Invented in 1867, the eraser is a simple but durable invention society could not do well without. It's amazing to realize some of the smallest inventions and ideas handed down over centuries that still touch our daily lives in a wonderfully positive way. 

Morning Papers - It's Origins

Rooster "Crowing"

"Okeydoke"

History

March 30...

1858, Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patents his idea of attaching an eraser to the top of a lead pencil.

1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signs a treaty with Russia, purchasing Alaska for $7,200,000; critics dub the deal "Seward's Folly."

1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest as he leaves a Washington, D.C. hotel; drifter John Hinckley, Jr. is promptly arrested for the shooting.

1999, A jury in Portland, Oregon orders Phillip Morris to pay $81,000,000 to the family of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking Marlboros for four decades.

Born,

1746, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, painter

1880, Sean O'Casey, playwright

1853, Vincent van Gogh, painter
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/

1937, Warren Beatty, film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (1937)
Secretariat, racehorse (1970)

Missing in Action

1968 CICHON WALTER A. FARMINGDALE NJ 11/02/73 POSS CAPTURED
1969 LATIMER CLARENCE A. DUE WEST SC
1972 CROSBY BRUCE A. JR. SPRINGVILLE NY
1972 FINCH MELVIN W. FORT BELVIOR VA DIED QUANG BINH SEP 72 REMAINS RECOVERED 08/14/85
1972 WESTCOTT GARY P. POMONA CA
1975 HOSKINS THOMAS B. 10/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 JUDSON LORENZO D. 05/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KOWLES ALEXANDER G. 10/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 TABOR JOHN 10/75 LEFT SAIGON

March 31, 2005

Born,
1732, Joseph Haydn, composer

1848, Al Gore, politician

1927, César Chávez, labor leader

1774, British Parliament responds to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Boston Port Act, which closes the port of Boston; Americans regard this as the first of the so-called "Intolerable Acts."

1870, Thomas Peterson Mundy of New Jersey becomes the first black man to cast a ballot after the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives blacks the right to vote.

1889, The Eiffel Tower, built for the Paris World's Fair, opens in France.

http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/

1949, Newfoundland becomes the 10th province in Canada.

1976, The New Jersey Supreme Court sets a precedent, ruling that coma patient Karen Anne Quinlan can be taken off life support so she can "die with dignity."

Missing in Action

1965 MC KINLEY GERALD W. DANBURY CT CRASH ON TARGET SITE
1969 CARPENTER RAMEY LEO NORMAN OK REMAINS ID'D 06/24/98
1969 WHITE DANFORTH E. STATE COLLEGE PA REMAINS ID'D 06/24/98
1971 SALLEY JAMES JR. COLUMBIA SC "07/71 DIED LAOS, WITH ALLWINE"
1971 TERRILL PHILIP B. HARTFORD NY 04/71 DIED TRI BORDER AREA

April 1, 2005

HOAXES AND URBAN LEGENDS
How to Hoax-Proof Yourself

http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/legends/legends.html

1578, William Harvey, physician

1815, Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, Prusso-German statesman and chancellor of the German Empire

1868, Edmond Rostand, playwright

1973, Sergey Rachmaninoff, composer, pianist, and conductor

1875, Edgar Wallace, writer

1621, Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, and John Carver, governor of Plymouth Colony, sign the first peace treaty between Native Americans and Pilgrims.

1789, The newly established U.S. House of Representatives holds its first full meeting.

1972, The first major league baseball players strike in the U.S. begins.

1979, Following a referendum, Iran is declared an Islamic Republic by the Shiite Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

1984, R&B singer Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father in Los Angeles.

1999: Nunavut becomes the third independent territory in Canada; it is the homeland of Canada's Inuit, who comprise the vast majority of the population of Nunavut.

Missing in Action

1965 DAWSON DONALD 08/24/65 RELEASED CAPTURED SEARCHING FOR BROTHER-SIGHTED WRECKAG
1966 GRAYSON WILLIAM R. RIVERSIDE CA
1966 KRECH MELVIN T. MARINE ON ST CROIX MN
1967 GOVAN ROBERT A. WASHINGTON DC NEGAT SAR CONTACT
1967 JOURDENAIS GEORGE HENRY CENTRAL FALLS RI
1967 STANLEY ROBERT W. PORTLAND OR
1967 WILLIAMS DAVID R. MEMPHIS TN NEAGT SAR CONTACT
1972 WORTH JAMES F. HILLSIDE MD
1973 FITZGERALD FRANCES 04/73 RELEASED (HELD 3 DAYS)
1973 SOUTHERLAND DANIEL 07/73 RELEASED (HELD 3 DAYS)

March 2...

1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, searching for the mythical fountain of youth, discovers Florida.

1792, Congress passes the Coinage Act, authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital.

1932, In New York, aviator Charles Lindbergh pays a ransom to secure the return of his kidnapped infant son; the baby is later found murdered.

1982, Argentina invades the Falkland Islands, a British dependency; Britain responds by sending in its armed forces to retake the islands.

2003, Special operations forces rescue U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch, who was captured in the early days fighting in Iraq.

1914, Sir Alec Guinness, actor

1725, Giovanni Giacomo Casanova, adventurer

1939, Marvin Gaye, singer

Missing in Action

1965 EVANS JAMES J. VALLEY FALLS KS 10/71 REMAINS RECOVERED ID'D 4/22/77
1966 DOUGHTY DANIEL J. LADYSMITH WI 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 DRAMESI JOHN A. GRENLOCK NJ 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 1996
1969 POWERS LOWELL S. SCOTTSDALE AZ
1972 ASTORGA JOSE M. OAKLAND CA 03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED ALIVE IN 96
1972 BOLTE WAYNE L. CLAREMORE OK
1972 FRINK JOHN W. ALBUQUERQUE NM CHOPPER EXPLODED W/SUBJ ABOARD REMAINS RETURNED 04/94
1972 GATWOOD ROBIN F. JR. HICKORY NC
1972 GIANNANGELI ANTHONY R. LANSFORD PA
1972 KULLAND BYRON K. NEW TOWN ND CHOPPER EXPLODED W/ SUBJ ABOARD REMAINS ID'D 4/02/94
1972 LEVIS CHARLES A. FORT WORTH TX
1972 PASCHALL RONALD P. ALDERWOOD MANOR WA CHOPPER EXPLODED W/ SUBJ ABOARD REMAINS ID'D 4/02/94
1972 SEREX HENRY M. NEW ORLEANS LA

March 3...

1860, The legendary Pony Express begins mail service between Saint Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California.

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/pxpress.html

1882, Jesse James, notorious U.S. bank and train robber, is shot in the back by a member of his own gang seeking to claim reward money.

1936, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, convicted of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby, is executed by electrocution.

