Morning Papers
Monday, March 14, 2005
Call of the Mild
conti2005 - 9:21 AM ET March 14, 2005 (#714 of 714)Democrats and Independents Get It RIGHT the FIRST TIME
Robbing Future Generations of their Entitlement
Call of the Mild Ms. Norton you are the absolute worst.
You see nothing but your own value system.
You have no interest in what is best for the public and you'll sell you mother for a drop of oil.
Earth is unable to sustain climate conditions condusive to human existance without the North Polar Cap. Two years ago Geologists registered the demise of The Hunt Ice Sheld, a three thousand year old structure. We are losing the North Polar Cap due to Human Induced Global Warming.
http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_we [...]
This is the current Infrared Satellite from UNISYS of the North Pacific. That 'phenomena' in the picture IS a vortex. There is no Jet Stream manifested to allow climate to continue as it has for millennia benefitting humans for a world of 98.6.
Global Warming is a reality, Norton and you can't see beyond your bigoted nose long enough to realize Climate Change will snuff out your very survival.
You are a sad excuse for a Secretary of the Interior and a Global Human Rights Abuser. You won't get enough oil out of ANWR to see heating the USA for more than a season and yet you persist to drain every last drop out of ground that belongs to the generations to come and not you.
Eminent Domaine lives, war on Norton and continue to oppress civil rights at every turn with a long standing record of same.
Robbing Future Generations of their Entitlement
Call of the Mild Ms. Norton you are the absolute worst.
You see nothing but your own value system.
You have no interest in what is best for the public and you'll sell you mother for a drop of oil.
Earth is unable to sustain climate conditions condusive to human existance without the North Polar Cap. Two years ago Geologists registered the demise of The Hunt Ice Sheld, a three thousand year old structure. We are losing the North Polar Cap due to Human Induced Global Warming.
http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_we [...]
This is the current Infrared Satellite from UNISYS of the North Pacific. That 'phenomena' in the picture IS a vortex. There is no Jet Stream manifested to allow climate to continue as it has for millennia benefitting humans for a world of 98.6.
Global Warming is a reality, Norton and you can't see beyond your bigoted nose long enough to realize Climate Change will snuff out your very survival.
You are a sad excuse for a Secretary of the Interior and a Global Human Rights Abuser. You won't get enough oil out of ANWR to see heating the USA for more than a season and yet you persist to drain every last drop out of ground that belongs to the generations to come and not you.
Eminent Domaine lives, war on Norton and continue to oppress civil rights at every turn with a long standing record of same.
A Syrian woman celebrates the arrival of Syrian troops from Lebanon at the Syrian-Lebanese border of Jdaydet Yabous, about 50 km north of Damascus on March 13, 2005. A UN envoy said on Saturday Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had promised to withdraw all his troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon in line with a UN resolution and was providing details of the timetable. 
Morning Papers
Morning Papers
Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
March 14…
1743 The first town meeting is held at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.
1794 Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin.
1879 born Albert Einstein, American physicist and Nobel laureate
http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/magazine/albert_einstein5a.html
http://www.westegg.com/einstein/
1900 The United States Congress passes legislation transferring all U.S. currency to the gold standand.
1923 born Diane Arbus, American photographer known for her black-and-white portraits of individuals on the fringes of society. The alienation and inner torment depicted in her photographs mirrored both her own inner feelings and the social turmoil in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Arbus produced haunting images of transvestites, midgets, nudists, and on occasion, celebrities.
http://www.temple.edu/photo/photographers/arbus/arbus.htm
1923, President Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax report.
1943, Aaron Copland's orchestral work "Fanfare for the Common Man" premiered in New York, with George Szell conducting.
1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, the previous November.
1965, Israel's cabinet formally approved establishment of diplomatic relations with West Germany.
1980, a Polish airliner crashed while making an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing all 87 aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team.
1995, American astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to enter space aboard a Russian rocket as he and two cosmonauts blasted off aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, headed for the Mir space station.
Missing in Action
1966 HILTON ROBERT L. BALTIMORE MD
1966 KLUTE KARL EDWIN RICHMOND IN
1966 PLEIMAN JAMES E. RUSSIA OH REMAINS RETURNED 03/23/89
1968 HAMM JAMES E. LONGMONT CO
1972 HARDY ARTHUR HANS ISPWICH MA REM RETURNED 09/20/83
The Chicago Tribune
Google doodler
Sketch artist Dennis Hwang achieves cult status
The Hartford Courant
Published March 9, 2005
On Valentine's Day, there were flowers in the first O, with ribbon going through the hoop of the G.
For New Year's Day, the numbers 2005 were set behind the word Google.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-050309google,1,7121505.story?coll=chi-homepagebiz-utl
Ex-Homeland watchdog knocks Ridge
By Pete Yost
Associated Press
Published March 14, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department's former independent watchdog says he was twice summoned to then-Secretary Tom Ridge's office last year and asked why his reports criticizing the agency were being sent to Congress and whether they could be presented more favorably.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503140187mar14,1,4673474.story?coll=chi-news-hed
The Scotsman
IVF parents should be able to pick babies' sex, say MPs
CRAIG BROWN
Key points
• Couples should have right to decide sex of IVF babies, says draft report
• Committee to recommend screening embryos for disease and tissue-type
• But report's findings may be delayed over dissension in committee
Key quote
"The report has already been much rewritten, as the original was appalling and libertarian. It would have been unacceptable to the public and it’s been amended, but it remains unacceptable" - Member of Commons science and technology committee
Story in full COUPLES should have the right to create designer babies and decide which sex they should be, a committee of MPs is to controversially recommend.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275492005
Annan arrives in Middle East to keep peace momentum going
JOSEF FEDERMAN
KOFI Annan, the United Nations secretary general, yesterday began a Middle East trip to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and attend the opening of a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
Mr Annan met Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, yesterday and was to travel to the West Bank today for talks with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, and other officials.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275742005
30,000 may have caught new MRSA strain
CRAIG BROWN
Key points
• Number of new MRSA strain infections grow as organisms resists treatment
• Community Acquired MRSA can be caught in sports clubs and gyms
• Organisations to launch first national MRSA screening programme this year
Key quote
"Usually these things will cause a boil or abscess on the skin but go no further, but there have been a few cases where people have got a type of pneumonia which has a mortality rate of about 75 per cent" - Dr Donald Morrison, clinical scientist at Stobhill hospital
Story in full A NEW strain of the MRSA superbug has infected up to 30,000 Scots, a leading doctor has claimed.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275712005&20050314015947
Balance between care and confidentiality
MEDICAL ETHICS
SHEILA McLEAN
THE CASE: Dr Brown is consulted by a patient who is concerned that he may be HIV positive. After the tests are carried out, this diagnosis is confirmed. Dr Brown knows this patient well, and is aware that the man is in a sexual relationship with another of her patients. Dr Brown urges the patient to disclose the fact of his HIV status to his partner, but the patient refuses, claiming that the information is private and should therefore be subject to the rules of confidentiality.
THE DISCUSSION: Patients generally expect, and are entitled to expect, that the information they give to their doctor will be securely and confidentially held.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275372005
The Los Angeles Times
Flip Side to Fame in China
An Olympic diving star is a casualty in the Communist Party's bid to reassert old values.
CHONGQING, China — Tian Liang, 25, is handsome, tall and was, until recently, the pride of China. When he returned from the 2004 Athens Olympics with a gold medal for synchronized diving, his star appeal skyrocketed and advertisers banged on his door. Tian decided to take a breather, grab some endorsements and enjoy the payoff after endless hours in the pool.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-communists14mar14,0,5672121.story?coll=la-home-headlines
In Catholic Belfast, IRA Becomes Public Enemy
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Along the mean streets of this city soaked in blood and memory, something strange is happening. On a wall in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic neighborhood of Short Strand, two words of graffiti have appeared: "Disband Now."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-irish14mar14,0,4442978.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Life's Work Foreshadows Doctor's Own Diagnosis
Lou Gehrig's disease tightens its grip on a leading figure in the war against the fatal illness.
SAN FRANCISCO — Dr. Richard Olney knows nearly all there is to know about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease.
He knows that over a couple of years, it destroys nerves that control muscles, gradually entombing the mind alive in a useless body until, unable to move, speak, swallow or breathe, the patient perishes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-olney14mar14,0,1852255.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Iceland Has a Word for It
Usually a very old word.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ecenbarger14_mar14,0,5308774.story
Hindustan Times
US may offer F-16s to both India and Pakistan
S Rajagopalan
Washington,
US Secy of State Condoleezza Rice to visit India on Mar 15 »
Ahead of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to India and Pakistan this week, speculation is rife here that the Bush administration may indicate its willingness to sell F-16 fighter planes to both countries.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1277478,00050001.htm
The Miami Herald
Fire after SWAT call leaves 100 homeless
A fire that started sometime after a SWAT team fired tear gas into a Margate apartment during a standoff burned 100 residents out of their homes. A body was found in the apartment.
