Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History …
654 St Eugene I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1519 Magellan's 5 ship set sail to circumnavigate the Earth
1743 Earliest recorded prize fighting rules formulated
1790 Robert Gray's Columbia, completes 1st American around world voyage
1809 Ecuador declares independence from Spain (National Day)
1827 Race riots in Cincinnati (1,000 blacks leave for Canada)
1831 Former slave Nat Turner led violent insurrection against slavery
1833 Chicago incorporates as a village of about 200
1835 Mob of whites & oxen pulled black school to a swamp out of Canaan NH
1846 Congress charters the "nation's attic," the Smithsonian Institution
1885 Leo Daft opens America's 1st coml operated electric streetcar (Balt)
1901 Chic White Sox Frank Isbell strands record 11 teammate base runners
1911 Parliament Act reduces power of House of Lords
1913 2nd Balkan War ends, Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria loses
1919 Ukranian National Army massacres 25 Jews in Podolia Ukrane
1944 Boston Brave Red Barrett throws only 58 pitches to beat Reds 2-0
1944 Race riots in Athens Alabama
1948 ABC enters network TV at 7 PM (WJZ, NY)
1948 Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" TV debut on ABC
1954 Sir Gordon Richards retires as a jockey with record 4,870 wins
1960 Discoverer 13 launched into orbit; returned 1st object from space
1961 England applies for membership in the European Common Market
1966 1st lunar orbiter launched by US
1966 Daylight meteor seen from Utah to Canada. Only known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere & leaving it again
1973 1st BART train travels thru transbay tube to Montgomery St Station
1975 David Frost purchases exclusive rights to interview Nixon
1980 Jack Nicklaus wins PGA Championship for 5th time
1981 Coca-Cola Bottling Co agrees to pump $34 million into black business
1984 Mary Decker trips on heel of Zola Budd during 3,000m Olympic run
1985 Uno Lindstron of Sweden, juggles a soccer ball 13.11 miles
1986 Billy Martin day, Yanks retire #1
1987 Flight Readiness Firing of Discovery's main engines is successful
1988 UN estimates Asia's population hit 3 billion
1990 US's Magellan spacecraft lands on Venus
Missing in Action
1965 MAILHES LAWRENCE SCOTT HOT SPRINGS AR
1969 MICKELSEN WILLIAM E. JR. MINNEAPOLIS MN
1970 CROWLEY JOHN E. WILLIAMSON NY REMAINS ID'D 04/22/00
1971 BATES PAUL J. JR. MESA AZ
1971 DOLAN THOMAS A. BALTIMORE MD
1972 SANSONE JAMES J. NORWOOD MA
Michael Moore Today
Cindy's Place in Crawford
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&address=&city=crawford&state=tx&zipcode=
Crawford Peace House
Friends of Peace and Justice
We are in the process of mobilizing support
For Cindy Sheehan action in Crawford Texas
Monetary donations are needed and can be sent to:
Crawford Peace House
P.O. Box 710218
Dallas, Tx. 75371-0218
Call John for bank wire info or use PayPal below
http://www.crawfordpeacehouse.org/
Grieving Mother's War Protest Draws Notice
By Angela K. Brown / Associated Press
CRAWFORD, Texas - The mother of a fallen U.S. soldier who started a quiet roadside peace vigil near President Bush's ranch last weekend is drawing supporters from across the nation.
Dozens of people have joined her and others have sent flowers and food. One activist called her "the Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement."
Cindy Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., says she was surprised at the response.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3633
"She's tired, fed up and she's not going to take it anymore, and so now we stand with her."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Houston moms heading to Crawford to protest war
KHOU 11
More protesters from the Houston-area are headed to President Bush's Crawford ranch.
They loaded their cars and left from the Heights area Wednesday afternoon.
They're upset by the mounting casualties in Iraq and are opposed to the Bush administration's handling of the war.
More importantly, they say they want to support a woman who lost her son in Iraq.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3632
Why No Tea and Sympathy?
By Maureen Dowd / New York Times
W. can't get no satisfaction on Iraq.
There's an angry mother of a dead soldier camping outside his Crawford ranch, demanding to see a president who prefers his sympathy to be carefully choreographed.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3624
"WE ARE INSULTED when people like Bush say that America has to 'stay the course' in Iraq to 'honor our children's sacrifices.'
Not one more drop of blood should be shed for the lies and deceptions."
- Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan, KIA 04/04/04
You owe her an explanation, Mr. President.
Our mission is to persuade President Bush to meet with Cindy Sheehan and answer her questions about why the war that took her son's life was started and why it is being continued.
http://www.meetwithcindy.org/
Ways to support Cindy and Gold Star Families for Peace:
*Donate to the Crawford Peace House, Military Families Speak Out or GSFP
*Join us in Crawford Texas
*Contact you representatives in Congress and demand they support the Resolution of Inquiry into the Downing Street Memo
*Work for Peace everydaybe patient.
If you have recently e-mailed us thank you for your support. We will try and answer all e-mails as soon as possible.
http://www.angelfire.com/de3/4osad/osad.html
Join Cindy Sheehan's Protest in Crawford
Cindy Sheehan went to Crawford to ask President Bush, "Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?" Her son, Casey, 24, was killed in Iraq, on April 4, 2004. President Bush continues to refuse Cindy’s requests for a meeting, so she has made a stand outside his Crawford Ranch. At her side is CODEPINK''s Diane Wilson who began a hunger strike at their roadside vigil until Bush talks to Cindy. Show your solidarity with Cindy by joining us in Crawford, fasting with Diane, or BIRDDOG Bush at his events throughout the country. Click here to check out daily blogs from Crawford and see who is fasting with Diane today.
http://www.codepink4peace.org/
An Open Letter from Ralph Nader to Cindy Sheehan
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2005-08-10 19:55. Cindy Sheehan
CONTACT: Ralph Nader 202-387-8034
WASHINGTON - August 10 -
Dear Ms. Sheehan,
From your grief over the loss of your son, Casey, in Iraq has come the courage to spotlight nationally the cowardly character trait of a President who refuses to meet with anyone or any group critical of his illegal, fabricated, deceptive war and occupation of that ravaged country. As a messianic militarist, Mr. Bush turned aside his own father's major advisers who warned him of the terroristic, political, and diplomatic perils to the United States from an invasion of Iraq. He refused to listen.
Thirteen organizations in early 2003 separately wrote their President
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
VETERANS FOR PEACE
Veterans Working Together for Peace & Justice Through Non-violence. Wage Peace!
The VFP National Convention 2005 in Dallas, TX
was a great success.
Thank you to all attendees, speakers, guests, and volunteers.
Click here for E.D.'s statement on the VFP Convention and Cindy Sheehan in Crawford
PHOTOS and Movies:
Coming soon: Convention 2005 Photos
Cindy Sheehan in Crawford
VFP Impeachment Tour
Workshops and SPEAKERS
Click here for Cindy Sheehan's speech
Click here for Convention Schedule
Download Program Booklet PDF
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/
MILITARY FAMILIES TO JOIN CINDY SHEEHAN IN CRAWFORD
Gold Star and Military Families from Across Country on their way to Texas
CRAWFORD, TX – More members of Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) are traveling to Texas to join the protest outside of President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he is vacationing for the month of August.
Starting today, Gold Star families from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas and other states whose loved ones have died as a result of the war in Iraq will be joining one of their members, Cindy Sheehan, at the protest. Ms. Sheehan, whose son Army Specialist Casey Sheehan was killed in Sadr City, Iraq on April 4, 2004, has been in Crawford since August 5th, demanding a meeting with the President. These families will be joined by military families with loved ones currently serving in Iraq or about to deploy or redeploy to Iraq. All of these families are coming to Crawford, Texas to share their stories about the personal costs of the war in Iraq and add their voices to the call for a meeting with President Bush.
http://www.mfso.org/main_f.html
President Bush
Ditches Mother
Of Slain Soldier
Iconoclast To Be Posting
Cindy Sheehan Updates
CONTACT NUMBERS GIVEN
http://198.65.14.85/
The Peaceful Occupation of Camp Crawford (Day 4)
-- a message from Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, TX
Today started at 4am when I had to get up and get ready to be on Good Morning America. It was pouring down rain at Camp Casey. The wind was blowing and there was thunder and lightening. It was pretty exciting. The interview went very well. I haven’t seen it or read a transcript. Since it was taped, I am just wondering if they showed it when I said Bush doesn't want to see me because he likes to surround himself with "sycophants." I also interviewed with Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Greta Van Susteren, and many others, and closed out the day with my pal, Mike Malloy.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php
Fahrenheit 911 on Showtime
SYNOPSIS:
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore ("Roger & Me," "Bowling for Columbine") crafted this incendiary piece of skillful agitprop, an exploration of the tragic chain of events before and after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center of September 11, 2001. Pointing his finger at a global conspiracy of war, greed, and media manipulation, Moore leaves no political figure unscathed in his most passionate, outraged condemnation of a president and policies he considers illegitimate and incompetent.
