The Peace March
Tens Of Thousands March For Peace In New York
POSTED: 6:44 pm EDT May 1, 2005
UPDATED: 7:15 pm EDT May 1, 2005
NEW YORK -- Thousands of activists marched past the United Nations on Sunday, hoping to remind diplomats reviewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of the horrors of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki five decades ago.
Chanting "No War, No Nukes" and carrying signs saying "No More Hiroshima, No more Nagasaki," the marchers then headed to Central Park, where they formed a human peace symbol. Organizers put the number of protesters at 40,000.
http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/news/4436766/detail.html
Peace walkers pass by on way to U.N.
Sunday, May 1, 2005
By BRIAN KLADKO
STAFF WRITER
No streets were closed for the parade of peace activists marching through Bergen County on Saturday. They stuck to the sidewalks.
But having walked all the way from Oak Ridge, Tenn., they had made their point.
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNiZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjY4NzQ0NyZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=
Laredo border protesters march against violence
Associated Press
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Hundreds of Mexicans and Americans gathered for an anti-violence rally in the main square of the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo today.
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Carrying white balloons and dressed in white, residents of Nuevo Laredo and its sister city, Laredo, Texas, protested the estimated 43 killings so far this year in Nuevo Laredo. Some U.S. citizens were among the victims in those crimes.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3162953
Assemble on 1st Ave above 50th Street, 11am
March by the United Nations
Rally in Central Park, Heckscher Ballfields, 2pm
Sixty years ago, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly killing and wounding hundreds of thousands of people and beginning the nuclear arms race. In May, world leaders, mayors and citizens from around the world will converge on the United Nations to decide the fate of the endangered Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The nuclear weapons states, led by the U.S., are hypocritically accusing other nations of seeking nuclear arms while ignoring their own disarmament obligations. The Bush administration lied when it went to war in Iraq by claiming Saddam Hussein had “weapons of mass destruction.” And as this war rages on, with mounting casualties on all sides, a country in ruins, and escalating costs here at home, Washington is turning its sights on Iran and North Korea, seeking again to inflame public fears of a new nuclear threat. At the same time, the U.S. is modernizing its nuclear arsenal and expanding the role of nuclear weapons in its “national security” policy.
Peace Actions in At Least 765 Communities on Two-Year Anniversary of Iraq War
March 18-20 marked the two-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. At least 765 towns and cities, in all 50 states ( Map) - an unprecedented number - held anti-war events, in a reflection of the growing breadth of the anti-war movement. This is more than double the number of anti-war actions on the first anniversary of the war last year. UFPJ's strategy for this year's anniversary of the war was to emphasize local protests and local movement-building, rather than to focus on a handful of large mobilizations in major cities.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
Journalism at Risk
BELARUS: Two Russian journalists jailed after opposition rally
New York, April 27, 2005—A court in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, handed brief jail sentences today to two Russian journalists arrested while covering an opposition rally, according to local and international press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was alarmed by the action and called for the release of the two reporters.
http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Belarus27apr05na.html
Chernobyl protesters are jailed
(Filed: 28/04/2005)
Dozens of opposition supporters were jailed in Belarus yesterday after riot police were sent in to break up a rally marking the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/28/wbela28.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/04/28/ixworld.html
Iranian student to be flogged and jailed
Apr 27, 2005
An Iranian student detained for taking part in anti-regime demonstrations has been sentenced to 18 months behind bars and 76 lashes, his lawyer reported. The lawyer said that his client would appeal.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_6575.shtml
Surviving Cuba's Prisons
Unbowed, Jorge Olivera Castillo emerges from jail to speak out.
By Sauro González Rodríguez. CPJ, April, 2005.
For the crime of reporting the news, Jorge Olivera Castillo spent most of two years in the hellish conditions of Cuba's prisons. The director of a small independent news agency, the Havana Press, Olivera Castillo was one of 29 journalists arrested in a massive government crackdown on dissidents and theindependent media in March 2003. He was convicted in a one-day, closed-door proceeding under a law prohibiting acts "aimed at subverting the internal order of the nation and destroying its political, economic, and social system."
http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y05/apr05/26e7.htm
Call for release of two imprisoned journalists
Reporters Without Borders called today for the immediate release of reformist Iranian Arab journalist Yosef Azizi Banitrouf, who was arrested in a raid on his home on 25 April. It also demanded the release of dissident journalist Reza Alijani, expressing "great concern" about his deteriorating health after two years in prison.
"We strongly deplore the arrest of Banitrouf, who was simply expressing his personal opinion in articles and in interviews given to other newspapers," it said. "As soon as a journalist speaks out in Iran, the authorities crack down, either by closing the paper concerned or throwing the journalist in prison.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13376
'Long arm' of the government threatens media in Zimbabwe
LONDON Zimbabwe holds the dubious distinction of being one of the worst places in the world to be a journalist.
That "honor" was bestowed on the country by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a U.S.-based organization that promotes freedom of the press. For 2004, Zimbabwe placed third on the list, behind Iraq and Cuba.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/01/business/zim02.php
Truth and consequences
N.C. journalists see firsthand Jordan's struggle for free press
AMMAN, Jordan - Truth and consequences N.C. journalists see firsthand Jordan's struggle for free press AMMAN, Jordan -- Osama Al-Shareef, the American-educated editor of a Jordanian newspaper, was explaining to North Carolina journalists why his colleagues are often so timid, even though King Abdullah II encourages a free press.
"It's always a matter of Russian roulette," he said of his country's media laws. "You never know when you're stepping on a mine and someone will say you've gone too far."
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/editorial/11535999.htm
Army to review mission orders issued to civilians
Posted 05:44am (Mla time) May 02, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A20 of the May 2, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Mindoro Oriental, Philippines -- The military here said it would review mission orders and memorandum receipts issued to civilian assets in the wake of the arrest of a radio commentator for firing a handgun outside a videoke bar here on Sunday evening.
http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=35630
In Paper, In Practice: A response to the China’s ‘White Paper’ on Human Rights
By News Report
May 1, 2005, 12:34
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TYC[Sunday, May 01, 2005 15:58]
Foreword
The release of the two successive ‘White Papers’ by the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) this April vindicates the truth of the maxim, “ It entails a thousand lies to conceal a lie”. Chinese Communist Party(CCP), in its 56 oppressive years of rule, has in a customary drive to delude the world, released over a thirty ‘White Papers’, a record by any regime in this modern times. The recent heightened spree to churn out series of ‘white papers’ is yet another desperate bid to enhance its global credibility. But the leaders of China had utterly failed to realize the wisdom that the very necessity to substantiate, and justify persistently, reveals a gross underlying faux pas.
The White Paper of the 13 th April entitled, “China’s Progress in Human Rights in 2004” begin with the wild and fictitious assertion of the year 2004 being “ an important year for China in building a well-off society in an all-round way…that saw progress in human rights undertakings…. And...realize the goal of establishing a government under the rule of law after making sustained efforts .”
