsunami victims of Sri Lanka to rebuild their lives. Chief Incumbent Ven.Kuranegoda Piyatissa Maha Nayaka thera is also in the picture.
Former American President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton visited the New York Buddhist Viharaya recently where a fund raising campaign has been initiated to look after the tsunami children of Sri Lanka.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new16.html

Canadian response to Sri Lanka tsunami crisis
The Canadian High Commission today announced a number of measures to assist Sri Lanka following the tragic tsunami which struck South and South-East Asia on December 26, 2004.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new15.html

Ramsay medicare for tsunami relief
by Panduka Senanayake
Australia's largest owner and operator of private hospitals, Ramsay Health Care has contributed to the tsunami relief effort by coordinating the donation of over A $ 100,000 in cash and medical supplies to Sri Lanka.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new13.html

More Tsunami aid from Saudi Arabia
In a series of International efforts to assist affected people in countries hit by tidal waves after an earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has assigned US$ 30 million until now, to assist those countries and accordingly four aircraft have arrived carrying 300 tons of various relief supplies to Sri Lanka and two aircraft with 150 tons to the Maldives in addition to a large quantity of relief items delivered to other affected countries.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new18.html

Over 600 children in South destitute in Tsunami aftermath - Survey
by Nadira Gunatilleke
Over 600 children in the Southern Province are destitute. They have lost one or both parents or dependents to the tsunami tidal wave according to a report based on a survey carried out in Welfare Centres of the South.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/12/new22.html

continued...

Morning Papers - continued...

California Mudslide Blouder


The Washington Post

'I Had to Run for My Life'
6 Bodies Found in California Town Hit by Mudslide; 13 People Missing

By Amy Argetsinger
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page A01
LA CONCHITA, Calif., Jan. 11 -- Brie Brazelton was dawdling at the neighborhood store near her home Monday when she heard the noise. It was a rumbling, "kind of like an earthquake," she said later.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2157-2005Jan11.html

Asbestos Talks Stalled on Fund, Mediator Says
Companies, Unions Differ Widely on Dollar Amount
By Albert B. Crenshaw
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page E04
Defendant companies and their insurers remain unable to agree with unions and trial lawyers on a funding level and a few other key issues in a proposed asbestos trust fund, so Congress may have to decide itself, a senior federal judge overseeing negotiations said yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2359-2005Jan11.html

Search for Banned Arms In Iraq Ended Last Month
Critical September Report to Be Final Word
By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page A01
The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2129-2005Jan11.html

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. McGeevey had an Israeli as a security chief and we all know how that turned out."

Nominee Criticized Over Post-9/11 Policies
By John Mintz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page A10
Michael Chertoff, President Bush's nominee to be secretary of homeland security, is widely hailed for his intellectual heft and tireless work habits as a federal prosecutor and judge. But he also faces criticism as an architect of some of the most controversial elements of the Bush administration's domestic war on terrorism that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2102-2005Jan11.html

(MAS) Muslim American Society

Bush Nominates Federal Judge to Head Homeland Security
Date Posted: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

President Bush nominated U.S. Appeals Court Judge Michael Chertoff to head the Department of Homeland Security.
WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (MASNET & News Agencies) - President George W. Bush nominated U.S. Appeals Court Judge Michael Chertoff to head the huge agency tasked with preventing terrorist strikes on the United States.

http://www.masnet.org/news.asp?id=2059

BWXT gets $25 million for managing nuclear weapons plant

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. The Department of Energy has given a top rating and nearly 25 (M) million dollars in performance fees for 2004 to its managing contractor at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant.
B-W-X-T, a partnership of B-W-X Technologies and Bechtel National, was graded "excellent" in its management of the Y-12 complex.
The contractor was cited for improvements in security, safety, project management and environmental activities.
The plant produces parts for every warhead in the country's nuclear arsenal and is the nation's major storehouse for bomb-grade uranium.