UPCOMING AIRDATES:
Click on the airtime below if you would like an email reminder to watch. All times ET/PT.
Showtime
Sunday
11:00 PM
Showtime
Aug 22
11:00 PM
Showtime
Aug 30
11:00 PM
http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?seriesid=0&episodeid=123757
The Jerusalem Post
Security officials: Gaza evacuation will not pass quietly
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Security officials said they believe that the evacuation of Gaza Strip settlements will not pass quietly, and security forces will be confronted with pockets of hard resistance in some of the settlements where agitators will attempt to stir up violence and physically resist attempts to be evacuated.
According to officials, while no concrete warnings of specific plans to violently resist the evacuation have been received by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), they estimate that it will not be violence-free.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1123640629286
Gush Katif atmosphere punctured by youths' attacks on press vehicles
By MATTHEW GUTMAN
Neveh Dekalim
Segev's Puncheria, this settlement's flat tire repair shop, is enjoying a sudden spike in business. Countless vehicles belonging to some of the dozens of news organizations with correspondents based in Gush Katif have crawled into the Segev's warehouse, tires flapping on the asphalt.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1123640629283
Trauma of Holocaust triples survivors' suicide risk
By JUDY SIEGEL
Psychological help must be offered to aging-but-still-traumatized Holocaust survivors, who, according to Israeli psychiatrists, are 3.5 times more likely to attempt suicide than elderly who did not suffer through the Nazi era.
This is the recommendation of researchers at Abarbanel Mental Health Center (affiliated with Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine) in Bat Yam, Geha Mental Health Center in Petah Tikva, and the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, published in Monday's issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1123467496356
The Middle East Times
Censored articles from
the Middle East Times
Mysteriously, the Egyptian censor found our correspondent's report over fashionable interest in heavily-marketed Jewish mysticism unacceptable. Read all about it here: Madonna draws recruits to the Kabbalah
And here are some stories which relate to freedom of expression but which were not actually censored.
Here is our archive of censored stories.
Egyptian law gives Egypt’s ministry of information the right to ban or censor any publication. The censor reviews each edition of the Middle East Times before allowing them to be distributed.
Articles may be censored if they:
Report on human rights abuses
Criticize the president or his family
Criticize the military
Refer to any ill-treatment of Egyptians in "friendly" Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.
Discuss modern, unorthodox interpretations of Islam.
Report on discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt.
However, the censor is very arbitrary -- sometimes these things go through, sometimes they don't.
What did they censor?
Here is a selection of stories which the Egyptian authorities have censored over the past few months:
THE MOST RECENTLY CENSORED ARTICLE APPEARS FIRST
Journalists group protest expulsion of MET publisher
Freedom of speech under attack
Book ban exposes Azhar censorship
Torture victim's wife calls for justice
Egypt marks 15 years of Mubarak
In search of what went wrong
Orientalism, anyone?
Detainee families lose hope
An Embarrassment in Exile
Sleeping Rough on the Streets of Cairo
Fundamentalists demand Mafia-style protection money from Copts
Brothers backtrack on gizia
Copts crusade to bring back converted girls
Militants celebrate 'eid with church attack
Copt contests hotel dismissal
Police uncover call-girl ring
Gihad celebrates 6 October
Deported Egyptians 'faced abuse'
Thanks a lot, Mr. President - but that's illegal
Torture frequent and widespread in Egypt
Protestors condemn prison torture
Madonna draws recruits to the Kabbalah
Economic woes embolden opposition
Egyptian journalists hospitalized
Boycott US, then boycott Mubarak
Cash gist
Censored this week...
Egypt marks 15 years of Mubarak
Torture victim's wife calls for justice
Orientalism, anyone?
Sleeping rough
In search of what went wrong
An Embarassment in Exile
Detainee families lose hope
Fundamentalists demand Protection money from Copts
Torture victim's wife calls for justice
Egypt marks 15 years of Mubarak
Detainee families lose hope
Orientalism, anyone?
In search of what went wrong
Sleeping rough
An Embarassment in Exile
Torture victim's wife calls for justice
Egypt marks 15 years of Mubarak
Orientalism, anyone?
Detainee families lose hope
In search of what went wrong
An Embarassment in Exile
Sleeping rough
Orientalism, anyone?
Egypt marks 15 years of Mubarak
In search of what went wrong
Torture victim's wife calls for justice
An Embarassment in Exile
Sleeping rough
Detainee families lose hope
Israel braces for Arab backlash after soldier's deadly rampage
Majeda El Batsh
AFP
August 5, 2005
Shfaram, ISRAEL -- Security forces braced themselves on Friday for a violent backlash after four Israeli Arabs were shot dead by an extreme right-wing Jewish soldier trying to torpedo the imminent withdrawal from Gaza.
Israeli Arab leaders called a one-day general strike to protest against the killing of the four on a bus in the northern town of Shfaram as the military faced awkward questions over how 19-year-old Nathan Zada was able to keep hold of his weapon despite being identified as a potentially dangerous extremist.
Zada mowed down his fellow passengers on bus 165 in a shooting spree that left another 12 needing hospital treatment. After he had emptied his rifle, furious residents lynched Zada, who was wearing his military fatigues despite being absent without leave for several months.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050805-071838-6416r
The Web: Silencing jihadi Websites
Gene J. Koprowski
UPI
August 5, 2005
CHICAGO -- The online communications channel between Al Qaeda's shadowy leaders and its terrorist operatives has been severely disrupted in recent weeks - since the July 7 jihadi attacks on London - apparently by British intelligence.
Though the Internet is a recent and universal resource, legal and military experts told UPI's The Web that there is ample precedent for a government, in time of war, to attempt to deny the enemy the ability to communicate.
Recent reports in the foreign press, including the Sunday Times of London, indicate a number of jihadi sites, such as mojihedun.com in Pakistan - which apparently contained detailed plans for terrorists on how to strike a European city and "tens" of other sites and provided information on making weapons, including biologicals - have been stealthily shuttered.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050805-070724-6968r
Egypt copes with Sharm bombing aftermath
Ola Ahmed
Middle East Times
August 5, 2005
Sharm El Sheikh/Arish, EGYPT -- Egyptian state security said on Wednesday that they have identified the terrorists who carried out the July 23 Sharm El Sheikh attacks that killed some 88 people and injured another 200.
Interior minister assistant Mohammed Shaarawi, who is also the head of the investigation team, said that the terrorists behind the latest attacks were members of the same cell that carried out the October 2004 Taba blasts that claimed the lives of 34 people
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050805-040905-7953r
Over 100 dead in Sudan violence as world appeals for calm
Simon Apiku
AFP
August 4, 2005
REPLACEMENT: Salva Kiir, who took over the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) after former rebel leader and vice-president John Garang's death in a weekend helicopter crash, thanks elders from various southern Sudan regions after they handed him a document declaring their loyalty in New Site village on August 3.
(REUTERS)
KHARTOUM -- Over 100 people have been killed in three days of rioting in the Sudanese capital and a flashpoint southern town, officials said amid international appeals for calm in Africa's largest country.
The funeral procession for ex-southern rebel leader John Garang was due to begin on Thursday following his death in a helicopter crash, which has threatened to plunge the war-ravaged country into fresh turmoil and scupper a January peace deal.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050804-080704-6069r
Jordan judge stops marriage of a minor
UPI
August 5, 2005
AMMAN -- Jordan's chief judge has intervened to stop the marriage of a 14-year-old girl who was forced into matrimony, reports said on Wednesday.
Amman's daily Al Arab said that the judge ordered Muslim clerics not to bless the marriage of the girl whom he said did not want to marry.