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_17270.shtml
Uzbekistan: Journalists Defend Jailed Colleague
By Daniel Kimmage
25 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Friction between journalists and Uzbekistan's authorities is nothing new. But the recent arrest of Sobirjon Yoqubov (spelled "Yakubov" in many reports), a correspondent for the newspaper "Hurriyat," has sparked a reaction that goes beyond expressions of concern from international organizations. This time, some of the jailed journalist's colleagues in Uzbekistan have mobilized in his support.
News of Yoqubov's arrest in mid-April came against the backdrop of an event that had already unnerved journalists in Uzbekistan. After an article signed by a certain Safar Abdullaev appeared on the Internet with sensational details of a coming crackdown against independent journalists in Uzbekistan, a number of the individuals named by Abdullaev sent an open letter to the Interior Ministry requesting confirmation or denial of the report. Deputy Interior Minister Alisher Sharafuddinov held an unusual public meeting with the journalists in question on 15 April, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported. While Sharafuddinov insisted that no crackdown was in the offing, he confirmed the arrest of a correspondent for the newspaper "Hurriyat."
The Uzbek government has yet to make clear the substance of its charges against Sobirjon Yoqubov.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/4/CFD6F561-482F-4631-A79D-7CF9C652A16A.html
China Jails Reporter for Leaking 'State Secrets'
Apr 30, 2005 — BEIJING (Reuters) - A court in south China jailed a Chinese journalist for 10 years on Saturday for illegally providing state secrets to overseas organizations, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in February that China had the most journalists in prison, 42, of any country for the sixth year in a row.
Prosecutors in Hunan province told the Intermediate People's Court that Shi Tao, 37, a former news editor for the Contemporary Business News in provincial capital Changsha, e-mailed notes he took at an April 2004 internal newspaper meeting to an unnamed overseas publication, Xinhua said without naming the publication.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=717057
'End of state of emergency' promises little for freedom of expression
No pledge to ease pressure on independent media. By Rohan Jayasekera
King Gyanendra
The announcement that King Gyanendra had lifted Nepal’s state of emergency late Friday caught most observers by surprise but left few confident that the country would see the immediate restoration of human rights – including freedom of expression for its media.
King Gyanendra issued a royal decree lifting the state of emergency late 29 April, but it is not clear what changes will result. There was no sign he would restoring multi-party democracy. The original 1 February press censorship notice said it would apply for six months and thus technically has another three months to run.
"If media censorship too has been lifted, the government ought to issue a clear announcement," Narayan Wagle, editor of Kantipur, the largest circulated daily in Nepal told Indian media.
http://www.indexonline.org/en/news/articles/2005/2/nepal-lifting-of-state-of-emergency-promises.shtml
Nepal emergency lifted
PTI Kathmandu April 30: Under increasing pressure from India and other countries, Nepal’s King Gyanendra today lifted the state of emergency imposed after he grabbed power on February 1 but it was not clear if press censorship and ban on political activities have also been removed.“His Majesty, in accordance with the Constitution, has lifted the order of the state of emergency,” a brief Royal Palace statement said, hours after the King’s return from a three-nation tour where leaders pressed him for restoration of democracy in the kingdom.
The King, who visited Indonesia, China and Singapore, had assured the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh in Jakarta last week on the sidelines of the Afro-Asian summit that he would initiate steps for early restoration of multi-party democracy. Despite the King’s assurance, the deposed prime minister, Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba was arrested on corruption charges on Wednesday.
http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=05019
Journalist arrested and jailed; Reza Alijani's health deteriorating sharply after two years in prison
Français: Nouvelles inquiétudes concernant deux journalistes détenus
País/Tema: Iran
Fecha: 29 de abril de 2005
Fuente: Reporteros Sin Fronteras (RSF)
Persona: Yosef Azizi Banitrouf, Reza Alijani
Victimas: periodista(s)
Tipos de violaciónes: arresto , huelga de hambre , encarcelado
Urgencia: Noticia urgente
(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has called for the immediate release of reformist Iranian Arab journalist Yosef Azizi Banitrouf, who was arrested in a raid on his home on 25 April 2005. The organisation also demanded the release of dissident journalist Reza Alijani, expressing great concern about his deteriorating health after two years in prison.
"We strongly deplore the arrest of Banitrouf, who was simply expressing his personal opinion in articles and in interviews given to newspapers," RSF said. "As soon as a journalist speaks out in Iran, the authorities crack down, either by closing the paper concerned or throwing the journalist in prison. There are now 12 journalists and cyber-dissidents in jail in Iran, which remains the Middle East's biggest prison for journalists."
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66287/
Not His Master's Voice
Vanguard (Lagos)
OPINION
April 29, 2005
Posted to the web April 29, 2005
Mobolaji Sanusi
"... A newspaper financed by government really belongs to the whole people and not to those who mistake the transience of office for their own imaginary permanence"
Peter Ajayi: In "Not His Master's Voice"
LAST week Friday in the Oranmiyan Hall of Ikeja Airport Hotel, one question that kept ringing in my mind was which regime, colonial or military, could be said to be fairer to Nigerian journalists? Colonialism and militarism are now obsolete systems in contemporary governance but wherever experiences of people who practised journalism under these systems are being relayed, a curious mind is wont to ask the above question.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200504290464.html
Why Police Can't Prosecute Ndolo Case
The Nation (Nairobi)
OPINION
April 30, 2005
Posted to the web April 29, 2005
Peter Mwaura
Nairobi
It is nearly three weeks since the police hunted down Makadara MP Rueben Ndolo for allegedly insulting President Mwai Kibaki by suggesting at a public meeting that he was lazy. Apparently no charges will be preferred against him. If so, Mr Ndolo is lucky to be living in Kenya and not in those republics where people are routinely prosecuted for insulting the head of state.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200504290978.html
Egyptian journalists jailed for libeling a minister
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced three journalists to one year in prison for libeling the housing minister, despite a year-old announcement by the president that he would scrap the law that allows such imprisonment.
Alaa al-Ghatrifi, Abdel Nasser al-Zoheiry and Youssef al-Oumy were sentenced in absentia to prison terms and fines of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about $1,700; euro1,321) each.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/4/18/latest/20050418070314&sec=Latest
CUBAN INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST
`I'll never renounce my principles'
Jorge Olivera Castillo, one of 29 Cuban journalists arrested in a massive Cuban government crackdown on dissidents and the independent media in March 2003, spent nearly two years in prison. He was convicted in a one-day, closed-door proceeding under a law prohibiting acts ''aimed at subverting the internal order of the nation and destroying its political, economic and social system.'' He was freed Dec. 6, one of a half-dozen imprisoned journalists released on medical parole in 2004. After his release, the 43-year-old editor granted an interview to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
The interview was conducted by Sauro González Rodríguez, a research associate for CPJ's Americas program. Excerpts follow:
CPJ: Tell us about your experiences in prison.
JOC: I spent 36 days in a cell with common criminals in Villa Marista. The four of us could not stand at the same time, that's how small the cell was. There was no ventilation and we had a fluorescent lamp on 24 hours a day. The bathroom was a hole; the smell was unbearable.
