Friday, April 15, 2005


April 13, 2005. Northern lights of Fairbanks, Alaska. Posted by Hello

Fairbanks, Alaska's Northern Lights. Posted by Hello

Deaths in Iraq. Posted by Hello

Opium Poppy Economy. Posted by Hello

Heroine Smokers in Pakistan Posted by Hello

The Minutemen Project Posted by Hello

Bell Arch of St. Peter's Basilica Posted by Hello

Morning Papers - It's Origins

Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"

"Okeydoke"

Histroy...

April 12...

1861, The American Civil War begins when Confederate troops open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charleston, South Caroliina.

1934, Brrrrr! The fastest natural wind ever recorded blew in at 231 miles per hour on this date in 1934 at Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Visit this page from the Meteorological Service of Canada for an explanation of the wind chill factor.

1955, The polio vaccine prepared by U.S. physician Jonas E. Salk is released for general use in the United States.

1961: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, aboard Vostok 1, is the first man to travel to space; he makes one orbit of the earth during his 108-minute flight.

Missing in Action

1966
CONWAY JAMES B. FRANKLIN TN
1966
GLASSON WILLIAM A. LOS ANGELES CA
1966
HARRIS REUBEN COLUMBUS OH
1966
JORDAN LARRY M. SAN JOSE CA
1966
PUGH KENNETH W. LANCASTER CA 12/16/75 PRG RETURNED ASHES
1967
CLAY WILLIAM C. III HENDERSON NC REMAINS RETURNED '95 IDENTIFIED 02/25/97
1969
DE SOTO ERNEST L. MANNING AR
1969
HALL FREDERICK M. WAYNESVILLE NC
1969
LAMP ARNOLD WILLIAM JR HEBRON OH REMAINS IDENTIFIED19 JULY 95
1970
TABB ROBERT ERNEST 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98

April 13…

1796, The first known elephant brought to the United States arrives from Bengal, India.

1943, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
1964, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African American actor to win an Academy Award, for his performance in Lilies of the Field.

1970: An oxygen tank explodes aboard the U.S. lunar landing mission Apollo 13 as it nears the moon, forcing the astronauts to return to Earth.

1997: Golfer Tiger Woods, 21, becomes the youngest person to win the Masters and the first African American and Asian American champion.

1743, born Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States (1801-1809) and author of the
Declaration of Independence. He was one of the most brilliant individuals in history. His interests were boundless, and his accomplishments were great and varied. He was a philosopher, educator, naturalist, politician, scientist, architect, inventor, pioneer in scientific farming, musician, and writer, and he was the foremost spokesman for democracy of his day.

1852, born
Frank Winfield Woolworth, merchant
1892, born Sir Robert Watson-Watt, physicist
1909,
Eudora Welty, writer
1906,
Samuel Beckett, playwright, poet, and novelist
1963,
Garry Kasparov, chess player

Missing in Action

1966
MAPE JOHN CLEMENT DUBLIN CA REMAINS IDENTIFIED 03/17/99
1968
STISCHER WALTER MORRIS SAN ANTONIO TX 03/28/73 RELEASED BY PL (LAOS) ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969
PIERSON WILLIAM C. MADISON WI
1972
CHRISTENSEN JOHN MICHAEL OGDEN UT RADIO CONTACT LOST 1972 LEET DAVID LAVERETT KENOSHA WI

April 14…

1775: The first American society for the abolition of slavery is organized by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia.

1828: American lexicographer Noah Webster publishes the first edition of his dictionary under the title American Dictionary of the English Language.

1865: Confederate malcontent John Wilkes Booth shoots President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.; Lincoln dies early the next morning.

1910: President William Taft starts an American tradition, throwing out the first ball on opening day of the major league baseball season.

1912: The Titanic strikes an iceberg four days into its maiden voyage; over 1,500 passengers drown when the ship sinks early the next morning.