BY KEVIN DEUTSCH
kdeutsch@herald.com
A confrontation between a security guard and his ex-girlfriend over their young daughter led to a fire that blazed out of control, leaving some 100 Margate apartment dwellers homeless.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11129485.htm
U.S. sugar fighting for survival
By Jane Bussey
jbussey@herald.com
CLEWISTON - The heavy odor of molasses hangs over the glistening modern sugar refinery and the aging processing mill that traditionally signified the sweet smell of success for United States Sugar Corp.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11115441.htm
Diverse groups unite against sprawl
As developers push to extend the Urban Development Boundary, environmental and community activists have broadened support for a surprisingly effective opposition campaign.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11128455.htm
To better manage growth
OUR OPINION: RESIDENTS TIRED OF SPRAWL SHOULD PROD LEGISLATURE TO ACT
At a panel discussion on growth management in Tallahassee Friday, the speakers were in general agreement on one thing: Any major attempt to reform the state's growth-management process this legislative session is dead in the water. The reason? In the words of Charles Lee of the Florida Audubon Society, the Department of Community Affairs' draft legislation elicited ``a crescendo of opposition from developers.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11129475.htm
U.S. pulls out of protocol
OUR OPINION: U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM WORLD COURT AGREEMENT IS SHORTSIGHTED
If the U.S. battle against global terrorism has taught us anything, it is that being effective in today's world requires international cooperation, not isolation. That is true of the war in Iraq, the push for peace in the Middle East and the campaigns to stop Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear programs. Not even a superpower can go it alone. Or can it?
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11129476.htm
The Arab News
Protesters in Lebanon Blast UN Resolution
Danielle Hosri, Arab News
BEIRUT, 14 March 2005 — Protesters rallied yesterday to denounce a UN resolution demanding a Syrian military pullout as the government asserted its right to have a say in when the troops leave Lebanon. The pro-Syrian gathering in the southern city of Nabatiyeh drew 200,000 people and is expected to be followed today by an even larger demonstration by the country’s anti-Syrian opposition.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=60423&d=14&m=3&y=2005
AIDS Victim Plans Society to Create Awareness
Khaled Batarfi, Arab News
JEDDAH, 14 March 2005 — Rami, a 28-year-old Saudi university student, has been suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) for the past 20 years. He contracted the disease not from any illegal sexual activity but from a transfusion of contaminated blood.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=60408&d=14&m=3&y=2005
The Danger of an Israeli Attack on Iran
Jonathan Power, jonatpower@aol.com
How is the ordinary mortal able to make up his mind on whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons or not, and if so whether this poses a serious threat to Israel or other neighbors? After all, as Hans Blix, the UN’s former chief nuclear weapons’ inspector, famously said about Iraq’s supposed nuclear armory, there was nothing to stop Saddam Hussein hanging up a sign “Beware of the dog”, even if there was no dog. Moreover, even if Iran does have or almost have the capability to build a few nuclear weapons who would they use them against in a real— life situation, as opposed to the make-believe scenarios that game playing strategists love to create? Against Israel, Europe or the US? But these putative antagonists all have enough submarines, hardened silos and nuclear missiles to ensure a second strike ability that would wipe Iran off the face of the planet.
Still, as George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment reports, quoting an Israeli official, “if you cannot absolutely live with something, then you have to act. The consequences may be horrible, but they will come later. The consequences of not acting are intolerable immediately, so you have to act and live another day to deal with what comes next.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=60411&d=14&m=3&y=2005
LIST OF TOP 100 SAUDI COMPANIES
http://www.arabnews.com/top100/index.asp
continued...
Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
March 14…
1743 The first town meeting is held at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.
1794 Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin.
1879 born Albert Einstein, American physicist and Nobel laureate
http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/magazine/albert_einstein5a.html
http://www.westegg.com/einstein/
1900 The United States Congress passes legislation transferring all U.S. currency to the gold standand.
1923 born Diane Arbus, American photographer known for her black-and-white portraits of individuals on the fringes of society. The alienation and inner torment depicted in her photographs mirrored both her own inner feelings and the social turmoil in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Arbus produced haunting images of transvestites, midgets, nudists, and on occasion, celebrities.
http://www.temple.edu/photo/photographers/arbus/arbus.htm
1923, President Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax report.
1943, Aaron Copland's orchestral work "Fanfare for the Common Man" premiered in New York, with George Szell conducting.
1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, the previous November.
1965, Israel's cabinet formally approved establishment of diplomatic relations with West Germany.
1980, a Polish airliner crashed while making an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing all 87 aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team.
1995, American astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to enter space aboard a Russian rocket as he and two cosmonauts blasted off aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, headed for the Mir space station.
Missing in Action
1966 HILTON ROBERT L. BALTIMORE MD
1966 KLUTE KARL EDWIN RICHMOND IN
1966 PLEIMAN JAMES E. RUSSIA OH REMAINS RETURNED 03/23/89
1968 HAMM JAMES E. LONGMONT CO
1972 HARDY ARTHUR HANS ISPWICH MA REM RETURNED 09/20/83
The Chicago Tribune
Google doodler
Sketch artist Dennis Hwang achieves cult status
The Hartford Courant
Published March 9, 2005
On Valentine's Day, there were flowers in the first O, with ribbon going through the hoop of the G.
For New Year's Day, the numbers 2005 were set behind the word Google.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-050309google,1,7121505.story?coll=chi-homepagebiz-utl
Ex-Homeland watchdog knocks Ridge
By Pete Yost
Associated Press
Published March 14, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department's former independent watchdog says he was twice summoned to then-Secretary Tom Ridge's office last year and asked why his reports criticizing the agency were being sent to Congress and whether they could be presented more favorably.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503140187mar14,1,4673474.story?coll=chi-news-hed
The Scotsman
IVF parents should be able to pick babies' sex, say MPs
CRAIG BROWN
Key points
• Couples should have right to decide sex of IVF babies, says draft report
• Committee to recommend screening embryos for disease and tissue-type
• But report's findings may be delayed over dissension in committee
Key quote
"The report has already been much rewritten, as the original was appalling and libertarian. It would have been unacceptable to the public and it’s been amended, but it remains unacceptable" - Member of Commons science and technology committee
Story in full COUPLES should have the right to create designer babies and decide which sex they should be, a committee of MPs is to controversially recommend.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275492005
Annan arrives in Middle East to keep peace momentum going
JOSEF FEDERMAN
KOFI Annan, the United Nations secretary general, yesterday began a Middle East trip to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and attend the opening of a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
Mr Annan met Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, yesterday and was to travel to the West Bank today for talks with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, and other officials.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275742005
30,000 may have caught new MRSA strain
CRAIG BROWN
Key points
• Number of new MRSA strain infections grow as organisms resists treatment
• Community Acquired MRSA can be caught in sports clubs and gyms
• Organisations to launch first national MRSA screening programme this year
Key quote
"Usually these things will cause a boil or abscess on the skin but go no further, but there have been a few cases where people have got a type of pneumonia which has a mortality rate of about 75 per cent" - Dr Donald Morrison, clinical scientist at Stobhill hospital
Story in full A NEW strain of the MRSA superbug has infected up to 30,000 Scots, a leading doctor has claimed.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275712005&20050314015947
Balance between care and confidentiality
MEDICAL ETHICS
SHEILA McLEAN
THE CASE: Dr Brown is consulted by a patient who is concerned that he may be HIV positive. After the tests are carried out, this diagnosis is confirmed. Dr Brown knows this patient well, and is aware that the man is in a sexual relationship with another of her patients. Dr Brown urges the patient to disclose the fact of his HIV status to his partner, but the patient refuses, claiming that the information is private and should therefore be subject to the rules of confidentiality.
THE DISCUSSION: Patients generally expect, and are entitled to expect, that the information they give to their doctor will be securely and confidentially held.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=275372005
The Los Angeles Times
Flip Side to Fame in China
An Olympic diving star is a casualty in the Communist Party's bid to reassert old values.