Then the trial came. The trial was a sham, a grotesque sham. I only saw my lawyer 10 to 15 minutes before my court hearing was to start. I felt I had been convicted in advance. Thank God I had the strength of character and could face such a difficult situation. I did not keep silent. I defended myself against all the allegations prosecutors made, full of visceral hatred -- I can't forget that. I refuted all of them.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11481097.htm
Adler jailed but not contrite
April 14, 2005 - 7:09PM
Disgraced businessman Rodney Adler was a deliberate liar who still did not fully accept he had done anything wrong, a judge said today as he jailed the former high flyer for more than two years.
The former HIH director apologised as he entered the NSW Supreme Court today, knowing he would go to jail, but Justice John Dunford said Adler had not shown true contrition.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Business/Adler-jailed-but-not-contrite/2005/04/14/1113251735133.html
Going off the record is no safe haven in the new media era
April 15, 2005
THE jailing of Rodney Adler will open a new era in relations between business and the press in Australia. And conceivably, in time, that new era may spread to other areas, including politics.
Two of the offences for which Adler was jailed concerned "off-the-record" statements he made to an Australian Financial Review journalist. This kind of briefing is not uncommon and the Adler sentence raises dangers for both business people and journalists.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12858679%255E16946,00.html
concluding...
Sunday, May 01, 2005
But what they do agree on is this: this was a peaceful, well-executed protest. Leslie Cagan, Protest Organizer: "Instead of billions of dollars being poured into nuclear weapons, and hundreds of billions being poured into the war in Iraq, we want the money to go into school, and health care systems, and a job-training program."
(New York-WABC, May 1, 2005) What you can expect in the city today from the protests: Noon, people gather at 50th Street and 1st Avenue, near the UN. They'll march south, to 47th Street. Then they'll go down 2nd Avenue, and then cross midtown at 42nd Street. They'll take 6th Avenue up to Central Park, entering at 59th street. Protestors will then gather at the ball fields, around 1:45. The rally is expected to last until 6:00 p.m. this evening.
Demonstrators form a human peace sign in New York's Central Park, Sunday, May 1, 2005. Invoking memories of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki decades ago, anti-nuclear weapon and anti-war activists on Sunday marched past the United Nations, where a conference to reassess the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was scheduled to begin this week through mid town to a rally in Central Park. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Morning Papers - concluding
Mercury Lawsuits.
10 states suing over mercury regulations
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Posted: 1:34 PM EDT (1734 GMT)
Mercury information:
Forms of mercury: Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
Sources of mercury: Mercury is an element in the earth's crust. Humans cannot create or destroy mercury. Pure mercury is a liquid metal, sometimes referred to as quicksilver. It has traditionally been used to make products like thermometers, switches, and some light bulbs.
Exposure to mercury: Mercury in the air eventually settles into water or onto land where it can be washed into water. Once deposited, certain microorganisms can change it into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish. Fish and shellfish are the main sources of methylmercury exposure to humans.
Health effects of mercury: Exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages. Research shows that most people's fish consumption does not cause a health concern. However, it has been demonstrated that high levels of methylmercury in the bloodstream of unborn babies and young children may harm the developing nervous system, making the child less able to think and learn.
Source: EPA
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Wisconsin has joined a list of states suing the federal government's environmental policies, challenging new regulations they say fail to protect children and expectant mothers from dangers posed by mercury emissions.
In announcing his approval of the lawsuit, Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday the Bush administration has cowed to big business with new guidelines for power plant emissions that could allow 19 states to increase mercury emissions in the next five years by setting caps that are higher than current levels.
The New Jersey attorney general's office is taking the lead on the lawsuit. The eight other states involved are California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
The Sierra Club applauded Wisconsin for being the first Midwest state to sue. "We hope Governor Doyle takes this opportunity to help call on other Great Lakes and Midwest states to join Wisconsin," said Eric Uram, the club's regional representative.
Mercury settles in waterways and accumulates in fish. In people who eat those fish, the toxic metal can cause neurological and developmental problems, particularly in fetuses and children.
The suit criticizes the EPA for exempting power plants from having to install the strictest emissions control technology available. That technology would cut mercury pollution by 90 percent, according to the New Jersey attorney general's office.
The EPA issued a brief statement saying it "is confident in the legal foundation of the rule-making and plans to vigorously defend the rule." When the bulk of the states sued last month EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said the government has already taken steps to control mercury emissions from other sources and that the rules represent a new set of controls on "our last significant source of mercury."
Wisconsin has some of the toughest mercury laws in the country, requiring all power plants to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2010 and by 75 percent by 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency rules aim to cut mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants by nearly half within 15 years.
"We're showing that we can have high environmental standards while using progressive, economically viable technology," Doyle, a Democrat, said at a news conference along the shore of Lake Michigan.
He was flanked by several environmentalists holding signs, including one that said "No more mercury in my lake."
In Wisconsin, 90 percent of the lakes and streams have high levels of the toxin and every lake and stream in the state is under a fish consumption advisory. Still, people eat more fish than the national average.
The governor said mercury pollution seriously threatens Wisconsin's sport fishing industry, which employs 30,000 people, as well as women of childbearing age, pregnant women and young children. (A CNN Report.)
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Applause. Mike, Junior. Where is the truth?
High School Student's Sting Operation Busts Two Army Recruiters;
David McSwane "wanted to see how far the Army would go during a war to get one more solider"
How Far Will The Army Go?
How far will U.S. Army recruiters go to bring young men and women into their ranks? An Arvada West High School senior recently decided to find out. The following is CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger's report.
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) -- Last month the U.S. Army failed to meet its goal of 6,800 new troops.
Aware of this trend, David McSwane, a local high school student, decided he wanted to find out to what extent some recruiters would go to sign up soldiers who were not up to grade.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2440
Click Here for Video
Full Interview With Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur
(8 Minute Video)
(click here to download quicktime)
Saudi in Oil-Food Scandal
By Niles Lathem / New York Post
April 29, 2005 -- WASHINGTON — A Saudi prince has been linked to shady financial dealings in the United Nations' oil-for-food program, according to new evidence disclosed yesterday by a congressional committee.
Documents, including a Pentagon audit, found $8 million in overpricing in the sale of agricultural products to Saddam Hussein by a company tied to Prince Bandar bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahm al-Saud.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2445
Cuomo Warns Against Filibuster Changes
NEW YORK (AP) - If Republicans rewrite Senate rules to more easily end filibusters, the country will experience "exactly the kind of 'tyranny of the majority' that James Madison had in mind," former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said Saturday.