1629, born
Christiaan Huygens, astronomer, mathematician, and physicist

Missing in Action

1968
QUAMO GEORGE AVERILL PARK NY REMAINS RECOVERED 06/28/74
1968
RODRIQUEZ FERDINAND A. NEW YORK NY 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG DECEASED
1972
GREENLEAF JOSEPH G. WEST NEWTON MA
1972
MC KINNEY CLEMIE CLEVELAND OH REMAINS RET 08/14/85 IDENTIFIED 02/88

April 15…

1865, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous night at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.; Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as president.

1902, James Cash Penney opened his first store, called "The Golden Rule," in Kemmerer, Wyo.

1912, The British luxury liner Titanic sinks after colliding with an iceberg; it is among the worst maritime disasters in history, with over 1,500 dead.

1939, the John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was first published.

1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American in the 20th century to play in a major league baseball game.

1986, In retaliation for the terrorist bombing of a Berlin discotheque, the United States launches an air raid against Libya; nearly 40 people are killed.

1994, two American F-15 warplanes inadvertently shot down two U.S. helicopters over northern Iraq, killing 26 people, including 15 Americans.

1452, born Leondardo da Vinci, Florentine artist, one of the great masters of the High Renaissance, celebrated as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. His profound love of knowledge and research was the keynote of both his artistic and scientific endeavors. His innovations in the field of painting influenced the course of Italian art for more than a century after his death, and his scientific studies—particularly in the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics—anticipated many of the developments of modern science.

1800, bon explorer Sir James Clark Ross, explorer
1843, born
Henry James, writer
1889, born
A. Philip Randolph, labor leader
1894, born
Bessie Smith, blues singer
1957, born Evelyn Ashford, track-and-field athlete (1957)

Missing in Action

1966
ZERBE MICHAEL R. JULIAN CA
1968
METZ JAMES H. POPLAR BLUFF MO 03/18/77 SRV RETURNED REMAINS TO PCOM
1970
BIVENS HERNDON A. JAMICA NY DIED 2 HOURS AFTER CAPTURE
1970
MILLER ROGER A. HOPEWELL JUNCTION NY 03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1972
DESPIEGLER GALE A. BROWNS VALLEY MN 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1972
TRIMBLE LARRY A. FARMINGTON WA REMAINS RETURNED 06/89 ID 09/89

The Moscow Times

Report: Beslan HQ Was Run by Others
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer
Public anger over the handling of last year's Beslan hostage-taking crisis might have been directed at the wrong officials, according to an investigative report published by Novaya Gazeta on Thursday.


The men officially responsible for the botched attempt to rescue hostages -- North Ossetian President Alexander Dzasokhov and the head of the republic's branch of the Federal Security Service, Valery Andreyev -- were not really in charge, as there was an alternative headquarters set up by senior federal officials to run operations on the ground, the newspaper said.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/15/011.html

Ring Smuggled 1,000 People
By Anatoly Medetsky
Staff Writer
The Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry have busted a crime ring that trafficked more than 1,000 people to France, Spain and the United States, an FSB spokesman said on Thursday.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/15/001.html

Kyrgyzstan Welcomes Rumsfeld
By Charles Aldinger
Reuters
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld backed Kyrgyzstan's new leaders on Thursday and won fresh promises that a U.S. air base could stay, during the first visit by a senior Western official since the coup last month.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/15/251.html

Beating the Blues, Keeping the Orange Faith
By Mariya Rasner
Recently, I went to see a Ukrainian rock band play at a Moscow club. A friend, Paul, came along with me, and he was still on an "orange" high after our December trip to Ukraine as election observers. Back then, it was like a breath of fresh air after stifling Moscow, where we both work. And then, at the concert, we were ready to breathe again.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/13/009.html

Russia likes trains.

A Train Trip to Remember
It was a scene, for some, right out of the movies: A military band filled the air with patriotic songs while relatives blinked back tears and waved goodbye to the men and boys behind the train windows, crisp in their full dress uniforms.