1991, The U.N. Security Council passes a cease-fire resolution to end the Persian Gulf War.

1996, Theodore Kaczynski is arrested on charges that he is the Unabomber, an anarchist whose homemade bombs killed three and wounded many others over 17 years.

Missing in Action

1965 MORGAN HERSCHEL S. CANDLER NC 02/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV / INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1965 SMITH GEORGE C. ST LOUIS MO NO RADIO CONTACT SEARCH NEGAT
1965 VOHDEN RAYMOND A. SPRINGFIELD NJ 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV / INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1966 LAWS RICHARD LEE SACRAMENTO CA
1968 HARDY JOHN CHARLES TROY MO 04/12/68 REMAINS RECOVERED CACCF/CRASH/NOT AT SEA/AIRCREW/8 YRS USAF
1968 REXROAD RONALD REUEL RANKIN IL
1968 THOMAS JAMES C. SAFFORD AZ
1969 ECKLUND ARTHUR G. PHOENIX AZ
1969 JEFFERSON PERRY H. DENVER CO
1972 CHRISTENSEN ALLEN D. FRANDREAU SD
1972 HENDERSON WILLIAM J. MILWAUKEE WI 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1972 MUREN THOMAS RICHARD LAKEWOOD CA
1972 O'NEIL DOUGLAS L. BAYONNE NJ SOME RECORDS SHOW O'NEILL
1972 WILLIAMS EDWARD W. CLEARWATER FL
1972 ZICH LARRY A. LINCOLN NE

March 4...

1818, Congress approves the U.S. flag with 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars; a star is to be added for each new state.

1841, President William Henry Harrison succumbed to pneumonia one month after his inaugural, becoming the first U.S. chief executive to die in office.

1850, Los Angeles is incorporated as a city the same year that California is admitted to the United States.

1945, U.S. forces liberated the Nazi prison camp Ohrdruf in Germany.

1949, NATO is formed by 12 western democratic nations, including the United States and Great Britain, to safeguard against Soviet aggression.

1964, The Beatles hold the top five spots on Billboard's Hot 100, setting an all-time record.

1968, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee; in 1969 James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the shooting.

1802, Dorothea Lynde Dix, philanthropist and reformer

1821, Linus Yale, locksmith

1932, Anthony Perkins, actor

1975, more than 130 people, most of them children, were killed when a U.S. Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crashed shortly after take-off from Saigon.

1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage.

1985, Gary Dotson, who served six years of a prison sentence for rape, was freed on bail from the Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois after his accuser, Cathleen Crowell Webb, testified that the attack had never occurred.

Missing in Action

1965 DRAEGER WALTER F. JR. DEERFIELD WI CRASH FLAMES / NO PARA SEEN
1965 HARRIS CARLYLE S. PRESTON MD 02/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL IN 1998
1965 MAGNUSSON JAMES A. JR. NAHANT MA CRASH OW SEARCH NEGAT
1967 MARTIN DAVID EARL ORLANDO FL
1967 SZEYLLER EDWARD PHILIP ALTOONA PA
1968 TRIVELPIECE STEVE M. STOCKTON CA "KIA GUNFIRE, REMAINS LEFT BEHIND"
1970 DUFFY JOHN E. PORTLAND ME REMAINS RETURNED MAY 1993 IDENTIFIED MARCH 1996
1970 YOUNG JEFFREY J. INDIANAPOLIS IN
1971 SMITH JOSEPH S. ASSUMPTION IL

continued...

The Royal Couple's Commemorative Coin 

The Mariel Boat Lift 

Morning Papers - continued...

The Camilla Thing

Queen defends Church ahead of son's wedding
03/04/2005
The Queen has articulated her reasons for planning to miss the wedding of her son Charles, Prince of Wales.
Newspapers claim the Queen thinks her duties as the head of the Church of England take precedence over the feelings of her eldest son and the heir to the throne.

http://www.dehavilland.co.uk/webhost.asp?wci=default&wcp=NationalNewsStoryPage&ItemID=13023091&ServiceID=8&filterid=10&searchid=8

Camilla will get Diana‘s title Princess of Wales: newspaper
Camilla Parker Bowles will be given the title Princess of Wales, the one most associated with the late Princess Diana, when she marries Britain‘s Prince Charles on Friday, a newspaper said.
The title will be confirmed in a parliamentary statement in response to a question from Andrew MacKinlay, a member of parliament from the governing Labour Party, the Sunday Times said.

http://www.obviousnews.com/breakingnews/stories/obviousnews-552507.html

Camilla to take over Di's title
By JONATHAN OLIVER
April 4, 2005
PRINCE Charles' marriage plans faced new controversy last night as the British Government said Camilla Parker Bowles would become Princess of Wales.
In the latest embarrassment surrounding the royal wedding, it emerged that legally and constitutionally Camilla will take the title once held by Princess Diana.

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1268&storyid=2908942

Camilla will be Princess of Wales
Apr 4 2005
Tryst Williams, Western Mail

CAMILLA Parker Bowles will become Princess of Wales upon her marriage to Prince Charles on Friday, officials are to announce today.
The revelation that Camilla will take over the title most closely associated with Princess Diana is due to be made in a written answer to Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay.

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=15363441&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=camilla-will-be-princess-of-wales-name_page.html

Royal invite for tiffin carriers
Two of the famous lunch-box, or tiffin, carriers from the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) have been invited to Prince Charles' wedding on Saturday.
Raghunath Medge and Sopan Mare are two of the dabbawallahs who pooled money a few weeks ago to send Charles and wife-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles gifts.
Prince Charles met the tiffin carriers on his trip to India two years ago.
Mumbai has an estimated 5,000 tiffin carriers delivering about 175,000 lunch boxes daily in a century-old tradition.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4408545.stm

Experts Discover That Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles Are Related

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/04-04-2005/0003328670&EDATE=

Coin change after royal date swap
The date on the commemorative coins will be changed
Commemorative coins marking the Prince of Wales's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles are having to be remodelled after the wedding date was changed.
The Royal Mint had unveiled commemorative medallions displaying the original wedding date of 8 April.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4410103.stm

The Miami Herald

SPECIAL SECTION
The Journey, The Stories
The Herald marks the 25th anniversary of the Mariel boatlift with a special section. View the story of Mariel in photos, as narrated by El Nuevo Herald editor Humberto Castelló, share your own experiences of Mariel and order copies of the 32-page magazine in English & Spanish.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/special_packages/mariel/

Infant killed by airbag deployment
BY ROCHELLE BRENNER
Palm Beach Post
A 2-month-old baby died in a car crash after an airbag deployed into the back of his car seat, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11309252.htm

Ill swimmer pulled from ocean
A swimmer on Miami Beach apparently took ill while in the surf this morning and had to be pulled out by rescue workers and rushed to a local hospital.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11308552.htm