Cuomo, in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, said Senate Republicans "are threatening to claim ownership of the Supreme Court and other federal courts, hoping to achieve political results on subjects like abortion, stem cells, the environment and civil rights that they cannot get from the proper political bodies."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2447
Bolton's Nomination Is Questioned by Another Powell Aide
By Douglas Jehl / New York Times
WASHINGTON, April 29 - A fourth senior member of Colin L. Powell's team at the State Department expressed strong reservations on Friday about the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2448
A Democrat on Bush's Social Security Team
By Eduardo Porter / New York Times
The intellectual force behind President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security, the man the president calls his favorite "Democrat economist," is not an economist. He is Robert C. Pozen, a lawyer and mutual fund executive who serves as chairman of MFS Investment Management in Boston.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2449
It sounds right. It is just another way of selling the right to go into debt by another $2 trillion. After all Wolfowitz waits in the wings with the moolah.
Social Security and 'Progressive Indexing'
All Things Considered, April 29, 2005 · Robert Siegel talks about President Bush's proposed changes to Social Security with Robert Pozen, chairman of MFS Investment Management. Pozen has pitched the idea of progressive indexing to the White House. The proposal calls for cutting benefits for upper-income earners.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4625302
Lawyer Who Told of U.S. Abuses at Afghan Bases Loses U.N. Post
By Warren Hoge / New York Times
UNITED NATIONS, April 29 - A United Nations human rights monitor who accused American military forces and civilian contractors last week of abusing and torturing prisoners in Afghanistan has been told his job is over.
M. Cherif Bassiouni, a professor of law at DePaul University in Chicago who was the human rights commission's independent expert for Afghanistan, said Friday that he had received an e-mail message from a commission official in Geneva a week ago telling him his mandate had expired.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2450
The Price Egypt pays for friendship to Israel.
Two Israelis hurt as wave of terror strikes Cairo
By Yoav Stern and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Nine people, including two Israelis, were injured Saturday in Cairo during a double terror attack carried out by a suicide bomber, his fiancee, and his sister.
Ihab Yousri Yassin, who was linked by security forces to the last terror attack in Cairo three weeks ago, blew himself up near the Egyptian Museum in the city center, wounding seven people. In another section of Cairo, the two women shot at a tour bus, within two hours of the first attack.
The second strike on tourists in less than a month appears to signal the revival of violence aimed at Egypt's most vital industry.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570569.html
Analysis : Cairo fears an organized hand
By Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz Correspondent
Cairo's streets are crowded with policemen, soldiers and intelligence agents just now. They are charged with blocking the spread of opposition demonstrations and forming chains to confine protests to restricted areas.
But on Saturday, terrorists managed to carry out two attacks in broad daylight in the very heart of Cairo, near the museum and hotels, where security forces abound and guests are examined.
Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim el-Adli, who is also in charge of public security, promised that the attack three weeks ago in the Khan al-Khalili bazaar, Cairo's major tourist attraction, was an isolated incident, carried out by a lone terrorist or an isolated cell. There are no terrorist networks in Egypt, he said soothingly.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570635.html
Patriarch allegedly sold J'lem land to win state's approval
By Danny Rubinstein
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem sold properties inside the Jaffa Gate to a Jewish company to prove to Israel that he does not sympathize with Palestinians and the PLO, Nikos Papadimas, the former financial manager of the patriarchate, told Haaretz on Saturday. Papadimas, who signed the deal in the name of the Patriarch Irineos I, has fled Israel to an unknown destination. Irineos has accused him of embezzling patriarchy funds.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570636.html
The Miami Herald
Beachings put focus on sonar
A Keys dolphin stranding has yet to be linked to a submarine's sonar use, but has raised fresh questions about the potential impact of the technology on marine mammals.
BY JENNIFER BABSON
jbabson@herald.com
KEY WEST - When more than 70 dolphins beached themselves in the Middle Keys last month, leaving well over half of them dead, there was one immediate suspect: a U.S. Navy submarine conducting exercises off the Keys in the days before the marine mammals came to shore.
...Nearly two months later, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investigators are still conducting tests that may show whether submarine sonar was responsible. And a few biologists who necropsied some of the animals observed heart and lung problems in the dead dolphins that may not be indicative of harm from sonar.
...''I think many scientists are becoming increasingly concerned with this coincidence of stranding in time and space with the use of naval sonars,'' said Andrew J. Read, a Duke University professor considered a leading expert on the subject of sonar and dolphins. ``This is one of those human activities that is rising to the top of our concerns.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11533032.htm
Official says Bolton flouted travel rules
BARRY SCHWEID
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - John R. Bolton, the embattled nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, regularly tried to set up meetings abroad with Russian, British and French officials without notifying the U.S. Embassy or the State Department, the outgoing head of the department's European bureau said.
On each occasion, Bolton ultimately received permission to hold the meetings before they actually were conducted because State Department officials found out about his plans, A. Elizabeth Jones, assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11527521.htm
Rice seals deal naming new head of the OAS
After his sole rival bowed out, the way is cleared for Chile's socialist interior minister to become the new head of the OAS.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@herald.com
SANTIAGO - The Chilean candidate to head the Organization of American States all but won Friday after his U.S.-backed rival withdrew in a deal that saw the Chilean echo Washington calls for support of democracy throughout Latin America, including Cuba and Venezuela.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11528595.htm
Rice courts leaders in bid to boost OAS
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is seeking to give the OAS a higher profile and greater influence, and is building ties with South American leaders in a bid for support.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@herald.com
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is hoping to forge a new alliance with leftist Latin American governments that would strengthen the Organization of American States ability to support democracy in the region, U.S. officials say.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11534992.htm
Withdraw U.S. troops
BY MEDEA BENJAMIN
www.globalexchange.org
Two years have passed since President Bush stood atop an aircraft carrier (May 1, 2003) and announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Since that ''mission accomplished'' photo-op, more than 1,400 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqi civilians have died. And just recently, the Pentagon acknowledged that insurgent attacks have again increased to last year's levels of some 400 attacks per week.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11528636.htm
Slave descendants link freedom to S. Florida
The people of a tiny Bahamian village have a surprising tie to Florida and a little-known branch of the Underground Railroad that served as a gateway to freedom.
BY AMY DRISCOLL
adriscoll@herald.com
ANDROS ISLAND, Bahamas - The fugitives gathered in secret on Key Biscayne, lured by word of freedom beyond the horizon. Some had traveled for months, hiding in swamps and glades until they reached the meeting place: Cape Florida, gateway to freedom.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11533046.htm
Hope for a vanishing bird and ecosystem
Below are excerpts from http://birds.cornell.edu/ ivory -- a Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. The lab led a successful effort to confirm sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was announced Thursday.
''It's impossible to describe the emotional sense that one gets when one imagines that the ivory-billed woodpecker is actually still here,'' said John Fitzpatrick, director of Cornell Lab of Ornithology. ``We've all dreamed and fantasized about it. I have actually played the game of looking in the forests for months at a time, but I never had a sense that there was really that much hope, I've just had this fantasy.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11528629.htm
The threat of the far right
The executive branch is using Senate President Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to lead the charge of partisanship disagreements with the other side in reference to judicial appointments. At the same time, they themselves claim a line in the sand about their own right to do whatever they want without check and balance in the case of John Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador.
These Washington old hands who have made a living pretending to be outsiders in the Beltway are now telling us something we have known for a long time: They are doing their best to make this a country ruled by men and not by law. Hypocrisy rules the day.