… The first such destination was Minsk, where a Train of Remembrance took 50 veterans and 220 students, artists and journalists on July 3, 2004, to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from German occupation. The delegation visited sites commemorating the war and lay wreaths honoring the dead -- as did successive delegations to St. Petersburg, Volgograd and Kaliningrad earlier this year.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/15/002.html

The Seattle Post Intelligencer

Bill would set study of minimum wage
Labor fears results may be used to attack law
By
KATHY GEORGE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Susie Garifi, a waitress at Seattle's popular Wild Ginger restaurant, earns the minimum wage. And she's thrilled.
A transplant from New York, where she waited tables for just over $3 an hour, Garifi says her $7.35 wage plus tips feels like big money. "I'm really, really ecstatic," she says.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/220284_wage15.html

Same-sex marriages voided
Washington couples who rushed to Portland are disheartened by ruling
By
VANESSA HO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The wait was long, the ceremony was brief, and there were no pretty wedding outfits, save the flower girl's tiara. But none of that mattered to Karen Zeller Lane and her partner, Janine, who had rushed to Portland from Seattle last year the day after Oregon's Multnomah County began issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/220271_marriage15.html

Work on I-5 pavement delayed by rain for
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Work on southbound Interstate 5, planned to start this weekend, has been postponed because of expected rain.
The pavement rehabilitation work now is expected to begin the weekend of April 22-25. Crews need four weekends of relatively dry weather to replace damaged pavement on southbound I-5 through downtown Seattle.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/220269_nwbriefs15.html

Border patrol organizers want to expand
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Organizers of a project that uses civilian volunteers to watch for illegal immigrants and smugglers along the Arizona-Mexico border want to expand their efforts to other border states this fall.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Border%20Volunteers

Afghan baby who had surgery in U.S. dies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan toddler sent to the United States for surgery to repair a life-threatening heart condition died in his father's arms Friday, two days after his joyful return home, the U.S. military announced.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20US%20Surgery%20Boy

Afghan opium farmers aim to protect crop
By NOOR KHAN
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Afghan farmers on Thursday challenged President Hamid Karzai's plans to destroy the world's largest narcotics industry, vowing to protect their opium crops from a U.S.-sponsored eradication campaign.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20Opium%20Protest

Court bars evidence gained through torture
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SHANGHAI, China -- A provincial appeals court has issued what it says is China's first ruling that confessions or evidence obtained by torture, trickery and coercion can't be used in court, a government Web site reported Thursday.

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

Bush seeking more flexible passports rule
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Plans requiring passports from people entering the United States don't pass muster with President Bush, who has ordered a review of this border security effort amid fears it would impede legal travel from Canada, Mexico and other U.S. neighbors.

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

Key features of bankruptcy legislation
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The legislation to overhaul U.S. bankruptcy laws would:
-Set up a new means test for measuring a debtor's ability to repay.
-Require people filing for bankruptcy to pay for credit counseling.
-Give top priority to a spouse's claims for child support among creditors' claims on a debtor in bankruptcy.

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

Four pelicans found with slashed pouches
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- Four pelicans have been found in recent weeks with their pouches slashed, wildlife officials said.
A veterinarian Thursday stitched up an endangered brown pelican found in Huntington Beach on Sunday, said Sharon Weeks, development director of the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center. The bird also had a fish hook and fishing line in its wing.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=BRF%20Pelicans%20Slashed

THE BAN WAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT PEOPLE. SETTING IT ASIDE IS A NEGLIGENCE OF GOVERNMENT. PEOPLE CAN STILL SUE FOR DAMAGE IF THE MANUFACTURER IS MAKING PROFIT WHILE PEOPLE ARE DAMAGED OR DEAD. So, go get your drugs and a lawyer at the same time.

Utah judge strikes down ephedra ban
By MARK THIESSEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal judge has struck down the FDA ban on supplements containing ephedra, a weight-loss aid linked to dozens of deaths, but it's too early to tell whether the product will be back in stores anytime soon.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=Ephedra%20Suit

Castro demands justice in militant case
By VANESSA ARRINGTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HAVANA -- President Fidel Castro urged the United States to refrain from granting political asylum to Luis Posada Carriles, saying the Cuban militant should instead be sent to an international tribunal or Venezuela, where he is wanted for a 1976 Cuban airliner bombing.