Sharon wants Bush commitment on Israel
BARRY SCHWEID
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is counting on President Bush to keep his commitment that Israel can retain several large Jewish towns near Jerusalem as part of a peace accord with the Palestinians, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11308579.htm

The Times of India

Christians across India mourn Pope's death
KOLKATA: The head of the order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa on Sunday hailed Pope John Paul II as "great visionary" as she prepared to head for Rome to attend the pontiff’s funeral.
"He was a great, great visionary. He did so much for the humanity,” said Sister Nirmala, the head of the Catholic Missionaries of Charity founded by the late Nobel laureate Mother Teresa to serve India’s poor and sick.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1068256.cms

'Teresa's sainthood process unaffected'
KOLKATA: Missionaries of Charity Superior General Sister Nirmala will join the faithful at the Vatican in paying the last respects to Pope John Paul II who passed away on Saturday night.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1068312.cms

Nine-day mourning in Kolkata, Kerala
KOLKATA/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Christians in Kerala and Kolkata on Sunday paid homage to Pope John Paul II, who had left a vivid impression in the minds of large sections during his visit to the country in 1986.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1068173.cms

Three Indians to vote for new Papal chief
MUMBAI: Three cardinals from India will be among the 117 who will cast their votes during the elections for a new Papal chief, following the death of Pope John Paul II.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1068182.cms

'Green goal just a pipedream'
NEW DELHI: The national goal of greening the country is slipping so badly it might as well be junked. Planning Commission mandarins are understood to have veered around to the view that bringing 33% of the country under tree cover in seven years isn't achievable and the target itself may need to be dropped.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1068157.cms

continued...

Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II 

Indian Christian women pay homage to the photographs of Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa beside the tomb of Mother Teresa after a condolence mass for Pope John Paul II Kolkata. (Photo: Reuters)
 

Morning Papers - continued...

The Belfast Telegraph

Royal wedding postponed: The wedding between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles has been moved to Saturday as the prince will now attend the Pope's funeral on Friday morning.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/

YOUR BUSINESS IN THE HEADLINES
This year I am delighted to welcome bmi as sponsors of the sixth annual Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Business Awards. From its Northern Ireland base at Belfast City Airport, bmi, like the Belfast Telegraph, provides an excellent service to the local business community and is an ideal partner for us in these awards.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/businessawards2005/

Two million mourners expected at biggest ever state funeral
By John Phillips in Vatican City
04 April 2005
At least two million people, and what is expected to be a record showing from heads of state, are likely to make the late Pope's funeral this week the largest ever ceremony of its kind. Vatican officials organising the solemn and highly elaborate ceremony do not believe it can be held before Thursday.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=626223

Omagh relatives back sisters
By Andrea Clements
04 April 2005
Relatives of people killed in the Omagh bomb today said they would fully support any move by the McCartney sisters to lodge a civil legal action against their brother's killers.
The family of father-of-two Robert McCartney say they may take civil proceedings similar to the case against the Omagh bombers if it proves impossible to bring his murderers to court.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=626224

Crackdown on night life violence
By Michael McHugh
04 April 2005
A fresh crack down on anti-social and violent behaviour in Fermanagh's night-spots is being planned by local authorities, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.
The night-time strategy, to be unveiled next month, will focus on weekend crowds in Enniskillen and is aimed at cutting alcohol-related disputes, assaults and vandalism.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=626235

Domestic killers 'must do more time'
Mothers of victims demand tough line
By Jonathan McCambridge
04 April 2005
The mothers of two murdered women will today lobby the Government to increase prison sentences for violent offenders who kill their partners.
Angela Snoddy and Nichola Dickson were murdered by their partners at their homes in Whiteabbey and Ballycarry.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=626332

Waste plant fuels health worries
Incinerator planned near the border
By Michael McHugh
04 April 2005
Serious concerns for human health in border areas would be raised by the construction of a waste incineration plant in Co Meath, a local authority warned today.
Newry and Mourne District Council has made a formal objection to Indaver Ireland's proposed plant at Carranstown in the Republic, close to the Battle of the Boyne site, amid fears that the release of chemicals known as dioxins during combustion would have medical implications.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=626319

How to become a genius
They claim to hold the key to brilliance, and have made millions teaching their techniques to others. Can they unlock your inner Einstein? Clare Rudebeck meets the biggest brains around
04 April 2005
Mark Brown
In Mark Brown's eyes, we all fall into one of two categories: the dinosaurs and the dolphins. The dinosaurs are those who are stuck in their ways and will eventually become defunct. The dolphins are creative and imaginative beings on a fast track to success.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=626286

New call centre brings 300 jobs
By Paul Dykes
bustel@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
01 April 2005
Belfast could gain up to 750 new jobs as a leading UK operator opens a new call centre in west Belfast.
LBM, the UK's largest privately owned direct marketing company, is setting up a new contact centre that is expected to create 300 new jobs in the medium term, and potentially as many as 750.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/business/story.jsp?story=625383

42% lift for hotel chain
By Laurence White
bustel@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
31 March 2005
Turnover in the Malmaison Hotels chain - which now includes a hotel in Belfast - rose by 42% in the last six months.
Highlights of the financial returns for the chain, which was founded in 1994, included:
Occupancy levels rose by 5% to 80%.
The average room rate increased to almost £100 a night.
Turnover at £21.5m was 42% over the comparable period a year ago.
The chain opened its first hotel in Belfast last December and Brian Myerson, chairman of MWB, owners of Malmaison Hotels, said: "There will be an additional boost (in revenues) from the addition of the new Belfast hotel. The early signs are very encouraging".
The 64-bedroom hotel at Victoria Street was formerly branded as McCausland's. The property was originally two warehouses built for rival seed merchants in 1850.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/business/story.jsp?story=625112

The New York Times

U.N., Lebanese leaders meet after pledge
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Syria's pledge to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon by April 30 and end a 29-year military presence there will meet U.N. Security Council demands, a U.N. envoy said Monday as he met with pro-Syrian Lebanese leaders.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Lebanon%20Syria

Next Pope Faces Concerns Over Poverty, Islam and Technology
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: April 4, 2005

The next pope faces challenges so urgent that many church leaders and analysts worry that even a pope with the charisma and capacity of John Paul II will have to resort to a strategy of triage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/international/europe/04challenges.html?hp&ex=1112673600&en=d44e5c329e2331dd&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Creditors Can't Seize I.R.A.'s, High Court Rules
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 4, 2005
Filed at 10:48 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that creditors may not seize Individual Retirement Accounts when people file for bankruptcy, giving protection to a nest egg relied upon by millions of Americans.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Scotus-Bankruptcy.html>