The paper quoted the head of religious courts that control marriage contracts as saying that the girl's marriage is invalid by Islamic law because one of the parties is compelled into it.
He said that according to the law, both parties should agree to the marriage in order to become legal and valid.
Under Jordan civil law marriages cannot be contracted between minors and both parties should be at least 18 years old. But the government allows clerics to make certain exceptions if they see that there is a certain interest or benefit in concluding the marriage.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050805-065238-2188r
Haaretz
IDF, police: More Israelis have infiltrated Gaza than expected
By Amos Harel and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents
Senior Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police officers admitted Wednesday that the number of right-wing activists who have infiltrated Gush Katif has risen significantly recently, just four days before the start of the disengagement.
The defense establishment is belittling the importance of the infiltration in its official statements. However, in private discussions this week, it estimated that the number of illegal Israelis in the Gaza Strip stands at 2,700 - 700 more than the IDF's highest public estimates thus far.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/611132.html
Army police arrest soldier for threatening to shoot Sharon
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Military police arrested Wednesday night a soldier suspected of threatening to shoot Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The soldier, from the Israel Defense Forces' Home Front Command, was posted at a military checkpoint at the northern entrance to the Gaza Strip.
IDF troops and policemen at the checkpoint said the soldier had approached them and asked them where he could find Sycamore Ranch, the Sharon family's farm. "I want to shoot the prime minister," he added.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/611128.html
Olmert: Pullout not meant to tighten hold over West Bank
By Reuters
Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied Palestinian suspicions that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, due to begin next week, was designed as a swap for permanent control over far bigger settlements in the West Bank.
Sharon has ruled out dialogue on a Palestinian state before Palestinians disarm militants. Palestinians call this demand unrealistic without statehood on the horizon and fear Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank could dash their dreams.
"Gaza is not a tradeoff for the West Bank," said Olmert, known for periodically testing Sharon's thinking in public before policy is formed.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/611055.html
Haaretz probe: Jews no longer a majority west of Jordan
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
For the first time since the establishment of Israel, the proportion of Jews living in territories under the country's control has dropped below 50 percent, standing slightly more than 49 percent, according to a probe conducted by Haaretz.
The results are based on figures supplied by Israel and the Palestinian Authority's official statistics bureaus.
According to the figures, following the upcoming disengagement, the proportion of Jews in territories under Israeli control will jump to 56.8 percent. As a result of this development, demographic expert Prof. Sergio Della Pergola of the Hebrew University said the country
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/611130.html
Netanyahu's 'flight' was 'irresponsible,' Sharon asserts
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday that he plans to continue leading the country after the disengagement is implemented, and hopes to make peace with the Palestinians.
"I don't intend to retire and rest," Sharon said in a Channel 1 television interview. "I certainly plan to continue and do the things that need to be done for the good of the country, with the hope of reaching a political arrangement that will lead to peace."
Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made similar comments Wednesday, saying: "For the first time in history, an Israeli government has voluntarily decided without outside pressure to pull out of these territories for the sake of one thing only - to lay foundations for the beginning of a meaningful dialogue with Palestinians."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/610570.html
AT ISSUE: The Bibi factor - pullout and politics
For months, Benjamin Netanyahu had scotched the rumors that he planned to resign just before the pullout. Then, this week, he stunned the nation and its markets by doing just that.
He had once been the great hope of the hard-line. But a succession of half-hearted efforts to derail or stall the disengagement may have cost Netanyahu his credibility among the religious and the right.
He had once been the great hope of the Likud. But Netanyahu's free-market economic reforms may have sapped his strong support among a power base of blue-collar Israelis.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleNews.jhtml?itemNo=609901&contrassID=13&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0
continued ...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Morning Papers - continued ...
THE PRESSURE TO SELF CENSOR !!!
Stones target "hypocrite" patriots in new song
Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:37 AM BST
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones, not exactly a band at the forefront of rock 'n' roll activism, are taking aim at the American right with a new song on their upcoming album, according to Newsweek magazine.
The track, "Sweet Neo Con," boasts the line, "You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot, well I think you're full of s---," according to the weekly newsmagazine.
"It is direct," singer Mick Jagger was quoted as saying, adding that his collaborator, Keith Richards, was "a bit worried" about a backlash because the guitarist lives in the United States and Jagger does not.
"Sweet Neo Con" is one of 16 tracks featured on the Stones' new album, "A Bigger Bang," which comes out in the United States on September 6, and a day earlier internationally. It was not featured on a 12-track advance CD circulated to critics. The group's publicist was traveling and not able to confirm the quoted lyrics or provide the complete lyrics.
The band is currently rehearsing in Toronto ahead of a world tour that begins on August 21 in Boston.
In their 43-year career, the Stones have observed political developments in songs like 1968's "Street Fighting Man," but have generally avoided taking sides. Notable exceptions included the 1983 single "Undercover (of the Night)," about civil rights abuse in Latin America, and 1991's Gulf War-related track "Highwire."
Reuters/VNU
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2005-08-10T013740Z_01_FOR005852_RTRUKOC_0_MUSIC-STONES.xml
The Settle Post Inteligencer
New suspect in slaying of girls
Man allegedly admits Seattle killings to FBI
By PAUL SHUKOVSKY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Joseph Edward Duncan III -- a convicted sex offender suspected in a killing and abduction spree in Idaho that left two adults and two children dead -- has told FBI agents that he also killed two little girls in Seattle in 1996.
The confession came last month after Duncan was arrested on suspicion that he killed an Idaho woman, Brenda Groene, her 13-year-old son and her boyfriend in May, according to a federal criminal justice source.
The case attracted national attention as police and federal agents fanned out across Idaho in search of Shasta Groene, 8, and her brother Dylan, 9, who were kidnapped at the time of the slayings.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235952_duncan10.html
Gas tax foes are fighting back
Group seeks reversal of judge's disclosure ruling
By NEIL MODIE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A libertarian public-interest law firm, jumping into litigation over anti-gas-tax Initiative 912, contends that initiative opponents violated the First Amendment rights of its sponsors and two talk-radio hosts who promoted the statewide measure.
"The implications of this are astounding," Bill Maurer, executive director of the Institute for Justice Washington chapter, said yesterday. He was referring to a judge's ruling July 1 that the I-912 campaign must file campaign-finance reports disclosing KVI radio hosts John Carlson's and Kirby Wilbur's promotion of the initiative as in-kind campaign contributions.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235936_gastax10.html
Seattleite takes tree title
A world championship with a view
By MIKE LEWIS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
It was bound to happen eventually in a city described as lousy with world-class tree-huggers.
Besting a longtime German rival, Seattle's Dan Kraus won the world championship of tree-climbing last weekend in Nashville, Tenn., adding an arborist to the list of local world title holders.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235954_treeclimber10.html
Late wildfire season arrives in Northwest
By SHANNON DININNY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA -- Heavy spring and summer rains left fire managers across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies warning that the wildfire season had only been delayed, not erased.
Now, like tardy students late for homeroom, the fires are arriving, and officials say the season could extend well into September in particularly parched areas.
All of Washington, most of Oregon and parts of Nevada and Utah were listed as critical fire danger areas for August, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235961_wildfires10.html
State sets traps for gypsy moth arrival
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES
TUALATIN, Ore. -- Gypsy moths -- perennially unwelcome summer visitors that have defoliated entire forests along the upper East Coast -- are back in Oregon.
Agriculture Department employees have placed 19,000 gypsy moth traps around the state in an effort to stop the voracious insect in its tracks.
Gypsy moths usually reach the West Coast aboard recreational vehicles traveling from the 15 quarantine states in the Northeast.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235996_gypsymoths10.html
Biologist says ladders won't save salmon
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES
McCALL, Idaho -- An Idaho biologist who argued for a quarter-century that fish ladders were good enough to prevent salmon from dying out now says four dams on the Snake River in Washington ought to be removed to help the endangered fish.
Don Chapman, 74, wants to get rid of the Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite dams between the Idaho border and where the Snake River flows into the Columbia River. They produce 1,239 average megawatts of power, enough to light Seattle, and have allowed barge shipping of grain and other goods from Lewiston to Portland since they were built, starting in 1962.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235997_dams10.html
Fire crews worried about western Montana
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MISSOULA, Mont. -- A wildfire threatening a major power line in western Montana is kicking up and firefighters might not be able to keep up with it, a fire official says.