CHONGQING, China — Tian Liang, 25, is handsome, tall and was, until recently, the pride of China. When he returned from the 2004 Athens Olympics with a gold medal for synchronized diving, his star appeal skyrocketed and advertisers banged on his door. Tian decided to take a breather, grab some endorsements and enjoy the payoff after endless hours in the pool.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-communists14mar14,0,5672121.story?coll=la-home-headlines
In Catholic Belfast, IRA Becomes Public Enemy
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Along the mean streets of this city soaked in blood and memory, something strange is happening. On a wall in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic neighborhood of Short Strand, two words of graffiti have appeared: "Disband Now."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-irish14mar14,0,4442978.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Life's Work Foreshadows Doctor's Own Diagnosis
Lou Gehrig's disease tightens its grip on a leading figure in the war against the fatal illness.
SAN FRANCISCO — Dr. Richard Olney knows nearly all there is to know about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease.
He knows that over a couple of years, it destroys nerves that control muscles, gradually entombing the mind alive in a useless body until, unable to move, speak, swallow or breathe, the patient perishes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-olney14mar14,0,1852255.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Iceland Has a Word for It
Usually a very old word.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ecenbarger14_mar14,0,5308774.story
Hindustan Times
US may offer F-16s to both India and Pakistan
S Rajagopalan
Washington,
US Secy of State Condoleezza Rice to visit India on Mar 15 »
Ahead of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to India and Pakistan this week, speculation is rife here that the Bush administration may indicate its willingness to sell F-16 fighter planes to both countries.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1277478,00050001.htm
The Miami Herald
Fire after SWAT call leaves 100 homeless
A fire that started sometime after a SWAT team fired tear gas into a Margate apartment during a standoff burned 100 residents out of their homes. A body was found in the apartment.
BY KEVIN DEUTSCH
kdeutsch@herald.com
A confrontation between a security guard and his ex-girlfriend over their young daughter led to a fire that blazed out of control, leaving some 100 Margate apartment dwellers homeless.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11129485.htm
U.S. sugar fighting for survival
By Jane Bussey
jbussey@herald.com
CLEWISTON - The heavy odor of molasses hangs over the glistening modern sugar refinery and the aging processing mill that traditionally signified the sweet smell of success for United States Sugar Corp.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11115441.htm
Diverse groups unite against sprawl
As developers push to extend the Urban Development Boundary, environmental and community activists have broadened support for a surprisingly effective opposition campaign.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11128455.htm
To better manage growth
OUR OPINION: RESIDENTS TIRED OF SPRAWL SHOULD PROD LEGISLATURE TO ACT
At a panel discussion on growth management in Tallahassee Friday, the speakers were in general agreement on one thing: Any major attempt to reform the state's growth-management process this legislative session is dead in the water. The reason? In the words of Charles Lee of the Florida Audubon Society, the Department of Community Affairs' draft legislation elicited ``a crescendo of opposition from developers.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11129475.htm
U.S. pulls out of protocol
OUR OPINION: U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM WORLD COURT AGREEMENT IS SHORTSIGHTED
If the U.S. battle against global terrorism has taught us anything, it is that being effective in today's world requires international cooperation, not isolation. That is true of the war in Iraq, the push for peace in the Middle East and the campaigns to stop Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear programs. Not even a superpower can go it alone. Or can it?
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11129476.htm
The Arab News
Protesters in Lebanon Blast UN Resolution
Danielle Hosri, Arab News
BEIRUT, 14 March 2005 — Protesters rallied yesterday to denounce a UN resolution demanding a Syrian military pullout as the government asserted its right to have a say in when the troops leave Lebanon. The pro-Syrian gathering in the southern city of Nabatiyeh drew 200,000 people and is expected to be followed today by an even larger demonstration by the country’s anti-Syrian opposition.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=60423&d=14&m=3&y=2005
AIDS Victim Plans Society to Create Awareness
Khaled Batarfi, Arab News
JEDDAH, 14 March 2005 — Rami, a 28-year-old Saudi university student, has been suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) for the past 20 years. He contracted the disease not from any illegal sexual activity but from a transfusion of contaminated blood.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=60408&d=14&m=3&y=2005
The Danger of an Israeli Attack on Iran
Jonathan Power, jonatpower@aol.com
How is the ordinary mortal able to make up his mind on whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons or not, and if so whether this poses a serious threat to Israel or other neighbors? After all, as Hans Blix, the UN’s former chief nuclear weapons’ inspector, famously said about Iraq’s supposed nuclear armory, there was nothing to stop Saddam Hussein hanging up a sign “Beware of the dog”, even if there was no dog. Moreover, even if Iran does have or almost have the capability to build a few nuclear weapons who would they use them against in a real— life situation, as opposed to the make-believe scenarios that game playing strategists love to create? Against Israel, Europe or the US? But these putative antagonists all have enough submarines, hardened silos and nuclear missiles to ensure a second strike ability that would wipe Iran off the face of the planet.
Still, as George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment reports, quoting an Israeli official, “if you cannot absolutely live with something, then you have to act. The consequences may be horrible, but they will come later. The consequences of not acting are intolerable immediately, so you have to act and live another day to deal with what comes next.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=60411&d=14&m=3&y=2005
LIST OF TOP 100 SAUDI COMPANIES
http://www.arabnews.com/top100/index.asp
continued...
Morning Papers - continued...
The Jerusalem Post
Sharon pledges to Annan to remove illegal outposts
By HERB KEINON
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan are seen during a meeting in Jerusalem Sunday.
Will Congress Pass Medical Liability Reform?
President Bush agrees the only way to stop this crisis is for Congress to pass common-sense medical liability reform now!
Save the U.S. Healthcare System.
Click here.
Israel will live up to its obligations and remove the 24 unauthorized outposts set up since March 2001, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assured visiting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Sunday, although he indicated this would be unlikely until after the withdrawal from Gaza.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684074214
UN: Assad committed to full withdrawal
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Syrian troops withdrawing from Lebanon carry posters of President Bashar Assad and Syrian flags at Jdaidet Yabous Syrian-Lebanese border point, 50 kilometers west of Damascus
BEIRUT, Lebanon
President Bashar Assad reiterated his commitment to withdrawing all Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon, UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Saturday, indicating he had received a timetable for the pullout.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597563807
Katsav: Sensitivity to Holocaust growing
By GREER FAY CASHMAN
"Leaders of the free world are showing more sensitivity to the Holocaust than ever before," President Moshe Katsav said Sunday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684074305
Cabinet approves removal of 24 outposts
By HERB KEINON
Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz arrives at cabinet meeting prior to unanimous approval of his appointment as next IDF chief of staff
Israel will remove the 24 unauthorized settlement outposts established since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to power in March 2001, while the fate of 81 other outposts established before that date will be determined by a special committee, the cabinet decided Sunday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597566378
US Jews head to Gaza in solidarity
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Sara Lehmann is leaving her five children, aged 14 and under, at home in Brooklyn and heading to Gush Katif on Sunday to personally tell the settlers that American Jews support their right to live there.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684075200
Sneh: Attack on Iran 'last resort'
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
Iran's nuclear plant in Bushehr in southern Iran.
Both Israel and the United States on Sunday rejected a report in London's Sunday Times which claimed that Israel had a plan in place to attack Iran's nuclear reactor and that the US would not block the attack if diplomatic efforts fail to contain Iran's nuclear development.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684073825
US prof who compared 9/11 victims to Nazi may get settlement soon
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER
An attorney for the University of Colorado professor who compared some September 11 victims to a notorious Nazi said Friday he expects a settlement with the school "within the next day or so."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597565364
Haaretz
PM: No progress on road map until militants disarmed
By Akiva Eldar, Arnon Regular and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held an indirect exchange of views Sunday night, starting with Abbas telling Channel 1 that, after the anticipated announcement this week of a formal cease-fire by all the Palestinian factions, he would be ready for full-scale diplomatic talks.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551588.html
Car bomb goes off in J'lem; no casualties
By Haaretz Staff
A small explosive device went off in Jerusalem predawn Monday, but no one was hurt, Army Radio reported.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551589.html
Mofaz to meet with Palestinian Interior Minister
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will meet in the coming days with Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef in an effort to advance the stalled negotiations over the transfer of West Bank towns to Palestinian security control.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551528.html
Bassi to explain pullout to U.S. rabbis
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent
NEW YORK - The head of the Disengagement Administration, Yonatan Bassi, will promise U.S. rabbis and Orthodox community leaders this week that the evacuation of Gush Katif will be accomplished while taking special care to preserve the dignity of the settlers and respect their feelings.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551534.html
The Moscow News
Russia Faces Implications of Maskhadov's Killing
The killing of top Chechen rebel Aslan Maskhadov leaves the insurgency largely in the hands of Shamil Basayev, the most brutal of the warlords - a development that could undermine any chance of peace even though the Kremlin is celebrating a breakthrough in the lengthy conflict.