Guns for Terrorists
… The Government Accountability Office examined F.B.I. and state background checks for gun sales during a five-month period last year. It found 44 checks in which the prospective buyer turned up on a government terrorist watch list. A few of these prospective buyers were denied guns for other disqualifying factors, like a felony conviction or illegal immigration status. But 35 of the 44 people on the watch lists were able to buy guns.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/opinion/04mon1.html?hp

Mail and Guardian

Mandela pays tribute to the pope
The world is undoubtedly a better place for the legacy and the teachings Pope John Paul II has left behind, former president Nelson Mandela said on Monday.
Mandela joined the millions of Roman Catholics around the world in mourning the death of Pope John Paul II, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a statement.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=200826&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/

SA embassy not aware of mercenaries' complaints
Harare, Zimbabwe
The South African embassy in Harare denied knowledge on Monday of alleged brutal treatment of 67 citizens held in prison in that country on mercenary charges.
"These are new allegations. We have no record of such complaints," deputy ambassador Kingsley Sithole said in Harare.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=200827&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/

Mugabe plans to scrap dual elections
Johannesburg, South Africa
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe plans to scrap holding separate presidential and parliamentary elections, he said in an interview with South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) television on Sunday night.
"I've never believed it was a better system to have a presidential election on its own and a parliamentary election on its own," he said following his victory in that country's parliamentary election on Friday.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=200775&area=/zim_elections/zim_news/

Seattle Post Intelligencer

College of Cardinals convenes meeting
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY -- The College of Cardinals convened Monday ahead of a secret vote later this month to elect a new pope, with the red-capped prelates planning Pope John Paul II's funeral and arranging the destruction of his papal ring.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Pope

AP poll: Next pope should pursue change
By WILL LESTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Most Americans want the next pope to work for changes in Roman Catholic Church policies to allow priests to marry and women to join the priesthood. And they want more done to combat sexual abuse by priests, an AP-Ipsos poll found.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Pope%20AP%20Ipsos%20Poll

Moderate quake rattles eastern Japan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO -- A 5.4-magnitude earthquake rattled northeastern Japan early Monday, but no injuries or damage were reported, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The quake most violently shook Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures northeast of Tokyo at 2:57 a.m., the agency said in a statement.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Japan%20Earthquake

Indonesia earthquake destroys schools
GUNUNG SITOLI, Indonesia -- Children returning to schools Monday for the first time since last week's earthquake in Indonesia found classrooms destroyed and teachers missing.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Indonesia%20Earthquake

Sharon wants Bush commitment on Israel
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP DIPLOMATIC WRITER

WASHINGTON -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is counting on President Bush to keep his commitment that Israel can retain several large Jewish towns near Jerusalem as part of a peace accord with the Palestinians, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=US%20Mideast>

Gaza settlers agree to meet with Sharon
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
JERUSALEM -- Ending months of angry opposition, several Jewish settler leaders agreed Monday to sit down with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Israel%20Palestinians

GOP: Byrd set precedent on filibusters
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Republicans say their attempt to change Senate rules to eliminate judicial filibusters follows a precedent set by Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Filbusters%20Byrd

Envoy: Syria vows to exit Lebanon in April

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria plans to pull all its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon by April 30, and a U.N. team could be dispatched to verify the withdrawal, a U.N. envoy said Sunday after meeting President Bashar Assad.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Syria%20Lebanon

A look at possible presidential candidates
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some politicians who have been mentioned as possible 2008 presidential contenders and how they have handled recent questions about their White House ambitions. They were asked about their plans on TV talk shows, by newspaper reporters and after political events.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apelection_story.asp?category=1131&slug=Tap%20Dance%20Glance

Ex-GOP mayor of L.A. backs Dem for mayor
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LOS ANGELES -- Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa's mayoral campaign received an endorsement Friday from former Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican with close ties to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apelection_story.asp?category=1135&slug=LA%20Mayor

Sen. Brownback weighs 2008 White House bid
WASHINGTON -- Add another name to the list of potential 2008 presidential candidates: Sen. Sam Brownback. The Kansas Republican, little known outside his home state, is using a network of social conservatives and Christian activists to raise his profile in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states critical to White House hopefuls.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apelection_story.asp?category=1130&slug=Brownback%202008

Tsunami Missing Person Site

http://tsunamimissing.blogspot.com/

continued...

An array of Syrian armoured vehicles are seen at an army camp in Bekaa Valley east of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday April 3, 2005. The Syrian government has promised to remove all its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon by April 30, the U.N. envoy said Sunday after meeting with Syria's president and foreign minister. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
 

Relatives and friends of those killed in the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami, offer prayers during 100 day ceremonies Sunday, April 3, 2005, at Wat Bang Muang in Takuapa, Thailand. The 100 day ceremonies are linked to Thai Buddhist traditions of memorializing a person death after 100 days. More than 5,400 people were killed by the tsunami which struck Thailand and there are 2,900 people still unaccounted for. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
 

Morning Papers - continued...

The Jakarta Post

Badly injured quake victims languish in Medan
Dedy Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Medan
After losing her only son, nine-year-old Dwima Ikbal Lubis, in the 8.7-magnitude quake that rocked her hometown on Nias Island on Monday, Misda Gulo has been warned that she may lose her left hand and foot.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20050404.D08&irec=7

PDI-P sets target in local elections
M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has changed the much criticized selection of candidates for regional executive posts, which in the past was determined by the central board.
Pramono Anung Wibowo, the newly elected PDI-P secretary-general, said over the weekend that the party had selected its candidates through a regional convention that reached out to the grass roots.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20050404.C01&irec=0

Indonesia says 70 percent of Acehnese showing signs of mental stress from tsunami
JAKARTA (AP): More than three months after the Indian Ocean tsunami, 70 percent of survivors in Indonesia are showing signs of psychological problems, ranging from anxiety to depression, the government said Monday.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050404181915&irec=1

Indonesia denies tsunami aid paid for posh ambassador villa in Geneva
JAKARTA (AFP): Indonesia on Monday denied allegations in a Swiss newspaper that tsunami relief funds were diverted to purchase a swanky resident for its ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050404154017&irec=4

Lavish villa for Indonesian ambassador following tsunami
GENEVA (AFP): While millions of people around the world have sent donations large and small to assist Indonesia's recovery following the December 26 tsunami, the Jakarta government is spending a fortune to house its ambassador to the UN here in palatial style, the daily Le Matin said Sunday.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050404090804&irec=10

'Everybody feels a personal link with him'
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post
It was Saturday morning on Feb. 5, 2000 in the Vatican audience room. After receiving then president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Pope John Paul II blessed 11 Indonesian Catholic businessmen and journalists who were traveling with the president.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20050404.B04&irec=3

Police deal with 100 bomb threats after Australian embassy blast
JAKARTA(AFP): Police in the Indonesian capital said Monday they have had to deal with more than 100 bomb threats since a deadly attack on the Australian embassy in September last year, a spokesman said Monday.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050404111331&irec=7

Australian and Indonesian leaders sign new partnership agreement
CANBERRA, Australia (AP): The leaders of Australia and Indonesia on Monday signed a partnership agreement that they said would lead to new security pact between their countries.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050404092336&irec=8

Govt calls on NGOs to obey prevailing rules
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has called on local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to obey the laws governing the establishment of such groups, and has asked foreign NGOs to obtain official permission to carry out work in the country.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20050404.C02&irec=1

The Seattle Post Intelligencer (cont.)