http://www.whnt19.com/Global/story.asp?S=2770166

Halliburton Pays Dearly but Finally Escapes Cheney's Asbestos Mess
By Allan Sloan
Tuesday, January 11, 2005; Page E03
It's time for yet another Halliburton story -- but not the one you may be expecting. This isn't about the endlessly scrutinized Iraq contracting business of the big energy services company that Dick Cheney ran before he became vice president. And it's not about Halliburton's profit-boosting accounting change during Cheney's regime, or the scandals and problems currently affecting some of the firm's far-flung projects.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64535-2005Jan10.html

Privatizing the Public Good
01/11/2005 @ 11:39am
E-mail this Post
Honest economists will tell you that the financial solvency of Social Security can be guaranteed well into the next century. So why does the President insist on adding private retirement accounts into the reform mix? Because their purpose is not to save Social Security but, like a Trojan horse, to destroy it. Personal accounts are part and parcel of Bush's domestic policy agenda: an assault on the very concept of The Public--its goods, services and trust.

http://www.thenation.com/edcut/index.mhtml?bid=7&pid=2118

Washington, DC, preparing for Pres. Bush's 2nd inauguration

(Washington, DC-NBC) Jan. 11, 2005 - Inauguration day for President Bush is January 20th, and workers are busy at the Capitol and along the parade route getting everything ready.
This will be the first presidential inauguration since the attacks on September 11th, 2001, and security will be the tightest in history.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2793773

Qatar starts work on new airport

In January 2004, Qatar signed a contract with US engineering giant Bechtel for the first of three stages for the New Doha International Airport which would be completed by late 2008 at a cost of $2.5bn.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=101152&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=27298

Businesses to take over environmental cleanup in Piketon

Bechtel-Jacobs spokesman Jack Williams said his company expects to begin working on transition immediately, since its contract expires March 31.

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/news/stories/20050111/localnews/1853187.html

White House distributes Bush op-ed to newspapers around the world to showcase U-S tsunami relief effort

WHITE HOUSE President Bush is trumpeting U-S efforts to help South Asia tsunami victims.
Bush has written a newspaper opinion piece that has been offered worldwide. So far it has been published in Asia and Europe.

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=2797174

Bush taps Chertoff for homeland security post
By Philip Dine
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(KRT) - WASHINGTON - The face and even the functioning of the Homeland Security Department are likely to change as a result of President George W. Bush's choice Tuesday of Michael Chertoff to replace outgoing Secretary Tom Ridge.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10621057.htm?1c

Bush names Allan Hubbard as top economic advisor:
[World News]: Washington, Jan 11 : US President George W Bush has named businessman and political fund-raiser Allan B Hubbard as his top economic advisor.

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=58919

What Would Martin Luther King Have Made of Condoleezza Rice?
BY Jonathan Tilove
c.2005 Newhouse News Service
In September 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the eulogy for three of the four girls killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. What King could not know was that, within earshot of the blast, just blocks away at her father's church, was another little black girl, a friend of the youngest victim, who 42 years later would be on the verge of becoming America's foremost diplomat.

http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/tilove011105.html

I don't want to hear how Iran is an Axis of Evil country when USA cronies of Bush are doing business with them.

Halliburton wins Iran gas contract
TEHRAN: Iran said that US oil giant Halliburton had won a major contract to drill for gas, despite US sanctions against foreign investment in the country's energy industry.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=101026&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=27297

Cheney's Focus May Change in 2nd Term
EILEEN PUTMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Like the man behind the curtain working the levers in the "Wizard of Oz," Dick Cheney has been called the real power in President Bush's administration, perhaps the strongest vice president in U.S. history.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10607671.htm

Tasers pose potentially lethal danger to heart, doctor warns
By SABIN RUSSELL
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
When 50,000 volts of electricity from a Taser surge across the body, it can instantly incapacitate a person -- more safely than a blow from a police baton or a blast of pepper spray, its manufacturer contends.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/207168_tasers10.html