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

Canadian cardinals candidates for papacy
By PHIL COUVRETTE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MONTREAL -- Perhaps he is too young, and from the wrong continent, but Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec City has made at least one list of papal contenders that mentions no other American or Canadian cardinals.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apcanada_story.asp?category=1101&slug=Pope%20Canadian%20Cardinals


U.N. peacekeeper killed in Haiti gunfight
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- U.N. peacekeepers and diplomats mourned a Filipino soldier killed as U.N. forces pushed into a volatile slum controlled by heavily armed gangs loyal to deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

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

New Zealand official's plane door opens
By RAY LILLEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The door to a plane carrying New Zealand's prime minister blew open mid-flight on Wednesday, forcing the pilot into a sharp descent and emergency landing that left the leader badly bruised, but otherwise unharmed.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=New%20Zealand%20Plane%20Door

The Pakistan Times

Poverty Shrinks: Musharraf asks People to Reject Extremists
By Akram Malik - Pakistan Times Punjab Bureau Chief
KASUR: President General Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that sustained economic growth in industrial and agricultural sectors have led to decline in poverty level for the first time and now the Government is making efforts to offset price-hike effects on common man.

http://pakistantimes.net/2005/04/12/top.htm

NSG team arrives Pakistan for non-proliferation talks
By MD Malik - Pakistan Times Federal Bureau Chief
ISLAMABAD: Experts from 44-member N

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will hold talks with foreign ministry officials here on today, Monday on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.

http://pakistantimes.net/2005/04/11/top2.htm

Pakistan decides to send Special Envoy to Baghdad
Pakistan Times Wire Service
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to send a special roaming ambassador Ehsanullah Khan to Iraq at the earliest to engage in talks for release of the kidnapped official of the Pakistan embassy in Baghdad, Malik Jawed.

http://pakistantimes.net/2005/04/12/top16.htm

Toronto Star

Kyoto plan will survive election
Conservatives say they'll stand by greenhouse goals
Liberals unveil $10B blueprint to curb emissions
ANDREW MILLS
STAFF REPORTER
OTTAWA—Canada has a new plan to control greenhouse gas emissions and it would remain in place even if there is a change of government.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1113430211023&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes

Editorial: Costly safety valve for Kyoto targets
Most Canadians know that, on its own, this country will be hard pressed to meet its onerous target of cutting its emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 270 million tonnes over the next seven years, as set out in the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. To even try to cut such a stunning amount of greenhouse gases in such a short time span could impose an unacceptable economic cost on Canadians.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1113430209304&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795

School deal: 5,000 more teachers in 4 years
CANADIAN PRESS
A unique accord with Ontario's public elementary teachers will mean four years of peace and stability in the province's schools, Education Minister Gerard Kennedy said today.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1113473600945&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Mail and Guardian

Women die silently, invisibly from pregnancy
Last week's call by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to governments to increase spending on reproductive health may prove to be hard for Kenya to implement. Kenya has no budgetary allocation for reproductive health.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=234891&area=/insight/insight__africa/

The Boston Globe

Twin car bombs kill 18 in Baghdad
38 others injured; deadliest attack in city since election
By Solomon Moore, Los Angeles Times April 15, 2005
BAGHDAD -- Two car bombs exploded 100 yards from each other during a traffic jam yesterday, killing at least 18 Iraqis in the deadliest attack in the capital city since the national election Jan. 30.


http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/04/15/twin_car_bombs_kill_18_in_baghdad/

I SEE THIS as a political movement.

Pentecostalism luring away Latino Catholics
By Tatsha Robertson, Globe Staff April 15, 2005
NEW YORK -- The Bay Ridge Christian Center in Brooklyn was swirling with the Holy Spirit on Sunday morning as well-dressed churchgoers leaped in unison to the music of live guitars and chanted ''Hallelujah!" in Spanish. The Rev. Luciano Padilla Jr., a Pentecostal evangelist who had gathered his flock at the bilingual church largely from Latino Catholic converts, swayed in the pulpit with his arms outstretched and issued a call for ''new believers."