High wind pushed the fire Tuesday afternoon, and fire boss Bob Sandman said it had the potential to run a mile or more over a 24-hour period.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Wildfires
Congressman: U.S. intel knew 9/11 plotters
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Members of the commission that uncovered the government's failures to share intelligence among agencies before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks want to know whether U.S. defense intelligence officials knew for more than a year that four of the hijackers were part of an al-Qaida cell but failed to tell law enforcement.
Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the now-disbanded commission, said Tuesday that members of the Sept. 11 commission could issue a statement by the end of the week after reviewing claims that defense intelligence officials had identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Sept%2011%20Hijackers
Families find closure as MIA remains ID'd
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP NATIONAL WRITER
When Army Sgt. Glenn E. Miller was listed as missing in action after a fierce gun battle in Vietnam in May 1968, his girlfriend figured he had been killed - even though there was never any proof.
Thirty-seven years later, the remains of Miller, a Green Beret, and the 11 Marines who died alongside him have been identified and returned to the United States. It's the largest single group of MIAs identified since the Vietnam War, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Vietnam%20Remains
Teenager dies after cheerleading stunt
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEWKSBURY, Mass. -- A high school freshman died after she was tossed in the air during a cheerleading routine and landed chest-down in her teammates' arms, authorities said.
Ashley Burns, 14, complained of abdominal pain and had trouble breathing shortly after the stunt, police Chief Alfred P. Donovan said.
"She said she thought she had the wind knocked out of her," he said. "She was talking, but her condition worsened rapidly."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Cheerleader%20Death
FEMA covered non-hurricane funerals
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The federal emergency agency paid for hundreds of funerals last year of Floridians whose deaths had nothing to do with the four hurricanes that hit the state, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.
One person died before the storm even struck his town, while another died a month later in another state.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Hurricane%20Aid%20Funerals
Tropical depression Irene regains strength
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- Tropical depression Irene regained some strength Wednesday as it followed a course toward the East Coast, raising the possibility it could eventually hit the United States as a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
Irene's top sustained wind had strengthened to 35 mph, up 5 mph from earlier in the day, and it could reach tropical storm status by Thursday, meteorologists said. Tropical storms have sustained wind of at least 39 mph.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Tropical%20Weather
Flood sweeps 7-year-old girl in Ariz.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX -- A 7-year-old girl died in a flash flood that ripped her out of the grasp of a would-be rescuer as her family fled to high ground.
The body of Marissa Reyes was found early Wednesday, about 1 1/2 miles from the spot where the rushing water separated her from her family, authorities reported.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Arizona%20Floods
N.M. helicopter brought down by gunfire
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A sheriff's department helicopter that crash-landed during a burglary investigation was brought down by gunfire, authorities said.
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said authorities have no suspects but were working with the FBI. Investigators concluded the bullet struck a control pedal, he said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Helicopter%20Shot
Malaysian haze worsens, closes schools
By VIJAY JOSHI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- A noxious haze blamed on forest fires in Indonesia reached dangerous levels in Kuala Lumpur and nearby areas Wednesday, closing schools, halting some flights and keeping residents indoors.
Environment Minister Adenan Satem said the haze, which appeared last week, is concentrated over the Klang Valley - site of Malaysia's main city, Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital and a sprawling residential area.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Malaysia%20Haze
Afghan bomb kills U.S. service member
By DANIEL LOVERING
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
An Afghan man listens to a radio, as he looks out from the doorway of his home in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday Aug. 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A U.S. service member was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday, raising to five the number of Americans killed in less than a week as violence escalates ahead of next month's parliamentary elections.
Elsewhere, an Afghan villager claimed a woman and child had died in a coalition airstrike during fighting earlier in the week.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20Violence
Americans warned about Pakistani resort
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Americans have been warned not to travel to a resort town north of the Pakistani capital because of fears of sectarian violence, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.
The warning, issued Tuesday, advised Americans against traveling to Murree, 35 miles north of Islamabad.
"There is new information indicating the potential for a sectarian attack in the city of Murree during the Pakistani Independence Day period, which culminates on Aug. 14," the embassy said. The statement also advised Americans living in Murree to restrict their travel.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Pakistan%20US%20Warning
Forces watch for 'mule trains' along Syria
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
U.S. army soldiers from the 1st Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment search for smugglers who had been spotted by a U.S. helicopter near the village of Ber Qasm along the Iraq-Syria border, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005. The men were eventually released. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda)
SINJAR, Iraq -- When U.S. soldiers reached this stretch of Iraq's border with Syria, some expected to face off against foreign fighters they thought would be crossing into the country in trucks packed with weapons.
Instead, they found caravans of mules crossing the border without their human masters, the clever tactic of smugglers in Syria who load contraband on dozens of mules or donkeys and set them free to amble down familiar paths.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Mule%20Caravans
Egyptian chemist knew two London attackers
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Egyptian chemist Magdy el-Nashar, speaks to journalists at his home in Cairo Tuesday, Aug.9, 2005. Authorities on Tuesday released el-Nashar who was detained for questioning following the July 7 bombings in London, saying he had been cleared of suspicion, an Interior Ministry official said. (AP Photo)
CAIRO, Egypt -- An Egyptian chemist freed Tuesday after three weeks in custody for questioning about deadly bombings in London said he casually knew two of the attackers. He called one of them "very kind and very nice."
After his release, the clean-shaven Magdy el-Nashar told reporters outside his home that he had nothing to do with the July 7 mass-transit attacks, which killed 52 people and the four bombers.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Egypt%20Chemist
Ruling party ahead so far in Ethiopia vote
By AMBER HENSHAW
ASSOCIATE PRESS WRITER
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The ruling coalition captured a majority in parliamentary elections shadowed by fraud allegations and deadly violence, according to results released Tuesday by the National Electoral Board.
The latest round of results from the May 15 election were announced following weeks of investigations into allegations of vote rigging. National Electoral Board Chairman Kemal Bedri said that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front won 296 seats in the 547-member body, and its allied parties won 22 seats. The total gives them more than enough seats to form Ethiopia's next government.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Ethiopia%20Election
Cuba wants U.S. to release five agents
By VANESSA ARRINGTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Cuban Parliament speaker Ricardo Alarcon smiles during an interview, Tuesday, May 17, 2005, Havana, Cuba. Alarcon called on the U.S. government Tuesday Aug. 9, 2005 to release five Cuban men serving long terms on espionage conspiracy charges after a U.S. federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences. (AP Photo/Jorge Rey)
HAVANA -- Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called on the U.S. government to release five accused Cuban spies serving long prison terms after a U.S. federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences.
Alarcon applauded Tuesday's ruling that said the men's trial in Miami wasn't fair and impartial because of community prejudice and extensive media coverage. He insisted the men be liberated while awaiting a new trial.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Cuban%20Espionage
Haiti to postpone October local elections
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A U.N. peacekeeper stands guard as a resident watches during opening of a voter registration center in the slum of Bel-Air in Port-au-Prince, Haiti ,Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005. Authorities will extend to Sept. 15 the deadline to register for the first elections since the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the U.N. envoy to Haiti said Tuesday. The partially torn poster shows Aristide. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Local elections scheduled for this fall will be postponed until after legislative and presidential elections, Haitian officials said Tuesday.
The electoral council decided to postpone the Oct. 9 local elections until late December so that the nation could better prepare for the November legislative and presidential elections, said interim Chief of Cabinet Michel Brunache.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Haiti%20Elections
Feds aren't subsidizing recommended foods
By LIBBy QUAID
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The government says half your diet should be fruits and vegetables, but it doesn't subsidize the farmers who grow them.
Instead, half of all federal agriculture subsidies go to grain farmers, whose crops feed animals for meat, milk and eggs and become cheap ingredients in processed food.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=FIT%20Diets%20vs%20Subsidies
Scientists crack DNA code of rice
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP SCIENCE WRITER
NEW YORK -- An international team of scientists has deciphered the genetic code of rice, an advance that should speed improvements in a crop that feeds more than half the world's population.
It's the first crop plant to have its genome sequenced, which means scientists identified virtually all the 389 million chemical building blocks of its DNA. Certain sequences of these building blocks form genes, like letters spelling words.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Rice%20Genes
Australia announces China uranium talks
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia and China are negotiating an agreement to allow Australia to export uranium to China for peaceful purposes, the foreign minister said Tuesday.