CNN

10 perish in Australian wildfires
By Journalist Emily Smith for CNN
Tuesday, January 11, 2005 Posted: 7:51 PM EST (0051 GMT)

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Ten people have been killed and more are feared dead after wildfires swept through the state of South Australia.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/11/australia.wildfires/

Bloomberg

Australia's Deadliest Wildfires in 21 Years Kill Eight People
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Eight people are dead and seven more missing in Australia's deadliest wildfires in 21 years.
The fires, fanned by 41 degree Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) temperatures and 70-kilometer (44-mile) an hour winds, yesterday swept across the Eyre Peninsula, about 250 kilometers west of the state capital Adelaide, the Australian newspaper said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=asDGzGiltFFk&refer=australia

The Australian

Southeast swelters
Brendan O'Keefe and Andrew Fraser
January 12, 2005
HOT northerly winds that brought fires, death and destruction to South Australia yesterday were felt across the southeast of the country.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11917211%5E2702,00.html

Firestorm destroys farm towns
Tom Richardson and Michelle Wiese Bockmann
January 12, 2005
AT least eight people were killed, dozens injured and seven reported missing as bushfires swept through South Australia yesterday, destroying properties and farmland across a large part of the lower Eyre Peninsula.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11917327%255E601,00.html

Three driven to their death under a blanket of smoke
Richard Sproull, Poonindie
January 12, 2005
AMID the embers and spot fires lining the Port Lincoln highway was a sign of the fire's furious path.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11917329%5E2702,00.html

'Save me' cry as inferno rips peninsula apart
Tom Richardson and Sophie Tedmanson
January 12, 2005
PORT Lincoln resident Felicity Johncock was caught in the middle of the Eyre Peninsula inferno and was one of the lucky ones to survive.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11917217%5E2702,00.html

Shark tees up Bush for charity
January 12, 2005
FORMER US presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton hope to join Australian golfer Greg Norman for a tsunami charity golf day in the US.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11923649%255E1702,00.html

'Grave concerns' figure drops to 18
January 12, 2005
THE number of Australians feared missing in the wake of the Asian tsunami has almost halved, with the Government saying grave fears are now held for 18 not 31 people.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11923516%255E1702,00.html

Storm-tossed trawler crew safe
From correspondents in London
January 12, 2005

A SPANISH fishing boat that went missing in a brutal storm off northwest Scotland has been located, and its crew of 19 appears to be safe.
The Cibeles, which sent out a satellite distress signal before midnight yesterday (1100 AEDT), was found by a rescue plane drifting in rough seas without power, Michael Mulford of RAF Kinross air base told BBC radio.

Three people were killed on land when a powerful storm packing gusts as high as 215km/h slammed Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland.

Thai jailed for fake tsunami claim
From correspondents in Bangkok
January 12, 2005
A THAI man has been sentenced to three months in jail for falsely claiming that he had suffered damages during the tsunami in a bid to win Government assistance.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11922103%255E1702,00.html

Pakistan sends troops to gasfield
From correspondents in Quetta
January 12, 2005
PAKISTAN has deployed paramilitary forces at the country's biggest gasfield and closed its main plant there after a series of rocket attacks by tribal rebels killed eight people.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11922025%255E1702,00.html

Three dead in fierce UK storms
From correspondents in London
January 12, 2005
A FIERCE storm packing winds of up to 201km/h has battered Scotland and Northern Ireland, killing three people and leaving tens of thousands without electricity, police and emergency services said today.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11921693%255E1702,00.html

Habib walks out of Guantanamo without charge
Martin Chulov and Trudy Harris
January 12, 2005
ACCUSED Australian terrorist Mamdouh Habib will be released from Guantanamo Bay detention centre within days and return to Australia a free man after being held for three years without being charged.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11917323%255E601,00.html

Smokers fuming as Italy kicks the habit
Natasha Bita in Florence
January 12, 2005
CINZIA Chiarusi was angry yesterday as Italy began to stub out smoking with some of the world's toughest cigarette sanctions.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11915340%255E2703,00.html