Morality has never been more endangered than during these times, and the deepest danger it has ever encountered is now coming from extremists on the right.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11528631.htm
Filibuster a hedge against majority stampede
OUR OPINION: COMPROMISE IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THINGS DONE IN CONGRESS
For a brief moment last week it seemed that a compromise might be possible in the U.S. Senate to avert a nasty fight over the use of filibusters to block a vote on judicial candidates. It's been a custom in the Senate for nearly 200 years for the minority party to invoke filibusters and other anti-majority tactics, particularly when the other party controlled both the Senate and the presidency, which is the situation today. Although these practices commonly frustrate the majority, they have generally served the nation well as part of the system of checks and balances designed to protect the minority and promote compromise and consultation.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11524652.htm
COURT APPOINTMENTS BY THE NUMBERS
• SENATE ACTION: 208 of 218 of President Bush's trial and appellate court judicial nominees confirmed. Of the total, 48 were appeals-court nominees, of which 10 were blocked by Democrats.
• APPELLATE JUDGES: 94 of 162 active court of appeals judges, 58 percent, appointed by Republican presidents.
• CIRCUITS: 10 of 13 federal appeals courts have a majority of GOP appointees.
• SUPREME COURT: Seven of nine justices appointed by Republican presidents.
• TENURE: Average tenure of a federal court judge is approximately 24 years.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11524649.htm
The New Zealand Herald
The United Nations Inspectors didn't have a chance.
UK document leak shows early plan to topple Saddam
02.05.05
US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were determined to topple Saddam Hussein at least nine months before they launched the war in Iraq, British documents leaked in a UK Sunday newspaper say.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123308
Tabloids endorse Blair
Tony Blair on the campaign trail in Shipley, northern England. Picture / Reuters
01.05.05 1.00pm
LONDON - Britain's biggest selling weekly, the tabloid News of the World, has joined its sister paper the Sun in backing Labour to win Thursday's election.
Like the Sun, the down-market but influential News of the World gave a lukewarm endorsement to the Government, saying it was backing Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour party "not without some apprehension".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123206
Blair's 10-day rush to war with Iraq haunts him still
Tony Blair
01.05.05
The document bore a single-word heading above the lion and unicorn crest of the British crown: "Secret".
War on Iraq was imminent. The United States and Britain had set a deadline 10 days away - March 17, 2003 - by which time the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had to comply on six key demands. If he did not, then the US would let slip the dogs of war, with Britain at its side.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123160
Suicide bomber kills 25 in northern Iraq
02.05.05 7.50am
DUBAI - A suicide bomber attacked the headquarters of a Kurdish party in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing around 25 people, satellite television Al Arabiya reported.
The Arabic-language news channel, citing its correspondent, said the attack took place in the town of Tal Afar near Mosul, about 390km north of Baghdad.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123341
Raids seize men linked to British woman’s death in Iraq
02.05.05
US and Iraqi forces raided a suspected insurgent hideout near Baghdad on Sunday and arrested several people believed linked to the killing of British aid worker Margaret Hassan, police and British officials said.
Iraqi police said the raids happened near the town of Madaen, about 40 km southeast of Baghdad and scene of frequent insurgent violence in recent weeks.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123311
Locusts plague Bangladesh highway, blinding drivers
02.05.05 7.20am
Swarms of locusts blinded drivers, halting traffic along a 40km stretch of a highway linking Dhaka to the southern port of Chittagong, police said on Sunday.
Masses of insects started hitting windscreens around midnight on Saturday, forcing dozens of trucks and buses to stop on the highway for up to four hours, a Chittagong police officer said.
"They came flying by millions, all on a sudden, apparently from nowhere, causing panic among passengers," the officer said.
The motorists resumed their journey around dawn when the swarm cleared.
- REUTERS
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123304
Japan's princess Masako makes rare public appearance
Crown Princess Masako and husband Naruhito at the Unicef ceremony in Tokyo yesterday. Picture / Reuters
02.05.05
TOKYO - Japan’s Crown Princess Masako appeared in public yesterday for the first time in months to attend a United Nations Children Fund’s event in Tokyo with her husband.
Masako, who spent more than a year in seclusion with a stress-related illness, was last seen on January 2 briefly greeting New Year well-wishers from a palace balcony.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123285
The children who have never been to school
01.05.05
by David Fisher
A group of 19 children cut off from civilisation have not been to school for more than a decade - and education authorities seem powerless to do anything about the situation.
Education Minister David Benson Pope yesterday described the case as "extraordinary" and "remarkable", saying he knew of no other like it.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10123179
Radiation levels in Auckland suburb shock expert
01.05.05
by Kirsty Wynn
An independent medical expert has found radiation readings taken near power lines in an Auckland suburb at the centre of a cancer cluster scare are 10 times higher than the levels accepted elsewhere in the world.
Dr Robin Smart has studied the relationship between high voltage lines and health and found evidence of exceedingly high radiation levels in the West Auckland suburb of Massey.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10123176
HIV claim heads to High Court
01.05.05
by Leah Haines
A woman is appealing to the High Court to get ACC compensation for mental injuries she suffered when she found out her lover had HIV.
Her ex-partner was sentenced to nine months in jail for criminal nuisance in 1999 after he kept from her, for nine months, the fact he was HIV positive.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10123173
Death toll rises as Iraq insurgents strike at will
01.05.05 11.30am
By Patrick Cockburn
A wave of violence has engulfed Iraq with bombs killing at least 60 Iraqis and six US soldiers in a wave of attacks following the formation of a new government after three months of wrangling.
The streets of Baghdad were largely empty yesterday morning after 17 bombs had exploded across Iraq the previous day. The attacks show there is apparently no end to the number of suicide bombers willing to die in Iraq.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123205
UN gives go-ahead for Cambodian Khmer Rouge trials
30.04.05 1.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations announced today that legal requirements had been met for trials of surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, nearly three decades after Cambodia’s genocide began.
An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians - around a third of the country’s population - died of starvation, forced labour, disease or execution during the Khmer Rouge "killing fields," from 1975 to 1979.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123122
US, Italy at odds over killing of Italian in Iraq
30.04.05 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - The United States and Italy have disagreed on the conclusions of a joint investigation into the killing of an Italian agent by US troops in Iraq, further straining ties between the two allies.
US soldiers killed Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari on March 4 when they opened fire on a car heading for Baghdad airport in which he was escorting Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who had just been released by kidnappers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123121
Pair guilty of throwing black worker to lions
30.04.05
Investigators found little more than a skull, a few bones and a finger last year in the enclosure for rare white lions in the northern Limpopo province, where the murder took place.
The case had sparked outrage in South Africa, where some white farmers are still accused of abusing black farm workers more than a decade after the end of apartheid.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123047
Taiwan media praise, blast Lien-Hu meeting
Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing yesterday. Picture / Reuters
30.04.05 3.20pm
TAIPEI - Taiwan newspapers were polarised today over opposition leader Lien Chan’s meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, with some praising Lien for improving ties and others accusing him of selling out Taiwan.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=1012313
Yacht rescue has stormy sequel
30.04.05
A legal storm could be brewing in the southern seas after a rescue mission off Stewart Island turned sour this week.
