
The Rooster

This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman (I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
The weather in Chicago is "GHASTLY."
Ex-Sun-Times boss charged with fraud
August 18, 2005
BY MAURA KELLY LANNAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Former Chicago Sun-Times publisher David Radler, a lawyer for the newspaper's parent company and a media holding company controlled by Conrad Black were indicted on federal fraud charges Thursday for allegedly diverting $32 million through a series of bogus deals.
The indictment alleged the three diverted the money through a series of secret deals by disguising it as noncompete fees connected to the sale of newspaper publishing groups.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/radler18.html
Soft drink industry cuts back in schools
August 18, 2005
BY JANET RAUSA FULLER Staff Reporter
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Soft drinks would be banned in elementary and middle schools and would be harder to find in high schools under a policy announced Wednesday by the soft drink industry, long criticized by public health advocates as a major contributor to the nation's obesity crisis.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-soda18.html
Report says Brazilian wasn't fleeing cops
August 18, 2005
BY MICHAEL MCDONOUGH
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LONDON -- A leaked report into the death of a Brazilian man mistaken for a bomber and shot to death by police sparked outrage Wednesday because it said the victim was not wearing a heavy jacket and did not jump the ticket gate, as had been previously claimed.
Electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head by police who tailed him to the station the day after the failed July 21 transit bombings in London.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-brit18.html
Nationwide vigils call for end to Iraq war
August 18, 2005
BY ANGELA K. BROWN
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CRAWFORD, Texas -- Hundreds of candlelight vigils calling for an end to the war in Iraq got under way Wednesday in a national effort spurred by one mother's anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/cst-nws-mom18.html
Biggest Sunni group criticizes constitution talks
August 18, 2005
BY ANTONIO CASTANEDA ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq-- Lawmakers tried to reach compromises with Sunni Arab leaders Thursday on Iraq's draft constitution, and a roadside bomb north of Baghdad killed four American soldiers, the U.S. military said.
Government officials said that Wednesday's synchronized car bombings at a bus station and nearby hospital that killed up to 43 people in Baghdad were an attempt to target Shiites and stoke civil war between religious groups in the country.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/cst-nws-iraq18.html
Sydney Morning Herald
Three sought after attack on US ships
August 20, 2005
Amman: Three rockets were fired at two US Navy ships in Jordan's Aqaba port yesterday but they missed their targets, hitting a hospital, a warehouse - killing a Jordanian soldier - and the nearby Israeli port of Eilat.
A Jordanian security source said authorities were searching for three men over the Katyusha missile attack, which was launched from an industrial warehouse area near the entrance to the city.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/three-sought-after-attack-on-us-ships/2005/08/19/1124435146871.html
Koranic TV next step for radical sheik
By Tom Allard
August 20, 2005
The Koran is also a book of legislation, says Sheik Khalid Yasin.
Photo: Wade Laube
An Islamic preacher who advocates the execution of homosexuals, adulterers and armed robbers plans to start broadcasting his message in Australia on radio, TV and through the internet.
Sheik Khalid Yasin, who was born in the US, gained notoriety when his views on homosexuals - and that the Koran endorsed beatings of spouses - were aired last month, bringing condemnation from the then premier, Bob Carr.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/koranic-tv-next-step-for-radical-sheik/2005/08/19/1124435144954.html
Washington shrugs off Putin's call for Iraq pullout timetable
August 20, 2005
Sochi, Russia: President Vladimir Putin of Russia has called for an international conference on Iraq by the end of the year and a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops, saying many Iraqis considered them occupying forces.
"We consider that holding an international conference this year would give a new impulse to the normalisation of the situation" in Iraq, Mr Putin said on Thursday following talks with King Abdullah of Jordan.
"We deem it necessary to work out a schedule for the staged withdrawal of foreign troops," he said. "Many Iraqis perceive these forces as occupying forces, and this is a reality that should be taken into account."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/washington-shrugs-off-putins-call-for-iraq-pullout-timetable/2005/08/19/1124435141727.html
Hopes fade for cut in Corby's sentence
By Mark Forbes Herald Correspondent in Jakarta and agencies
August 20, 2005
Schapelle Corby's hopes of overturning a 20-year drug smuggling conviction have dimmed, with Indonesian courts indicating they will not allow fresh testimony to support claims that four kilograms of marijuana were planted in her luggage.