MosNews
The killing of top Chechen rebel Aslan Maskhadov leaves the insurgency largely in the hands of Shamil Basayev, the most brutal of the warlords — a development that could undermine any chance of peace even though the Kremlin is celebrating a breakthrough in the lengthy conflict.
http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2005-8-38
Ukrainian Journalist Murder Case Gains New Impetus
By Anna Arutunyan The Moscow News
Ukraine's former president Leonid Kuchma has been implicated in the death of opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze, who was killed in September of 2000, and whose beheaded body was found later that fall in a forest near Kiev. New developments - and strong words by newly elected President Viktor Yushchenko - gave new impetus last week to a case long stalled.
http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2005-9-3
The Boston Globe
Trial logjam plagues court system
State problem most acute in Suffolk County
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
The number of felony cases in Suffolk County taking a year or more to go to trial has nearly doubled since 2001, part of a statewide backlog that is testing the Massachusetts criminal justice system in unprecedented ways.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/14/trial_logjam_plagues_court_system/
Pacific center sued over tsunami warning
March 14, 2005
HONOLULU -- Tsunami survivors and relatives of victims have sued the federal agency that operates the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, alleging the center did not do enough to warn people about the disaster.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/14/pacific_center_sued_over_tsunami_warning/
New cholesterol guidelines spur testing
By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
Newton-Wellesley Hospital internist Alan Glaser used to cajole his patients to take their cholesterol-lowering pills. Now he uses a persuasion tool: a quick printout of their cholesterol levels.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/14/new_cholesterol_guidelines_spur_testing/
Boston couple gives $6 million to Beth Israel for stem cell study
March 14, 2005
BOSTON -- A real estate developer and his wife are giving $6 million to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for stem cell research, a controversial issue that is being considered by the Massachusetts Legislature.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/14/boston_couple_gives_6_million_to_beth_israel_for_stem_cell_study/
Leahy seeks $140b asbestos victim fund
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Senator Patrick J. Leahy gazes upon a stirring sight when he visits a cemetery in Barre, Vt.: a tombstone marking the grave of Patrick J. Leahy.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/03/14/leahy_seeks_140b_asbestos_victim_fund_1110775603/
With marriage, gay couples face tax tangles
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
The conflict between Massachusetts and federal laws on gay marriage is making the routine filing of taxes anything but routine for accountants, tax officials, and newly married same-sex couples such as Jan Donley and Diane Felicio.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/14/with_marriage_gay_couples_face_tax_tangles/
S. Korean demonstrators cut off fingers
March 14, 2005
SEOUL, South Korea -- Two South Korean demonstrators each cut off a finger outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Monday to protest Tokyo's territorial claim to a set of islets controlled by South Korea, and Japan recalled its ambassador over the same issue.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/14/s_korean_demonstrators_cut_off_fingers/
The Moscow Times
Moscow Makes Its Case for 2012
By Kevin O'Flynn
Staff Writer
A dirigible touting the 2012 Olympic bid flies over the State Duma on Sunday.
Moscow was covered in interlocking rings Sunday as the city -- a rank outsider among the five finalists bidding for the 2012 Olympics -- prepared to persuade the International Olympic Committee that it deserved a shot at hosting the Games.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/001.html
Gorbachev Defends His Policy of Perestroika
By Anatoly Medetsky and Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writers
Gorbachev attending the opening Friday of an exhibit titled "Gorbachev: Life and Reforms," which features a collection of photographs and foreign awards.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev defended his policy of perestroika and rejected accusations that it fueled the collapse of the Soviet Union at events Friday that commemorated the 20th anniversary of his ascent to power.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/011.html
U.S. Reaches Settlement With Holocaust Victims
By Frances Kerry
Reuters
MIAMI -- The U.S. government reached a $25.5 million settlement on Friday with Hungarian Holocaust survivors over a trainload of gold, artwork and other property seized by the U.S. Army near the end of World War II after it had been stolen by Nazis.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/253.html
U.S. Doctors Secretly Assisted Yushchenko
Combined Reports
WASHINGTON -- American doctors secretly assisted in the treatment of Viktor Yushchenko after he was apparently poisoned while running for president of Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
U.S. officials kept the doctors' role secret because they did not want to appear to be interfering in the tumultuous Ukrainian election.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/016.html
Maskhadov's Body in Moscow
People at the Russian Embassy in Warsaw denouncing Maskhadov's killing.
The body of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, who was slain by FSB commandos last week, has been sent to Moscow for forensic examination, officials said Friday.
But residents of the house where authorities said Maskhadov was killed in Tolstoy-Kurt denied that he had been hiding in their basement, casting doubt on Moscow's accounts of the killing.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/015.html
The New York Times
Government Report on U.S. Aviation Warns of Security Holes
WASHINGTON, March 13 - Despite a huge investment in security, the American aviation system remains vulnerable to attack by Al Qaeda and other jihadist terrorist groups, with noncommercial planes and helicopters offering terrorists particularly tempting targets, a confidential government report concludes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/politics/14terror.html?hp&ex=1110862800&en=70b0fdb5b15b689e&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Hundreds of Thousands in Lebanon Protest Syria
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in central Beirut on Monday in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri exactly a month ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-lebanon.html?hp
Bush to Permit Trading of Credits to Limit Mercury
WASHINGTON, March 13 - The Bush administration this week will propose the first federal controls on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The new rule will abandon the Environmental Protection Agency's original tilt toward a remedy favored by most environmental groups in favor of a system of tradable pollution allowances that is more congenial to industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/politics/14mercury.html?hp&ex=1110862800&en=f7db403afc9aa0e6&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Kurds' Return to City Shakes Politics in Iraq
KIRKUK, Iraq - Muhammad Ahmed realized how wide the chasm between Kurds and Arabs here had grown when he recently ran into a former classmate on the serpentine streets of this troubled city.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/international/middleeast/14kurds.html?hp&ex=1110862800&en=020da0b6940f779b&ei=5094&partner=homepage
continued...
Sharon pledges to Annan to remove illegal outposts
By HERB KEINON
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan are seen during a meeting in Jerusalem Sunday.
Will Congress Pass Medical Liability Reform?
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Israel will live up to its obligations and remove the 24 unauthorized outposts set up since March 2001, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assured visiting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Sunday, although he indicated this would be unlikely until after the withdrawal from Gaza.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684074214
UN: Assad committed to full withdrawal
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Syrian troops withdrawing from Lebanon carry posters of President Bashar Assad and Syrian flags at Jdaidet Yabous Syrian-Lebanese border point, 50 kilometers west of Damascus
BEIRUT, Lebanon
President Bashar Assad reiterated his commitment to withdrawing all Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon, UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Saturday, indicating he had received a timetable for the pullout.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597563807
Katsav: Sensitivity to Holocaust growing
By GREER FAY CASHMAN
"Leaders of the free world are showing more sensitivity to the Holocaust than ever before," President Moshe Katsav said Sunday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684074305
Cabinet approves removal of 24 outposts
By HERB KEINON
Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz arrives at cabinet meeting prior to unanimous approval of his appointment as next IDF chief of staff
Israel will remove the 24 unauthorized settlement outposts established since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to power in March 2001, while the fate of 81 other outposts established before that date will be determined by a special committee, the cabinet decided Sunday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597566378
US Jews head to Gaza in solidarity
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Sara Lehmann is leaving her five children, aged 14 and under, at home in Brooklyn and heading to Gush Katif on Sunday to personally tell the settlers that American Jews support their right to live there.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684075200
Sneh: Attack on Iran 'last resort'
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
Iran's nuclear plant in Bushehr in southern Iran.
Both Israel and the United States on Sunday rejected a report in London's Sunday Times which claimed that Israel had a plan in place to attack Iran's nuclear reactor and that the US would not block the attack if diplomatic efforts fail to contain Iran's nuclear development.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110684073825
US prof who compared 9/11 victims to Nazi may get settlement soon
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER
An attorney for the University of Colorado professor who compared some September 11 victims to a notorious Nazi said Friday he expects a settlement with the school "within the next day or so."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597565364
Haaretz
PM: No progress on road map until militants disarmed
By Akiva Eldar, Arnon Regular and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held an indirect exchange of views Sunday night, starting with Abbas telling Channel 1 that, after the anticipated announcement this week of a formal cease-fire by all the Palestinian factions, he would be ready for full-scale diplomatic talks.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551588.html
Car bomb goes off in J'lem; no casualties
By Haaretz Staff
A small explosive device went off in Jerusalem predawn Monday, but no one was hurt, Army Radio reported.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551589.html
Mofaz to meet with Palestinian Interior Minister
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will meet in the coming days with Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef in an effort to advance the stalled negotiations over the transfer of West Bank towns to Palestinian security control.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551528.html
Bassi to explain pullout to U.S. rabbis
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent
NEW YORK - The head of the Disengagement Administration, Yonatan Bassi, will promise U.S. rabbis and Orthodox community leaders this week that the evacuation of Gush Katif will be accomplished while taking special care to preserve the dignity of the settlers and respect their feelings.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/551534.html
The Moscow News
Russia Faces Implications of Maskhadov's Killing
The killing of top Chechen rebel Aslan Maskhadov leaves the insurgency largely in the hands of Shamil Basayev, the most brutal of the warlords - a development that could undermine any chance of peace even though the Kremlin is celebrating a breakthrough in the lengthy conflict.