Man who shot pope says he is mourning
By SUZAN FRASER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ANKARA, Turkey -- Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, said from his Turkish prison Monday that he was mourning the death of his "spiritual brother" and wanted to attend his funeral.

Pasted from <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Pope%20Gunman

Zimbabwe opposition demands new elections
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's embattled opposition on Sunday demanded new parliamentary elections under a different constitution, saying voting can never be free and fair under the current legislative framework.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Zimbabwe%20Election

Zimbabwe's opposition leader criticized
By TERRY LEONARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Zimbabwe's fractured and frustrated political opposition is starting to question whether its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, can bring down President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Zimbabwe%20Opposition%20Leader

Oil platforms may be used for fish farms
By CAIN BURDEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW ORLEANS -- Thousands of oil and natural gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico could be converted into deep-sea fish farms raising red snapper, mahi mahi, yellow fin tuna and flounder, under a plan backed by the Bush administration.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Farming%20the%20Gulf

Fiery priest may seek Haiti's presidency
By STEVENSON JACOBS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Supporters call him Haiti's Martin Luther King Jr., a fiery Roman Catholic priest who electrifies the masses with populist sermons urging social equality and nonviolent protest.
The U.S.-backed interim government recently accused him of inciting violence and hiding gunmen loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, jailing him for weeks before freeing him because of a lack of evidence.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Haiti%20Priest%20Power

Fidel Castro sends condolences to Vatican
By VANESSA ARRINGTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HAVANA -- Cuban President Fidel Castro expressed condolences for the death of Pope John Paul II, declaring three days of official mourning on the communist-run island beginning Sunday.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Pope%20Cuba

Sealers, protesters clash at Canada hunt
CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island -- Protesters alighting from helicopters to try to stop a seal hunt scuffled Friday with sealers who fired warning shots - sending the protesters scurrying back to the aircraft.
Canada's harp seal hunt, the target of protests since the 1960s, began this week when thousands of sealers armed with clubs, rifles and spears headed for the ice floes off eastern Canada for the world's largest such hunt.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apcanada_story.asp?category=1101&slug=Canada%20Seal%20Hunt

North Atlantic right whale has baby boom
By JAY LINDSAY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BOSTON -- A baby boom has given a lift to the endangered North Atlantic right whale, with a near-record number of births in the just-ended calving season, according to researchers at the New England Aquarium.
They warned, however, the species still faces significant hurdles.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Baby%20Whales

World's biggest iceberg begins moving
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
7 WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The world's biggest iceberg has begun moving nearly three months after it stopped its slow float toward colliding with a huge Antarctic ice tongue, New Zealand officials said Monday.
Known as B15A, the giant iceberg, a remnant of a Ross Ice Shelf fracture in 2000, is now moving slowly northward out of McMurdo Sound, where it had been blocking sea access, Antarctica New Zealand chief executive Lou Sanson said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Antarctic%20Iceberg

I always loved horses as a kid

Wild horses: Old West symbols
By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News
If you're looking for an exceptional equine, consider taking a ride on the wild side.
Adopting a mustang requires some serious work, but it can be well worth the effort, according to Barb Flores, the Greeley-based chair of the Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition.

http://www.northfortynews.com/News/200504photoWildHorses.htm

Happy horses: Our destiny for millennia
ORIGINS OF IDEAL BREEDING COUNTRY BEGAN 450 MILLION YEARS AGO
By Amy Wilson
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Before the foundation upon which we live was land at all, before the ancient rocks moved and broke and gnashed against one another and slid north past the equator, before coal was made to the east and west of us, and way before the dinosaurs, the die was cast:
We would be truly great horse country.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/11299126.htm

Volunteers working to make a difference
2,000 join Serve-A-Thon to help others in Valley
Meghan E. Moravcik
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 3, 2005 12:00 AM
The sun beat down on Mike Staeuble's beige cowboy hat. He bent forward, piling dead weeds into a garbage bag.
He sweated through the four hours of backbreaking work Saturday morning.
But it was worth it.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0403difference03.html

Racing into the season
This story was published Sunday, April 3rd, 2005
By Mary Hopkin, Herald staff writer
Bill Hoburg started galloping race horses and won his first race at Estes Park in Colorado as a teenager.
But he no sooner had chosen to be a jockey than he started growing out of the job.
"I was always too big," said the Finley man, who 35 years later remains lean, stands an inch shy of 6 feet and has a little gray creeping into his brown mustache. "I dieted all during high school, but had to quit riding as a senior."

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/6338219p-6215009c.html

Racing: Wait and see on outstanding Mi Jubilee

04.04.05
by Mike Dillon

It will be several days before the extent of Mi Jubilee’s problems are known.
The outstanding filly was sensationally beaten in Saturday’s $45,000 Ford 2YO Classic at New Plymouth, dropping out from the home turn to be officially fourth but more than 10 lengths from the winner Kindacross and only one length from last.
The $2 favourite was ordered by stipendiary stewards to be examined by the club’s veterinary surgeons, who determined Mi Jubliee was sore in the near-side front fetlock.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=4&ObjectID=10118517

Identification can prevent horse theft

Eric Zimmerman
Permanently identifying horses serves many purposes. It enables people to differentiate among horses at one location and allows for accurate record- keeping by horse owners. Permanent identification can aid breed associations in registration as well. This practice promotes accuracy in transfers of horse ownership and parentage verification. It also is important for disease control and can help in securing equine insurance.

http://www.landandlivestockpost.com/commentary/040305zimmerman.htm>

Company executive retreats to horses for retirement
By ANDREW MARTEL
When he was 20, Roger Secrist called Monsanto Inc. to ask for a summer job.
Monsanto was a global giant, employing more than 20,000 people in chemical plants. But when Secrist called the company's St. Louis headquarters that June day in 1959, he was connected directly to Monsanto's president, Ed Bock. The next day, he was hired as a summer intern.

http://www.the-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050402/APN/504020670&cachetime=5

Strangles Strikes Three Tampa Bay Horses
Date Posted: 4/1/2005 6:06:48 PM
Last Updated: 4/2/2005 4:35:00 PM
(from Tampa Bay Downs release)
Test results confirmed late Friday afternoon that three horses have tested positive for strangles at Tampa Bay Downs. The affected barn has been placed under quarantine and the infected horses have been isolated to a separate area.