Rumours that her sentence was about to be cut by Bali's High Court were dismissed by both Corby's lawyers and Australian officials.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/hopes-fade-for-cut-in-corbys-sentence/2005/08/19/1124435146874.html
Coming soon: electric cars you charge at home
August 19, 2005 - 12:34AM
Mitsubishi Motors Corp is planning to develop small electric vehicles that drivers will be able to charge up from power sockets at home.
The mini-vehicle will have electric motors in each of its four wheels and will be able to cover 250 kilometres on a four-hour charge from a residential power outlet, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Thursday.
It is to go on the Japanese market by 2008 at a likely price of less than Y2 million ($24,000).
Mitsubishi is forming a partnership with Tokyo Electric, which will develop battery technology for the project.
Kyodo
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/coming-soon-electric-cars-you-charge-at-home/2005/08/19/1123958189478.html
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
"My son is 26. It could've been him."
Vigils Calling for End to Iraq War Begin
By Angela K. Brown / Associated Press
CRAWFORD, Texas -- Hundreds of candlelight vigils calling for an end to the war in Iraq lit up the night Wednesday, part of a national effort spurred by one mother's anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch.
The vigils were urged by Cindy Sheehan, who has become the icon of the anti-war movement since she started a protest Aug. 6 in memory of her son Casey, who died in Iraq last year.
Sheehan says she will remain outside the president's ranch until he meets with her and other grieving families, or until his monthlong vacation there ends.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3752
Montgomery, AL, Mesa, AZ, Little Rock, AR, Costa Mesa, CA, Fremont, CA, Marin County, CA, Monterey County, CA, Oakland, CA, Palm Springs, CA, San Diego, CA, San Luis Obispo, CA, Santa Cruz, CA, Vallejo, CA, Colorado Springs, CO, Denver, CO, Milford, CT, New London, CT, Norwalk, CT, Westport, CT, Wilmington, DE, Washington, DC, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Fort Myers, FL, Sarasota, FL, Tallahassee, FL, Atlanta, GA, Decatur, GA, Savannah, GA, Honolulu, HI, Cedar Falls, IA, Homewood, IL, Fort Wayne, IN, Indianapolis, IN, Muncie, IN, Kansas, KY, Lexington, KY, Louisville, KY, Skowhegan, ME, Baltimore, MD, Bethesda, MD, Hagerstown, MD, Orleans, MA, Sommerville, MA, Detroit, MI, Grand Rapids, MI, Ironwood, MI, Kalamazoo, MI, Burnsville, MN, Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN, Kansas City, MO, Springfield, MO, Webb City, MO, Jackson, MS, Oxford, MS, Lincoln, NE, Portsmouth, NH, Eastontown, NJ, Evesham, NJ, Hackensack, NJ, Highland Park, NJ, Trenton, NJ, Albany, NY, Brighton, NY, Great Neck, NY, Ithaca, NY, Nanuet, NY, Syracuse, NY, Charlotte, NC, Durham, NC, Akron, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Cleveland, OH, Tulsa, OK, Aliquippa, PA, Bethlehem, PA, Doylestown, PA, Harrisburg, PA, Lansdale, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Reading, PA, York, PA, Providence, RI, Nashville, TN, Austin, TX, Chesterfield County, VA, Roanoke City, VA, Montpelier, VT, Bellingham, WA, Seattle, WA, Charleston, WV, Madison, WI, Waukesha, WI
The Peaceful Occupation of Crawford (Day 12); Vigils
-- a message from Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, TX
Our candlelight vigil at Camp Casey was beautiful tonight. There were hundreds of people here and we are hearing that hundreds of people were involved in vigils around the country. We at Camp Casey are so amazed and gratified that there were almost 1700 vigils around the country.