MosNews
The killing of top Chechen rebel Aslan Maskhadov leaves the insurgency largely in the hands of Shamil Basayev, the most brutal of the warlords — a development that could undermine any chance of peace even though the Kremlin is celebrating a breakthrough in the lengthy conflict.
http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2005-8-38
Ukrainian Journalist Murder Case Gains New Impetus
By Anna Arutunyan The Moscow News
Ukraine's former president Leonid Kuchma has been implicated in the death of opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze, who was killed in September of 2000, and whose beheaded body was found later that fall in a forest near Kiev. New developments - and strong words by newly elected President Viktor Yushchenko - gave new impetus last week to a case long stalled.
http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2005-9-3
The Boston Globe
Trial logjam plagues court system
State problem most acute in Suffolk County
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
The number of felony cases in Suffolk County taking a year or more to go to trial has nearly doubled since 2001, part of a statewide backlog that is testing the Massachusetts criminal justice system in unprecedented ways.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/14/trial_logjam_plagues_court_system/
Pacific center sued over tsunami warning
March 14, 2005
HONOLULU -- Tsunami survivors and relatives of victims have sued the federal agency that operates the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, alleging the center did not do enough to warn people about the disaster.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/14/pacific_center_sued_over_tsunami_warning/
New cholesterol guidelines spur testing
By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
Newton-Wellesley Hospital internist Alan Glaser used to cajole his patients to take their cholesterol-lowering pills. Now he uses a persuasion tool: a quick printout of their cholesterol levels.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/14/new_cholesterol_guidelines_spur_testing/
Boston couple gives $6 million to Beth Israel for stem cell study
March 14, 2005
BOSTON -- A real estate developer and his wife are giving $6 million to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for stem cell research, a controversial issue that is being considered by the Massachusetts Legislature.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/14/boston_couple_gives_6_million_to_beth_israel_for_stem_cell_study/
Leahy seeks $140b asbestos victim fund
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Senator Patrick J. Leahy gazes upon a stirring sight when he visits a cemetery in Barre, Vt.: a tombstone marking the grave of Patrick J. Leahy.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/03/14/leahy_seeks_140b_asbestos_victim_fund_1110775603/
With marriage, gay couples face tax tangles
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff March 14, 2005
The conflict between Massachusetts and federal laws on gay marriage is making the routine filing of taxes anything but routine for accountants, tax officials, and newly married same-sex couples such as Jan Donley and Diane Felicio.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/14/with_marriage_gay_couples_face_tax_tangles/
S. Korean demonstrators cut off fingers
March 14, 2005
SEOUL, South Korea -- Two South Korean demonstrators each cut off a finger outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Monday to protest Tokyo's territorial claim to a set of islets controlled by South Korea, and Japan recalled its ambassador over the same issue.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/14/s_korean_demonstrators_cut_off_fingers/
The Moscow Times
Moscow Makes Its Case for 2012
By Kevin O'Flynn
Staff Writer
A dirigible touting the 2012 Olympic bid flies over the State Duma on Sunday.
Moscow was covered in interlocking rings Sunday as the city -- a rank outsider among the five finalists bidding for the 2012 Olympics -- prepared to persuade the International Olympic Committee that it deserved a shot at hosting the Games.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/001.html
Gorbachev Defends His Policy of Perestroika
By Anatoly Medetsky and Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writers
Gorbachev attending the opening Friday of an exhibit titled "Gorbachev: Life and Reforms," which features a collection of photographs and foreign awards.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev defended his policy of perestroika and rejected accusations that it fueled the collapse of the Soviet Union at events Friday that commemorated the 20th anniversary of his ascent to power.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/011.html
U.S. Reaches Settlement With Holocaust Victims
By Frances Kerry
Reuters
MIAMI -- The U.S. government reached a $25.5 million settlement on Friday with Hungarian Holocaust survivors over a trainload of gold, artwork and other property seized by the U.S. Army near the end of World War II after it had been stolen by Nazis.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/253.html
U.S. Doctors Secretly Assisted Yushchenko
Combined Reports
WASHINGTON -- American doctors secretly assisted in the treatment of Viktor Yushchenko after he was apparently poisoned while running for president of Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
U.S. officials kept the doctors' role secret because they did not want to appear to be interfering in the tumultuous Ukrainian election.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/016.html
Maskhadov's Body in Moscow
People at the Russian Embassy in Warsaw denouncing Maskhadov's killing.
The body of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, who was slain by FSB commandos last week, has been sent to Moscow for forensic examination, officials said Friday.
But residents of the house where authorities said Maskhadov was killed in Tolstoy-Kurt denied that he had been hiding in their basement, casting doubt on Moscow's accounts of the killing.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/14/015.html
The New York Times
Government Report on U.S. Aviation Warns of Security Holes
WASHINGTON, March 13 - Despite a huge investment in security, the American aviation system remains vulnerable to attack by Al Qaeda and other jihadist terrorist groups, with noncommercial planes and helicopters offering terrorists particularly tempting targets, a confidential government report concludes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/politics/14terror.html?hp&ex=1110862800&en=70b0fdb5b15b689e&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Hundreds of Thousands in Lebanon Protest Syria
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in central Beirut on Monday in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri exactly a month ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-lebanon.html?hp
Bush to Permit Trading of Credits to Limit Mercury
WASHINGTON, March 13 - The Bush administration this week will propose the first federal controls on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The new rule will abandon the Environmental Protection Agency's original tilt toward a remedy favored by most environmental groups in favor of a system of tradable pollution allowances that is more congenial to industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/politics/14mercury.html?hp&ex=1110862800&en=f7db403afc9aa0e6&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Kurds' Return to City Shakes Politics in Iraq
KIRKUK, Iraq - Muhammad Ahmed realized how wide the chasm between Kurds and Arabs here had grown when he recently ran into a former classmate on the serpentine streets of this troubled city.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/international/middleeast/14kurds.html?hp&ex=1110862800&en=020da0b6940f779b&ei=5094&partner=homepage
continued...
IT IS A CHINESE SOVEREIGNTY ISSUE that the leadership is pursuing to the end. This is unfortunate. There was wonderful progress toward peace and a One China Policy without violence until Bush/Cheney took over the White House and now Taiwan is a launching pad of war. Great. Good work Cheney. This is a Taipei Folk Dance Troupe.
Morning Papers - continued
China Daily
Top legislature passes Anti-Secession Law
(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-14 09:19
The annual session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), voted to pass the Anti-Secession Law Monday, setting a legal framework to prevent Taiwan from being seceded from China and promote peaceful national reunification.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424612.htm
Anti-Secession Law adopted by NPC (full text)
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-14 09:41
Order of the President of the People's Republic of China
No. 34
The Anti-Secession Law, adopted at the Third Session of the Tenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of Chinaon March 14, 2005, is hereby promulgated and shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424643.htm
Chinese scientists conduct HIV vaccine test
By Zhang Feng and Qin Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-14 06:25
China has begun the first phase of testing an HIV vaccine.
Eight volunteers were injected with either an HIV vaccine or a placebo that is free of the virus on Saturday in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, reported Xinhua News Agency.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424516.htm>
EU firm on ending China arms embargo
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-13 08:44
The European Union is determined to lift its 15-year ban on arms sales to China and does not expect any retaliation from Washington when it does so, a top official said on Saturday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/13/content_424357.htm
Hu: Society should be energy efficient
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-14 06:25
The Chinese central authorities held a seminar on population, resources and the environment on Saturday. President Hu Jintao presided over the meeting and stressed the importance of building an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly society.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424553.htm
'The Da Vinci Code's' amazing success
Two years ago this month, Doubleday published a historical thriller with an announced first printing of 85,000 and high hopes that a little-known writer named Dan Brown would catch on with the general public.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/11/content_424013.htm
Miss Germany is Miss Europe 2005
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-13 08:35
Dark-haired Miss Germany, Shahrivar Shermine, a 22-year-old of Iranian origin won the title of Miss Europe 2005 in Paris.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/13/content_424354.htm
President sets forth guidelines on Taiwan
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-04 16:50
President Hu Jintao said Friday that the Chinese people will do their best to seek peaceful reunification of the motherland but will never tolerate "Taiwan independence".