Preliminary talks are already under way to secure a Chinese commitment that the uranium would be used only for electricity generation, said Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20China%20Uranium
Transportation Bill: But it's 'our' pork
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
If he signs a $286 billion transportation bill, President Bush will keep his record intact. No matter how dubious the legislation, he has yet to veto anything.
Bush is expected to sign the bill today, even though taxpayer advocacy groups are making a list-minute appeal for a veto. It's a reasonable request.
Fueled by tax cuts, the federal deficit is out of control. People who want to repeal small gas tax increases in this state, which generally spends transportation dollars intelligently, are surprisingly tolerant of a federal highway bill that puts enormous resources into, for instance, 119 Alaskan projects.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/235883_roaded.asp
The Jordon Times
30 die in Iraq as top politicians meet
According to USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, by record 57-34 per cent margin, most Americans believe war made US more vulnerable to terrorist attacks
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Insurgents killed at least 30 Iraqis and a US soldier as a crucial meeting of top politicians began Tuesday to hammer out a deal on the country's new constitution ahead of an August 15 deadline.
Although an intense sandstorm forced meetings to be cancelled Monday and brought further delays on Tuesday, substantive talks were held, said Kamaran Garadaji, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news1.htm
PM calls for review of laws to make them cover e-crimes
Security forces discover forgery case, arrest suspects
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Prime Minister Adnan Badran on Tuesday issued instructions for the formation of a committee to review legislation to cover “new types of crimes,” particularly those employing IT and high-tech.
The premier's remarks, quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, were made during a visit to the Public Security Department (PSD), where he was briefed on a recently revealed forgery case categorised under “electronic crimes.”
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews1.htm
IAEA meets after Iran restarts atomic work
Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA Cyrus Nasseri speaks Tuesday to journalists after the board meeting at agency's headquarters in Vienna (AFP photo by Joe Klamar)
VIENNA (Reuters) — The UN nuclear watchdog held a crisis meeting on Tuesday to try to stop Iran pursuing a nuclear programme after Tehran resumed work at a uranium plant.
As the governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met in Vienna, Iran said UN seals were to be removed at its Isfahan facility, which could allow it to take the work a step further.
Mohammed Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said IAEA inspectors surveying developments at the plant would unseal a mothballed section by Wednesday.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news2.htm
OCCUPIED?
OCCUPIED BY WHOM?
Abbas urges order during pullout
By Omar Karmi
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday urged Palestinian lawmakers to work to ensure a smooth Israeli withdrawal from Gaza settlements, but at the same time warned against setting too much store in the withdrawal, saying the “road is still long.”
In the West Bank, Israel closed off two settlements slated for evacuation in two weeks to nonresident settlers, fearing an influx of anti-disengagement protesters. The move comes as the Israeli army hunts for nine soldiers gone AWOL, amid fears that another attack against Arab citizens of Israel could occur.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news3.htm
Palestinian January parliamentary vote set
GAZA (Reuters) — Palestinians will hold a parliamentary election in January, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday in a sign of efforts to meet international demands for reform as a condition for eventual statehood.
“I will issue a decree that parliamentary elections will be held next January. We will pick a day but it will be in January,” he said in a speech to parliament in Gaza.
He announced the move two months after postponing a vote set for July 17, saying he needed time to resolve a dispute over proposed reforms to the electoral law. Parliament enacted a voting reform bill soon afterwards.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news4.htm
Journalists to visit tourist attractions
Programme aims to give writers fresh angles on articles and features and to help promote tourism to the country
By Ahmad Barakat
AMMAN — Local reporters next week will start visiting archaeological, historical and natural sites at the invitation of the government to get fresh angles on articles and features that would help promote tourism to the country.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews3.htm
Jordanian police leave for Haiti
AMMAN (JT) — A special police contingent named Haiti 3 left Amman for the Caribbean nation to join a United Nation's peace- keeping mission operating there.
Public Security Department (PSD) Assistant Director Lt. General Ali Khaldi, who saw off the mission, urged the policemen to reflect in their performance overseas “the bright image of the PSD.”
Police sources have told The Jordan Times that the new batch is a replacement of the already existing forces stationed in the island.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews4.htm
Diplomats give cautious support to junta
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) — Western nations will support the military junta that staged a bloodless coup in Mauritania if it shows it can live up to its promise of organising democratic elections, diplomats said on Tuesday.
A 17-member military council seized power in the Islamic republic last week, ending two decades of authoritarian rule by President Maaouyia Ould Taya and promising presidential election within two years.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news5.htm
US targets 'terrorist haven'
By Catherine Fellows
BBC News
MAURITANIA — The US military has just concluded a major training operation in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, which it describes as its biggest exercise in Africa since World War II.
Washington believes the Sahara Desert is a vast ungoverned wasteland and, hence, a haven for terrorists.
But critics say the US is exaggerating the threat and fomenting trouble.
Up to 1,000 US personnel and the armed forces of seven countries in the region took part in Flintlock 2005, a counterterrorism training operation.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news7.htm
Egypt prepares for key role in Gaza
By Alain Navarro
Agence France-Presse
CAIRO — Egypt is actively preparing for a key role in the Gaza Strip after the planned pullout of Israeli settlers this month, with the future of the territory just as important for Egypt as it is to Israel, albeit for different reasons.
With an eye on maintaining stability in Gaza as a way of shoring up its own national security, Egypt is planning a significant military deployment along its northeast border with Gaza once the pullout ends.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news6.htm
Security up at foreign embassies after threats
RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Arabia intensified security Tuesday around foreign compounds in Riyadh after the United States, Britain and Australia warned that terror attacks may be imminent in the wealthy oil kingdom.
Britain and Australia said on Monday that terrorists were planning attacks in Saudi Arabia in the near future, a day after a US move to temporarily shut missions in the country pushed oil prices to record levels.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news9.htm
The triumph of neoconservatives in Iraq
By Abbas J. Ali
In his speech on June 28, President George W. Bush accurately characterised the situation in Iraq as “horrifying, and the suffering is real.” Previously, Bush had described the invasion of Iraq as a “catastrophic success.” Foreign affairs analysts agree that in both cases, Bush accurately captured the reality of the Iraqi mess, but were equally surprised by his insistence on staying the course. The fear is that Iraqi hardship and bloodshed may be deepened and reversing the state of disorder is a remote possibility.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/opinion/opinion5.htm
New York Times
Hurdles for High-Tech Efforts to Track Who Crosses Borders
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: August 10, 2005
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 - The federal government has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the once-obscure science called biometrics, producing some successes but also fumbles in a campaign intended to track foreigners visiting the country and the activities of some Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/politics/10biometrics.html?hp
Butts in the Street? The Least of Their Problems
By MICHAEL WILSON
Published: August 10, 2005
FLINT, Mich.
Asking smokers not to flick their cigarette butts into the street or crush them on sidewalks would seem a perfectly reasonable step toward beautifying a city, an extension of the broken-windows theory that keeping up with the little things can keep a place clean and safe.
Except that here, not only are the windows broken, but the buildings are abandoned and falling apart, and some parks are so overgrown that people have been known to dump their dead dogs in the tall weeds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/national/10flint.html?hp
Gunmen Kidnap Iraqi Interior Official
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 10, 2005
Filed at 10:28 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Gunmen kidnapped a senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official Wednesday as he drove his car in central Baghdad, police said.
The kidnapping occurred in Baghdad's Andalus Square when gunmen stopped Brig. Gen. Khudayer Abbas, who heads the administrative affairs office at the Interior Ministry.
Police Maj. Abbas Mohammed Salman said Abbas was forced into another vehicle that sped away.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Kidnapping.html
Taliban Kill Afghan Woman on Spying Charge
Published: August 10, 2005
Filed at 8:29 a.m. ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban guerrillas have executed an Afghan woman after accusing her of spying for U.S.-led forces, officials said on Wednesday.
The unidentified woman was shot dead in her house on Tuesday in the southern district of Zabul, district chief Haji Mohammad Younus said, adding Taliban fighters also kidnapped the victim's brother and father.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-afghan-taliban.html
Colombia Unearthing Plight of Its 'Disappeared'
By JUAN FORERO
Published: August 10, 2005
SAN ONOFRE, Colombia - In one of the most horrific chapters of Colombia's long civil conflict, investigators are unearthing scores of bodies from secret graves dotting this humid cattle-grazing region near the Caribbean, the victims of right-wing paramilitary groups now benefiting from generous concessions for pledging to disarm.