CNN followed me around for the morning to do a 'Day in the Life' of Cindy Sheehan. I kept asking them if they were falling asleep from boredom yet. I was on Anderson Cooper and it was pretty good. Anderson didn't ask me about the Israel thing because he had checked with Nightline. But he followed with a talk show, hate monger host, Darrell Ankarlo who I have had problems with in the past. He said that I have said that I believe all of the troops are murderers and I have never said that, either. Darrell Ankarlo wanted me to be on his show, but I don't think so.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php
Blaming The Anti-War Messengers
By Norman Solomon / Tom Paine
This article is adapted from Norman Solomon’s new book, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death. For information, go to: www.WarMadeEasy.com
The surge of antiwar voices in U.S. media this month has coincided with new lows in public approval for what pollsters call President Bush’s “handling” of the Iraq war. After more than two years of a military occupation that was supposed to be a breeze after a cakewalk into Baghdad, the war has become a clear PR loser. But an unpopular war can continue for a long time—and one big reason is that the military-industrial-media complex often finds ways to blunt the effectiveness of its most prominent opponents.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3754
Bad Iraq News Worries Some in G.O.P. on '06
By Adam Nagourney and David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 - A stream of bad news out of Iraq, echoed at home by polls that show growing impatience with the war and rising disapproval of President Bush's Iraq policies, is stirring political concern in Republican circles, party officials said Wednesday.
Some said that the perception that the war was faltering was providing a rallying point for dispirited Democrats and could pose problems for Republicans in the Congressional elections next year.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3759
State Department memo warned of post-war 'planning gaps'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Little more than a month before the start of the Iraq war, State Department officials said they warned U.S. military planners about possible "serious planning gaps" for the post-war period, according to newly declassified documents obtained by George Washington University.
In a memo dated February 7, 2003, three senior department officials -- noting the U.S. Central Command's focus on military objectives and reluctance to take on policing roles -- warned that "a failure to address short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns could result in serious human rights abuses which would undermine an otherwise successful military campaign, and our reputation internationally."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3756
BBC
Tamil Tigers agree to peace talks
The emergency powers allow the government to deploy troops freely
Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka have agreed to hold direct talks with the Colombo government.
The move comes less than a week after the killing of the country's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, near his heavily-guarded home in the capital.
The talks will be the first high-level meeting between the two sides since the peace process stalled in 2003.
Norwegian mediators described the talks as a significant
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4164150.stm
Rapturous German welcome for Pope
Pope Benedict XVI was greeted by thousands at Cologne airport
Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in his native Germany for a Catholic youth festival in the city of Cologne.
The Pope's plane was met by cheering crowds as it landed at Cologne-Bonn airport, where Germany's chancellor and president were waiting to greet him.
The assembled crowds also performed a Mexican wave to welcome their visitor.
It is the Pope's first major foreign trip since his election in April. The engagement was originally scheduled for his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4161706.stm
China-Russia war games under way
Russian and Chinese commanders laid wreaths at a war memorial
Russian and Chinese armed forces have begun their first joint exercises, involving some 10,000 personnel.
Marines will storm beaches, to be joined by paratroopers in a mock invasion of an imaginary country.
The eight-day operation got under way in Vladivostok, in Russia's far east, with consultations between military delegations from the two countries.
Analysts say the two sides are signalling they are prepared to counter US dominance in international affairs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4162054.stm
US shuttles grounded until March
The next shuttle flight will not be until at least next March
The US space shuttle fleet is to remain grounded until March at the earliest, Nasa officials have said.
Engineers need to find a solution to the foam debris problem which re-emerged during Discovery's launch.
Seven members of an oversight panel also say Nasa's latest shuttle efforts were tainted by some of the problems that caused the Columbia disaster.
The official heading the team looking at the issue said it would take until early next year at least to find a fix.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4163908.stm
Zimbabwe to speed up land seizure
Legal battles have slowed down the transfer of land to new farmers
Zimbabwe's government has tabled a constitutional amendment bill to speed up the acquisition of white-owned land.
The proposals would nationalise all land and stop appeals to the courts.
Some 4,000 white farmers have been evicted from their land since 2000, but the government says legal battles are slowing up the transfer of ownership.
President Robert Mugabe's party gained the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed for constitutional change in March's disputed elections.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4163700.stm
Strange fossil defies grouping
By Julianna Kettlewell
BBC News science reporter
A strange 525 million-year-old fossil creature is baffling scientists because it does not fit neatly into any existing animal groups.
The animal, from the early Cambrian Period, might have belonged to a now extinct mollusc-like phylum, academics from America and China say.
Other researchers have suggested the creature could represent an early annelid or arthropod.
Details are published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4156544.stm
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