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/04/15/pentecostalism_luring_away_latino_catholics/

Atlantic, 148-year institution, leaving city
Magazine of Twain, James, Howells heads to capital
By Mark Feeney and David Mehegan, Globe Staff April 15, 2005
The Atlantic, one of America's most celebrated magazines and a Boston institution since 1857, announced yesterday it will move to its parent company's headquarters in Washington, D.C., next year as a cost-cutting measure.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/04/15/atlantic_148_year_institution_leaving_city/

Is the World Ready for a Black Pope?
By Philip Pullella April 15, 2005
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - On crosses and paintings in Catholic Churches throughout Africa, Jesus is depicted as black -- a suffering man on a suffering continent.


http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/04/15/is_the_world_ready_for_a_black_pope/

Gaza settlers to return army-issue weapons
By Peter Enav, Associated Press Writer April 15, 2005
JERUSALEM -- The mayor of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip said Friday that settlers would comply with an order to return army-issue weapons, defusing a potentially serious problem ahead of this summer's planned evacuation of the volatile territory.


http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/04/15/gaza_settlers_to_return_army_issue_weapons/

The Tom DeLay Sham

Tom DeLay And the Wright Stuff
By E. J. Dionne Jr.Friday, April 15, 2005; Page A25
Being Tom DeLay means never having to say you're sorry. So when the embattled House majority leader apologized Wednesday for the "inartful" way in which he attacked the federal judiciary after Terri Schiavo's death, it was the surest indicator that DeLay's days are numbered.
DeLay is not in trouble because Democrats are trying to get rid of him. On the contrary, Democrats would like nothing better than to have a weakened DeLay right where he is at least through the 2006 elections. That's why Republicans are so nervous.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55027-2005Apr14.html


DNC: What Is Tom DeLay Hiding?
The Republican Legacy: Deception, Divisiveness, and Debt
/noticias.info/ Washington, DC – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) continued to dodge questions about his unethical conduct yesterday. When asked if he had "ever" violated the rules, he replied "'ever' is a very strong word.""Now we know why Tom DeLay and the Republican leadership want to undermine the House Ethics Committee," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "They know that if bipartisan rules are restored, the House Ethics Committee will investigate whether Tom DeLay 'ever' broke ethics rules."


http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=58951&src=0

continued...

From the New York Times. A young girl playing with her shadow on Banda Aceh. Posted by Hello

Kofi Annan appoints Bill Clinton as Tsumani Envoy. Could William Jefferson Clinton someday ever be Secretary General? Posted by Hello

Morning Paper - concluding

Michael Moore Today

DeLay's Artful 'Apology';

McClellan: "I think there are different levels
of friendship with anybody."
Newt Knocks DeLay

'
Tell them that this is all a plot and the Democrats are out to get me.'

DeLay Likens GOP Contract to Magna Carta

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

DeLay Apologizes for Schiavo Case Rhetoric
By David Espo /
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay apologized Wednesday for using overheated rhetoric on the day Terri Schiavo died, but refused to say whether he supports impeachment of the judges who ruled in her case.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2217

April 14th, 2005 7:13 pm
Bush Says His Privacy Must Be Protected
By Deb Reichmann /
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Thursday that the public should know as much as possible about government decision-making, but national security and personal privacy — including his — need to be protected.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2228

Bush: Death Penalty Consistent With 'Culture of Life'

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

April 14th, 2005 3:28 pm
Bush Isn't Ready to Reveal Soc. Sec. Fix
By Terence Hunt /
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush signaled Thursday he is not ready yet to reveal how he would fix Social Security's looming insolvency, saying he has to first persuade people there is a problem.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2224

'Bribes' let Bin Laden evade US
Osama Bin Laden gave US forces the slip by bribing the Afghan militias tasked with tracking him down, according to Germany's spy chief, August Hanning.
Mr Hanning told German newspaper Handelsblatt that using Afghans was the key mistake in the hunt for Bin Laden.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4442045.stm