Panos for The New York Times
One of the graves dug up by Colombian authorities on El Palmar, a big farm outside San Onofre. The dead are believed to be militia victims.
Panos for The New York Times
Relatives of the missing in the Alto Julio district of San Onofre. Foreground, Maruja del Carmen Pestana and Apolina Julio Julio. Standing against wall, from left: Rosa Campo, Belarmina Torres and Hermenijirda Julio.
With dozens of people coming forward in recent months to complain of missing relatives, government and military officials now estimate that hundreds of poor farmers may have been killed and secretly buried in a terror campaign that began in the late 1990's.
The paramilitary groups, they say, kidnapped and killed their victims to seize land and in some cases weed out supporters of the Marxist guerrillas who have been fighting the government since the 1960's.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/international/americas/10colombia.html?hp&ex=1123732800&en=e1becb0b24394662&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Ohio Critics of G.O.P. Start Battle to Change Election Process
By DEAN E. MURPHY
Published: August 10, 2005
Critics of the Republican grip on Ohio politics filed petitions on Tuesday that seek a statewide vote on three constitutional amendments that would overturn the way elections are run and strip elected officials of their power to draw legislative districts.
The move, by the group Reform Ohio Now, is an effort to tap into sentiment across the country to remove political influence from the mechanics of elections. The movement has been sparked in part by partisan lines that are sharply reducing electoral competition in Congress and by efforts by political outsiders like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California to upend the established order.
The Ohio group is backed by so-called good-government organizations like Common Cause, though Republicans insist it is little more than a front for disgruntled Democrats frozen out of power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/national/10ohio.html
continued …
Stones target "hypocrite" patriots in new song
Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:37 AM BST
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones, not exactly a band at the forefront of rock 'n' roll activism, are taking aim at the American right with a new song on their upcoming album, according to Newsweek magazine.
The track, "Sweet Neo Con," boasts the line, "You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot, well I think you're full of s---," according to the weekly newsmagazine.
"It is direct," singer Mick Jagger was quoted as saying, adding that his collaborator, Keith Richards, was "a bit worried" about a backlash because the guitarist lives in the United States and Jagger does not.
"Sweet Neo Con" is one of 16 tracks featured on the Stones' new album, "A Bigger Bang," which comes out in the United States on September 6, and a day earlier internationally. It was not featured on a 12-track advance CD circulated to critics. The group's publicist was traveling and not able to confirm the quoted lyrics or provide the complete lyrics.
The band is currently rehearsing in Toronto ahead of a world tour that begins on August 21 in Boston.
In their 43-year career, the Stones have observed political developments in songs like 1968's "Street Fighting Man," but have generally avoided taking sides. Notable exceptions included the 1983 single "Undercover (of the Night)," about civil rights abuse in Latin America, and 1991's Gulf War-related track "Highwire."
Reuters/VNU
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2005-08-10T013740Z_01_FOR005852_RTRUKOC_0_MUSIC-STONES.xml
The Settle Post Inteligencer
New suspect in slaying of girls
Man allegedly admits Seattle killings to FBI
By PAUL SHUKOVSKY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Joseph Edward Duncan III -- a convicted sex offender suspected in a killing and abduction spree in Idaho that left two adults and two children dead -- has told FBI agents that he also killed two little girls in Seattle in 1996.
The confession came last month after Duncan was arrested on suspicion that he killed an Idaho woman, Brenda Groene, her 13-year-old son and her boyfriend in May, according to a federal criminal justice source.
The case attracted national attention as police and federal agents fanned out across Idaho in search of Shasta Groene, 8, and her brother Dylan, 9, who were kidnapped at the time of the slayings.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235952_duncan10.html
Gas tax foes are fighting back
Group seeks reversal of judge's disclosure ruling
By NEIL MODIE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A libertarian public-interest law firm, jumping into litigation over anti-gas-tax Initiative 912, contends that initiative opponents violated the First Amendment rights of its sponsors and two talk-radio hosts who promoted the statewide measure.
"The implications of this are astounding," Bill Maurer, executive director of the Institute for Justice Washington chapter, said yesterday. He was referring to a judge's ruling July 1 that the I-912 campaign must file campaign-finance reports disclosing KVI radio hosts John Carlson's and Kirby Wilbur's promotion of the initiative as in-kind campaign contributions.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235936_gastax10.html
Seattleite takes tree title
A world championship with a view
By MIKE LEWIS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
It was bound to happen eventually in a city described as lousy with world-class tree-huggers.
Besting a longtime German rival, Seattle's Dan Kraus won the world championship of tree-climbing last weekend in Nashville, Tenn., adding an arborist to the list of local world title holders.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235954_treeclimber10.html
Late wildfire season arrives in Northwest
By SHANNON DININNY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA -- Heavy spring and summer rains left fire managers across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies warning that the wildfire season had only been delayed, not erased.
Now, like tardy students late for homeroom, the fires are arriving, and officials say the season could extend well into September in particularly parched areas.
All of Washington, most of Oregon and parts of Nevada and Utah were listed as critical fire danger areas for August, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235961_wildfires10.html
State sets traps for gypsy moth arrival
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES
TUALATIN, Ore. -- Gypsy moths -- perennially unwelcome summer visitors that have defoliated entire forests along the upper East Coast -- are back in Oregon.
Agriculture Department employees have placed 19,000 gypsy moth traps around the state in an effort to stop the voracious insect in its tracks.
Gypsy moths usually reach the West Coast aboard recreational vehicles traveling from the 15 quarantine states in the Northeast.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235996_gypsymoths10.html
Biologist says ladders won't save salmon
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES
McCALL, Idaho -- An Idaho biologist who argued for a quarter-century that fish ladders were good enough to prevent salmon from dying out now says four dams on the Snake River in Washington ought to be removed to help the endangered fish.
Don Chapman, 74, wants to get rid of the Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite dams between the Idaho border and where the Snake River flows into the Columbia River. They produce 1,239 average megawatts of power, enough to light Seattle, and have allowed barge shipping of grain and other goods from Lewiston to Portland since they were built, starting in 1962.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235997_dams10.html
Fire crews worried about western Montana
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MISSOULA, Mont. -- A wildfire threatening a major power line in western Montana is kicking up and firefighters might not be able to keep up with it, a fire official says.
High wind pushed the fire Tuesday afternoon, and fire boss Bob Sandman said it had the potential to run a mile or more over a 24-hour period.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Wildfires
Congressman: U.S. intel knew 9/11 plotters
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Members of the commission that uncovered the government's failures to share intelligence among agencies before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks want to know whether U.S. defense intelligence officials knew for more than a year that four of the hijackers were part of an al-Qaida cell but failed to tell law enforcement.
Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the now-disbanded commission, said Tuesday that members of the Sept. 11 commission could issue a statement by the end of the week after reviewing claims that defense intelligence officials had identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Sept%2011%20Hijackers
Families find closure as MIA remains ID'd
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP NATIONAL WRITER
When Army Sgt. Glenn E. Miller was listed as missing in action after a fierce gun battle in Vietnam in May 1968, his girlfriend figured he had been killed - even though there was never any proof.
Thirty-seven years later, the remains of Miller, a Green Beret, and the 11 Marines who died alongside him have been identified and returned to the United States. It's the largest single group of MIAs identified since the Vietnam War, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Vietnam%20Remains
Teenager dies after cheerleading stunt
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEWKSBURY, Mass. -- A high school freshman died after she was tossed in the air during a cheerleading routine and landed chest-down in her teammates' arms, authorities said.
Ashley Burns, 14, complained of abdominal pain and had trouble breathing shortly after the stunt, police Chief Alfred P. Donovan said.
"She said she thought she had the wind knocked out of her," he said. "She was talking, but her condition worsened rapidly."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Cheerleader%20Death
FEMA covered non-hurricane funerals
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The federal emergency agency paid for hundreds of funerals last year of Floridians whose deaths had nothing to do with the four hurricanes that hit the state, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.