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/04/content_421902.htm
China Puts Threat to Taiwan Into Law
Move Could Reverse Recent Warming in Cross-Strait Relations
By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A01
BEIJING, March 14 -- China enacted a law Monday authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence, codifying its long-standing threat to attack the island. The measure could provoke a popular backlash in Taiwan and quickly unravel recent progress in cross-strait relations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32353-2005Mar13.html
Battle on Teaching Evolution Sharpens
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A01
WICHITA -- Propelled by a polished strategy crafted by activists on America's political right, a battle is intensifying across the nation over how students are taught about the origins of life. Policymakers in 19 states are weighing proposals that question the science of evolution.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32444-2005Mar13.html
Daschle Moving to K Street
Dole Played a Key Role in Recruiting Former Senator
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A17
Former senator Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), following a bipartisan path blazed by many prominent ex-members of Congress, has moved from Capitol Hill to K Street, joining Alston & Bird as a special adviser in the law firm's legislative and public policy group.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32604-2005Mar13.html
Treasury Has That Vacant Look
By Al Kamen
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A17
Good to see Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, last seen campaigning constantly for President Bush in Ohio and Pennsylvania, back on the road. He's been a key player, a leader in the critical "60 Stops in 60 Days" effort to pass Bush's ideas on Social Security.
Of the 112 top officials listed on the department's Web site organization chart as of Friday, about two dozen jobs were vacant or temporarily filled by "acting" folks. These include three topmost jobs, such as the deputy secretary and the undersecretaries for domestic and international affairs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31959-2005Mar13.html
Airline Probed in Activist's Murder
Indonesian Officials Allege Coverup After Poisoning of Rights Figure
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A14
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Munir Said Thalib, Indonesia's best-known human rights campaigner, started feeling sick shortly after his overnight flight left for Europe last September. After he made brief layover in Singapore, the pain grew so intense that a doctor on board was roused from his sleep to tend to him. Within hours, somewhere in the night skies above Eastern Europe, Munir died.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32206-2005Mar13.html
THE NEXT PEACE VENUE !!
The Globe and Mail
China rattles sabre at Taiwan
Sunday, March 13, 2005 Updated at 9:20 PM EST
Associated Press
Beijing — China's , a day after President Hu Jintao told the 2.5 million-member People's Liberation Army to be prepared for war.
The measure was approved by a vote of 2,896 to zero, with two abstentions at the closing session of the National People's Congress' annual meeting.
“We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars if any,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted Mr. Hu as saying Sunday.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050313.wchina0313/BNStory/International/
Task force urges joint security perimeter
Washington — Canada, Mexico and the United States should collectively gird against terrorism with a common security perimeter, protecting an increasingly integrated continent where residents freely cross internal borders and the three countries share a common energy strategy.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050314.wxnadraft0314/BNStory/National/
Talks continue on Iraq coalition
Baghdad — Kurdish leaders were converging in Baghdad for last-minute talks Monday with majority Shiites as both sides pressed to secure a deal to form a coalition government before the newly elected parliament meets for the first time later this week.
In northern Iraq, gunmen killed Hussam Hilal Sarsam, a Kurdish cameraman for the Kurdish satellite channel KurdSat, said witnesses who saw his corpse transported by Iraqi troops outside the governor's office in Mosul.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050314.wiraq0314/BNStory/International/
Israel approves final route of Jerusalem barrier
Jerusalem — .
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved the final route of a barrier around Jerusalem that will include the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank on the Israeli side, officials said Monday, prompting
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050314.wmideast0114/BNStory/International/
Philadelphia Inquirer
On tapes, working a deal on racetrack
Wiretapped talks offer a look at city power brokers trying to get big-name investors for a Navy Yard gambling plan.
By Mark Fazlollah, John Shiffman and Emilie Lounsberry
Inquirer Staff Writers
In a Center City law office, two Philadelphia power brokers, one a black Democrat, the other a white Republican, talked of the millions they would make if they got the backing to put a racetrack and slot machines at the Navy Yard.
"If we don't get this ... deal done, we should be ashamed of ourselves," Manuel Stamatakis told Ronald A. White on Aug. 21, 2003, unaware that the FBI was listening. "I mean, Jesus, everybody in our deal has done so much for so many people."
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11124442.htm
Editorial Land Deals and Casinos
Starved for ethics
The sleaziness has begun.
Stories of questionable dealings are arising as legalized gambling arrives in Pennsylvania. It's happening in Erie, the Poconos and Philadelphia.
The latest revelations involve State Sen. Michael Stack 3d, his family, and a riverfront tract in Fishtown.
This affair involves big bucks, political donations, shaky memories, and shakier ethical standards.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11120260.htm
concluding...
Top legislature passes Anti-Secession Law
(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-14 09:19
The annual session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), voted to pass the Anti-Secession Law Monday, setting a legal framework to prevent Taiwan from being seceded from China and promote peaceful national reunification.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424612.htm
Anti-Secession Law adopted by NPC (full text)
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-14 09:41
Order of the President of the People's Republic of China
No. 34
The Anti-Secession Law, adopted at the Third Session of the Tenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of Chinaon March 14, 2005, is hereby promulgated and shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424643.htm
Chinese scientists conduct HIV vaccine test
By Zhang Feng and Qin Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-14 06:25
China has begun the first phase of testing an HIV vaccine.
Eight volunteers were injected with either an HIV vaccine or a placebo that is free of the virus on Saturday in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, reported Xinhua News Agency.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424516.htm>
EU firm on ending China arms embargo
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-13 08:44
The European Union is determined to lift its 15-year ban on arms sales to China and does not expect any retaliation from Washington when it does so, a top official said on Saturday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/13/content_424357.htm
Hu: Society should be energy efficient
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-14 06:25
The Chinese central authorities held a seminar on population, resources and the environment on Saturday. President Hu Jintao presided over the meeting and stressed the importance of building an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly society.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/14/content_424553.htm
'The Da Vinci Code's' amazing success
Two years ago this month, Doubleday published a historical thriller with an announced first printing of 85,000 and high hopes that a little-known writer named Dan Brown would catch on with the general public.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/11/content_424013.htm
Miss Germany is Miss Europe 2005
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-13 08:35
Dark-haired Miss Germany, Shahrivar Shermine, a 22-year-old of Iranian origin won the title of Miss Europe 2005 in Paris.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/13/content_424354.htm
President sets forth guidelines on Taiwan
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-04 16:50
President Hu Jintao said Friday that the Chinese people will do their best to seek peaceful reunification of the motherland but will never tolerate "Taiwan independence".
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/04/content_421902.htm
China Puts Threat to Taiwan Into Law
Move Could Reverse Recent Warming in Cross-Strait Relations
By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A01
BEIJING, March 14 -- China enacted a law Monday authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence, codifying its long-standing threat to attack the island. The measure could provoke a popular backlash in Taiwan and quickly unravel recent progress in cross-strait relations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32353-2005Mar13.html
Battle on Teaching Evolution Sharpens
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A01
WICHITA -- Propelled by a polished strategy crafted by activists on America's political right, a battle is intensifying across the nation over how students are taught about the origins of life. Policymakers in 19 states are weighing proposals that question the science of evolution.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32444-2005Mar13.html
Daschle Moving to K Street
Dole Played a Key Role in Recruiting Former Senator
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A17
Former senator Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), following a bipartisan path blazed by many prominent ex-members of Congress, has moved from Capitol Hill to K Street, joining Alston & Bird as a special adviser in the law firm's legislative and public policy group.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32604-2005Mar13.html
Treasury Has That Vacant Look
By Al Kamen
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A17
Good to see Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, last seen campaigning constantly for President Bush in Ohio and Pennsylvania, back on the road. He's been a key player, a leader in the critical "60 Stops in 60 Days" effort to pass Bush's ideas on Social Security.
Of the 112 top officials listed on the department's Web site organization chart as of Friday, about two dozen jobs were vacant or temporarily filled by "acting" folks. These include three topmost jobs, such as the deputy secretary and the undersecretaries for domestic and international affairs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31959-2005Mar13.html
Airline Probed in Activist's Murder
Indonesian Officials Allege Coverup After Poisoning of Rights Figure
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A14
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Munir Said Thalib, Indonesia's best-known human rights campaigner, started feeling sick shortly after his overnight flight left for Europe last September. After he made brief layover in Singapore, the pain grew so intense that a doctor on board was roused from his sleep to tend to him. Within hours, somewhere in the night skies above Eastern Europe, Munir died.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32206-2005Mar13.html
THE NEXT PEACE VENUE !!