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=27439

FLORIDA DERBY 5 P.M. TODAY AT GULFSTREAM PARK, CHS. 10, 25
Race has become rich tradition, literally
Today's Florida Derby winner will get $600,000 -- a big reason trainers such as Nick Zito, who has never won the event, don't mind paying a $15,000 entry fee.
BY FRANK CARLSON
fcarlson@herald.com
Today's Florida Derby is worth a lot of money, $1 million to be exact. The purse is split six ways.
But you have to pay to play.
Nine owners put up $15,000 each for their horse to gain entry into the starting gate of the Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/11293766.htm

Wild horses leave range for new homes
By Megan Graham
Special to the Herald
For 24 wild horses in New Mexico, the arrival of spring has signaled some dramatic lifestyle changes.
Corralled at the Browning Ranch in Farmington, these horses are trading their 75,000-acre home on the Carson National Forest for the urban life of Four Corners ranches, barns and pastures.

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/05/news050402_2.htm

UK Antepost : Grand National
Saturday, 9 April 2005
Show all bookmakers
Click on the odds to place a bet!
All odds checked since 15:55 PM UK
I know it may seem like we say this every year, but this year’s Grand National, run at Aintree on Saturday (3.45), really does look like one of the most open renewals of recent times.

http://www.readabet.com/index.php/home/article/7265

Wild mustangs up for adoption
BY LINN E. CAROLEO
Apr 2, 2005

Burros aren't just for riding.
They can be used as pack animals, as companion animals to horses or as guard animals for sheep and goats, according to Roy E. Lewis, a wild horse and burro specialist for the Bureau of Land Management.

http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_15786.php

Jockeys Injured in Bird Strike
Australian racing officials were reviewing safety procedures Thursday after five jockeys were hurt when a flock of seagulls flew into the path of their horses in a bizarre mid-race mishap.
A field of 11 horses was racing toward the finishing post in the final race at Sandown race track in Melbourne on Wednesday when a large flock of the birds suddenly rose up off the track and flew into the approaching horses.

http://www.obviousnews.com/breakingnews/stories/obviousnews-551985.html

Leveling the Track
Handicapping at its best is the study and weighing of numerous variables that give each race its uniqueness, deciding which factors are critical in solving the race puzzle.
But no handicapping factor has ever been as significant as the rise in recent decades of the "super trainers" who often improve horses dramatically in brief periods of time, leaving other variables irrelevant.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/11291119.htm

Appeals court refuses to hear Zobel's case
Assistant prosecutor says appeal is too late because Zobel never posted $105,000 bond
By Wes Johnson
News-Leader staff
Rural Republic horse breeder William Zobel lost another legal battle this week when the Missouri Court of Appeals refused to hear his case.
That might pave the way for Greene County Sheriff Jack Merritt to sell horses confiscated from Zobel's ranch in January.
"The sheriff and the Missouri Humane Society could dispose of the horses in accordance with Judge Burrell's order," said Chief Assistant Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson.

http://springfield.news-leader.com/news/today/20050402-Appealscourtref.html

continued...

Seal Pup 

A seal hunter (right) pushes a member of the International Fund for Animal Welfare on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Friday April 1, 2005. (AP PHOTO/CP, Jonathan Hayward)
 

Home, home on the range...Mustangs are finding a welcoming home on the 91 Ranch east of Centennial, Wyo. Wild Horses Wyoming is leasing the ranch to provide a natural forage environment for horses from all over the West and hopes to lease or buy additional land. -- Photo by Sean Mater  

Morning Papers - continued...

Michael Moore Today

In scanning the horizon of all the Headlines and Tributes to Pope John Paul II, Michael Moore has one of the most incredibly wonderful messages from a Pope of Peace. Hopefully, Michael the Archangel heard the tribute, Mike. Thank you.

1920-2005

"Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create."
-- July 3, 1980

"This determination is based on the solid conviction that what is hindering full development is that desire for profit and that thirst for power already mentioned. These attitudes and 'structures of sin' are only conquered - presupposing the help of divine grace - by a diametrically opposed attitude: a commitment to the good of one's neighbor with the readiness, in the gospel sense, to 'lose oneself' for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him, and to 'serve him' instead of oppressing him for one's own advantage."

-- Pope condemns excesses of capitalism, December 30, 1987 … and it continues...

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2073

Designate Congressman
Tom DeLay (R-TX) as Your
Health Care Surrogate!
(Or someone other than Tom DeLay)
Living Will is the Best Revenge

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Designate CONGRESSMAN TOM DELAY (R-TX) as Your Health Care Surrogate
LIVING WILL DIRECTIVE
My wishes regarding life-prolonging treatment and artificially provided nutrition and hydration to be provided to me if I no longer have decisional capacity, have a terminal condition, or become permanently unconscious have been indicated by checking and initialing the appropriate lines below. I specifically:
Designate CONGRESSMAN TOM DELAY (R-TX) as my health care surrogate to make health care decisions for me in accordance with this directive when I no longer have decisional capacity. If CONGRESSMAN TOM DELAY (R-TX) refuses or is not able to act for me, I designate SENATOR BILL FRIST (R-TN) as my health care surrogate(s). Any prior designation is revoked.
My designated surrogate shall comply with my wishes as indicated below:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/print.php?id=2072

Poll Finds DeLay's Support Has Slipped
Associated Press
HOUSTON - Support for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has slipped in his district, and a majority of voters surveyed disapprove of his decision to lead Congress into the Terri Schiavo case, according to a Houston Chronicle poll.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2075

The International Herald Tribune

Rome’s immigrants embraced pope
ROME On Sunday, as Italy remembered Pope John Paul II formally and officially for his role as head of the Catholic Church, this city's teeming Catholic immigrant community bid a far more emotional and intensely personal goodbye to a charismatic man who many said had transformed their lives

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/03/news/migrant.html

Democratic uprising or coup?

Many in Kyrgyzstan feel betrayed by professional politicians

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan A malaise is settling over this country as the uprising last month begins to look less like a democratically inspired revolution and more like a garden-variety coup, with a handful of seasoned politicians vying for the spoils of the ousted governmen

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/03/news/stan.html

West's dilemma over China textiles
SHANGHAI Imports of Chinese textile and apparel products into the United States soared in the first quarter of this year, offering new evidence that the world's clothing trade is being dramatically reshaped by the abolition of global quotas in January.
.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/03/business/textile.html

The Cheney Observer

I DIDN'T KNOW the USA military was passed over for imprisonment in the case of EUTHANASIA !! I am confident Capt Rogelio Maynulet is looking forward to being home and out of the military while returning to civilian life.