One person died before the storm even struck his town, while another died a month later in another state.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Hurricane%20Aid%20Funerals
Tropical depression Irene regains strength
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- Tropical depression Irene regained some strength Wednesday as it followed a course toward the East Coast, raising the possibility it could eventually hit the United States as a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
Irene's top sustained wind had strengthened to 35 mph, up 5 mph from earlier in the day, and it could reach tropical storm status by Thursday, meteorologists said. Tropical storms have sustained wind of at least 39 mph.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Tropical%20Weather
Flood sweeps 7-year-old girl in Ariz.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX -- A 7-year-old girl died in a flash flood that ripped her out of the grasp of a would-be rescuer as her family fled to high ground.
The body of Marissa Reyes was found early Wednesday, about 1 1/2 miles from the spot where the rushing water separated her from her family, authorities reported.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Arizona%20Floods
N.M. helicopter brought down by gunfire
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A sheriff's department helicopter that crash-landed during a burglary investigation was brought down by gunfire, authorities said.
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said authorities have no suspects but were working with the FBI. Investigators concluded the bullet struck a control pedal, he said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Helicopter%20Shot
Malaysian haze worsens, closes schools
By VIJAY JOSHI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- A noxious haze blamed on forest fires in Indonesia reached dangerous levels in Kuala Lumpur and nearby areas Wednesday, closing schools, halting some flights and keeping residents indoors.
Environment Minister Adenan Satem said the haze, which appeared last week, is concentrated over the Klang Valley - site of Malaysia's main city, Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital and a sprawling residential area.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Malaysia%20Haze
Afghan bomb kills U.S. service member
By DANIEL LOVERING
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
An Afghan man listens to a radio, as he looks out from the doorway of his home in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday Aug. 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A U.S. service member was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday, raising to five the number of Americans killed in less than a week as violence escalates ahead of next month's parliamentary elections.
Elsewhere, an Afghan villager claimed a woman and child had died in a coalition airstrike during fighting earlier in the week.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20Violence
Americans warned about Pakistani resort
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Americans have been warned not to travel to a resort town north of the Pakistani capital because of fears of sectarian violence, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.
The warning, issued Tuesday, advised Americans against traveling to Murree, 35 miles north of Islamabad.
"There is new information indicating the potential for a sectarian attack in the city of Murree during the Pakistani Independence Day period, which culminates on Aug. 14," the embassy said. The statement also advised Americans living in Murree to restrict their travel.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Pakistan%20US%20Warning
Forces watch for 'mule trains' along Syria
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
U.S. army soldiers from the 1st Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment search for smugglers who had been spotted by a U.S. helicopter near the village of Ber Qasm along the Iraq-Syria border, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005. The men were eventually released. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda)
SINJAR, Iraq -- When U.S. soldiers reached this stretch of Iraq's border with Syria, some expected to face off against foreign fighters they thought would be crossing into the country in trucks packed with weapons.
Instead, they found caravans of mules crossing the border without their human masters, the clever tactic of smugglers in Syria who load contraband on dozens of mules or donkeys and set them free to amble down familiar paths.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Mule%20Caravans
Egyptian chemist knew two London attackers
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Egyptian chemist Magdy el-Nashar, speaks to journalists at his home in Cairo Tuesday, Aug.9, 2005. Authorities on Tuesday released el-Nashar who was detained for questioning following the July 7 bombings in London, saying he had been cleared of suspicion, an Interior Ministry official said. (AP Photo)
CAIRO, Egypt -- An Egyptian chemist freed Tuesday after three weeks in custody for questioning about deadly bombings in London said he casually knew two of the attackers. He called one of them "very kind and very nice."
After his release, the clean-shaven Magdy el-Nashar told reporters outside his home that he had nothing to do with the July 7 mass-transit attacks, which killed 52 people and the four bombers.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Egypt%20Chemist
Ruling party ahead so far in Ethiopia vote
By AMBER HENSHAW
ASSOCIATE PRESS WRITER
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The ruling coalition captured a majority in parliamentary elections shadowed by fraud allegations and deadly violence, according to results released Tuesday by the National Electoral Board.
The latest round of results from the May 15 election were announced following weeks of investigations into allegations of vote rigging. National Electoral Board Chairman Kemal Bedri said that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front won 296 seats in the 547-member body, and its allied parties won 22 seats. The total gives them more than enough seats to form Ethiopia's next government.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Ethiopia%20Election
Cuba wants U.S. to release five agents
By VANESSA ARRINGTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Cuban Parliament speaker Ricardo Alarcon smiles during an interview, Tuesday, May 17, 2005, Havana, Cuba. Alarcon called on the U.S. government Tuesday Aug. 9, 2005 to release five Cuban men serving long terms on espionage conspiracy charges after a U.S. federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences. (AP Photo/Jorge Rey)
HAVANA -- Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called on the U.S. government to release five accused Cuban spies serving long prison terms after a U.S. federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences.
Alarcon applauded Tuesday's ruling that said the men's trial in Miami wasn't fair and impartial because of community prejudice and extensive media coverage. He insisted the men be liberated while awaiting a new trial.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Cuban%20Espionage
Haiti to postpone October local elections
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A U.N. peacekeeper stands guard as a resident watches during opening of a voter registration center in the slum of Bel-Air in Port-au-Prince, Haiti ,Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005. Authorities will extend to Sept. 15 the deadline to register for the first elections since the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the U.N. envoy to Haiti said Tuesday. The partially torn poster shows Aristide. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Local elections scheduled for this fall will be postponed until after legislative and presidential elections, Haitian officials said Tuesday.
The electoral council decided to postpone the Oct. 9 local elections until late December so that the nation could better prepare for the November legislative and presidential elections, said interim Chief of Cabinet Michel Brunache.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Haiti%20Elections
Feds aren't subsidizing recommended foods
By LIBBy QUAID
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The government says half your diet should be fruits and vegetables, but it doesn't subsidize the farmers who grow them.
Instead, half of all federal agriculture subsidies go to grain farmers, whose crops feed animals for meat, milk and eggs and become cheap ingredients in processed food.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=FIT%20Diets%20vs%20Subsidies
Scientists crack DNA code of rice
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP SCIENCE WRITER
NEW YORK -- An international team of scientists has deciphered the genetic code of rice, an advance that should speed improvements in a crop that feeds more than half the world's population.
It's the first crop plant to have its genome sequenced, which means scientists identified virtually all the 389 million chemical building blocks of its DNA. Certain sequences of these building blocks form genes, like letters spelling words.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Rice%20Genes
Australia announces China uranium talks
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia and China are negotiating an agreement to allow Australia to export uranium to China for peaceful purposes, the foreign minister said Tuesday.
Preliminary talks are already under way to secure a Chinese commitment that the uranium would be used only for electricity generation, said Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=Australia%20China%20Uranium
Transportation Bill: But it's 'our' pork
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
If he signs a $286 billion transportation bill, President Bush will keep his record intact. No matter how dubious the legislation, he has yet to veto anything.
Bush is expected to sign the bill today, even though taxpayer advocacy groups are making a list-minute appeal for a veto. It's a reasonable request.
Fueled by tax cuts, the federal deficit is out of control. People who want to repeal small gas tax increases in this state, which generally spends transportation dollars intelligently, are surprisingly tolerant of a federal highway bill that puts enormous resources into, for instance, 119 Alaskan projects.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/235883_roaded.asp
The Jordon Times
30 die in Iraq as top politicians meet
According to USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, by record 57-34 per cent margin, most Americans believe war made US more vulnerable to terrorist attacks
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Insurgents killed at least 30 Iraqis and a US soldier as a crucial meeting of top politicians began Tuesday to hammer out a deal on the country's new constitution ahead of an August 15 deadline.
Although an intense sandstorm forced meetings to be cancelled Monday and brought further delays on Tuesday, substantive talks were held, said Kamaran Garadaji, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news1.htm
PM calls for review of laws to make them cover e-crimes
Security forces discover forgery case, arrest suspects
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Prime Minister Adnan Badran on Tuesday issued instructions for the formation of a committee to review legislation to cover “new types of crimes,” particularly those employing IT and high-tech.
The premier's remarks, quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, were made during a visit to the Public Security Department (PSD), where he was briefed on a recently revealed forgery case categorised under “electronic crimes.”