The Globe and Mail
China rattles sabre at Taiwan
Sunday, March 13, 2005 Updated at 9:20 PM EST
Associated Press
Beijing — China's , a day after President Hu Jintao told the 2.5 million-member People's Liberation Army to be prepared for war.
The measure was approved by a vote of 2,896 to zero, with two abstentions at the closing session of the National People's Congress' annual meeting.
“We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars if any,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted Mr. Hu as saying Sunday.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050313.wchina0313/BNStory/International/
Task force urges joint security perimeter
Washington — Canada, Mexico and the United States should collectively gird against terrorism with a common security perimeter, protecting an increasingly integrated continent where residents freely cross internal borders and the three countries share a common energy strategy.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050314.wxnadraft0314/BNStory/National/
Talks continue on Iraq coalition
Baghdad — Kurdish leaders were converging in Baghdad for last-minute talks Monday with majority Shiites as both sides pressed to secure a deal to form a coalition government before the newly elected parliament meets for the first time later this week.
In northern Iraq, gunmen killed Hussam Hilal Sarsam, a Kurdish cameraman for the Kurdish satellite channel KurdSat, said witnesses who saw his corpse transported by Iraqi troops outside the governor's office in Mosul.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050314.wiraq0314/BNStory/International/
Israel approves final route of Jerusalem barrier
Jerusalem — .
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved the final route of a barrier around Jerusalem that will include the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank on the Israeli side, officials said Monday, prompting
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050314.wmideast0114/BNStory/International/
Philadelphia Inquirer
On tapes, working a deal on racetrack
Wiretapped talks offer a look at city power brokers trying to get big-name investors for a Navy Yard gambling plan.
By Mark Fazlollah, John Shiffman and Emilie Lounsberry
Inquirer Staff Writers
In a Center City law office, two Philadelphia power brokers, one a black Democrat, the other a white Republican, talked of the millions they would make if they got the backing to put a racetrack and slot machines at the Navy Yard.
"If we don't get this ... deal done, we should be ashamed of ourselves," Manuel Stamatakis told Ronald A. White on Aug. 21, 2003, unaware that the FBI was listening. "I mean, Jesus, everybody in our deal has done so much for so many people."
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11124442.htm
Editorial Land Deals and Casinos
Starved for ethics
The sleaziness has begun.
Stories of questionable dealings are arising as legalized gambling arrives in Pennsylvania. It's happening in Erie, the Poconos and Philadelphia.
The latest revelations involve State Sen. Michael Stack 3d, his family, and a riverfront tract in Fishtown.
This affair involves big bucks, political donations, shaky memories, and shakier ethical standards.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11120260.htm
concluding...
Taiwan
Taiwan is a modern industrialised megalopolis clinging to the fringes of an ancient culture; a string of teeming cities at the feet of a glorious mountain range. It has traditional noodles from a 7-Eleven, aboriginal tribes in mini-skirts and a day of temple rituals followed by waterslide rides.
http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/nea/tai.htm
Taiwan is a modern industrialised megalopolis clinging to the fringes of an ancient culture; a string of teeming cities at the feet of a glorious mountain range. It has traditional noodles from a 7-Eleven, aboriginal tribes in mini-skirts and a day of temple rituals followed by waterslide rides.
http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/nea/tai.htm
Morning Papers - concluding
The New Zealand Herald
6.4 quake jolts North and South Islands
14.03.05 10.45am UPDATE
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale shook the North Island and parts of the upper South Island early today.
The strong quake was centred off the coast of Taranaki in the Tasman Sea, 160km northwest of Wellington at a depth of 150km.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115161
Al Qaeda ally may target schools and theatres in US
14.03.05 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's chief ally in Iraq, may be planning attacks on "soft targets" in the United States including movie theatres, restaurants and schools, Time magazine has reported.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115187
Locals volunteer to rebuild tornado-ravaged town
14.03.05 1.00pm
Greymouth carpenters are coming forward to rebuild their tornado-ravaged town in such numbers that the town doesn't need extra help offered from outside the region.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115203
China passes controversial Taiwan anti-secession bill
14.03.05 3.30pm
By Tamora Vidaillet and Benjamin Kang Lim
BEIJING - China's parliament has passed a contentious anti-secession bill that mandates the use of military force against Taiwan if the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own formally declares statehood.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115218
Syrian-backed Hizbollah rallies against US
14.03.05 1.00pm
NABATIYEH, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for a Hizbollah rally against the United States, even as a United Nations envoy met the Lebanese president to press demands for a Syrian pullout.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115191
Critics row over US government's 'fake news' video clips
14.03.05 1.00pm
by Andrew Gumbel
The Bush administration has produced news look-alike video propaganda clips and successfully persuaded television news stations across the country to air them uncritically and, often, uncut. As many as 20 government departments have produced fake news that stations relayed as though they had produced the segments themselves according to the standard rules of journalism, the New York Times reported.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115200
White House acknowledges Iran intelligence 'hard to come by'
14.03.05 1.00pm
by Adam Entous
WASHINGTON - The White House has acknowledged the difficulty of gathering good intelligence in Iran but said Tehran's behaviour was "suspicious enough" to warrant stepping up pressure over its nuclear program.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115182
Bloggers campaign for 'traditional press freedoms'
14.03.05
by Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON - Internet bloggers should enjoy traditional press freedoms and not face regulation as political groups, lawmakers and online journalists said on Friday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115224
Medsafe examining two alternative flu vaccine
14.03.05 1.00pm
The Health Ministry's drug safety authority Medsafe is examining two alternative influenza vaccines after a manufacturing fault left its 2005 influenza vaccination unable to fully protect against one strain of the virus.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115180
Bono says Powell could make ‘amazing’ World Bank head
14.03.05
NEW YORK - Irish rock singer Bono whose name had been bandied about for the job of president of the World Bank, says former Secretary of State Colin Powell could do a good job at the helm.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115127
Stalin’s secret Hitler book to be published
14.03.05
LONDON - A secret biography of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler commissioned by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is to be published later this month, the book’s British publisher says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115122
Keith Suter: Why Bolton is not the right American for the UN job
14.03.05
President George W. Bush's assault on the United Nations has continued with his nomination of John Bolton as the next United States Ambassador to the UN. This is not a good omen.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115056
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Fine
-15.0°
Updated Monday 14 Mar 9:59PM
Northern Territory News
Massive cleanup begins, Territory counts cost
THE Tiwi Islands resembled a war zone tonight after Cyclone Ingrid unfurled her full wrath on the tiny community.
Tiwi Islanders began to emerge from emergency shelters this afternoon after enduring a terrifying 24 hours as the eye of the destructive cyclone passed directly overhead.
At least two houses were ripped apart, and flying trees damaged several other homes, as gales pummelled the two islands, north of Darwin, last night.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12538125-17001,00.html
Australia hedges on US-Taiwan support
By Sandra O'Malley
March 14, 2005
From: AAP
AUSTRALIA has dodged questions whether it would back the US in a war against China if it used force to prevent Taiwanese independence.
China's parliament passed an anti-secession law today which gives approval for the use of military force if Taiwan declares independence.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12545133-29277,00.html
Annan, Abbas discuss ceasefire
By Hazel Ward in Ramallah
March 14, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on his first visit to the Middle East in four years, has begun talks with Mahmud Abbas one day before the Palestinian leader was due to hold ceasefire talks in Cairo.
Mr Annan flew into the Muqataa compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah before laying a wreath at the grave of the late Palestinaian leader Yasser Arafat and going into his scheduled talks.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12545638-23109,00.html
Controlled burns jump lines
March 14, 2005
From: AAP
VICTORIAN fire crews are battling three fires that jumped containment lines during controlled burns in the state's east.
The largest fire is at Licola, in Victoria's high country 260km east of Melbourne, where Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) crews were conducting a controlled burn over 3000ha of rugged country 10km north of the town.
DSE state fire controller Mark Woodman said the fire began spotting ahead of containment lines on Saturday, and had now burned an extra 480ha, including some private land.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12540205-1702,00.html
Water crisis fear as glaciers melt
From correspondents in Geneva
March 14, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
GLOBAL warming is causing Himalayan glaciers to rapidly retreat, threatening to cause water shortages for hundreds of millions of people who rely on glacier-dependent rivers in China, India and Nepal, the World Wide Fund For Nature WWF warned today.