To: U.S. Congress
THE PETITION
A U.S. Army tank company commander accused of killing a critically injured driver for radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq will be court-martialed, an Army spokesman said Tuesday.

The American told a fellow officer he killed the Iraqi out of compassion, according to testimony.

Capt. Rogelio Maynulet , 29, of Chicago, was ordered court-martialed following an Article 32 hearing, the military's equivalent of a civilian grand jury investigation, division spokesman Maj. Michael Indovina said.

http://www.petitiononline.com/as125/petition.html

Military Court Convicts U.S. Soldier For Iraqi Man's 'Mercy Killing' - Capt. Rogelio Maynulet

AP ^ March 31, 2005 AP
Posted on 03/31/2005 5:38:45 AM PST by Former Military Chick

WIESBADEN, Germany -- A military court on Thursday found a U.S. Army tank company commander guilty of charges related to the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi last year.

Capt. Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet, a 30-year-old from Chicago, stood at attention as the verdict was read.

Maynulet told a military court in Germany he killed the unarmed man "to put him out of his misery," adding that it was "honorable." He maintained throughout his trial that he shot the man to end his suffering.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1374493/posts

Al Qaeda claims raid on Abu Ghraib prison

04.04.05 7.55am UPDATE

DUBAI - Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq today claimed responsibility for a brazen raid on Abu Ghraib prison that wounded 44 US soldiers, according to an internet statement, and said more attacks would follow.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10118476

$2bn Oman deal won by Bechtel
MUSCAT: US company Bechtel has won an engineering, procurement and construction management contract for a $2 billion aluminium smelter project in Oman, local media reported yesterday.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=108551&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=28015

Man with ties to N.M. injured in Iraq beating
(8 comments; last comment posted Yesterday 04:56 pm)
print email this story

Steve Terrell The New Mexican
April 3, 2005
A man with ties to New Mexico working in Iraq as a security coordinator for a subsidiary of Halliburton was severely beaten last week by a group of fellow employees reportedly called the "Redneck Mafia."
And, the victim's father says, it might have been because his son had raised concerns about security problems at the Baghdad airport, where he works for Kellogg, Brown and Root , a subsidiary of the Houston-based corporation.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/12194.html

Crude oil futures to decline from record high
www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-04 09:16:07
BEIJING, April 4 -- Crude oil futures in New York will probably fall from a record this week on speculation that US stockpiles will rise from the highest level in almost three years.
Twenty-six of 45 analysts and strategists surveyed by Bloomberg, or 58 per cent, predicted oil prices will fall next week. Thirteen, or 29 per cent, said they will rise, and six forecast little change.
Crude oil inventories surged 5.4 million barrels to 314.7 million, or the highest since July 2002, according to an Energy Department report released on March 30. Any further stockpile gains may pare price increases partly triggered by Goldman Sachs Group Inc's prediction that oil may reach US$105 a barrel in the next few years.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/04/content_2783201.htm

Kuwait seeks to streng-then oil ties with China
www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-04 07:46:14
BEIJING, April 4 -- Kuwait hopes the next few months will see a strengthening of its partnership with China's oil industry.
That was the message from leading Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) official Jamal Al-Nouri at the opening of the company's Beijing office on Wednesday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/04/content_2782591.htm

Shares drop on oil, rate fears
April 4, 2005
THE share market dropped at the open today in the wake of a poor lead from the US after after crude oil surged to a record close of $US57.25 a barrel in New York trading on Friday.
Oil stocks were higher, but big miners such as Rio Tinto fell amid softer metals prices.
Macquarie Equities associate director Lucinda Chan said the market was following US stocks, which were down amid recent oil price gains and US inflation worries.

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1265&storyid=2911879

Striking oil transporters warn of ‘tanker fires’
Multan: Striking oil tanker drivers have threatened to set fire to oil tankers violating a decision by the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association to join the strike and stop filling them.
The strike by 46,000 tanker drivers, conductors and owners on Sunday entered the fifth consecutive day amid a squeal of demonstrations at Mehmood Kot in Muzaffargarh, and Shershah in Multan.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_24

The project is a monument to collective national folly

S GURUMURTHY
Posted online: Monday, April 04, 2005 at 0026 hours

Enron entered India at a time when foreigners commanded greater respect here than our own people. Rebecca Mark commanded more media attention than Madhuri Dixit. At that time, it was unfashionable to talk critical of Enron. It was identified with a modern and prosperous India, and opposition to it with a bullock cart. This changed not when the Dabhol Power Company (DPC) bubble burst in India, but only when Enron collapsed in its Mecca.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=86943

Cano Petroleum finalizes purchase of Square One Energy for $8 million; Cano to begin pilot waterflood operation on its newly acquired Texas field
AP DataFeatures
Midland Reporter Telegram
04/03/2005

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Cano Petroleum Inc. has closed on its $8 million acquisition of Square One Energy, a central Texas-based oil and gas operating company, to significantly boost the company's oil reserves and increase its production through enhanced recovery technology.

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14276201&BRD=2288&amp;PAG=461&dept_id=474107&rfi=6

Towards a balanced energy policy
With the Chinese economy getting overheated and India and other developing countries increasing their requirements, it is felt that oil prices may not come down to $40 and below in the near term.
WORLD PRICES for crude and petroleum products have been rising steadily and the New York crude price recently touched a new peak of $57.60 a barrel before receding. The price was around $30 at the beginning of last year.

http://www.hindu.com/biz/2005/04/04/stories/2005040400231700.htm

OnBiz: Harrington Petroleum sells to Eugene oil company

http://www.newsreview.info/article/20050403/BUSINESS/104030024

Wall St Week Ahead: Edgy Investors Eye Greenspan And Oil

Sat April 2, 2005 5:16 PM GMT-05:00
By Mark McSherry
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A nervous U.S. stock market fretting over high oil prices and inflation will watch Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan next week for any unexpected hints on the pace of future interest-rate rises.
After a disappointing first quarter when the blue-chip Dow and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 both fell 2.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 8.1 percent, winter-weary Wall Street will pounce on any sign from Greenspan that spring may bring new vitality to the market.

http://www.reuters.ca/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:424f1c7f:49d0d5e4fc709f5?type=businessNews&localeKey=en_CA&storyID=8068521

Wood: tackle Norway over oil contracts

By Valerie Darroch

SIR Ian Wood, the Wood Group chief, has urged energy minister Mike O’Brien to tackle Norway over its failure to award contracts to UK energy companies in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
He warned that UK energy contractors were being harmed by this lack of level playing field.
Sir Ian said that the recent UK/Norwegian Agreement negotiated the concept of a single North Sea, creating a single supply and services market as well as ensuring that Norwegian gas supplies come to the UK.

http://www.sundayherald.com/48791

Cheney Calls DeLay’s Conduct Inappropriate
From today’s New York Post:
Cheney said he backed efforts to help save Terri Schiavo’s life, but strongly disagreed with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who wants retribution against judges who blocked restoration of her feeding tube.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate . . . There’s a reason why judges get lifetime appointments.”
Rule of Thumb: If Cheney says you’ve gone over the line, you’ve gone way over the line.

http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=559

CHENEY IS COLD ON KOFI
April 2, 2005 -- Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday gave U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan the big chill, declining to express any desire to have him stay on the job after the oil-for-food scandal.
Asked if Annan should remain, Cheney finessed the question and replied, "Our views haven't changed any with respect to Kofi Annan."