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews1.htm
IAEA meets after Iran restarts atomic work
Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA Cyrus Nasseri speaks Tuesday to journalists after the board meeting at agency's headquarters in Vienna (AFP photo by Joe Klamar)
VIENNA (Reuters) — The UN nuclear watchdog held a crisis meeting on Tuesday to try to stop Iran pursuing a nuclear programme after Tehran resumed work at a uranium plant.
As the governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met in Vienna, Iran said UN seals were to be removed at its Isfahan facility, which could allow it to take the work a step further.
Mohammed Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said IAEA inspectors surveying developments at the plant would unseal a mothballed section by Wednesday.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news2.htm
OCCUPIED?
OCCUPIED BY WHOM?
Abbas urges order during pullout
By Omar Karmi
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday urged Palestinian lawmakers to work to ensure a smooth Israeli withdrawal from Gaza settlements, but at the same time warned against setting too much store in the withdrawal, saying the “road is still long.”
In the West Bank, Israel closed off two settlements slated for evacuation in two weeks to nonresident settlers, fearing an influx of anti-disengagement protesters. The move comes as the Israeli army hunts for nine soldiers gone AWOL, amid fears that another attack against Arab citizens of Israel could occur.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news3.htm
Palestinian January parliamentary vote set
GAZA (Reuters) — Palestinians will hold a parliamentary election in January, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday in a sign of efforts to meet international demands for reform as a condition for eventual statehood.
“I will issue a decree that parliamentary elections will be held next January. We will pick a day but it will be in January,” he said in a speech to parliament in Gaza.
He announced the move two months after postponing a vote set for July 17, saying he needed time to resolve a dispute over proposed reforms to the electoral law. Parliament enacted a voting reform bill soon afterwards.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news4.htm
Journalists to visit tourist attractions
Programme aims to give writers fresh angles on articles and features and to help promote tourism to the country
By Ahmad Barakat
AMMAN — Local reporters next week will start visiting archaeological, historical and natural sites at the invitation of the government to get fresh angles on articles and features that would help promote tourism to the country.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews3.htm
Jordanian police leave for Haiti
AMMAN (JT) — A special police contingent named Haiti 3 left Amman for the Caribbean nation to join a United Nation's peace- keeping mission operating there.
Public Security Department (PSD) Assistant Director Lt. General Ali Khaldi, who saw off the mission, urged the policemen to reflect in their performance overseas “the bright image of the PSD.”
Police sources have told The Jordan Times that the new batch is a replacement of the already existing forces stationed in the island.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews4.htm
Diplomats give cautious support to junta
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) — Western nations will support the military junta that staged a bloodless coup in Mauritania if it shows it can live up to its promise of organising democratic elections, diplomats said on Tuesday.
A 17-member military council seized power in the Islamic republic last week, ending two decades of authoritarian rule by President Maaouyia Ould Taya and promising presidential election within two years.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news5.htm
US targets 'terrorist haven'
By Catherine Fellows
BBC News
MAURITANIA — The US military has just concluded a major training operation in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, which it describes as its biggest exercise in Africa since World War II.
Washington believes the Sahara Desert is a vast ungoverned wasteland and, hence, a haven for terrorists.
But critics say the US is exaggerating the threat and fomenting trouble.
Up to 1,000 US personnel and the armed forces of seven countries in the region took part in Flintlock 2005, a counterterrorism training operation.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news7.htm
Egypt prepares for key role in Gaza
By Alain Navarro
Agence France-Presse
CAIRO — Egypt is actively preparing for a key role in the Gaza Strip after the planned pullout of Israeli settlers this month, with the future of the territory just as important for Egypt as it is to Israel, albeit for different reasons.
With an eye on maintaining stability in Gaza as a way of shoring up its own national security, Egypt is planning a significant military deployment along its northeast border with Gaza once the pullout ends.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news6.htm
Security up at foreign embassies after threats
RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Arabia intensified security Tuesday around foreign compounds in Riyadh after the United States, Britain and Australia warned that terror attacks may be imminent in the wealthy oil kingdom.
Britain and Australia said on Monday that terrorists were planning attacks in Saudi Arabia in the near future, a day after a US move to temporarily shut missions in the country pushed oil prices to record levels.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news9.htm
The triumph of neoconservatives in Iraq
By Abbas J. Ali
In his speech on June 28, President George W. Bush accurately characterised the situation in Iraq as “horrifying, and the suffering is real.” Previously, Bush had described the invasion of Iraq as a “catastrophic success.” Foreign affairs analysts agree that in both cases, Bush accurately captured the reality of the Iraqi mess, but were equally surprised by his insistence on staying the course. The fear is that Iraqi hardship and bloodshed may be deepened and reversing the state of disorder is a remote possibility.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/opinion/opinion5.htm
New York Times
Hurdles for High-Tech Efforts to Track Who Crosses Borders
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: August 10, 2005
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 - The federal government has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the once-obscure science called biometrics, producing some successes but also fumbles in a campaign intended to track foreigners visiting the country and the activities of some Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/politics/10biometrics.html?hp
Butts in the Street? The Least of Their Problems
By MICHAEL WILSON
Published: August 10, 2005
FLINT, Mich.
Asking smokers not to flick their cigarette butts into the street or crush them on sidewalks would seem a perfectly reasonable step toward beautifying a city, an extension of the broken-windows theory that keeping up with the little things can keep a place clean and safe.
Except that here, not only are the windows broken, but the buildings are abandoned and falling apart, and some parks are so overgrown that people have been known to dump their dead dogs in the tall weeds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/national/10flint.html?hp
Gunmen Kidnap Iraqi Interior Official
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 10, 2005
Filed at 10:28 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Gunmen kidnapped a senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official Wednesday as he drove his car in central Baghdad, police said.
The kidnapping occurred in Baghdad's Andalus Square when gunmen stopped Brig. Gen. Khudayer Abbas, who heads the administrative affairs office at the Interior Ministry.
Police Maj. Abbas Mohammed Salman said Abbas was forced into another vehicle that sped away.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Kidnapping.html
Taliban Kill Afghan Woman on Spying Charge
Published: August 10, 2005
Filed at 8:29 a.m. ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban guerrillas have executed an Afghan woman after accusing her of spying for U.S.-led forces, officials said on Wednesday.
The unidentified woman was shot dead in her house on Tuesday in the southern district of Zabul, district chief Haji Mohammad Younus said, adding Taliban fighters also kidnapped the victim's brother and father.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-afghan-taliban.html
Colombia Unearthing Plight of Its 'Disappeared'
By JUAN FORERO
Published: August 10, 2005
SAN ONOFRE, Colombia - In one of the most horrific chapters of Colombia's long civil conflict, investigators are unearthing scores of bodies from secret graves dotting this humid cattle-grazing region near the Caribbean, the victims of right-wing paramilitary groups now benefiting from generous concessions for pledging to disarm.
Panos for The New York Times
One of the graves dug up by Colombian authorities on El Palmar, a big farm outside San Onofre. The dead are believed to be militia victims.
Panos for The New York Times
Relatives of the missing in the Alto Julio district of San Onofre. Foreground, Maruja del Carmen Pestana and Apolina Julio Julio. Standing against wall, from left: Rosa Campo, Belarmina Torres and Hermenijirda Julio.
With dozens of people coming forward in recent months to complain of missing relatives, government and military officials now estimate that hundreds of poor farmers may have been killed and secretly buried in a terror campaign that began in the late 1990's.
The paramilitary groups, they say, kidnapped and killed their victims to seize land and in some cases weed out supporters of the Marxist guerrillas who have been fighting the government since the 1960's.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/international/americas/10colombia.html?hp&ex=1123732800&en=e1becb0b24394662&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Ohio Critics of G.O.P. Start Battle to Change Election Process
By DEAN E. MURPHY
Published: August 10, 2005
Critics of the Republican grip on Ohio politics filed petitions on Tuesday that seek a statewide vote on three constitutional amendments that would overturn the way elections are run and strip elected officials of their power to draw legislative districts.
The move, by the group Reform Ohio Now, is an effort to tap into sentiment across the country to remove political influence from the mechanics of elections. The movement has been sparked in part by partisan lines that are sharply reducing electoral competition in Congress and by efforts by political outsiders like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California to upend the established order.
The Ohio group is backed by so-called good-government organizations like Common Cause, though Republicans insist it is little more than a front for disgruntled Democrats frozen out of power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/national/10ohio.html
continued …
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