Military Families Against the War

http://www.mfaw.org.uk/

National Conference Against the Draft & Military Recruiting
Saturday, April 16
12 Noon – 6 pm
PS 41 in Manhattan
116 W. 11th St.
Participants will include:


·Carl Webb, member of the Army National Guard who refused orders to deploy to Iraq

·Hadas Their, City College student who was arrested for protesting against military recruiters on campus

·Jeff Paterson, former Marine who refused to deploy to Iraq during the first Gulf War

·Larry Holmes, organizer with the Troops Out Now Coalition, Vietnam-era resister

·Monique Code, antiwar activist, Desert Storm veteran

·Representatives from youth organizations involved in counter-recruiting and draft resistance.
As the occupation of Iraq continues and the Bush Administration contemplates new military actions, the Pentagon is finding itself overstretched and unable to meet recruiting quotas. Of the troops currently deployed in Iraq, 40% are members of the National Guard or Reserves, leading Lt. Gen. James Helmly to warn that the Army Reserve "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force." These factors have led many to believe that the return of the draft is likely.

http://www.iacenter.org/a16_draft-2.htm

Salt Lake City Tribune

Abbas wants a unified security force
Timing: He gave the order preceding his visit to the U.S., which has pressed him to control militants
Also: Israeli settlers in Gaza agree to negotiate with Palestinians over withdrawal this summer
By Mohammed Daraghmeh
The Associated Press

http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_2662410

The New Zealand Herald

Israeli army told to plan for disarming settlers
15.04.05 1.00pm

JERUSALEM - Israel's defence minister ordered the army today to work out a plan to disarm settlers in enclaves slated for evacuation this summer, Defence Ministry sources said.
Settler leaders and Israeli security chiefs have agreed in principle that nobody will carry weapons during the withdrawal -- including troops -- but the fact that so many settlers are armed has raised fears of violent resistance.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10120629

Kings and Queens bid farewell to Monaco’s Rainier
Soldiers from the Prince's Company of Carabineers carry the coffin of Prince Rainier III of Monaco from the palace to the cathedral. Picture / Reuters
16.04.05 12.00am

MONACO - Kings, queens and presidents bade farewell to Monaco’s Prince Rainier today at a funeral service in the cathedral where he married former Hollywood actress Grace Kelly and will be laid to rest beside her.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10120795

Fire kills 17 in Paris hotel used by immigrants
Firemen look on as their colleagues continue with rescue operations at a hotel in Paris. Picture / Reuters
15.04.05 10.30pm - Update

PARIS - A fire has swept through a central Paris hotel used by immigrants and tourists, killing at least 17 people including 7 children, fire officials said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10120689

World Bank policies blamed for harming forests
15.04.05 4.00pm

KINSHASA - World Bank forestry programmes meant to promote sustainable development are threatening rainforests and harming the people who live in them, environmentalists said today.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10120637

Boy reunited with father after deportation
15.04.05 1.00pm

Roby Gilbert has been reunited with his son Sky after American courts awarded him full custody today.
The pair had been apart for three years after ex-wife Juliette abducted Sky and fled the United States for New Zealand in April 2003.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10120651

The weather from Antarctica (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
There is no report from Scott Base.

Palmer Station

Updated: 8:00 AM CLT on April 15, 2005
Observed at Palmer Station, Antarctica (
History)
Elevation: 26 ft / 8 m

38 °F / 3 °C
Clear

Humidity:
58%

Dew Point:
29 °F / -2 °C

Wind:
7 mph / 11 km/h from the East

Wind Gust:
-

Pressure:
28.38 in / 961 hPa (Falling)

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.0 kilometers

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal ICE Chime), what? Ice? Glacier Bay? is:

30 °F / -1 °C
Clear

Windchill:
24 °F / -4 °C

Humidity:
80%

Dew Point:
25 °F / -4 °C

Wind:
6 mph / 9 km/h from the NW

Pressure:
29.83 in / 1010 hPa

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV:
0 out of 16

Clouds (AGL):
Clear -


end

April 15, 2005. GOES West Infrared. Noted vortex over Canada. The heat transfer system remains over the center of the continent. Posted by Hello