American yachtie Bill Kimball, 71, lost all power on his 18m boat Shady Lady during a storm on Sunday near Muttonbird Island.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123104
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Some cloud
-22.0
Updated Monday 02 May 8:59AM
Scott Base
Snow
-24.0°
Updated Sunday 01 May 2:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
May 1, 2005
59 °F / 15 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
29%
Dew Point:
27 °F / -3 °C
Wind:
6 mph / 9 km/h from the ESE
Pressure:
30.25 in / 1024 hPa (Steady)
Visibility:
-
UV:
1 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Mostly Cloudy 7000 ft / 2133 m
Overcast 9500 ft / 2895 m
April 30, 2005
57 °F / 14 °C
Partly Cloudy
Humidity:
21%
Dew Point:
18 °F / -8 °C
Wind:
6 mph / 9 km/h from the NNE
Pressure:
30.17 in / 1022 hPa
Visibility:
-
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Few 9500 ft / 2895 m
end
10 states suing over mercury regulations
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Posted: 1:34 PM EDT (1734 GMT)
Mercury information:
Forms of mercury: Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
Sources of mercury: Mercury is an element in the earth's crust. Humans cannot create or destroy mercury. Pure mercury is a liquid metal, sometimes referred to as quicksilver. It has traditionally been used to make products like thermometers, switches, and some light bulbs.
Exposure to mercury: Mercury in the air eventually settles into water or onto land where it can be washed into water. Once deposited, certain microorganisms can change it into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish. Fish and shellfish are the main sources of methylmercury exposure to humans.
Health effects of mercury: Exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages. Research shows that most people's fish consumption does not cause a health concern. However, it has been demonstrated that high levels of methylmercury in the bloodstream of unborn babies and young children may harm the developing nervous system, making the child less able to think and learn.
Source: EPA
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Wisconsin has joined a list of states suing the federal government's environmental policies, challenging new regulations they say fail to protect children and expectant mothers from dangers posed by mercury emissions.
In announcing his approval of the lawsuit, Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday the Bush administration has cowed to big business with new guidelines for power plant emissions that could allow 19 states to increase mercury emissions in the next five years by setting caps that are higher than current levels.
The New Jersey attorney general's office is taking the lead on the lawsuit. The eight other states involved are California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
The Sierra Club applauded Wisconsin for being the first Midwest state to sue. "We hope Governor Doyle takes this opportunity to help call on other Great Lakes and Midwest states to join Wisconsin," said Eric Uram, the club's regional representative.
Mercury settles in waterways and accumulates in fish. In people who eat those fish, the toxic metal can cause neurological and developmental problems, particularly in fetuses and children.
The suit criticizes the EPA for exempting power plants from having to install the strictest emissions control technology available. That technology would cut mercury pollution by 90 percent, according to the New Jersey attorney general's office.
The EPA issued a brief statement saying it "is confident in the legal foundation of the rule-making and plans to vigorously defend the rule." When the bulk of the states sued last month EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said the government has already taken steps to control mercury emissions from other sources and that the rules represent a new set of controls on "our last significant source of mercury."
Wisconsin has some of the toughest mercury laws in the country, requiring all power plants to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2010 and by 75 percent by 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency rules aim to cut mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants by nearly half within 15 years.
"We're showing that we can have high environmental standards while using progressive, economically viable technology," Doyle, a Democrat, said at a news conference along the shore of Lake Michigan.
He was flanked by several environmentalists holding signs, including one that said "No more mercury in my lake."
In Wisconsin, 90 percent of the lakes and streams have high levels of the toxin and every lake and stream in the state is under a fish consumption advisory. Still, people eat more fish than the national average.
The governor said mercury pollution seriously threatens Wisconsin's sport fishing industry, which employs 30,000 people, as well as women of childbearing age, pregnant women and young children. (A CNN Report.)
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Applause. Mike, Junior. Where is the truth?
High School Student's Sting Operation Busts Two Army Recruiters;
David McSwane "wanted to see how far the Army would go during a war to get one more solider"
How Far Will The Army Go?
How far will U.S. Army recruiters go to bring young men and women into their ranks? An Arvada West High School senior recently decided to find out. The following is CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger's report.
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) -- Last month the U.S. Army failed to meet its goal of 6,800 new troops.
Aware of this trend, David McSwane, a local high school student, decided he wanted to find out to what extent some recruiters would go to sign up soldiers who were not up to grade.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2440
Click Here for Video
Full Interview With Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur
(8 Minute Video)
(click here to download quicktime)
Saudi in Oil-Food Scandal
By Niles Lathem / New York Post
April 29, 2005 -- WASHINGTON — A Saudi prince has been linked to shady financial dealings in the United Nations' oil-for-food program, according to new evidence disclosed yesterday by a congressional committee.
Documents, including a Pentagon audit, found $8 million in overpricing in the sale of agricultural products to Saddam Hussein by a company tied to Prince Bandar bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahm al-Saud.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2445
Cuomo Warns Against Filibuster Changes
NEW YORK (AP) - If Republicans rewrite Senate rules to more easily end filibusters, the country will experience "exactly the kind of 'tyranny of the majority' that James Madison had in mind," former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said Saturday.
Cuomo, in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, said Senate Republicans "are threatening to claim ownership of the Supreme Court and other federal courts, hoping to achieve political results on subjects like abortion, stem cells, the environment and civil rights that they cannot get from the proper political bodies."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2447
Bolton's Nomination Is Questioned by Another Powell Aide
By Douglas Jehl / New York Times
WASHINGTON, April 29 - A fourth senior member of Colin L. Powell's team at the State Department expressed strong reservations on Friday about the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2448
A Democrat on Bush's Social Security Team
By Eduardo Porter / New York Times
The intellectual force behind President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security, the man the president calls his favorite "Democrat economist," is not an economist. He is Robert C. Pozen, a lawyer and mutual fund executive who serves as chairman of MFS Investment Management in Boston.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2449
It sounds right. It is just another way of selling the right to go into debt by another $2 trillion. After all Wolfowitz waits in the wings with the moolah.
Social Security and 'Progressive Indexing'
All Things Considered, April 29, 2005 · Robert Siegel talks about President Bush's proposed changes to Social Security with Robert Pozen, chairman of MFS Investment Management. Pozen has pitched the idea of progressive indexing to the White House. The proposal calls for cutting benefits for upper-income earners.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4625302
Lawyer Who Told of U.S. Abuses at Afghan Bases Loses U.N. Post
By Warren Hoge / New York Times
UNITED NATIONS, April 29 - A United Nations human rights monitor who accused American military forces and civilian contractors last week of abusing and torturing prisoners in Afghanistan has been told his job is over.