The warning by the global conservation group comes as the WWF released a report which it said exposed the rate of retreat of Himalayan glaciers accelerating as global warming increased.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12538792-23109,00.html
China goods rush feared
March 14, 2005
From: AAP
A FREE trade deal between China and Australia could open the floodgates for cheap Chinese goods to swamp the local market, Australian manufacturers warned today.
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday hinted Australia would soon sign up to formal talks on an agreement with China, even though it meant giving ground on anti-dumping protections.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12538395-31037,00.html
US bans Sinn Fein fundraisers
By staff writers and wires
March 14, 2005
From: NEWS.com.au
SINN Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has been banned from fundraising in the US, The Times has reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The order, passed to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams via US State Department channels, followed White House anger over accusations the IRA was continuing criminal activity, the newspaper reported.
The paper did not say how long the ban would last.
Mr Adams is on a week-long tour of the US and has come under fire for his party's ties to the IRA, which has been accused of mounting the world's largest bank robbery, stealing £26.5 million ($64.57m) from a Belfast bank on December 20, and shielding the killers of a Catholic man in Northern Ireland, Robert McCartney.
Mr McCartney, 33, was killed outside a Belfast pub on January 30.
He was attacked in a crowded pub and had his throat slit outside, but none of approximately 70 witnesses - including at least one Sinn Fein election candidate and several party activists - have been willing to identify the attackers.
Mr McCartney's five sisters and fiancee have mounted a high-profile campaign to bring his killers to justice.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12540210-38200,00.html
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
37 °F / 3 °C
Overcast
Windchill:
34 °F / 1 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
34 °F / 1 °C
Wind:
5 mph / 7 km/h from the NNW
Pressure:
30.48 in / 1032 hPa
Visibility:
5.0 miles / 8.0 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Few 100 ft / 30 m
Mostly Cloudy 1800 ft / 548 m
Overcast 3097 ft / 944 m
end
6.4 quake jolts North and South Islands
14.03.05 10.45am UPDATE
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale shook the North Island and parts of the upper South Island early today.
The strong quake was centred off the coast of Taranaki in the Tasman Sea, 160km northwest of Wellington at a depth of 150km.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115161
Al Qaeda ally may target schools and theatres in US
14.03.05 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's chief ally in Iraq, may be planning attacks on "soft targets" in the United States including movie theatres, restaurants and schools, Time magazine has reported.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115187
Locals volunteer to rebuild tornado-ravaged town
14.03.05 1.00pm
Greymouth carpenters are coming forward to rebuild their tornado-ravaged town in such numbers that the town doesn't need extra help offered from outside the region.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115203
China passes controversial Taiwan anti-secession bill
14.03.05 3.30pm
By Tamora Vidaillet and Benjamin Kang Lim
BEIJING - China's parliament has passed a contentious anti-secession bill that mandates the use of military force against Taiwan if the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own formally declares statehood.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115218
Syrian-backed Hizbollah rallies against US
14.03.05 1.00pm
NABATIYEH, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for a Hizbollah rally against the United States, even as a United Nations envoy met the Lebanese president to press demands for a Syrian pullout.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115191
Critics row over US government's 'fake news' video clips
14.03.05 1.00pm
by Andrew Gumbel
The Bush administration has produced news look-alike video propaganda clips and successfully persuaded television news stations across the country to air them uncritically and, often, uncut. As many as 20 government departments have produced fake news that stations relayed as though they had produced the segments themselves according to the standard rules of journalism, the New York Times reported.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115200
White House acknowledges Iran intelligence 'hard to come by'
14.03.05 1.00pm
by Adam Entous
WASHINGTON - The White House has acknowledged the difficulty of gathering good intelligence in Iran but said Tehran's behaviour was "suspicious enough" to warrant stepping up pressure over its nuclear program.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115182
Bloggers campaign for 'traditional press freedoms'
14.03.05
by Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON - Internet bloggers should enjoy traditional press freedoms and not face regulation as political groups, lawmakers and online journalists said on Friday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115224
Medsafe examining two alternative flu vaccine
14.03.05 1.00pm
The Health Ministry's drug safety authority Medsafe is examining two alternative influenza vaccines after a manufacturing fault left its 2005 influenza vaccination unable to fully protect against one strain of the virus.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10115180
Bono says Powell could make ‘amazing’ World Bank head
14.03.05
NEW YORK - Irish rock singer Bono whose name had been bandied about for the job of president of the World Bank, says former Secretary of State Colin Powell could do a good job at the helm.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115127
Stalin’s secret Hitler book to be published
14.03.05
LONDON - A secret biography of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler commissioned by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is to be published later this month, the book’s British publisher says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115122
Keith Suter: Why Bolton is not the right American for the UN job
14.03.05
President George W. Bush's assault on the United Nations has continued with his nomination of John Bolton as the next United States Ambassador to the UN. This is not a good omen.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115056
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Fine
-15.0°
Updated Monday 14 Mar 9:59PM
Northern Territory News
Massive cleanup begins, Territory counts cost
THE Tiwi Islands resembled a war zone tonight after Cyclone Ingrid unfurled her full wrath on the tiny community.
Tiwi Islanders began to emerge from emergency shelters this afternoon after enduring a terrifying 24 hours as the eye of the destructive cyclone passed directly overhead.
At least two houses were ripped apart, and flying trees damaged several other homes, as gales pummelled the two islands, north of Darwin, last night.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12538125-17001,00.html
Australia hedges on US-Taiwan support
By Sandra O'Malley
March 14, 2005
From: AAP
AUSTRALIA has dodged questions whether it would back the US in a war against China if it used force to prevent Taiwanese independence.
China's parliament passed an anti-secession law today which gives approval for the use of military force if Taiwan declares independence.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12545133-29277,00.html
Annan, Abbas discuss ceasefire
By Hazel Ward in Ramallah
March 14, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on his first visit to the Middle East in four years, has begun talks with Mahmud Abbas one day before the Palestinian leader was due to hold ceasefire talks in Cairo.
Mr Annan flew into the Muqataa compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah before laying a wreath at the grave of the late Palestinaian leader Yasser Arafat and going into his scheduled talks.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12545638-23109,00.html
Controlled burns jump lines
March 14, 2005
From: AAP
VICTORIAN fire crews are battling three fires that jumped containment lines during controlled burns in the state's east.
The largest fire is at Licola, in Victoria's high country 260km east of Melbourne, where Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) crews were conducting a controlled burn over 3000ha of rugged country 10km north of the town.
DSE state fire controller Mark Woodman said the fire began spotting ahead of containment lines on Saturday, and had now burned an extra 480ha, including some private land.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12540205-1702,00.html
Water crisis fear as glaciers melt
From correspondents in Geneva
March 14, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
GLOBAL warming is causing Himalayan glaciers to rapidly retreat, threatening to cause water shortages for hundreds of millions of people who rely on glacier-dependent rivers in China, India and Nepal, the World Wide Fund For Nature WWF warned today.
The warning by the global conservation group comes as the WWF released a report which it said exposed the rate of retreat of Himalayan glaciers accelerating as global warming increased.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12538792-23109,00.html
China goods rush feared
March 14, 2005
From: AAP
A FREE trade deal between China and Australia could open the floodgates for cheap Chinese goods to swamp the local market, Australian manufacturers warned today.
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday hinted Australia would soon sign up to formal talks on an agreement with China, even though it meant giving ground on anti-dumping protections.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12538395-31037,00.html
US bans Sinn Fein fundraisers
By staff writers and wires
March 14, 2005
From: NEWS.com.au
SINN Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has been banned from fundraising in the US, The Times has reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The order, passed to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams via US State Department channels, followed White House anger over accusations the IRA was continuing criminal activity, the newspaper reported.
The paper did not say how long the ban would last.
Mr Adams is on a week-long tour of the US and has come under fire for his party's ties to the IRA, which has been accused of mounting the world's largest bank robbery, stealing £26.5 million ($64.57m) from a Belfast bank on December 20, and shielding the killers of a Catholic man in Northern Ireland, Robert McCartney.
Mr McCartney, 33, was killed outside a Belfast pub on January 30.
He was attacked in a crowded pub and had his throat slit outside, but none of approximately 70 witnesses - including at least one Sinn Fein election candidate and several party activists - have been willing to identify the attackers.
Mr McCartney's five sisters and fiancee have mounted a high-profile campaign to bring his killers to justice.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12540210-38200,00.html
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
37 °F / 3 °C
Overcast
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34 °F / 1 °C
Humidity:
87%
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