GOES West April 15, 2005. Heat intensity is the Equator. Less intense northern latitudes. Posted by Hello

UNISYS GOES West April 15, 2005. Noted vapor more dense than East, especially at equator. One minor vortex over Canada and Major vortex North Pacific. Posted by Hello

The Enhanced Infrared UNISYS Hemispheric Satellite on April 15, 2005 continues to dictate optimism.Noted: Supercell over The Greenland Ice Sheet streaming down the offshore area of North America to the equator. The western side of the map has lower intensivity heat densities TODAY. Posted by Hello

GOES East Visible compliments of UNISYS on April 15, 2005. Posted by Hello

Below is the Enhanced Infrared. This is the infrared satellite of GOES East. April 15, 2005. Posted by Hello

UNISYS GOES East. April 15, 2005. Infrared noted to have heat intensities adverse to Earth's balance. It is concentrated on the vortex flow offshore North America and the Equatorial air distrubance. There is no acute manifestation of 'same' heat intensity over the continent with the northern migration of the solar radiation from Sol. Posted by Hello

UNISYS GOES East 4.15.05. Noted: The very vortex flow off shore North America. There is a very peculiar air flow over the eastern half of the continent. Loosely interpreted and grossly optimistic at this point and mostly from viewing the GOES West satellite along with this that this might be a remanifestaiton of the Jet Stream. Also the intensity of 'vapor' seems much less which tells me the ice's sublimination is ? perhaps ? slowing. Posted by Hello

Better. Noted: The vortex flow offshore North American Continent. There is some, but minor , heat transfer system off the equator over Mexico. The South American picture is hugely better. There is normally incredible heat concentration over the Amazon. That is relieved today. This is definately an improved satellite notably with the solar radiation migrating north. Posted by Hello

April 15, 2005. Indian Ocean Satellite. The vortex is still pulling the former cyclone into it's flow into the Ice Continent. But the heat concentration in this area is grossly reduced. The picture today is hugely better. This area of the world suffers the most from economic issues and consequently also from Global Warming impacts. If these people are to have a quality of life the oppression of the Human Induced Global Warming is vital to them. No doubt in my mind high fuel prices of combustibles like fossil fuels is vital to these people as well as the populous of the world. We know for a fact the poorer the populous the less chance they have of surviving the severe weather of Global Warming. Posted by Hello

April 15, 2005. Western Pacific Satellite. The heat is still there and dangerously high. But. It is mostly concentrated at the equator. The heat is less than yesterday as well. The overall picture here is better. Posted by Hello

April 15, 2005, Pacific Global Satellite. The heat is concentrated, isn't it? There continues to be a heat collecton at the western boundary of this satellite image. But the overall conclusion is still marginally better. The equatorial areas are holding and there are heat concentrations there where they belong. That is not to say those cyclones are good because we know that cyclones deposit heat into the oceans. But. The heat is mostly at the equator where it belongs and not depositing over the Arctic Regions directly from the equator. Yes? There are still vortices in the Southern Hemisphere to worry about and most probably in the Northern but the overall picture is marginally better with note that the solar radiation continues to migrate north as it should. NOTE: Gasoline prices of the nation that deposits the highest amount of carbon dioxide into the troposphere continue to be over $2.00 per gallon. Of course, the summer vacation season approaching the USA government would like to see that change. Not a good idea. The higher the prices the safer the planet. Posted by Hello

Espoo Bay, Finland. April 14, 2005. This is the ice flow breaking up in the spring. Realizing that makes the storm only days before all the more odd. Posted by Hello

Portage, Alaska Northern Lights on April 13, 2005. Still some ice and snow. Nice.  Posted by Hello

April 11, 2005 there were auroras over Fairbanks, Alaska which is the bright lights at the bottom left of the picture. Yeah, Northern Lights. Posted by Hello

April 12, 2005, The auroras at Fairbanks, Alaska. Posted by Hello