M. Cherif Bassiouni, a professor of law at DePaul University in Chicago who was the human rights commission's independent expert for Afghanistan, said Friday that he had received an e-mail message from a commission official in Geneva a week ago telling him his mandate had expired.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2450
The Price Egypt pays for friendship to Israel.
Two Israelis hurt as wave of terror strikes Cairo
By Yoav Stern and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Nine people, including two Israelis, were injured Saturday in Cairo during a double terror attack carried out by a suicide bomber, his fiancee, and his sister.
Ihab Yousri Yassin, who was linked by security forces to the last terror attack in Cairo three weeks ago, blew himself up near the Egyptian Museum in the city center, wounding seven people. In another section of Cairo, the two women shot at a tour bus, within two hours of the first attack.
The second strike on tourists in less than a month appears to signal the revival of violence aimed at Egypt's most vital industry.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570569.html
Analysis : Cairo fears an organized hand
By Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz Correspondent
Cairo's streets are crowded with policemen, soldiers and intelligence agents just now. They are charged with blocking the spread of opposition demonstrations and forming chains to confine protests to restricted areas.
But on Saturday, terrorists managed to carry out two attacks in broad daylight in the very heart of Cairo, near the museum and hotels, where security forces abound and guests are examined.
Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim el-Adli, who is also in charge of public security, promised that the attack three weeks ago in the Khan al-Khalili bazaar, Cairo's major tourist attraction, was an isolated incident, carried out by a lone terrorist or an isolated cell. There are no terrorist networks in Egypt, he said soothingly.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570635.html
Patriarch allegedly sold J'lem land to win state's approval
By Danny Rubinstein
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem sold properties inside the Jaffa Gate to a Jewish company to prove to Israel that he does not sympathize with Palestinians and the PLO, Nikos Papadimas, the former financial manager of the patriarchate, told Haaretz on Saturday. Papadimas, who signed the deal in the name of the Patriarch Irineos I, has fled Israel to an unknown destination. Irineos has accused him of embezzling patriarchy funds.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570636.html
The Miami Herald
Beachings put focus on sonar
A Keys dolphin stranding has yet to be linked to a submarine's sonar use, but has raised fresh questions about the potential impact of the technology on marine mammals.
BY JENNIFER BABSON
jbabson@herald.com
KEY WEST - When more than 70 dolphins beached themselves in the Middle Keys last month, leaving well over half of them dead, there was one immediate suspect: a U.S. Navy submarine conducting exercises off the Keys in the days before the marine mammals came to shore.
...Nearly two months later, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investigators are still conducting tests that may show whether submarine sonar was responsible. And a few biologists who necropsied some of the animals observed heart and lung problems in the dead dolphins that may not be indicative of harm from sonar.
...''I think many scientists are becoming increasingly concerned with this coincidence of stranding in time and space with the use of naval sonars,'' said Andrew J. Read, a Duke University professor considered a leading expert on the subject of sonar and dolphins. ``This is one of those human activities that is rising to the top of our concerns.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11533032.htm
Official says Bolton flouted travel rules
BARRY SCHWEID
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - John R. Bolton, the embattled nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, regularly tried to set up meetings abroad with Russian, British and French officials without notifying the U.S. Embassy or the State Department, the outgoing head of the department's European bureau said.
On each occasion, Bolton ultimately received permission to hold the meetings before they actually were conducted because State Department officials found out about his plans, A. Elizabeth Jones, assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11527521.htm
Rice seals deal naming new head of the OAS
After his sole rival bowed out, the way is cleared for Chile's socialist interior minister to become the new head of the OAS.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@herald.com
SANTIAGO - The Chilean candidate to head the Organization of American States all but won Friday after his U.S.-backed rival withdrew in a deal that saw the Chilean echo Washington calls for support of democracy throughout Latin America, including Cuba and Venezuela.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11528595.htm
Rice courts leaders in bid to boost OAS
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is seeking to give the OAS a higher profile and greater influence, and is building ties with South American leaders in a bid for support.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@herald.com
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is hoping to forge a new alliance with leftist Latin American governments that would strengthen the Organization of American States ability to support democracy in the region, U.S. officials say.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11534992.htm
Withdraw U.S. troops
BY MEDEA BENJAMIN
www.globalexchange.org
Two years have passed since President Bush stood atop an aircraft carrier (May 1, 2003) and announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Since that ''mission accomplished'' photo-op, more than 1,400 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqi civilians have died. And just recently, the Pentagon acknowledged that insurgent attacks have again increased to last year's levels of some 400 attacks per week.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11528636.htm
Slave descendants link freedom to S. Florida
The people of a tiny Bahamian village have a surprising tie to Florida and a little-known branch of the Underground Railroad that served as a gateway to freedom.
BY AMY DRISCOLL
adriscoll@herald.com
ANDROS ISLAND, Bahamas - The fugitives gathered in secret on Key Biscayne, lured by word of freedom beyond the horizon. Some had traveled for months, hiding in swamps and glades until they reached the meeting place: Cape Florida, gateway to freedom.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11533046.htm
Hope for a vanishing bird and ecosystem
Below are excerpts from http://birds.cornell.edu/ ivory -- a Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. The lab led a successful effort to confirm sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was announced Thursday.
''It's impossible to describe the emotional sense that one gets when one imagines that the ivory-billed woodpecker is actually still here,'' said John Fitzpatrick, director of Cornell Lab of Ornithology. ``We've all dreamed and fantasized about it. I have actually played the game of looking in the forests for months at a time, but I never had a sense that there was really that much hope, I've just had this fantasy.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11528629.htm
The threat of the far right
The executive branch is using Senate President Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to lead the charge of partisanship disagreements with the other side in reference to judicial appointments. At the same time, they themselves claim a line in the sand about their own right to do whatever they want without check and balance in the case of John Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador.
These Washington old hands who have made a living pretending to be outsiders in the Beltway are now telling us something we have known for a long time: They are doing their best to make this a country ruled by men and not by law. Hypocrisy rules the day.
Morality has never been more endangered than during these times, and the deepest danger it has ever encountered is now coming from extremists on the right.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11528631.htm
Filibuster a hedge against majority stampede
OUR OPINION: COMPROMISE IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THINGS DONE IN CONGRESS
For a brief moment last week it seemed that a compromise might be possible in the U.S. Senate to avert a nasty fight over the use of filibusters to block a vote on judicial candidates. It's been a custom in the Senate for nearly 200 years for the minority party to invoke filibusters and other anti-majority tactics, particularly when the other party controlled both the Senate and the presidency, which is the situation today. Although these practices commonly frustrate the majority, they have generally served the nation well as part of the system of checks and balances designed to protect the minority and promote compromise and consultation.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11524652.htm
COURT APPOINTMENTS BY THE NUMBERS
• SENATE ACTION: 208 of 218 of President Bush's trial and appellate court judicial nominees confirmed. Of the total, 48 were appeals-court nominees, of which 10 were blocked by Democrats.
• APPELLATE JUDGES: 94 of 162 active court of appeals judges, 58 percent, appointed by Republican presidents.