A boost to Aceh's stocks and spirits
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Banda Aceh
January 12, 2005
THE massive rebuilding effort already under way in Banda Aceh receives a significant boost tomorrow with the arrival of HMAS Kanimbla, carrying medical facilities, engineers, a huge amount of heavy plant and fuel, two landing boats and two Sea King helicopters.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11917024%255E2703,00.html

The Boston Globe

Kwan hopes to carve a historic figure-eight

By John Powers, Globe Staff January 12, 2005

PORTLAND, Ore. -- It didn't matter that she skipped the Grand Prix season again, that she has competed only in a couple of no-stress invitationals since last March. If it's January, Michelle Kwan will be lacing up at the US Figure Skating Championships and she'll be favored to win. That hasn't changed in a decade.

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2005/01/12/kwan_hopes_to_carve_a_historic_figure_eight/

Preacher dies after saying 'And when I go to heaven...'
January 11, 2005
OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) A Presbyterian minister collapsed and died at the pulpit after saying ''And when I go to heaven...,'' his colleague said.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2005/01/11/preacher_dies_after_saying_and_when_i_go_to_heaven/

Starting over in Indonesia
Amid rubble, help takes root in tent cities
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff January 12, 2005
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- This is a tale of two cities: the old city that was struck down and the new one that is rising in its place as fast as the tent stakes can be hammered into the ground.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/01/12/starting_over_in_indonesia/

UN seeks to ensure nations meet pledges
By Alexander G. Higgins, Associated Press January 12, 2005
GENEVA -- The record generosity toward tsunami victims -- now at more than $4 billion pledged -- should set the standard for caring for the world's most desperate people, the UN humanitarian chief said yesterday. But aid group Oxfam said it fears the money might simply be rerouted from existing funds for Africa.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/01/12/un_seeks_to_ensure_nations_meet_pledges/

N.E. pushes to find takers for flu shots
Remaining vaccine could go to waste
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff January 12, 2005
Three months after the emergence of an unprecedented national shortage of flu vaccine, public health departments across New England are struggling to find takers for remaining doses, raising the prospect that surplus shots will be thrown away at the end of the flu season.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/01/12/ne_pushes_to_find_takers_for_flu_shots/

'Desperate Housewives' star named worst dressed
By Arthur Spiegelman, Reuters January 11, 2005
LOS ANGELES -- "Desperate Housewives" star Nicolette Sheridan, known for short skirts, tight pants and a famously dropped towel in a television ad, was named the worst-dressed woman of 2004 Tuesday by fashion designer Mr. Blackwell.

http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2005/01/11/desperate_housewives_star_named_worst_dressed/

The Times - London

Worst storm for years kills three drivers
By Times Online and agencies
Winds of up to 124mph lashed parts of the country over the past 24 hours in one of the worst storms seen for years, killing three drivers and leaving thousands without power.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1436888,00.html

Floods and gales return to batter the North
By Steven Ramsey
FLOOD-STRICKEN areas of northern England and Scotland are likely to be hit again today by severe gales and driving rains.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1434749,00.html

Scientists predict just 70 more deaths from vCJD
By Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent
ONLY 70 more people are likely to die from the human form of mad cow disease from infected beef, according to the most comprehensive study of the condition to date.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1435630,00.html

The Sydney Morning Herald

Deadly flight from fire: toll now nine
January 12, 2005 - 8:41PM

Four children were among the nine people confirmed killed in South Australia's devastating Eyre Peninsula bushfire.
The children, aged between two and 13, and their relatives perished in cars as they tried to escape the deadly flames.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Bushfire-toll-rises-to-10/2005/01/12/1105423517028.html

NSW bushfire danger mounting, warns Carr
January 12, 2005 - 12:19PM

NSW fire and emergency services were on standby as the risk of bushfire increased across the state, NSW Premier Bob Carr said today.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/NSW-bushfire-danger-mounting-warns-Carr/2005/01/12/1105423529790.html

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