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/43722.htm

Beating in Baghdad
Duke City man recovering from brawl
By Joline Gutierrez Krueger
Tribune Reporter
April 2, 2005

A 41-year-old Halliburton employee from Albuquerque is recovering from a beating in Baghdad that authorities say came not at the hands of Iraqi insurgents but from his own American co-workers.

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19858_3670535,00.html

Keg ordinance on hold until fall
By Rebecca A. Petersen
Staff Writer
The county's controversial keg registration ordinance will remain untapped until fall.

Story County Attorney Stephen Holmes said he'll wait until the start of Iowa State University's fall semester to pursue an ordinance requiring keg buyers to submit personal information at the time of purchase. Holmes said he made his decision after students expressed concern at an open forum last week that the county would pass the ordinance while a majority of students were away from Ames during the summer session.

http://www.amestrib.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2035&dept_id=238095&newsid=14272670&PAG=461&rfi=9

The Daily Times of Pakistan

Snow damages LoC fencing
JAMMU: Recent snowfall and avalanches have seriously damaged the fencing along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a top Indian Army commander said on Sunday. “An operation is underway to assess the damage caused by heavy snowfall in February,” 16 Corps Commander Lt Gen Sudhir Sharma told PTI. He said the Engineering Regiment would start repairs after the surveying team identified the area and extent of damage, adding that ground and aerial surveys showed that there was no fencing visible at some places as it was buried in 10 to 15 feet of snow. daily times monitor

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_52

Women’s participation in Gujranwala marathon: Religious activists provoke violence

By Imran Saleem
GUJRANWALA: A clash between Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) workers and police injured about 25 people including MMA MNA Qazi Hameedullah and several police personnel after MMA workers attacked a mini-marathon organised by the Gujranwala administration on Sunday morning.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg1_1

Taliban kill nine Afghan soldiers
* Two bombs explode in eastern and southern Afghanistan
KANDAHAR: Taliban militants stormed a government building in southern Afghanistan on Sunday and killed nine Afghan soldiers in a two-hour long gun battle before fleeing, said district commissioner Haji Mohamed Rahim.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_2

Back channel diplomacy on for Musharraf’s India visit
Daily Times Monitor
NEW DELHI: Back channel diplomacy between India and Pakistan is being intensified, before President Pervez Musharraf’s visit, to carry forward the peace process.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_4

Qaeda claims attack on Abu Ghraib prison
* 44 US troops injured
* 2 cops, US Marine die in violence
* Iraqi Foreign Ministry attacked
DUBAI: Al Qaeda’s wing in Iraq said on Sunday that seven suicide bombers spearheaded its brazen overnight raid on Abu Ghraib prison that injured 44 US soldiers, according to an Internet statement.
The US military said at least one insurgent was killed and 12 detainees were injured.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_5

Students kill exam checker
Staff Report
LAHORE: Three students gunned down a schoolteacher early on Sunday, after he refused to allow them to cheat on their final matriculation papers in Raiwind city police jurisdiction. Shaukat Ali, 45, a resident of Raiwind, was an exam checker with the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. He was checking matriculation annual examination papers late on Saturday night when three unidentified students came to him. They offered him Rs 10,000 bribe if he would pass them. On his refusal, they exchanged angry words with the teacher and left. After a few hours, all three returned and shot the teacher dead. His body has been sent for an autopsy and police have registered a case on the complaint of Razia, the teacher’s wife.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_19

Australia to help Pakistan with education reforms
ISLAMABAD: Australia will provide all possible assistance and cooperation to Pakistan for reforming the education system in the country, said Zoreka McCarthy, Australian high commissioner to Islamabad. She was speaking at a seminar organised by AUSPAK International on Sunday.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_57

PPP factions will commemorate Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s death anniversary today
Staff Report
LARKANA: The 26th death anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) founder and former prime minister, will be commemorated today.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_38

ZA Bhutto a symbol of resistance, says Benazir

ISLAMABAD: Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chairperson, has described late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the PPP founder, as a symbol of resistance against tyranny, injustice and despotism. In a message on the eve of Mr Bhutto’s 26th death anniversary, Benazir said that tyranny and despotism had returned to Pakistan. Democracy had been vandalized, state institutions systematically destroyed and there was need once more to rekindle late Bhutto’s spirit, she added The message read: “ Twenty-six years ago on this day Pakistan’s first directly elected prime minister and founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party was martyred by a brutal military dictator. Quaid e Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded the Pakistan Peoples Party to give power to the poor, the downtrodden, deprived and dispossessed.” Ms Bhutto credited Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with giving the country a unanimous constitution, a nuclear programme and large projects such as the Karachi Steel Mills, Karakoram Highway and Kamra Aeronautical Complex .The policies pursued by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were a ringing endorsement of the fact that democracy and development went hand in hand, she declared. “On this day I urge all democratic forces in the country to renew their determination to fight for the restoration of the 1973 constitution. I also urge the people to unite for rule of law, justice, equity and a return of the military to their professional duties for our great nation,” said the former prime minister. Benazir Bhutto said that the survival of the country lay in constitutional rule, federalism, democracy, provincial autonomy and economic opportunities for the people. Quaid-e-Awam’s death anniversary was a solemn occasion to renew the pledge to work for these ideals, she added. online

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_39

Musharraf likely to inaugurate judicial moot
ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf has tentatively consented to inaugurate the National Judicial Conference, being held under the auspices of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, this month. However, Dr Faqeer Hussain, Law and Justice Commission secretary, said the programme could not be finalised until a formal consent was obtained.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_35

Five suspected militants arrested in Karachi raids
KARACHI: Police arrested five suspected militants and seized a cache of arms and munition in raids, officials said on Sunday.
The men, allegedly members of Baqiyatullah, a previously little known group, were arrested on Saturday night in Karachi, said Raja Omar Khitab, deputy superintendent of police in Karachi.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_40

WHO chief here to discuss Pakistan’s polio plan
KARACHI: Dr Lee Jong Wook, the World Health Organisation director general, has arrived in Pakistan to hold consultations with authorities regarding polio-eradication and improvement of routine EPI coverage and other health-related schemes in Pakistan.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-4-2005_pg7_25

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