• CIRCUITS: 10 of 13 federal appeals courts have a majority of GOP appointees.
• SUPREME COURT: Seven of nine justices appointed by Republican presidents.
• TENURE: Average tenure of a federal court judge is approximately 24 years.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11524649.htm
The New Zealand Herald
The United Nations Inspectors didn't have a chance.
UK document leak shows early plan to topple Saddam
02.05.05
US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were determined to topple Saddam Hussein at least nine months before they launched the war in Iraq, British documents leaked in a UK Sunday newspaper say.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123308
Tabloids endorse Blair
Tony Blair on the campaign trail in Shipley, northern England. Picture / Reuters
01.05.05 1.00pm
LONDON - Britain's biggest selling weekly, the tabloid News of the World, has joined its sister paper the Sun in backing Labour to win Thursday's election.
Like the Sun, the down-market but influential News of the World gave a lukewarm endorsement to the Government, saying it was backing Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour party "not without some apprehension".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123206
Blair's 10-day rush to war with Iraq haunts him still
Tony Blair
01.05.05
The document bore a single-word heading above the lion and unicorn crest of the British crown: "Secret".
War on Iraq was imminent. The United States and Britain had set a deadline 10 days away - March 17, 2003 - by which time the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had to comply on six key demands. If he did not, then the US would let slip the dogs of war, with Britain at its side.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123160
Suicide bomber kills 25 in northern Iraq
02.05.05 7.50am
DUBAI - A suicide bomber attacked the headquarters of a Kurdish party in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing around 25 people, satellite television Al Arabiya reported.
The Arabic-language news channel, citing its correspondent, said the attack took place in the town of Tal Afar near Mosul, about 390km north of Baghdad.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123341
Raids seize men linked to British woman’s death in Iraq
02.05.05
US and Iraqi forces raided a suspected insurgent hideout near Baghdad on Sunday and arrested several people believed linked to the killing of British aid worker Margaret Hassan, police and British officials said.
Iraqi police said the raids happened near the town of Madaen, about 40 km southeast of Baghdad and scene of frequent insurgent violence in recent weeks.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123311
Locusts plague Bangladesh highway, blinding drivers
02.05.05 7.20am
Swarms of locusts blinded drivers, halting traffic along a 40km stretch of a highway linking Dhaka to the southern port of Chittagong, police said on Sunday.
Masses of insects started hitting windscreens around midnight on Saturday, forcing dozens of trucks and buses to stop on the highway for up to four hours, a Chittagong police officer said.
"They came flying by millions, all on a sudden, apparently from nowhere, causing panic among passengers," the officer said.
The motorists resumed their journey around dawn when the swarm cleared.
- REUTERS
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123304
Japan's princess Masako makes rare public appearance
Crown Princess Masako and husband Naruhito at the Unicef ceremony in Tokyo yesterday. Picture / Reuters
02.05.05
TOKYO - Japan’s Crown Princess Masako appeared in public yesterday for the first time in months to attend a United Nations Children Fund’s event in Tokyo with her husband.
Masako, who spent more than a year in seclusion with a stress-related illness, was last seen on January 2 briefly greeting New Year well-wishers from a palace balcony.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123285
The children who have never been to school
01.05.05
by David Fisher
A group of 19 children cut off from civilisation have not been to school for more than a decade - and education authorities seem powerless to do anything about the situation.
Education Minister David Benson Pope yesterday described the case as "extraordinary" and "remarkable", saying he knew of no other like it.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10123179
Radiation levels in Auckland suburb shock expert
01.05.05
by Kirsty Wynn
An independent medical expert has found radiation readings taken near power lines in an Auckland suburb at the centre of a cancer cluster scare are 10 times higher than the levels accepted elsewhere in the world.
Dr Robin Smart has studied the relationship between high voltage lines and health and found evidence of exceedingly high radiation levels in the West Auckland suburb of Massey.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10123176
HIV claim heads to High Court
01.05.05
by Leah Haines
A woman is appealing to the High Court to get ACC compensation for mental injuries she suffered when she found out her lover had HIV.
Her ex-partner was sentenced to nine months in jail for criminal nuisance in 1999 after he kept from her, for nine months, the fact he was HIV positive.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10123173
Death toll rises as Iraq insurgents strike at will
01.05.05 11.30am
By Patrick Cockburn
A wave of violence has engulfed Iraq with bombs killing at least 60 Iraqis and six US soldiers in a wave of attacks following the formation of a new government after three months of wrangling.
The streets of Baghdad were largely empty yesterday morning after 17 bombs had exploded across Iraq the previous day. The attacks show there is apparently no end to the number of suicide bombers willing to die in Iraq.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123205
UN gives go-ahead for Cambodian Khmer Rouge trials
30.04.05 1.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations announced today that legal requirements had been met for trials of surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, nearly three decades after Cambodia’s genocide began.
An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians - around a third of the country’s population - died of starvation, forced labour, disease or execution during the Khmer Rouge "killing fields," from 1975 to 1979.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123122
US, Italy at odds over killing of Italian in Iraq
30.04.05 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - The United States and Italy have disagreed on the conclusions of a joint investigation into the killing of an Italian agent by US troops in Iraq, further straining ties between the two allies.
US soldiers killed Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari on March 4 when they opened fire on a car heading for Baghdad airport in which he was escorting Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who had just been released by kidnappers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123121
Pair guilty of throwing black worker to lions
30.04.05
Investigators found little more than a skull, a few bones and a finger last year in the enclosure for rare white lions in the northern Limpopo province, where the murder took place.
The case had sparked outrage in South Africa, where some white farmers are still accused of abusing black farm workers more than a decade after the end of apartheid.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123047
Taiwan media praise, blast Lien-Hu meeting
Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing yesterday. Picture / Reuters
30.04.05 3.20pm
TAIPEI - Taiwan newspapers were polarised today over opposition leader Lien Chan’s meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, with some praising Lien for improving ties and others accusing him of selling out Taiwan.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=1012313
Yacht rescue has stormy sequel
30.04.05
A legal storm could be brewing in the southern seas after a rescue mission off Stewart Island turned sour this week.
American yachtie Bill Kimball, 71, lost all power on his 18m boat Shady Lady during a storm on Sunday near Muttonbird Island.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123104
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Some cloud
-22.0
Updated Monday 02 May 8:59AM
Scott Base
Snow
-24.0°
Updated Sunday 01 May 2:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
May 1, 2005
59 °F / 15 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
29%
Dew Point:
27 °F / -3 °C
Wind:
6 mph / 9 km/h from the ESE
Pressure:
30.25 in / 1024 hPa (Steady)
Visibility:
-
UV:
1 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Mostly Cloudy 7000 ft / 2133 m
Overcast 9500 ft / 2895 m
April 30, 2005
57 °F / 14 °C
Partly Cloudy
Humidity:
21%
Dew Point:
18 °F / -8 °C
Wind:
6 mph / 9 km/h from the NNE
Pressure:
30.17 in / 1022 hPa
Visibility:
-
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Few 9500 ft / 2895 m
end
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